And (for better and worse), the end of an era and the passing of the torch.
Let's go.
Well, damn. 0 for 1 already. Neville defeats Austin Aries wth a heel move to retain the Cruiserweight Championship.
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Mojo Rawley wins the Andre the Giant Battle Royale, with an assist from Rob Gronkowski.
Why? Because.
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There is no sex appeal like Paul Heyman Sex Appeal.
Who is that random no-name girl in the WWE social lounge? Did she win a contest or something?
The Intercontinental Match is apparently on the Kickoff Show.
Ok, if the Rock shows up to waste 20 minutes of time again on the main card, I'm gonna be annoyed.
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I'm expecting Baron Corbin to go over Dean Ambrose tonight.
Tough break for Dean at Wrestlemanias of late, if that's what happens. But it makes sense to give Corbin credibility.
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Heh. Wrong again. Dean Ambrose defeats Baron Corbin and retains the IC title.
I'm really happy to be wrong that time.
I've been wrong with my predictions thus far.
....
Roman Reigns is going to beat The Undertaker tonight. #IGotThis #FoolProofPlan
Never not awesome when we get a flyover.
Strike Fighter Squadron 204 & Fighter Squadron Composite 12.
The WWE marketing team really likes roller coasters.
That's a really long ramp for New Day to push that ice cream stand down.
Xavier Woods had Paige pull his lever. #ShowMyselfOut
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AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon.
I have AJ winning. But we'll now know right out the gate if we have a shot at Fuck The Fans Wrestlemania.
Uh oh. Official got taken down. #FuckTheFans ?
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AJ goes for a trashcan drop on Shane.
Shane counters with that same trashcan.
The "official is out for 20 minutes so this is now an Anything Goes Match" gimmick is so delightfully dumb.
But hey, its Rasslin'.
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It's not a Shane O' Mac match if he doesn't leap through a table.
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No Fuck The Fans Wrestlemania.
AJ Styles gets his first Mania win. What a run he's having.
KO vs. Jericho.
There'd be more suspense to this match if we didn't know Jericho is touring with Fozzy coming up.
An amazing run out of Jericho this year. Complete reinvention of his character. Hope we get at least one more run out of him before he hangs them up.
Cool scarf on Y2J.
Jericho spittin' some venom. #YouSonOfABitch
Kevin Owens has some blood on his head. #ThisShitAintFake
Kevin Owens tries to submit Jericho with the Walls of Jericho.
....It doesn't work for him either. #DatShitDontWork
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"You were never my best friend!" #MaleSoapOpera
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Jericho puts over Kevin Owens, as expected.
We'll see you again Y2J. Enjoy the 1st Mania win KO.
Raw Women's Championship Fatal Four Way.
I'm thinking they give it to Sasha Banks, since she's the only Four Horsewoman who hasn't won it yet on a pay-per-view.
But they've been teasing a Nia Jax win pretty heavily. We'll see.
Bayley gets her wacky inflatable tube men, Mania-sized.
Sasha Banks gets driven down to the ring in a classic ride.
Nia Jax gets a rock.
Yay network issues. #GoodJobWWENetwork #NineNinetyNine
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Nia Jax makes a lot of noise in this match. But the other three gang up to eliminate her.
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Charlotte's reverse corkscrew leap is pretty impressive.
Wow, Sasha has been eliminated.
That is surprising. Still no PPV belt wins for her.
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Bayley retains.
Man, this has been some kind of "keep the status quo" weekend.
Good on Bayley. Pity they didn't have her pick up the belt for the first time tonight instead of a retention.
Nobody has ever made "you suck" chants mean so much the opposite. #LoveYaKurt
It'd be cool for this to be Enzo and Cass's night. #CertifiedGs
Teaming up Sheamus and Cesaro has been gold for both their careers. Glad to see it. Those guys both deserved better than what they were getting.
Oh shit. Is team #4 the Hardys?
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THE FUCKING HARDYS!!!!!!!!!
#DeleteDeleteDeleteDelete
Well played WWE. Well goddamned played. #GreatSurprise #DeleteDeleteDelete
That means Jeff Hardy totally played everyone with that "I'm not signing with WWE" interview.
Well done all around. Good show.
Almost 30 swings for Cesaro Swingin' on that one.
Matt and Jeff Hardy are Raw Tag Team Champions. Awesome.
Matt does a "Delete!" on the ladder. Sue that Impact.
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I will be surprised if Cena/Nikki vs. Miz/Maryse doesn't end with Cena proposing to Nikki. (After them winning of course.)
It's been such a fixture of this story that it'll be kind of a letdown otherwise.
Pay attention to those babyface boos for Cena, Roman.
That's your future.
Only John Cena could make a Wrestlemania audience cheer this loud for Miz.
What has five fingers and meets Miz's face?
Slap!
Oh don't boo Cena and Nikki winning, audience. You knew it was gonna happen.
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Cena has a mic in his hand.
....
I wonder why????
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Here it is...... #Proposal
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There he is. On one knee.
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Amazing story from Cena about what he asked Nikki before she went into surgery.
Perfectly done. Happy for them.
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Here we are. Rollins vs. Triple H.
So hyped for this match. Hope they deliver.
This entrance for Trips is pretty cool. Give some of Orlando's Finest a chance to hang out at Wrestlemania.
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The Future of WWE is here.
Really cool "torch the ramp" effect with Rollins' entrance.
