WrestleMania XXX

-From New Orleans

-Hosts are Cole, King, & JBL

-Pre-Show Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Usos [c] VS Real Americans (w/Zeb Coulter) VS Rybaxel VS Los Matadores (w/El Torito)

-FIRST FALL: Rybaxel have new mixed music that's nothing special. It's a little odd to see Los Matadores in this match after they spent months after their initial push not being on either of the main shows. Axel starts with one of the Usos, who takes him down right away with a headlock. Axel gets Uso to the ropes, then loses a chop exchange. He goes to tag the RAs, but they both drop off the apron to avoid it. Axel soon hits a dropkick, and tags in Ryback. Ryback decides to talk shit instead of go on the attack, and takes a shot to the throat. Ryback comes right back with a big boot, but then stops to talk shit again, allowing Diego to tag in and get a two count. Diego avoids an Uso double team, then gives the legal Uso an "Ole!". Fernando gets in and locks on an arm bar, but that gets broken up, and Cesaro tags himself in. Cesaro hits Fernando with an uppercut, then he & Swagger hit a couple double teams to get a near-fall, as the crowd rallies behind them. Everyone but the Matadores end up on the floor, and they hit stereo dives.

Torito looks to follow up, but gets cut off by Axel, who tries to dive. He gets caught and held in place by Los Matadores, and Torito dives in (taking two attempts to do so) to send them onto the other guys on the floor. Back in, Swagger gets one of the Matadores in the Patriot Lock for the submission.

SECOND FALL: Swagger quickly gets the Lock on one of the Usos, but he escapes, and Axel tags himself in. Axel hits Uso with a knee to the gut and slugs away before tagging in Ryback. Ryback hits a delayed suplex for two, then a slam followed by a splash. Axel gets in and follows with a flying axe handle to the gut for two, and it's officially face-in-peril time for the Uso. Ryback drives several knees into his back for two, then slaps on a chinlock, using Uso's own arm against him. Uso escapes and avoids a charge in the corner, causing Ryback to hit the post and spill outside. Axel and the other Uso get in, and Uso takes over, hitting a throw into a Samoan Drop followed by the ATM. Swagger gets a blind tag, and prevents the Flying Uso with a spinebuster for two. Uso blocks the Swagger Bomb with a boot to the face, then Ryback gets in, hitting both Uso and Swagger with spinebusters.

Ryback clocks Swagger with the Meathook Clothesline and look to finish, but Cesaro stops that. Ryback runs right into SWISS DEATH, then Cesaro finishes him with the Neutralizer.

THIRD FALL: The two teams have a catchphrase-off, then the champs clean house before hitting stereo Flying Usos. The crowd chants "This is Awesome", and that's before Cesaro catches a flying Uso and hits a tilt-a-whirl back breaker. Uso counters the Neutralizer into a rollup for two. Cesaro Swing gets countered, but Cesaro takes out the other Uso with an uppercut. Cesaro tags Swagger, but Uso ducks a double clothesline and hits a Whisper in the Wind. Swagger avoids the ATM and gets the Patriot Lock, but the other Uso gets around Cesaro and breaks it up with a superkick. Cesaro takes that Uso out with Swiss Death, but then takes a Samoan Drop, and everyone is down. Cesaro misses a running boot and gets sent into Swagger, before turning into a double super kick, followed by a double splash for the pin.

***, a pretty fun opener that picked up when it was down to two teams, and it had the right finish. I'm 1-0 on my predictions so far.

-Swagger berates Cesaro, blaming him for the loss, then slapping on the Patriot Lock. Zeb gets him to break, but then Cesaro gets Swagger in the Cesaro Swing to a big pop and turn face. Zeb's reaction to it all is awesome.

-No "America the Beautiful" this year. Is this the first time ever?

-Hulk Hogan comes out to "host" the show, and immediately blows a line by referring to the Superdome as the "Silverdome". He's interrupted by Steve Austin, who pokes fun of Hogan's flub before nearly flubbing his own lines. Austin teases opening up a can of whoop-ass on Hogan, but then decides to talk about how awesome Hogan was instead. The Rock then joins in to talk about how awesome both Hogan & Austin were (while also getting his own shot in for the "Silverdome" flub), followed by some beer drinking. That's the first 25 minutes of the show.

