TOP FIVE LIST: Who leveled up WrestleMania weekend? Dominik Mysterio, John Cena, Joe Hendry, more

Safely removed from the emotions of the weekend, it’s good to look back on everything that happened. Wrestling has been famously called a buffet by Dusty Rhodes, where there is something for everyone available. You may not enjoy something on the card.

For some, they like athletic highspots, others like heavy story matches. Some enjoy characters of the women, some enjoy the sex appeal, and young girls see them as heroes they aspire to be one day. With that being the case, everyone will have different opinions on what they see as the top forward movements.

The list is long of leveling up. Tiffany Stratton going through the fire with a veteran and coming out on top, Jacob Fatu winning his first solo championship in WWE, or Becky Lynch’s return could easily go on a list, but as I look back, I see major mile markers of where five careers are going.

Joe Hendry

Joe Hendry lost to Randy Orton in three minutes, so how was this leveling up? Joe wasn’t even supposed to be there. That man has worked his ass off for the notoriety he has gained. From getting himself in a main event in Europe when he wasn’t supposed to be a featured guy, to becoming a viral sensation, then to become TNA Champion has all been because he knows how to get his name and face out there.

We all know it’s a work, so a loss to a legend at this point, company champion or not, isn’t going to hurt him. He came out, received a massive ovation for a TNA wrestler on a WWE show, where many didn’t know him, and wasn’t quite prepared for a veteran of that caliber. He also lost posing, which will teach him, in character, when to pose and when to be serious. I have a co-worker that watched and loved the guys look and personality, which is a barometer I use when seeing how anything is working is wrestling because he’s a guy who has only watched casually since the Attitude Era. Hendry’s future is huge.

Lyra Valkyria

It was tough for me to get on board with Lyra Valkyria. I don’t get to watch NXT with any regularity. As much as teenage me is in heaven with new wrestling to watch every day of the week, adult me with kids, jobs, & a wife who is gracious enough to watch two or three shows on a PPV week, can’t watch all of the content put out there.

Then, when she is introduced, she is put in the finals against Dakota Kai, a personal favorite of mine who has been victim of injury and timing, so I was bitter that Kai wasn’t the victor.

Then you had a great match with Bayley, a WrestleMania moment winning the tag titles with a returning Becky Lynch, and while rushed to it, a loss of said tag titles and her partner in Becky turning on Lyra. Now you have a sympathetic babyface that can work, and her matches to come against Becky Lynch is her chance to make her a top woman.

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Dominik Mysterio

One of my top five things I was looking forward to most at Wrestlemania was the prospect of a new Intercontinental Champion in Dominik Mysterio, and I wasn’t let down. He pinned who is supposed to be his mentor and leader in the Judgment Day. Dirty Dom then claimed to Finn Balor that it was all for the group the next night on Raw.

Now the story is ready for the guy that holds onto this title. We don’t want a legitimate champion out of Dom yet, we want a new “Dirtiest Player in the Game.” His character growth has been off the charts since turning heel, and the IC title is the next elevation needed for Dominik.

John Cena

It’s hard to level up when you’ve been on top for as many years as John Cena has been on top. In his last run, he shocked the world by turning heel. As a male in my mid-forties, during Cena’s run, I wasn’t a fan of him. I thought he was corny and wasn’t what I like physically in a match. Then I went to a live show with my two oldest sons. I saw how they reacted to John Cena and realized that the way they book their top stories wasn’t about me.

I paid money for John Cena merchandise for the first time that night. One of my kids ended up being Cena for Halloween that year. I started to respect his hustle and what he brought for kids. His weak choke kept it family friendly enough for kids to watch and become lifelong fans. After Cena ventured into Hollywood, I started to like the man more. After seeing Sisters, Ricky Stanicky, and Peacemaker, I saw that he was simply playing the role that Vince McMahon had wanted Cena to portray, but he was capable of more.

While there’s an admittedly clunky storytelling with The Rock in the midst of it, the Cena heel turn gave him more than a simple smile and wave to the audience, but to leave them with a villainess plot line to make his exit memorable. Plus, his time with James Gunn has made quite the comic book villain out of our John who is going to end the wrestling timeline. This time, I see you, John, and you’ve made a memorable impact.

Braun Breakker

Bron Breakker is the newest Paul Heyman guy. This works on so many levels no matter what age you are. I was born into my wrestling fandom with the Dangerous Alliance, managed by Paul E Dangerously (borrowing from the Michael Keaton movie, Johnny Dangerously, if you’d like to discover the character’s roots).

That meant that Rick Rude and Steve Austin were worth paying attention to. Any top guy in ECW would likely be recruited away, because if Paul Heyman saw something in them, they’re worth trying out. In WWE lore, being a Heyman guy started with The Next Big Thing, Brock Lesnar. Being paired with Paul from that moment meant you were in main events. Even in the little while where it was watered down with Curtis Axel and Cesaro/Claudio Castignolli, it was an attempt to get those characters over.

There have been many seeds dropped about Breaker being a massive star, and much of that we’ve heard from Paul himself. They’ve shared screen time on a couple of occasions, and this makes a lot of sense. If you’re a rookie who keeps winning a title just to shortly lose it a couple of times, it makes sense that you’d start listening to some advice from someone who has stood at the top with the biggest of names. Breakker may have his dad and uncle giving advice, and the coaches and mentors of NXT have gotten him this far, but there is only one man with Paul Heyman’s track record. This is the rocket.