WWE WrestleMania 34 results: Lesnar surprises, Rousey impresses, Undertaker returns

Brian Fritz

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WWE WrestleMania 34 results: Lesnar surprises, Rousey impresses, Undertaker returns image

Brock Lesnar entered WWE WrestleMania 34 as the WWE Universal Champion and come the end of the night, remained champion.

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It was a surprise ending to the event with the expectation that Roman Reigns would dethrone "The Beast"  to become Universal Champion surrounding talk that Lesnar would be leaving the company for a UFC return. Lesnar pummeled Reigns throughout the match, hitting him with his finishing F5 six times before scoring a win that left the "Big Dog" bloodied and without his long sought after signature win.

Elsewhere, The Undertaker made his return as the "Deadman" answered the challenge of John Cena and quickly defeated him. Daniel Bryan made his emotional return to the ring after being away for more than two years to get a win against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

In her WWE in-ring debut, former UFC women's champion Ronda Rousey impressed as she submitted Stephanie McMahon to score a victory with Kurt Angle in their mixed tag team match. 

Sporting News had all the 2018 WWE WrestleMania coverage you needed with a live blog, which you can review below. WWE WrestleMania 34 live updates

12:04a ET: Quite the surprise ending as Brock Lesnar leaves WrestleMania as the WWE Universal Champion while Roman Reigns is being attended to by doctors in the ring as he bleeds everywhere.

Brock Lesnar defeats Roman Reigns to retain the WWE Universal Championship

12:02a ET FINISH: Reigns is bleeding badly and his face is a crimson mask but he fires up and hits a spear. Lesnar kicks out and goes back on the attack. Another F5 and he scores the pin. Yes, Brock Lesnar is still the WWE Universal Champion and the crowd rejoices. 

11:58p ET: Yet another F5 but this one is through an announcer's table. Lesnar throws him back in the ring and smells blood. The crowd is going after Lesnar now, booing him loudly as he continues to throw Reigns around. A fifth F5 but Reigns again kicks out.

11:56p ET: Lesnar hits another F5 and Reigns kicks out again to the disbelief of the champ. The crowd doesn't care one bit for Lesnar but hate it when Reigns kicks out like he did from a third F5. Lesnar then mouthed a very bad word and the crowd laughs.

11:54p ET: Back-to-back spears by Reigns but Lesnar survives. He goes for another one but Lesnar catches him with a knee to the face and then an F5 but Reigns kicks out. Somehow, he survived and is still in this fight.

11:52p ET: Back out on the floor, Lesnar throws Reigns into the barricade and puts him up for an F5 but Reigns gets out of it and throws Lesnar into the post. Reigns then sprints towards Lesnar and picks him up and slams his on top of an announcer's table. Reigns is then hit with loud boos as they go back to the ring.

11:50p ET: Lesnar pulls the top cover off an announcer's table but then awkwardly throws Reigns face-first into another table. They go back into the ring and Lesnar hits three more suplexes and he's looking pretty happy with himself. 

11:47p ET: Lesnar immediately goes after Reigns the second the bell rings. He hits three German suplexes and Reigns comes back with a Superman punch. Lesnar rolls out of the ring and Reigns hits another Superman punch. Expect lots of high impact moves as Lesnar catches Reigns and suplexes him on the floor.

11:44p ET: Brock Lesnar is coming to the ring with Paul Heyman by his side. This will probably be the last time we see both of them in a WWE ring for a while. Heyman grabs the ring and insists on introducing his client the DEFENDING, UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPION BROCK LESNAR!!!!!

11:40p ET: And here comes the Big Dog! The crowd is not pleased as he confidently walks to the ring. 

11:38p ET: Time for the main event and the crowd boos the instant that a Roman Reigns graphic is shown. Not fans of the Big Dog apparently.

Braun Strowman and Nicolas defeat Sheamus and Cesaro for the "RAW" Tag Team Titles

11:34p ET FINSH: Nicolas gets the tag and gets in the ring. He puts up his fists and Cesaro shows his mean face. Nicolas smartly tags Strowman back in who quickly finishes the job and we have new champs! That's right, Braun Strowman and Nicolas are the new "RAW" Tag Team Champions! That kid is going to have one heck of a day at school tomorrow.

