WrestleMania 31 Match Results
The winners of Sting vs. Triple H, Rusev vs. Cena, Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt, Lesnar vs. Reigns and more!
Sting had his first (and last?) match in the WWE! The Undertaker returned after his big loss to Brock Lesnar last year to face Bray Wyatt! John Cena
battled to crush the undefeated Rusev! The Rock showed up with Ronda
Rousey (after hosting SNL last night)! And the Brock Lesnar/Roman Reigns
match had a very surprising outcome! Let's get to it!
It's cool that the Usos got to walk that WrestleMania asile despite
Jay's shoulder injury. Jimmy competed alone for most of the match due to
Jay "being taken out of the match" early. A nice, fast-moving
high-energy opener to reward the sun-soaked crowd. And considering the
amount of participants - four teams, Natalya, Torito, Naomi - it came
off well. In an ideal world, tag titles would be on the main show, but
it was creative for what it was. A lot of chaos, some fun spots (loved
the Sharpshooter on Torito), and a solid win for Cesaro and Kidd, who I
hope continue to dominate the tag team ranks.
Winners: Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
With Cesaro's big Battle Royal win not pushing him up to, or even
adjacent to, the top last year like some expected, this event has
already lost some of its luster. Winning it essentially doesn't
guarantee anything. Like winning Tough Enough. So each year the winner
will probably be "whoever's sort of hot at the moment but may not be a
month from now." Or to reward veterans (like Big Show) with something. Smartly done though, it can be used like the Rumble. To facilitate feuds, start new angles, end rivalries, etc.
Some nice beats here. Miz and Mizdow eliminating Alex Riley, Bo
Dallas eliminating himself, Hitami and Kidd kicking each other (and Big
Show eliminating Hideo - boooo!), Cesaro eliminating Kane, Cesaro
*almost* eliminating Big Show, Mizdow refusing to help Miz fight Big
Show, Mizdow eliminating Miz. It was all booked waaaaay better than the
Rumble, for sure.
Big Show winning was a big let down, for sure, but even I, given the
characters, couldn't figure out a way to make Mizdow go over him. Though
I would have loved for it to happen. The final minutes of this one were a lot of fun. I suppose, in the end, it'd be weird if Big Show never won the Andre Battle Royal. Especially since we know it's not necessarily the "thing to help elevate new stars."
#RIPAxelMania
YES! YES! YES!
So Bryan won after a really fun "HeadbuttMania" finish. It came down
to him and Ziggler at the top of the ladder in the end and The Goat's
cranium was just too strong. Putting the Ladder Match first was smart.
It pumped up the crowd and it separated Bryan's win (or potential loss,
if they wanted to create an ugly atmosphere) as far a possible from
Reigns and Lesnar in the main event.
A nicely worked, hard-hitting spotfest. Ambrose took a nasty looking
powerbomb onto a ladder on the outside of the ring, which took him out
of the match essentially. He looked legit banged up.
Overall, a nice way to open the show - give the most popular guy in
the company a huge win while removing the taste of Big Show's pre-show
win. The match was a bit crowded, but everyone was so good in it that it
played super-smooth - rough landings and all.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
The crowd really stayed alive for this one. Well done contest. I'm
digging the bright, sunshine-y aspect of the matches this year. Reminds
me of WrestleMania IX. It might take away some of the mystique later on
with the entrances, but I appreciate everything feeling different.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST F'N FUN RKOS EVER! Off the curb stomp,
tossing Rollins way high up in the air. I loved it. the press box here
at Levi's Stadium popped HUGE for that. Sure, Rollins could have gone
over Orton, but Rollins is still the MITB case holder and the match is
far enough removed from the main event that he could still play a huge
roll in the Brock/Roman finish. Plus, the pattern usually is for the guy who's about to become world champ to lose a lot before he cashes in big.
Another strong match. The build up to the match over the past month
wasn't the best, but the match told a great story and had a tremendous
finish. Rollins lost but he comes out unscathed.
Winner: Randy Orton
Okay, so Sting lost. That was very surprising. It seemed like since this was his first match in the WWE it was almost a guaranteed win. Of course, Triple H
has also lost his last four or so matches. So maybe wanted to keep him
looking strong from the standpoint that he's still going to wrestle
occasionally and it needs to remain a big deal.
Also, this was booked, in the build, as WWE vs. WCW. So WCW, as a concept, couldn't really go over here. I'm just explaining things somewhat rationally to mask my disappointment over Stinger's loss.
It was also weird because one of the reasons we assumed Sting didn't
face Undertaker this year was because neither he or Taker could lose.
