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Many are probably relieved Reigns didn't win, but the sneaky ending feels off for a Wrestlemania. This was maybe a bit of trying to hard by WWE.
Rollins wins the WWE Heavyweight title.
Seth Rollins came out cashed in and after an exchange he wins the title.
Reigns hits two spears, but Lesnar survives.
Brock is cut bad.
Reigns kicks out of a third F5.
#suplexcity is trending.
Roman Riegns kicked out of the F5
5th German by Brock.
Lesnar tells Reigns welcome to suplex city.
Reigns acting like he enjoys the punishment.
Lesnar cut early. Then hits an F5. He doesn't go for the cover.
Lesnar is out. He's looking jacked as usual.
Reigns has his logo embedded on his chest. It looks cheesy.
Reigns enters threw the crowd first.
It was not expected this would be a long match, but this is a very late start versus how WWE typically books their PPVs.
WWE Heavyweight Title Match (c) Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
It was a solid match, but where they go with Bray from here is anyone's guess.
The Undertaker Wins!
The Taker hits a second Tombstone to win.
Taker looks like the American Badass tonight.
Bray has control now. Announce team selling that maybe the Undertaker has lost his magic.
The Taker is commanding this match early.
The rumors of Undertaker looking bad are false. He looks better than last year.
Undertaker looks good, but his entrance was out done by Wyatt's.
Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt.
After a long exchange the Rock lets some shots out on HHH and Rousey gives him an armdrag out of the ring. Steph gets her arm twisted by Rousey and then tossed as well.
Rhonda Rousey!
Shane O Mac Chant!
Stephanie is not excited to finally be torched.
Rock confronting the Authority.
The Rock is in the building.
HHH and Stephanie McMahon Promo
The result is fine, but after a well booked match the finish was really cheap. WWE needed to do better here. The fans were not happy.
John Cena wins the US Title pinning Rusev.
Lana distracts Cena by standing on the Apron. Rusev runs to hit him, but he moves and Lana gets knocked to the floor. Rusev gets caught by the AA is pinned for the first time.
Cena survives the Acolade.
Cena hits a really cool stunner off the rope.
Lana tosses her shoe in the ring to distract Cena. Rusev lands a huge flying head butt off the top, but Cena kicks out.
Rusev has really upped his game as the classic dominant heel figure in this match.
Crowd chanting let's go Lana. She's very over.
Cena gets some offense in, but misses an AA. Rusev hits a Rock Bottom, but only get a two count.
Rusev has control early landing the Kevin Owens Cannonball on Cena.
Pretty nice pre-match intro stuff with Rusev demanding to be annoucned first.
Long Entrance promo with great American moments before Cena's entrance. A little over dramatic.
Rusev comes out first to the Russian National Anthem. Lana looks stunning. It's a great entrance, but why is the Champion coming out first. Rusev arrives on a tank and gets booed heavy. Good for him.
US Title Match (c) Rusev vs. John Cena
Kevin Nash did not get the pop a headliner deserves. Should have let Lanny go on last.
WWE has all the inductees out on stage.
WWE does a recap of the Hall of Fame ceremony from last night.
Very uneventful match considering the tease of an AJ Paige split. That should have been a four way for the belt.
AJ Lee and Nikkie Win!
AJ Lee gets Nikki to tap to the Black Widow.
NIkki hits the Rack Attack, but Paige kicks out.
CM Punks Wife is out with Paige first.
AJ Lee and Paige vs. Nikki and Brie Bella
Big promo for many past IC Champs and Daniel Bryan. The elevation of the IC title has begun. This is not good for Reigns.
It was completely illogical for HHH to win and then do a show of respect with Sting. He's a heel! WWE missed the mark here big time.
HHH Wins!
HHH hits Sting with the Sledge Hammer for the win.
HBK with Sweet Chin Music on Sting.
Nash might have broke his hip. Oh boy!
HHH kicks out of the Death Drop.
Wow these guys are slow getting to the ring.
Hogan Nash and Hall out as the NWO!
Sting kicks out of the Pedigree.
Sting does a dive and takes out everyone.
DX out to help HHH!
HHH trying to make it well all about HHH. What else is new.
WWE gives mega heel HHH a face like entrance! Where does his self promotion end?
Sting gets the first live music entrance of the night.
HHH vs. Sting
Rollins really needed that win. His push has been shaky at best this year. Hard to see him cashing in tonight at this point.
Randy Orton Wins!
