WrestleMania XXX was a 2014 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 30th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was the first WWE event simultaneously broadcast live on PPV and livestreamed on WWE's subscription streaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in February. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan served as the host of the event.
Eight matches were contested on the event's card, including one on the Pre-Show. In the main event, Daniel Bryan defeated Batista and defending champion Randy Orton in a triple threat match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Bryan qualified for the match by defeating Triple H in the opening bout. In other prominent matches, John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt and Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker to end his undefeated streak at WrestleMania. The event also saw the WWE Divas Championship defended on the main card for the first and only time it was contested at a WrestleMania.
WWE claimed US$10.9 million in ticket revenue for WrestleMania XXX and estimated a $142.2 million economic impact on New Orleans. The event has received highly positive reviews, and is often regarded as one of the greatest WrestleMania events of all time. SLAM! Wrestling rated the show a 4.5 out of 5, while Pro Wrestling Torch rated the event 8.75 out of 10 and The Times-Picayune described it as "spectacular". Particular praise has been given to the overall Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority storyline, which culminated at the event. Despite the event's positive reception, the decision to have Brock Lesnar end The Undertaker's undefeated streak polarized fans, critics, and former wrestlers.
Production
Background WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". The event has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.
On February 18, 2013, WWE announced that WrestleMania XXX (alternatively stylized as WrestleMania 30) would be held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 6, 2014. On August 12, travel packages for WrestleMania XXX went on sale, which included tickets to WrestleMania, hotel room accommodation, and other activities, including WrestleMania Axxess, the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, and the Raw after WrestleMania; the cheapest package cost $795 per person. On November 16, individual tickets went on sale through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $25 to $850.
In addition to being sold as a pay-per-view through television providers (with prices ranging from $55 to $70), WrestleMania XXX was the first WWE PPV event to be livestreamed in simulcast on the WWE Network—WWE's subscription streaming service that launched in February with video on demand access to the company's library, original programming, and pay-per-view events, costing $9.99 per month with a six-month contract.
The event was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Louisiana. There were four official theme songs for the event: "Celebrate" by Kid Rock, "Legacy" by Eminem, "In Time" by Mark Collie, and "Monster" by Imagine Dragons. A promotional poster for the event was released through pay-per-view providers, such as In Demand, with the tagline laissez les bons temps rouler. The WrestleMania set was built by a crew of roughly 400 workers over two weeks, assembling equipment carried by 85 semi-trailer trucks.
After the 2014 Royal Rumble event in late January, CM Punk reportedly legitimately walked out on WWE while still under contract and WWE stopped promoting him for future events; which Pro Wrestling Torch editor Wade Keller analyzed as playing a part in Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania journey. In May 2014, Bryan revealed in an interview that he also believed that WWE decided to give him the big WrestleMania spotlight only after Punk quit. Daniel Bryan entered the event as the bookmakers' favorite to walk out of WrestleMania as champion, while the biggest favorite to earn a victory was the Undertaker, which Forbes endorsed as "as close to a sure thing as you're going to find".
Storylines The event comprised eight matches, including one on the Pre-Show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.
Daniel Bryan's eight-month road to WrestleMania began at SummerSlam in August 2013, when he started feuding with Triple H and Randy Orton. Since June, Bryan had been praised as one of the top performers in WWE by critics and veterans of the professional wrestling industry, as his rise in status led him to a title shot at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, Bryan defeated John Cena to win his first WWE Championship with Triple H as the special guest referee. After the match, Triple H turned heel by attacking Bryan, which directly led to Orton using his Money in the Bank title opportunity for an immediate title shot. Orton pinned a downed Bryan to capture the WWE Championship. After SummerSlam, Triple H claimed that it was a "business decision" to sabotage Bryan because Bryan did not fit the type of wrestler that the company was looking for as its champion; therefore, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon (later known as The Authority) instead endorsed Orton as the "face of the WWE". Over the next few months, Bryan was constantly sabotaged in his attempts to gain and hold on to the WWE Championship. Bryan defeated Orton to regain the WWE Championship at Night of Champions, but due to referee Scott Armstrong making a fast count, Triple H stripped Bryan of the title the next night on Raw. At Battleground, a match between Bryan and Orton for the vacant title ended in a no contest when Big Show (who had been manipulated by the Authority in the weeks prior) attacked both men. Bryan once again challenged Orton in a Hell in a Cell match for the vacant championship at Hell in a Cell; Triple H interfered in the match and was attacked by Bryan, resulting in special guest referee Shawn Michaels attacking Bryan, which led to Orton capturing the WWE Championship again.
