To put it simply, April 2 – April 8 was the best week or so of my life. Up until this point in time I had never experienced a PPV, let alone a WrestleMania live. For those that don’t know, I am from Australia, so the most we get in terms of live WWE events here are one house show a year. Needless to say, my excitement levels were through the roof as I embarked upon my trip to the showcase of the immortals – WrestleMania XXX. The trip certainly did not disappoint either!
This piece will be a little different to my usual PPV reviews. I’ll give a bit of a summary of my trip, before diving into my live thoughts surrounding WrestleMania XXX itself (and to a lesser extent the Hall of Fame and Raw the following night). I’ll be back to my usual PPV reviews next month with Extreme Rules – sorry, the whole “special event” term just isn’t sticking for me.
It was around 3:30pm Australian time on Wednesday April 2 that I departed from Sydney airport. I travelled a good thirteen hours to San Francisco, and after a stop-over went an additional five hours to New Orleans. It was a long day of travel, but it would all be worth it in the end. I got into NOLA at around midnight on the Wednesday – yes, due to timezones I had not even missed a day!
The next two days mostly were taken up with WWE related events like signings at the superstore where I got to meet Booker T, Fandango, Christian and Cesaro. Then there was the actual superstore itself where I spent a whole heap on merchandise. I also attended the first two Axxess sessions of the week on both the Thursday and Friday evenings. I had heard a few negative comments about Axxess heading into my trip from people who had gone previously. Maybe it boiled down to the stadium set up last year, but I really can’t fault the event too much. In fact, I would recommend making it part of your WrestleMania plans wholeheartedly. The lines were not bad by any means – sure there was a bit of queuing involved, but you could easily meet a fair few superstars in each session. Again, I attended the earlier sessions in the week though – with Thursday being noticeably quieter than the Friday in terms of crowds. Anyway, across the two sessions I got to meet the likes of Mark Henry, Kane, Bob Backlund, Cody Rhodes, Goldust, Tyson Kidd, the Wyatts and many more. It was especially cool to meet my fellow Australian, Emma, and Alicia Fox was also very friendly and took the time out to really speak to fans. Add in the Q&A sessions with legends like DDP, Bruno Sammartino and Trish Stratus, as well as NXT matches ongoing throughout the night, it was all in all, a very fun way to kick off the weeks festivities.
In addition to Axxess, there was also WrestleCon, the non-WWE affiliated fan conventin across the street. I feel like this is what causes the former to get the negative reviews. Its undoubtedly better, but thats not to say one is bad. I won’t even attempt to list all the former superstars I met at WrestleCon – lets just say I spent a huge amount of money! But it was all worth it. It was Mania week after all! I attended both the Saturday and Sunday day sessions of the event and there are too many highlights to mention. From getting to meet Hall of Famers like Bret Hart and Bobby Heenan, to getting on stage with Mickie James during her concert and catching Ric Flair randomly parading around with a coffee busting out his trademark “woo!” despite actually being a part of Axxess that day – just many more memories that I will never forget!
The Hall of Fame ceremony was an event that I was honored to be a part of. I’m sure much has been written about it at this point, so I’ll keep my thoughts brief. I really enjoyed Lita’s speech to kick off the night, and Jake Roberts had one of the most emotional speeches I can remember in the history of the ceremony. Razor Ramon’s speech was fun, whilst short, and Carlos Colon gave a fine speech for what it was (and hey – Carlito’s complete disregard for WWE protocol was hilarious). The Brothers of Destruction paid a fitting tribute to the late, great Paul Bearer, and Mr T…well, he loves his momma in case you hadn’t heard. Then there was the Ultimate Warrior. We all went in expecting perhaps the craziest induction speech of all time, but in light of recent events, I’m just glad I was able to be there to give the man a standing ovation in his opportunity to put the past issues with the WWE behind him.
Of course, among all these events throughout the week there was countless adventures on Bourbon Street, superstar sightings and interactions with wrestling fans. I had the chance to meet many people over the course of the week that love this great business, and it really opened up my eyes to how amazing the wrestling fan base truly is, stretching all over the world and across all demographics.
