40 Years Of Fascinating WWE WrestleMania Facts (Part 4)

4. WrestleMania 37 - WWE Championship Match Opens WrestleMania For The First Time

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WWE.com

Multiple eras of multiple top titles did away with the chance of WrestleMania escaping past its 20s without opening with a World Heavyweight Championship match, but either down to dumb luck or institutional bias, the gold with the longest lineage never jerked the curtain until WWE got back in front of crowds in 2021. 

Edge defending his big gold belt at WrestleMania 27 and Sheamus winning the very same one at 28 were examples of WWE testing the waters, and the Universal Championship followed suit at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, But the gold considered to be the "richest prize" in the entire industry hadn't ever gone on first until Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre fought over it.

It was the right call too. Not only did it preserve a long-standing story of failed redemption that remained part of McIntyre's canon one year after his supposed biggest moment, but it also made space for Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair to make some more history of a different and euphoric kind.

 
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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