From The Network- WWE Wrestlemania XXX

WWE Wrestlemania XXX
4-6-14
New Orleans, LA

You hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL.

Hulk Hogan comes out and welcomes everyone to Wrestlemania XXX and accidently calls the building the Silverdome. Hogan quickly corrects himself and promises some Wrestelmania moments. STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN COMES OUT!!!! Austin asks the crowd if they want to see him open a can of whoop ass and he gets a “Hell Yeah”. He lists off the Wrestlemanias Hogan’s been part of and it triggers off the “What” chants. He shakes Hogan’s hand for everything he has done for the business and he says tonight is about the WWE superstars giving everything that they got. THE ROCK COMES OUT!!!! Rock says his five senses are going wild and says he has come back to Wrestlemania. He mocks Hogan for messing up Superdome and he calls Austin and Hogan the biggest stars in history of WWE. He says guys like John Cena and Daniel Bryan don’t exist without guys like Hogan and Austin. Rock says there are kids being born nine months after Wrestlemania because watching Rock at Wrestlemania made them want to have Rock Babies. All three men sign off with their catchphrases and they all share a beer in the ring. Awesome segment to kick off the show.

Video package for Daniel Bryan/Triple H airs.

Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon vs. Daniel Bryan
Stephanie McMahon introduces Triple H, who has an awesome king themed entrance. The visual of 70,000 people doing the Yes! Chant is also awesome. HHH wants a handshake to start but Bryan kicks it away and rolls him up for 2. Bryan throws some kicks in the corner and HHH bails to avoid anymore. Back in, HHH goes to work on the injured shoulder but Bryan comes back with a dropkick. HHH overpowers Bryan to come back and Bryan hits a knee to the midsection. Both men look for control on the mat and Bryan hits some uppercuts. Shoulders to the gut in the corner by HHH and Bryan fights back with some kicks to the chest. Dragon screw leg sweep by HHH ends that and HHH goes to slam Bryan’s leg off the post but he blocks. Bryan dropkicks HHH off the apron and he hits a Tornado DDT off the apron onto the floor. Bryan goes up and HITS A SUMMERSAULT SENTON TO THE FLOOR!!!! Back in, Bryan covers for 2. Bryan goes up but HHH crotches him and knocks Bryan back to the floor. HHH follows and he takes apart the announce table. He goes for the Pedigree but Bryan blocks so HHH slams Bryan’s injured shoulder off the announce table. Back in, HHH works over the shoulder of Bryan and hits the Divorce Court. Key lock by HHH but Bryan fights out. HHH charges but Bryan low bridges him, sending HHH to the floor. Bryan looks to dive but HHH nails him as he was about to jump through the ropes to block. Hammerlock back suplex onto the apron by HHH and Bryan enters the ring before the ten count. Crossface Chickenwing by HHH and he converts it into the Crossface. Bryan makes the ropes to break so HHH goes back to work on the shoulder. HHH hammers away in the corner and Bryan fights back with rights. They slug it out and Bryan hits a flying forearm knocking both men down. Kicks to the chest by Bryan and he hits two German suplexes for 2. HHH goes back to the Crossface Chickenwing and he then turns it into a release Tiger suplex!!! HHH covers for 2. HHH puts Bryan on top and follows up. He goes for the superplex but Bryan blocks and hits the sunset flip powerbomb. Corner dropkicks by Bryan and HHH comes back with a HUGE clothesline out of the corner!!! HHH goes for the Pedigree but Bryan counters into a jackknife roll-up for 2. High kick by Bryan and he goes up. He goes for the diving head butt but eats knee and HHH grabs the Crossface. Bryan tries to roll through but HHH maintains control of the hold. Bryan finally rolls him up for 2 and he catches HHH in the Yes! Lock. HHH makes the ropes to break!!! HHH goes to the floor to recover and Bryan hits the suicide dive to the floor. A second one by Bryan!!! He throws some kicks to the chest and back in, Bryan goes up. Missile dropkick by Bryan and he throws some kicks to the chest. High kick by Bryan gets 2. Bryan goes for the flying knee strike but HHH catches him with the spinebuster. Pedigree by HHH gets 2!!! Small package by Bryan gets 2. HHH hammers away in the corner and he goes for another Pedigree but Bryan backdrops him with a bridge for 2. Bryan blocks the Pedigree attempt so HHH hits some knees to the shoulder. Bryan escapes a Pedigree attempt and hits a high kick. Bryan escapes a back suplex and hits the flying knee strike for 3!!!!
Winner- Daniel Bryan ****1/2 ( This was an absolutely outstanding match to kick off the show. They made Bryan’s shoulder the focus of the match and it resulted in a great, physical ground based battle. I loved watching Triple H work a more technical match and Bryan was bouncing around like a pinball and made the most of his big opportunity. )

