14 WWE WrestleMania 34 Impulse Reactions

6. Back From The Dead

Roman Reigns
WWE

Last year, an post-WrestleMania article on this website bore the scars of The Undertaker and Roman Reigns' scars of bore. The WrestleMania 33 topliner was an unmitigated disaster, shining light too bright on 'The Phenom's many aged failings whilst also presenting 'The Big Dog' as a man physically, figuratively and literally unable to carry the load for the company. It posited that 'The Deadman' wasn't deserving of the outpouring of support he received for a completely fabricated retirement, and offered reasons why he should never return. But like Eric Bischoff officiating a gay wedding, WWE confronted a number of inconvenient truths in just three minutes.

Undertaker squashed 'Big Match John' like a bug, give both men a relatively easy shift on the grandest stage and going a fair distance to rebuild the once-proud legacy of the long-tenured icon. He could repeat this feat with a different figure every year and go for another couple of decades at this rate.

What WWE may not be able to do as well again is deftly troll fans about it even going ahead. The entire angle was a soaring victory for the WWE Network. Promising nothing didn't remove a single buy, but delivering the assumed clash in the end (as well as a masterful pre-match troll job from Elias) justified every penny of the zero it costs to subscribe to their over-the-top service.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett