Sports

WrestleMania 36 Night 2 live recaps, results and analysis

April 6, 2020
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Night one of WrestleMania 36 offered a number of big surprises. Braun Strowman steamrolled Goldberg to become the new Universal champion, Kevin Owens jumped off the WrestleMania sign to attack Seth Seth Rollins, and a singles triple threat ladder match for a tag team title repeatedly shocked the viewing audience.

But the biggest headline grabber of all was the Boneyard match that closed out the night, as AJ Styles and The Undertaker battled in a cinematic romp through a graveyard.

Now it’s time for night two. Four titles will be on the line, including men’s Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE championship and Bayley defending her SmackDown women’s title in a five-way match. For the first time ever on a WrestleMania card and NXT title will be defended, as women’s Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair challenges NXT women’s champion Rhea Ripley.

In one of the most anticipated matches of the weekend, Edge has his first one-on-one match in nine years against Randy Orton, under Last Man Standing rules. And in what will likely be another unconventional cinematic adventure, John Cena faces “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse match.

Marc Raimondi and Tim Fiorvanti are here to break it all down live, with ESPN Stats & Info’s Sean Coyle rating each match on his customized scale of 0-5.

Recaps from the first night of WrestleMania 36 can be found here.

Aleister Black def. Bobby Lashley

Recap to come.

NXT women’s championship: Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley (c)

More than five years removed from her first NXT women’s championship reign, Charlotte Flair opened up the second night of WrestleMania 36 by winning that title back, outlasting Rhea Ripley in an lengthy, intense match that set a high bar for the rest of the night’s matches to follow.

This battle between two generations of NXT standouts was physical from the opening bell. Flair held nothing back on her chops, and Ripley’s kicks from all angles and directions landed flush, time after time. The action spilled in and out of the ring, but Ripley largely controlled the action early on and even hit a Riptide in the first few moments, although it only got her a two-count.

The story and tone for the rest of the match was set when Ripley attempted a big boot to Flair as she stood on the apron, only to miss. Flair targeted the knee and brought it down over the top rope. She’d attack that left knee for the rest of the match, stomping it, chop blocking it, wrapping it around the ringpost and generally doing whatever she could to inflict damage.

Ripley fought back and hit some innovative slams and kicks, including a smooth missile dropkick from the top rope, but every time it looked like she was gaining control, Flair took out the knee again. After fighting her way back to her feet, and stomping the hell out of Flair’s torso, Ripley briefly locked in her Prism Trap submission, but it wasn’t enough.

Flair finally tried to lock in the figure eight, but Ripley kicked her way out. Flair changed strategy and eventually locked in a Boston crab instead, but Ripley wouldn’t give. Ripley missed a superplex, but was able to get her foot up to kick Flair as she attempted a moonsault.

After a scramble of pinning attempts, Flair finally locked in the Figure Four and pushed herself up. Ripley hitting Flair’s legs and did everything short of reaching for the ropes to get out. But Flair ultimately bridged up into the Figure Eight and earned the submission victory.

Flair became only the second woman to win the NXT women’s championship (only Shayna Baszler had previously done it) and her 12th career title in WWE.

What’s next: There are a few ways this move makes sense. Ripley, who has been on an unstoppable run, could run the gauntlet on her way to redemption, or perhaps even move to Raw or SmackDown. Having Flair back in NXT offers an opportunity to pair her up with a growingly impressive crop of women on their roster.

Kickoff show: Liv Morgan def. Natalya

Night two of WrestleMania began with a kickoff show match that had no build and really, no heat. Natalya took advantage of an offered handshake by Morgan to start things off and utilized her strong mat game advantage in the opening sequences. Natalya continued to bring the aggression with a discus clothesline that sent Morgan onto the ring apron. She then locked in a surfboard stretch for a good minute, but Morgan refused to tap. Ultimately Natalya released the hold and opened the door for a comeback.

Morgan worked in some offense which included her version of the codebreaker and a nice looking step-up enziguri. However, it was a less flashy move that made the most impact as Morgan reversed a series of roll-ups into a pinning combination and picked up the biggest win of her career.

This was Morgan’s first-ever WWE PPV win. She was 0-9 entering tonight’s match.

What’s next: Perhaps this builds a bit or momentum for Morgan in the coming weeks and we’ll get a resolution to the rivalry between all three former Riott Squad members that was seemingly put on hold. As for Natalya, it’s anyone’s guess, but she has the ability to continue to help build stars as she did tonight.

Still to come:

Five-way match for the SmackDown women’s championship: Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks vs. Tamina

Last man standing: Edge vs. Randy Orton

John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Raw tag-team championships: The Street Profits (c) vs. Angel Garza & Austin Theory

Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre


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