Backstage Notes On "Chaotic" WWE WrestleMania 37 Rain Delay

New details on WrestleMania 37's weather problems, improv promos, and more.

Michael Cole Samoa Joe WWE WrestleMania 37
WWE

A new report from Fightful Select describes the "chaotic" scenes that played out during WrestleMania 37's weather delay on 10 April.

WWE chose to fill the 35-minute gap by having wrestlers cut improv promos to build anticipation for the show ahead. Per the report, some performers were sent to address the viewers with minimal instruction, effectively putting them on the spot.

Others, meanwhile, pitched their own ideas.

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WWE officials are said to be satisfied with how everything went down and happy at the way the wrestlers handled a potentially difficult situation. The idea to hold actual matches backstage while the rain put 'Mania on ice was never considered.

WrestleMania 37's delayed start came following an anxious couple of hours as a serious thunderstorm rolled through Tampa, though the worst of it was over by the time the Showcase of the Immortals hit the airwaves. Still, the broadcast opened on the announcement that everything was on hold, not the usual pomp and circumstance.

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WWE has since edited the entire rain delay from the night one upload on Peacock and WWE Network. Instead, 'Mania rolls straight into Vince McMahon's introductory segment.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.