-A pretty great video chronicling Bryan's rise to the top sets up the first match.

-Stephanie introduces Triple H, who gets an awesomely over-the-top entrance.

-Match 1 for the Third Spot in the Main Event: Triple H (w/Stephanie) VS Daniel Bryan

-HHH offers a handshake, but Bryan kicks it away and gets a schoolboy for two. Bryan lands some kicks, then HHH ducks a high kick and bails. HHH tries going to the bad shoulder, but Bryan hits a knee to the gut and slaps on a headlock. HHH gets out of that, and chop blocks Bryan before trying to go back to the shoulder. Bryan cuts that off and sends HHH outside before following with a tornado DDT to the floor. Bryan goes up and hits a dive, injuring himself in the process. HHH goes on the attack and tries a Pedigree on the announce table. Bryan fights that off, but HHH yanks on the bad arm, sending Bryan crashing onto the table. Bryan rolls in at 7, and HHH swoops in, hitting an arm takedown before locking in a version of Nigel McGuiness' London Dungeon. Bryan starts to fight out, but HHH cuts him off with a knee to the gut. Bryan low-bridges HHH to send him outside, but HHH cuts off a suicide dive with a punch to the face.

HHH hits a belly-to-back suplex onto the apron, with Bryan's arm locked behind his back. HHH gets a crossface, but Bryan makes it to the ropes. HHH pounds away in the corner, but Bryan fights back, winning a slug fest and hitting a forearm to the face. HHH steps back to prevent Bryan from back-flipping over him, but Bryan reverses a waistlock, and hits a couple German suplexes for near-falls. HHH counters a third suplex, then locks on a Crossface Chicken Wing, which I don't think he's ever used before. Bryan breaks that, so HHH busts out a release tiger suplex, another new move for him. Steph talks shit, and HHH gets a cover for two. HHH sets Bryan up top, but Bryan fights off a superplex attempt, turning that into a sunset bomb.

Bryan hits two running corner dropkicks, but a third is countered by a vicious clothesline that knocks Bryan for a flip. Bryan blocks a Pedigree, and gets a jackknife pin for two, followed by a buzzaw kick to the head. Bryan goes for a swandive headbutt, but HHH lifts his knee to counter. HHH gets the Crossface again, and Bryan almost passes out before countering into a rollup for two, then the YES lock. HHH hangs on and makes it to the ropes, doing a GREAT sell of a combination of being in pain and trying to avoid the embarrassment of tapping out after all he's said and done to Bryan. HHH rolls outside, but he's not safe, as Bryan hits two suicide dives followed by some kicks to the ribs. Bryan rolls HHH back in and follows up with a missile dropkick, hurting his shoulder in the process.

Bryan kips up and hits more kicks to the chest, finished off by a buzzsaw kick for two. Bryan goes for the running knee, but HHH counters into a spinebuster, followed by the Pedigree for two. HHH walks into the INESCAPABLE SMALL PACKAGE for two. HHH pulls Bryan into a corner and slugs away, stopping just before he gets DQ'd. Bryan counters a second Pedigree into a pin for two. HHH hangs on, but Bryan keeps blocks, so HHH lets go and drops some knees to the side of the head. Bryan escapes another Pedigree attempt, and hits a roundhouse kick to the head. HHH ducks another buzzsaw kick and goes for a belly-to-back suplex, but Bryan rolls out, and hits the running knee for the pin.

****1/2 I loved this match, with Triple H wrestling a Daniel Bryan-style match instead of forcing Bryan to wrestle HHH's formula, which usually includes slow and uninteresting heat segments in HHH's favor. 2-0 on my predictions so far.

-Steph slaps Bryan a couple times, which Bryan no-sells, but they do allow HHH to clobber Bryan from behind and hit a chair shot to the bad shoulder.