11:30p ET: Double suplex and Sheamus comes off the top rope as Strowman is in trouble. Then Cesaro comes of Sheamus' shoulders onto Strowman but he can't get the win. The crowd is chanting for Nicolas. We need a hot tag!

11:26p ET: Time for the big reveal and Strowman says his partner will be one of you as he looks out over the crowd. He goes out to the crowd and he's going to pick a fan to team with him. Now he's out in the crowd looking for a partner, sizing people up and he picked a boy probably around ten years old wearing a WrestleMania shirt. Strowman holds the ropes open and lets him in the ring and Strowman asks for his name. It's Nicolas and Strowman says he going to give them some hands.

11:21p ET: Strowman comes out and scared away all of the characters from the Mardi Gras float as they scurried away. Fantastic. He then ran the float off the stage before coming to the ring.

11:20p ET: The champs are in a festive mood as they come out riding a Mardi Gras cart with a band playing "When the Saints Come Marching in" before their regular music hits. They're confident heading into this one. Who will be Strowman's partner?

11:14p ET: Afterwards the men hug and in a sign of respect, Nakamura gets down on one knee and is handing it to Styles. He takes the title but Nakamura hits him with a low blow! Heel turn! Nakamura then kicks Styles in the face over and over, knocking him out of the ring where he connects with a Kinshasa. Nakamura walks back to a chorus of boos.

AJ Styles defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the WWE Championship

11:09p ET FINISH: Nakamura hits an exploder suplex and sets up for the Kinshasa but Styles evades it, rolls him up and into a Styles Clash and scores the pin. Very good match but the finish came out of nowhere. I'm surprised there wasn't more of a back and forth with them trading finishing moves to end it.

11:07p ET: Styles comes off the ropes with a 450 splash but Nakamura gets his knees up and makes a cover but can't get the three count. Back on their feet, they trade some stiff shots to the face and Nakamura with a big forearm but Styles counters with a kick to the knee. Nakamura connects with a hard knee to the back of Styles' head and he goes for the pin but Styles survives.

11:05p ET: Both men are selling injuries - Styles has a bad back and Nakamurawith a bad left knee. Styles with a Phenomenal Forearm but Nakamura kicks out at the last second.

11:02p ET: Styles goes to work on Nakamura's knee and kicks him on the inside of his knee. Great reversal between them but Styles is able to put Nakamura in the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Nakamura finally reverses into a triangle choke and Styles is fading but picks up Nakamura and drops him down hard on the back of his neck. 

11:00p ET: Nakamura is back in the ring and slows the pace but Styles slams him face-first to the mat and both men are doing. Good pacing on this so far with big impact moves.

10:56p ET: Styles connects with a high drop kick and Nakamura rolls outside the ring. Styles tries to kick him but instead its Nakamura who kicks his leg out from under him. This is getting physical very quickly. 

10:54p ET: Not a true New Japan-style match early on but a hybrid of that and a WWE style match as they somewhat methodically build to moves. Nakamura comes off the ropes but Styles catches him with a slam across his knee as he goes to work on his back.

10:50p ET: Nakamura does the relaxation (rest your head) move and Styles wants none of its and slaps him in the face. Nakamura counts with a spin kick to the face and makes the cover by Styles kicks out. The crowd is already doing dueling chants. 

10:46p ET Nakamura gets played to the ring by someone playing electric guitar and a group of youngsters playing violin as the crowd sings along. AJ then makes his way to the ring. Here we go. 

10:38p ET: This is a big one. These two had an instant classic several years ago at Wrestle Kingdom 10 with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the expectaction for this one are through the roof. 

Nia Jax defeats Alexa for the "RAW" Women's Championship

10:34p ET: Back in the ring, Alexa makes a cover and Nia barely kicks out. Alexa slaps her and yells "I made you!" That fires Nia up and she shoves her away. Alexa comes off the top rope but Nia catches her. Alexa is trying to fight out of it and is upside down when Nia whips her into the turnbuckle. Bliss pokes Nia in the eye behind the referee's back but a minute later, Nia hits a wicked Alabama Slam. She picks Alexa up on her shoulders, climbs to the second rope and hits a huge fallaway slam for the win.

Match was fine and told the story it needed. I thought it would have only gone about 30 seconds but WWE gave them some time.

10:29p ET: Alexa targets Nia's knee and gets her down on the ground and limiting her movement. But Nia fires back with a big kick to Alexa's chest. Alexa goes for a choke but Nia slams her down but then misses on a shoulder block into the corner and flies to the floor. Alexa climbs to the top rope and connects with the Twisted Bliss. That looked really cool.

10:27p ET: The bell rings and Nia is complete control and she tosses Alexa around the ring by her hair followed by a press slam. Alexa rolls out of the ring and wants her title. She's leaving but Nia decks her and throws Alexa back in the ring. 

10:24p ET: Mickie James attackes Alexa before the match but outside the ring, Nia takes care of her, tossing her into the barricade and a big slam. I don't think Mickie is going to be a factor in this one. 

10:21p ET: Off the top of my head, I believe there are four matches left including this one, the two men's championship matches and the "RAW" tag team title match. We'll see if this will finish by midnight eastern. If now, so be it.

10:16p ET: WWE announces 78,133 in attendance at the New Orleans Superdome tonight for WrestleMania. 

10:13p ET: Not too long, not too short and told the story: Daniel Bryan is back and looks like he never left. After the match, he went ringside and shared a big kiss with his wife Brie. 

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon defeat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

10:11p ET FINISH: It's Bryan and Zayn alone in the ring and Bryan lights him up with slaps and then a big series of YES kicks. He connects with a running knee and slaps on the YES Lock and Zayn quickly submits. YES! YES! YES! 

10:09p ET: Zayn finally get in something and catches Bryan with a Helluva kick but can't score the pin. Then Owens with a pop up powerbomd but Bryan kicks out of that too. If anyone was worried about what he can or cannot do, he's doing it all.

10:07p ET: Bryan is one fire and he does a flip off the turnbuckle and follows up with a running clothesline. Now back and forth dropkicks to both Zayn and Owens. Pretty great stuff. 

10:04p ET: Bryan is on the apron and wants the tag but Shane can't get to him as Zayn is trying to hold him off. He gets within a few inches put pulled away. Shane counters and is trying, trying...and there's the tag! Here comes Daniel Bryan!

10:02p ET: Sami Zayn gets tied up in the corner and Shane, despite his pain, hits a coast to coast. Not smart and he's capitalize. Owens gets in the ring and lands a frog splash. He makes the cover but Daniel Bryan makes the save!

10:00p ET: Shane is trying to fight but every time he tries to come back, he gets hits in the gut again. But he won't stay down as he keeps kicking out of pinfalls. 

9:58p ET: Owens and Zayn have the advantage and they are focused on McMahon's midsection. The man has a hernia!

9:55p ET: Owens music hits but he and and Zayn come out through the crowd and attack Shane and Daniel with them hitting a double powerbomb to Daniel on the apron. He's down on the floor with medics looking at Daniel. So it's Shane alone against Owens and Zayn as the bell rings. Quite the return for Daniel.

9:53p ET: Pretty special moment seeing this again.

9:44p ET: Grab some tissues and warm up your shoulders - Daniel Bryan is back in action. Time for his big return to the ring. YES! YES! YES!

9:40p ET: Time for some professional hand-waving as the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 is introduced to the audience. 

9:38p ET: That was quick and considering how good The Undertaker looked, he very well could be back in the ring more often. Nothing full-time but possibly for some of the bigger events of the year. 

The Undertaker defeats John Cena

9:32p ET FINISH: Cena hits a slam and comes off the ropes but Taker sits up and Cena is so surprised, he falls down. The Dead Man gets to his feet, hits a clokeslam, and a Tombstone Piledrive and it is over! Watch what you wish for John Cena. 

9:30p ET: The bell rings and Undertaker immediately takes the fight to Cena. Just a minute in and it's old school Taker as he walks the ropes. He looks to be in great shape and is moving around really well.

9:24p ET: Cena is walking to the back but halfway up the ramp he stops. The lights go out and then a spotlight hits the ring to show Undertaker's jacket and hat. Lights go out again and the items are gone. Cena is in shock and HERE COMES THE UNDERTAKER!!!! THE DEAD MAN IS AT WRESTLEMANIA!!!!!! 

9:20p ET: In the ring, Elias says, "back up John, I'll take over from here". Cena leaves the ring and is outside in the crowd as Elias starts playing a song. He starts singing and the crowd is hating on him. Here comes Cena who can't take anymore. He slams Elias down and drops a first followed by an AA as Elias goes outside the ring and is crawling around. The crowd starts chanting for Undertaker but Cena's music plays with no Dead Man. 

