WWE WrestleMania 31 (March 2015)

From Santa Clara, California; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, and Jerry Lawler. I’m not a big fan of this stadium (I’m into more symmetrical designs), but damn is that an impressive crowd on TV – especially bathed in sunlight. Cool set design too, looking gigantic, yet understated at the same time.

Opening WWE Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Bad News Barrett v Daniel Bryan v Dean Ambrose v Luke Harper v Stardust v R-Truth v Dolph Ziggler: Everyone slugs it out to start, and it doesn't take long for them to start diving out of the ring for a dog pile, and grabbing ladders. Out there, Ambrose climbs to the top of an extra tall ladder and dives onto everyone with a flying elbow, but Truth manages to avoid getting hit, and is the last man standing. He hustles into the ring to climb, but apparently he's scared of heights, and Barrett is easily able to stop him. Barrett tries to hold everyone back with a ladder, but Bryan missile dropkicks it into his face, then sandwiches Stardust and Barrett into the corner for a cross corner dropkick. Another, but a third is stopped by Harper, and he climbs, but Bryan hangs him in a ladder tree of woe for some kicks. Daniel climbs, but Ziggler stops it, and everyone takes turns climbing, and saving. Ziggler, Ambrose, and Truth all climb at once, but Stardust springboard dropkicks them all off, and clears the ring. He retrieves his own, special bedazzled ladder to finish, but Barrett cuts him off, and beats him with it. Inside, Ambrose and Harper do a dueling ladders bit that goes Luke's way, and he drops Dean with a snake-eyes onto a ladder. Harper holds everyone back with a ladder, but Truth manages to drop-toehold it away from him, and adds an axekick. He's too scared to climb, however, so Stardust does it for him, but ends up getting superplexed down by Barrett. That leaves both looking up at the clouds, so Bryan hustles in to climb, but Ziggler and Ambrose are right on his tail. Dean wins that one, and climbs, but Harper powerbombs him down - off of the damn ladder, out of the ring, and through another ladder! Crazy bump there. Luke climbs, but Dolph rides him with a sleeper to the weigh him down, and sleeper-slams him off. Barrett climbs, but Bryan stops him, with the crowd going absolutely wild as he nearly gets the belt. Ziggler stops him, however – making a nearly superhuman fast climb. That turns into a headbutt battle atop the ladder (cool visual there), and Bryan knocks him off - snagging the title belt at 13:40. And man, does that crowd love Bryan - giving us the awesome visual of a stadium full of people doing the 'YES!' chant with Daniel on top of the ladder. Good opener (and a good choice for an opener), but far from a show stealing classic they were promising. ***

Seth Rollins v Randy Orton: Big criss cross to start, won by Randy with a dropkick. He goes for a quick RKO, but Rollins hits the deck, and bails. Orton chases, but ends up getting his throat snapped across the top rope, as I notice that they're using a digital ring apron here. Eww. Seth pounds him in the corner, but walks into a series of uppercuts, and Orton ten-punch counts him. Seth tries a powerbomb out of the corner to counter, but Randy no-sells, and levels him with a lariat. That draws Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble into things, so Randy spike DDTs them both off the apron, but the distraction is enough to allow Seth to attack with a tope. Back in, it gets two, as Rollins takes over. Snap suplex gets two, and he drops Randy into the corner with an inverted Russian legsweep. Curb Stomp, but Randy counters with a powerslam, and beats him into the corner. Seth tries another inverted legsweep, but Orton counters into a head-and-arm suplex. He tries for the spike DDT, but Seth backdrops him onto the apron to block, and blasts him with an enzuigiri to knock him out of the ring. Seth follows with a nice springboard moonsault press, but ends up smacking into the announce table during the landing. That slows him down as he rolls Randy back in, and that allows Orton to crotch him on the top, and backdrop him down. Randy dives at him with a flying bodypress from there, but Seth rolls it through for two - only to walk into the spike DDT during a criss cross. RKO, but Rollins counters with a schoolboy for two, and adds a superkick. Stunner, but Randy counters into the RKO - hitting it this time, but only getting two! Orton decides to go for a curb stomp of his own, but the goons run in to stop it, and get killed with RKOs. Again, the distraction allows Rollins to attack, and he Curb Stomps the shit out of Orton for two. Seth goes for a flying corkscrew moonsault, but Orton gets out of the way, and Rollins actually manages to land on his damn feet. That allows him to counter the RKO into another Stomp, but this time Randy impressively counters back to the RKO for the pin at 13:11. That was a hell of a visually impressive, memorable finish. Good match, too - fun, well booked, and suitably epic. ** ¾   