-Match 2: Kane & The New Age Outlaws VS The Shield

-The Shield cut off Road Dogg's pre-match promo, and their terrorist masks are pretty bad ass. Ambrose & Kane start it out with a slug fest, and Ambrose hits a rebound lariat before tagging in Reigns. Reigns runs through both Outlaws before hitting a Samoan Drop on Kane. Reigns takes care of both Outlaws again before hitting the floor-to-apron kick on them both. Reigns hit a Superman punch on Road Dogg. Kane blocks it when Reigns tries it again and goes for a clothesline, but Rollins breaks that up, then hits a dive onto Kane. The Shield get Gunn by himself, but Road Dogg saves, so Rollins & Ambrose hit stereo suicide dives. Reigns hits a spear on Kane, followed by a spear on both Outlaws. The Shield hit a triple powerbomb on both Outlaws at the same time, and Rollins pins Gunn to end the massacre. "There goes the Attitude Era" says JBL. Well that's not how I thought this was going to go.

SQUASH, and a pretty effective one at that. I am pleasantly surprised, as I thought the Shield were losing to set up a split. 2-1 on my predictions.

-Jim Duggan & Sgt. Slaughter play with toys as DANGEROUS DANNY DAVIS refs. Steamboat enters to challenge Duggan, but the play set is taken away, having been purchased by Ted DiBiase. Ron Simmons has one thought on the whole situation.

-Match 3: Andre the Giant Memorial 30 Man Battle Royal
-Only Big Show & Sheamus get entrances. It's a typical battle royal with not much interesting happening as the dead weight takes its time getting eliminated. Cute bit as Fandango eliminates Big E, then dances along the apron until he's caught and clubbed about fifty times by Sheamus, who then casually shoves him to the floor. Rey literally prays to Show to avoid getting tossed, and Show warns Rey to watch his step. ADR eliminates both Rhodes Brothers, but then falls victim to a 619. Rey tries it on Cesaro, who blocks then end up countering a springboard with an uppercut to eliminate Rey. Cesaro hits Swiss Death on Ziggler, then alley-oops Kofi out over a corner...but Kofi's feet catch the steps, and he manages to stay in. That's just awesome, and Kofi's best "do something wacky to avoid elimination from a battle royal" spot so far. Kofi quickly falls victim to the Cesaro Swing, but then Cesaro turns into a chokeslam from Show.

Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick on Show before eliminating Kofi. ADR backdrops Ziggler to the apron, then hits a low superkick to the face to eliminate Ziggler when he tries skinning the cat.

FINAL 4: Sheamus, Del Rio, Big Show, & Cesaro. ADR gets Sheamus in the cross-arm breaker, but Sheamus pulls him up, and they both end up tumbling out over the top. Cesaro can't quite clothesline Show out and gets tossed to the apron. Cesaro tries a flying uppercut, but takes a chop to the chest on the way down. Cesaro slides out of a slam, hits an uppercut, and SLAMS SHOW OUT OVER THE TOP. That's how you make a star right there folks.

**1/2 This was pretty boring until it got down to the final nine or so, then it got really good, especially the finish. Who would have thought Cesaro would be getting a big spot like this at this time last year when he couldn't buy a win?

-Show gives Cesaro some props, then Cesaro holds up the trophy, which the announcers point out took five officials to put in the ring. I'm now 3-1 on my predictions.

-There are French announcers here tonight. No Chinese announce table though.

-Another choice video package, set to "Legacy" by Eminem hypes Cena/Wyatt.

-Match 4: Bray Wyatt (w/Luke Harper & Eric Rowan) VS John Cena

-Wyatt gets a voodoo priestess AND a live band for his entrance. FUN FACT: This is Cena's first non world title and/or main event match at WrestleMania since XX, when he opened against Big Show for the U.S. title. Wyatt offers himself up as a sacrifice if it means Cena will become a monster, but Cena refuses. Cena avoids an avalanche and gets a headlock takedown. Wyatt fights out and slugs Cena down before going to work in the corner. Wyatt slugs Cena down again, then follows up with headbutts and stomps. Wyatt hits his FAT GUY OUTTA CONTROL cross-body, then talks some shit before driving an elbow onto Cena's forehead. Cena counters an avalanche with a pretty stiff clothesline, and Cena looks ready to kill, jumping onto Wyatt with punches before digging at his face, which only brings laughter from the crazy swamp man. Cena stomps away in the corner, then Wyatt calls off the dogs when they look ready to help him.