RKO out of nowhere for a great finish!
Rollins kicks out of the RKO. Orton survives the Curb Stomp. Because it's Wrestlemania according to the King.
Orton totally dominating.
Seth Rollins out first and he's upgraded his leather chair look.
Randy Orton Vs. Seth Rollins
Good solid match as Ambrose takes by far the worst bump and Daniel Bryan looks really strong in winning. This tips the scales in Brock's favor a little.
Daniel Bryan wins the WWE IC Title!!!
Bryan headbutts Ziggler off the ladder and the place goes nuts!
Bryan nearly gets the title and the stadium nearly comes unglued.
Dean Ambrose takes a major bump threw a ladder on the outside. It snaps and he's bleeding.
Daniel Bryan catches Luke Harper upside down on the ladder for some yes kicks.
Even Luke Harper has new ring attire tonight. Seems to be the trend.
Fans not doing the yes chant are in the minority.
IC Title Match (c) Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. R Truth vs. Stardust vs. Dean Ambrose
LL Cool J provides commentary for a good show open.
Traditional Wrestlemania singing of America the Beautiful.
Pat Patterson out to hang the IC title.
Looks like the show will open with the IC Title Match.
The Pre-show matches were both really good.
Big Show wins and we have to wonder why. WWE botched this one up.
Big Show wins tosses out Mizdow.
Mizdow tosses Miz and we are down to our final two.
Finally three Miz Mizdow Big Show!
Cesaro looking good, but gets tossed.
Big Show knocks out the New Day. Hopefully they get double pay for their efforts.
The Ascension get tossed by Rybak. Their burial continues.
Wait Kidd and Cesaro are in as well? Couldn't WWE just have used more NXT guys?
Miz and Mizdow on the same page getting rid of Alex Riley.
Axel is out first...damn.
Strange as the Matadores and the New Day are in this! WWE didn't have enough stars to fill this apparently.
Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Booker T says the stock of the New Day is on the rise. It's unclear what match he watched.
The staduim is really taking a lot fo time to fill up. Either the concession food is great or this is a slow moving crowd.
It's a massive win for Kidd/Cesaro and they were featurely nicely. Hopefully soon they can get a mic to cut some promos.
The team of Kidd/Cesaro retain.
Jimmy Uso hits a huge splash, but Cesaro tosses him out and gets the pin on Big E.
Huge double chicken fight suplex!
Nattie puts the sharpshooter on El Torito. Then she gets caught by a rearview from Naomi.
Kofi gets nailed with a huge code breaker off the top.
Looks like Jay Uso is out of the match. He has a legit shoulder issue so no surprise there.
Tag Title Match (C) Cesaro and Kidd Vs. the New Day Vs. Los Matadores Vs. the Uso's
With only about half the stadium filled we are set for our first match for the tag belts.
WWE replaying Vince's proudest moment. Lesnar announcing on ESPN he was staying.
Rumor has it the Undertaker does not have the sniffles and will make the event.
WWE really hyping Lita doing a twitter Q&A for the second hour of the pre-show.
J&J security bump into Pat Paterson and Gerry Brisco backstage in a comedy segment.
There was a tease for a HHH interview, but Kane shut it down. HHH gets enough promo time on Raw.
For those concerned about Lana not being at WM31 she's there and just told Rusev that she will show no compassion ever again. Rusev claims he will crush Cena and therefore America.
Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Renee Young, and Booker T are hosting the pre-show. It doesn't look like the matches will start for a while as the staidum is just starting to fill up.
It seems strange that last year was all about Bryan, but this year he's pushed down the card.
WWE running their WM30 behind the scenes. What a difference a year makes.
The Preshow is just 20 minutes away and we are ready to go with our live feed for Wrestlemania 31.
So look for Brock Lesnar to retain his title. The WWE will likely use John Cena and Daniel Bryan to main event PPV’s as Champions in their own right to accommodate Lesnar’s part time schedule. It’s almost like the WWE went from giving no one what they wanted to everybody a little something.
With Brock resigned the match took on a whole different feel. Now it seems more likely that Brock should retain since in reality the fans are having major issues with Roman. Unless the WWE decides to embrace a Roman heel turn he’s likely to get a very mixed reaction, which hasn’t proven to be a real ratings winner.
On the final Raw before WM31 the two finally had a stare down in the middle of the ring. Reigns snatched the belt away from Lesnar and the two ended the show both clutching the belt. It was really deflating to watch, but the next day Lesnar changed everything. Brock announced on ESPN that he was staying with WWE and had signed an extension.
