‘WWE WrestleMania XXX’ Results & Review
Here we are, finally, at the thirtieth annual WrestleMania event, live from the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Let’s get to the results shall we?
There was a two hour long pre-show for this event that aired on the WWE Network and in other areas of media. The pre-show featured a panel of guys like Mick Foley, Booker T and Shawn Michaels, along with Josh Matthews, discussing the upcoming matches and the spectacle of the event itself. The second hour brought us the pre-show match.
The match in question that aired on the pre-show was the four-way tag team elimination match between the defending champions, The Uso’s, The Real Americans, Ryback & Axel and Los Matadores. The match was okay, allowing each team to get some chances to show their capabilities and shine. The final two teams in the match were The Uso’s and The Real Americans, with The Uso’s eventually picking up the victory and retaining their WWE Tag Team Championships. After the match we would see Cesaro and Swagger split with the fans solidly behind the Swiss Superman. A fun pre-show match and solid beginning to WrestleMania.
The event then officially was underway, the 75,000+ fans in New Orleans cheered as Hulk Hogan made his way to the ring at the start of the official broadcast. He welcomed the fans, wrongly, to the Silverdome, a botch that he would be ribbed about a few times in the coming few minutes. Soon, Steve Austin joined Hogan in the ring to a huge pop and talked about how important Hogan was to the WWE. The two shook hands before they were joined in the ring by The Rock. The three men talked about their significance in WWE, Rock and Austin ribbed Hogan for the “Silverdome” botch, and they shared a beer. A fun, vibrant and entertaining opening to the show, and a segment that felt like three legends passing the ball to the young lions who were stepping up on the main show. The fans seemed to eat this up, and it was a nice way to include these three massive WWE Hall of Famers.
The opening match of the show was the much anticipated match between Triple H and Daniel Bryan, with the winner receiving the right to be added to the WWE World Title main event at the end of the show. The fans popped loud for Bryan and there was an air of tension in the crowd in case Triple H pulled out a win here. The match was entertaining and told a solid story. There were some nice wrestling spots and, though at times it was slow, it opened the PPV well. Triple H hit the pedigree on Bryan, who kicked out on a two-count. Bryan eventually hit back with his flying knee to Triple H and scored a clean and decisive victory over “The King of Kings” on the biggest show of the year. Daniel Bryan would now be added to the main event and receive his chance to wrestle for the WWE World Title. The fans cheered loudly, obviously.
The second match of the evening was the six man tag match featuring The Shield taking on Kane and The New Age Outlaws. The match seemed to be a quick one and it felt like the guys were rushing through the spots at times. I’m pretty sure the opening stuff had gone over time a little because this ended up, more or less, being a squash match. The Shield easily picked up the victory here, continuing their dominance as one of the best and most consistent groups in WWE history.
After a backstage segment that saw legends like Jim Duggan and Sgt Slaughter playing with WWE toys, we headed back to ringside for the 30 Man Andre the Giant Battle Royale. This is the match that Hulk Hogan has been promoting on television since his return a couple of weeks back and is a nice addition to the show, allowing most of the WWE roster a chance to appear on the largest stage of them all. When we got to the ringside area the ring was already full of most of the participants and only Sheamus and The Big Show got entrances, which I thought was a shame, but understandable also. The match, once the ring has cleared up a bit, became a highly entertaining spectacle and featured some cool spots from guys like Ziggler, Kingston, Fandango and others. The end of the match was excellent. The Big Show had been booked as the super-favourite since the match was announced and the final two men in the match were Big Show and Cesaro. The fans cheered Cesaro and booed Big Show, and the ending saw Cesaro hoist the giant into the air and throw him out of the ring. This feat of strength allowed Cesaro to win the very first Andre the Giant memorial Battle Royale as well as pick up a big win at WrestleMania. The crowd popped loudly for this result.
Next up was the match between the face of WWE, John Cena, and Bray Wyatt. If ever there was a match in which Cena should have put over his opponent, this was it. A chance to create a main event star and allow a young talent to shine on the grandest stage. The match itself was decent and featured some interesting moves and holds from the unorthodox Wyatt, but the ending spoiled things. Cena, after being beaten around the ring by Wyatt for much of the match, and with the interference of The Wyatt Family at ringside throughout, still managed to pick up a definitive victory and pin Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania. I wanted to believe that Cena would put Wyatt over here, but it didn’t happen, and it’s a real shame.