After the match, Stephanie slaps Bryan a few times and HHH attacks from behind. He slams Bryan’s shoulder off the post and he nails Bryan in the shoulder with a chair.

New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) and Corporate Kane vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns)
Ambrose and Kane start. Kane hammers away in the corner but Ambrose comes back with rights. Jawbreaker lariat by Ambrose and Reigns tags in. He cleans house on Gunn and hits a leaping clothesline. Leaping clothesline to Road Dogg and he hits a Samon Drop of Kane. Gunn charges at Reigns but misses and he hits Dogg in the corner. Running boot from the floor by Reigns and he hits the Superman Punch on Road Dogg. Kane goes for a Chokeslam but Rollins breaks it up. Summersault plancha to the floor by Rollins to Kane and Reigns hits the Superman Punch on Gunn. The Outlaws bail so Rollins and Ambrose dive onto them on the floor. Spear by Reigns to Kane and he hits a double spear to the Outlaws. Tag to Rollins and the Shield hit the Triple Powerbomb on the Outlaws for 3.
Winners- The Shield * ( They obviously were short changed on time but the short, three minute squash ended up being better in the long run, as the Shield absolutely dominated Triple H’s lackys and set-up the eventual Shield/Evolution feud perfectly.)

Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan play with toys backstage and Danny Davis is refereeing their match. Ricky Steamboat joins in but someone comes in and takes the toys. Ted Dibiase appears and declares everyone has a price, so he took the toys. Ron Simmons finishes it up with a Damn.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Great Khali dumps Yoshi Tatsu to start. Brad Maddox is dumped out of the ring during mass chaos and Khali dumps Brodus Clay. 3MB dump Khali and they then eliminate Zach Ryder. They triple team Darren Young in the corner and dump him to the floor. Henry clotheslines McIntyre and Mahal to the floor. Slater goes for a cross body but Henry catches him and dumps him onto 3MB on the floor. Show dumps Henry and fights off a double team effort from Del Rio and O’Neal. Show dumps O’Neal to the floor and Santino looks to give Miz the Cobra but Miz blocks. Xavier Woods dumps Miz to the apron and Santino hits the Cobra to knock him off. Del Ri dumps Santino and Goldust low bridges as Cody dumps Sandow to the floor. Big E powerbombs Justin Gabriel to the floor. David Otunga is dumped to the floor and Fandango enzuigiris Big E on the apron, knocking him to the floor. Crowd is doing the Fandango song but he gets caught by Sheamus who clubs his chest. Sheamus shoves Fandango off the apron and Show presses R-Truth to the floor. Xavier Woods was eliminated at some point off camera. Tyson Kidd goes up but Del Rio catches him with an enzuigiri knocking him to the floor. Cody goes to dump Cesaro but he holds on and Del Rio knocks Goldust off the apron with an enzuigiri. Cody goes up but Del Rio shoves him to the floor. Hurricanrana by Rey to Del Rio and he gives Del Rio the 619. Rey goes up and hits a hurricanrana off the top on Cesaro. He goes for the 619 but Cesaro blocks and hits an uppercut knocking Mysterio to the floor. Cesaro presses Ziggler into an uppercut and he presses Kofi to the floor. BUT WAIT!!! Kofi’s feet stayed on the steps and he climbs back to the top rope!!! Crossbody off the top by Kofi to Cesaro and he hits a springboard clothesline to Sheamus. Trouble in Paradise to Del Rio and Big Show. Cesaro blocks Trouble in Paradise and it’s time for the CESARO SWING~!!!!! Rotation Count: 24. Chokeslam by Show to Cesaro. Brogue Kick knocks Kofi to the floor and Ziggler catches Sheamus with a DDT. Del Rio backdrops Ziggler over the top rope and Ziggler tries to skin the cat but Del Rio superkicks him to knock him to the floor. Cross Arm Breaker by Del Rio to Sheamus but Sheamus powers out and both men fall to the floor. It’s down to Show and Cesaro. Show goes for the Chokeslam but Cesaro escape sad hits some uppercuts. Clotheslines by Cesaro but Show doesn’t budge. Show dumps Cesaro but he holds on. Cesaro goes up and leaps but Show chops him on the way down. Show goes to dump Cesaro but he escapes and CESARO SLAMS SHOW TO THE FLOOR!!!!! Show gives Cesaro a handshake after the match.
