Wrestlemania 34: A tale of champions
Aaron Young
Staff Writer
Ever heard of the phrase, “Streaks are meant to be broken.”? Well, look no further than these to prove you otherwise. 111 straight wins from UCONN before losing, 107 years without a world series appearance for the Cubs, and now, 914 days, for Raw wrestler, Asuka.
WrestleMania 34 took place this last Sunday at New Orleans. The showcase of the Immortals put on a display of fireworks and offered one of the most stack cards in the show’s history. There were plenty of surprises, but the biggest one was Asuka’s streak ending. After 914 days of victory after victory, the Empress of Tomorrow tapped out to Charlotte in the Raw Women’s Championship match.
Another surprise was the return of the Phenom. After a month of bashing the Undertaker, John Cena FINALLY got an answer from the Deadman. Lightning struck the ring, the gong hit, and the stadium went into a pandemonium. The Dream Match became a reality and ended with John Cena getting a Tombstone Piledriver from the Undertaker and losing.
Things went from crazy to “Rowdy”, as the former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey made her in-ring debut. The baddest women on the planet made Steph tap out after potentially breaking her arm. Rousey definitely proved everyone wrong and put on what many would say was the best match of the night.
It got even more crazy when the ‘Monster of Men’ Braun Strowman and a fan, yes, A FAN! won the Raw Tag Team Champions. 10-year-old Nicholas may well become a celebrity over night with that victory.
Speaking of Monsters, the Bludgeon Brothers, the team of Luke Harper and Eric Rowan, dominated became the new Smackdown Tag Team Champions. After manhandling the competition, these two mammoths could be in for a long reign as the champs.
Before going any further, let’s take a break a look at what happened when ‘Mania was off air. Cedric Alexander became the Cruiserweight Champion after a high-flying match against Mustafa Ali. ‘Woken’ Wyatt came to the assistance to help ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. In the Women’s Battle Royal, Naomi shocked the WWE by eliminating Bayley.
On the topic of the Women’s division, Nia Jax got her revenge on Alexa Bliss, who bashed her for her weight and proudly claiming she “used” Nia all along.
Nia Jax wasn’t the only one to capture championship gold Sunday night. Seth Rollins captured his first Intercontinental Championship, after stealing the show with Finn Balor and the Miz. The Modern Day Maharaja, Jinder Mahal become US Champion.
Shinsuke Nakamura was led down the aisle by an electric guitarist. The Japanese “Rockstar” collided with the WWE Champion, AJ Styles. Despite the crowd not being into the match, these two delivered and the phenomenal one put away Nakamura with the Styles Clash. What was at first showmanship turned sour as Nakamura betrayed his friend, delivering his finisher before heading backstage.
New Orleans turned into Suplex City, as Brock Lesnar gave Roman Reigns at least 10 suplexes. Fighting for his life, Reigns wouldn’t give up, kicking out of 5 F5’s. He even went as far as receiving a bloody face but, in the end, Lesnar retained the Universal Championship.
Much controversy came out of the event, but one can agree that this WrestleMania was full of swerves, excitement, returns, and as always, was truly the biggest event in sports entertainment this year.
Photo: (Courtesy of The Associated Press)