100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
55. The Firefly Fun House Silliness (WrestleMania 36)
COVID left WWE with no other option but to shut 'Mania away behind closed doors and retreat to the erm...quaint surroundings of the in-house Performance Center. It was a scary and uncertain time for many, no doubt. The age old phrase, 'the show must go on' came to the fore and ensured that WWE's biggest annual event would still go ahead. The PC was a contingency plan, at least.
Adapting to the unique circumstances, creative dreamt up all manner of off the wall cinematics that'd help turn the strangest WrestleMania yet into a winner. Bray Wyatt welcomed John Cena into his 'Firefly Fun House' for a barmy set of scenes that included Cena going back to his humble rookie days, both joining the nWo (?!) and the pair working spoofs of Saturday Night's Main Event.
That was a starter course for the madness to come.
WWE knew they were free to experiment like never before now they didn't have fans inside an arena/stadium to keep entertained. Hamming it up but actually nervous before the thing aired, Cena and Bray had a blast letting their creative juices flow freely, then Titus O'Neil summed it up best by scratching his head and wondering what the heck he'd just witnessed. It was all superbly creative and (along with the prior evening's 'Boneyard' display) helped lay innovative foundations for further cinematic silliness to come throughout 2020.
Fans forced to give up 'Mania tickets and watch from home generally agreed that Cena and Wyatt made the best of a bad situation. This will always be remembered as one of the many reasons why Bray was considered amongst wrestling's greatest creative minds.