The WWE provided a shocking and interesting show for WrestleMania XXX on Sunday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans with the wrestling world buzzing over the fact that Daniel Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and The Undertaker lost for the first time at WrestleMania as Brock Lesnar will now forever be known as the man who broke The Streak.
Bryan had a WrestleMania to remember, pulling a Bret Hart al a WrestleMania X by opening the show and then closing the show, though he one-upped Hart by winning both of his matches. The opening clash between Bryan and Triple H started out a bit slow but ended up being one of the better matches of the night with Bryan hitting Triple H with the Knee Plus and scoring the CLEAN pinfall victory to advance to the main event in a solid opener. (Rating: 4/5)
The main event delivered a mostly dramatic and solid match between Bryan, Randy Orton and Batista as there were moments in the match where it seemed like Bryan was going to lose with near-falls for Batista and Orton. The most memorable spot of the match saw Batista powerbomb Bryan into a modified Orton RKO through the announce table as Orton nailed his back on a monitor.
Interesting stories, myths and urban legends from WrestleManias 21-29
Bryan was stretchered off but would eventually return and win the match. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon made their presence known but Bryan was able to successfully thwart them off en route to making Batista tap out to give Bryan the title.
Confetti rained down on Bryan in a feel-good ending to WrestleMania, in the exact way I felt that they should close the show when I made my predictions. The match was a bit limited as Bryan had to sell his shoulder injury, but it was still a solid main event and a great moment to see Bryan overcome The Authority and win the match. (Rating: 4/5).
I can only imagine how many people would have left if the WWE kept the match Orton vs. Batista in a singles match after The Undertaker lost to Brock Lesnar. The two would have likely had an empty arena match.
Batista tapping and Orton not being involved in the finish leads me to believe it will be Orton vs. Bryan at Extreme Rules.
The only thing that may outshine Bryan's win on Monday morning when people discuss the biggest show of the year was the fact that Lesnar pinned The Undertaker in the middle of the ring, ending the undefeated streak. The stunned silence of the crowd as Lesnar finished 'Taker after hitting his F-5 was memorable. The arena was silent as the camera panned to their shocked faces in what was a great moment as no one could actually believe what they had just seen as it was seemingly a foregone conclusion that 'Taker would win.
Perhaps no one was more shocked to see The Undertaker lose than this fan:
#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/8e8EKG5ijE
— nick pants (@nick_pants) April 7, 2014
Even viewers such as myself at home watching believed there had to have been a mistake and that someone messed up the ending, but it wasn't until the 21-1 graphic flashed throughout the arena and Lesnar's music actually played that the reality sunk in.
I had said in my predictions column that I didn't believe Lesnar was the right guy to end it since he is leaving the WWE after next year's WrestleMania and I felt the WWE should give it to a more established and loyal guy (John Cena), an up-and-comer (Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt) or a legend in his final match (Sting).
One has to wonder if the Undertaker's in-ring career came to an end Sunday night with him going out on his back as most legends do. The Undertaker always wanted to lose The Streak someday, and I believe 'Taker made the final call in having Lesnar go over him. Whether or not it's his last match remains to be seen, but Vince McMahon always wanted to keep The Streak going while 'Taker knew he'd give it up one day and what better stage to do it than at WrestleMania?
It would have been a bit ridiculous for a former UFC Champion to lose to the 49-year-old Undertaker and I also said in my predictions column that I could see Lesnar winning because he is signed to a limited appearances deal and has lost some high-profile matches on pay-per-view and was due for a win. 'Taker is friends with him and respects UFC, so it's not surprising in the aftermath to see why Lesnar did go over.
While I don't think that The Undertaker should have given the onus of breaking The Streak to Lesnar, if 'Taker is in fact the one who decided it should end, who am I to argue with it? The match itself wasn't a classic akin to his bouts with Shawn Michaels, Triple H and CM Punk (though the WWE chose to omit that match in the video package for obvious reasons), it is a contest that will be remembered forever due to the impact of what happened. Paul Heyman will be classic following this win. (Rating: 3/5, extra points for the shock value and historical significance).
I've gone through mixed emotions about the ending as first I was shocked then angry and upset, but the fact that the WWE can still pull a swerve like that in this age is amazing, and it's definitely a moment nobody will forget.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the AWESOME opening segment that saw Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock in the same ring in a promo that ultimately didn't have much storyline impact but was just amazing to see. Hogan screwing up and calling the Superdome the Silverdome was hilarious and became a nice running gag. Seeing those guys in the same ring at a landmark WrestleMania was great.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was a lot of fun and it was a nice ode to Andre. The highlight was obviously Kofi Kingston getting thrown over the top turnbuckle but managing to dangle his feet on the steel steps to stave off elimination. Cesaro was a great choice for the winner as I had my money on The Big Show but it's great to see that they are jumpstarting the Cesaro push. His tossing of Big Show via a bodyslam over the top rope was a site to see. (Rating: 3/5).
The John Cena and Bray Wyatt match was pretty good as well as the WWE continues to have something special in Wyatt due to the fact that the crowd remains in the palm of his hand. His spider walk freaking out Cena during his Five-Knuckle Shuffle was amazing as his in-ring psychology is awesome. While people will be angry over Super Cena beating Wyatt, he still made him look good in the match and was probably the right choice to go over to slowly build up Wyatt as a main event player instead of rushing his push. Match had some slow points but was fun. (Rating: 3/5).
I was very disappointed in the six-man tag featuring The Shield and The New Age Outlaws & Kane as it was rushed and only lasted just over two minutes when I thought it could be a potential show-stealer. I believe injuries to the Outlaws may have been a factor, but at least The Shield --most notably Roman Reigns --looked strong. (Rating: 2/5).
The Divas match was a clustered mess and I felt bad that they had to follow the shocking conclusion to Lesnar and The Undertaker in front of a dead, deflated crowd. However, it was nice to see A.J. Lee retain the Divas Championship even if the stipulation to the match was kind of weird. (Rating: 1/5).
The Usos retaining on the pre-show was a solid match as well and it looks like The Real Americans may have finally broken up for good. (Rating: 2.5/5)
There was no appearance by CM Punk on the show which leads to the conclusion that he is in fact not coming back to the company. While he's definitely missed, the WWE managed to put on a great show without the "Best in the World."
I went 6-2 with my picks including the tag match, with the Cesaro and Lesnar wins being the ones I got wrong.
It remains to be seen how this one holds up in time, however it is definitely a memorable event. There was really no five-star classic match as there has been in past WrestleManias, but there were many above average matches. The Undertaker losing his streak and wrestling in possibly his last match while Bryan finally won the title on the biggest stage of them all in a feel-good ending make this in the conversation for the Top 10 WrestleManias of all-time and easily one of the best and most memorable events in history.
Overall: A
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