Order of Elimination (The Miz, R-Truth, Bubba Ray Dudley, Curtis Axel, Luke Harper, Boogeyman, Sin Cara, Zach Ryder, Tyson Kidd, DDP, Fandango, Daniel Bryan, Adam Rose, Kofi Kingston, Stardust, Goldust, Mizdow, Titus O'Neil, Big E, Ryback, Jack Swagger, Wade Barrett, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Big Show, Rusev)
Winner: Roman Reigns
Highlights and Quotes
"Whomp, there it is."—R. Truth on the cutting edge of 90s rap music.
Bubba Ray Dudley returns to WWE after years as a mainstay of rival TNA Wrestling.
Boogeyman comes out to outweird even the Wyatt Family.
"This is Bray Wyatt's year."—Bray Wyatt.
"Sin Cara is Spanish for 'You're eliminated.'"—JBL. But like three minutes after Sin Cara was eliminated. Some jokes are too good to abandon I guess.
Bray Wyatt just hanging out in the corner. I love it when guys lounge through the match.
Stardust and Fandango with dueling Shawn Michaels spots.
"They teach that in yoga class?"—JBL as DDP hits the Diamond Cutter. DDP doesn't look a day over 70. Yoga must be really good for the body.
"Boo! Boo! Boo!"—crowd not amused by Daniel Bryan's elimination. Not sure why WWE didn't have a popular act set to come out and re-energize the audience.
"Daniel Bryan! Daniel Bryan!" —The fans are not going to forget. The match is dead. Roman Reigns hears it from the crowd when he comes out.
Big E with an amazing overhead belly-to-belly on Rusev.
Big Show comes out and overpowers the entire roster. But nothing is rescuing this show from a pissed-off fanbase.
"Bulls--t! Bulls--t!"—Fans not pleased with how this has gone. People are legitimately mad. Worse than last year, because they've been mad for most of the match now.
The Rock comes out to rescue Reigns from The Authority. But, though the fans didn't boo him, he didn't succeed in giving Reigns the rub.
There is stubborn, and then there is WWE. Despite the crowd's obvious love for Daniel Bryan, the promotion has decided to go with its handpicked babyface Roman Reigns. He's a promising talent—but he's nowhere near ready for a main event role.
Everyone seems to know this. Everyone but WWE CEO Vince McMahon. The organization insisted on going with Reigns and eliminating Bryan early. The audience live, and on Twitter, wasn't having it.
Even an appearance by The Rock, designed as a way for him to give his official blessing to Reigns, failed miserably. For the second year in a row, the WWE has planned a main event at WrestleMania no one wants to see.
Will it rescue itself from the brink this year as it did last year? Or will it risk further alienating its audience? At this point the meta-show is every bit as entertaining as the show in the ring. I can't wait to see what happens.
