Cook’s WrestleMania 34 Report Card

Hi, hello & welcome to the WrestleMania 34 Report Card! It’s the biggest & longest show of the year. Thirteen or fourteen matches depending on who you ask. Anybody & everybody of note in WWE is involved. What they do tonight defines their whole year, nay, their whole existence. Let’s get right to the good times.

Here’s how I grade the WWE Superstars…

A – Outstanding. Great moves, selling, interaction with the fans, everything. Stands out as a top performer.
B – Above Average. Very good offensively or defensively. Plays their role well. Helps the match accomplish what it set out to do.
C – Average. The type of performance that does nothing to stand out. No outstanding moves, no great effort to sell their opponent’s offense or draw the crowd into what they’re doing, just bland, basic wrestling. Sometimes, especially in a multi-man match, a short period of time spent in the ring without a chance to do too much.
D – Below Average. Poor execution, ignoring the crowd, not doing things that make sense.
F – Failure. Not doing anything useful. Actively holding the match back from accomplishing its objective.

Renee Young, JBL, Booker T & David Otunga host the Kickoff Show. John Cena is in the crowd shaking hands & taking pictures. Carmella is in the house with her briefcase.

Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler & Byron Saxton call the first match.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Our luminaries are already in the ring. Aiden English is first out so he can get ready to sing later. Looks like a member of Ascension went out, we eventually find out it’s Konnor. Curt Hawkins takes the plunge next. Goldust representing with some Dusty polka dots, & he tricks R-Truth into getting eliminated. Primo skins the cat & immediately gets tossed afterwards. Mike Kanellis gets tossed. Heath Slater & Dolph Ziggler going at it while JR mentions Rhyno’s gained some weight. Tyler Breeze takes the plunge while Ziggler hangs in there. Viktor is gone. Heath Slater is now “the man with too many children” according to JR & King. I can dig WWE advocating sterilization. Ryder & Ziggler’s long-running rivalry temporarily resumes before Mojo Rawley knocks Ryder out of the match. Karl Anderson is eliminated by Chad Gable in half of what could be a fun match. Luke Gallows takes the dive after a Titus O’Neil boot.

Apollo gets tossed after a commerical break. Shleton Benjamin tries to german suplex somebody off the apron but gets knocked out, and now everybody’s getting eliminated by Kane. I didn’t even know he was here until now. Baron Corbin tosses Sin Cara into like six dudes while the camera focuses on John Cena in the crowd. Corbin eliminates Heath Slater, then we get the Corbin/Kane faceoff for a second. Shockingly the crowd doesn’t go wild. Titus catches Dolph Ziggler, tosses him, but Ziggler lands on his feet, superkicks Titus & clotheslines him out. That was cool. Goldust goes on the offense. He delivers Shattered Dreams to Tye Dillinger, but Ziggler eliminates him. Woken Matt Hardy takes center stage, & he and Tye Dillinger briefly argue about their catchphrases before Hardy deletes him. Ziggler mounts Kane’s back & gets knocked out, then Corbin eliminates Kane. Corbin, Rawley & Hardy are the last three in, and the former winners team up on Hardy before the lights go out…

A Bray Wyatt appears! He seems to have aligned with Woken Matt, as he targets Rawley & Corbin. They are eliminated, and eventually the bell rings! I think the timekeeper wasn’t sure if Bray was actually in the match or not. He wasn’t in at the beginning, so there ya go. John Cena seems confused. Hardy & Wyatt embrace & pose in celebration.

Not a terrible battle royal. It did its job in killing time & the fans seemed happy enough with it.

Peter Rosenberg replaces JBL for the second hour of the Kickoff Show. Sam Roberts is in the crowd & quite confused about what he’s doing.