I also attended Raw the night after Mania. It was a fun night. I won’t go into too much detail, because if you are reading this, you have definitely watched it by now. I really enjoyed being part of the wild crowd and joining in the chants throughout the night – “John Cena sucks” (in tune with his theme music), “this is awesome” (Paige’s debut), “you deserve it” (Bryan’s moment) and “we are awesome” (in response to the thank you video package), just to name a few. It was a really good show too. And hey, we had JBL cracking up by the second segment!
But enough of my ramblings, let’s get to the real reason you are all here:
WrestleMania XXX
April 6, 2014
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
I was seated in section 140, so I had a pretty good view the whole night. I got into the building fairly early, so there was a little time to kill before the show got under way, but it was quickly passed by taking in the atmosphere of the Superdome. I was told before my trip by a friend who attended WrestleMania XXVIII that there is a sense of emotion that overcomes you at the biggest event of the year. I didn’t exactly know what she meant, and whilst it hadn’t hit me at that point in the night, it had definitely done so by the time the Daniel Bryan video package played early in the show. I really can’t describe it, but if you’ve been to WrestleMania, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, the announcers eventually made their way out, and of course, JBL got the biggest pop – after all, who doesn’t love the commentary god?! With that out of the way, it was time for the pre-show match to get under way.
Pre-Show: WWE Tag Team Championship – Elimination Match:
The Usos (c) vs Los Matadores w/El Torito vs Curtis Axel & Ryback vs Real Americans w/Zeb Colter
My picks heading in: The Usos
Winners: The Usos last eliminating the Real Americans pinning Cesaro at 16:02.
Heading in I didn’t really know how long this match would get. Sometimes the pre-show matches only get a few minutes, whilst other times we get a lengthy contest. Thankfully, this was the latter as we got a very good match for the tag titles to kick off the show. The crowd was definitely behind the Real Americans here, mostly for Cesaro (who we would see later in the night), but the Usos were getting some pretty good pops as well. They were the right choice to hold onto the titles here as they are a team that they can build the division around and the crowd can get behind. My only real complaint about this match is I think the Rhodes Brothers should have been involved instead of the Matadores, who really have been nowhere near the titles in recent months. Also, myself, and basically most of my section from what I could gather, didn’t realise that the match was elimination rules. The pop when the Real Americans picked up the first decision over the Matadores was huge, Swagger making Fernando tap to the Patriot Lock, with the crowd thinking new champions had been crowned. Nonetheless, the match continued, and Ryback & Axel were the next team to be sent packing when Cesaro pinned Ryback with the Neutraliser – not that anyone figured they had a chance to begin with. After a few more minutes of fun action, the Usos came out on top, retaining their titles following a top rope splash to Cesaro. After the match, Swagger berated his teammate and put him the Patriot Lock. This led to Cesaro coming back and delivering the swing and walking out alone. The Real Americans were no more, and Cesaro chants were running wild.
Grade: ***1/2
From there, the main show got under way. Surprisingly, there was no America the Beautiful to kick off the event, nor had there been before the PPV went on the air. After the opening video package, we kicked the night off with the host Hulk Hogan, who got a huge pop from the crowd. Of course, he messed up and called the place the Silverdome, which led to some loud Superdome chants, which was a lot of fun to be a part of. After getting thr crowd hyped up, Hogan was eventually interrupted by Stone Cold Steve Austin, and a few minutes later the Rock also made his way out to the ring. I said before the show what a huge moment it would be if the three biggest names in the history of the company were in the ring at the same time, and hey, it happened! And as the crowd attested, it was indeed awesome! The three legends shared a few beers to get the show off to a very exciting and memorable start.
From there we went to a video package highlighting Bryan’s rise to the top of the WWE from his humble beginnings, and the Daniel Bryan/Triple H rivalry, I’ll go on record to say that I think this is the best video package the WWE has ever produced, which is some very high praise.