9:17p ET: Cena is back in the ring shaking his head. Elias says," were you expecting someone else". The crowd is chanting "you suck!" as Elias walks to the ring playing his guitar. 

9:14p ET: Good news! Cena brought his ring gear and is ready to go! He's in the ring but a referee runs over and says something to him and Cena is not happy. He jumps out of the ring dejected and starts shaking some hands on his way to the back. The lights go out ... but it's not the Dead Man. No, it's Elias!

The Bludgeon Brothers beat The Usos and The New Day in a Triple Threat Match to win the "SmackDown" Tag Team Titles

9:10p ET FINISH: This didn't take long. Big E got tossed out of the ring and Kofi Kingston was left alone in the ring with the Bludgeon Brothers. Rowan hits a powerbomb and then Harper hits him with another off the top rope and gets the pin. Don't mess with the Bludgeon Brothers.

9:09p ET: This is both great and shake-your-head worthy.

9:06p ET: The Bludgeon Brothers are in control early. Xavier Woods, who is not in the match, tried to attck them early outside the ring (legal because it's a no-DQ match with Triple Threat rules) but Woods ends up on the short end of that. 

9:03p ET: BTW, this show has been flying by with some great action so far. We are two hours in and this show has been awesome — unless you're The Miz.

9:00p ET: In a "only in the WWE" moment, The New Day come down to the ring surrounded by "little people" dancing around in pancake outfits. 

8:58p ET: Good start to Rousey's WWE in-rign career with that match. You can tell she much more comfortable when it comes to physicality than the personality aspect of WWE but she sold well too. She's under a big microscope and won over a lot of people with that performance and Stephanie and Triple H were great foils. 

Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in a mixed tag team match

8:55p ET FINSH: Stephanie and Triple H each in a position to hit a Pedigree but Angle backdrops Triple H to the floor. Ronda backdrops Stephanie then goes for the armbar. Stephanie fights hard to stop it but Ronda locks it on and Steph immediately taps. Heck of a match and great work by all of them. 

8:52p ET: Ronda reverses Triple H and slaps on an armbar. He almost taps but Stephanie breaks it up. Now, Ronda puts her in an armbar and Angle puts Triple H in the Angle lock. Triple H counters by swinging Angle into Ronda and they're all down.

8:50p ET: Now it's Angle and Triple H in the ring with Angle hitting a series of German suplexes and an Angle slam but Triple H kicks out before the three count. Stephanie is in the ring and tried to kick Angle who catches her foot and puts her in the Angle Lock! Triple H gets back up and connects with a Pedigree but Ronda makes the save. This match is much better than people expected.

8:47p ET: Just Triple H and Ronda in the ring and she wants a piece of him. The referee says no but Triple H puts him in the corner. They want to fight! And it's Ronda hitting a series of punches and does a great roll through with Triple H and gets to her feet with him on her shoulder. Stephanie breaks it up and slaps her hard. They end up outside the ring and Ronda goes face-first into the post.

8:45p ET: Ronda is in control and goes for the armbar but Stephanie rakes her eyes. She gets away to her corner but Triple H is still face down outside the ring to her dismay. Stephanie is fired up and goes on the offensive with gets in some kicks but Ronda finally grabs her by the throat and hits a big slam. She makes the cover but Triple H pulls the referee out at the last second. Ronda is ticked and Triple H yanks her out of the ring. Now Angle is back up hitting punches to Triple H. They go to the announcer's table but it's The Game who tosses Angle over a table as he goes to attend to his wife.

8:42p ET: And Angle gets to the corner and makes the tag - here comes Ronda! She hits a big clothesline and then a suplex. Ronda with a flurry of punches n the corner.

8:39p ET: Angle is trying to make the tag and gets very close before Triple H pulls him to the other side of the ring. Then Angle moves out of the way as Triple H nearly decks his wife. Angle is making his way to the corner but Stephanie runs around and pulls Ronda off the apron just before he can make the tag. 

8:36p ET: Ronda tried to get in the ring and it backfired as Stephanie low-bridges Angle who falls to the floor. The story is that Triple H and Stephanie are taking advantage of her emotions and now Stephanie is choking Angle behind the referee's back. She's such a heel.