No Disqualification Match: Triple H v Sting: Both guys get over the top entrances, with Sting's being a bunch of drummers in Sting masks playing an ominous tune. He looks nervous, but then, it's been awhile since he's seen a crowd even close to this size. Triple H then rises out of the stage along with several Terminator robots as a bit of cross promotion with the new Terminator film. Cool. Sting's actually wearing his gear sans t-shirt tonight, which even if he isn't exactly jacked, is a much better look. Staredown to start, and Sting takes him down with a shoulderblock out of a criss cross. HHH tries taking him down in a side-headlock, but gets hiptossed during another criss cross, and this time Sting adds a dropkick. That draws a 'you still got it' chant from the crowd. Really? For a hiptoss and a sloppy dropkick? Easily impressed. Hunter hammers away with some closed fists, but Sting no-sells the kneeling facebuster, and tries for the Scorpion, but HHH bails to avoid it. Back in, Hunter throws more closed fists, but gets reversed going into the corner, and flies out. Sting follows, but misses a splash against the rail - though, the spot loses a certain something without the classic thin metal guardrail for him to drape himself over. HHH adds a whip into the steps out there, then brings him back in with a hanging vertical suplex. Kneedrop gets two, and HHH corner whips him a few times for two, then grounds him with a chinlock. Sting escapes, but walks into a spinebuster for two, as we get a look at a gigantic bruise the covers the whole of Hunter's left leg. Like holy shit, what is this guy into in the bedroom? HHH tries a 2^nd rope axehandle, but gets caught in the Deathlock, and man, Sting can't even hook it on right anymore. That's just sad. Doesn't matter anyway, because here come Degeneration-X (Billy Gunn, Jesse James, and X-Pac) to the make the save. Sting fights them off, but the distraction allows HHH the Pedigree - Sting able to counter with a backdrop over the top. He follows with a flying bodypress out onto DX, but gets overwhelmed fighting them all off, and caught with the Pedigree on the way back in for two. Frustrated, Triple H retrieves his sledgehammer, but now here come the nWo (Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall) to make the save. They could have at least worn Wolfpac colors. That leads to a brawl on the floor with DX (with X-Pac overselling everything to the point where I have to wonder if they were paying him on a hit-per-bump ratio), and Sting hits the Deathdrop on Hunter for two. Deathlock, but HHH makes the ropes. Sting tries again, but here comes Shawn Michaels with a Superkick to save. Judas! That gets two, as we catch a glimpse of an equally nasty bruise on Sting's right shoulder. Seriously, what kind of weird, wild sex are these guys into? Now THAT would make an interesting show for the Network. Billy Gunn passes Hunter the sledgehammer, but Hall passes Sting a baseball bat, and we've for a showdown. Sting beats him down and hits the Stinger Splash, but a second try gets blocked with the hammer, and HHH gets the pin at 18:20. Forget the nWo! Shit would have never happened if RoboCop were there! Afterwards, both factions help their guys up, and we get a neat nostalgic staredown between DX and the nWo that fits in perfectly with the theme of the match, until Triple H and Sting finally shake hands are center ring. Fun match, though I was kind of expecting HHH to do an all out Flair impression here, but given their limitations, this was the better booking choice. Much like Rock/Hogan from 2002, this was all about the spectacle, and in that respect, it totally worked, giving us less a dream match than a dream scenario where the nWo and DX finally battle. And, sure, we know that in reality HHH, Shawn, Hall, Nash, and X-Pac are all the best of friends (hell, they were proverbially jerking each other off less than twenty four hours earlier at the Hall of Fame), but it worked anyway. *

The Bella Twins v AJ Lee and Paige: Given all the bad feelings with CM Punk, I'm kind of surprised AJ was picked to get a WrestleMania payday, honestly. Nikki Bella starts with Paige, and they roll around on the mat in a catfight. Nikki whiplashes her for two, and tags out to Brie Bella for a missile dropkick for two. The Twins cut the ring in half on Paige, and Nikki hits the Rack Attack, but only gets two. Paige fights back with a superkick, and she dumps both Bella's out of the ring, the follows with a somersault bodyblock off of the apron onto them both. Tag to AJ, and Nikki taps to the Black Widow at 6:35. Not that this was any worse than any other Divas match in the last year, but when you've got Ronda fucking Rousey with a literal front row seat for it, it's kinda embarrassing. DUD