The first half of the match was a slower, more traditional affair
designed to played to Sting's strengths as a guy nearing 60. Then DX ran
out to save Hunter from the Scorpion Deathlock! And we got a huge top
rope splash by Sting on all of WCW's old adversaries! Then the NWO came
out! Then everything became beautiful, over-stuffed chaos! It basically
became a microcosm of the Monday Night Wars. It was a messy affair, but -
for heaven's sake - Hogan took a bump! Scott Hall took a bump! HBK
super kicked Sting! Sting's bat smashed Hunter's sledgehammer! I understand
the ending, and that WCW couldn't triumph over WWE, but we all still
wanted that big Sting win! In the end, I think the match was so much fun
that most everyone will overlook the very end and the actual winner.
Also, sure, the Terminator Genisys cross-promotion with Paramount
makes no sense, story-wise. Or even Triple H-wise. But who wouldn't want
to walk to the ring dressed like a cyber-barbarian? And Sting really
has nothing to do with kabuki drum lines. But, despite out-of-sorts
context, the entrances were very cool. Obvious product endorsement
aside.
Winner: Triple H
AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins
Probably the best WrestleMania outing the Divas have had in years
(considering the blip of a match last year and getting totally cut the
year before). The most standard match so far, but still a good effort by
all involved. The ending seemed to be leading to a typical Bella
cheat-win, but Team Freak and Geek pulled it out and came out with the
"W." Given all that happened on the post-Mania RAW last year, this was a
nice full-circle culmination of a match. Two separate feuds basically
converged here (though how Nikki vs. Brie actually ended never
got sorted out) and the fan-favorite alterna-babes go the big win. Nikki
tapped to the Black Widow too. I'm glad it wasn't a roll-up.
Winners: AJ Lee and Paige
Rusev vs. John Cena
Dammit, a win for the U.S. that involves Lana getting hurt is no kind
of victory. For shame! No one really liked that finish. Despite Cena
having patriotism in his corner, Cena-Hate is the strongest force on
Earth. And the crowd, thankfully, remembered to sing "JOHN CENA
SUUUUCKS" along with his theme song when he came out. A trend that began
on the post-Mania RAW last year.
A good showing by Rusev, but what happens to him now? No U.S. title.
No win streak. No Lana. She's got to leave for a month or so to shoot a
WWE Studios movie so now there's a rift. When she returns, will they
still be a thing? I worry for him now.
This was mostly a typical Cena match. Not terrible, but nothing
really got better than Rusev's entrance, honestly (though Cena's
Springboard Stunner was new!). Lana coming out first with those soldiers
and then Rusev on top of that freakin' tank! That was gold!
Winner: John Cena
The Rock and Rona Rousey Segment
A bit of unexpected awesomeness - with a little Furious 7 flavor to
it. Triple H and Steph came (at first, it seemed, out of character) to
lay into the crowd and gloat about Hunter's big win over Sting. Out came
The Rock (who must have been jetted out quick after hosting SNL last
night) to verbally lay into Trips and the Billion Dollar Princess. It
wasn't long before Steph slapped Rock, causing him to rethink both his
motives and strategy.
AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, Rock's co-star and UFC sensation Ronda Rousey
was at ringside. He invited her into the ring and Rocky and Rousey
proceeded to layeth a serving of smack down on Hunter and Steph. Steph
escaped mostly unscathed, but Hunter took a judo flip from Ronda.
Totally harmless, but also good times. And perhaps a set up for Rock vs.
Hunter at Mania 32. Though the idea mostly being tossed around is Rock
vs. Brock.
The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
Just Undertaker being back and looking healthy was the ultimate
victory here (he was selling during the match, not "exhausted" people).
The match itself was fine. It picked up in the final five minuets. Taker
doing his "sit up" during Bray's upside-down creepy crawly handstand
was an amazing moment. So overall it was just awesome to see Undertaker
back. And facing Bray. We were all clapping and popping for very basic
things - like Taker going "Old School." A move he didn't even get to do
last year. Kick outs for both the Tombstone and Sister Abigail took
things down to the wire. Taker then nailed a second Tombstone for the
win.
A lot of the crowd wanted Bray to win and that certainly seemed
possible now that the "streak" was no longer a thing. But Taker's need
to rebound after last year's big fall overtook everything else in the
end and the Dead Man prevailed.
Winner: The Undertaker
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
That was incredible. A super-stiff mauling by Lesnar that rocked Roman Reigns
for a good fifteen minutes. Making me believe that the whole thing
might wind up a squash match like with Cena at SummerSlam. Then Lesnar
got busted open and bled (a lot!). Three Superman Punches and two spears
- and Brock kicked out! It was all incredible.
Then Rollins came out - before the match was over! - and put himself
in the contest. It became a three-way. A curb stomp to Brock! Rollins
went for a second curb stomp - almost got F-5'd, but a Reigns Spear
saved him! Then a curb stomp to Reigns for the win! Seth Rollins
walks out the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion! Our press area popped
huge for this entire match - especially the finish! The champ didn't
get pinned, Roman didn't win the title, and Rollins is on top of the
world. I love it!
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