Vic Joseph & Nigel McGuinness call the next match. Drake Maverick is at ringside.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals: Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali

A sign in the crowd says “TJP is Better”…apparently Cena isn’t the only WWE Superstar that had to buy a ticket. Sportsmanship prior. Flips during. They want to see heart & soul, which is the new 205 Live catchphrase. Good action to start, with Alexander hitting the first…dive! I don’t know why any cruiserweight would do a reverse bearhug, but that’s what Cedric opts for as a resthold. Baaaaaaaack body drop on Ali for two. He got some height on that, and Alexander’s back to that reverse bearhug. Nigel calls Alexander eurudite. Ali fights back briefly before Alexander hits a C4. Ali goes for the tornado DDT but gets crotched up top. Speaking of Spanish Flies, Ali hits one off the top rope. Cena is apparently stunned. Ali tries to go up top, but Alexander pushes him off & he does a splash to the floor! Alexander goes on the offense during the commercial, and Ronda Rousey quits talking just in time for the reverse rana by Ali. Ali hits the 054, but Alexander gets his foot on the ropes. If Ali watched Takeover he’d know that finishers aren’t getting it done this weekend. Not just one anyway. He misses the second. Nigel sure likes his big words. 3 back elbows, then a Lumbar Check gets the win for Alexander! He thanks Ali right after. John Cena approves.

Not too bad. It didn’t hit that next level for me, but it was a good showing for the heart & soul of the cruiserweight division.

Grades
Alexander: B
Ali: B-

Charly Caruso interviews John Cena in the crowd. Looks like it’s Miller Time. If I’m the Undertaker I’m waiting a few more hours for Cena’s buzz to kick in.

Beth Phoenix gets introduced by Lilian Garcia. Beth joins Michael Cole, Corey Graves & Paige for commentary. Becky Lynch gets an entrance before the USA commercial, then most of the other women file in to Kid Rock music. At least he isn’t performing live. Bayley & Sasha Banks also get their own entrances.

WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal

Carmella gets dumped onto the apron by the whole group, then Sonya Deville’s kick puts her away. Dana Brooke then decides to take on the entire group. Mandy Rose dumps her out. Absolution celebrates. The NXT girls form a group & start an NXT chant after temporarily get the upper hand. Becky takes exception to people wearing orange. Mandy Rose gets dumped out. Bianca Belair hangs out up top, then delivers a 450 to Deville. She gone. Kairi Sane did her elbow drop to Ruby Riott during the commercial, but the Squad is hanging tough. Belair hits Lynch with her hair! Becky doesn’t like it & eliminates her shortly after. Dakota Kai kicking people here, then Banks kicks her out. Becky gets knocked out. Riott eliminates Mickie James next. Peyton Royce gets knocked out by the Riott Squad, which seems to be the trend of the match. Natalya’s attempt to join them doesn’t go well, we’re down to them, Bayley & Sasha. Bayley & Sasha eliminate Nattie & Morgan, then Riott goes out. Logan seems to be next, she & Sasha fight on the apron…Bayley knocks Logan out and we’re down to Bayley & Sasha. As it probably should be. Sasha goes for the handshake, and it’s Bayley taking the hand, and dumping her over the top!

Oh wait, we forgot about Naomi! Whoopsies. Naomi delivers the Rear View & tosses Bayley to get the win. Sasha looking at her like “You dumb b.”

Some interesting booking of a battle royal here. Nothing like a babyface pulling the old “hide on the outside of the ring” gimmick. If that was going to be the finish it would have made more sense to have Carmella or somebody like that pull it, right? Naomi’s a deserving winner, but you’d prefer her to win in a deserving fashion.

Cole & Graves are joined by The Coach for the first main card match.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Champion The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor

Champion enters…second? That’s slightly different. Also different is Miz sending Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel to the back. Balor comes out with the New Orleans LGBTQ community. I doubt that’s all of them, but a nice message nonetheless. Miz & Rollins get knocked out of the ring & Balor gets a 9.0 on the dive. Rollins with a double blockbuster after we look at a stoic John Cena in the crowd. Miz takes control of the match early on to establish his character tonight & piss off the Balor & Rollins fans. Both men fight back & we see some sling blades. Dives by Rollins! Miz’s DDT on Rollins goes well & gets a two count. He locks on a Figure 4 to Balor after a nifty dragon screw on the top rope. Some fun back & forth action on the outside with counters & reversals. Balor gains the edge & gets Rollins in the ring for his finisher, but Miz breaks it up & heads up top. Rollins takes Miz over to the other corner with a Bucklebomb, then superplexes Balor into a rollup by Balor. Skull-Crushing Finale by Miz on Rollins gets two! Some discoloration on Miz’s right side. He hangs in there though & bulldogs Rollins off the top, but Balor delivers the coup de grace for two. He delivers it to Miz again, but pauses before covering. Rollins delivers the Blackout to both men before covering Miz for the win!

