10 Fascinating WWE Facts About WrestleMania 36

7. A Dark Main Event?!

Edge Randy Orton
WWE.com

Drew McIntyre Vs The Big Show became the first dark main event in WrestleMania history, taking place after the broadcasted action had concluded... or did it?

The contest was shot for airing on the following night's Monday Night Raw, but WWE kept the WrestleMania branding in place to make it explicitly clear that Drew had boldly defended his belt mere minutes after winning it. As a result, the match exists in something of a hinterland between the two events. Why?

The answer is pretty simple - they were worried they'd have nothing else. By the time the post-WrestleMania Raw aired, the 'Show Of Shows' itself had been in the can for 10 days, and the real world was changing so drastically that nobody at that point if they'd be permitted to go back to the Performance Center full stop.

This resulted in many calling for WWE to treat the Premium Live Event as a season finale of sorts. That, like assuming the pandemic might be over in a month or so, was a pipe dream.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett