10 Fascinating WWE Facts About WrestleMania 36

2. The Shortest Build To A WrestleMania Main Event EVER

Edge Randy Orton
WWE.com

Roman Reigns made a life-altering decision when he elected to walk away from the WrestleMania main event (and WWE in general) just days before a 'Show Of Shows' Universal Championship match with Bill Goldberg.

Unaware of the true potential damage of everything out there, Reigns made the choice on behalf of himself and his family to safely lock down rather stay in work. It highlighted the futility of...everything, pretend world titles included, and WWE had no time beyond the go-home SmackDown to insert a new challenger lest the card go on without a match for the belt altogether.

Reigns was replaced by Braun Strowman in a similar fashion and short order - zero explanation for the change and a graphic confirming the contest as "official". Following through with 'The Big Dog's booking and never really escaping out of the long shadow his absence cast, 'The Monster' won the belt, but effectively just kept it warm until 'The Tribal Chief's shocking SummerSlam return.

Contributor
Contributor

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