After a string of underwhelming Pay-per-views, WWE finally delivered the goods with WrestleMania. This time, it was clearly not a one-match show and was much more complete than the last few WrestleManias. They did an excellent job of making all the three titles on-show seem very important and that’s something we’ve been expecting for a long time.While this may not go down as ‘the greatest’ of all time, it’ll certainly hold a high position should we list them in chronological order. And to contribute to its success, there were a lot of surprise moments and returns that had the crowd on their feet and viewers alike. No one saw these coming and were totally taken off-guard as WWE wowed the fans at the grandest stage of them all.Let’s take a look at five such surprises from Santa Clara that had the record crowd totally amazed:
#5 Seth Rollins and Randy Orton combine to produce the best RKO ever
So, what happens when you have the guy who can literally do any move in the WWE ring against the Superstar with the coolest finisher? That’s right! You get the best RKO ever performed. That was the best finishing move to a match this year yet. When Randy Orton performed an RKO on Alberto Del Rio jumping off the ladder at Money-in-the-Bank last year, people were exulted.
However, Orton went one step better and did it off a jumping Curb Stomp as he won his match against Seth Rollins. It was unexpected and no one really thought you could reverse the Curb Stomp for an RKO. But, it was essential for Rollins to time his jump and he did that perfectly. That was a true “RKO out of nowhere’ and it was trending immediately across the globe.
#4 Did Lesnar do a blade job?
This wasn’t as much a surprise as it was then than it is now. Ever since the inception of the PG Era, we’ve rarely seen blood. Moreover, in the main event of WrestleMania, it’s hard to believe that the WWE would allow the wrestler to be bleeding all over his face. Although many fans were eagerly speaking of this as a prospective return to the Attitude Era, we know that’s never going to happen.
However, there has been a video which shows the referee passing something to Roman Reigns as he was lying on the ground. There is a big chance this is a blade and for once, the WWE has chosen to do blade jobs. Although they issued a statement clarifying the issue, we’d never know what really transpired then. A year ago, this would have seemed nearly impossible but it is interesting that the WWE would do this. Brock Lesnar has been built up as a monster, and having him with blood progresses the stature of him as well as Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns is now legitimately seen as a big guy, especially after his excellent performance in the main event. And Brock’s scars as seen on RAW portrayed him to be the tough guy he is and following it with a brutal destruction was a very good move. And, we may be recipient to more such bloody matches in the future, assuming the WWE has given the green light and with wrestlers who have past experience such as Dean Ambrose.
#3 The DX and NWO return to bring back nostalgic memories
Sting and Triple H facing off at WrestleMania was always going to be a crowd-puller. Especially, for those viewers who had intently watched the Monday Night Wars, this was a clash of two heavyweights of Professional Wrestling, albeit, almost a decade and a half later. Sting had been the one big superstar to stay off the WWE’s radar for so long and when he finally did make the appearance, it was a big event.
However, this match was never going to be a technical wrestling classic and considering that, WWE decided to pull the ‘Nostalgia’ card and brought back the respective factions of either wrestler. The NWO always brings back the old memories of WCW’s dominance over WWE back then. While the DX performed like a heel and Shawn Michaels did the Superkick, Sting’s loss wasn’t seen as a poor decision. It is likely they had Sting lose to progress his next storyline and have him wrestle again.
However, this match will be remembered as the one proper return of DX and NWO, years past their prime and the day Sting finally made his debut in the WWE.
#2 Seth Rollins cashes in to become the Champion
If there was one moment that we expected for so long, it was to see Seth Rollins cash in. They had teased it so many times only to reserve it for the grandest stage of them all. Without a question, Seth Rollins has been the best performer in the WWE since WrestleMania XXX. He was in the fore as the Shield rose to prominence while also becoming a main-event player by breaking up the Shield.
And ever since, his work has been top-notch. However, given how Lesnar announced that he was staying with the WWE prior to WrestleMania, most people expected Lesnar to retain the title. Or even Roman Reigns to win it. But, Seth Rollins cashing in was something nobody saw coming as that would mean taking Lesnar out of the title picture, just after his announcement. But, the WWE made a remarkable decision and pulled it off perfectly. They were clever to make none of the three superstars look weak and set up an exciting few months ahead for the title.
#1 The Queen of the Octagon owns the WWE ring
The Rock’s return was very much a surprise for most people but he had earlier hinted on social media that he was at Santa Clara. And more so, once he made it to the ring, I expected it’d be to cheer the crowd while also setting up a potential match with Triple H for WrestleMania 32 a year earlier like he’d done with John Cena. However, what followed was one of the most memorable moments in the history of WrestleMania.
Ronda Rousey had earlier been shown in the crowd, as she had while attending WWE events previously but no one expected her to make it to the ring. It was excellent booking by the WWE to pair them seeing as how they had acted together in Fast and Furious 7. Although Rousey didn’t do much on the mic, Stephanie did a great job putting her over as the ‘most dangerous unarmed women in the world’.
Rousey had the aura of being an undefeated UFC Champion that the viewers really bought into and possibly set the foundation for a future role in the WWE. It was a very good decision from the WWE to have Ronda Rousey do a small role like this and give us a moment we’re unlikely to forget. People have always wanted a ‘Paul Heyman Girl’ and doesn’t she look the perfect fit?
