WrestleMania a memorable show
WWE presented the 34th annual WrestleMania Sunday night on the WWE Network, and it will go down as one of the best versions of the show.
And, unfortunately, it will also go down as the longest as the official show ran for five hours and 15 minutes.
When you toss in the two-hour Kickoff show, and it made for an exhaustingly long night for wrestling fans.
California Area Athletic Director Chris Minerd attended the show.
鈥淭he first few hours were on track to be one of the greatest Manias in history,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut, Manias are just too long.鈥�
The three matches on the preshow were entertaining with Matt Hardy winning the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal, Cedrick Alexander winning the vacant crusierwieght title over Mustafa Ali in a really good match and Naomi winning the first-ever women蘑菇视频 battle royal at a Mania.
The biggest surprise from the two-hour Kickoff show was Bray Wyatt helping his nemesis win the Andre battle royal.
Also on the Kickoff show, John Cena was shown going to his seat to sit with fans.
In the opener of the actual Mania card, Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor and Intercontinental champion The Miz to win the title.
The match was tremendous and a great way to kick off the card.
Rollins winning the title was a surprise for most fans, but the match really got the crowd into the show from the opening bell.
The show started off 2-for-2 in terms of incredible matches as Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka via submission to retain the title as well as end Asuka蘑菇视频 undefeated streak.
Kudos for the pair as they put on one of, if not, the best women蘑菇视频 matches in Mania history.
The crowd was emotional throughout the match and was hot for how things started out on the show. Speaking of emotions, Flair had a hard time containing hers after the match.
It was at the end of the match that referee Dan Engler went into the crowd and told Cena that Taker was at the arena, which sent the 16-time champ to the locker room.
The fatal four-way for the United States title followed and as was discussed in this column several months ago, WWE put the title on Jinder Mahal when he pinned Rusev in the match that also saw Bobby Roode and former champion Randy Orton perform.
Having Rusev get pinned was a bit of a downer for fans as he was one of the most popular wrestlers all night long.
Ironically, Mahal ended Orton蘑菇视频 United States title reign just like he ended 鈥淭he Viper蘑菇视频鈥� heavyweight title reign last week.
Next up was the Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey versus Triple H and Stephanie McMahon mixed tag match.
The bout blew away all expectations and was put together perfectly as it masked the inexperience of both Rousey and McMahon.
The Bludgeon Brothers defeated The New Day and the Smackdown champions, The Usos, to win the titles in a match that was far too short.
Following the match, Cena made his way to the ring and waited for Taker to come to the ring, but instead Elias showed up to sing. Cena beat Elias up and when Taker did not show up, Cena蘑菇视频 music began playing and he made his way up the ramp.
The lights went out and a spotlight shone on Taker蘑菇视频 hat and gloves.
After the spotlight went out, Taker蘑菇视频 music hit and he made his way to the ring.
It took longer for Taker to get to the ring than it did for the match to take place as Taker won following a tombstone in 2:45.
Since Cena became the face of WWE, this was only the second time he has been defeated so decisively, but considering Taker蘑菇视频 physical health, it was understandable.
Speaking of Taker, he moved around much better than he did a year ago against Roman Reigns.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in the next match, and the crowd was hot for Bryan蘑菇视频 return.
Bryan made Zayn tap out which means Owen and Zayn are fired from Smackdown.
Will they head to Raw or will they wrestle under masks on Smackdown?
Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss to win the Raw women蘑菇视频 title, and it was followed by the A.J. Styles-Shinsuke Nakamura WWE title match.
Styles retained the title and the match was good, but it did not live up to the standards that many set for it.
Maybe Styles鈥� leg injury hampered him or it was because the crowd was starting to feel burned out, but something lacked.
Braun Strowman chose a fan for his mystery partner and made quick work of Sheamus and Cesaro to win the Raw tag titles.
The fan that Strowman picked, Nicholas, was seated ringside and is 10 years old. It was announced Monday that Nicholas, who is now the youngest champion in WWE history, is the son of referee John Cone.
In somewhat of a surprise, Brock Lesnar defeated Reigns to retain the Universal title.
Everyone expected Reigns to walk away the winner since Lesnar蘑菇视频 deal is up and he is headed back to UFC, but he pinned Reigns after delivering his fifth F-5 of the match.
There will be plenty more Mania week news in this weekend蘑菇视频 column, so check it out.