WWE WrestleMania XXX Review

Match 1: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H
This is the ultimate WrestleMania match. And it is opening the card. The machine vs. the underdog. The winner of this match gets inserted into the main event with a chance to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H comes out to an absolutely spectacular entrance with music to set the mood before Motorhead hits. Time to play the game. Daniel Bryan then comes out to absurd pop with the entire Superdome chanting that one word in favor of Bryan. Yes. Triple H offers the shaking of the hand but Bryan declines and kicks his hand away. Interesting start but Triple H quickly rebounds and works on the injured shoulder of Daniel Bryan. Right away, the veteran Triple H sets the tone of the match and lets the audience know that he is bigger, badder, and stronger. Oh, he also has Stephanie McMahon on his side. Beautiful wrestling from top to bottom with an array of submissions, reversals, and ring psychology like we have not seen in a WWE ring since the days of Shawn Michaels. I really mean that. The focus on Bryan's arm was so well done. Triple H came off exactly like he should have, the big heel that wanted to systematically destroy the fan favorite. In Bryan's case, he also played his role to its potential. The underdog looking to will his way to victory through what he does best with kicks, submissions, and anything he can to gain the advantage. Bryan was able to hit his running knee finisher to gain the win and entry into the main event. Afterwards, Triple H attacks Bryan and slams a steel chair into his shoulder that Triple H placed along the corner of the ring at the post. Brilliant opener, probably the best in WrestleMania history. The story, the wrestling, the mood, it was all there. Onto the main event...
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ****1/2

Match 2: New Age Outlaws & Kane vs. The Shield
This match is basically two teams from two completely different eras going at it. Hungry is the word to describe The Shield and the monster push they have received over the year continues here as they absolutely destroy their opponents with ease. It was simply a showcase of The Shield beating down three other guys for about five minutes with The Shield finally planting New Age Outlaws with their Triple Powerbomb finisher after Roman Reigns gave a Spear to everyone. Fun match that simply got a good spot on the card for The Shield and allowed them to get a quick win.
Winners: The Shield
Rating: *1/4

Match 3: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
A new concept brought to WrestleMania likely meant to get some guys on the card and I like it! Ever since eliminating Money in the Bank in 2011, this has the potential to take over its reigns. Unlike the Royal Rumble, nobody comes out in intervals. Instead, everybody gathers in the ring at once and basically go at it. Battle royals are hard for anybody to really get over but hey this is WrestleMania. Not once during this match did I feel like it was dragging, everybody played the part well and the crowd did not take themselves out of the action. The final four came down to Big Show, Sheamus, Cesaro, and Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio and Sheamus go at it before they both eliminate each other simultaneously. It is down to Cesaro and Big Show. Cesaro lands huge uppercuts before Show fights back and tries to eliminate Cesaro. Cesaro then escapes Show's hold and lifts up Big Show and dumps him out of the ring! Amazing moment! Cesaro just got made right there! One of the better battle royals in recent history and the crowd erupted for that finish. The right guy won and this was a fantastic debut for this match.
Winner: Cesaro
Rating: ***1/2

Match 4: Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
In my opinion, this is one of Cena's strangest WrestleMania match. For the first time in a long time, he is not the marquee match. It feels pretty strange and almost as if this is a foreshadowing to future events as the newer guys are ready to take center stage. This is also one of Cena's weaker feuds headed into WrestleMania. The idea of him being the underdog is so stale and just about everybody figured what the outcome was going to be. Very slow action from the start, their styles just don't really mesh well on a grand stage like this and it eliminates the crowd from staying active throughout. Wyatt tries to play mind games but it never really grasped the audience, almost as if the announcers were bored trying to explain what was going on. Cena takes out both Wyatt Family members before reversing a Sister Abigail into an Attitude Adjustment for the win. Match never picked up from first gear and suffered because of it. Definitely a disappointing match in Cena's long line of memorable WrestleMania matches and moments.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: **