Pretty solid match to kick off the main card.

Grades
Miz: B
Rollins: B
Balor: B

Graves, Saxton & Tom Phillips are with us for the next match.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Match: Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka

Charlotte has an interesting mix of an early Starrcade Nature Boy entrance & a Triple Hesque group of gladiators. It’s interesting. Some nice back & forth early. John Cena isn’t sure what to think. Charlotte hitting all the Naitch spots, including the up & over in the corner, but Asuka kicks her shoulder-first into the barricade. She favors the shoulder but manages to hang in there. She breaks up a sleeperhold with a running jawbreaker. Her moonsault gets countered into a triangle choke by Asuka! That was different, but Charlotte gets out & turns Asuka into a Boston Crab. Charlotte maintains the advantage & tries to suplex Asuka on the apron, but Asuka delivers one of her own to the floor! Very nice. Charlotte asks if that’s all Asuka has, and Asuka delivers more. She tries to stomp Charlotte’s back in. She fights back & they go up top…Spanish Fly! That’s been a popular move tonight, the SAT should be proud. Asuka reverses the Natural Selection into a modified armbar! Askua kicks her way out of a figure 4, Charlotte delivers some chops, and now Asuka’s going to the Asuka Lock…Charlotte rolls through for a two count. Spear by Charlotte gets 2! Figure 4 into the Figure 8! A one-armed bridge by Charlotte…and ASUKA SUBMITS! THE STREAK IS OVER!

Asuka admits that Charlotte was ready & congratulates her. They hug. Awwwww.

I can’t say I was expecting that one, but Charlotte is a deserving winner against anybody on the roster. Even Asuka, who had previously steamrolled everybody in her path. Charlotte keeps adding new accolades to her career & it’s tough to say where she’s going to stop. Asuka had a great showing here and it’ll be interesting to see where she goes now that her options are more open.

Grades
Charlotte: A
Asuka: A

A referee runs out to the crowd & says something to John Cena, then Cena runs up the ramp to the back. Huh.

WWE United States Championship Match: Champion Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev

Rusev has to be considered the favorite since it’s Rusev Day, right? We have even more lauguages than usual for WrestleMania. Rusev with a big dropkick to Roode after Orton & Mahal get cleared out, but the dive is broken up by Jinder. He can’t break up the running crack smash off the apron though! Roode gets back in there with Rusev & gets a near fall, then he & Orton take turns on Jinder. Roode with chops to Orton. Powerslam gets 2. Orton with the superplex like his daddy, but Rusev & Jinder break up the count. Jinder tries to remind Rusev of the good old days, but Rusev opts to stomp a mudhole in him. Twisting back suplex gets two. Rusev gets suplexed onto the barricade by Orton, and Roode gets a nearfall on a spinebuster to Mahal. GLORIOUS! The DDT is blocked though, & Orton breaks up the rollup. Rusev breaks up the draping DDT & kicks away on Orton. Misses the spinning heel kick though, and that leads to the draping DDT. Orton hulks up the crowd, then calls for the RKO…English runs in to take it, then Rusev gets one of his own. One for Jinder, & Roode breaks up the count. He blocks the RKO & hits the Glorious DDT, but Jinder breaks it up. Machka kicks to Roode & Mahal! Rusev calls for the Accolade, but Sumil Singh provides the distraction Jinder needs to hit the Cobra Clutch Slam! We got a new US Champ. At least it’s a more fitting level for him.

Grades
Orton: B
Roode: B
Mahal: C
Rusev: B+

Breezango & Mick Foley plugging Snickers is pretty solid.

Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

Triple H & Stephanie stepping all over American Badass Undertaker’s entrance. I love how the announcers are acting like they’ve never seen a biker gang in wrestling before. Stephanie makes sure to get the first shots in on Rousey because that’s what this match needs. Angle with some pretty technical wrestling. Fortunately Stephanie is there to pull the rope down so Angle can tumble over it. She’s also there so she can bash Angle’s head into the steps. Longtime NXT referee Drake Wuertz got the assignment for this one. Woah, H nearly accidentally hit Stephanie! That would have been a problem. Angle hits a suplex on HHH. He tries to make the tag, but the seasoned veteran Stephanie yanks Ronda off the apron! She can’t foil it this time, and now Ronda’s a house affire! Back suplex into a Rock Bottom! Strikes in the corner & Stephanie goes down. Hair mare! Another suplex by Rousey. Monkey flip, Ronda pauses, then goes for the armbar! Stephanie holds it off & fights out by going to the eyes. HHH is still down outside & can’t be tagged though. No matter, a DDT by Stephanie gets two. Kick to the spine and then a bow & arrow by McMahon. Ronda gets her up, and a twisting Samoan Drop would have gotten three except for HHH pulling the referee out of the ring. H then yanks Rousey out of the ring! Angle returns from wherever he went & gets HHH on the English announce table, but he gets tossed over the Spanish announce table. Rousey has arisen, and looks ready to beat up Triple H. Triple H seems ready for it, but he’s not as ready as Charlotte was for Asuka. She gets him up for the Samoan Drop, but Stephanie breaks it up & slaps Ronda. They run around the ring & after some back & forth Ronda takes a header off the post. Angle throws HHH around the ring a bit. Nearly gets the ankle lock, but does catapult him into the corner. The Angle Slam gets a two count. Stephanie comes in to yell at Kurt some. He blocks a kick & turns into the ankle lock! HHH breaks it up & pedigrees Angle, but Rousey breaks up the pin. HHH goes for the Pedigree on Rousey, switches to a power bomb, but Rousey ranas H & locks in an arm bar! Stephanie breaks it up with a rear naked choke! Rousey flips out of it & goes for the arm bar! Angle locks HHH in an ankle lock, the arm bar goes in deeper, but HHH pulls Angle into Rousey to break up the moves. He sends Angle into the post, and Stephanie sends Ronda into the other post. They’re going for double Pedigrees, but neither one works! Ronda goes back to the arm bar, and Stephanie taps! Dana White approves at ringside.

Hey, that was fun! Not a six-star Meltzer classic, but it delivered what the people wanted to see & Rousey looked good in there. I for one am looking forward to Charlotte vs. Ronda at next year’s WrestleMania.

Grades
Team McMahon: A
Team Rousey: A

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match: Champions The Usos vs. The New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers

We got midgets wearing pancake outfits. And doing the Worm. I have no words. Harper & Rowan are dominant early like they have been during this feud. Kofi & Big E are the New Day team tonight, but Xavier Woods still gonna get in there & get powerbombed off the ringpost. Big E breaks up the T-Gimmick attempt, then Jimmy Uso tags in to deliver some super kicks. The Uso splash gets 2 on Harper, then things go cray. Rowan catches the Usos on a dive, but they suplex him on the floor. Big E lifts Harper up, but Harper slips out & slams Kofi down. Rowan breaks up a Tower of Doom attempt. Harper with an assisted sitout powerbomb off the top rope to Kingston, and we got new champs.

Well that was quick & decisive. The Usos & New Day got some stuff in, but they were no match for Harper or Rowan.

Grades
Usos: C
New Day: C
Bludgeon Bros: B-

John Cena vs. Undertaker?

Cena makes his entrance, & a second referee comes down to the ring to deliver some news. Cena leaves the ring, then the lights go out. ELIAS emerges on the stage! Tremendous. Cena kindly exits the ring & goes back to his seat so Elias can sing. Well, Cena decides to attack Elias & break up the concert anyway. How rude. Cena’s music plays after a brief flurry of one-sided activity. Big WrestleMania Moment for Elias!

Cena’s music stops as he goes halfway up the ramp, then the lights go out again. I hope it’s Sabu this time. No, it’s Undertaker’s hat & jacket in the ring. Lightning strikes, and they disappear. Then the Undertaker’s Dong goes off & the Dead Man rises from under the stage. It looks like Cena & Undertaker are facing off at a night club with these lights.

Here we go. Undertaker dominates early on. The Old School rope walk. Snake Eyes, Big Boot. No chokeslam though, it’s Cena’s turn to do some stuff. Well maybe not. There’s the chokeslam. The straps go down, and the Tombstone is delivered. John Cena may rest in peace.

Well then. My guess is that next year John Cena returns from a long absence to try and avenge this defeat. It’s the kind of feud you can book with guys that can’t be around very often, I suppose. As long as there’s an easily amused audience for it you might as well do it I guess.

Grades
Cena: C
Undertaker: C

I didn’t watch the Hall of Fame ceremony. Probably makes me a bad person, but I’m ok with that.

Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens (If Owens & Zayn win, they’re back on Smackdown)

What’s with the triangles in Shane’s entrance? Is it an Illuminati thing? The Yes Movement is certainly out in full force. KO & Sami almost got an entrance, but they opted to attack from behind instead. Helluva kick to Bryan & a powerbomb to the apron take him out before the match can even begin. Shane wants the bell rung anyway, and opts to go 1 on 2. He has some luck early, though his midsection is giving him some problems. Kevin & Sami go to work on it while the medics work on Bryan on the outside. Kevin tells Shane that money won’t save him now. I approve of these anti-greed sentiments. Shane sure hanging in there well against these guys. He gonna go coast to coast? He’ll try, I’m sure. He got enough of it, with some assistance from Sami stretching out. KO breaks up the count & frog splashes Shane, but Bryan breaks up the count! That stretcher never got out of there. Sami breaks up Shane’s attempt at a tag & the people are dismayed. They work it a bit longer to build anticipation. There’s the tag! Bryan takes his time getting into the ring, but he gets right to work after Sami attacks. Backflip & a speedy clothesline! Dropkick off the top, Bryan stirs for a second but kips up. Dropkicks in the corner! Rana off the top to Zayn! KO breaks up the running knee, & Zayn hits the Helluva kick in the corner for two! Owens tags in & superkicks Shane, then hits the pop-up powerbomb for two! Zayn tags back in, Shane takes Owens to the outside. Zayn asks Bryan how he could do this while punching him. Bryan fights back with strikes, and follows up with the Yes kicks! He hit the last one! Running knee! Yes Lock in the center of the ring! Sami taps!

You can’t bet against Daniel Bryan on his first night back. He embraces Brie in the front row, does some Yes chants, and then Shane & Bryan celebrate with his branch of the McMahon family. I’m a little surprised nothing happened between Shane & Bryan, but they’re probably saving that for Tuesday night. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how that develops, and when Kevin & Sami come back.

Grades
Shane/Bryan: B+
Kevin/Sami: B+

Raw Women’s Championship Match: Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax

Mickie James accompanies Alexa, who descends from her pedestal for the occasion. Mickie gets murdered by Nia before the match starts. A Samoan Drop on the floor should do it for her. Alexa tries to stick and move early on. It doesn’t work. A gorilla press slam doesn’t really work either. Neither does Alexa’s attempt to leave with the belt. A thumb to the eye finally gets something going for Bliss. She stands on Nia for a little bit & targets the knee. Nia tries to fight back, but runs shoulder-first into the ringpost. Alexa goes up top & hits Twisted Bliss on the floor! She mocks Nia before hitting a DDT for 2.5. Nia fires back after more mockery. Alexa tries a rana, but gets slammed into the corner for her trouble. Back to the eye by Bliss, and again when Nia tries the Samoan Drop. Alabama Slam by Jax wipes Bliss out. A regular Samoan Drop apparently isn’t enough, as Jax climbs to the middle rope to finish her off.

It went a little longer than was probably necessary, but they filled the time well & told a proper story. Nothing wrong with this.

Grades
Bliss: B
Jax: B

WWE Championship Match: Champion AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura’s entrance theme as played by Nita Strauss & a cast of thousands is pretty killer. Oh no, the chyron listed Styles as the Universal Champion. And here I thought this match would be botch-free. Nakamura lands the first big blow with a kick to the face. Styles doesn’t let Nakamura do his fun taunting, but Nakamura takes the offensive. AJ levels him with a knee to the face. Nakamura fires away with some forearms, but Styles responds with a backbreaker. Big kneedrop gets two. AJ with the ol’ chinlock. Nakamura fights out, but Styles lands the dropkick. He then lands awkwardly on the apron after Nakamura sweeps the leg. He tells Styles to COME ON, then hits some strikes. Big knee to the ribs in the corner. Styles fights back. Pumphandle into a gutbuster by Styles. Nakamura fights back & hits a suplex for two. They go up top & fight over a superplex, Styles slips out, and then kicks Nakamura right in the leg. A good setup for the Calf Crusher, I’d say. And there it is! After some jostling, Nakamura turns it into a triangle choke. Styles may be fading, but there’s a lot of air in that choke. Sure enough, Styles fights out, and turns it into a suplex! Nakamura’s knee is still hobbling him, and kneeing the turnbuckle doesn’t help. Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm for a two count! The springboard 450 hits nothing but knees and we’re back to 50/50. They trade forearms! Pele kick! Knee to the back of the head by Nakamura gets two! Reverse exploder leading to Knee To Face? No, Styles rolls through & hits the Styles Clash! It gets the three count!

