411 Ranks The WrestleManias: #5 – WrestleMania 30

After two years of Rock vs. Cena, it was finally time for everyone to move on. The Shield was continuing their dominance over the WWE landscape, but would play a small part in the event. Bray Wyatt talked a big game and got to challenge the WWE’s top draw, John Cena to battle. After four years of battling Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and then a match with CM Punk, the Undertaker would face his biggest challenge to date from the Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar. And then there was Daniel Bryan, the star that the WWE never planned on but that the “WWE Universe” embraced and loved. Could he topple Triple H, move onto the WWE Title match and not only create a WrestleMania moment that would be second to none but also walk out with the title? Lets break down the card…

* Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H @ 25:58
* The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Kane and The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) @ 2:56
* Cesaro won the Andre the giant Battle Royal @ 13:25
* John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt @ 22:25
* Brock Lesnar defeated the Undertaker @ 25:12
* Diva’s Title Match: Champion AJ Lee defeated Naomi @ 6:48
* WWE World Title Match: Daniel Bryan defeated Batista and Champion Randy Orton @ 23:20 to become the NEW Champion

Larry Csonka
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H [****½] – The general feeling was that Bryan and Triple H go on first or very early, and that Bryan wins the match to head into the main event. Triple H’s over the top King of the Universe Shao Kahn looking entrance was great, as was Stephanie (wearing something from the Zatanna Zatara fashion line) introducing him. Bryan’s shoulder is still taped up, selling his shoulder injury, and I appreciate that. It made the attack done a couple weeks ago mean something, and gave something for the heel to work over. Triple H constantly working that arm is easy, draw heat and makes sense. This match was fantastic. They obviously had the crowd, but the work was tremendous. Both guys worked hard, and Triple H felt as if he went out of his comfort zone (in a good way) to make everything Bryan did work. Triple H was also awesome, as the match just worked on every level. The other thing I loved about this is that the match didn’t have the overly choreographed feeling. It felt like a fight at times, making it even better. Bryan got to kick out of the pedigree, and that shit has been reserved for the very top guys, and with the way they have done things I feel he needed to have that here. I also loved the reactions of both Triple H and Stephanie changing through out the match, from confidence to concern to then desperation. And then Bryan won clean with the knee, and the crowd just fucking loved it. As expected, they did the Tripe H post match attack. Everything went according to plan.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: These poor women, getting the jobber entrance (AJ got hers) and having to follow the Taker deal. They got about seven minutes, and really did the best that they could due under the circumstances. They had to battle the crowd, as well as the handicap of it being a 14 person, one fall match. They did some fun spots, clear outs, dive to the floor and the mini-tower of doom. They tried, and when they got rid of people it was solid. AJ, being super sneaky, made Naomi’s hand tap out during the black widow as the ref was in bad position. This pissed off Vickie Guerrero, because she wanted AJ to lose so bad. Again, given everything against them, they did well but I wish they could have had something easier to work with, like a four-way, but it was what it was – WWE continuing to bastardize something that they could be making money off of, but like midgets, they have a completely antiquated thought process when it comes to women’s wrestling.

Show MVP And Why: Daniel Bryan – He wrestled two matches, nearly 50-minutes and both of them were great and it led to a tremendous moment overall. It’s a pretty clear choice for me.

