Braun Strowman Wins WWE's Universal Title At WrestleMania 36

Goldberg was next.

Braun Strowman Goldberg WrestleMania
WWE

Braun Strowman defeated Bill Goldberg to win the Universal Title during WrestleMania 36's first night.

The match didn't last long, and isn't going to earn any plaudits from Dave Meltzer, but it's clear that WWE wanted the belt off Goldberg ASAP. It's also obvious that he was slated to lose the Universal gold (blue?) to Roman Reigns - the 'Big Dog' was pulled from the show before the company taped matches last week.

The knock-on effect of Roman missing out is that Braun is suddenly the new top dog on SmackDown. Maybe WWE fancied having a full-timer as Universal Champion during such an uncertain time, or perhaps they always planned for Bill's second Universal run to be so short. Whichever way one slices it, Strowman has some momentum for the first time in years.

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Goldberg's second reign lasted just 36 days (on TV), which is only nine days longer than his first back in 2017.

Who knows if the ex-WCW squash artist will pop up again in WWE. At 53 years old, Goldberg's body surely can't stomach the relentless training regimen he puts it through.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.