WWE Wrestlemania 34 Results: The Undertaker Vs. John Cena Highlights

What was on paper one of WWE's biggest matches of 2018 was one that it didn't bother to formally announce before the event where it took place. Buildup for match between John Cena and The Undertaker had been happening in recent months, yet when Wrestlemania 34 occurred, their matchup wasn't officially on the card.

Undertaker and Cena are both Wrestlemania mainstays, although their roles in the company--particularly Undertaker--have been reduced from years past. Undertaker shared a cryptic message on Raw back in January, during which he rambled and listed off opponents he faced. He hasn't been seen on TV since.

Cena, meanwhile, has had to take up the mantle of carrying the entire promotion of the match. With nothing else going on, he challenged Undertaker to a Wrestlemania match back in February. Since then, he's routinely come out to cut one-sided promos which have gone nowhere, due to the lack of any response from his desired opponent.

WWE is a scripted business, and Cena wasn't spending time on TV for no reason. With the company not as reliant on advanced pay-per-views buys as it once was, and Wrestlemania not needing any additional star power to attract viewers, this match was allowed to manifest as a "surprise" match during the event. It could potentially have been Undertaker's final match, so we expected him to win. Sure enough, he did just that--in truly convincing fashion. Here's a recap of what happened:

• The lights go out, and Elias comes out to troll the crowd. Cena squashes him, and he starts going up the ramp. And then the lights go again. For real this time.
• Beautiful setup by having Undertaker's gloves, hat, and coat spotlighted in the center of the ring. It was an obvious visual allusion, but it created a sense of continuity that was needed after last year's "retirement."
• It never gets old, does it? The Undertaker has the best entrance in the history of sports entertainment. The flames, the smoke, and the music all combine to make theatrical magic.
• Taker looks incredibly spry and healthy, considering where he was at a year ago. In his match at WrestleMania 33, he was bloated and limping from a bad hip. He hasn't looked this good in at least three years.
• The bell rings. Cena is a class act, and he's doing everything he can to put the Dead Man over. He looks legitimately terrified, which Taker's opponents haven't sold in years. And when Undertaker did his sit-up, Cena tripped and scrambled away like a little boy.
• Undertaker got in all his signature moves. Old School off the top rope. Flying clothesline. Chokeslam. Tombstone Piledriver.
• The Undertaker pinned Cena with a single Tombstone, which was smart booking. Taker is long past the point of putting on a 20-minute epic match. This short squash was everything it needed to be--all highlights, no filler, and a lot of heart.

Wrestlemania took place on April 8 at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT on PPV and the WWE Network, live from New Orleans' Superdome. It was preceded by a Kickoff Show, making for a broadcast that eclipsed the seven-hour mark. You can see the full results here.