Daniel Bryan vs Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
My pick heading in: Daniel Bryan
Winner: Daniel Bryan with the running knee at 25:59
I remember being shocked that this match kicked off the show. I think everyone aside from the biggest Triple H skeptics knew Daniel Bryan was winning this match. The company wasn’t going to end the biggest show of the year by having three heels facing off for the title. The predictability wasn’t a bad thing though, as this match had been tremendously built to, with Triple H and Stephanie both excelling in their roles as the hated Authority, whilst Daniel Bryan is pretty much the ultimate underdog and most popular superstar on the roster. Interestingly enough, my section had a fair few Triple H supporters making their voices heard, but from what I have gathered, overall the crowd translated as being 100% behind Bryan. Also our section had a few of the old school “slut” chants for Stephanie which was a blast from the past. Triple H of course had his awesome skeleton warrior entrance, whilst Bryan came out riding the support of the Yes movement. As far as the match went, it was excellent. Bryan looked like the star he was destined to be in there, and Triple H was no slouch either. Say what you will about the guy, but he has a record of making people look like a million bucks when they need to. The match saw lots of back and forth rather than the Game dictating most of the offence, which was the right call as you wanted Bryan to look strong here. Stephanie was also great at ringside, not losing her step from her days as a heel manager in her husband’s corner. I really liked the spot that saw Triple H attempt to put Bryan in the Yes lock, only for Bryan to counter out into one of his own. Now, I said heading into this match that despite knowing Bryan would win, there would be one moment in the match where we would forget that. That was the moment when Triple H connected with the Pedigree. Bryan kicked out at two though and the crowd exploded. The Game would attempt a second Pedigree in response, but Bryan countered and fired back with the running knee to pin the boss to a huge pop from the Superdome crowd. A really amazing match that set the tone for what would be the night Daniel Bryan finally became a made man. Of course it was not all smooth sailing from there for the man who had just qualified for the title match later in the night. Triple H would attack Bryan with a chair after the match, injuring his shoulder in the process and resulting in medical staff attending to the hero of the audience. Triple H’s actions were met with the classic “asshole” chant, and Bryan was made to look even more like the ultimate underdog later in the night.
Grade: ****1/2
The Shield vs Kane & New Age Outlaws
My pick heading in: The Shield
Winners: The Shield with Roman Reigns pinning both Outlaws following a triple powerbomb at 2:56
I fully expected the Shield to look dominant in victory here, but I did not expect this match to be so short. Make no mistake about it, this was a total squash from the moment the Shield members interrupted the Outlaws catchphrases. I’m really glad that the Shield split has been postponed, as the face turn has really been enjoyable, and I’m loving the direction the group looks to be headed from here (more on that later). Kane was taken out early on by a spear from Reigns, and from there the Outlaws were absolutely decimated. Once again, Reigns looked like an absolute beast here, so you can tell there are huge plans down the line for him. He would put the Outlaws away with a double spear., and follow up with a triple powerbomb to them both with the assistance of Rollins & Ambrose to pick up the win for the Hounds of Justice. In the arena we were all surprised at just how quickly this all played out. Anyway, all signs point to the Outlaws run as regulars being over here – they were even telling people at Axxess on Thursday that they were done after Mania. I guess they aren’t getting that tag title rematch after all huh?
Grade: *
At this point we got a backstage segment that saw some of the usual cameo legends playing with action figures backstage only for Ted DiBiase to show up having bought them – because everyone’s got a price for the Million Dollar Man! Ron Simmons then showed up and delivered his trademark phrase – “Damn!”. As a brief comedy segment this was fine.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
My pick heading in: Big Show
Winner: Cesaro eliminating Big Show at 13:25
Other Participants (in order of elimination): Yoshi Tatsu, Brad Maddox, Brodus Clay, Great Khali, Zack Ryder, Darren Young, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Heath Slater, Mark Henry, Titus O’Neil, The Miz, Santino Marella, Xavier Woods, Damien Sandow, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Big E, Fandango, R-Truth, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Big Show
Heading into this one, the Big Show was heavily positioned as the favourite to win the match. In fact, I picked him before he was even announced simply due to it being dubbed the Andre memorial battle royal. I’m glad that I was wrong, and that’s not a knock on Big Show. This match really helped give a second Mania moment to a man we saw earlier in the night – the previously unannounced Cesaro. Backtracking a little, it was very weird the way they handled the introductions for this match. Big Show’s entrance started up and as the lights came up over the ring we saw 29 of the 31 competitors already in there. Sheamus would follow with his own entrance, and from there we were set to go. Obviously 31 guys is a bit much to do individual entrances for all the guys, but it was weird that they didn’t at least show everyone coming out to the ring together. As far as the match itself goes, it was an above average battle royal which was a lot of fun to watch. Of course one of the most memorable spots saw Kofi Kingston dodge elimination by landing his feet on the ring steps after going over the top. That was a lot of fun, and I didn’t even expect something of the kind going in, with this not being the Rumble. For the most part the order of eliminations was logical, although I was a little sad to see Mark Henry dumped so early when he should be looking like a favourite in these kind of matches. There were two men that the crowd were heavily behind in this match – Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro. Ziggler lasted a good while but was ultimately eliminated by Del Rio to the disappointment of the crowd. This brought us to the final four of Del Rio, Sheamus, Big Show and Cesaro. The first two were subsequently sent packing, and I was still expecting a Big Show win. Then we got the absolutely awesome moment that saw Cesaro show off his insane strength by slamming the giant over the top rope to win the match. Both a fitting tribute to Andre and a great WrestleMania moment for one of the best wrestlers in the company. Expect big things for Cesaro going forwards.
