The Champ is Here Again.
365 days a year and, one night every year, legends and moments are made on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” and, for the 29th year in a row, WWE presents the global sports entertainment juggernaut, WrestleMania as WrestleMania 29 came to you, live on pay-per-view, from the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
One year of turmoil, both personal and professional, has chipped away at the seemingly unflinching John Cena. Drastic changes in his life and career has made Cena more intense and determined than ever before and the sole reason for all of this centers around one man, The Rock, as, ever since last year’s WrestleMania, John Cena’s career has been in a tailspin and the only way, in Cena’s mind, to get back on the right track is by defeating “The Great One” on the grand stage of WrestleMania and taking what The Rock holds dear, the WWE Championship.
After eighteen years, thirteen World Titles, and more memorable matches and moments than a person can count, the legendary career of “The Game” could come to an abrupt and violent end at WrestleMania as WWE COO Triple H puts his career on the line against the ruthless, unforgiving beast known as Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred Match, but “The Cerebral Assassin” will not be alone as his good friend and former tag team partner, Shawn Michaels, will be in Triple H’s corner in the most important match of Triple H’s storied career.
“Disrespect” does not even begin to describe how CM Punk has treated the memory of the late, great Paul Bearer as, for the past month, the self-proclaimed “Best in the World” has done everything from mock the legendary manager to stealing the symbolic urn that Bearer cared for on behalf of his son and client, The Undertaker. Punk even took it way over the line by emptying the contents of the urn all over “The Phenom” and even coating himself in the contents. While the dastardly deeds of CM Punk have certainly angered The Undertaker like never before, has the cunning Punk planted the seeds for a technical victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania? As Punk revealed himself, if The Undertaker gets disqualified or counted out, then that counts as a loss on The Undertaker’s flawless record at WrestleMania! Will CM Punk use this technicality to make the impossible possible by ending the undefeated streak of The Undertaker?
Ever since making his return a couple of months ago, Jack Swagger has been on a tear in the WWE as “The Real American” has been fueled by the desire to “fix” America, all seemingly pumped into Swagger’s mind by the self-professed “Founding Father” Zeb Colter and, in the eyes of Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio is a representation of the illegal immigration issue in America, accusing Del Rio of taking advantage of the opportunities presented to him by the United States of America. After weeks of insulting the champion and breaking the ankle of Del Rio’s friend, Ricardo Rodriguez, Del Rio will certainly be out for revenge when he defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Swagger. Will Alberto Del Rio avenge Ricardo Rodriguez and retain his title or will Jack Swagger take the World Heavyweight Title away from Del Rio and usher in an era of “Jack Swagger’s America”?
In WWE history, there have been some titanic face-offs and there will be another at WrestleMania as two powerhouses will clash as “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback goes one-on-one with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry.
Since their unexpected arrival in November, The Shield has run roughshod over the WWE, taking out countless Superstars and remaining undefeated along the way, but at WrestleMania, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns would encounter their toughest challenge to date as The Shield faces the super-team of “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, “The Viper” Randy Orton, & “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show in a 6-Man Tag Match. Can The Shield of Justice reign supreme in their first outing on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” or will Big Show, Sheamus, & Randy Orton loosen the grip that The Shield has on the WWE?
In a rivalry born out of troublesome relationships in AJ Lee’s past, the WWE Tag Team Titles would be up for grabs at WrestleMania as Team Hell No, Kane & Daniel Bryan, defend their titles against “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston.
The dancing enigma known as Fandango may have picked a fight with the wrong man as, after weeks of attacks on Chris Jericho, Fandango would make his in-ring and WrestleMania debut as he goes one-on-one with the six-time World Champion “Y2J” Chris Jericho.
Also, in an 8-Person Mixed Tag Match, the team known as Tons of Funk, Brodus Clay & Tensai, team with The Funkadactyls, Cameron & Naomi, to face Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins.
Match Results
- Intercontinental Championship: Pre-Show Exclusive: The Miz def. Wade Barrett (c) by submission to the Figure-Four Leg Lock to win the Intercontinental Title.
- 6-Man Tag: The Shield def. Big Show, Sheamus, & Randy Orton by Dean Ambrose pinning Randy Orton following the Spear by Roman Reigns.
- Mark Henry def. Ryback by pin after Ryback collapses under the weight of Mark Henry.
- WWE Tag Team Championship: Team Hell No (c) def. Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston (with AJ Lee) by Daniel Bryan (c) pinning Dolph Ziggler following the flying headbutt to retain.
- Fandango def. Chris Jericho by roll-up.