Nakamura presents the title belt…THEN LOW BLOWS STYLES! WUT DA HAIL? He stomps Styles down to the floor, then continues kicking away. He delivers the Kinshasa on the floor & exits!

Styles didn’t get the win in Tokyo, but he gets the win tonight in New Orleans. We’ll see a third match between these two sooner rather than later. I like Nakamura showing a new attitude here. It might be just what he needs to get to where we think he’ll end up in WWE. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes.

Grades
Styles: B+
Nakamura: B

Raw Tag Team Championship Match: Champions The Bar vs. Braun Strowman & A Partner TBD

The Bar has a little New Orleans-type celebration before doing their entrance. Braun scares the parade away & destroys the float. So that’s why they did that. Braun decides to ask the crowd who wants to be his tag team partner? Well, why not? He goes around the floor of the Superdome looking for a partner. This could take awhile since there’s like 78,000 choices. He decides on a long-haired kid wearing a WrestleMania sweatshirt. Nicholas is his name! Braun goes to work on Sheamus & gives him those hands. Cesaro comes in and gets slammed down. The Bar eventually gets a little bit of an advantage, and hits a double suplex. Nicholas should knock Sheamus off the top rope. Or Cesaro for that matter. A front somersault off Sheamus’s shoulders gets a two count. Braun catches their legs, then hits a double cross body block! Sheamus gets tossed to the outside in uncerimonious fashion. Braun tags Nicholas! Nicholas tags out, and Braun hits the powerslam on Cesaro! We’ve got new tag team champions!

Hey, it’s better than Judy Bagwell. They’re in New Orleans tomorrow, but I’m not sure if Nicholas will be able to work dates after then. I know some people are gonna hate it, but I enjoyed it. Braun can do stuff like this and it works.

Grades
Braun & Nicholas: B
Bar: B

WWE Universal Championship Match: Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

Assuming the show actually ends at midnight (LOL), this is about the right amount of time for this match to be a fun 100 mile per hour brawl. And that’s exactly what’s happening with Roman throwing Superman punches in the first minute. Brock throwing suplexes on the floor. OUCH RIGHT ON HIS DAMN HEAD. The next suplex is more of a wump into the announce table. Brock is looking like the Ultimate Warrior out there. Roman lands pretty hard on his shoulder for one of those. He spears Lesnar over one of the announce tables. Two more spears get a two count. Three would get three. Duh. Reigns screams, then runs head first into Brock’s knee for a near-fall. F-5 gets two. F-5 gets two. Brock screams, then hits another F-5 for a two count. Brock says a naughty word. The fourth F-5 is through the announce table. I wish I knew what the fans were reacting to. A wave, maybe? There’s the fifth F-5, and Reigns kicks out. I think Brock did a couple more but I wasn’t really paying attention. Reigns is busted open & Graves mentions something about his Samoan bloodline. Brock hits the fifteenth F-5 of the match and gets the three count. Yay?

I’m sure some people will praise this match. I don’t think anybody in the crowd will, other than for the fact Reigns didn’t win. I like how Dana White Jedi mind-tricked Vince McMahon into keeping the belt on Reigns. UFC had a rough weekend, but at least they got this victory. The final image of WrestleMania 34 is of Vince’s golden boy failing once again.

Grades
Lesnar: D
Reigns: D

Final Thought

I enjoyed most of this show. The only things that I thought weren’t particularly good were the main event & Cena vs. Undertaker, and neither took very long so I can’t complain too much. Everything else pretty much lived up to my expectations, with the Rousey/McMahon show exceeding them by a great bit. I was expecting a few more title changes, but I liked most of the title retentions I wasn’t expecting. I’ve felt disappointed by most recent WMs, but this one was fine by me. Not the greatest ever, but nowhere near the worst either.

And I’m spent.

For more of Steve Cook’s thoughts on pro wrestling, along with his thoughts on Nashville Predators hockey, follow him on Twitter!