Pantoja’s RetrospectiveMania Series: WrestleMania XXX

WWE WrestleMania XXX
April 6th, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana | Attendance: 75,167

The road to WrestleMania XXX was filled with controversy as it became clear that the most popular wrestler on the roster, Daniel Bryan, wasn’t in the main event plans. That caused a wild fan backlash that led to several storyline pivots and set him up to pull double duty with a shot at a huge moment. The rest of the card also featured some intriguing bouts, making for one of the most interesting WrestleManias on paper. Also of note, this is the first Mania to stream on the WWE Network.

As a reminder, I’m reliving these WrestleManias and rating them on a 1-10 scale in these seven categories. They’ll be ranked by their total score.

• Match quality – Self-explanatory. Will always be the longest section.
• Memorability – How memorable is the show?
• Historical significance – The impact the show had on wrestling
• Booking decisions – Did the event have logical booking decisions for the stories they told
• Presentation – Things like stage setup, video packages, commentary, etc.
• Pacing/Flow – How well is the show laid out? Does it drag or move along smoothly?
• Entertainment – The non-wrestling elements like promos, celebrity interaction, concerts, etc.

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Match Quality

WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans vs. Rybaxel ~ So, apparently the Kickoff Show is somehow not on Peacock (it looks like none of the Manias have them) and it isn’t on YouTube as the YouTube Kickoff Show there is only the first hour, which doesn’t have this match. Alas, I have to use a review for this match that I did several years ago. I’ll give you the short version here, which is that this was a damn good way to start things with a fast-moving tag where everyone brought their “A” game. Cesaro stood out as the star and the Usos beat him in the end with dual splashes. [***½]

Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H ~ The official opener for this show. The winner joins the main event against Batista and Randy Orton. Everything about this rules, from the video package to the entrance to the match itself. It all just works so well together. Early on, HHH held serve with his veteran knowhow and power while also managing to cut off any bit of momentum Bryan had, and he had several bursts. I liked HHH targeting the arm, adding t the story later in the night, and I also appreciated HHH doing heel stuff like trying for countout wins. Man, Triple H even busted out a fucking Tiger Suplex here. No matter what HHH did though, Bryan refused to give up, which was a perfect story to tell here because it’s how the entire angle was built. When Bryan got going, the crowd ate it up because of how expertly this was laid out. My favorite thing might be how it doesn’t rely on a bunch of false finishes and finisher kickouts. Bryan survived a Pedigree but on a night like this, it worked. They didn’t do any other cases of that so it didn’t get overdone. The finish was so simple too. Bryan did a counter of a back drop and then just hit the Busaiku Knee to win in 25:57. A spectacular match and the second best Mania opener ever. Brilliantly laid out and executed. Triple H’s best non-gimmick match ever. [****¾]

Kane and The New Age Outlaws vs. The Shield ~ The Shield masks were so dope. For the most part, this was one-sided and that’s exactly what it needed to be. The Shield shouldn’t have problems with guys who are past their prime and don’t work as a trio the way they do. The veterans had a moment or two but this was basically all The Shield, making for one of the best squash style matches you could imagine. The Shield by using the Triple Powerbomb on both members of the New Age Outlaws at the same time in 2:54. Just what it needed to be. [**½]

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal ~ The first of its kind. A lot of this was the typical fare you get from a battle royal. There were plenty of jobbers involved and several future World Champions (Kingston, McIntyre, Mahal, Big E) but only a few guys really looked like they had a shot. Those were Sheamus, Cesaro, Big Show, Kingston, etc. A handful of eliminations were fun like Miz falling to the Cobra or Fandango dancing around. I did crack up at Ziggler hanging on for dear life every 10 seconds. It means nothing if you overdo the spot. Kofi’s spot where his feet hit the steel steps as he was thrown over the top is among his best elimination saves ever. The final four were Del Rio, Cesaro, Sheamus, and Show but once it got to Cesaro and Show, the crowd popped. They could sense a big win for a guy they wanted to break out but also could see Show winning an Andre trophy. The moment of Cesaro EASILY lifting Show and WALKING with him to slam him over the top remains one of the better visuals in Mania history. That ended this very good battle royal in 13:24. [***¼]

Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena ~ This was all about Bray Wyatt. He dictated the pace, shouting at John early to finish him, talking to John and the crowd in between offense, and keeping things going how he wanted. Cena would explode for something big but that’s kind of what Bray wanted. He wanted to bring out the monster in Cena and managed to nearly do it several times, while Cena did a great job of selling his internal struggle. Sometimes, this is what I want from a match. I don’t need the fanciest moves around, I can do with a good story. I appreciated that there wasn’t a lot of involvement from the Wyatt Family though it was still a good move when Cena took them out with a dive. I didn’t love them using a finisher kickout but Cena matches kind of always have that, especially at Mania. Cena was given a chair to use as a weapon but he didn’t EMBRACE THE HATE and used it on Rowan instead of Bray. That allowed him to eventually deliver the AA for the win in 22:26. A better match than I remember, mostly for the telling of a simple, yet effective story. [***½]

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker ~ Oh, boy. The result is what we all remember but there is indeed a match before it. Right off the bat, a problem here was trying to make this an epic like Taker’s matches with HBK, HHH, and Punk. That’s not Brock’s game. He’s at his best against smaller guys, especially when trying to go 15+ in this second run of his career. It should’ve been a clash of the titans of sort and under 15. It was also hurt by Taker suffering an early concussion. That meant the match moved along at a slow, plodding pace and you could see that the crowd wasn’t really into it. They’d chant for Taker to rally or something like that but it felt half-hearted. I don’t have much else to say about the actual match because nothing of real note happened until the finish. Undertaker survived a few F5s but he took one too many and lost the Streak in 25:10. Way too long and it dragged. A bad match but all anyone remembers is the result. Obviously, I’ll have much more to say about that in other sections but when talking match quality, this is the low point of the show. [*½]

WWE Divas Championship Vickie Guerrero Invitational ~ Since Divas Champion AJ Lee pissed off Vickie Guerrero one too many times, she was booked in this match which just saw her defend against the entire division. AJ Lee was the only person to get an entrance. As you’d expect, this was a total clusterfuck but it actually wasn’t bad. They did about as good as you can for a match that shoved 14 people into it and didn’t get a ton of time while also being in the death slot after Taker’s streak ended. A few notable spots saw a bunch of suplexes at once and the Bellas doing stereo tope suicidas. In the end, AJ caught Naomi in the Black Widow and seemingly grabbed her arm to make her submit in 6:47. Like I said, surprisingly decent given the situation. [**]

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton [c] vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan ~ After what happened to Taker, Bryan was seemingly the only thing that could wake people up. Early on, the idea was that Bryan was so battered from the first match that he was taken out easily, allowing Batista and Orton to have the one-on-one encounter they wanted. That was the worst section as Bryan brought energy to everything he did and the crowd ate it all up. Things were going well but then HHH and Stephanie showed up as Bryan got momentum going to really stack the deck and add to the underdog story. Of course, Bryan thwarted them but then still had more to overcome, including a Batista Bomb/RKO (really a neckbreaker) combo through the announce table. Orton landing on a monitor made for a wild bump. When they brought out the stretcher for Bryan, you could fell the fans worrying that he’d be done. Bryan returned though and yet they still have his run cut off. It was such a good use of the emotional ups and downs in a big match. When the big finish happened, it got the perfect reaction as Bryan made Batista tap to the Yes Lock, winning the top title at the 23:19 mark. A fantastic main event resulting in one of the coolest moments in history. [****¼]

There are some great matches on this show. Bryan/HHH is an all-time opener, the Kickoff match is very good, you’ve got a great main event, and even things like the battle royal delivered in spades. The only thing that really missed the mark was Brock/Undertaker and even that was boosted by the memorable outcome. Among the top Manias in this department.

SCORE: 9.0

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Memorability

Honestly, you could cut out everything from this event and only keep Brock beating Undertaker and this would likely still get a 10/10. Brock Lesnar ending the Streak might be the most memorable thing in wrestling history. So many of us grew up with the Streak and it felt like something that would never be broken at this point. The reaction of the ending here was unexpected, iconic, and truly unforgettable. There’s more though. You’ve got the show opening with Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock sharing a ring. There’s Cesaro slamming Big Show. There’s Daniel Bryan making it to the top and ending a night with 75,000+ doing the “Yes” chant as he celebrated with the World Titles. This is as memorable as it gets.

