Whether if you loved WrestleMania 30 or absolutely hated it, one thing is certain after this event - the WWE Universe will NEVER be the same again after this historic event.
Results & Afterthoughts
Pre-Show: The Usos def. Real Americans vs. Los Matadores vs. Rybaxel
I ended up having to watch this after the entire PPV was uploaded online since I was out grabbing takeout for dinner prior to the event started, so I didn't get to see this match live.While I still say it's a damn shame that this match wasn't on the PPV itself, I'm glad these four teams were on the card period. I'm glad to see The Usos retain even though the other three teams have room to grow into a contendership opportunity if they wanted as well, except for the Real Americans...
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| An awesome look at the past eras of WWE to kick off WM30 last night. I felt they could have had Cena there too to represent every era to present day. |
Daniel Bryan def. Triple H
For those wondering, the identities of Triple H's hand maidens during his entrance were Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Alexa Bliss - all members of the BFFs on NXT. This was EASILY my favorite entrance for the King of Kings at WrestleMania.
This match was absolute perfection - the pacing, the momentum, and most importantly the energy from the live crowd from start to finish. And to think CM Punk turned down this opportunity... He can sit at home and rot for all I care. He missed out the opportunity to shine for a lifetime. This match was just as important, no more important than the main event itself. Triple H went out there and went toe to toe with one of the arguably best pure wrestlers alive, Daniel Bryan, and neither Superstar didn't skip a beat for an instant.
Sadly, my favorite parts of this match came from Stephanie McMahon's taunting and shouting at ringside. Seriously, someone needs to have her either on commentary or at ringside for every match that involves the Authority.
The Shield def. Kane and The New Age Outlaws
This was a squash match - not joking in the least here, folks.
Kane and NAO got little to no offense in this match as The Shield pummeled them into oblivion and delivered a double triple avalanche powerbomb on Billy Gunn and Road Dogg to win.
I know the fangirls were too busy raving about the facemasks The Shield were wearing that they possibly got on sale from TNAShop.com that has all of that Aces & Eights merchandise that they have been wearing for the past year and a half prior to their "funeral", but I felt that The Shield deserved a longer WrestleMania appearance than this. I tip my hat to Kane and NAO willing to take the dive, but geez...
I know the fangirls were too busy raving about the facemasks The Shield were wearing that they possibly got on sale from TNAShop.com that has all of that Aces & Eights merchandise that they have been wearing for the past year and a half prior to their "funeral", but I felt that The Shield deserved a longer WrestleMania appearance than this. I tip my hat to Kane and NAO willing to take the dive, but geez...
Antonio Cesaro wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Very well deserved for Antonio Cesaro. Mad props for Ring of Honor showing their appreciation to their former alumni today as well, praising the former Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), Tyler Black (Seth Rollins), and Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro) for their wins at WrestleMania last night.
I felt really bad for Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler though. Both Superstars weren't able to make a mark on the grandest stage of them all. I'm surprised Kofi didn't break both of his ankles off that stunt though.
When the match came down to Cesaro and The Big Show, I figured The Big Show was going to put Cesaro over. He's stated on interviews in multiple occasions that his win/lose ratio doesn't mean anything to him as he's more interested in putting the new guys over at this stage of his career. Show already had some impressive eliminations prior to this, so I didn't have a problem with Cesaro landing a Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant-style victory over The Big Show.
John Cena def. Bray Wyatt
Much like Triple H's entrance, I LOVED the live musical performance for The Wyatt Family.This was a great match from start to finish. This was easily the best part of the match, thanks to Bray Wyatt.
(Facepalms) I wish the Cena haters would STFU about Cena's win here "buried" Bray Wyatt. John Cena lost in three PPV matches prior to WrestleMania, including TLC during the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, Royal Rumble in the rematch for the unified title, and Elimination Chamber where he failed to reclaim the title, thanks to the inference of the Wyatt Family. So exactly why are people whining and still saying that Cena wins all the time? Get your damn facts straight before you complain about the guy. I'm not the biggest fan of Cena either, but he has my respect. Bray Wyatt is already insanely over with or without the victory here, so I can live with Cena coming out on top. The thing that people aren't taking away from this match is the fine art of storytelling within it. Bray Wyatt taunting and pushing Cena's buttons to unleash the monster as if he was Bruce Banner being coerced into changing into the Incredible Hulk by villainous Leader.
Guys, stop your worrying. Without a shadow of a doubt, Bray Wyatt is a main event player.
Brock Lesnar def. The Undertaker
Without a shadow of a doubt, this was easily the biggest shocker in the night.
As I'm writing this article, I'm STILL in denial. After the match, I talked with my best friend, who couldn't watch the event live since he's serving the military while stationed in Japan for the next three year, and he reminded me of how we used to joke about Brock Lesnar being the one who would end The Streak. It's just so damn surreal. It's rare moments like this why I love being a fan of professional wrestling that catch you completely off-guard.
About the match itself, I have to say it was pretty mediocre compared to his last five bouts. Like Jim Ross tweeted last night, classic mat wrestling is a lost art only to old school wrestling fans, but Triple H, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker proved that statement false. Taker looked good physically, but his ringwork (along with that clumsy mofo Lesnar) looked VERY sloppy in this match. He never revolved his offense around multiple Snake Eyes in the past and the repeated rest holds were bothering me from the start.
