As ever the talk and fallout from the WWE’s biggest show of the year has been going on since the event but the release of the DVD/Blu-Ray offers an opportune time to take a look back at the show and judge it on it’s own merits.
It’s very easy to be cynical about the build up to the show (as it is to forget that during the attitude era there were many occasions when PPV’s seemed to be booked on the fly in the week leading up to the show) but the WWE had done an effective job of building up the Daniel Bryan situation and the John Cena/Bray Wyatt rivalry. The rest was a little anaemic, but overall it was a show I was quite looking forward to.
After an historic in-ring meeting between Steve Austin, The Rock and Hulk Hogan (which of course wasn‘t the first time the three have ever been in the same ring) the show shot out of the blocks match wise with the Daniel Bryan/HHH match. And for all the cynicism (me included) about HHH’s motives about this match it really couldn’t have gone any better. Bryan could have a good match with a broom, but even allowing for that there is always the possibility of shenanigans from Triple H but he went all out to put Bryan over in the right way in what was a fantastic match. So far so good for the use of Bryan.
Of course The Shield were utilised less meaningfully. Given the fact that they were up against Kane and the relics that had long since outstayed their welcome The New Age Outlaws, I have no complaints about a sub three minute match with a dominant Shield win. In some ways it was a nice nod to the old days when even ‘Mania had a number of such matches on the card. The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale was similar filler, and was a little overcrowded, but for what it was it provided entertainment and a “correct” winner in Antonio Cesaro, who showed off his impressive strength once more with his final elimination of The Big Show.
John Cena and Bray Wyatt were up next and whilst it is tempting to view the match through the internet prism and bemoan the “wrong” man winning, just concentrating on the match itself reveals another compelling encounter that may not have been the “Mania Moment” for Bray that some were hoping for but nevertheless cemented his one-to-watch billing. This was followed by arguably the most shocking match result in WWE history as The Undertaker’s Streak came to a totally unexpected end at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Whilst this Website did indeed put forward the case that the end was coming in the week leading up to the show, I doubt that more than a handful of people worldwide genuinely believed that the part-time Lesnar (who had walked out on the WWE previously) would be picked as the man to end it. As a match it wasn’t very good, certainly compared to the classics that Taker has had at ‘Mania over the last five years and more. A legitimate injury seemed to knock Taker off his stride and that coupled with the fact that it just seemed one match too many for the Dead Man made for uncomfortable viewing. The result will be debated until the end of time; the match was passable at best, notwithstanding the stunning and shocking finish.
The Diva’s couldn’t follow that of course (which was the booking intention) but considering there were 14 women in a match that went 7 minutes it was by no means the embarrassment that we’ve had at times from the Women’s division in situations like this. With the crowd having had chance to catch their breath it was time for the main event as Daniel Bryan and Batista challenged Randy Orton for the World Title. Whilst perhaps not quite managing to surpass the opener, it was still a fantastic main event that, most importantly, gave everyone the ending they had come for. Daniel Bryan holding aloft the title belts as the Champion of the World.
As befitting the Mania experience, the extras are vast. The Pre-Show match pitting the Uso’s, Los Matadores, The Real Americans and Rybaxel against each other for the Tag Team Titles is an entertaining way to kick things off and probably deserved a place on the full card.
The full 2014 Hall Of Fame ceremony is included and for the most part it is entertaining. The best speeches come from Jake Roberts and The Ultimate Warrior, both being emotional and affirming. The latter is particularly poignant now knowing that three days later he would be dead. Less successful is Mr. T’s speech which has to be cut short by Kane. Without that interruption I think he’d still be talking now.
A series of interview and promo’s are also included, with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Stephanie & HHH and John Cena passing comment on the show and their matches. None are essential viewing, but they add to the overall package. The most entertaining and detailed segment is the “Top 30 WrestleMania Moments”. You’ll probably have your own feelings on the list and the order, but that’s half the fun of these things.
Overall WrestleMania XXX was a show where the big moments generally delivered what you would want from the biggest show of the year and although it lulled in places it was never less than entertaining. And with three fantastic matches out of seven, it delivered in the ring when it had to. The overall package is the usual top notch stuff from the WWE and does the “Superbowl of Wrestling” justice. A great value for money set.
– By Matthew Roberts | @IWFICON
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