Heyman played up the fact that Lesnar might leave and unify the UFC and WWE title this Summer. On the March 9th Raw Heyman cut probably the best promo of his life and saved this match. Fans were now given a reason to tune in. Would WWE really put Reigns over Lesnar? Was Lesnar really going to leave with the title? Was Heyman shooting or was that all planned?
Yet, they instead had Reigns beat Bryan and setup what many believed to be a simple passing of the belt from Brock to Roman. There was not much love for this match, but then enter promo machine Paul Heyman. Heyman used the real life dispute between Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon over his contract to cut some amazing promos that created a reason for fans to want to see this match.
Reigns has taken nothing, but heat from smart and casual fans alike. This has happened for more than one reason. Everything from awkward podcast interviews where Reigns basically claims to have invented the sport of wrestling to goofy promos that appear to have been written by Looney tunes characters. The WWE Universe rejected Reigns at the Rumble. WWE gave themselves an out by booking the shot at the title in a match between Reigns and Bryan. They could have sidestepped all the fan animosity for Reigns.
This feud started when Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble, but not the hearts and minds of the majority of the WWE Universe. The next night Raw was snowed out and the two had a sit down interview together. This would be the last time the two would be together until the last Raw before WM31.
WWE Title Match (c) Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
How do you feel about Roman Reigns? Find out why WWE is ignoring the fan reaction to him here.
Prediction Bray Wyatt releases the buzzards on the Undertakers career
The right thing here is for Bray to go over in a way that preserves Undertaker. The in ring quality might be a bit dodgy for this match, but the entrances should prove to be pretty epic.
It’s the match everyone wanted to see…a year ago. There’s actually a ton at stake. If Bray loses it’s not the end of the world, but what does putting over Undertaker do for his character post WM31? If Taker loses then the shine is almost completely off of him, but the WWE does have the option to have his retirement match next year at WM32 in Dallas.
The feud took shape when Wyatt, who has been pushed hard for the past few months, started cutting strange promos telling this mystery person to find him. At Fastlane he mocked Undertakers entrance and officially announced he wanted the Deadman at WM31. A few weeks later Undertaker would accept via the titantron. It probably would have been cheaper just to send a text.
Winning and losing does matter in WWE regardless of what people say. Undertaker lost a lot of his mystique by losing last year and Bray was sent into a tailspin after losing his feud to Cena. Both guys are probably in need of a win here, but obviously Wyatt is the full time guy and needs it more.
Bray Wyatt debuted in the Summer of 2013 and from the moment he did it seemed like he was tailor made to feud with Undertaker. In his first feud he destroyed Kane and the WWE pushed him as an unbeatable sinister force. It would have made sense for the two to meet at WM30, but WWE went a different route and had the Taker lose to Lesnar and Bray lose to Cena.
The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
What do you think of the WrestleMania Card? Click here to find out if this match card is hit, or miss!
Prediction Orton Wins!
That felt like the end of the feud as Orton got his revenge, but a match was made for WM31. It would seem logical for Orton to win, but in this case the WWE needs to start getting consistent with Rollins who really is their best full time heel. It makes the most sense for Rollins to win and look strong and tease a possible cash in for later in the show. Orton is established and the loss will do nothing to hurt him.
Orton took her up on the offer and fans were treated too some confusing situations where Orton seemed to be sending mixed signals. Was he really over his issues with Rollins or was this a setup? Finally when the time was right Orton turned on Rollins and then delivered a massive beating ending when he hit an RKO on the announce table.
Rollins executed a vicious curb stomp on Orton while he was laid out on the steel steps. This was done so that Orton could take time off to film a WWE movie. (Do they ever release these movies) Orton returned at Fastlane after The Authority won their six man tag and started attacking members of the group. The next night on Raw he declared he wanted his revenge on Rollins, but Stephanie convinced Orton to rejoin the Authority and put his beef with Rollins in the past.
Orton and Rollins were forced to join sides as part of The Authority over the summer. Rollins seemed to be the new darling of The Authority and Orton seemed to resent him for it. The two had a lot of mixed interactions, but they stayed loyal to the Authority. Finally Orton pushed HHH too far and he was kicked out of The Authority because he couldn't get past his jealous of Rollins.
Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
Prediction Cena wins a sneaky good match and Lana looks very good on the outside.
