Watch: Vince McMahon, 74, shows Rob Gronkowski how to take 10-foot bump

The great Gronk took a lesson from 74-year-old Vince McMahon before WrestleMania 36.

Vince McMahon is a renegade. The WWE honcho is 74 and acts like he is 27. That’s why when it appeared Rob Gronkowski was having some trepidation about a 10-foot leap he was supposed to take as part of WrestleMania 36, the boss sprung into action.

Check it out as the septuagenarian shows Gronk exactly how it’s done.

McMahon looks like he did a better job of the leap than Gronk did in the practice video.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end did a nice job in the event itself, granted he had plenty of human cushions to break the fall.

WWE stars, fans react to the baffling John Cena-Bray Wyatt Firefly Fun House match

This was beyond absurd.

WWE fans didn’t know what to expect from the “Firefly Fun House” match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt, but the iconic “Boneyard match” from Night 1 of WrestleMania 36 set the bar for fantasy match stipulations extremely high. Somehow, in it’s own extremely strange way, the Fun House match delivered something equally eyebrow raising.

The Firefly Fun House match wasn’t really a match, and more a fever dream exploration of WWE history through the lens of the ongoing Wyatt-Cena feud. The segment gave us puppet Vince McMahon, the return of “The Prototype” and the giant SmackDown fist, John Cena doing a hundred bicep curls, Bray Wyatt doing a Hulk Hogan impression, Word Life and the Dr. of Thuganomics, nWo John Cena and so much more. It was undoubtedly the weirdest thing in WrestleMania history, and fans and WWE stars alike were blown away.

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Rob Gronkowski wins WWE 24/7 Championship at WrestleMania 36

Rob Gronkowski has already won his first WWE title.

Mojo Rawley provoked close friend Rob Gronkowski on Night 1 of WrestleMania 36, and the show host got his revenge on Sunday night.

On Saturday, then-24/7 Champion R-Truth joined Rawley and Gronkowski atop Gronk’s hosting perch, and was laid out by the former Patriots star. Gronkowski quickly went for a cover – the 24/7 Championship can be won at any time, hence the name – but Rawley pushed Gronkowski off R-Truth and pinned the champion himself to win the belt. Rawley then called out Gronk, and disappeared, setting the stage for what happened on Sunday.

Just after Edge and Randy Orton’s epic Last Man Standing match concluded, a massive brawl spilled out from backstage and down to ringside involving Rawley and several challengers for his belt. Gronkowski leapt off his perch to take out the entire crowd, and then pinned Rawley to win the title. Gronk then sprinted away from the scene to safety.

 

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Rob Gronkowski wins 24/7 title at WrestleMania 36

Rob Gronkowski made the most of his host duties at WrestleMania 36, capturing the 24/7 title by pinning buddy Mojo Rawley.

One of the greatest matches in WWE history took place at WrestleMania 36 Sunday between Edge and Randy Orton. The Last Man Standing bout went more than 30 minutes and was brutal and riveting. What could WWE do to follow such sports-entertainment perfect?

Why, have Rob Gronkowski execute a flying cross-body that took out many wrestlers. And, for his encore, Gronk pinned best friend Mojo Rawley to capture the 24/7 championship.

 

WrestleMania 36: Otis got a kiss from Mandy Rose and WWE fans were so happy

The feel-good moment of WrestleMania 36.

One of the most enjoyable storylines heading into WrestleMania 36 was the feud between lovable big man Otis and Dolph Ziggler, who conspired with Sonya Deville to spoil Otis’ Valentine’s Day plans with Mandy Rose. It sounds ridiculous, because it was, but it led to the feel-good moment of WrestleMania on Sunday night.

Near the end of the match, Deville distracted the referee from outside, allowing Ziggler to land a devastating low blow on Otis and take control of the match. Mandy Rose showed up at the perfect time, though, and retaliated with a slap to Deville.

Rose then hit a low blow on Ziggler, allowing Otis to finish him off with his signature caterpillar elbow drop.

Rose celebrated in the ring with Otis, and gave him a long-awaited kiss. It was a moment that would have caused a stadium full of people to explode with joy, but we’ll have to settle for reactions on Twitter.

Rick Pitino and his son have an interesting bet on a WrestleMania 36 main event

The site of a future Iona-Minnesota basketball game is riding on the outcome of Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania match.

WWE superstars Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre will battle for the WWE Championship in what will likely be the main event of WrestleMania 36’s second night on Sunday – which also now has a college basketball tie-in.

Rick Pitino, the new coach of the Iona Gaels, and his son Richard Pitino, coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, agreed to a wager over the outcome of the WWE title match.