8:35p ET: Stephanie is playing mind games with Ronda as she slaps her and pulls her hair from behind to get her ticked off before the match officially begins. Stephanie is having some fun out there. 

8:32p ET: Rousey is sporting a kilt on honor of Roddy Piper as she comes to the ring. Personally, I think it's a mistake having her do so much Piper stuff and think she should be her own personality.

8:27p ET: Time to play the game as Triple H and Stephanie each ride a big motorcycle to the ring behind a pack of four biker women. Both of them do the big water spit on their way into the ring. 

8:22p ET: Crowd seems surprised this match is going on here but it makes sense to do this in the middle of the show. Big moment for Rousey and we'll see how she does in her debut match.

8:20p ET: Obviously, Vince McMahon doesn't care about the negative reaction from fans and probably was having some fun with them having Rusev take the fall against Jinder of all people. That was something. 

Jinder Mahal wins the Fatal 4-Way match against Randy Orton, Bobby Roode and Rusev to become the United States Champion

8:18p ET FINISH: A Singh brother appearance as he distracts Rusev and Mahal with a big slam and he pins Rusev for the win to become United States Champion. The crowd is not happy. It's Rusev Day and Jinder ruined it. 

8:16p ET: Roode with a big spinbuster on Mahal and wants the Glorious DDT but no-go as Mahal reverses it. Orton then tossed Roode shoulder first into the post and he spills outside the ring. Now, Rusev and Orton are going at it with The Viper hitting a draping DDT. He wants an RKO and the crowd is mixed because they love Rusev! English slides in - RKO! Rusev - RKO! Mahal - RKO but Roode breaks out the pin. 

8:09p ET: You know it's WrestleMania when Rusev breaks out a cannonball off the apron onto Orton and Mahal. 

8:04p ET: Bobby Roode comes out first with his "Glorious" music but gets interrupted by Aiden English who declares today as Rusev Day! 

8:00p ET: A referee just walked over to John Cena and said something to him and Cena looked shocked before jumping the barricade and ran to the back. Apparently, The Undertaker is here and wants the match so Cena has to get ready. Hope he brought his gear.

7:58p ET: After the match, Asuka gets a mic and says, "Chalotte was ready for Asuka". The two hug in an emotional moment. Tremendous match and a big surprise as most thought Asuka's unbeaten streak would continue. Instead, it's Charlotte scoring a massive win.

Charlotte Flair defeats Asuka for the "SmackDown" Women's Championship

7:56p ET FINISH: Asuka gets control of Charlotte on the mat with a wild submission wrenching her neck and back but Charlotte reverses out of it. A minute later, she hits a big slam but Asuka kicks out and the crowd roars. Figure four and now a Figure Eight and the crowd is going crazy! Asuka taps and the place roars as The Queen retains the "SmackDown" Women's Championship as scores the first win on The Empress since joining WWE. 

7:52p ET: Back in the ring, Asuka connects with a drop kick off the top rope but Charlotte kicks out a two. Asuka back on the top rope but Charlotte lights her up with a series of chops and then breaks out a Spanish Fly! Holy cow!

7:50p ET: They're fighting on the apron and Asuka hits a suplex onto the floor. Ouch!

7:47p ET: Quite the exchange as Charlotte goes for a moonsault off the top rope but Asuka catches her into a triangle submission hold. But Charlotte reverses that into the submission move of her own. It's back and forth action so far.

7:43p ET: Charlotte is countering Asuka early but the Japanese star connects with some big kicks and then knocks Charlotte off the apron to the floor.

7:40p ET: WWE is having some fun using virtual reality software for entrances on the broadcast including Asuka walking out between multiple masks with colored laser lights.

7:38p ET: The spectacular entrances continue with Charlotte who comes out to her father Ric Flair's music as she is "presented" before the lights go out and she walks to the ring. Amazing.

7:33p ET: Bit of a surprise as their going with this match second on the show but at least there's plenty of time for them.

7:30p ET: Seth Rollins is now a Grand Slam Champion having won the World, IC, United States and Tag Team Championships. 

Seth Rollins beats The Miz Finn Balor in a Triple Threat match to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship

7:28p ET FINISH: Rollins jumps off the top rope and takes The Miz down with him and face first into the mat. He goes for the cover but Balor comes off the top and hits the Coup de gras to break it up. A minute later, Balor hits the move on The Miz but Rollins comes in and his the stomp on Balor who smashes face first into Miz's back. Then another stomp by Rollins on Miz and we have a new champion!

