WrestleMania XXX

WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985.[2] It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April.[3] 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".[4] The event has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.[5]

On February 18, 2013, WWE announced that WrestleMania XXX would be held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on April 6, 2014.[6] The event is alternatively known as WrestleMania 30.[7] 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 next Raw; the cheapest package cost $795 per person.[8] On November 16, individual tickets went on sale through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $25 to $850.[9]

In addition to being sold as a pay-per-view through television providers (with prices ranging from $55–$70), WrestleMania XXX was the first WWE PPV event to be aired in simulcast on the WWE Network—WWE's subscription streaming service that launched in February with video on demand access to WWE's library, original programming, and pay-per-view events, costing $9.99 per month with a six-month contract.[10][11][12]

A panorama shot of the event within the Mercedes-Benz Superdome

The event was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Louisiana.[13] There were three official theme songs for the event, "Celebrate" by Kid Rock, "Legacy" by Eminem, and "In Time" by Mark Collie.[14] 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.[15] The WrestleMania set was built by a crew of roughly 400 workers over two weeks, assembling equipment carried by 85 semi-trailer trucks.[16]

After the Royal Rumble event in late January 2014, CM Punk reportedly legitimately walked out on WWE while still under contract and WWE stopped promoting him for future events;[17][18] which Pro Wrestling Torch editor Wade Keller analysed as playing a part in Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania journey.[19] 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.[20]

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".[21]

The card consisted of eight matches, including one on the Pre-Show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[22][23] Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, 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,[25][26][27] as his rise in status led him to a title shot at SummerSlam.[28] 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.[29][30] 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".[31][32] 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,[33] but due to referee Scott Armstrong making a fast count, Triple H stripped Bryan of the title the next night on Raw.[34] 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.[35][36] 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.[37]

Randy Orton was the defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion heading into WrestleMania XXX

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.[38] In January 2014, Batista returned to WWE after having left in May 2010,[39] 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.[40] 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.[41][42] 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.[41][43]

Frustrated over being constantly cost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by the Authority, Bryan challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania XXX.[43] 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.[44] 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.[45]

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.[46][47] This set up a match where Lesnar would attempt to break The Undertaker's 21–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania.[48]

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.[40] 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.[41] 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.[49] 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.[50] On the March 10 episode of Raw, Cena issued Wyatt a challenge for a match at WrestleMania, which Wyatt accepted.[51]

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.[52][53][54]

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.[55]

The Pre-Show match was a fatal four-way elimination tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between defending champions The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey 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 title. 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.[52][53][54]

The English commentators for the event were Michael Cole, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and Jerry "The King" Lawler,[56] while there were also Spanish and French commentators at ringside.[57] Justin Roberts and Lilian Garcia acted as ring announcers.[56] Charles Robinson and John Cone were noted to have refereed Triple H's and John Cena's matches respectively.[58][59]

The pay-per-view began with Hulk Hogan (left), Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock sharing the ring

During the event, the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame inductees (Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Mr. T, Carlos Colon, Lita, Scott Hall and The Ultimate Warrior), along with brothers Daniel and Paul Moody, real life sons of deceased Hall of Fame inductee Paul Bearer, who appeared before the live audience after Howard Finkel introduced them.[60] Two backstage segments included WWE veterans; the first consisted of Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Ricky Steamboat, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Ron Simmons.[59] The second consisted of wrestlers involved in the main event match at WrestleMania I, with Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Pat Patterson, and Mean Gene Okerlund also appeared.[61] Meanwhile, WWE Hall of Famers Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Bob Backlund, Dusty Rhodes, and Bret Hart were shown at ringside.[61]

The pay-per-view event started when host Hulk Hogan came down to the ring for a segment, at one point accidentally calling the Superdome the "Silverdome". A few moments later, Stone Cold Steve Austin joined him in the ring, teasing a confrontation between the two. After that, The Rock also came down to the ring. The three reminisced about past WrestleManias and led the crowd in their signature chants and catchphrases. They then shared a number of beers together before departing the ring.[56][62]