Your Thoughts on The Show: Let me say, it is hard to argue with the first hour of this show. Hogan, Rock and Austin all in the same ring at the same time playing the mutual admiration society and selling the importance of the show was a great moment. On top of that you get Bryan and Triple H in a 26-minute, MOTY contender, with the booking done exactly as it should have been. That is a hell of a way to kick off the show. Hour two started with a quick squash victory for the Shield, which while it may have been cut due to timing issue, came off very well. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was better than the average battle royal, and the right guy I felt won. Most of Cena vs. Wyatt was in hour two, which was good but not great. Hour two was nowhere near the homerun that hour one was, but worked just fine. Hour three was the finish of Cena vs. Wyatt, which again was good but not great. We then got the Hall of Fame cameos and the Taker vs. Brock match. Taker vs. Brock was most of the hour between promos, entrance and the match. Overall hour three came off as the weakest on the show, due to the lack of emotion and quality in the Taker vs. Lesnar match. The final hour was the divas match, and then the main event. Again, the Divas did the best with what they had to work with, I wish they were given better situations to succeed. The main event delivered a great story, a very good match and the moment fans wanted. For a show a lot of people seemed down on, and in a way I was, it ended with memorable moments. The Hogan/Austin/Rock summit, the great opener, Cesaro winning the battle royal with a shout to WrestleMania 3, the Undertaker finally losing at WrestleMania and Bryan finally winning the title and the big celebration. I felt that there were two great matches and the big moments that you look for at a WrestleMania event. Overall this was a very good show.

Kevin Pantoja
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H [****1/2] – If it wasn’t for Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart twenty years earlier, this would easily be considered the best opening match in WrestleMania history. This match had nearly everything you could want. Technical wrestling, storytelling, athletic displays and Stephanie McMahon’s legs. At this point, Triple H was wrestling once or twice a year for the most part, but looked like he was doing this every single week here. He went to toe to toe with arguably the best wrestler in the company and played his role perfectly. He relished in being the ultimate heel to the super underdog here. The crowd was red hot, which is always a plus. Some people were peeved that after kicking out of a ton of offense from Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker in previous years, one running knee from Bryan was enough to beat him but I was okay with that. It is the knee that beat John Cena a few months prior, so it was legitimized for sure.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker [**] – Technically, the Divas match was worse, but they still exceeded my expectations while this massively disappointed. Since his WrestleMania 23 match against Batista, the Undertaker has been delivering at WrestleMania every single year. Not this time though. The Streak itself ending is the obvious memorable part here but the match itself was pretty bad. It is possible that it could be the fact that Undertaker was possibly concussed early on, but the fact remains that the match was lackluster. The Streak ending was always going to be a shock but it was even more unbelievable that it came after such a disappointment of a match.

Show MVP And Why: Daniel Bryan – There can be no other answer. It’s funny that he was originally scheduled to not be in the main event, only to go on and work the two biggest matches on the show. Daniel Bryan went on to prove that he belonged by having two fantastic matches. I’ve already posted my notes on his opener with Triple H and after 25 grueling minutes there, he went out in the main event and had another classic. He, Batista and Randy Orton put on the best WrestleMania main event since the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at 26. He saved what was probably set to be a mediocre match between Orton and Batista. It was possibly the greatest WrestleMania night in history. Randy Savage and Bret Hart competed multiple times but some of those matches left some to be desired. Bryan had two great matches and stood tall to close the show in an incredible moment.

Your Thoughts on The Show: Going in, I wasn’t excited about this WrestleMania. Between the Battle Royal and the Divas match, it seemed like the WWE put little effort into things and just threw together as many people as possible. However, the show delivered. From the very good Pre-Show Tag Team Title match to the historic opening with Rock, Hogan and Austin to Bryan/HHH, we got off to a hot start. It continued with a fun Shield squash and the battle royal and Divas match over delivered. The show came off very well and the crowd was absolutely hot throughout. Hell, even the Undertaker’s streak ending couldn’t stop them from popping for Daniel Bryan in the main event. This will go down as a top 10, maybe even top five WrestleMania and I can totally understand that view.