Great match to begin the show - really fast-paced action with some great spots.

7:23p ET: Balor and Rollins exchanging kicks in the middle of the ring. Balor then drops Rollins hard on his back but can't score a pin. Great pace to this match so far. Rollins with a buckle bomb on Miz and then Rollins with a superplex on Balor. The Miz tries takes advantage and hits a Skull Crushing Finale on Rollins who kicks out at the last second.

7:20p ET Rollins on fire and he dives through the ropes onto Balor. Then back in the ring and does the same to The Miz on the other side. Minute later back in the ring The Miz catches Rollins and almost scores a pin.

7:18p ET: Feels like a new Miz tonight — more aggressive and more focused. A lot on the line for The Miz as he has sights set on becoming the longest reigning IC Champion in WWE history as he's just 22 days from breaking Pedro Morales' record. 

7:16p ET: Here's a good shot of Balor's entrance. Great statement by WWE embracing the LGBTQ community.

7:14p ET: Only a couple minutes into the match and Balor with a beautiful dive over the top rope onto both Miz and Rollins on the floor. 

7:12p ET: What an entrance for Finn Balor as he is surrounded by members of the LGBTQ community wearing rainbow Balor Club shirts as the crowd erupts. 

7:09p ET: Kicking off the main card with a hot match. The Miz is wearing an amazing red glittered outfit as he sends the Miztourage to the back. The champ wants to do business on his own tonight.

7:01p ET: A great live rendition of American the Beautiful as we kick things off.

6:59p ET: It's time for #WrestleMania! Inside the crowd is chanting Rusev Day and then woo-ing. Great atmosphere.

6:57p ET: Just minutes away from the main card so here are my winning predictions: Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Asuka, Nia Jax, The Miz, The Usos, Sheamus and Cesaro, and Rusev. Looks like a great show on paper. Reminder to follow us on Twitter @SN_Wrestling.

Naomi wins the First-ever WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal

6:45p ET FINISH: Sasha and Bayley shake hands but Bayley quickly tosses her over the top rope. But it's not over! Come to find out, Naomi was never eliminated and she immediately gets the better of Bayley and sends her packing for the win.

6:44p ET: Sasha and Bayley are working together and clear the ring! It's down to those two!

6:41p ET: Sane with her magnificent elbow off the top rope but then she gets eliminated to groans from the crowd. Blair is using her long hair as a bullwhip but Lynch takes care of her, tossing her over the top to the floor. And now Lynch is eliminated and the crowd boos loudly.

6:39p ET: Several NXT women are in the match including Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane and Bianca Blair. Both Deville and Mandy Rose get eliminated so no more Absolution.

6:35p ET: Bell rings and Carmella starts bragging about having the Money in the Bank case. That didn't go over well and she gets thrown off the top rope to the apron before Sonya Deville kicks her in the head and she's eliminated. Then Dana Brooke gets ganged up on and she's out.

6:32p ET: In case you were wondering, John Cena is having a good time watching WrestleMania in the crowd.

6:29p ET: Time for the ladies to do some battle royal action. Paige is the special guest announcer for this one and Becky Lynch comes to the ring first. 

6:25p ET: John Cena just got interviewed while sitting in the crowd in his "Cena Section" as he called it. I have a feeling he won't be sitting there all night long.

6:22p ET: Checking on my Twitter poll regarding what match you're looking forward to the most — AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is winning with 62% of the vote. Not surprising after talking with fans here in New Orleans throughout the weekend.

Cedric Alexander defeats Mustafa Ali in the Finals of the Cruiserweight Tournament for the vacant Cruiserweight Championship

6:19p ET FINISH: Two back elbows by Alexander and Ali is dazed. Alexander doesn't want to do it but a third back elbow and then the lumbar check and he gets the pin! Alexander is in tears after the match. Quite the story of his life and this huge moment at WrestleMania. 

6:17p ET: Huge tornado DDT by Ali and then hits a big move off the top rope but Alexander gets his foot on the rope just before the three count. Crowd is in a frenzy.

6:15p ET: Ali climbs to the top rope but Alexander shoves him off and Ali goes splat on the floor. Yikes.