Cena hits a forearm to the head, and follows up with a big boot before staring down Rowan & Harper. Cena takes time to question what he's doing as Wyatt taunts him, and that allows Wyatt to hit a mule kick to the gut and a throw. Cena ducks a clothesline, and hits a dropkick, but Wyatt comes right back with a sleeper. Cena gets out, and Wyatt switches to a chinlock. Cena gets out of that too, and hits a couple flying shoulder blocks followed by a blue thunder bomb. Cena goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Bray spider walks, which freaks Cena out. Rowan distracts Cena, allowing Wyatt to hit a urinage. Wyatt conducts the crowd as some of then sing "He's Got the Whole Wide World, In His Hands" before hitting an avalanche.

Cena hits a DDT out of nowhere for two, but again gets distracted by Rowan as he climbs the turnbuckles, which allows Wyatt to turn the flying Rocker Dropper into a powerbomb for two. Wyatt kicks out of an STF attempt, but walks into the blue thunder bomb and Five Knuckle Shuffle for two. Wyatt fights out of the AA, and hits a fancy gutbuster for two. Wyatt slides out of another AA attempt on the apron, and hits a DDT before pulling Cena to the center and getting two. Wyatt works Cena over some more, but Cena blocks a superplex attempt and headbutts him down before hitting a plancha onto Rowan & Harper.

Wyatt runs outside and stomps Cena before sending him into the steps. Wyatt tries to crack Cena with the steps, but Cena cuts him off and rams him into the post. Cena gets the steps and almost cracks Wyatt, but opts to throw then down instead. Wyatt hits another cross-body for two. Cena avoids a back splash, and hits the AA for two. Rowan distracts the ref, allowing Harper to kick Cena in the head, leading to a successful back splash for two. Wyatt throws Cena outside, where Harper stalks him. Cena sees Harper coming, and spears him through the barricade. Wyatt goes after Cena, then yells at Harper to get up. Back in, Cena counters Sister Abigail and gets the STF, but Wyatt gets to the ropes.

Cena walks right into Sister Abigal for two, and Wyatt has no idea what to do now. Wyatt opts to prep the Spanish announce table, then grab a chair. Wyatt slides the chair to Cena and again offers himself up as a sacrifice, but again Cena refuses the offering. The ref actually pleads with Cena not to use the chair. Cena cracks Rowan, and Wyatt gets a schoolboy for two. Wyatt goes for Sister Abigail, but Cena powers out and hits the AA for the pin.

**1/2 I appreciate the story they were trying to tell and the fact that this is but chapter one in that story, but this never got out of second gear. I'm now 4-1 on my predictions. I fully expect Wyatt to win the rematch at Extreme Rules.

-Cena celebrates with his brothers and father, then Rock's mom. Not like that you pervs.

-A video recaps the Hall of Fame induction, then the inductees are brought on stage and introduced by Fink.

-Daniel Bryan gets looked at by trainers.

-The UT/Brock hype video is carried, like the feud, by Paul Heyman.

-Match 5: Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) VS The Undertaker

-UT's entrance with the labeled coffins is cool, but not nearly as great as last year's. UT gets the early jump, and slugs away until Brock scores with an overhead throw. Brock knocks UT out over the top, but UT lands on his feet. Brock pounds on UT as UT stands on the apron, but UT hangs him up on the top rope to turn the tide. UT slugs away in the corner, then rams Brock shoulder-first into the post. Brock prevents Old School, but misses a charge and again hits the post. The crowd is oddly silent for this so far. They go outside where UT kicks the bad arm and punches Brock in the face. UT hits the apron legdrop, followed by Snake Eyes. Brock slides out of a chokeslam, but UT does the same to an F5, and sends Brock into the corner. UT misses a running boot in the corner and gets crotched on the top rope, allowing Brock to go after his leg.