Triple H making a grand entrance for his match against Daniel Bryan

In the first match on the pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan faced Triple H (who was accompanied by Stephanie McMahon) where the winner would be inserted in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event later that night.[62] Bryan kicked away Triple H's handshake and started the match strongly, including performing a tornado DDT off the apron. Triple H gained the advantage by driving Bryan's injured arm into the announce table and continually attacking the arm including a hammerlock belly-to-back suplex on the apron. Triple H applied the crossface chickenwing and a regular crossface on Bryan, however, Bryan did not submit. Bryan applied a Yes! Lock" on Triple H, however, Triple H reached the ropes to void the submission. As Bryan attempted a running knee, Triple H countered with a spinebuster and Pedigree for a nearfall. In the end, Bryan performed the running knee on Triple H to win the match.[62] Following the match, McMahon slapped Bryan and distracting him long enough for Triple H to attack him from behind. Triple H placed Bryan's injured arm against the ring post and struck it with a steel folding chair. Medical staff tendered to Bryan while Triple H and McMahon celebrated on the stage.[56][62]

Next, The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) and Kane faced The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns). In the end, Reigns performed a Spear on Kane, and Reigns then performed another Spear on both Outlaws simultaneously. The Shield then performed their Triple Powerbomb maneuver on both Outlaws to win the match.[57][59][62]

After that, the battle royal for the André the Giant Memorial Trophy was contested. Yoshi Tatsu, Brad Maddox and Brodus Clay were eliminated by The Great Khali. Khali was eliminated by all three members of 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal). Mark Henry then eliminated 3MB, followed by Big Show eliminating Henry. Fandango eliminated WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E and showboated on the ring apron, prompting Sheamus to perform over 20 forearm clubs to Fandango's chest and eliminate him. Cesaro, an unannounced entrant who had wrestled on the pre-show, eliminated Rey Mysterio with a European uppercut and then threw Kofi Kingston out of the ring, however, Kingston survived as his feet landed on the ring steps. Kingston returned to the match only for Sheamus to eliminate him. Alberto Del Rio, who had earlier eliminated Goldust and Cody Rhodes, eliminated Dolph Ziggler. The final four were Del Rio, Sheamus, Cesaro and Show. Del Rio and Sheamus eliminated each other, leaving Cesaro and Show to fight back and forth until Cesaro lifted Show and body slammed him out of the ring to win the match and trophy, mirroring Hulk Hogan's momentous body slam of André the Giant at WrestleMania III in March 1987.[57][59][62]

Bray Wyatt glances at John Cena during their match

Next, John Cena faced Bray Wyatt (who was accompanied by Luke Harper and Erick Rowan). Wyatt started the match by kneeling down and imploring Cena to become the monster that he is and to finish him off, however, Cena refused. Wyatt then continued to taunt Cena which led to Cena's aggressive retaliation. As Cena was about to perform a Five Knuckle Shuffle on Wyatt, Wyatt responded with a 'crab pose' that shocked Cena into retreating. Wyatt performed a DDT on Cena on the apron for a nearfall. Cena performed a Crossbody on Harper and Rowan who were at ringside. Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Wyatt for a nearfall. Cena applied the STF on Wyatt, however, Wyatt reached the ropes to void the submission. Wyatt performed a Sister Abigail on Cena for a near fall. In the closing moments, Wyatt obtained a steel folding chair and tossed it to Cena, once again imploring Cena to use it on him, however, Cena instead attacked Rowan (who was standing on the ring apron). After a roll-up attempt by Wyatt, Cena countered another Sister Abigail attempt and performed an Attitude Adjustment to win the match.[57][59][62][63]

One of three F-5s that Brock Lesnar performed on The Undertaker. The third ended the Undertaker's 21–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania

In the next match, Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman) faced The Undertaker. Undertaker applied the Hell's Gate on Lesnar, however, Lesnar broke the hold by lifting Undertaker up and powerbombing him. Lesnar then countered an Old School attempt by Undertaker into another F-5 for a nearfall. Undertaker responded with a Last Ride powerbomb and a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall. As Undertaker attempted a second Tombstone Piledriver, Lesnar countered and performed an F-5 on Undertaker to win the match, ending the Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Heyman then "freaked out" at the result and WWE did not play Lesnar's theme music immediately after his victory, highlighting the reaction of a shocked and stunned crowd, just before Justin Roberts announced Lesnar as the winner. Instead, a graphic was displaying on the stadiums screens showing the Undertaker's WrestleMania record of "21-1". The crowd eventually booed Lesnar as he left. Undertaker was left in the ring, where he gathered himself. As he slowly walked up the entrance ramp, WWE's announcers gave him a standing ovation while the crowd chanted his name which was accompanied by various "thank you Taker" chants.[52][62][64]

