6 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 36 (Part 2)

2. Video Game Main Event

WrestleMania 36 was an experiment in trying to make an event that relies on crowd reaction a success with no audience. At times, it worked fine, but at others, it was a disappointment.

Sunday’s main event of Brock Lesnar versus Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship was Exhibit A of what didn’t work.

The match itself was nothing more than a series of finishers, consisting of three German suplexes, three F-5s and four Claymore kicks. That was it during a sub-5 minute match. There was no drama, no tension, no feeling of anything being at risk. It was just move, move, cover, move, cover, move, cover, move, move, move, move, pinfall, new champ.

And what should have been McIntyre’s crowning achievement in WWE played out to silence.

There’s been an argument among fans about whether WWE should have just shelved WrestleMania in light of the situation and waited until they could put it on in some fashion in front of fans, or whether the show should go on. While that’s an open question, this was a perfect example of how having some fan reaction would have helped immensely.