WrestleMania Boneyard Match Receives Critical Acclaim From Wrestling Community

I’d say they’ve earned it. This year’s WrestleMania is not going to be like any other that has ever been seen. The show is taking place in front of no fans and is being split into two nights, meaning that everything is upside down compared to what we are usually seeing. There is still wrestling though, with Night One featuring something that was just as different as the rest of the show. As it turns out, it did rather well indeed.

The first night of WrestleMania 36 was headlined by the Boneyard match between AJ Styles and Undertaker. The rules of the match were not exactly clear on the way to WrestleMania so no one was sure what to expect. As it turns out, the match was more of a mini movie than a match, similar to Matt Hardy’s Final Deletion matches. The match seemed to have been well received though and a lot of wrestlers have something to say about it.

Following the match, several wrestlers commented positively on the match with many of them outright praising what Undertaker and Styles did. This includes Hardy, whose matches influenced the Boneyard match and Mick Foley, who has requested to be in the next edition. At the moment, it is not clear if or when WWE will present something like this again, though John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt on Night Two will be shot in a similar manner.

My twitter feed exploded.

Thanks for all the love, folks.. I’m truly honored. Cinematic matches 100% work with the right characters, scenario & fanbase – I envisioned them as a new branch of pro wrestling years ago.

Much like TLC did, The #BROKEN Universe will leave its mark.

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 5, 2020

Wow! Just..wow! Hats off to @AJStylesOrg & @undertaker for the most impressive segment I’ve ever seen in my wrestling fandom lifetime. The entire thing….just off the charts awesome! Thank u both & @WWE for giving us something 2 get our minds off of reality!?? #BoneyardMatch pic.twitter.com/fuilUzO8DB

— Matt Morgan (@BPmattmorgan) April 5, 2020

I wish every mania match this year was a boneyard match! #Wrestlemania36

— Shotzi (@ShotziWWE) April 5, 2020

This is great

— Glenn Gilbertti (@TheRealDisco) April 5, 2020

Did you all love that #BoneyardMatch? I really enjoyed it. @undertaker @AJStylesOrg

— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) April 5, 2020

Undertaker v AJ….. like a ? #Wrestlemania36

— Nattie (@NatbyNature) April 5, 2020

This is legendary #Wrestlemania36

— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) April 5, 2020

Wow really into this Taker and Styles #BoneyardMatch !!!! Sooooo good!!! N #WrestleMania

— Nikki & Brie (@NikkiAndBrie) April 5, 2020

This is the best thing I've ever seen

— Big Damo (@DamoMackle) April 5, 2020

I was highly entertained by the #BoneyardMatch . I thought it was exactly what the show needed and a perfect way to end night one. What did you think? #Wrestlemania36

— James Storm (@JamesStormBrand) April 5, 2020

Taker vs AJ was PHENOMENAL!!

One of the most entertaining spectacles I’ve ever seen.

Great job by all involved.#BoneyardMatch #Wrestlemania36 @BustedOpenRadio

— Bully Ray (@bullyray5150) April 5, 2020

It was a huge match. Check out some highlights, plus Foley’s request:

Opinion: I loved the match and had a great time with the whole thing. What Hardy said makes sense: these matches can work very well with the right people and situation, which is what they had with Undertaker and Styles. This is not the kind of thing that can work for everyone and it certainly did this time around. It isn’t something that I want to see all the time but when it works, it works very well.

Did you like the match? Who else could make something like this work? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. Thank you for reading!