April 8th, 2018
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Attendance: 78,133
Theme songs: "New Orleans" and "Celebrate" by Kid Rock
We made it! It's the final WrestleMania review in my daily series, and more importantly, we are now just 24 hours away from WrestleMania 35.
The last stop in our journey takes us back to New Orleans as WWE gave us yet another main event that nobody wanted. Despite this, New Orleans once again left stunned and never expected a beast to hang on to his gold.
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome was once again selected as the venue after last hosting it in 2014 for WrestleMania 30. That night left a lasting legacy that fans hoped would be the same this time around.
As always, "America the Beautiful" was sung at the start of the broadcast, this time by R&B duo Chloe x Halle. The opening video packaged that followed showed New Orleans' nightlife, which led to the importance of celebrating WrestleMania.
With the stage having a giant mask design for the theme of Mardi Gras, the opening pyro went off, and the festivities were underway.
11 matches were scheduled on the main card, while three were preserved for the pre-show. Once again, fans in attendance were ready for another five-hour show, and like it's been in previous years, it was tiring.
The night opened up with a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship when The Miz defended his title against Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. In a fantastic fight, Seth Rollins swung gold one more time at WrestleMania and became Intercontinental Champion.
Rollins also became the 19th Grand Slam champion in WWE history (meaning he's won every title offered to a superstar).
Randy Orton walked into WrestleMania 34 as the United States Champion and defended his title against Rusev, Jinder Mahal, and Bobby Roode in a fatal four-way match. Rusev was one of the hottest superstars in the company as fans adored his "Rusev Day" gimmick and wanted the Bulgarian to succeed.
Despite the "Rusev Day" chants being as loud as ever, Jinder Mahal ruined the party and ended up claiming the U.S. Title. New Orleans was not happy. At all.
The SmackDown Tag Team Championship was on the line as The Usos were trying to hang on to their gold against The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) and The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston). In just 5 minutes and 50 seconds, The Bludgeon Brothers ran through their opponents and won their first tag team title.
Remember that emotional Undertaker goodbye from the year before? Unfortunately, it wouldn't have mattered when John Cena called him out for a match at WrestleMania. With no response from'Taker, Cena showed frustration when he realized he wouldn't get his wish.
All of a sudden, the lights go out, and the deadman rose to accept Cena's challenge. Cena (who was once superman and a rising star) learned why you shouldn't beg for The Undertaker in nearly three minutes. Cena would lose, and The Undertaker bounced back from his loss the year before.
In 2016, Daniel Bryan was forced to retire due to his concussions issues. WWE doctors didn't want to take the risk of having him severely injured (any further). Bryan fought for years to be cleared to continue wrestling but to no avail. By March 2018, nearly all WWE fans accepted that he would never return to the ring or even wanted him to come back to avoid any further damage.
A few weeks before WrestleMania, a ball was dropped when WWE announced their doctors cleared him to wrestle once again and immediately came out of retirement.
In his first night back as an in-ring competitor, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ambushed him to set their match for WrestleMania.
As Owens and Zayn would have issues with SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon, a tag match was made, which set the stage for Bryan's return.
In the final moments, Bryan made Zayn tap with his Yes Lock submission. Just like the fans who attended WrestleMania 30, everybody inside the Superdome was chanting "Yes" and pointed their arms to the skies.
In the women's division, Nia Jax was best friends with Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss. When Nia caught Bliss body-shaming her, she quickly turned on her best friend and made a challenge for her championship.
At WrestleMania, Nia Jax won her first championship. She sent a nice heart-warming message to those who have suffered from bullying to keep pushing forward and stand up.
At the 2018 Royal Rumble (which I'm proud to say I drove to Toronto from Philadelphia to attend), Shinsuke Nakamura won the annual battle royal to earn a championship opportunity at WrestleMania. Immediately after the match, Renee Young came into the ring to ask the popular Japanese star which champion he wanted.