- World Heavyweight Championship: Alberto Del Rio (c) (with Ricardo Rodriguez) def. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) by submission to the cross armbreaker to retain.
- The Undertaker def. CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) by pin following the Tombstone Piledriver to remain undefeated at WrestleMania with a record of 21-0.
- Triple H’s Career on the Line: No Holds Barred: Triple H (with Shawn Michaels) def. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) by pin following the Pedigree on the steel steps.
- WWE Championship: John Cena def. The Rock (c) by pin following the Attitude Adjustment to win the WWE Title.
Detailed Results
“The Showcase of the Immortals” kicks off with a major league 6-Man Tag Match as the super-team of “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, “The Viper” Randy Orton, & “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show collides with Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns, the dangerous and undefeated trio known as The Shield. Despite dominating The Shield for much of the match, The Shield would manage to regroup and take out both Randy Orton and Sheamus on the outside of the ring, but when Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns try for the three-man powerbomb on Sheamus, Big Show hits a Spear on Dean Ambrose, breaking up the powerbomb attempt. Shortly after this, Sheamus crawls to try and make a tag to Big Show, but Orton takes the tag away from Big Show. Orton then takes control of the match, catching Seth Rollins in mid-air with the RKO, but before Orton could capitalize, Roman Reigns hits a Spear on Orton and, as Big Show watches from the ring apron, doing nothing to break up the pin, Dean Ambrose pins Randy Orton to pick up the win for The Shield. After the match, the super-team immediately falls apart as, after an argument between Big Show and Randy Orton, Big Show levels Sheamus with the K.O. Punch, followed soon by a K.O. Punch to Orton, leaving both men laid out in the ring.
In a titanic clash of two powerhouses, “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback would finally get his hands on “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry as the two super heavyweights squared off at WrestleMania. While Mark Henry would manage to dominate Ryback for the majority of the match, Ryback would manage to fight back, but when Ryback goes for Shell Shocked on Mark Henry, Ryback is unable to deliver the finisher to Mark Henry as Henry grabs the top rope, using it to force his weight down on Ryback, making “The Sin City Cyborg” collapse under Mark Henry’s weight before Henry then pins Ryback for the win! After the match, Mark Henry tries to deal even more damage to Ryback, but Ryback fights back, slamming Henry with a spinebuster before hoisting “The World’s Strongest Man” up and delivering Shell Shocked!
Then it was time for the first title match on “The Show of Shows” as Team Hell No, Kane & Daniel Bryan, defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston, with AJ Lee in their corner. After failing to use the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase to his advantage against Kane, Dolph Ziggler would be dropped with a chokeslam by “The Big Red Monster”, followed up with the flying headbutt by Daniel Bryan as Bryan pins Ziggler to successfully retain the WWE Tag Team Titles.
Then it was time for Fandango to dance his way onto the WrestleMania stage for the first time ever as “The Dancing Enigma” would make a grand entrance with his lovely dance partner as Fandango would go one-on-one with the six-time World Champion and WrestleMania veteran, “Y2J” Chris Jericho. During an intense, back-and-forth battle, Fandango would hit the leg drop off of the top rope, but Jericho would manage to kick out. After avoiding a second and third attempt at the leg drop, Chris Jericho would go for the Lionsault on Fandango, but Fandango would get his knees up and Jericho would land awkwardly on his knee. Jericho then goes for the Walls of Jericho on Fandango, but Fandango counters, surprising Jericho with a roll-up to pick up the upset win in his WrestleMania debut!
Following a live performance from the Grammy Award-winning Sean “Diddy” Combs, it was then time for the World Heavyweight Championship to be decided as Alberto Del Rio, with the still-hobbled Ricardo Rodriguez in his corner, defends the World Heavyweight Title against the self-proclaimed “Real American” Jack Swagger, with Zeb Colter in his corner. During the intense match, Alberto Del Rio looked to have the victory secured, but Zeb Colter would put Jack Swagger’s foot on the bottom rope during a pin attempt, keeping Swagger in the match. Ricardo Rodriguez then makes his way around the ring to Colter, but Zeb kicks the crutch out from under Rodriguez, knocking Ricardo down. Del Rio then jumps to the outside, threatening to hit Colter with a crutch, but Swagger would protect Colter, hammering Del Rio from behind. After both men narrowly made it back in the ring before the referee’s ten-count, Del Rio would catch Swagger with the cross armbreaker, forcing “The Real American” to tap out to successfully retain the World Heavyweight Title.
Then it was time for the undefeated WrestleMania streak of The Undertaker to be put to the test as, after weeks of disrespecting the memory of Paul Bearer, the self-proclaimed “Best in the World” CM Punk, with Paul Heyman in his corner, would go one-on-one with the angry and vengeful “Phenom” The Undertaker. During the intense match, CM Punk would mock The Undertaker by successfully hitting the signature Old School maneuver on its innovator, but when Punk goes for a second Old School, Undertaker counters before knocking Punk to the outside. The Undertaker then goes for a dive to the outside, but Paul Heyman gets on the ring apron, distracting Undertaker long enough for Punk to regain the advantage in the match. Shortly after this, The Undertaker is able to catch Punk with a thunderous chokeslam, but Punk manages to kick out. After exchanging some of their best moves, the match spills to the outside of the ring as Punk takes the Spanish announce table apart. However, The Undertaker catches Punk, attempting to put Punk through the table with the Last Ride, but Punk fights out of it, delivering a kick to Undertaker and laying him prone on the table. Punk then comes off of the top rope with an elbow drop to The Undertaker and the announce table does not even budge an inch! After hitting the huge elbow drop, Punk manages to get back into the ring and, at a count of nine, Undertaker barely rolls back into the ring, keeping the match going.
Punk then crawls over to try and pin Undertaker, but The Undertaker tries to catch Punk in Hell’s Gate. Punk manages to avoid getting locked in the maneuver, countering Undertaker and locking in the Anaconda Vise. Undertaker then stands up with the Anaconda Vise still locked in, trying to deliver another chokeslam to Punk. However, Punk hits the GTS on The Undertaker, but Undertaker uses the momentum gained from catching himself on the ropes to come right back at Punk, drilling Punk with the Tombstone Piledriver, but Punk manages to kick out! After brawling with one another, Undertaker goes for the chokeslam again and, as Punk flails his arms around trying to fight out of the chokeslam, he inadvertently knocks the referee down. Shortly after this, Undertaker goes for the Last Ride on CM Punk, but Paul Heyman hands the urn to Punk, who drives it into the skull of The Undertaker! Punk then goes for the pin on Undertaker as the referee slowly makes his way to try and make the count, but Undertaker kicks out before three! Punk then goes for the GTS on The Undertaker again, but Undertaker counters it into a Tombstone attempt and Punk counters again. Finally, The Undertaker counters the GTS again, spiking Punk with the Tombstone Piledriver to finally put CM Punk down for the three-count, successfully going 21-0 at WrestleMania! After the match, The Undertaker regains the legendary urn, setting it in the center of the ring and getting down on one knee, doing his signature pose and paying homage to the late, great Paul Bearer before Undertaker exits the ring with urn in hand, momentarily stopping on the stage to raise his fist in the air.
After eighteen years in the WWE, WrestleMania 29 could very well prove to be the final WrestleMania for Triple H as an active competitor as, with Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels in his corner, thirteen-time World Champion “The Game” Triple H would collide with the unforgiving beast known as Brock Lesnar, with Paul Heyman in his corner, in a No Holds Barred Match and, if Triple H loses, his wrestling career will be over. It wouldn’t take long for the No Holds Barred stipulation to become a factor as, on the outside of the ring, Brock Lesnar sends Triple H over the ringside barricade before grabbing a steel chair. However, Triple H would clothesline Lesnar off of the top of the ringside barricade with Brock landing on his head. After spending a couple of minutes in the ring, the fight would resume on the outside of the ring as Brock hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Triple H onto the arena floor. Then, without hesitation, Brock lifts Triple H up and drives him through the Spanish announce table with a suplex! Triple H then tries to fight back, but Brock sends Triple H onto the rubble of the broken announce table with a hip toss before dragging Triple H back into the ring. Lesnar then takes his time in picking apart Triple H and, while “The Game” manages to hit the high knee on Lesnar, Brock knocks Triple H right back down. Triple H would continue to try and fight back, but Brock would keep halting Triple H from gaining any momentum by ravishing Triple H with suplex after suplex. After Triple H manages to get a few right hands in on Lesnar, Brock sends Triple H to the outside, right in front of Shawn Michaels.
