WWE: 10 WrestleMania events to watch for free on the Network

WrestleMania 30 (April 6, 2014 from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA)

When WWE struck a deal with ESPN to air previous WrestleManias in the weeks leading to WrestleMania 36, there’s a reason their first choice was WrestleMania 30. Things were epic right from the start, as Daniel Bryan had a nearly 26-minute classic against Triple H to earn his way into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match later that night.

We also saw the first WrestleMania appearance of The Shield, which took less than three minutes to destroy Kane and The New Age Outlaws. The night also featured the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which saw Cesaro eliminate Big Show to become the first winner.

John Cena took on Bray Wyatt in a match that many still believe had the wrong outcome but was still a great contest from two greats who are set to have a very different kind of confrontation at WrestleMania 36. Brock Lesnar took on The Undertaker in a great contest that saw the shocking end of The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.

While not the best match they could have provided, AJ Lee took on 13 other competitors in the Vickie Guerrero Invitational to defend the WWE Divas Championship. Considering the mark AJ Lee left on the industry, and the other great names in this contest, it’s still definitely worth watching.

All of that led to the main event where Randy Orton defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat against Daniel Bryan and Batista. The reality is that Daniel Bryan should have won the 2014 Royal Rumble, but Batista was actually the one who did win.

Fans refused to accept it, and their vocal support of Bryan led to one of the most iconic WrestleMania main events and an instant classic between these three. Daniel Bryan wrestled for nearly 50 minutes on this night and walked out having overcome every possible obstacle to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.