Len Archibald
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan was a treat for DB fans, fans of well-told in-ring performances based on athleticism, fans of Stephanie McMahon’s HAWTness, fans of the underdog and fans of those who feel Triple H is the end-all of everything wrong with modern-day WWE. Triple H was a man on a mission in this match, proving that he is wholly capable of going toe-to-toe, hold-for-hold and move-for-move with WWE’s current best in-ring performer. Everything about this match was perfect, from H’s heelish dominance countering Bryan’s babyface perseverance to the Superdome crowd reaction hanging on every move and Stephanie turning her bitch-meter to 1000 outside the ring. I will never live it down – Triple H busted out the damn TIGER SUPLEX for spaghetti monster’s sake. The more I’ve thought about it and the more I have discussed it with my other wrasslin’ fans, this was a Triple H performing at a level I had not seen since 2000. Yes, he was that damn good – and he had to be in there against Daniel Bryan who was at a point nearly a year ago who may have been the only man to do the unfathomable and force fans to turn on Ricky Steamboat (heresy, I know – especially since I will go to my grave gleefully admitting Steamboat is the single best babyface ever.) This match was everything professional wrestling as art and spectacle should strive to be.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Brock Lesnar defeating The Undertaker’s streak for me was not the worst thing as a part of WrestleMania XXX because of the match layout, or because of who defeated Taker. It was the worst simply for the fact that Taker lost in the first place. Even if Shawn Michaels or CM Punk pulled off the impossible and was the one to break the streak, I would have felt the same way. I was shocked. I was sad. I was pissed. I was everything I should have been manipulated to feel in this moment. The Undertaker was the last great bastion of my childhood years as a wrestling fan. When he lost, the cold reality of not only adulthood, but my own mortality hit me like a truck. The Undertaker can lose. Nothing lasts forever. We are born, we live a little, we die. That’s it. Morbid, and true.

Show MVP And Why: Daniel Bryan performed in TWO great matches at WrestleMania in one night, and may wind up being considered as giving the single best WrestleMania performance ever. Bret Hart competed twice at WM; but after a classic clash with Owen Hart, his title match with Yokozuna left much to be desired; Randy Savage competed four times, but each match was fairly lackluster and was only bolstered by Savage himself until he met Ted DiBiase in the final match at WrestleMania IV. Daniel Bryan was given the unenviable task of being the main attraction, the main focus and the prime fan favorite in the 30th edition for pro wrestling’s biggest event and surpassed expectations. Bryan defeated all active members of Evolution in one night – defeating Triple H by himself (which is a more dangerous Triple H than if he competed against him in a multi-man), and defeated Randy Orton and Batista at the same time. He made Batista tap out. He had over 70,000 fans losing their minds at both the beginning and end of the night. Even after The Undertaker’s shocking loss deflated the New Orleans crowd, somehow Bryan’s energy and the desire of fans to see him walk away the big winner of the night erased that feeling for a few moments. THAT is the mark of a great performer.

Your Thoughts on The Show: I actually consider WrestleMania XXX as one of my top 5 WM’s of all time. Can of worms, opened. But I do feel that in the grand scheme of things, this was a super-tight show with focus, a hot crowd, great matches, great moments, an awesome arcing storyline, an earth-shattering event and catharsis for those who had put up with WWE since WrestleMania 1. It seems as if every 10th WM, Vince McMahon wakes up and realizes that there is still WRESTLE in the title of his biggest event, so he plans out that show accordingly for those who pay money to see just that. One can feel a true momentum shift from this show and a changing of the guard. The hint to that, I felt was WWE’s Mount Rushmore opening that placed The Rock, Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan – WWE’s Holy Trinity in the same ring at once. As great as they are – and always will be – their era has ended. Even the John Cen-Era (as much as many may not be able to see it) is coming to a close. WM XXX is ground zero for the next 10 years and everything that occurred at this show somehow laid the groundwork for all events that is leading up to WrestleMania 31: Deja vu of Daniel Bryan fighting against odds to main event that show and all.