6:13p ET: Ali with a perfect Spanish Fly in the middle of the ring — absolutely spectacular.

6:08p ET: First dive of the match as Alexander takes to the air and does a flip over the top rope and connects perfectly onto Ali. These guys are moving pretty fast to get this going. 

6:04p ET: Into the second hour of the kickoff show and it's time for the finals of the cruiserweight tournament to crown a new champion. This should be a barn-burner.

'Woken' Matt Hardy wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

5:56: ET: Technical difficulties for a few minutes from here at the Superdome but Bray Wyatt returned and appeared in the match. In the end, he helped his former nemesis Matt Hardy win (Wyatt was never officially in the match) and Woken Matt Hardy wins the 5th annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. 

5:43p ET: This happened as well.

5:42p ET: My heart is broken — Tyler Breeze has been eliminated.

5:38p ET: And the first person eliminated is Aiden English. No celebration on Rusev Day for him.

5:35p ET: Here we go with the first match of the night and everyone is walking to the ring for the 'Dre. We have some special guest announcers for his one — Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton and... Jim Ross!

5:23p ET: The lights are out and it's time to get the action going at WrestleMania. Hold on — here we go.

5:20p ET: While you wait for the first WrestleMania kickoff show match, check out WrestleMania radio row and Axxess interviews with Johnny Gargano, Ember Moon, Adam Cole, Paige, Samoa Joe, Mickie James, Aleister Black and Renee Young at YouTube.com/betweentheropes.com. 

5:17p ET: This is the most stacked card in recent WrestleMania history will lots of very good matches on paper. So what match are you looking forward to the most?

5:10p ET: Plenty of discussion about what will happen, if anything, between The Undertaker and John Cena. It seems that there won't be a match between them but I'd expect at least a confrontation and possible a fight. They could build to a match at WrestleMania 35 but a lot can happen in a year. 

5:07p ET: It's been quite the interesting weekend for Dana White already and he's capping it off at WrestleMania. He's supporting Ronda Rousey but also plenty of talk of Brock Lesnar returning to the UFC and this will be his last night at WWE for a while.

5:04p ET: Make sure you follow along on Twitter @SN_Wrestling for additional WrestleMania coverage.

5:00p ET:  It is time for WrestleMania! It's the kickoff show with three matches including the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, the first-ever WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, plus Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship. 

 

WWE WrestleMania 34 card

— Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship

— AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship

— Charlotte vs. Asuka for the WWE "SmackDown" Women's Championship

— Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax for the "RAW" Women's Championship

— Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

— Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (if Owens and Zayn win, they will be rehired to “SmackDown”)

— The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

— Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev for the WWE United States Championship

— The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bludegon Brothers in a Triple Threat match for the WWE "SmackDown" Tag Team Championship

— Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Braun Strowman (and potential partner) for the WWE "RAW" Tag Team Championship

— Women's Battle Royal (pre-show)

— Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (pre-show)

— Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship (pre-show)

WWE WrestleMania 34 Predictions

— Roman Reigns overcomes the “Beast” to become Universal Champion and take the top spot in the WWE.

— AJ Styles retains the WWE Championship in a show-stealing match.

— Asuka remains unbeaten as she becomes the “SmackDown” Women's Champion

— Nia Jax rolls through Alexa Bliss for some sweet revenge and the “RAW” Women's Championship

— Ronda and Kurt beat Triple H and Stephanie into submission.

— Owens and Zayn take advantage of a beat up Shane-O-Mac to get the win and stay on “SmackDown”.

— The Miz gets a surprise victory to hold onto the Intercontinental Championship.

— Rusev celebrates Rusev Day by winning the United States Championship.

— The Usos survive in the Triple Threat war to keep the “SmackDown” Tag Team Titles.

— Sheamus and Cesaro take a beating from Braun Strowman but retain the “RAW” Tag Team Titles.

— Sasha Banks outlasts everyone to win the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal

— Elias dazzles with a singing performance before taking the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

— Cedric Alexander wins the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a spectacular match with Mustafa Ali.

Brian Fritz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and listen to his Between The Ropes podcast on Blog Talk Radio.

Brian Fritz

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Brian Fritz is a contributor with The Sporting News covering the NBA and NFL who previously worked at BasketballNews. He is a 20-year veteran of sports talk radio in Orlando, Florida, after graduating from the University of Central Florida. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina.