Wrestlemania 30 Review: Shock, Awe and Triumph

Well this is it. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Wrestling’s Super Bowl is upon us. WWE didn’t take long to jump into Wrestlemania 30, so we won’t either. Let’s go!

Epic Moment in Time, in the Ring

Hulk Hogan kicks the show off, hitting the ring to a massive pop. He’s pumped up. Like super excited. So much that he thinks he’s back at the Pontiac Silverdome, which he called out by name. The crowd corrects the Hulkster by reminding him that he’s actually in the Super Dome and everyone has a good laugh. Hulk tries to recover when the glass breaks, Austin’s music blares and the crowd goes crazy!

Stone Cold Steve Austin hits the ring and asks the crowd if they want him to see him put the smackdown on Hogan – or something along those lines. Of course this gets a resounding “Hell Yeah!”. Austin doesn’t make Hulk quiver in his boots too hard because he goes into a bit about how much respect he has for everything he’s done in the business. He went as far as to shake Hogan’s hand, and it was genuinely a cool moment. This historic moment gets even cooler when the Great One joins the party.

The Rock comes out and expresses how awesome it is to be a part of this legendary trio. He even spun off an obviously rehearsed rhyme that required so much effort, I swear he popped a vein in his head and immediately started sweating buckets. They ended up saying all their catch phrases and sharing a beer in the ring. All the while I’m waiting for Austin to stun one of them, but it didn’t happen. Bummer but still cool.

Daniel Bryan and Triple H is Now!

Not wasting time here and I like it. Stephanie announced Triple H, who came out to an awesome Medieval-inspired entrance touting a King of King’s theme. Trips got a nice response, but we all know Daniel Bryan’s entrance threatened to blow the roof off the building. I went in calling this the match of the night and my feelings haven’t changed. With that said, this match was very predictable. Bryan got his tail handed to him for the majority of the match. A world-class buttwhipping. At the end he overcame and beat the Game with the knee. Unfortunately, Bryan’s moment of glory ran short because a post-match assault by Triple H left him worse for wear, leaving us to wonder how that shoulder would hold up later.

Next is the six-man encounter pitting the Shield against Corporate Kane and The New Age Outlaws. Poor Road Dogg was only a few minutes into his routine when the crowd started booing and the Shield’s entrance cut his mic out. It was for the best. The Shield made quick work of these guys, and looking back,  I guess we’re lucky this one was put out of its misery early .

A Star is Born

Battle royals are weird. They’re exciting in spots and boring in others. This one was exciting for the most part, mainly because the eliminations were fast and furious. Guys had their moments. Sheamus beat the breast meat off Fandango. Kofi pulled off another amazing feet to stave off elimination. In the end, it was Cesaro picking up the Big Show and slamming him out of the ring to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy. Major accomplishment for Cesaro, who should hopefully be in line for a big push sooner than later.

Cena Does “The Right Thing”

I love everything about the Wyatt Family. The creepiness. The psychopathic promos. And the theme song especially. So I was stoked to see Mark Crozer and the Rels playing their catchy tune Broken Out in Love live. As for Cena, he was all business, storming out to You Can’t See Me, and hitting the ring with tons of adrenaline. This match didn’t live up to my personal expectations, but it was very solid. Just a bit too slow for me in spots. John Cena resisted the temptation of the dark side and pulled off the emotional win without using the chair on Bray. Lucky for him, he got a nice ovation afterwards. He deserved it!

Shock of the Night

We get some hype for the Taker match and I’m still feeling like Brock has no chance. But it’s all about getting there and the ride itself. This was a straight up slobber knocker that saw both guys taking turns delivering the hamhocks. Overall, this match was a disappointment. Not because of the outcome. Just based on previous Undertaker matches at Wrestlemania. I won’t be too hard these guys. It’s tough to follow the classics we’ve seen with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and even CM Punk. As for the outcome, it was Brock Lesnar ending the streak. That’s right. The streak is over and Brock Lesnar is the man they chose to do it.

WOW! I was speechless after this one. For me it was crazy because my stream skipped right as Lesnar got the pin. I’m thinking it would kick in showing Taker kicking out, but nope. It was over. Official. Done. Match lacking aside, I would’ve never in a million times picked Lesnar as the Chosen One, but he did it. So now it’s the end of the streak. Is it the end of Deadman? Has the Undertaker seen his last ride?

When the Vickie Guererro Invitational kicked off, most of the crowd was still stunned silent, in utter shock about the outcome of the previous match. This one wasn’t bad. But not even diva flesh could pump energy into an audience that seemed to have its heart ripped out. I’ll give it to the girls. They had a decent showing and while I was hoping Naomi would come away with the title, I guess AJ retaining isn’t the worst thing. With this out of the way, hopefully she can stop being booked as the worst diva champion in history and stop getting pinned every week.

The Odds Aren’t Enough

I’m not really a fan of Randy Orton’s theme song, but whenever you can get a band to come and perform their track for a guy’s entrance, it’s a big deal. Rev Theory performed Voices to send a cold and calculated Viper to the ring with both belts in tow. Batista came out to a chorus of boos, and much to my chagrin, without his machine gun pyro pop thingy. Daniel Bryan came out leading the WWE Universe in a spirited “Yes” chant with one arm, the other heavily bandaged due to Triple H’s handiwork earlier.

Daniel Bryan was in trouble early, but not nearly in as much peril as he was in when the Authority made their way out to the ring. Triple threat means no rules so as far as interference goes, this one was fair game. Speaking of the Game, his plans of introducing a sledge hammer backfired as he ended up taking his own weapon to the face. Triple H and Stephanie left rather quickly with egg on their faces. Even with those two out of the picture, things got extremely bad for Daniel Bryan when Batista and Randy Orton decided to team up and put an end to everyone’s hero. Looked like they had done just that when a double RKO through the Spanish Announce Table took out Bryan and Orton momentarily. It was a somber moment when the EMT’s put Goat Boy on a gurney and commenced to stretcher him out. But …

Somehow, Daniel Bryan peeled himself off the stretcher and got back into the match! After a chain of finishers that saw Batista wipe out Orton with a Batista Bomb and then eat flying knee, before locking in the Yes Lock on Batista making The Animal tap out! Daniel Bryan your new WWE World Heavyweight Champion!

Thirty years all leading up to this. I guess it’s cool that Daniel Bryan overcame the Authority, had his Wrestlemania moment. But I think what most people will come out of this event talking about is the end of the streak. I’m still reeling over that one. I’m thinking Cena. Rock. Bryan. Just about anyone but Brock Lesnar. Overall, it was a cool show and a big part of me is just happy that I got through it without too many stream problems.

So where do we go from here? Monday Night Raw live from New Orleans!