WWE WrestleMania 34: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

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Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

Result: Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon defeated Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn via submission

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the introduction of the 2018 Hall of Fame Class. Quick thoughts: Mark Henry is the best, still weird seeing Double J back, Goldberg is a badass, and Jarrius Robertson is a national treasure. (It’s also hilarious to me that Taker/Cena was basically the segue to the Hall of Fame segment.)

But on to the match at hand. I’m writing this with blurred vision from tears of joy seeing Bryan back in the ring.

It’s ridiculous on the face of it – I’ve never met the man, I’m just a fan, he’s not someone I grew up watching but rather a peer in terms of age. He just seems so happy to be back in the ring, I can’t help but be happy for the guy.

Of course, Owens and Zayn are the resident former reigning jerks of SmackDown, so they attack from behind before the match. Shane gets taken out in front of his family – with one of his sons yelling at Zayn, which whoa – and Bryan takes an apron bomb and gets loaded on a stretcher.

Shane decides to go it alone, gets the ref to ring the bell, and after a brief offensive flurry he falls victim to two angry opponents attacking his diverticulitis-riddled gut. Shane somehow manages to hit his coast to coast dropkick, which murders his intestines even more and opens him up to a wicked bullfrog splash from KO.

BUT IN FLIES DANIEL BRYAN FOR THE SAVE, because did you really think he was getting stretchered out of his big comeback? Nah, son. Shane makes a hot tag to Bryan, who just nonchalantly enters the ring with a look of quiet rage in his eyes.

After the layoff, Bryan hasn’t lost a step. All of his signature moves were crisp as could be, and the initial sequence from his tag in is going to be highlight reel material for years. It was terrifying as hell at points, like after the missile dropkick when he grabbed his head before the kip up. DON’T DO THAT, DANIEL!

Shockingly, there was no shenanigans or turns during the match. Bryan kicked out of both a Helluva Kick and a Pop Up Powerbomb, which whatever. He nailed the YES Kicks – great call making sure Miz didn’t do them during the opener, because the pop was HUGE. The running knee strike looked like murder, and he capped it off with a YES Lock, forcing Zayn to tap out.

So KO and Zayn don’t get reinstated to the SmackDown roster. I’m assuming they show up on Raw tomorrow – unless they get a bit of a vacation to sell the “firing” for a bit. The match was really good, but too much Shane gimping around hurts it a bit. I get that it was a big part of the story, but I just don’t generally care for Shane’s matches when he’s at full strength – let alone hobbled with intestinal issues.