Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Wrestlemania 34: Five things we learned as Ronda Rousey made her in-ring debut

There were title changes, returns and some peculiar moments - here's what we took away from it 

Matty Paddock
Monday 09 April 2018 07:48 BST
Comments
Wrestlemania 34: Ronda Rousey wins in debut fight

Wrestlemania left fans entertained, frustrated and bewildered in equal measure after a relentless night of action.

WWE delivered a typical serve in keeping the Universal title on Brock Lesnar, resisting the urge to put the gold on Roman Reigns just yet.

Charlotte Flair claimed the distinction of ending Asuka's undefeated streak, while Nia Jax and Jinder Mahal earned big title wins of their own.

For all the good, there was some peculiar to match it - Braun Strowman and 'Nicholas', a young child, winning the tag team champions hips on Raw and The Undertaker returning to squash John Cena.

All things considered, here are five things we took from the 34th edition of sports entertainment's grand spectacular...

1. Charlotte was ready for Asuka

From her lengthy stretch without defeat in NXT, through to her time on the main roster over the last number of months, much stock has been placed in the undefeated streak of Asuka. Bringing it to and end was an inevitability, but how to do so was a matter for careful consideration. It would be easy for Asuka to have kept on winning and a victory over Charlotte wouldn't particularly have done The Queen any harm, but it shows the faith WWE have in Charlotte's ability that she was given the nod to retain at the expense of a loss, at last, for Asuka. Their match was everything that was expected, and I'm sure it won't be the last time we see them square up.

2. Rousey was worth the wait

With so much mainstream publicity and so many headlines surrounding her WWE arrival, microscopic attention was going to be paid to her first match, and the Wrestlemania bout passed its inspection with flying colours. Triple H and Kurt Angle did their bit but, if anything, were found wanting when compared to the efforts of Rousey and McMahon. Rousey tangled well with both of her opponents but sold the punishment she took convincingly enough. She'll be just fine in WWE.

3. Let the Reigns era roll

(WWE)

Reigns taking the title from Lesnar is, ultimately, inevitable - albeit as inevitable as the fact that Lesnar would end up winning their Wrestlemania match the longer it went on. It looks as though Lesnar will be hanging around in WWE long enough to do the honours in the coming weeks, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. The crowning of Reigns has now taken well over a year and the dragging delay isn't helping his status as a maligned star where the company's fans are concerned. Better to get the change done soon so the company can focus on moving into the long term future with Reigns at the helm.

4. Let Styles and Nakamura go again

You can sometimes have too much of a good thing, and the timing of the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles of Shinsuke Nakamura did the two stars no favours. By the time they squared off, the live Wrestlemania crowd were more than five and a half hours into the night's show. Tired, they just weren't able to appreciate what was a technically sound and intricate match. They will have to have the chance to go again soon - and Nakamura's heel turn adds an interesting edge to what you'd have to hope is an ongoing feud.

5. Undertaker remains a mystery

Since his WWE arrival in 1990 there has been air of mystery and mystique around The Undertaker, but that reached a less-than-favourable level at Wrestlemania. A year after retiring, his comeback for a four-minute squash match against John Cena was needless and left a few scratching their heads. It added nothing to his impeccable legacy and isn't the start of a huge comeback at the age of 53 - it also only served to cheapen another established star. A stacked Wrestlemania card just didn't need it, either.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in