Winner- Cesaro **1/2 ( The first half of the battle royal was the usual too many men in the ring affair where if you blinked you missed an elimination. Once they cleared the ring, however, the match was quite fun with Kofi having his usual mind blowing recovery spot and Cesaro just looking like a beast. That ending with Cesaro slamming Big Show was perfect. We are three for three on great booking so far.)

Video package for Cena/Wyatt airs.

Bray Wyatt w/Wyatt Family vs. John Cena
Bray Wyatt gets a tribute danced themed entrance with a live performance of his theme song. Wyatt tells John to release his monster and finish him but Cena refuses to go to Wyatt’s level. Cena works Wyatt over with a side headlock to start but Wyatt breaks with a back elbow and knocks Cena down. Dropping head butts by Wyatt and he stomps away on Cena. Back elbow by Wyatt and he works Cena over. Cena comes back with a clothesline and he hammers Wyatt on the mat. Harper and Rowan go to the apron but Wyatt orders them back to the floor. Big boot by Cena and Wyatt comes back with a release suplex. He hammers Cena with forearms on the mat and Cena comes back with a dropkick. Wyatt grabs a sleeper but Cena fights out and begins to clean house. Protobomb by Cena and he looks to go for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but WYATT BEGINS TO CRAB WALK!!! Cena freaks out and it allows Wyatt to hit the Urinage for 2. Avalanche in the corner by Wyatt and he charges again but eats boot. Tornado DDT by Cena gets 2. Cena goes up for the guillotine leg drop but Wyatt catches him in mid-air with a powerbomb for 2. Cena goes for the STF but Wyatt blocks so Cena hits another Protobomb. Five Knuckle Shuffle by Cena and he goes for the AA but Wyatt escapes. Gutbuster by Wyatt gets 2. They fight on the apron and Wyatt hits a DDT onto the apron. Back in, Wyatt gets 2. Wyatt puts Cena on top and follows up but Cena fights him off. Cena dives to the floor onto the Wyatt Family!!! Wyatt follows out and he sends Cena into the steps. Wyatt goes to use the steps but Cena blocks and he hits some rights. Cena goes to use the steps but then thinks about it and drops the steps. Back in, Wyatt hits a back elbow for 2. Back senton misses and Cena hits the AA for 2!!! Cena walks into a shot from Luke Harper and Wyatt hits the back senton for 2. Wyatt dumps Cena to the floor and Cena tackles Harper through the barricade!!! Wyatt attacks Cena and back in, Wyatt goes for Sister Abigail but Cena counters into the STF. Wyatt makes the ropes to break. Sister Abagail by Wyatt gets 2. Wyatt grabs a chair and he gives it to Cena. He wants Cena to nail him and Cena nails Rowan who jumps on the apron instead. Roll-up by Wyatt gets 2 and he goes for Sister Abagail but Cena counters into the AA for 3.
Winner- John Cena *** ( So in this match, the story was Cena being freaked out by the Wyatt Family and Bray Wyatt was playing mind games throughout the course of the match. The selling of the story and some of the mannerisms by both men were outstanding. However, two problems with this match. First, the wrestling itself wasn’t all that good and really didn’t fit in with the story they were trying to tell. They were trying to have the typical trade finisher stuff Cena does in his big matches but it didn’t really fit here and there was no real heat on the false finishes. Second, if for the build of this match Cena has a legitimate fear of the Wyatt’s rather than having a fear of losing his legacy, the story of the match would have meant more. So I liked some of the things they did in this match but to me, the match as a whole didn’t come together as well as it probably should have. )