Unlike everyone else, I'm NOT pissed off that The Undertaker lost to Brock Lesnar, i.e. a "part-timer". Why should I be? The Undertaker is a part-timer himself. When Shawn Michaels lost during both of his challenges to the Streak, I honestly thought that no one else would end The Streak, even though Triple H came VERY close and Taker hasn't been the same since that savage beating. That being said, Taker has been on borrowed time. CM Punk didn't provide a legitimate threat to The Streak last year and after how the build for this year's match was portrayed, I didn't think Lesnar had a shadow of a chance to walk away the winner, especially with all of the speculation and talk about Sting vs. The Undertaker was pretty much set in stone for WrestleMania 31. It was just so shocking that The Undertaker's legacy would end here.
If his match against Sting is still on for WrestleMania 31, I suppose it would make for a much more interesting contest given that The Streak isn't in the equation for making the match predictable.
If I'm perfectly honest, I was fine with Lesnar ending the Streak as Taker, who is one of the Superstars that WWE built from scratch in the Ruthless Aggression era, along with John Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton. I personally felt it HAD to be one of those guys to do it, if the Attitude Era alums weren't going to get the job done, just like how The Rock was deemed appropriate to put Hulk Hogan down at WrestleMania X8.
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| The expression on millions of faces within the WWE Universe last night. |
I have been getting a kick out of everyone's reaction stories when Taker lost, so I will gladly share my own. I was live tweeting and chatting with several friends via instant messaging and over Facebook during the show when Lesnar hit that third F-5. I turn away from my desktop to check Twitter on my laptop, thinking "Taker's going to kick out from that one... there's still a few minutes left here..." Then I hear the count, "1... 2... 3!!" Immediately, my heart drops into the pit of my stomach, along with the laptop on my lap dropping to the floor (fortunately, onto the carpet...) - I'm in that much shock from what has transpired. I utter the words, "Oh... my... god..." as I notice both my News Feed on Facebook and Home on Twitter explode with comments simultaneously.
AJ Lee def. 14-Divas to retain the Divas Championship
I felt bad for the Divas having to go after The Streak being ended (I would've booked that squash of Kane & NAO to go after The Streak if I were doing the booking...), but I lost my sympathy when the reigning champion's offense was EXACTLY 2 moves the entire match to retain. I've had people give me bullshit excuses, such as "there's 13 other Divas" or that was all she could fit in a match like this, but I GUARANTEE that if it were anyone but AJ holding that title, people would bitch about it for not putting in offense in this match. Tamina got more offense in this match than AJ and she's didn't show a hint of the possibility that she wanted to win the Divas title for herself. (Throws hands up in the air)The Bella Twins and even Eva fucking Marie showed more drive to attempt to do something in this match. Give me a damn break.
I would apologize to the several individuals I went off on social media and instant messaging after this match, but no, I'm done sugarcoating this complete denial that AJ's fans have that she does no wrong in the ring and is completely flawless. Everyone else can walk on eggshells when talking about her in reference to women's wrestling but I'm straight up done with that. Praise and worship her blindly all you want, but AJ Lee continues to bore me as the so-called "savior" of the Divas division.
Sadly, the Divas tried to put on a good effort but that crowd was still in shock after Taker's loss. I enjoyed the Tower of Doom and musical finishers spots. Seeing the Bellas do a double suicide dive out into the masses at ringside was a treat too. I really wish Diva fans would give them some props, they have come a long way in terms of in-ring ability over the past year. I'm not saying this match was great per say, but at least it wasn't a complete clusterfuck like that mess at Survivor Series was last year.
I would apologize to the several individuals I went off on social media and instant messaging after this match, but no, I'm done sugarcoating this complete denial that AJ's fans have that she does no wrong in the ring and is completely flawless. Everyone else can walk on eggshells when talking about her in reference to women's wrestling but I'm straight up done with that. Praise and worship her blindly all you want, but AJ Lee continues to bore me as the so-called "savior" of the Divas division.
Sadly, the Divas tried to put on a good effort but that crowd was still in shock after Taker's loss. I enjoyed the Tower of Doom and musical finishers spots. Seeing the Bellas do a double suicide dive out into the masses at ringside was a treat too. I really wish Diva fans would give them some props, they have come a long way in terms of in-ring ability over the past year. I'm not saying this match was great per say, but at least it wasn't a complete clusterfuck like that mess at Survivor Series was last year.
Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton vs. Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
I still say Daniel Bryan should have been through after this spot...
(Laughs) I guess one of the medics gave Bryan a sensu bean to give him the edge to win last night.
The Main Event was great - nothing else can put that statement into words. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon played their roles in this match briefly, allowing Batista and Randy Orton to take over in the driver's seat until Daniel Bryan took us all home. I'm still under the impression that Bryan's win was "damage control" after The Streak ending. I had several friends who were at the show and mentioned that security was being increased after the tension got ugly after Taker lost. If Bryan loses the title tonight on RAW, especially against Triple H, then that's just going to be even more proof of that situation.
It's a celebration at #WrestleMania https://t.co/eKyZa4C0iL
— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2014
Missed the show and want to check it out? Look no farther than here.
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