The most obvious similarity can be found in the main events. Both were triple threats whereby a technical specialist who had been paying his dues for years finally managed to secure his place at the top of the company, winning the championship by tapping out a heel opponent.
But you can see the similarities further down the card also. On both shows, face tag team champions successfully defended their titles in a four way tag team match.
On both shows new up and coming performers raised their profile, when they showed how strong they were by lifting the Big Show. At Wrestlemania 20 it was John Cena; at Wrestlemania 30 it was Cesaro.
On both shows a relatively new faction (Evolution, the Shield) picked up a victory over a more established team (Rock & Sock, New Age Outlaws).
At Wrestlemania 20, Undertaker reverted to the zombie gimmick. It looks like that gimmick might have ended this year. In contrast to this, Wrestlemania 20 was the last show on which the stars of Evolution worked together as a group - until Wrestlemania 30.
Another (probably unintentional) similarity is that on both shows, Brock Lesnar had a fucking awful match against one of the biggest stars of the 90s.
Most importantly though, both shows put the spotlight on a lot of new talent. Both shows seemed to focus on trying to get some new stars over. Wrestlemania 20's tagline was "where it all begins again". And looking back, they did genuinely seem to be trying to build towards the future on that show. They made some new stars at Wrestlemania 20 and 21, and then spent the rest of the decade phoning it in.
Thinking about it that way, I'm wondering if Wrestlemania 30 is going to end up being the show that helps to usher in a new era in the company.
Maybe 10 years is how long it takes for Vince McMahon to embrace the idea of creating a new era in wrestling. Thinking back on it, Wrestlemania 10 focused on building up new stars also. Wrestlemania 9 ended with Hulk Hogan as champion once again in a decision that was much maligned. Wrestlemania 10 reversed that wrong by having Bret win the title from Yokozuna. It also showcased Owen as a future main eventer and Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels elevated their status in that huge ladder match.
It's not like me to be this optimistic about WWE pushing new stars. They've burned me too often in the past. But for the first time in almost 10 years, they tried to highlight some new talent at Wrestlemania. I think that makes a difference. In recent years when they've pushed new performers, it's largely been while others have been out injured or during the summer months when all the veterans have fucked off home for a few months. Pushing new talent at Wrestlemania when there were so many 90s stars in the building, actually looks like an endorsement of their current roster.
I could be way off the mark here, but it seems there might actually be some precedent for this show being a game changer. I really hope that ends up being the case.