Cena lost at Fastlane and it wouldn’t seem very likely he’s loses two in a row.
Rusev of course refused so John Cena was forced to go to extreme measures. He attacked Rusev straight on and put him into his STF. Cena refused to let go of the hold and Lana agreed to give Cena his match at WM31 for the title.
They had a match for the title at WWE Fastlane where Rusev used some underhanded tactics to beat Cena. When Cena asked for a rematch he was denied so he tried to get into The Andre Battle Royal (now on the pre-show), but was denied by Stephanie McMahon who said the only way he could compete would be to make Rusev give him a rematch.
Cena began feuding with Rusev during the post Royal Rumble show. Cena was talking about losing the title match that night when he was interrupted by Rusev who was flaming mad about being the last entrant eliminated from the Rumble match. Cena got upset about having his interview cut short and the two went nose to nose. From there WWE played up the America vs. Russia stuff.
Rusev (c) vs. John Cena for the US title
It’s very hard to see an outcome that has any value that doesn’t end with either Brie turning on Nikki or Paige and AJ splitting. So, the prediction is that Brie actually turns and Nikki takes the fall. WWE needs to readdress the Bella's breaking up and then getting back together. The creative staff could get high marks for swerving everyone into thinking that it was the other team that would break up. Hence that's why they call them creative.
This is another one that is hard for fans to get into. There’s really nothing at stake and if AJ or Paige turn on each other it will be about the 5th time that has happened. Why would it matter more this time. This feud again struggles due to the lack of in ring promos. It’s also questionable why this isn’t a fatal four way for the title or even just a three way.
Paige and the Bellas have been feuding for the past few months. Paige received a chance at Nikki's Divas title at Fastlane, but she could not overcome the Bellas cheating ways. Paige got another shot recently on Raw and when the Bellas tried to take advantage of her yet again AJ Lee returned to make the save. AJ and Paige have had an up and down relationship the past year and the WWE teased that they might have issues going into this match.
The Bellas vs. AJ Lee and Paige
Take a look at our list of matches that should have happened at WrestleMania here.
Prediction Sting wins or fans riot...not really, but they will be really mad
On paper this sounds like a good solid angle, but WWE bungled the building up a little. The outcome of this match should be a sure fire lock. Sting wins! If that doesn’t happen HHH might actually achieve levels of real hate that he has never know were even possible. Most people will be watching this just to make sure HHH doesn’t go over when he really shouldn’t yet again.
Since there return HHH has been claiming that Sting is a vigilante who has been hiding for 14 years and is bitter because HHH put WCW out of business. Yes take a moment to suck in that logic. Sting has recently stated that he’s not trying to fight a war that’s long since over. He’s here to stop HHH from abusing his power.
This feud started when Sting appeared at the Survivor Series and prevented HHH from cheating to win the Team Cena vs. Team Authority match. This meant that HHH and Stephanie were out of power. WWE panicked, since they don’t have any strong heels built up, and brought the power couple back only four weeks later.
Sting vs. HHH
Did WWE botch the Sting vs. HHH angle? Find out here.
Prediction Daniel Bryan wins! YES! YES...DAMN IT YES!
The smart money appears to be on Daniel Bryan especially in light of Lesnar resigning with the company. WWE has done very little with the IC title for the past few years. Why not put it on the guy that everyone seems to like, so that they can pacify that portion of the fanbase. Also Bryan almost always delivers a high quality in ring match, so he will really be able to represent the title well as Champion. This really shouldn’t even be a decision. It will elevate the title as they are hoping and win some fans back who are really mad at them.
Ziggler looked like the guy back in November that the company might be hyping for a big run, but then they quickly derailed him for no apparent reason. It's hard to see him winning at this point. Stardust has just become a heel and hasn’t really captured the heat the WWE probably would have hoped. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he wins, but doesn't provide a huge impact.
Ambrose could win as he’s got a strong following and this would help him to get back to the status he had at the end of the summer. He’s also been a little less flaky as of late and gone back to being more like Shield Dean Ambrose, which is refreshing.
Luke Harper and R-Truth are the only guys that can be for sure ruled out as the winners. Neither guy has been featured like he should be the Champion as of late. Barrett is probably the next least likely person to win as the WWE has basically been burying him for no apparent reason going into this.
Luke Harper was likely added to give the match a more equal amount of heels to faces ratio. Stardust was probably added for the same reason, but it was disappointing that WWE decided to scrap his rematch with Goldust for this.