If Drew McIntyre wins the match and becomes the new world champion, the younger Pitino’s Golden Gophers will travel to New Rochelle, New York, for a road game against the Gaels. If former Minnesota national champion wrestler Lesnar wins, however, the Gaels will go on the road to play in Minnesota.

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Mojo Rawly robbed Rob Gronkowski’s WWE championship on Wrestlemania

Gronk was THIS close.

Rob Gronkowski missed an opportunity to be a first-time WWE champion at Wrestlemania 36 on Saturday night. The retired New England Patriots tight end was serving as the event’s host. Gronk participated in some of the action when R-Truth challenged the former Patriot and wrestler Mojo Rawley.

R-Truth was the defending 24/7 championship, and was seeking some action from either one of them. And it turns out, he bit off more than he could chew. Gronk took down the wrestler, and just as it seemed he might win the belt, Rawley stepped in and robbed the championship from Gronk.

You’re probably wondering (because I know I was): What is the 24/7 Championship? Well, it’s a belt that must be defended at all times and in any place. And so Gronk and Rawley challenged the champion in the middle of the show on Saturday.

Considering Gronk will be hosting on Sunday night, it’s fair to wonder whether he might challenge Mojo at some point during day two of the event. It seems almost imminent that the best buddies, Gronk and Mojo, square off.

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Rob Gronkowski came this close to becoming a WWE champion at WrestleMania 36

Will Gronk get revenge?

Rob Gronkowski had the 24/7 Championship within his grasps, almost literally. The retired New England Patriots tight end and Wrestlemania 36 host lunged at R-Truth, who was antagonizing Gronk and his buddy Mojo Rawley. Gronk quickly got R-Truth on the ground, and it seemed the former Patriot was on the verge of winning a WWE championship.

And then Gronk’s buddy robbed him. Mojo stepped in and pulled Gronk off R-Truth, so that Mojo could get the title. For those unfamiliar with the 24/7 Championship, it’s open game for anyone, anytime and anywhere. The champion must defend the title twenty four hours of the day and seven days of the week. Because of that, the title changes hands often, and can end up in hands of celebrities, like Gronk. But he didn’t win the title on Saturday.

Here’s a look at the moment.

Mojo, perhaps partially antagonizing Gronk, sent out his celebration after winning his seventh 24/7 Championship. (For context: R-Truth is a 35-time champion.)

With another night of Wrestlemania 36 in the works, it seems almost inevitable that Gronk goes after Mojo to get revenge and earn the title.

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Rob Gronkowski hosted Wrestlemania 36, and WWE fans were disappointed

WWE should have been the perfect fit for Gronk, right?

Rob Gronkowski should have been in his element as the host of “Wrestlemania 36,” but the former New England Patriots tight end didn’t seem immediately comfortable in the role.

Perhaps the lack of fans — precaution taken in response to COVID-19 — got to Gronk. Perhaps it was simply inexperience. But his debut as a host for this two-day event did not go well. He kicked off the show with an introduction when he said he was “the host with the most.” Then he joked that he was “the right man for the job, because I know how to start a party on a Saturday night and end it 30 hours later.”

He was then joined by Mojo Rawley, a wrestler and good friend of Gronk’s. They got amped up for the night’s events. Here’s a look at the moment.

The reviews came in over the course of the night, and unfortunately for Gronk, WWE fans were not happy with his performance. Here’s what folks were saying on Twitter about Gronk at Wrestlemania.

At least Gronk has another night to salvage his reputation and win over WWE fans.

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WWE fans react to the epic Undertaker-AJ Styles boneyard match

The boneyard match was one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time.

Earlier this week, we ranked the greatest WrestleMania main events of all time. After Saturday’s Night 1 of WrestleMania 36, there may be a new GOAT. The Undertaker and AJ Styles capped the first night of WrestleMania with a mysterious “boneyard match,” a vague stipulation that was never defined before the show, which left fans guessing as to what could happen. The result was absolutely unbelievable.

The boneyard match didn’t take place inside the WWE Performance Center, and instead was staged in a foggy graveyard. WWE has tried its hand at these type of cinematic outdoor matches in recent years after the Hardy Boyz found great success with The Final Deletion, but never quite nailed the execution. The boneyard match, though, was a masterpiece.

The match opened with a hearse arriving to the Undertaker’s theme music, but Styles popped out of a casket instead and called out The Undertaker. The Deadman arrived on a motorcycle in a throwback to his biker character. With the help of a surprise group of druids, Styles got the upper hand and was about to bury The Undertaker alive – but Taker teleported from out of a grave to turn the tide, and later chokeslammed Styles off the roof of a barn. It was glorious, and I’m not sure how WWE could possibly follow this on Night 2.

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