At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena in a TLC match to unify the two titles into the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In January 2014, Batista returned to WWE after having left in May 2010, and promptly won the 2014 Royal Rumble match for a slot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXX. Batista's win and Daniel Bryan's lack of participation in the Royal Rumble match was heavily booed by the live crowd at the Royal Rumble. At Elimination Chamber, Randy Orton successfully defended his championship in the Elimination Chamber match to set up Orton versus Batista (who still received a negative fan reaction at Elimination Chamber when he defeated Alberto Del Rio) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXX. Daniel Bryan also participated in the Elimination Chamber match, but was the last wrestler eliminated due to interference by Director of Operations Kane, who was affiliated with the Authority.
Frustrated over being constantly cost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by the Authority, Bryan challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania XXX. When Triple H refused Bryan's challenge, Bryan brought a large group of fans on the March 10 episode of Raw to "occupy" the ring and refused to leave. An irate Triple H agreed to Bryan's demand for a WrestleMania match with the stipulation that if Bryan won, he would be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. On the March 17 episode of Raw, Triple H voiced his frustrations over Orton and Batista, then changed the stipulation of his own match, guaranteeing that the winner between him and Bryan would be added to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, thus assuring a triple threat match for the title.
On the February 24 episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar and his manager Paul Heyman voiced their complaints about Lesnar not being in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. Instead, the Authority offered Lesnar a contract to face anyone else at WrestleMania. They were interrupted by a returning Undertaker, in his first appearance since April 2013, who confronted Lesnar. While Lesnar signed the contract for a match at WrestleMania with The Undertaker as his opponent, The Undertaker accepted Lesnar's challenge by stabbing Lesnar with a pen and performing a chokeslam on Lesnar through a table. This set up a match where Lesnar would attempt to break The Undertaker's 21–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
At the Royal Rumble, The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Bray Wyatt) cost John Cena his match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton. At the Elimination Chamber event, the Wyatt Family attacked Cena during his Elimination Chamber match for the same championship, which directly led to Cena's elimination from the match. Wyatt was motivated by a desire to end "this era of lies", beginning with Cena, because he wanted to expose to the world that Cena being an upholder of all that is moral and good and right was merely a hollow illusion. Proving that Cena was a fraud would ruin his legacy, but Wyatt wanted to take it one step further by turning Cena into a monster. On the March 10 episode of Raw, Cena issued Wyatt a challenge for a match at WrestleMania, which Wyatt accepted.
Event
+Other on-screen personnelRoleNameHostHulk HoganEnglish CommentatorsMichael Cole Jerry Lawler John "Bradshaw" Layfield Spanish CommentatorsCarlos CabreraMarcelo RodríguezRicardo RodriguezFrench CommentatorsChristophe AgiusPhilippe ChéreauInterviewerGene OkerlundRing announcersLilian Garcia Justin Roberts Howard Finkel RefereesCharles RobinsonMike ChiodaJohn ConeRyan TranChad PattonJason Ayers Rod ZapataScott ArmstrongPre-show panelJosh MathewsBooker TAlex RileyTrish Stratus
Commentary Analysis was hosted by Josh Mathews with Mick Foley, Booker T, and Shawn Michaels; joining midway were retired National Football League linebacker Shawne Merriman, Jimmy Hart, Alex Riley, and Trish Stratus. Renee Young directed social media discussion, while Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips conducted backstage interviews.
Pre-show The WrestleMania Pre-Show was split into two segments, each an hour long; the first half could be watched for free on WWE.com, YouTube, and other social media outlets, while the second half (which had the pre-show match) was only available on the WWE Network.
The Pre-Show match was a fatal four-way elimination tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between defending champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel), Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando), accompanied by El Torito, and The Real Americans (Jack Swagger and Cesaro), (accompanied by Zeb Colter). Swagger applied the Patriot Lock on Fernando to eliminate Los Matadores, followed by Cesaro, who performed a European uppercut after throwing Ryback in the air and hit a Neutralizer on Ryback to eliminate RybAxel. In the closing moments, after Jey Uso threw Cesaro into Swagger, Jimmy Uso tagged in and the Usos performed a double superkick and then a double top rope diving splash on Cesaro to retain the titles. Following the match, Swagger blamed Cesaro for the loss and applied the Patriot Lock in Cesaro. Colter demanded that they put their differences aside, however, Cesaro performed the giant swing on Swagger and walked off.
Miscellaneous