Grade: ***
Before the next match, we got a video package highlighting the Cena/Wyatt feud, which was followed by a live performance of the Wyatts entrance theme. We were clapping along live in the crowd and it was a surreal atmosphere.
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt w/Luke Harper & Erick Rowan
My pick heading in: Bray Wyatt
Winner: John Cena with the Attitude Adjustment at 23:13
I had really enjoyed the build heading into this match. I also had very high expectations for the match considering Bray Wyatt’s recent excellence on PPV this year coupled with John Cena’s ability to always deliver in a big match situation. The match didn’t quite reach those expectations, but it was still very good. We were into the Wyatts big time in the Superdome, swaying and singing “he’s got the whole world in his hands” through much of the match, a trend that carried across onto Raw the following night. I liked the psychology throughout the match as they played up how far Cena would go to take down the demonic Wyatt. It culminated in a moment that saw Wyatt hand Cena a chair and beg him to hit him to a big pop from the crowd. There was no chance Cena was turning heel here, but those moments where it could happen in the storyline are always cool. Instead, Cena would take out an interfering Rowan (Harper had gone through the barricade earlier in the match), only to turn into a Sister Abigail attempt from Bray. I thought that would be the end of the match. Going in I felt like Bray Wyatt would emerge victorious from this one. That was based on the ‘disadvantage on TV, win on PPV’ theory, as well as the fact that I figured the other big matches would see the faces going over (more on that later). Instead, Cena would counter Sister Abigail into the AA and pick up the win. A lot of people were upset with the result here. I don’t think its a big deal. The feud looks to be continuing and we will likely get a rematch at Extreme Rules next month. With Cena winning this one, I think Wyatt comes out of the feud victorious there. Its clear the company has invested into the character, and its paying off big time. As far as the match goes, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but still very solid.
Grade: ***1/2
Following that match, we got the annual moment where the Hall of Fame inductees from the night before come out on the stage. Always a good moment. Huge ovations as expected.
We then saw Daniel Bryan being tended to by medical staff in the back after the attack by Triple H earlier in the night. From here, we got a great video package leading us into our next match, focused on Paul Heyman’s reasoning why Brock Lesnar would beat the streak. Nobody thought much of that possibility at the time.
Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman
My pick heading in: Undertaker
Winner: Brock Lesnar with the F-5 at 25:06
So I made a bit of a mistake when I said this was the most predictable match of the night huh? Over a week later, it’s still crazy to actually think let it sink in that the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak is now over. Anyway, I’ll get into that in a moment. The build to this match was really lacking. A lot of that came down to the fact that both guys were part timers, so we had to rely on Heyman to carry things in the weeks that passed. There was also the fact that Brock was really made out to look weak heading in, but that’s a moot point now obviously! This was another match that I had pretty high hopes for. For the past many years, the Undertaker had always been in matches approaching, if not attaining, the ***** star range, whilst Brock Lesnar has also for the most part been involved in very good matches since his return two years ago. Add in the past chemistry between these two and I was ready for a classic. In terms of the match we didn’t quite get that. The Undertaker’s entrance was definitely a sight to witness live though (and its crazy to think that I may well have been there to witness his last match!). The match was pretty slow-paced, although word has come out that Undertaker suffered a severe concussion during it, so that certainly explains a lot. The crowd was not really into the match, mainly due to the fact that everyone knew (or thought they did) that Taker was winning to go 22-0. It was all about the spectacle of seeing these guys rather than the actual match. We all though the match was over when Taker hit the Tombstone on Lesnar, but then the unthinkable happened. Lesnar kicked out and countered a subsequent Tombstone into a third F-5 and ended the streak. I wasn’t even on the edge of my seat for that pinfall thinking it was a given that Taker was going to kick out. What followed was absolute silence as the entire crowd was shocked. It’s a moment I am never going to forget, and I made sure to preserve the reaction shot by fumbling into my pocket for my phone and selfie-ing it. It took a good thirty seconds for people to realise what had happened. I was looking where Taker was laying, trying to figure out if his foot had been under the rope. Then the “bullshit” chants started up as Lesnar’s music played and he left Taker alone in the ring. At that moment, I think everyone realised that this was the end for the Phenom, and we followed up with a standing ovation and loud “Thank you Taker” chant. The shock was definitely still there that we had witnessed history that we never expected though. Now, I don’t have a problem with Brock winning like many do. This was obviously Taker’s call. He’s entitled to that. I am very interested to see how they follow-up on this with Lesnar being a part timer though. I have a feeling we’ll see him against (spoiler alert!) Bryan for the title at SummerSlam, which would be amazing. Time will tell.
Grade: **1/4
Either I was just too shocked to notice, or they didn’t play the WrestleMania 31 announcement in the stadium. It played here.
WWE Diva’s Championship:
AJ Lee (c) vs Brie Bella vs Nikki Bella vs Naomi vs Cameron vs Emma vs Natalya vs Eva Marie vs Aksana vs Alicia Fox vs Layla vs Rosa Mendes vs Summer Rae vs Tamina Snuka
My pick heading in: Brie Bella
Winner: AJ Lee, making Naomi tap out to the Black Widow at 6:48
This match had the unenviable task of having to follow the shocking moment we witnessed prior. Like the battle royal earlier in the night, it was strange that the lights came on with everyone else in the ring and only AJ Lee made her entrance. She got a decent enough reaction, but a lot of the crowd was still out of it after the result of the Undertaker match. I was glad that the divas got the chance to have a match at Mania after missing out last year, and whilst a multi-person contest like this doesn’t exactly lend itself to quality, they deserved the chance to get a Mania pay-day since the men had that opportunity with the battle royal. I thought there was a chance we would get a title change here, with either Brie Bella or Naomi getting the win, as I envisioned there might be some cross promotion with Total Divas. Instead AJ retained her title by making Naomi tap out, and I’m glad she got her WrestleMania moment after doing a phenomenal job the past year or two. The match itself had the potential to be an absolute clusterfuck with the number of people involved. It wasn’t great by any stretch of the imagination, but it was better than I was expecting it to be. Of course, AJ’s reign would not last much longer, as she would be defeated by Paige the following night on Raw. The talent is definitely there in the division, and if given the chance to step up, I can see some solid matches down the line between the likes of AJ, Paige, Emma and Natalya to name a few. This match was nothing spectacular though.
Grade: *1/2
We now got a fun little backstage segment with Hulk Hogan, Mr T, Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff. The idea was that they were all involved in the first WrestleMania main event thirty years prior. Pat Patterson (in old school ref gear) played peacekeeper and got them all to shake hands. A fine cameo harkening back to what started all this.
Back in the dome, Justin Roberts introduced some of the legends at ringside. In attendance were Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Bob Backlund, Dusty Rhodes and Bret Hart. Naturally Bret got the biggest pop. We then went right into our main event, with Randy Orton’s music being played live.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship:
Randy Orton (c) vs Daniel Bryan vs Batista
My pick heading in: Daniel Bryan
Winner: Daniel Bryan, making Batista tap out to the Yes-Lock at 23:21.
