WWE WrestleMania 34 review: What we learned, takeaways and future projections

What we learned, what we took away and what the future holds for the superstars of WWE following Sunday’s night’s WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view event.

WrestleMania 34 took place on Sunday night in New Orleans, and I’d have to say that the show had something for just about everyone. Full of big returns and even bigger surprises, WWE’s biggest show of the year delivered in so many ways, even if there was a disappointment or two thrown in there. So let’s not waste any time here. I’ll start with some quick reactions to the three matches from the kickoff show and then get into the main card. As it was with the seven hours of coverage, we might be here for a minute but there’s certainly a lot to get to. So let’s get rolling with my official review of WWE WrestleMania 34.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal kicked things off, and this was just a mess. Nobody got an entrance, which I suppose is okay if they’re looking to keep things equal, but just cutting to to the match with everyone already in the ring is a little strange. But hey, at least Jim Ross was there to call the action, even if there wasn’t much action to get excited about. When drama with Goldust and R-Truth or Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder are the most memorable things outside of the ending, that might be a problem. However, Bray Wyatt showing up to assist Matt Hardy to victory is at least somewhat intriguing, and I will admit to being slightly interested in where they go with this.

Easily the best match of the kickoff show was next as Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali battled to crown a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion. It’s unfortunate that this match couldn’t be on the main show, as once again putting these guys on the kickoff show does nothing for the division. This was a very good match and fun to watch. Both worked extremely hard for a dead crowd and put on a good show. I think either man winning would have been a good choice, but it was Alexander this time. I do believe that Ali’s time is coming, though. Overall, he was the highlight of this tournament, and it will be nice to see these two go at it again at some point.

The inaugural WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal closed things up, and it was clear to see who was going to be the focus of this match. It was great to see some of the women of NXT get some exposure here, and this ended up being fairly entertaining. The Carmella angle was fun at the start, and watching the NXT crew work together to eliminate Absolution, especially with Paige on commentary was fantastic. However, as expected, it came down to Sasha Banks and Bayley, who have been at it for weeks and weeks coming in. Sasha tried to hash things out, but it was great to see Bayley toss her. I like this side of her and am looking forward to more. However, there was a swerve in this battle royal as well, as Naomi, who hadn’t been officially eliminated, snuck in to pick up the win. Fun ending to a good match that actually told a few stories. On to the main card.