In a decision that made everybody in the crowd jump for joy, Nakamura selected A.J Styles, a man who he feuded with Japan's famous wrestling company, New Japan Pro Wrestling. The WWE Championship was on the line, and the fantasy match that everybody was hoping for became a reality.
Unfortunately, when it came time for the match, fans were underwhelmed when the two met face-to-face. Due to WWE's wrestling style, which is more complex and tight than other promotions, fans felt Nakamura and Styles were holding back, wanting to break free and be themselves.
Styles retained his title, but when Nakamura extended his hand as a sign of respect, he low-blowed the champion and turned heel in the process. Many felt as if Nakamura should have done that in the match to win the WWE Championship. Their feud would continue for another few months, but fans never forgot how tough their first WWE encounter was.
Finally, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) were defending their Raw Tag Team Championship against Braun Strowman and a mystery partner. Fans speculated for weeks on who the partner can be. Was it potentially Samoa Joe? How about a rookie from NXT?
Instead, Strowman grabbed a microphone and let the world know that somebody in the audience would be his tag team partner. Braun began to walk around in the sea of WWE fans. He pointed to a young individual and yelled out, "YOU!"
That individual would be a 10-year-old kid named Nicholas. Strowman brought the child to the ring, and the match was underway. The "Monster among Men" clearly started the match and began to crush Sheamus and Cesaro. For fun, Strowman tagged Nicholas to a big ovation, only to tag his partner right back.
Strowman would pull out the win, meaning that Nicholas was officially the youngest champion in WWE history. It turns out, Nicholas is the son of WWE referee John Cone. Go figure.
For the final time in my series, it's time to look at the three things that stood out to me from WrestleMania 34.
Streaks die in New Orleans
In 2015, WWE signed Japanese sensation Asuka to NXT, where she became one of the most dominant women in NXT and the entire company.
Asuka picked up her first win in October and would never feel what it means to lose. She consistently won and developed an undefeated streak. Along the way, she became NXT Women's Champion and continued to rack up the wins in every opportunity she had.
Unfortunately, during NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, she broke her right collarbone, which forced her out of action for roughly two months. Because of this, Asuka was forced to relinquish her title and end her reign at 510 days.
When she was medically cleared, Asuka was informed that she wouldn't return to NXT as she was called up to the main roster and continued her winning ways on Monday Night Raw.
At the 2018 Royal Rumble, history was made when Stephanie McMahon announced the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match. The winner would face the Women's Champion of her choice at WrestleMania. Asuka won the opportunity of a lifetime when she last eliminated Nikki Bella to win the Rumble.
When Raw champion Alexa Bliss and SmackDown champion Charlotte Flair confronted her after the match, Asuka held back her decision and would leave everybody on edge.
The following month at FastLane, after Charlotte defeated Ruby Riott to retain her title, Asuka made a surprise appearance on the SmackDown exclusive show and decided. Asuka wanted to dethrone the Queen, and their match was made official for WrestleMania.
The big day arrived, and everybody was ready to see Asuka become champion. Her undefeated streak that dates back to her first day on NXT was at 914 days.
In the closing moments, Charlotte placed Asuka in her figure-eight submission hold. All of a sudden, Asuka began to tap, and everybody inside the Superdome stood up from their seats and yelled in shock.
Just like The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30, Asuka's undefeated streak was over. WWE would continue to put Charlotte on a pedestal, much to the fans' anger in attendance.
After the match, Asuka grabbed a microphone, congratulated Charlotte, and embraced her after the comment.
Charlotte would be seen holding her SmackDown Women's Championship at the ramp, and Asuka would have a hard time climbing up the women's division for the rest of the year (until December).
Moral of the story: if you have an undefeated winning streak in wrestling (or WWE, for that matter), don't have a match in New Orleans.
A 'Rowdy' debut
As Asuka stood between Charlotte and Alexa at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia, contemplating which champion to choose, Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" suddenly blasted in the arena.
