WrestleMania Debuts
There were a number of WWE Superstars and one member of the WWE Universe who had their first WrestleMania match in history, including:
- Mike Kanellis
- Dash Wilder
- Scott Dawson
- Tye Dillinger
- Cedric Alexander
- Mustafa Ali
- Dana Brooke
- Mandy Rose
- Sonya Deville
- NXT Superstar Kairi Sane
- NXT Superstar Kavita Devi
- NXT Superstar Taynara Conti
- NXT Superstar Bianca Belair
- NXT Superstar Dakota Kai
- NXT Superstar Peyton Royce
- Liv Morgan
- Ruby Riott
- Sarah Logan
- Finn Balor
- Asuka
- Bobby Roode
- Ronda Rousey
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- WWE Universe Member Nicholas
This was not only Ronda Rousey’s first WrestleMania match, but it was her first WWE match in history as well; she definitely proved that she belongs after picking up the victory for her tag team partner Kurt Angle and herself. As far as the NXT Superstars who competed at WrestleMania go, since none of them won the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, they had to wait to get moved up to WWE’s main roster.
New Champions and Titleholders
This year at WrestleMania, the following six championships changed hands:
- Cedric Alexander beat Mustafa Ali to win the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
- Seth Rollins beat The Miz in a Triple Threat Match that also included Finn Balor to become the brand new Intercontinental Champion.
- Jinder Mahal beat Rusev in a Fatal 4-Way Match that also included Randy Orton and Bobby Roode to become the brand new United States Champion.
- The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) beat The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match that also included The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) to become the brand new SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
- Nia Jax beat Alexa Bliss to become the brand new Raw Women’s Champion.
- Braun Strowman & WWE Universe Member Nicholas beat The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) to become the brand new Raw Tag Team Champions.
It should also be pointed out that Matt Hardy is the man to win the 5th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Naomi is the first woman in history to win the inaugural WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.
WrestleMania Shockers
This year’s WrestleMania had a lot of shocking things that happened. First, Bray Wyatt shocked everybody by helping Matt Hardy win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. A lot of people never thought it was possible, but Matt Hardy has actually helped Bray Wyatt see the light. Then, current SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair not only retained her championship, but also became the first woman to defeat Asuka via submission. Ever since making her WWE debut a few years ago, Asuka had not lost a single match by pinfall/submission up until this point. Also, after AJ Styles beat Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the WWE Championship, Nakamura shocked the entire world when he gave a post-match beatdown to Styles, thus turning his back on the WWE Universe. In a more touching and inspirational shocker, Braun Strowman chose a 10-year-old member of the WWE Universe named Nicholas to be his mystery tag team partner against Raw Tag Team Champions The Bar. Strowman did all of the work and got the victory and the championships for Nicholas and himself. Finally, it took not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six F-5s for Brock Lesnar to defeat a bloodied and battered Roman Reigns and retain the Universal Championship.
Things That Should Have Happened
WrestleMania 34 was an overall great event, but there are a few things I feel should have happened that did not. First, every major championship was up for grabs except for one, that being the WWE United Kingdom Championship. As a matter of fact, the WWE United Kingdom Champion did not even compete in a non-title match. I feel that WWE should have allowed Pete Dunne to compete at WrestleMania and defend his championship. Another thing that I feel should have happened is Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for the Raw Women’s Championship. As happy as I am that Nia Jax became champion, it should have been Sasha and Bayley who faced off for the championship because there were some significant conflicts between the two in the events leading up to WrestleMania and I feel that would have been a great opportunity for them to settle the score as opposed to having other women in between them in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal. Speaking of the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, I think it should have been named in honor of a female WWE Hall of Famer since the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was named in honor of the late, great WWE Hall of Famer Andre the Giant. The WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal was originally going to be in honor of the late, great WWE Hall of Famer Fabulous Moolah, but for some reason, a lot of people were opposed to that. If not The Fabulous Moolah, then WWE should have done it in honor of some other female WWE Hall of Famer. I also feel that The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie) and Ember Moon should have entered the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal as well.
Other Notes
Even though it was last minute, The Undertaker finally responded to John Cena and accepted his WrestleMania challenge with Undertaker coming out victorious. It should also be pointed out that Celebrity Wing WWE Hall of Famer Kid Rock was not present while the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018 was introduced during WrestleMania. Finally, The “Yep!” Movement (Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn) had to beat Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan (who made his in-ring return) in order to get rehired to WWE and despite their underhanded tactics, they failed to beat Shane O-Mac & D-Bry; therefore, The “Yep!” Movement remained fired.
