Roundtable: WrestleMania 34 Review

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, the staff review the biggest show of the year.

On a scale of 1-10, what do you rate WrestleMania 34?

Calvin Gibbon: I’m pretty forgiving when I rate on a scale and I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the show. However, there were some questionable decisions and some sloppiness that prevented a truly great score. I give it a solid 7 or 8. Remember, there have been 33 other WrestleMania events to compare it to.

Anthony Mahalis: I’d have to give it a 6. I enjoyed a good portion of the show, but Lesnar/Reigns, the Raw Tag Team Title match and Undertaker/Cena all stunk on ice. They all brought the show down for me. Good thing Lesnar resigned with the company, now we can keep seeing the same horse shit matches for a couple more years.

Troy Taroff: I give it a solid 7. It was overall very fun, but had very weird moments to go with it.

Jack Goodwillie: I’ll go with a 6 1/2, which, I’ll admit is slightly above what I expected. What I will say is that it was a very “high floor, middling ceiling” pay-per-view, as I didn’t think there would be too much variance in how it would pan out, but when you weigh out all the things that added and subtracted from the show I think it emerged as an above-average WrestleMania.

David Gibb: So, what’s the deal with this 10-scale? If I give it a 7, will people complain that “that’s a C-!”? I don’t think it was a C- show, but 8/10 feels overly generous for a bloated show that felt challenging to watch straight through at times.

John Corrigan: 8. If WWE shaved off a couple hours, it would have been a 9 or even a 10. Even as a wrestling diehard, 7.5 hours in the Superdome was just way too much. It’s why the latter matches like AJ/Nak and Brock/Roman weren’t received as well. Hell, I’d even argue that’s why Reigns gets such a bad rap at Mania. He always goes on when the crowd is dying to leave!

What was your favorite entrance?

Gibbon: There’s no question in my mind that the New Day had the best entrance of the night. The crowd ate it up. There were pancake men! Or do they prefer to be called short stack men? Either way I loved it.

Mahalis: It would have to be Charlotte’s. I’m not sure there was a close second.

Taroff: Triple H puts on the most badass entrances every year, but this year had to go to Charlotte. Starting with her father’s old music and the “Queen-like” look was so cool.

Goodwillie: SHREDske Nakamura, though there was not one special entrance I didn’t like. Plus, with all the talk about WrestleMania stages this roundtable has had, this may have been the best yet. I’m cool with no pyro on Raw if it means getting WrestleMania sets as dynamic as this one was.

Gibb: The one with Steph and Hunter on the bikes because it made me laugh the most.

Corrigan: Such a tough call. Nakamura’s was riveting, Undertaker’s is always awe-inspiring and even The Bar had a fun one. But I’ve got to bow down to the Queen.

What was your favorite match?

Gibbon: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair. The match lived up to the hype. It was dramatic. The world knew it could go either way. I know the finish will be debated for years to come, but it gave me goosebumps and that doesn’t happen often.

Mahalis: The Rousey mixed tag match was MUCH more entertaining than I expected it to be, and I thought it was really good. However, I’m going with Charlotte and Asuka here. Their match was terrific and it was the biggest surprise of the night.

Taroff: Loved the Rousey match. Amazing story telling from months of build up. Although, believe it or not, Angle was indeed the weak point in the match.

Goodwillie: As much as I thought Rousey and Angle vs. Triple H and Steph exceeded expectations and ended up being a great match, I’ve still gotta give it to A.J. vs. Shinsuke, even though I think their best matches are in front of them. Again, this was a high-floor card.

Gibb: As predicted in our roundtable preview, I though the Royal Rumber winner vs. World Champion matches were the two best offerings. I have to give Styles-Nakamura the slight edge because the way Styles fired up in the final minutes of the match was just incredible. Even though he played subtle heel throughout the battle, the lead-up to the finish set him up as a god-tier babyface, which enhanced Nakamura’s turn.

Corrigan: As soon as Rousey tagged in, I and the rest of the 78,000+ stood for the rest of that epic tag team battle. It was truly pro wrestling at its finest.

What was your favorite moment?

Gibbon: Elias trolling John Cena and the packed Superdome. Elias is destined for great things! At least I hope so. Cena’s response was great. Then the payoff of Cena actually getting what he wanted was great as well.

Mahalis: My favorite moment was Charlotte making Asuka tap. I was legitimately stunned with the outcome, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Taroff: How can you not love Nicholas? I was laughing and cheering the entire time. Amazing moment.

Goodwillie: Well, you know there’s plenty to choose from, because I almost caught alcohol poisoning from taking shots every time the announcers said, “WrestleMania moment.” But how can it not be Brock beating Roman Reigns AGAIN in the main event of WrestleMania? Roman Reigns and WrestleMania main events over the last four years have been total car crashes, and this match was no exception. Nobody bought the match but I think a lot of people bought the finish and now it’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.

Gibb: The most emotionally satisfying moment of WrestleMania weekend was when Johnny Gargano beat Tommaso Ciampa at NXT TakeOver. Nothing that happened on Sunday came close to that.

Corrigan: Asuka tapping out shocked me, and I loved her saying “Charlotte was ready for Asuka.” Little things like that have kept me watching for all these years.

Who was the MVP of the night?

Gibbon: Shinsuke Nakamura. I think we turned a corner here on his character at WrestleMania 34 where he will reach main event status on a regular basis. He will be a natural as a villain and will be a great WWE Champion sooner than later.

Mahalis: I might as well stick with the trend here. I am going with The Queen. I would have went with whoever won this match. Rousey made a great case for herself as well. She put on a great performance, but Charlotte was just a little better.

Taroff: To choose one MVP for the night wouldn’t give it justice. Props to everyone involved for the biggest wrestling weekend of the year. From the writers, the crew, and the talent, I have to give everyone a pat on the back.

Goodwillie: Ronda Rousey. And as much as I still am a critic of her mic work, striking in both MMA and NOW pro wrestling, personality, attire and overall disposition on the world, I thought she looked like a million bucks and I think WWE definitely has something colossal in her. Personally, I’m more of a fan of the five-tool player, but hey, some people like home runs and that’s fine with me! Dave Meltzer called it the second best pro wrestling debut after D’Angelo Williams in TNA and I would tend to agree. The sky might just be the limit for her and while she has everybody in the match to thank, I think she also deserves a pat on the back for a prime time performance in front of one of the biggest audiences she’ll ever see.

Gibb: Styles. See above.

Corrigan: Ronda Rousey silenced her critics and made the trip worth it.