When everybody in attendance shifted their focus to the stage, upon reading the graphic that appeared, fans erupted as Ronda Rousey came out and let the women in the ring know she arrived.
Rousey's graphics design was inspired by the colors and logo of WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Ronda also wore one of Piper's jackets in her appearance, which was given to her by his sons. She would adopt the "Rowdy" nickname in honor of one of her biggest heroes in WWE.
Flash forward to the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Triple H and Stephanie hosted a contract signing for Rousey to join the Raw brand and make her officially a member of the roster.
Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, who oversaw the signing, became a little tattletale when he asked Triple H and Stephanie if they were happy to sign the former UFC fighter to say they were in control of her.
Not to mention, back at WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, when Rousey stood in the ring with The Rock, Triple H, and Stephanie, she attacked Triple H and nearly hurt Stephanie. Angle brought up the fact of Triple H wanting revenge from that incident.
Rousey shifted her attention to Triple H and slammed him onto the table. When Stephanie slapped Rousey in response, she quickly ran out of the ring just before Ronda unleashed hell on her.
The following week on Raw, Stephanie let Ronda know that she could choose anybody as her first opponent in WWE for WrestleMania. Without any hesitation, Ronda chose Stephanie as her first opponent.
Trying to avoid the confrontation, Stephanie reminded her that as an executive of WWE, she wasn't allowed to compete in a match. Angle came out stating that in both Triple H's and Stephanie's contracts, they had an obligation to get in the ring when necessary, despite being executives.
And so, a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania was set. It would have Triple H and Stephanie's pairing take on Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle's team.
At WrestleMania, Rousey came out to a massive ovation as she walked down to the ring with a big smile on her face, excited for her first WWE match.
I had my doubts about how Rousey would do in the ring. With her transition from UFC to WWE, I thought she'd have difficulty distinguishing the two styles in the ring. WWE is a combat sport that's more reserved and limited than the more aggressive style she was used to competing in.
I was wrong, so very wrong. Rousey killed it in the ring and was the stand-out in the match. Everything looked natural to her, and that's an excellent sign for somebody who signed a lucrative three-year contract.
She let the world know she was ready to be part of the WWE roster. In the final moment of the match, she grabbed Stephanie's arm and let her know she's not to be messed with.
Rousey put McMahon in her signature armbar, and within a second, Stephanie tapped out. Rousey was victorious in her WrestleMania/WWE debut.
The era of "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey had begun.
Not what everybody wanted
By 2018, everybody had enough of Roman Reigns earning championship opportunities. If you asked a casual WWE fan what they thought of Roman Reigns being pushed as the next big guy, 7 out of 10 times, you'd get a negative response.
Somehow, there was one man who drew the ire of WWE fans bigger than Reigns. Brock Lensar is probably one of the most hated guys in WWE, not for what he does in the company, but what he doesn't do, instead.
Lensar won the Universal Championship from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33. From there, it started a long reign that rarely saw him defend the title throughout the year. Lesnar only appeared in WWE on his terms as he was a part-timer with the company, which angered the WWE Universe.
Fans wanted to see a champion who appeared regularly and be involved in proper storylines, which Lesnar didn't do at all.
At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Roman Reigns won the Elimination Chamber match to advance to WrestleMania to take on Brock Lesnar. For a fourth straight time, Reigns would be main eventing WrestleMania and setting up a WrestleMania 31 rematch.
When you have two individuals, who fans absolutely can't stand, close the biggest show of the year (again), it's not going to be a good time.
That being said, for the first time in probably forever, the majority of fans were pulling for Roman (or at least assumed) to dethrone Lesnar and appear with the Universal Championship week after week.
If there were one thing the majority of fans were in agreement with, they'd instead book Reigns with the Universal Championship around his waist instead of Lesnar's.