This was the one that everybody had been waiting for. Heading in, I was of the firm belief that Daniel Bryan was winning the title here, although after what we saw earlier in the night with the Undertaker, the crowd had a feeling of apprehension, knowing not to expect anything until it happened. That feeling led to me being on the edge of my seat for the entire match. And what a match it was! It was just as good as the opener, and I’d say I even slightly enjoyed this one more live due to all the drama involved. Randy Orton had done a decent enough job as the insecure heel champion heading into this show, but it was a given he was not leaving with the title. Batista looked to have been destined to win the title on this night back at the Rumble, but that all changed when the crowd turned against him and forced him to go heel shortly after the Elimination Chamber. To be fair though, Batista looked to be in much better shape for this match than he had since returning. The real story of the match was whether Daniel Bryan could overcome the odds to finally win the big one on the grand stage though. I think the crowd was 100% Bryan for this match (well, except for the two people sitting in front of me who absolutely despised him for “stealing John Cena’s spot”). I’ve seen a lot of people saying the crowd took a while to get back into the match after the Taker loss earlier, but I can say thats completely false from being there. Once Bryan came out we were on our feet and things really picked up when the Authority made their way out to ringside. I loved the call back to the Scott Armstrong angle that occurred back in the early stages of this feud, but I know everyone was praying that Triple H didn’t have a ref shirt on underneath once Armstrong was taken out by Bryan. Stephanie would also end up going down when Bryan dived onto the Authority outside the ring, which led to her being taken off to “na-na-na-na” chants. Triple H attempted to get revenge with the sledgehammer, but Bryan would hit him with it instead, taking him out from the match. A lot of people complain about interference, but here it absolutely fit into the storyline. From there we were down to the three men involved in the match, and we got the insane spot that saw Orton and Batista both RKO and Batista Bomb Bryan through the announce table, drawing a “Holy Shit” chant. Bryan eventually recovered, fighting his way off a stretcher to return to the match to a big pop. I remember towards the end of the match, we started big “thank you Batista/Orton” chants whenever one would kick out of the other’s pin attempts. After a whole lot of back and forth finisher attempts, Bryan finally caught Batista in the Yes Lock and made the Animal tap out, to an insane pop from the Superdome. The crowd absolutely lost it, and it was a moment I will never forget being a part of. I remember being stunned that Bryan won by defeating Batista rather than Orton, which was a really good way of indicating that Bryan had won the company over their choice to be the guy. Just an amazing match and moment to be a part of and a fitting end to the chase that started all the way back in August last year.
Grade: ****1/2
Three Stars of the Night:
- Daniel Bryan – make no mistake about it, WrestleMania XXX was his night.
- Triple H – say what you will about him, he put Bryan over like a star on more than one instance on this night.
- Cesaro – split the Real Americans and went on to win the Andre Memorial trophy. Not bad for a guy people were upset wouldn’t make the show huh?
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Heading in to WrestleMania this year, it seemed like there was a lot of negativity from fans about their expectations from the event. I thought that the line up was very strong, and whilst some matches didn’t quite make it to those expectations (Cena/Wyatt) or just fell short completely (Taker/Lesnar), overall this was still a very strong show. In fact, after going through my WrestleMania rankings, I’d only put X-7 and XIX ahead of this one, making it the third best Mania of all time in my view.
The show had two amazing matches featuring the best wrestler in the world right now in Daniel Bryan. Add in the crowd emotion and investment in his chase of the title, and thats already a win. Daniel Bryan’s victory is going to be what I remember the most from the biggest show of the year, and after many questionable decisions in getting there, his star was finally made on this night. Of course, the other thing I am going to remember is being there the night that the historic streak came to an end. The Undertaker is now 21-1 at WrestleMania. Its strange just writing that. I think it was his last match, and whilst from a quality standpoint it wasn’t great (or good) the moment of the streak ending blows that all out of the water. It’s another moment on a show of many that will go down in Mania history.
Speaking of moments, what about that opening? The three biggest names in this business are Hogan, Austin and Rock. Seeing them together at the same time was an excellent way to kick off the show. Bray/Cena was a very good match, and we also got to see the rise of Cesaro to prominence, splitting from Swagger and going on to win the battle royal later in the night.
All in all, a very good PPV to mark my first in attendance.
FINAL GRADE: 9 out of 10
