WWE Rumors: Possible reason why cinematic-style matches could stop post-COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced WWE to stop audiences from attending the shows, which led to the relocation of tapings to the Performance Center in the middle of March. That's where every show has been held since, including WrestleMania 36, which happened over two days.
WWE also made sure to pre-tape WrestleMania entirely as a precautionary measure. The two defining matches of the PPV was the Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles, and the Firefly Funhouse match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
While the former received far more acclaim for fans, there was an overall positive response to the cinematic-style matches, something Vince McMahon called "mini-movies".
This has led many to believe that we could be entering the era of cinematic-style matches. Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that there was a good feeling backstage about the cinematic-style matches:
"There is a lot of good feeling about the matches at WrestleMania, particularly the response towards the Boneyard match on social media.
While the Boneyard match was considered the better of the two, Colohue said that WWE wanted to recreate the magic with the pre-taped Money in the Bank ladder matches next month.
The Boneyard match came first, so it got a ground swelling of support for being that different and unique before we got to the Firefly Funhouse match. They loved what they got in response and they want to capture the lightning in the bottle again. This is a way that they've decided to do that. We're likely to see that again in the future.
However, he admitted that we may only see a few more such matches. WWE's priority is to get back to business as usual, which is why there are no plans for such matches post-COVID-19:
"We'll probably see more, but we won't see many. They want to get back into in-ring storytelling and business as usual. Right now, post-COVID, there are no plans to do something like this.
Could WWE be avoiding a big risk?
The truth is that these kinds of matches are best if they happen rarely. While we're glad WWE utilized the cinematic-style shooting the best they could, they could run a risk of overdoing it if they have too many such matches.
Perhaps it's the right call. When the time comes, WWE can always have these do it again. However, it needs to be the right match with the right Superstars.