5 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 34

3. Rousey

The greatest celebrity match in company history? Without question. The greatest debut match in company history? Almost definitely. The greatest match, outright, in company history? No, but staggeringly high up the table.

This was special.

An immaculately booked masterpiece, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's sh*tkicking at the hands of Kurt Angle and (mainly) his 'Baddest Woman On The Planet' partner was the type of star-making display 'The Game' hadn't brought out bag of tricks since his year 2000 prime.

It marked the first time he'd sprinkled some of his NXT dust on his own work. Grabbing his wife's hand to stop a certain submission in tribute to The Revival's futile effort in a TakeOver Title defence two years earlier, Hunter deftly employed desperation elsewhere in the bout too. Offering callbacks to countless past exchanges with both Kurt and Ronda as well has his collision course with Stephanie last year, Hunter was in rare form against the debutant and her semi-able accomplice.

Kurt Angle was used sparingly to sublime effect, whilst Stephanie performed her one job (dodging a submission hold quite literally as if her arm depended on it) with exquisite aplomb. Capturing the excitement of a split-second UFC scorcher, the quartet somehow stretched that same emotion over 20:40 and left everybody gasping for more with their final shortened breaths.

Michael Hamflett

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

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