The 2014 Hall of Fame Class are on the stage and receive a respectful reaction from the fans as Howard Finkel announces them each in turn.
The next match we get to is the anticipated “Beast vs. The Streak” match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. Now, in my preview for this match I stated that it was the only match on the WrestleMania card in which I was entirely sure of the outcome. The Undertaker, who had won 21 WrestleMania matches in a row, and lost none, would defeat Lesnar here. No part of me thought otherwise. I wasn’t alone. The match was slow and at times verged on boring. The level of quality in which The Undertaker’s matches have been in recent years may have been a reason as to why this match didn’t feel like it was on the same level. It wasn’t bad though, and there were some cool moments. Still, the whole thing became a fuzzy haze by the match’s final moments. After hitting his third F5 on The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar hooked the leg of “The Phenom” and the referee counted to three. The fans in the arena were silent. I was silent. It was one of the most surreal and shocking moments I have ever witnessed in my 25 years as a fan of professional wrestling. Brock Lesnar had defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania. The streak was over. The fans stood with their mouths agape and their hands on their heads, in shock of what they had just seen occur. The Undertaker’s WrestleMania legacy now reads, 21 – 1. After the match the fans cheer for ‘Taker loudly as he silently makes his way up the ramp and out of the arena. Shocking.
After the events of the previous match, the fans needed time to recover. Cue the WWE Divas. It was time for the Vickie Guerrero Invitational. A Battle Royale of sorts, in which the winner was decided by a one-fall victory. The match was messy at times, decent at other times. It didn’t last long, and there were no major or exciting moments of note. Each diva was given a few seconds to hit a move, and eventually AJ Lee locked on her Black Widow submission on Naomi for the victory. AJ Lee retained and the fans were still in shock from the previous match.
We were treated to a slightly humorous backstage skit involving the main eventers from WrestleMania 1, as Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff had a stand-off with Hulk Hogan and Mr T. It was a fun little nod to the original event.
Finally, it was time for the main event of WrestleMania XXX. Royal Rumble winner Batista versus Daniel Bryan versus the WWE World Champion Randy Orton in a triple threat match. The fans were back into it again by the time Bryan was in the ring and New Orleans was solidly behind the leader of the yes movement. Back and forth action between the three men opened the match before we began to see Orton and Batista work together against Bryan. One of these moments occurred in a crazy spot at ringside when Orton and Batista nailed Bryan through an announce table with a powerbomb and neckbreaker combo move. They tease the idea of Bryan being stretchered away but he fights back into the ring. The three of them work more until we see Triple H, Stephanie and crooked-referee, Scott Armstrong come through the crowd. Bryan hits a suicide dive onto the three of them, with Armstrong falling on top of Stephanie and hurting her ankle. The Authority is helped backstage by officials, the two of them limping heavily. Back in the ring Batista and Orton both get near-falls, with the crowd going nuts at the idea of Bryan losing again. The final moments of the match see Batista nail Orton with the Batista-bomb, but before he can pin the Champion, Bryan locks in the Yes-Lock on “Big Dave” and gets the victory via submission. Daniel Bryan’s moment has arrived, and the fans went wild. Defeating Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista in the same night after wrestling for over 50 minutes in two matches, Daniel Bryan became the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXX.
After the match we got to see a wonderful celebration in the ring, as Bryan held his newly won titles in the air and the sky rained confetti. A beautiful and exciting WrestleMania moment that pleased most of the fans in attendance and at home.
A new era has begun in WWE, and this event is where it started. A great show that featured good in-ring action, shocking moments and an ending for the ages.
WrestleMania XXX: Match of the Night: Bryan/Orton/Batista
WrestleMania XXX: Worst Match: Divas Invitational
WrestleMania XXX: Best Moment: Daniel Bryan winning the WWE World Title
WrestleMania XXX: Shocking Moment: The Undertaker’s Streak Ending
WrestleMania XXX: Best Crowd Reaction: Daniel Bryan
Until next time…
