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WrestleMania 30 Press Conference: Full coverage of the event featuring Daniel Bryan, John Cena Hulk Hogan, Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton, Batista, and more

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Apr 1, 2014 - 10:00 AM

The following is live coverage of WWE's WrestleMania 30 press conference, which was streamed live on WWE Network on Tuesday morning from the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City. Refresh the page for the latest updates.

Josh Mathews opened the show and then brought in The Bella Twins. The Bellas agreed that A.J. Lee will not be the champion after Sunday, but they disagree on which one of them will take the title. Brie spoke about Daniel Bryan going for the title at WrestleMania. She said the fans want it and it has to happen.

Mathews brought up "your fiancee John Cena" to Nikki, who quickly pointed out that they're not engaged yet. They spoke about Cena vs. Bray Wyatt. She said the John Cena you see on television is the same person she sees at home. "He's real and he's authentic," she said.

Brie said she thinks the fans have connected with Bryan like they haven't with another superstar in a long time. Summer Rae walked into the interview and Mathews asked about her issues with Brie on Total Divas. She said she is new and has to prove herself to everyone.

Powell's POV: That was a boring answer. Is she going to be a big heel or not?

Mark Henry checked in and the Divas headed out. I guess he has that effect on women. Henry noted that he lives just up the street. He said he enjoys WWE Axxess because he has young children and enjoys watching them play with other fans. He spoke about the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, but he was interrupted by the music...

Michael Cole opened the actual press conference on the stage. He spoke about the impact that WrestleMania has on communities, then introduced Stephanie McMahon. She spoke about 30 years of WrestleMania and how her father created the event. She spoke about "my friend" Andre the Giant bodyslam Big John Studd, and Hulk Hogan and Mr. T beat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. She said she was smiling ear to ear.

Steph said WrestleMania 30 will be held in front of a capacity crowd and will be available on all pay-per-view platforms and on WWE Network. She threw out the "putting smiles on people's faces" line, then spoke about their charity efforts. She laid it on thick while talking about seeing the children smile when WWE talent read them books.

Cole introduced Hulk Hogan and noted that he has main evented a third of all WrestleMania events. Hogan tried to pump up the flat room of reporters. He said it's "the cat's meow" for him to be back at WrestleMania. He spoke about WrestleMania moments like when he slammed Andre the Giant.

Hogan said "we're all immortal now" because the whole thing is going down on WWE Network. He said he is happy to be home. He said he's been asking the same "Whatcha gonna do" question for 30 years. He tried to get the media members to play along with him. He finished the line and said it was great to be home, then posed for photos.

Powell's POV: I'm all for the reporters simply doing their jobs and not playing along. That said, this is a WWE Network broadcast and I think they'd be wise to let some fans in for these events to liven things up a little.

Triple H said it's normally a little more lively when they are in the building. He said if Hogan couldn't wake them up then there's not much he can do. He spoke about wearing multiple hats in WWE, but he said the biggest is that he's a fan with a dream. He spoke about the dream starting in NXT.

Hunter said guys like the Wyatt Family, Shield, and Big E Langston (he included the name) were in NXT and are now main eventing WrestleMania. Hunter ran through some of the WWE Network coverage of WrestleMania 30 week and "the extraordinary value for just $9.99 a month."

Hunter said it was time to put his talent hat on. He said no one exemplifies the dream of making to WrestleMania more than Daniel Bryan. He said that dream is put out there by the WWE Universe via the Yes Movement. "Unfortunately for Daniel Bryan, his dream intersects with mine," Hunter said. "Unfortunately for Daniel Bryan, that's not going to work out so good." He concluded by saying "only The Game is forever."

Cole introduced Daniel Bryan, who did his Yes! arm pumping. He said it's funny that some of the media doesn't know what they're supposed to do when he comes out. Bryan spoke about the dream of becoming the best and headlining WrestleMania. "And here I am," he said. "It's unreal."

Bryan went into character while talking about how Triple H hates him as a businessman. He pointed out a man dressed up like a Wyatt Family member and said he looks more like that. Bryan said people have way more power than they think. He noted that he was wearing a suit and didn't want to sound hypocritical, but people can make a difference even though everyone thinks everything is run by corporate types. He did the "Yes!" bit to close...

Powell's POV: Wait, so either there's a media member dressed up like a Wyatt Family member or the quietest group of WWE fans ever have gathered at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Cole introduced Batista, who pointed out how quiet it was. He said he wasn't going to read from a script and said the person who wrote it should be fired unless it was written by Stephanie. He noted that Bryan did the "Yes!" chant and nobody was doing it along with him. "Awkward silence," he said.

Batista said he had a little time between movies so he thought he would come back and become WWE Champion. He then pretended to be fans and mocked himself with "Boo-tista" and "Skinny Jeans" jabs. He said he has one pair of skinny jeans and he's going to wear them every week just to piss you off.

Batista said he wanted to do some things outside WWE, but his heart is always with WWE. He said he's a professional wrestler and it's what he loves. He spoke about how special it is for him to be at WrestleMania 30. He said it kind of sucks they turned the match into a Triple Threat, but it's something he will deal with. He said this is the last time people will see him as a non-WWE Champion.

Powell's POV: Highlight of the show. Batista showed more charm and charisma there than he has at any point since he returned. It was fun to see him have some fun with the negative reaction he's received.

"That was interesting," Cole said. He introduced Randy Orton, who came out with both title belts over his shoulders. Orton was in character as he spoke about retaining his titles. His promo lasted less than a minute. Cole brought out the other participants in the title scenario and they posed for photos. A small "Yes!" chant started as Hunter and Bryan posed together.

Cole introduced John Cena. He said he sees a few members of the WWE Universe and members of the media. He said based on their silence, he assumes they are hanging on their every word. He joked about Batista's speech. He told a story about a man enthusiastically telling Hulk Hogan that he was at WrestleMania 3.

Cena said WWE puts on the show of shows so that every person puts eyes on WrestleMania will have that one moment where they say they were there. Cena said WrestleMania 30 is revolutionary because the company is giving everyone a better chance to say they were there (via the network).

Cena said they will honor and appreciate their past with stars like Hogan. He said the card and the event is "one for the ages." He said the event is 30 years old, but the event is revolutionary. Cena impersonated Hogan during his closing line.

The production crew cleaned up the stage briefly and then everyone who took part in the press conference other than Batista got up and posed for photos. Batista eventually came out and joined them. Then Great Khali, Naomi, Cameron, Mark Henry, Natalya, Eva Marie, The Bella Twins, Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, and Summer Rae joined them to close the event...

Powell's POV: This was exactly what we've come to expect from a WWE press conference. I'm just happy they didn't have Brodus Clay and R-Truth do song and dance numbers like they did last year. I don't care what anyone says, Batista was fun. Sure, he was awkward, but it was a fun break from the formula and it got the best reaction from the stiff crowd.

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