With WrestleMania hitting a milestone 30 years, WWE incorporated talents of the past, present (at the time), and future throughout the respective four-hour spectacle. Three successful performers of the past, namely Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, kicked off the show with an introductory yet retrospective segment. The match card itself also spotlighted numerous stars coming from the more recent PG and Reality eras, including The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose), Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee, and Cesaro. In looking closer, though, many fans also took notice of the tease from some future stars of WWE.

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In the opening contest, Daniel Bryan battled Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the latter of whom also served as WWE’s Chief Operating Officer at the time. For his respective entrance, Triple H emerged from smoke while sitting on a throne. Surrounding him were three masked women dressed in gold Greek-Goddess-like gear (ironic, considering one of them took on a similar nickname three years later). Behind those masks laid the faces of three rising stars of “WWE NXT,” Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Alexa Bliss. Bliss could be easily identified by her signature blue, dip-dyed hair. Flair, of course, also stood out (literally) as she stood at a height of five-foot-ten, the tallest of any WWE woman at that point. Banks received notable screen-time as well, specifically when Triple H unmasked himself, with Banks appearing closely behind his left shoulder.

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While the integration of these “NXT” talents may have been overlooked at the time, especially when dissecting WrestleMania 30 overall, its symbolism is quite refreshing to see. You see, in addition to his duties as an in-ring performer and WWE COO, Triple H was heavily involved in the founding and later building of the “NXT” brand as its executive producer. As such, Triple H played a large part in developing the characters and forging the names of Flair, Banks, and Bliss — all of whom later became multi-time world champions on WWE’s main roster. In this moment at WrestleMania 30, though, fans got their first main roster taste of Flair, Banks, and Bliss.

Written by Ella Jay