The Hall of Fame class of 2015 (Randy Savage, Rikishi, Alundra Blayze, Larry Zbyszko, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Bushwhackers, Kevin Nash, Connor Michalek, and Arnold Schwarzenegger) come out to take a bow. And, boy, was that ceremony long. Like, seriously, I love the Hall of Fame shows, but four hours was insane. Still, this bit was neat if only to hear Howard Finkel announce Randy Savage's name at a WrestleMania in his patented style for the first time in over twenty years

WWE United States Title Match: Rusev v John Cena: I should note at this point that we're over two hours into this show, and only four matches have aired thus far, thanks to all the endless ads, concerts, and other extra curricular activities. Rusev gets a massive entrance, riding out on a tank, and complete with Russian military procession. Cena just walks out. Oh, come on! Would it have killed them to have the Marines march him down, or taken advantage of the open air stadium by doing a fly over? Weak, WWE. Cena surprises him with a lariat at the bell for one, but walks right into a spinheel kick for two. Rusev goes to work in the corner as Lana looks on lovingly, then casually tosses his challenger around with a gutwrench suplex for two. Avalanche sets up a somersault bodyblock in the corner for two, and Rusev stops to wave the Russian flag mid-match. That backfires, and Cena manages to side suplex him to setup the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Rusev side suplexes him to counter the FU. Superkick, but Cena ducks, only to have the STF countered into a scrapbuster for two. Superplex, but John shoves him off to block, and follows with a flying legdrop for two. FU, but Rusev counters into the superkick for two. Cena fires back with a tornado DDT for two, but loses a slugfest, and takes a whiplash for two. Big stomp, but John counters into the STF, so Rusev grabs the ropes, then fallaway slams him. Rusev with a flying headbutt for two, and he tries for the Accolade, but John blocks, and hits a springboard stunner for two. FU, but Rusev counters into another scrapbuster - this time countered by Cena into a schoolboy for two. Rusev puts him down with a quick kick to setup the Accolade, and gets it on this time, but Cena powers out, and grabs a stunned Rusev in the STF. Rusev nearly gets the ropes, so Cena preemptively lets off and drags him back, so Lana hops up onto the apron - only for John to sidestep a charging Rusev, and Lana to get knocked off of the apron! FU, and we have a new US Champion at 14:31. This was fine. Not a show stealing classic, and not even as good as the Fastlane match honestly, but booked correctly, and a good use of Cena. * ½

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon come out to announce the official attendance, as a venue record of 76,976. I don't know it that's legit or not, but it's an impressive crowd, regardless. So, they start running their mouths as per usual, but since it's WrestleMania, The Rock is here to call them on their bullshit. Great line, as Stephanie brings up Rock's family history, and Rock responds with 'you talk about the Johnson's and the McMahon's, but you wouldn't be in power if it weren't for Vince McMahon's johnson!' HA! So, Stephanie slaps the shit out of him, and Rock decides to leave because he won't hit a woman. Except for, you know, all the times he hit literally this exact woman, at this exact event, and even in this same state. Fame has changed him, I guess. Ah, but Rocky's got a plan, as he brings Ronda Rousey out of the crowd, since SHE can hit Stephanie. Rock gives them a chance to walk out, but of course, Stephanie just can't shut up, and they end up getting tossed out of the ring by Rock and Rousey. Awesome! Given how weak the interest in the upper card was, this was exactly what this show needed. The crowd was eating this up and asking for more, and this will undoubtedly go down as one of the most memorable moments in WrestleMania history

The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt: Without the Streak, I really don't see the point/draw of having Undertaker wrestle anymore. I mean, I get the whole 'redemption' angle of it, but he'd really have to face/beat Brock again for that to work. Bray charges, but gets a big boot to the face, and Undertaker works the arm. Ropewalk forearm hits, and they spill out for a weak brawl, leading to a guillotine legdrop from 'Taker. Inside, Undertaker hits the snake-eyes, but runs into a backelbow as he tries for the jumping clothesline. Bray abuses him in the corner, as I stop to ponder how weird it is that Undertaker was feuding Bray's fucking FATHER twenty years ago. And no one cared then. Avalanche gets two, and Bray grounds him with a cobra clutch. Eh, should've went with an abdominal stretch for old times sake. Uranage sets up a senton splash for two, but Sister Abigail gets countered into a chokeslam. Tombstone only gets two, so Undertaker tries again, but gets countered into an ugly Sister for two. That was terrible. That leads to a crabwalk/zombie sit-up showdown, and Bray wins the resulting slugfest. Abigail, but Undertaker counters into another Tombstone for the pin (thankfully) at 15:10. Without the Streak on the line, we've gone right back to where we were fifteen years ago, when Undertaker WrestleMania matches were just unavoidable, chore-like borefests against midcard geeks. Maybe next year, they can bring back the urn, and have someone steal it again. DUD

