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

Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

What we learned: We learned here that there’s no such thing as “ring rust” when it comes to Daniel Bryan. After nearly three years away from in-ring action, the former champion looked great in his return match and is just as over with the audience as he’s ever been.

Following two quick bouts, the New Orleans crowd was ready for things to pick back up, and they were certainly into this match from the start. The video package for Bryan before this one got going was very nice, and he looked so ready to get back in there. But he would have to wait a few minutes after Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn jumped him and Shane McMahon before the match officially started and the stretcher was brought out as Shane O’ Mac went it alone for a little bit. Some people were a little put off with this but I really dug it. It was good storytelling and a great way to build the drama of this big return even further.

Shane put in some solid work in the ring as usual, taking some punishment but also dishing some out, and it’s still impressive to watch the coast-to-coast spot, especially now at his age. It looked as if he was going to lose, but Bryan came flying in to make the save and then waited for his tag and his official return. Once he got the tag, you could really see the emotion play out as he slowly entered the ring, and honestly, just seeing him and Zayn in the ring together was something special. They’ve had some great matches in the past outside of WWE and they looked great in there.

Bryan was a tornado once he got going. He looked so fast and so refreshed and it was a real WrestleMania moment to see him back. He hit all the big spots we’ve missed for so long, but it wasn’t all offense as he did take a few hits, even feigning a head injury before kipping up and letting everyone know that everything was going to be okay. He eventually slapped on the YES Lock and Zayn tapped out to give DB and Shane the victory. This wasn’t the greatest match in the world, but it was still very good and the story turned it into something great.

What’s next: With the loss, KO and Sami are still “fired” from SmackDown Live and will likely end up on Monday nights at some point soon. This story has been going on for so long, and it’s finally time to get away from it. Shane is still the commish, but now that Bryan is back in the ring, he’ll have to find a new GM so that will give him something to do for a little while … at least until he upsets someone else and has to get back in the ring. As for Daniel Bryan, the sky is the limit if he can stay healthy. There are so many directions he can take and so many guys he can now work with. I think he’s going to have to prove that he can stay healthy, but world title matches against AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura are coming and can’t get here fast enough.