Lesnar then heads to the outside, backing Shawn Michaels up away from Triple H, but the distraction allows Triple H to take advantage as he sends Lesnar over the ringside barricade. Triple H then uses a steel chair, driving it into the spine of Lesnar before “The Game” rolls Brock back into the ring, but Lesnar still refuses to let Triple H take advantage as Brock hits a German suplex with a bridge on Triple H, but Triple H kicks out. Both Paul Heyman and Shawn Michaels then get on the ring apron, which results in Brock knocking HBK off of the ring apron. Triple H then goes for the Pedigree on Lesnar, but Lesnar counters, hoisting Triple H up for the F-5. Shawn Michaels then gets involved, trying to hit Sweet Chin Music on Lesnar, but Lesnar blocks the kick before putting the Hall of Famer down with the F-5! Triple H then hits the Pedigree on Brock, but Lesnar kicks out, so Triple H retrieves a sledgehammer, but before he can use it, he is caught with the F-5 of Brock Lesnar! However, Triple H still kicks out and, soon, the fight heads back to the outside of the ring. Brock then takes apart the steel steps, using the top half of the stairs as a weapon, driving the steel into the skull of Triple H! The remorseless monster then tosses the larger bottom half of the steps into the ring before bringing Triple H back in before Lesnar uses the larger steps, driving the steel into the shoulder of Triple H, but “The Game” still refuses to quit! Brock then screams at Triple H to “retire”, but Triple H slaps Lesnar across the face, which leads to Brock locking in the Kimura Lock on Triple H, trying to break the arm of Triple H for a third time. However, Triple H manages to break out of the move twice in a row before Lesnar locks the Kimura Lock for a third time, this time seating himself on the top rope and wrapping his legs around the torso of Triple H! “The Cerebral Assassin” then uses his strength to lift Brock up, hitting a modified spinebuster on Lesnar to break out of the hold. Triple H then utilizes a low blow to regain the advantage in the No Holds Barred contest before “The Game” pulls Lesnar to the corner of the ring, slamming Brock’s arm into the steel ring post. Triple H then grabs a steel chair, sandwiching Lesnar’s arm between the chair and the ring post! Back in the ring, Triple H uses the chair again, this time sandwiching Lesnar’s arm between the steel chair and the steel steps!
Triple H then uses Lesnar’s own Kimura Lock against him and, with his client clearly in trouble, Paul Heyman would scramble into the ring, trying to get to the steel chair, but Shawn Michaels would put an end to it by dropping Heyman with Sweet Chin Music! After repeatedly coming close to tapping out, Lesnar manages to stand up with the Kimura Lock still locked in, dropping Triple with a spinebuster on the steel steps, but Triple H manages to quickly lock the Kimura Lock in again before Brock again drops Triple H on the steel with a spinebuster! Determined to break the arm of Brock Lesnar, Triple H locks in the Kimura Lock for a third time and, yet again, Brock stands up with the move locked in, but, this time, Triple H grabs the head of Lesnar, driving Brock’s skull into the steel steps! Triple H then crawls to retrieve his sledgehammer, squarely driving it into Brock’s skull. Realizing that it will take more than a sledgehammer shot to put Lesnar down, Triple H drives Lesnar’s skull into the steel steps again, this time with a thunderous Pedigree! Triple H then pins Brock Lesnar, finally defeating the monster and surviving WrestleMania 29 with his career intact!
Fellow WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel then introduces the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013 as “The Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley, the five-time WCW Champion Booker T, the seven-time Women’s Champion Trish Stratus, the second longest reigning WWE Champion of all-time Bob Backlund, celebrity inductee Donald Trump, and the longest reigning champion in the history of men’s professional wrestling, “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino all take a bow at “The Showcase of the Immortals”.
With a crowd of 80,767 fans packing the MetLife Stadium, it was time for the main event of WrestleMania 29 as the WWE Championship would be on the line in an intense, career-changing rematch as “The People’s WWE Champion” The Rock would defend the most prestigious championship in the history of the sport against the ten-time former champion, John Cena. Throughout the match, The Rock and John Cena would exchange their best moves, even using their opponent’s finishers against them. After kicking out of the Rock Bottom, John Cena repeatedly goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but The Rock continues to counter the move. After dropping Cena with a DDT, The Rock would go for another Rock Bottom, but Cena would counter, finally hitting the Attitude Adjustment on The Rock to pin The Rock and become the brand new WWE Champion for the eleventh time in his career! After the match, the new champion and the former champion face-off in the center of the ring, exchanging words and shaking hands before embracing each other in a show of respect. John Cena then leaves the ring, allowing The Rock to stand alone in the spotlight as The Rock says “thank you” to the fans in attendance before The Rock exits the ring, taking the time to greet his family and the fans in the front row. The Rock then meets new champion John Cena at the top of the ramp as both men salute each other before The Rock raises the hand of the brand new WWE Champion, passing the torch and putting John Cena back into the spotlight on the biggest night of Cena’s career.
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