Credit: WWE.com

The Real Winners and Losers from WrestleMania 2020 Day 2

Kevin Berge

After an exciting and memorable opening night, WWE had so many huge matches left on the table for the second part of WrestleMania 36.

Sunday night featured a main event between Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar. The Scottish Psychopath was finally getting his chance to shine, but he needed to slay The Beast Incarnate.

Edge made his return in singles action against Randy Orton. In a brutal Last Man Standing match, The Rated-R Superstar wanted to prove to The Viper and the world that he was truly back.

John Cena stepped into seriously unfamiliar territory just to get a chance to silence Bray Wyatt. This unique Firefly Fun House match could make or break The Fiend's career.

After earning a title shot with a win at WWE Royal Rumble 2020, Charlotte Flair stepped up to Rhea Ripley, hoping to win her second NXT Women's Championship.

The card also included Bayley defending her SmackDown Women's Championship in a Fatal 5-Way match, The Street Profits battling NXT newcomers Angel Garza and Austin Theory, Aleister Black fighting Bobby Lashley for the first time and Otis hoping to get revenge on Dolph Ziggler.

This card had the chance to establish some big winners and losers who could benefit from this moment or fall painfully short.

Loser: Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley looked poised and ready for Charlotte Flair, but The Queen was competing on her playground. She targeted and injured the knee of her opponent, and she then took advantage until she could lock in the figure eight to force her to tap out.

The Nightmare had one of the biggest moments in recent NXT history when she took down Shayna Baszler in December. This was the wrong time to take her down no matter who she was fighting.

It was reminiscent of The Queen's match with Asuka, who was riding high and ready to take that final step at WrestleMania 34. Instead, Flair stopped her, and The Empress of Tomorrow never recovered.

This is the modus operandi of WWE when booking Flair. Nobody is better than The Queen. Ripley is young enough to recover and eventually take down the new NXT champion. It could be a great story, but there was no reason to put this obstacle in her way.

WWE has established NXT in a big way these past six months. Flair as champion will help boost the spotlight on the show, but it also still makes clear The Queen is bigger than NXT's most dominant star, just one day after Becky Lynch defeated another defining NXT star in Shayna Baszler.

Winner: Otis

Credit: WWE.com

Otis came out angry from the moment his music hit.

It was going to be difficult to defeat a seasoned veteran like Dolph Ziggler especially with Sonya Deville in his corner. Luckily, Mandy Rose arrived and hit The Showoff with a low blow to set up the Caterpillar for the win.

While Otis has had a memorable run, this was the biggest match of his career. It felt like it even in an empty arena. The contest was underwhelming, but the moment was great and a worthy ending to this tale.

The Heavy Machinery man established himself in a major way. It would not be surprising if he got more singles opportunities after this. He and Rose could be a fascinating pairing to watch evolve.

Ziggler was not the best guy to fully establish Otis, but he was a good first step. Now, it is a matter of who steps in the way next.

Otis deserves this opportunity purely for how entertaining he is. He truly has given all his focus and emotion to this rivalry.

Winner: Edge

Randy Orton caught Edge with an RKO before their match. The two brawled into the backstage area and then all the way up onto a production truck. The Rated-R Superstar won definitively with a con-chair-to.

After his big return at the Royal Rumble in January, this was the next step for Edge. He needed to show he could take a beating and get back up.

While Edge and Orton went a bit long, The Rated-R Superstar proved he was all the way back. This was a fantastic showcase for him. In fact, he looked more athletic and spry than he ever has. He did multiple dives that no one would have expected of him before.

Everything about this match was built on testing Edge, and he went all-out. Hopefully, he doesn't put himself through this kind of beating every time, though.

It will be fun to watch The Rated-R Superstar compete against everyone now. He needs to have a complete match in the ring soon.

Winner: Lacey Evans

Credit: WWE.com

Bayley and Sasha Banks were a consistent unit in their Fatal 5-Way title match.

However, after The Role Model accidentally took out The Legit Boss with a knee, Lacey Evans eliminated Banks with the Woman's Right.

Banks, though, hit The Sassy Southern Belle with a Backstabber to set up Bayley's win.

Evans put on a show near the end of this match that finally made her feel like the star WWE wanted her to be. It was also smart to have her lose here as Bayley and The Boss begin to fall apart as a team.

As a potential top babyface, it works better for The Lady to sell the crowd before she wins her first big title.

In a match that was built to be about only Bayley and Banks, Evans stood out in a big way. She may have proved herself finally worthy of the push she had been receiving.

While she may not get another shot at the SmackDown Women's Championship for a while, she has earned a potential run with a title if she can have performances like this repeatedly.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Brock Lesnar hit a trio of F5s on Drew McIntyre, but the Scot kept kicking out. As The Beast Incarnate tried to figure out how to win, he got caught by a pair of Claymores to seal the victory.

While Lesnar did not come to fully compete, he made McIntyre look like a legend here. This was almost on par with The Beast putting over the dominance of Goldberg and much more deserved.

McIntyre has waited so long for the moment, and this had to be his time. He was built perfectly to dethrone Lesnar. It would have been even better with a crowd, but it felt earned all the same.

Lesnar has put over a few clear stars since he came back to WWE: Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and now McIntyre. This was a fantastic moment and hopefully it will continue to develop with time.

The Scottish Psychopath has all the tools to be the top star on Raw. He and Kevin Owens are the closest to that mark after Rollins' turn. McIntyre is getting the first chance to make it work.

   

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