The Divas wrestling during the Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational

The penultimate match was the 14-Diva single-fall Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational for the WWE Divas Championship in which AJ Lee defended the title against the entire Divas division; this marked the only time the title was defended at WrestleMania.[65] The match started with the other wrestlers attacking Lee and her bodyguard, Tamina Snuka. As the match progressed, Aksana met Naomi at the top rope. Natalya performed a powerbomb superplex combination on Aksana. Snuka pulled Aksana out of the ring to prevent Natalya from winning, so Natalya clotheslined Snuka on the outside but was prevented from re-entering the ring due to Lee kicking her. In the end, Lee applied the Black Widow on Naomi, who submitted, to retain the title.[62][66] WWE reported that Lee won by moving Naomi's hand unto the mat to deceive the referee into thinking that Naomi had submitted.[67]

Daniel Bryan celebrated his championship victory, closing the pay-per-view

In the main event, Randy Orton defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Daniel Bryan and Batista. During the match, Orton began to target Bryan's injured arm to momentarily neutralize him. Later, as Bryan applied the Yes! Lock on Orton, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon emerged from backstage and pulled the referee out of the ring. Triple H then sent in referee Scott Armstrong on his behalf, distracting Bryan. Batista took advantage and performed the Batista Bomb on Bryan for a nearfall. Bryan kicked Armstrong in the head, following with a suicide dive out of the ring onto Triple H, Stephanie, and Armstrong. Triple H obtained a sledgehammer, however, Bryan snatched it and used the sledgehammer on Triple H, knocking him off the ring apron and ending Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's interference in the match. Batista performed a Batista Bomb on Bryan onto the Spanish announce table, while Orton immediately combined with an inverted version of an RKO. Medical personnel arrived and carted Bryan away on a stretcher, however, Bryan refused medical attention and continued the match. Orton performed an RKO on Batista for a nearfall. Orton attempted for a punt kick in Batista, Bryan performed a running knee, only for, Batista to toss Bryan out of the ring and pin Orton instead, which resulted in a near fall. In the end, as Batista performed a Batista Bomb on Orton, Bryan performed a running knee on Batista and applied the "Yes! Lock" on Batista, who submitted, to win the title. The pay-per-view ended with Bryan celebrating his win, including fireworks, confetti, pyrotechnics and Bryan leading the crowd in a "Yes!" chant.[61][62][66][68]

During the post-WrestleMania Raw the next night, Triple H immediately used his authority as WWE COO to grant himself a title match against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan later that night. As Stephanie McMahon tried to persuade Randy Orton, Batista, Kane, and the Shield to help Triple H in his title match, Kane inadvertently revealed that Triple H was the mastermind behind the attack on the Shield on the previous month's SmackDown. As a result, Bryan was attacked by Orton, Batista, and Kane just before his title match, which began anyway at the order of Triple H. However, the title match ended in a no contest with Bryan retaining the title when the Shield interfered, attacked and chased away Triple H, Orton, Batista, and Kane.[95]

Heading into Extreme Rules, the Shield (right) would take on Evolution while Bryan (laying in the corner of the ring) would defend his title against Kane (in white shirt)

The following week, Triple H, Orton and Batista reformed Evolution to take on the Shield. Meanwhile, Stephanie McMahon enticed Kane to return to his masked self; Kane complied and was granted a future title match against Bryan, and proceeded to carry out attacks against Bryan and his wife, Brie Bella.[96][97] At the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, the Shield defeated Evolution while Bryan defeated Kane in an Extreme Rules match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[98]

The rivalry between John Cena and Bray Wyatt continued.[95][96] At Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match, after interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child.[98]

