Thanks to Jules Allen for sending in the following recap:
The event kicked off with Matt Striker and Josh Matthews interviewing World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio about his title defense against Big Show at Elimination Chamber and his upcoming match against Jack Swagger at WrestleMania. Del Rio commented on the possibility of Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and he said he's ready for him.
A promo video aired looking back at last year's WrestleMania 28 from Miami, Florida.
Tony Dawson is on the stage behind a podium and welcomes everybody to the event. A video is airing on the big screen of past WrestleMania events and the entertainment spectacle that WrestleMania has evolved into in recent years.
Brodus Clay and the Funkadactyls came out and danced on the stage.
Senior VP of Special Events for WWE John Saboor. New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu. He talked about all the major events that are taking place from New Orleans and made the official announcement that WrestleMania XXX will take place on Sunday, April 6, 2014 from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. He introduced Vince McMahon.
Vince comes out to "No Chance in Hell" and talked about the cultural significance of WrestleMania and said gave some corporate talk about how WrestleMania and the city of New Orleans are a perfect match.
John Saboor is back on and says WWE owes a great deal of thanks to the team that plays at the Superdome, New Orleans Saints owner of Rita Bensen LeBlanc.
R-Truth came out and sang his "What's Up" rap song to the audience.
Stephanie McMahon. She talked about Drew Brees' tweet about WrestleMania coming to New Orleans getting 9 1/2 million views in just a few days. While the event itself is a lot of fun, the most important thing is to WWE give back to the communities. Superstars and Divas will visit local schools & hospitals, WWE will host a Make a Wish celebration and other events.
Steven Perry from the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau came up and talked about being nervous when he met Vince and Stephanie McMahon in Connecticut when trying to bring WMXXX to New Orleans.
WWE Champion The Rock is introduced. He talked about his roots in New Orleans, saying he's worked on numerous films there and called the city "Hollywood South" because so many movies are shot there. He said he competed for a national football championship there in college when he played for the University of Miami against Alabama. They lost, but the city has always been a part of him. The WrestleMania experience for the fans and the community is very special. He sang, "Oh when the saints go marching in."
John Cena came out and also talked about the significance of WrestleMania and the positive impact it has on the host city.
The Rock then joined John Cena on stage and they shook hands and posed for pictures (while still shaking hands). They thanked everybody for coming and Big Show, Mark Henry, Del Rio, Layla, Great Khali, R-Truth, Brodus Clay & The Funkdactyls came on stage and joined them.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
