WrestleMania XXX Weekend Report

I traveled to New Orleans this past weekend for WrestleMania. It was my second WrestleMania, as I attended last year’s show, but this was my first time traveling for it, and my first time going to events other than the big show.

I arrived in New Orleans with my cousin at around 1:30 am CST. We were surrounded by other fans in Daniel Bryan shirts, and we were greeted by huge WrestleMania XXX banners welcoming us to New Orleans.

We stayed in a hotel outside the city, so there was not much there, except for more fans in Bryan shirts and Wyatt Family sheep masks.

On Saturday afternoon, the part of town around Bourbon Street was filled with wrestling fans, there were even a few “YES” chants.

On Saturday night, the Hall of Fame Ceremony was wonderful. Lita’s speech was long, but it was a very good story. It was also fun seeing her give Arn Anderson two beers for helping her meet Rey Mysterio, long before she was famous, then seeing Mysterio get upset that Anderson wasn’t sharing. This was only the first speech, and this was, unfortunately, when the crowd started to turn.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts was next. Jake’s speech was sad, but beautiful. He talked about how his father was never there when he was a child, because his father was away wrestling, and how he vowed he wouldn’t do that when he was a father, then he did. He talked about how he basically ignored everything he was supposed to be doing as a father. He then talked about his life in general, and how his addictions would tear him apart. He would see his friends die, and be sad it wasn’t him. The problem was that the crowd was cheering this whole time, I don’t know why. I think they weren’t paying attention. Then it started to turn around. He talked about DDP and all the good he’s done him, and how his kids have given him a second chance. He brought his young grandson up on stage and said he would main event WrestleMania 50. He thanked everybody for giving him a second chance and left with a standing ovation.

Kane came out to introduce Paul Bearer’s two sons, as they inducted their father into the Hall of Fame. Kane gave a really nice speech about how he knew he would’ve never made it without Bearer at his side. Bearer’s sons came out for a very quick speech. Only one of his son’s spoke and he thanked the crowd for allowing them to share their father with them and for appreciating him so much. He left with a spot-on impression of his father’s “Ohhhhhh yesss.” Once they got off stage, The Undertaker’s music hit. He walked on stage to a very loud ovation, as he did his signature pose, with the urn in his hand, looking up at a graphic on the Titan Tron for Bearer.

Big pops for Kevin Nash, who introduced Razor Ramon, then a standing ovation for Ramon himself. Once the crowd settled down and Ramon could speak, he let out a simple “Hey yo,” and the crowd erupted again. Ramon had the line of the night to end his speech, “bad times don’t last, but bad guys do.” Then the rest of his friends from The Kliq, Nash, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and X-Pac, came out to congratulate him and pose with him on stage. This was, by far, my favorite induction of the night.

Ultimate Warrior was last. Seeing Warrior’s daughters accompany him onto the stage, made the news of his passing so much more heartbreaking. Everybody else was accompanied by Divas, but Warrior brought his daughters, and spoke very glowingly of them during his speech. Warrior’s speech was very nice, but it definitely took some Warrior-esque turns, like when he called out Ted DiBiase, who questioned Warrior going into the Hall of Fame a few months ago. All in all, it was a good show put on by the WWE, I was very impressed.

Sunday morning, I attended Axxess, and it was so much better than I expected. It truly was a celebration of the WWE, and there’s no better time for that, than the morning of WrestleMania. The NXT ring put on a great show, including a really fun final match of the day from Adrian Neville, Tyler Breeze and CJ Parker for the NXT Championship. They have stations set up for people to recreate Superstars’ entrances, there’s a station filled with certain pieces of memorabilia, like boots worn by Andre the Giant. There was even a life-size Andre the Giant statue, that people could take pictures with.

The signings are pretty cool as well. The Real Americans must have said “We the People” 15 times in their two-hour session, and I have a picture (above) of me doing the Emma Dance with Emma. Hall of Fame and Axxess are two events that are special to WrestleMania weekend, so if you go to WrestleMania, you must do them. They are very unique and they are a blast.

Then it was time for the Show of Shows. Long before the show started, “Woo” and “YES” chants were very frequently heard. Lillian Garcia’s music was the signal that the Pre-Show match was about to start, and as a result, she got one of the biggest pops of the night.

The noise a WrestleMania crowd makes does not translate well on TV, between the open-air arenas, and how truly cavernous the Silver, I mean, Superdome is. The dueling “We the People/Let’s go Usos” chants at the end of the Pre-Show match was awesome.

Daniel Bryan-Triple H opening the show was brilliant. Triple H had a lot of heat, and I could barely hear myself speak when Bryan came out. The crowd was into the match the whole way. Bryan kicking out of the Pedigree, and pinning Triple H on the first Knee Plus were two mega pops that rivaled any others that occurred throughout the night.

Cesaro winning the battle royal was another crazy moment. The crowds have really gotten behind him since he started doing the swing, but nothing will compare to when he picked up Big Show and tossed him over the top rope like he was Rey Mysterio.

The crowd was very pro-Wyatt, but appreciated the storytelling that went on in Bray’s match with John Cena. Cena got cheered by the crowd for the most part after the win, especially when he hugged the kid at ringside.

There are no words to describe the silence that overtook the Superdome when The Undertaker lost. Nobody thought he could lose. The phrase “you could hear a pin drop” could apply here, but all I could hear was Paul Heyman yelling.

The “tap” chant when Bryan locked in the Yes Lock on Batista was another loud chant, and the explosion from the crowd when he did was surreal. I was there, so that skews my interpretation, but I truly believe that this was the greatest WrestleMania of all time.

Raw was really fun, but I won’t get too into it. I will just say that the “Daniel Bryan” and “You deserve it” chants at the beginning were truly special moments, and Paige’s debut was a debut that I will never forget, she deserves it as well, and she’s only 21 years old.

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