We see highlights of the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and they introduce the class of 2014.

Video package for Undertaker/Lesnar airs.

Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker
Taker’s entrance has a casket for every man he defeated during the steak, with a new casket placed for Lesnar. Rights by Taker and Lesnar comes back with an overhead belly to belly suplex. He clotheslines Taker to the floor and throws some knees to the midsection as Taker hops on the apron. Lesnar clubs the chest of Taker but Taker snaps Lesnar’s neck off the ropes to come back. Back in, Taker hammers Lesnar in the corner and works over the left arm of Lesnar. He sends Lesnar shoulder first into the pot and he looks to go Old School but Lesnar blocks. Shoulders to the gut in the corner by Lesnar and he charges but misses and hits the post shoulder first. On the floor, Taker works Lesnar over and he hits the leg drop on the apron. Back in, Taker hits the Snake Eyes and goes for the chokeslam but Lesnar escapes. Taker escapes the F-5 and goes for the Yakuza Kick but misses. Taker slams Taker’s leg off the post a few times and back in, Lesnar begins to work over the left leg of Taker. Lesnar stomps on the leg of Taker and they go to the floor where Lesnar sends Taker into the barricade. Back in, Lesnar suplexes Taker and he throws some knees at Taker. Lesnar throws some jabs at the ribs of Taker and Taker catches Lesnar with a DDT to come back. Lesnar charges in the corner but eats boot and Taker hits some rights. Avalanche in the corner by Taker and he hits the Snake Eyes. Big boot by Taker and he hits a leg drop for 2. Chokeslam by Taker gets 2. Taker goes for the Tombstone but Lesnar escapes and hits the F-5 for 2!!! Heyman screams at Lesnar to “Finish Him” but Lesnar takes too long, allowing Taker to catch him in Hell’s Gate. Lesnar powers Taker into a powerbomb to break. Taker catches Lesnar in Hell’s Gate again but again Lesnar powers out of it. Lesnar grabs the Kimura but Taker counters into his own!!! Lesnar makes it to the ropes to break. Shoulders to the gut in the corner by Lesnar and he charges in the corner but eats boot. Taker looks to go Old School but LESNAR PULLS HIM INTO THE F-5 FOR 2!!! Rolling German suplexes by Lesnar and he stomps away in the corner. Punches in the corner by Lesnar but Taker catches him with the Last Ride. Tombstone by Taker gets 2!!! Taker goes for another Tombstone but Lesnar counters into the F-5 for 3!!!!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!! The looks on the faces of the fans and the reaction by Heyman absolutely make this moment. Just a look of shock and amazement by 70,000 people and you can hear a pin drop during Heyman’s victory speech to Brock.
Winner- Brock Lesnar ***1/2 ( I liked this match way more than most people did. I know the crowd was dead for most of the match because of how poor they built Brock up and they had every right to have been dead. However, the match itself was a good wrestling affair with most stiff, ground based action and it never dragged at any point. Undertaker messed up a couple of things and it looked like he doesn’t much left in the tank after this. As for the streak ending, had Brock been properly booked as a monster in the last two years he has been back, I’m sure people would have had no problem with this being the streak ending match. It sucks that the match building up to the moment was so flat, but the pure shock when the ref’s arm counted three still made for an epic moment. If this is Undertaker’s last match, then I personally have no problem with the streak ending and at least anyone going forward who defeats Brock will get a major rub from it as a result of this finish. )