Mike Chin
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: There was a lot to admire about WrestleMania 30, from the dream scenario promo of Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock riffing off of one another to open the show, to Cesaro getting a (woefully un-capitalized-upon) star turn in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. But when push comes to shove, WrestleMania 30 was defined by Daniel Bryan—the true modern day people’s champion who got his day in the sun when Batista’s return as a conquering hero flopped and CM Punk took his ball and went home. The match of the show the Bryan-Triple H opener—a beautiful piece of technical work highlighted by The Game’s dragon suplex and Bryan ultimately kneeing the COO’s head off. But the moment of the night belongs to Bryan’s return as a fatigued, injured man who nonetheless slayed two more dragons to cap the show—finally getting the upper hand on his rival from the fall, Randy Orton, and making Batista tap clean in the middle of the ring, so he could go on to celebrate as confetti poured over the ring.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: I’m sure this will draw mixed reactions, but in my mind, this dubious distinction goes to Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker’s streak. My reasoning is two-fold. First, there’s the fact that Lesnar didn’t need the push. Yes, The Beast has more or less making the most of this run by following up with a dominant win over John Cena at SummerSlam, and going on another good performance opposite Cena, and very good triple threat outing at the Royal Rumble. He’s established himself as perhaps the most insurmountable obstacle of a heel WWE has ever had. Just the same, a guy with Lesnar’s pedigree, look, and skill could have arrived at a similar destination without being the one to put a close to one of WrestleMania’s best stories. Have him destroy Hogan, Austin, and Rock to open the show. Have him decimate the field in the battle royal. Heck, have him squash Cena at ‘Mania. Ending the streak just didn’t feel necessary. Second, and no less important, the match in which Lesnar beat ‘Taker wasn’t particularly good. From what I can gather, The Undertaker suffered a concussion early on and wasn’t really himself for the rest of the match—I get that. Just the same, if such a monumental moment is going to happen, you would hope the match would be of a similar caliber to The Dead Man’s preceding outings with Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, or even Triple H. This one didn’t measure up.

Show MVP And Why: Yes! Yes! Yes! I explained already that Daniel Bryan’s run to the championship was the story of the show, but to put a slightly finer point on it, let’s also observe that the guy cumulatively worked over fifty minutes worth of main event level matches—that’s nearly twice as long as Randy Savage worked when he appeared four times at WrestleMania 4, and about twenty minutes longer than Bret Hart went in his two matches at WrestleMania 10. To my knowledge, only Hart and Shawn Michaels can claim more minutes in a single ‘Mania, for the WrestleMania 12 iron man match and as good as that one was (I am a fan of it) I’d argue that each of Bryan’s outings at WrestleMania 30 were a little bit better. Not too shabby for a “B+ player.”

Your Thoughts on The Show: WrestleMania 30 was a pretty special show, marking the culmination of a long journey to the top for Daniel Bryan, seeing the beginnings of what looked like it would be a major push for Cesaro, and solidifying The Shield’s place as top talents via a squash victory over a veteran trio. AJ Lee got a victory lap to her lengthy run atop the Divas division the night before she would pass the torch to Paige. The show also saw Brock Lesnar get the ultimate rub over The Undertaker, and Bray Wyatt get a major opportunity opposite John Cena (albeit one that didn’t do a ton for him). This wasn’t a perfect ‘Mania, but it was one that over-performed, and was one of the most successful examples of WWE both celebrating nostalgia and pushing new talents.

The List So Far…
30. WrestleMania 9
29. WrestleMania 2
28. WrestleMania 11
27. WrestleMania 4
26. WrestleMania 15
25. WrestleMania 27
24. WrestleMania 29
23. WrestleMania 25
22. WrestleMania 5
21. WrestleMania 13
20. WrestleMania
19. WrestleMania 6
18. WrestleMania 16
17. WrestleMania 7
16. WrestleMania 12
15. WrestleMania 8
14. WrestleMania 22
13. WrestleMania 28
12. WrestleMania 18
11. WrestleMania 14
10. WrestleMania 26
9. WrestleMania 23
8. WrestleMania 24
7. WrestleMania 21
6. WrestleMania 3
5. WrestleMania 30

REMINDER, each 411 writer had the opportunity to rank the WrestleMania events (based on overall quality, historical significance and personal preference), those rankings went into creating the final list.