Last night at WrestleMania 30, we witnessed the beginning of a new era. For the first time in many years, WWE made several new stars at WrestleMania. Among the stars made last night were Daniel Bryan and Cesaro. We also saw The Undertaker's legendary streak go down to the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar. It was an amazing night with numerous twists and turns.
Before I begin, I'd like to mention that I didn't order the show. For the first time in many years, I didn't order WrestleMania. And ironically, the one time I didn't order in the past few years turned out to be the night they decided to push new stars.
Although I didn't get to watch the show, I followed along consistently on Twitter throughout the evening so I have a good idea of how everything was. Despite not seeing it, I could tell one thing from WrestleMania 30 - it was one of the best ever.
A good wrestling show needs several things to be successful. Beyond great matches, a wrestling PPV should be a rollercoaster ride. Surprises, emotion, and drame are just three of those things needed to make an outstanding PPV. Last night, WrestleMania 30 had all of those things and more.
The show started with an awesome moment featuring The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan all in the ring at the same time. This is something that we will likely never see again and it was a perfect way to start the 30th Anniversary of WrestleMania.
The first match on the card was Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H. I felt this was a perfect decision for the opening match. A high profile match starting the show will get the crowd engaged immediately (as if they weren't already by the opening segment). None the less, Triple H and Daniel Bryan were the perfect choice to follow a star studded opening segment.
From what I've heard, Bryan and Triple H had a fantastic match that told a wonderful story. This is no surprise to me as both men are extremely talented in both the wrestling and storytelling areas. The night started off with a shock here as Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H CLEANLY! Yeah, never thought you'd see that did you? From this point on, I knew that WWE was really going with the Youth Movement theme that I discussed in my previous column.
After the match, Triple H beat down Daniel Bryan viciously. Some people jumped and complained at this, but I thought it was perfect. Bryan came into the show as the underdog, then he beat Triple H and overcame odds. So Bryan needed to become the underdog again and no better way to do it then by assaulting him before his main event title match.
Next up, The Shield came out and dominated Kane & The New Age Outlaws. I don't know the exact time of the match, but I've heard it was very quick and that The Shield hit a huge double triple powerbomb on the Outlaws. Some people disagreed with how this was booked because The Shield didn't get much camera time, but I thought it was a good way to do it. It made The Shield look extremely dominant against three veterans. Good move to keep The Shield looking strong on the grand stage.
The trend of new stars winning continued as Cesaro won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. After making it to the final two with Big Show, Cesaro proceeded to lift him up with ease and toss him over the top rope for the win. It was without a doubt a career defining moment for Cesaro as well as the first WrestleMania moment in his career. I expect many more Mania moments in the coming years from this outstanding Swiss wrestler.
After the Battle Royal, Bray Wyatt and John Cena clashed in a match that told a phenomenal story. Cena ended up defeating Wyatt which didn't make me happy. I just don't understand why Cena couldn't have put Wyatt over. Cena is a household name and the kids/family people will love him no matter what. Wyatt defeating him wouldn't have hindered that in the slightest. Although I disagree with the outcome, I don't think Bray Wyatt was "buried" as many are saying. He hasn't even been on the main roster for a year and he competed against John Cena at WrestleMania - if that's buried then I'm sure plenty of others on the roster will want to be "buried" in the future. Once again, I didn't like the outcome, let's hope the feud continues and that Bray gets his win back at Extreme Rules. He was definitely the star of the match.
Speaking of stars, the biggest star of the past 20 years made his way to the ring next for what may have been his last match ever. The Undertaker took on Brock Lesnar with his 21-0 streak on the line. In a shocking turn of events, Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker cleanly to break the streak. So many emotions hit me when I heard that Lesnar broke Taker's legendary streak.
I was shocked yet understood why the Streak ended. I've been expecting The Undertaker to retire any time now and I'm guessing that after last night, he will indeed retire. I'm fine with the Streak ending, but I don't quite understand why WWE chose Brock Lesnar to do so.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Brock Lesnar fan. Loved his first run in WWE during the Ruthless Agression Era, but he's a part timer now. Why not save the Streak being broken for someone who can benefit from it. A new star like Bray Wyatt would have been a perfect candidate in my opinion. Regardless, I can't change the outcome. What's done is done. Who knows - Undertaker could have waited until after the match with Lesnar was booked to break it to Vince that he couldn't wrestle anymore and then they had no choice, but for Lesnar to break it.
I'm sure there is a reason behind this. Whether we will know or not - that's a question left unanswered. I highly doubt that Undertaker would have agreed to Lesnar ending it if he didn't feel he was the right guy to do it. So even though I don't agree with Lesnar being the guy to break it, we all have to accept what happened because it's done and over with. Taker had an illustrious career and will NEVER be forgotten.
The crowd was pretty burnt out after the Streak being broken. The only man able to bring them back to life was Daniel Bryan. Before I discuss the outcome of the match, I'd like to take the time to say how proud I am of Daniel Bryan. I haven't been watching Bryan as long as some, but I've gone back and watched pretty much his whole Indy career so seeing him rise to the top has been absolutely amazing. It couldn't have happened to a better guy. To think in the span of one year, The American Dragon has defeated John Cena, Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton to become WWE Champion is unbelievable. So congratulations Bryan, you deserve this more than anyone. This proves that hard work really does pay off!
Now, the way this match was booked was perfect in my opinion. Bryan looked to be injured and out of the match numerous times, but kept fighting back. He truly is the perfect choice to play the underdog. The more he got beat down only to get back up, the more the crowd loved him. That's been the story of the past few months in his WWE career and was the story last night.
After months of being screwed out of the title, Daniel Bryan finally got his moment to shine and it was great! Hell, he even got to hit Triple H with the sledgehammer and dive onto him and Stephanie! THAT is awesome!
Following a night of twists and turns, there was no better way to end the show than with the most popular guy in the company FINALLY winning the WWE Championship.
After reading through this column, you can probably see why I think this was one of the best Mania's ever, but if not - I'll spell it out for you. This show featured phenomenal storytelling throughout along with several shocks and surprises. On top of that, several new stars were made and it was the beginning of a new era. It doesn't get much better than that!
What did you think of WrestleMania 30? Tweet me your thoughts @StylesClashx on Twitter!
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