The time for the match came as WrestleMania was approaching its fifth hour. Although fans were already exhausted, you wouldn't have known how thanks to the loud and aggressive chants.
"Boring," "this is awful," and other negative phrases were being hurled at the competitors, hijacking the match. It got to the point where a beach ball was being thrown in the crowd. Fans did not give a damn about the match.
As that was going on, Lesnar and Reigns were going head to head. Within a split second, Lesnar took complete control of the match and never looked back.
Near the end of the match, Lesnar got extraordinarily aggressive and began to elbow Reigns' head. In a matter of seconds, Roman was seen bleeding profusely, which began to drip from his head in a disturbing sight. As the blood poured down, Lesnar continued to lay his elbows down, completely losing control.
Lesnar would pick up Reigns and execute his signature F-5 and, in a surprising upset on the night, would pick up the win.
Everybody was ready for that "superhero" comeback from Reigns, which never came. Lesnar grabbed his title with his chest filled with blood and quickly headed backstage.
A year later, in footage released from WWE, Lesnar threw the Universal Championship towards McMahon upon reaching the gorilla position.
The closing image of WrestleMania 34 had Reigns being medically attended and slowly walk up the ramp with his daughter by his side.
Reigns wouldn't get his second big WrestleMania moment, and the Universal Championship continued to be held "hostage" by Brock Lesnar.
Final thoughts
First, if you've read every post from March 4th, or joined in along the way, or even just read one, thank you so much. I can't emphasize enough how happy I am to go through 34 WrestleManias and be reminded of so many great moments, along with learning about new ones.
Yes, there are a lot of terrible memories in 34 years. However, that's easily washed away by many unforgettable moments that gave the word "WrestleMania" its importance.
WrestleMania 34 had its moments but fell flat when you look at the overall picture.
I was very frustrated that Undertaker's moment from the year before was erased when he came out to face John Cena. I thought that Undertaker should have let his WrestleMania 33-moment stand and be notable for history.
Second, as I mentioned, I loved Rousey's match and thought it was the best one of the night. She showed that she could pull her weight in a wrestling match and, in the year that followed, worked exceptionally well with whoever she stepped in the ring with.
As for Lesnar? Unreal. I was shocked and sat right up from my couch when Lesnar left New Orleans with the Universal Championship in hand. Rumors ran around saying he was going to UFC as his contract was expiring.
As soon as he won, news broke that Lesnar re-signed with WWE anyway, which must have triggered Vince to let him keep it and continue what has been a dominant reign.
I understand the frustration with Lesnar and not appearing regularly. However, he's been booked to be such a destructive force. When he appears, he never disappoints in his matches.
After 34 posts, it feels great to say I'm ready to witness the 35th WrestleMania and not only see more WrestleMania moments be created but have my own moments stay close to my heart. Whether it's the best of all time or the worst, I'm ready to go crazy in the stands of MetLife Stadium with nearly 80,000 other screaming fans.
It's been a long 17 years, but I'm happy the wait is finally over.
The dream is here, and I'm ready for it to come true.
Results:
- Seth Rollins def. The Miz (c) and Finn Balor - Intercontinental Championship
- Charlotte Flair (c) def. Asuka - SmackDown Live Women's Championship
- Jinder Mahal def. Randy Orton (c), Rusev, and Bobby Roode - Fatal-four-way match for the United States Championship
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle def. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
- The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) def. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) and The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) - SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship
- The Undertaker def. John Cena
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon def. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (via submission)
- Nia Jax def. Alexa Bliss (c) - Raw Women's Championship
- A.J. Styles (c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE Championship
- Braun Strowman and Nicholas def. The Bay (Cesaro and Sheamus) (c) - Raw Tag Team Championship
- Brock Lesnar (c) def. Roman Reigns - Universal Championship
Rating: C+
Thank you so much for reading in the last month and a half. It's been a fantastic journey. Happy WrestleMania Day, everybody!
1 day away until WrestleMania 35.
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