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WrestleMania in front of no crowd is a reminder that fans matter

The signs said this was WrestleMania. The pay-per-view order ($34.99) said this was WrestleMania. Rob Gronkowski, serving as host, declared that it was WrestleMania. So did Stephanie McMahon, who noted pre-fight the company was there to offer a “distraction” to the country.

And, indeed, over the course of three hours Saturday night, a lot of familiar WrestleMania faces appeared — Paul Heyman, Goldberg, The Undertaker. They offered the kind of distraction that’s made pro wrestling so enduringly popular.

Yet this wasn’t quite WrestleMania. The WWE tried. Give them that much credit. The action was good, the athletes incredible, the efforts complete.