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They're selling the hell out of Rollins hurting his knee again.
...At least I hope they're selling.
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Are Samoa Joe or Finn Balor going to show up and get involved here? #NonSanctionedMatch
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Uh oh. Sledgehammer Time.
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Rollins with a leaping kick seemingly straight from the ground.
It wasn't, he was up, but still. Impressive.
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Holy shit they had me going with that three count near fall for Rollins.
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Rollins Phoenix Splash, another near fall.
Damn this is tense.
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Stephanie gets knocked through a table.
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Rollins wins clean. No involvement from any other parties.
That'll work. Great match.
I do give Stephanie McMahon credit. She's always willing to take the bumps for the fans at these shows.
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Multiple matches left, and now this five minute or so music act just because.
Yeah we're not ending by 11pm Eastern.
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Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton.
*sigh* C'mon WWE. Do the right thing. Put Bray over.
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Bray's entrance will never not be awesome. #TheFireflies
A viper graphic followed Randy on the ramp as he made his entrance.
All sorts of cool graphics on the ramp tonight.
It is kinda funny to me that they simply never say the "Heavyweight" part of "WWE World Heavyweight Championship" anymore, even though it still says it on the belt.
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Bray Wyatt with some supernatural mind games. #BeTheNewUndertaker
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More mind games from Bray.
Need to make tonight his night. Gotta happen.
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Randy Orton wins.
Goddammit.
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Stupid. Really stupid.
Fuck whomever makes decisions about Bray Wyatt.
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I hope at some point WWE decides to make Bray a credible villain. The guy who delivers in big spots, instead of the guy destined to lose.
But if it hasn't happened yet, maybe they're just not going to do it.
Just dumb. I don't get it.
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Lesnar vs. Goldberg.
We probably all know how this is going to end. But what a great surprise run from Goldberg it's been.
Goldberg's entrance mirrors his virtual entrance from the videogame.
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"My name is Paul Heyman!!"
I admit it. It never gets old to me.
Goldberg answers three suplexes from Lesnar with a spear.
...And then drives Lesnar through a wall.
Damn.
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Lesnar kicks out of a jackhammer.
They're doing their best to deliver a monster match.
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Five or so suplexes from Brock. Nine total on the match.
Starting to look like the script one would expect.
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And there it is. Brock defeats Goldberg as expected.
A short match as expected, but not a squash. Goldberg made a run of it.
Who will take the Universal Title off Lesnar now?
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The Smackdown Women's Championship.
I'm thinking Becky Lynch takes it. But anything can happen here.
I'm thinking also the ladies keep it a short match. #Over4HourMark
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A short Smackdown Women's match, and Naomi gets her belt back.
Probably works for everyone. This match is an intermission to what's coming. #TheDeadmanRidesOff
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Here it is. Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns.
Damn. I'm not ready for Taker to be done. But I'll never be ready. He's gotta do what he's gotta do.
Jim Ross is calling this match. (Good on him given his recent terrible tragedy.)
Yeah this has gotta be Taker's finale.
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An Undertaker entrance. One more time.
If Taker retires tonight, the Citrus Bowl will have seen the retirement matches of Ric Flair and The Undertaker.
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A new Mania tradition? Roman Reigns wins the last match and everybody boos.
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Taker hit Roman with a midair right hand. #ThatWasCool
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Taker chokeslams Reigns onto the announce table.
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Reigns answers with a spear of Undertaker through a table.
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Reigns giver Taker the Last Ride. Answers Reigns punching Taker and yelling that it's his yard.
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Taker playing whack a back with Roman and a chair.
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Roman doing his Superman Punch thing.
Which Taker answers with a chokeslam.
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Taker gives Reigns the Tombstone Piledriver.
....Roman kicks out. #HereWeGo
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Taker tries for Hell's Gate. Can't find it.
Reigns hits the Superman Punch again.
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Reigns hits a spear.
Now Taker sets Hell's Gate.
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Reigns breaks Hell's Gate with the bottom rope. Crowd boos.
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Reigns starts hitting Taker with a chair.
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Taker tries to get up. Reigns puts him down with a chair again.
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Crowd chants "Undertaker!"
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Taker hits a spear. Goes for the pinfall.
...Taker still kicks out. #NotDoneYet
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Taker trying to get up. Reigns hits another spear.
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Taker STILL kicks out. #OneLastRide
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Reigns hits the Superman Punch.
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Reigns eyeing the Undertaker, not sure whether or not to go for the pinfall.
Taker tries to sit up...and can't. #Damn
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Reigns calm in the moment. Seems heavy to what it is.
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Reigns and Taker jawing at each other.
Reigns hits another spear.
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And that's it.....Undertaker goes down. #RestInPeace
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For a guy a lot of fans don't like, Reigns played this moment, this match well. He didn't want to end Undertaker, had reverence for it.
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"Thank you Taker" chants. *tear*
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The final Wrestlemania moment for Taker.
Enjoy retirement Mark. You've earned it.
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Undertaker takes off his gloves and leaves them in the ring.
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Taker leaves his jacket too. And his hat.
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I am so blessed that my wife and I got to see the Undertaker live before he ended his run. #ThankYouDeadman
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Taker kisses his wife, and heads up the ramp.
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One final fist to the sky....
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Undertaker leaves down the bottom of the ramp. And the bell chimes one last time. #TheEnd