Brock methodically pounds away, and this match is dying a slow, painful death. Brock slugs away with body blows, but then lowers his head, allowing UT to hit a DDT and wake the crowd up momentarily. UT makes his comeback, and hits a chokeslam for two. Brock comes right back with an F5 for two. UT catches Brock walking in with Hell's Gate, but Brock fights it and hits a powerbomb to escape. Brock pulls UT to the center, and gets caught in Hell's Gate again before breaking it with a powerbomb again.

Brock gets a kimura, but UT reverses into one of his own. Brock takes UT down, but UT hangs onto the hold. Brock holds on, and makes it to the ropes. Brock charges into a boot, but then counters Old School into an F5 for two. Brock hits a couple German suplexes, but is too tired to follow up right away. Heyman tries to fire Brock up, and you can hear everything he says because of the lack of crowd noise. Brock pounds away in the corner, but stupidly goes for mounted punches, leaving himself open for a sloppy Last Ride. UT hits a way-too-protected tombstone for two, and looks to finish with another, but Brock hits a third F5...FOR THE PIN?! The crowd is STUNNED to say the least, as was I and everyone I watched the show with. The announce team way undersold the moment, with Cole rather matter-of-factly stating "the streak is over" at the three count.

* Everyone can, and will, debate the outcome, but what is beyond debate is that this matched sucked a fat one. It had zero heat because no one gave Brock a shot going into it, and the build going into it was nothing. A weak match and angle for UT to go out on. I can see the argument that giving the rub to a part-time guy is a huge waste, but I can also see the argument some have made on DVDVR that it's a good idea that if the streak has to end, then to put that on someone who doesn't have the pressure of living up to being the "one".

-UT gets a standing ovation, aside from one guy yelling "YOU SUCK" loud enough to be clearly audible, and the announce team act as if this is it for UT, which it should be since the streak is all he had, and that if this is what he had left, then he's not needed anymore. Yeah, I did not call this one.

-Match 6: Vickie Guerrero Invitational for AJ Lee's Diva's Championship

-Everyone just aimlessly brawls as these poor girls have no chance at getting the crowd back after the last match. Nattie goes for a triple Sharpshooter but gets school girled by Eva Marie for two. Cute bit as there are about five covers at once, and the ref has no idea what to do. Summer Rae is late on her pin breakup, BTW. Emma gets Cameron in a Tarantula, then hits Summer Rae with the Emma Sandwich. Rosa slugs Nattie down, but runs into a butt bump from Naomi. Eva Marie drops Tamina then blows a kiss at her before smartly running away.

The Bellas clean house, then hit stereo suicide dives to take down all the others on the outside. The Bellas then fight amongst themselves, and Nikki gets the appropriately-named Rack for two, with Alicia Fox making the save. Tamina catches Nattie with a Samoan Drop then goes for a Superfly Splash, but Naomi knocks her off the top. Aksana goes after Naomi, but Nattie steps in, and it turns into a Tower of Doom. Nattie drops Tamina out on the floor with a spinning clothesline, then AJ gets Naomi to tap to the Black Widow to SHOCKINGLY overcome the odds and retain. Vickie is NOT happy.

1/2* This was what it was. The other dozen divas not making a move to break up the finish doesn't make them look good at all. 5-2 on my predictions.

-Mean Gene tries to interview Hogan, but they're interrupted by Piper & Orndorff, who looks like a silent movie villain. Piper & Orndorff argue over whose fault their loss at WrestleMania I was. Mr. T enters, and everyone buries the hatchet, although Piper does so very reluctantly.

-Hall of Famers sitting at ringside are introduced. Bob Backlund takes his screen time trying to get something out of his teeth.

-Match 7 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton [c] VS Batista VS Daniel Bryan

-Rev Theory play Orton to the ring, and the nicest thing I can say is that the lead singer remembered all the lyrics and rhythm of the song. His mic malfunctioning does greatly expose the recorded version of the song playing behind him though. Bryan's entrance and the crowd getting to do the "YES" chant wakes them from their coma.