Undertaker gets a standing ovation after the match (except for one idiot yelling you suck). Cool image of Taker struggling to his feet with 21-1 on the screen in the background.

Vicky Guerrero Diva’s Invitational for the WWE Diva’s Championship
All the Divas are in this match. Vickie Guerrero gives a half ass good luck to AJ Lee before the match. The divas circle and attack Tamina and AJ to start. Spin kick by Summer Rae to Emma for 2. The Bella Twins hit a botched double gutbuster on Layla for 2. Slam by Natalya to Fox and a bunch of suplexes are hit at once. AJ pulls Summer Rae into the corner but she walks into the Codebreaker from Emma. The Divas hit their finishes on one another and Eva Marie ends it by shoving Tamina down. Tamina chases her and walks into a facebuster/second rope dropkick combo by the Bella Twins. They dropkick AJ off the apron and HIT TANDEM SUICIDE DIVES TO ALL THE DIVAS ON THE FLOOR!!! Back in, the Bella Twins shove each other and Nicki hits the Torture Rack backbreaker on Brie for 2 as Fox and Layla save. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Fox to Brie but she walks into a butterfly suplex from Natalya. Samoan Drop by Tamina to Natalya and she goes up. Naomi shoves her off and she goes up but Aksana stops her and follows up. Natalya catches them with the Tower of Doom for 2 as Tamina pulls Natalya to the floor. She clotheslines Aksana on the floor but walks into a discus clothesline from Natalya. Octopus by AJ to Naomi and Naomi taps.
Winner and Still WWE Diva’s Champion- AJ Lee * ( After the first few minutes, I was ready to declare this one of the worst matches in Wrestlemania history. It was that bad. Then the Bella Twins saved the match. Yes, that’s a real statement. After their dive, the match picked up and was even a bit exciting. )