Also on the post-WrestleMania Raw, Cesaro was endorsed by Hulk Hogan who presented him with the Andre the Giant battle royal trophy. Cesaro went on to reveal that he found a new manager in Paul Heyman, who would replace Zeb Colter. Cesaro was attacked by his former partner, Jack Swagger, who dismantled Cesaro's trophy.[95] Swagger later cost Cesaro his match against Rob Van Dam in the semi-finals of the Intercontinental Championship #1 contender tournament,[97] while Van Dam later lost in the tournament final due to Cesaro's interference.[96] At Extreme Rules, Cesaro defeated Swagger and Van Dam in an elimination match.[98]

On the post-WrestleMania Raw, as WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee celebrated her successful title defense at WrestleMania, NXT Women's Champion Paige debuted on the main roster and congratulated Lee on her win. Lee reacted by slapping Paige and challenging her to an impromptu match with the Divas Championship on the line, resulting in Paige pulling out a quick surprise victory to capture the title.[95][99]

Brock Lesnar had become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion by August 2014

Daniel Bryan announced on May 12 that due to injuries, he would require neck surgery,[100] which he underwent on May 15.[101] Bryan was stripped off the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by the Authority on June 9 as he was not healthy enough to defend his championship.[102] Due to his injury, Bryan was largely removed from WWE television.[103][104] John Cena's feud with Bray Wyatt culminated with a Last Man Standing at Payback on June 1, where Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match and end the feud.[105] Cena won Bryan's vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank on June 29.[106] Brock Lesnar returned on July 21 and proceeded to decisively defeat Cena at SummerSlam to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[107][108]

At Payback, the Shield ended their feud with Evolution by defeating them in a six-man No Holds Barred elimination match.[105] On the next Raw on June 2, Batista quit WWE in the storyline as Triple H, in wanting to continue the feud with the Shield, refused to grant Batista a one-on-one match for the WWE World Heavyweight title. Later that night, Seth Rollins turned on his Shield teammates and allied himself with Triple H's Authority,[109] eventually winning the Money in the Bank briefcase.[106] The remaining members of the Shield, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, went their separate ways by the end of June.[110] Cesaro ended his association with Paul Heyman in July on the night of Brock Lesnar's return.[107] By that time, Cesaro had failed to win title matches for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship,[106] the Intercontinental Championship and the United States Championship.[105][111]

At Night of Champions in September 2014, the Usos' tag title reign ended at the hands of Gold and Stardust.[112] Also at the event, AJ Lee became a three-time Divas Champion by capturing the title from Paige.[112] Paige and AJ had exchanged the Divas Championship several times after WrestleMania, firstly on the June 30 episode of Raw and secondly at SummerSlam.[108]

In January 2015, Daniel Bryan returned to the ring having recovered from his injury.[113] That month at the Royal Rumble event, Brock Lesnar retained his title in a triple threat match against John Cena and Seth Rollins; the New Age Outlaws' return to the ring saw them lose to the Ascension, while Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble match. The live audience booed Reigns' win and Bryan's early elimination from the match.[114][115] In February, Reigns defeated Bryan at Fastlane to receive a WrestleMania main event title match against Lesnar, while Cesaro and Tyson Kidd won the Tag Team Championship from the Usos.[116]

At WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015, the main event began as a singles match for champion Brock Lesnar against challenger Roman Reigns. More than ten minutes into the match, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to make it a triple threat match; Rollins pinned Reigns shortly after to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In other matches, Daniel Bryan wrestled in the pay-per-view opener, a seven-man ladder match, and won the Intercontinental Championship from Bad News Barrett. Next, Rollins lost a singles match to Randy Orton. Then, Triple H defeated Sting in another singles match. A tag match followed where AJ Lee teamed with Paige to defeat Nikki Bella and Brie Bella. Next, Cena scored another WrestleMania victory, this time at the expense of Rusev, while Cena captured the United States Championship. In the penultimate match, the Undertaker (in his return to TV) defeated Bray Wyatt. On the pre-show, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd successfully defended the tag titles, while Big Show won the second Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.[117]

The Undertaker reignited his feud with Brock Lesnar at Battleground by causing a no contest for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins[118] and then proceeded to controversially defeat Lesnar in a rematch at SummerSlam.[119] The feud ended at the 2015 Hell in a Cell event with Lesnar defeating Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match.[120]

A fictionalised version of WrestleMania XXX was depicted in the film Fighting with My Family (2019), a biopic of the wrestler Paige.[121][122]