WrestleMania 36 wasn’t the first time WWE used cinematic matches
WrestleMania 36 saw WWE use the concept of cinematic matches, and the experiment worked well. But, this is not the first time they booked a cinematic match.
The first time WWE did was on Raw, for the feud between The Wyatt Family and The New Day in The Wyatt Family Compound. The first cinematic match in WWE happened after the wrestling world was praising the Final Deletion.
WWE’s second attempt was the heavily criticized House of Horrors Match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt (again).
WrestleMania 36 Cinematic Matches
The cinematic matches at WrestleMania this year were a massive success, and were praised by most fans and critics because of how creative they were.
The Firefly Fun House “Match” was interesting, but this was not a match. This was just a lot of references that were well executed. Despite what some people might try to tell you about this “match”, all the references here are simple and not that deep to write essays or Twitter threads for days. This “match” was entertaining for its references, but the action was not there.
The Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker was a proper match, it had elements that made it entertaining and most importantly, it hid the fact Undertaker is old and can no longer perform in normal matches. Despite me liking this match, the problem with this match was it had only kicks and punches, with certain exceptions.
Moving Forward
WWE should not try to book cinematic matches on a consistent basis. They have buried the TLC and Hell In A Cell Match concepts by running them on a consistent basis that they are no longer special, and just another match.
The upcoming Money in the Bank matches will apparently be in a similar fashion to a cinematic match and if they overbook or underdeliver, the concept of cinematic matches in WWE could be in trouble.
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