Daniel Bryan comes into the match having been beat twice by Ziggler clean. Yet, many feel he’s the right man to raise the belt. Ziggler comes into the match needing a win to also get himself turned around. Dean Ambrose was challenging Barrett prior to this match coming together and seemed like he was destined to be Champion next. R-Truth lead the parade of guys stealing the belt. He provided most of the comic relief as they built this match up.
Barrett has been made to look like a fool since winning the title belt. He’s lost double digit matches and has had his belt stolen and passed around between the various combatants of this match like a hot potato. WWE could go the route of using this as a chance to really push him, but the constant losing has hurt fan perception of him so that's not likely.
Many expect this match to steal the show. Everyone in this match has the ability to provide great in ring work and in a lot of ways are overqualified for this, but WWE is looking to elevate the value of the IC title. Especially if Brock remains Champion it will be important that the IC belt is strong and can be used to close out a PPV.
The IC Title Ladder Match (C) Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Stardust vs. R-Truth
With only seven matches booked for the main part of the show the WWE will have a chance to do long entrances, long matches, and backstage promos. It’s unlikely anyone will win in 10 seconds as Sheamus did a few years back. It’s unclear what order the matches will go off in other than Roman and Brock will close the show and The Undertaker and Bray will likely go out in the middle of the show. So the order of things otherwise is only a guess.
The Main Card
Prediction-Mizdow
It has also been teased that Sheamus might return for this match and win. The WWE has given out the 20 participants and he was not on the list, but you never know.
That’s probably true. The major angle many expect to play out here is the Miz and Mizdow break up. This has been teased for months, but it looks like there are enough logs on the fire now for WWE to finally have the two split and for perhaps Mizdow to go over.
This match was created last year by Hulk Hogan as a gimmick match where the winner would pick up some steam for his career. Cesaro won last year and seemed to be on the major up tick until WWE bungled up his push. This match was scheduled for the main show, but just got bumped down to the pre-show. This is likely because the pre-show is so long they can afford to do two matches and it helps allow the main show time to not rush through things. While it shouldn’t matter when it goes on, it also sends a message that WWE felt people really weren’t interested in this match and it wouldn't be a big deal to move it.
Prediction-Kidd/Cesaro retain, let's hope.
Kidd and Cesaro are the only team coming into this match with something good going for them. They should win. It also is widely known that the Usos are battling some injury issues, so it’s unlikely they will pick up the straps. This should be a good match, but there’s not a lot of fan investment due to the lack of a story or any major promos.
The New Day has been a poorly accepted gimmick and Los Matadores have been rarely featured the last few months up until a few weeks ago. Its questionable whether or not those teams should even be allowed in the building let alone the pre-show. WWE is treating the Tag Titles as an after thought. It's not even clear which two New Day members will be competing, and how the Divas tag match, which isn't even for a belt is on the main show.
To make matters worse the WWE decided to allow New Day to beat Kidd/Cesaro in a non-title match on Raw a few weeks back. Then Los Matadores upset the Usos. From there the WWE went with the logic that all four teams should compete for the titles at WM31. They felt so excited about the prospect that they put the match on the pre-show.
The only problem for Kidd and Cesaro since winning the straps is that the WWE has never allowed them to cut any promos live on Raw. It’s very difficult to get over these days with the smarter crowds, but it’s near impossible unless you are able to address the WWE Universe directly.
Kidd and Cesaro became a team a few months back and have had a great chemistry. Both guys are really strong in ring workers and have a good level of charisma. They got hot on the heels of the Usos who were the Champions going into WWE Fastlane ppv where Kidd and Cesaro claimed the titles.
Four Way Tag Team Title Match (c) Tyson Kidd and Antonio Cesaro vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. the New Day
The WWE will kick things off with a two hour pre-show that as of the this preview will at least offer up two matches.
WM31 will be a four hour show presented on PPV where available, but mainly will be offered through the WWE Network, which only costs $9.99 per month to subscribe too. If there is one month to be a member this is the one because the promised card and extra attractions make this an absolute steal at that price.
Hello everyone and welcome to Vavel USA’s live coverage of the 2015 WWE WrestleMania 31 ppv! This might become the show that gets remembered for having a very unbalanced buildup, or perhaps the show that changed the fortunes of the WWE and sparked a massive interest in their network. Regardless of that this is the show almost all wrestling fans will watch and Vavel has all the skinny on the matches!