Hulk Hogan gets interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff confront him and he says Orndorff lost to Hogan and Mr. T at Wrestlemania I, not him. Orndorff tells Hogan he hears about losing at Wrestlemania all the time and he says he wouldn’t have lost if he had a better partner. Mr. T appears and so does Pat Patterson in the ref shirt. Hogan says it’s time to bury the hatchet and Piper makes Orndorff shake his hand. Piper finally joins in and he even hugs Mr. T. OK that was pretty cool.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship- Randy Orton © vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan
Bryan dropkicks Orton in the corner to start and Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Bryan counters with a hurricanrana. Kicks to the chest in the corner by Bryan to Orton but Orton pulls the arm of Bryan, bringing him down to the mat. Clothesline by Batista to Orton and he hits some shoulders to the gut in the corner. Corner clothesline by Batista and he goes for a powerslam but Orton counters into the Orton backbreaker. He knocks Bryan off the apron but Batista clotheslines Orton to the floor. Batista follows and he sends Orton into the barricade. Orton fights back with head butts but Batista sends him into the steps to end that. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Orton backdrops him onto the steps to block that. Orton sends Bryan shoulder first into the barricade and he hits a hammerlock back suplex onto the barricade. Orton hits a back suplex onto the barricade onto Batista as well. Back in, Orton covers for 2. Orton stomps on every part of Batista’s body and he hits a knee drop for 2. Bryan hits a double missile dropkick and he throws kicks to the chest of both men. High kick to Batista and he goes for one on Orton but he counters with an Exploder suplex for 2 as Batista saves. Powerslam by Batista gets 2 as Bryan saves. Batista stomps away in the corner and Bryan drop toe hold shim in the corner to come back. Corner dropkicks to both men and he puts Orton on top. Frankensteiner off the top by Bryan gets 2. Batista suplexes Bryan to the floor and he goes up. Orton stops him and he follows up. Orton goes for the superplex but Batista blocks. Orton throws some head butts and hits the superplex. Bryan goes up and hits the Flying Head Butt to Orton. Yes! Lock by Bryan but Triple H and Stephanie McMahon come out. Triple H pulls the ref out of the ring as Batista hits the spinebuster to Bryan. He brings out Scott Armstrong (continuity!!!!!) and Batista hits the Batista Bomb for 2!!! Batista charges in the corner but misses and hits the post shoulder first. Bryan kicks Armstrong in the head and Bryan hits the suicide dive on Triple H, Stephanie, and Armstrong!!!! Triple H grabs a sledgehammer and Bryan nails Triple H as he hopped on the apron. Bryan nails Triple H with the sledgehammer!!! He rolls up Batista for 2 as Orton saves!!! Orton dumps Bryan to the floor and follows out. Uppercuts by Orton and he sends Bryan shoulder first into the barricade. Batista with a clothesline on the floor and both men stomp away on Bryan. They take the wrap off of Bryan’s shoulder and Batista drops Bryan on the barricade. Orton nails Bryan in the shoulder with the steps and both men take apart the announce tables. Batista nails Bryan with a monitor and Batista hits a BATISTA BOMB INTO A NECKBREAKER THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE!!!!! Batista clotheslines Orton on the floor and he sends Orton into the barricade as medics come out to tend to Bryan. Batista sends Orton into the post and he sends Orton into the barricade again. Back in, Orton goes for the hanging DDT but Batista backdrops him to the floor to block. Orton trips up Batista and hits the hanging DDT off the apron onto the floor. Bryan is started to be rolled out on a stretcher but Bryan fights off the stretcher and crawls toward the ring!!! Orton sends Bryan into the steps and back in, Orton goes for the RKO but Bryan counters into the Yes! Lock!!! Batista breaks it up but Bryan catches him in the Yes! Lock this time. Orton breaks this time and tosses Bryan down by the hair. Uppercuts in the corner by Orton to Batista and he hits some rights. Batista blocks the RKO and he goes for the Spear but Orton leap frogs him, sending him into Bryan. RKO by Orton to Batista gets 2!!! Orton goes for the Punt but Bryan catches him with the flying knee strike. Batista dumps Bryan and covers Orton for 2!!! Batista hits the Batista Bomb to Orton and Bryan catches him with the flying knee strike!!! Yes! Lock by Bryan and Batista taps!!!! The crowd EXPLODES!!!!!!
Winner and NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion- Daniel Bryan **** ( As a wrestling match, this was pretty good but not an all-time great triple threat match. The magic of this match came with the booking. Bryan overcoming everything the Authority threw at him in this match, surviving the shoulder injury and the table spot, calling match to Scott Armstrong, the ref that screwed him in OCTOBER, it all led to the feel good moment WWE fans have been waiting months for. It made for tremendous drama and one of the best ending sights in Wrestlemania history, with Bryan holding the champion leading the stadium in a Yes! Chant. )

 

The 411: The thirtieth edition of Wrestlemania had everything that makes Wrestlemania the biggest show of the year. Great matches, legendary moments, stars are made, long-term stories are culminated. They celebrated thirty years of Wrestlemania with the opening segment and the Wrestlemania I main eventers backstage segment and launched a new era of stars with Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, the Shield, and Bray Wyatt all getting the chance to shine of the biggest stage. This was an excellent Wrestlemania and will be one that we talk about for years to come.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]  legend