Match 5: Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
We all know the result. More than two decades of WrestleMania dominance comes full circle in New Orleans as Brock Lesnar conquers The Streak. The build has been fantastic, Paul Heyman being the wild card throughout everything is only turning things up a notch. He has been on the top of his game for this feud and rightfully so. Reviewing this match is extremely difficult. The match itself was very basic, The Undertaker simply is not as mobile as he once was and it almost looked like Lesnar was just toying around until the final stages of the match. The pins really did not seem all that believable until the very last one. When the referee pounded the finishing pin, a huge silence surrounded the arena like we have never heard in wrestling history. The Streak has ended. Lesnar leaves with Heyman as they are both in astonishment while The Undertaker leaves to a standing ovation. What. An. Ending. As basic of a match this was, there is no taking away the beautiful storytelling and amazing finish that saw the crowd hit a silence like never before. Forget the rating, forget what you thought of the actual match. Think about the history, think about what led both men to this position. Think of the end of an era. Watching this was tough, it felt like I saw my childhood finally come to a close. As if I was watching the end of a wrestling era. I can easily recall back to times in middle school, times in junior high, and times in high school when The Undertaker was the top dog. The guy that was prominently featured at the top of the list for every wrestling show. But like I said, this was tough to watch. Undertaker did not look like The Undertaker that we have become accustomed to seeing, he was simply a shell of who he used to be. He lost that pep in his step, he look drained, he just could not keep up with the younger and stronger Brock Lesnar. And it made sense. The WWE is turning the page with newer talent coming in and this match simply signified that this is a new age. Brock Lesnar, in my opinion, is the perfect choice to beat the undefeated streak. You want a badass animal, you got him. You want a household name, you got him. You want a legitimate fighter and wrestler, you got him. Brock Lesnar, the one behind the one in 21-1.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***

Match 6: Divas Championship - Vickie Guerrero Invitational
This is the gateway between the end of The Streak and the main event. Vickie Guerrero comes out and puts over the match as AJ Lee comes out to the delight of a shocked crowd. Just a sluggish and mess of a match that was hard to follow with the circumstances standing with The Undertaker losing. All of the Divas in one match and in one ring as everybody tries to score a pin over anybody. AJ makes Naomi tap and wins the match after all the Divas got eliminated beforehand.
Winner: AJ Lee
Rating: 1/2*

Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan
This is it. The first triple threat main event at a WrestleMania since WrestleMania XX. And this event oddly resembles that one is so many ways. Bryan gained this opportunity after beating Triple H earlier in the show. Hard to believe that the original main event was going to be Batista vs. Orton. Bryan being injected into the match gives this match and event both a different kind of life. You know Bryan is going to win, but you just still got that feeling. The hate for Batista is real and he is fully embracing his role as a heel. He does such an amazing job at provoking these fans to boo him, he is a heel at heart. This match was exciting from the start and definitely worthy of closing out a wild night of wrestling. Just a roller coaster of a match filled with Bryan trying to fend off both Orton and Batista. Things got really foggy when Batista hit Bryan with a Batista Bomb as Orton connected with an RKO through an announce table. One of the coolest spots I have ever seen in a WrestleMania main event. Bryan refuses to quit and ends the match by getting Batista to submit after an amazing back and fourth finish. Bryan celebrates in the ring with both titles in hand as the pyro sets off to cap off an incredible night. Wow. Everything made sense here. It wasn't the perfect match or even the best main event in WrestleMania history. But again, everything made sense. You had Triple H, the scumbag boss, do his best to alter the finish with Scott Armstrong and the sledgehammer. But he failed. You had Batista, the man who was scheduled to likely win the match, submit to Daniel Bryan! What a match, what an ending, and what a show. 
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ****1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Definitely one of the best editions of WrestleMania that I have ever seen. Not really because of the match quality, but because of what the show represented. You get to see Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock open up the show with an incredible promo. You get the best WrestleMania opening match of all time. You get The Undertaker falling to Brock Lesnar. And finally, the culmination of Daniel Bryan's epic journey as he beats Evolution. Yes, Evolution! This show not only represented 30 years of WrestleMania, it also represented the turning of the page. A new era. Wow.
Rating: 9.5/10