Main Event: WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns: Lots of anti-Reigns signs, but the best has to be 'it never Reigns in Northern California.' The stadium has also darkened to the point where it's the magic hour now, and it looks just awesome in the half light. Reigns charges him at the bell, but Brock easily shrugs him off, and drops him with a release German suplex. F5, and Brock pauses to wipe the blood off of his face - Reigns apparently scraping him in the scuffle. Lesnar doesn't even bother covering, and decides to abuse him in the corner instead, then fisherman buster suplexes him out. German, so Reigns uses a series of elbows to block Brock, but can't win a slugfest, and Brock German's him anyway. Oh, it's one of those matches then, I see. Reigns wants more, so Brock gladly gives him a side suplex, as Paul Heyman gleefully calls plays from the floor. Another release German, but Reigns wants more, as they desperately try to buy the crowds acceptance of him in this role. Brock makes him get to his feet before delivering another German, and he forward suplexes Reigns across the top rope to setup a series of kneelifts, then shoulderblocks him off the apron into the rail. Roman fires back with kneelifts of his own as Brock tries to pull him back in (busting Brock open hardway for the second time), but Lesnar shrugs that off, and clotheslines him right back out again. Back in, Brock punishes him for getting uppity with a snap suplex, then adds an overhead suplex from the apron when Reigns tries bailing. Roman is on dream street, so Brock goes for the kill with the F5, but Reigns kicks out at two! Give it to them, this is the right booking to get Reigns over in this role, it's just too little too late. Now actively annoyed, Brock decides to take the gloves off (literally), and he draws some hardway blood of his own as he smacks Reigns around. Still, Roman wants more. Brock happily delivers with a pair of release Germans, and then adds a second F5, but Reigns still gets a shoulder up at two! Brock decides to take him to the outside to punish him with the ringpost, but Reigns reverses him going into it, and busts Brock open from the forehead. Fuck, these two aren't holding anything back here. Back in, Reigns summons the strength for the Superman Punch, but Brock won't go down. Second one still can't get the job done, and Brock counters a third with a German suplex, but Reigns counters with a series of headbutts this time. Third Superman Punch finally puts Brock down, and Roman Spears him. Second Spear gets two, but Brock catches a fourth Punch attempt in the F5! That leaves both men counting the stars, but before either can get to their feet, here's Seth Rollins! He demands to cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase, and the match is now suddenly a Triple Threat. Crowd doesn't know what to make of it. He immediately punishes Reigns out of the ring and goes for the kill with a Curb Stomp on Lesnar, but it doesn't knock the Beast out. Another, but Brock counters into the F5 - only for Reigns to Spear him before he can execute it. He doesn't have a chance to cover, however, as the still totally fresh Rollins Curb Stomp's Roman, and we have a new champion at 16:40, in a WrestleMania shocker! I guess there's something about outdoor WrestleManias set out West that make Vince have a hankering for putting the belt on a guy not even booked in the match to begin with. I know a lot of people hated that finish, but honestly, that was the best finish they could have done, as Reigns winning would have bombed hard, and Brock retaining leaves them with nowhere to go, but Rollins winning in this manner sets up two ready-made feuds going forward – or even three, taking into account the loss to Orton earlier. Plus, it pays off a years worth of booking and teases with the Money in the Bank stuff. Fun match before the shocker ending as well, well booked to try and get the crowd behind Reigns (even if it ultimately failed), and having a suitable epic stadium main event feel. *** ½

BUExperience: I was expecting less than nothing here, and this show ended up delivering quite nicely. No show stealing classics, but a fantastic atmosphere (aided by tons of natural light as a result of having it in an outdoor venue on the West Coast), and an epic, big show feel throughout. If this had taken place at a smaller indoor venue, it would have likely come off as slow, and plodding – especially while keeping in mind that this was a four hour show, with just over an hour and a half of actual match time.

While this won’t go down as one of the best WrestleManias of all-time, I would say this was easily one of the top five best in terms of overall presentation, and left me with a good feeling about the WWE – something that doesn’t happen nearly as often as it used to these days.

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