SCORE: 10.0

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Historical Significance

As is often the case, this section kind of lines up with Memorability. Things like the Streak ending are not only memorable but they’re incredibly historic. In a lot of ways, that’s the biggest win in Mania history and certainly the most shocking. There’s also the fact that we saw Rock, Hogan, and Austin share a Mania ring for the only time ever. WrestleMania XXX is also the first in the WWE Network era and marks the debut of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Throw in Bryan’s epic win and this is a very historic show.

SCORE: 9.0

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Booking Decisions

Yeah, this show basically nailed it. Daniel Bryan getting the big win was obvious but also the kind of thing that could’ve been poorly handled. This show does a good job in starting the Cesaro push (even if it didn’t end well), AJ Lee winning was the right move, and John Cena winning actually was fine. A lot of people disagree but good has to conquer evil on this kind of stage. The loss didn’t hurt Bray either. What hurt him was losing the overall feud and that his only win came in poor fashion the following month. The only questionable result was Brock beating Undertaker, which remains controversial to this day.

SCORE: 8.5

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Presentation

WrestleMania 29 set a high bar in terms of the stage so I think it’s fine that this show didn’t try to best it. Instead, they kept it relatively simple and I mean that in the best way. The XXX stage was just what it needed to be without overdoing it and it looked good. Things like Triple H’s entrance felt properly epic and was so well produced. I do feel that the Kid Rock theme song was a misfire though. It is the worst Mania theme song I can think of.

SCORE: 8.5

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Pacing/Flow

There isn’t all that much to say here and that’s a good thing. The show was paced out really well for the most part. It has a massive opener followed by a quick, energetic Shield squash. The battle royal never dragged and the crowd was into Cena/Wyatt. I could see an argument for splitting that and Brock/Taker given their length but it didn’t hurt things too much and putting the women after actually made sense since that wasn’t exactly a well-built match. This Mania mostly flies by.

SCORE: 9.0

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Entertainment

Here’s another category that doesn’t seem like anything special on paper but scores very well. The Austin/Rock/Hogan segment legitimately felt special, especially since it was a surprise to the live crowd. It’s the rare case of starting with a segment instead of a match being a good thing. Otherwise, this category covers a few small backstage bits like the WrestleMania I callback and the good live performances for Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton’s entrances.

SCORE: 8.5

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Overall

I knew this would rank near the top but I didn’t expect it to take the #1 position. Looking at it though, that makes total sense. The show is incredibly memorable and historic, scores high across every category, features some great moments, and has a strong card from top to bottom.

TOTAL: 62.5/70

WrestleMania Rankings
1. WrestleMania XXX – 62.5/70
2. WrestleMania XIX – 62/70
3. WrestleMania X-Seven – 61/70
4. WrestleMania XXIV – 59/70
5. WrestleMania III – 55/70
6. WrestleMania 21 – 52.5/70
7. WrestleMania X – 52/70
8. WrestleMania 23 – 51/70
9. WrestleMania VIII – 50.5/70
10. WrestleMania XX – 50/70
11. WrestleMania I – 50/70
12. WrestleMania XII – 48.5/70
13. WrestleMania 22 – 48/70
14. WrestleMania VII – 46/70
15. WrestleMania XIV – 46/70
16. WrestleMania XXVIII – 45/70
17. WrestleMania XXVI – 44/70
18. WrestleMania VI – 44/70
19. WrestleMania XXV – 43.5/70
20. WrestleMania XXVII – 43.5/70
21. WrestleMania X8 – 43.5/70
22. WrestleMania 2000 – 39.5/70
23. WrestleMania V – 39/70
24. WrestleMania 13 – 37/70
25. WrestleMania 29 – 35.5/70
26. WrestleMania XV – 35/70
27. WrestleMania IV – 32/70
28. WrestleMania XI – 31.5/70
29. WrestleMania IX – 31.5/70
30. WrestleMania II – 29/70