Bryan immediately dropkicks Orton, then avoids a Batista Bomb before sending Batista outside. Orton turns the tide with an arm takedown and stomps the bad shoulder before Batista charges in and takes over on Orton. Batista hits a clothesline in the corner, but Orton comes back with the Orton backbreaker. Batista fires back with a clothesline to send Orton out over the top, then follows. Batista whips Orton into the barricade, absorbs a couple punches, then twice sends Orton into the steps. Batista tries to powerbomb Orton on the steps, but ends up getting backdropped onto them. Bryan gets up, but Orton drops him back-first on the barricade to put him back down, then walks over to do the same to Batista.

Orton rolls Batista back in and gets a one count before hitting the Garvin Stomp, punctuated by a kneedrop for two. Bryan surprises both guys with a missile dropkick, and kicks away on both. Bryan hits a buzzsaw kick on Batista, but Orton counters it into an exploder for two. Batista hits Orton with a powerslam, and Bryan breaks the pin up at two. Batista beats Bryan down in a corner, but then charges into a drop toe hold to eat turnbuckle. Bryan goes back-and-forth with corner dropkicks, then hits a super rana on Orton for two. Batista suplexes Bryan to the floor, but then takes too long going up top, allowing Orton to cut him off. Batista blocks a superplex, but Orton hits a couple headbutts, then the superplex anyway. Bryan flies in out of nowhere with a flying headbutt on Orton, then he gets Orton in the YES lock, but Stephanie and HHH rush through the crowd, and HHH pulls the ref out of the ring to make sure Bryan can't win.

Batista catches the distracted Bryan, and crooked ref Scott Armstrong gets in to take over. Batista hits the Batista Bomb on Bryan, but it only gets two. I have to admit that spot made me nervous. Bryan avoids a charge, and Batista crashes into the corner. Bryan kicks Armstrong in the head to send him outside, then follows with a suicide dive to take Armstrong completely out, floor HHH, and send Steph running. Steph looks to have injured her ankle trying to run away. HHH is PISSED and gets a sledgehammer, but Bryan cuts HHH off, and KO's him with his own hammer to a huge pop.

Bryan gets a schoolboy on Batista for two, with the original ref counting. Orton sends Bryan outide, and goes to work. Orton & Batista start working together, and end up hitting a sick powerbomb/RKO combo through the Spanish announce table, with Orton injuring his back by landing on a monitor as the table broke. Batista just stands there as Bryan has to lay motionless to sell the move, and Orton is legit messed up.

Medics come out to strap Bryan to a stretcher as Batista works Orton over. Orton almost catches Batista with the draping DDT, but Batista blocks and backdrops him out over the top. Orton lands on his feet, sweeps Batista, and hits the draping DDT off the apron to the floor. Bryan revives and pulls himself off the stretcher, only to get sent into the steps by Orton. Orton rolls Bryan into the ring but doesn't go for the cover, opting to take in the moment before going for an RKO. Bryan blocks it and gets the YES lock, but Batista breaks it up before falling prey to the YES lock himself. Orton in turn breaks that up, and pulls Bryan off Batista.

Orton takes a moment, then decides to focus on Batista. Batista shrugs off an RKO attempt and goes for a spear, but Orton leap frogs him, and Batista drills Bryan in the head. Orton catches Batista with an RKO for two, and I legit thought that might have been it. Orton goes for the punt on Batista, but Bryan catches him with the running knee to put a stop to that. Batista tosses Bryan out and steals the cover, but Orton kicks out at two in another near-fall I totally bought. Batista Bomb puts Orton out, but Bryan catches Batista with the running knee, and taps him out with the YES lock to win the title.

***1/2 A pretty good main event with some great false finishes towards the end. They couldn't have done more to make sure everyone knows that Bryan is The Man now. Not an all-time classic or anything, but it accomplished what it needed to. That makes me 6-2 on my predictions. Not bad.

-Bryan celebrates with his sister and niece to close the show.

-FINAL THOUGHTS: This was The Daniel Bryan WrestleMania, and thankfully for him and us, he delivered in spades. This was definitely a show built around "WrestleMania Moments" whether it be Bryan finally getting his due, Cesaro making himself a star, or the end of The Streak, and it definitely feels like a much more important show than the last few 'Manias have. The match quality came and went, and Brock/UT will be debated for years to come, but I don't think anyone can label this show "inconsequential".