wrestling / Columns

411 Roundtable Preview: WWE Wrestlemania 31

March 28, 2015 | Posted by Sean Garmer
Image Credit: WWE

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Introduction

This year, WWE presents the 31st annual “Shows of Shows” from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Wrestlemania is the biggest show in WWE all year and whether you watch it for the pageantry, the chance at seeing celebrities interact with wrestlers, or just the chance to see some great matches, Wrestlemania brings that. This Wrestlemania also has a nice mixture of upcoming talent trying to cement themselves in WWE lore against established stars. Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker may not be a five star classic, but could provide one hell of a moment for Wyatt’s career. The same could be said for Seth Rollins, who has his first Wrestlemania singles match against Randy Orton. Then we have the polarizing figure of this year’s cast, Roman Reigns. Whether you like Roman Reigns or you hate him, he could possibly have a historic moment in time for WWE and for himself, when he faces Brock Lesnar on Sunday night. Then we also have the debut of an “Icon” that waited a long time to decide to step in a WWE ring. Just those matches alone provide plenty of intrigue, but there are other matches on this card as well. However, I think I’ve said enough here. Let’s go to the 411 staff with their thoughts and predictions on Wrestlemania 31.

The Staff

Len Archibald, Wrestling Article Writer

Jericho Ricardi, Impact Wrestling’s 4 R’s

Paul Leazar, Wrestling 2 the MAX Podcast

Mike Hammerlock, The Wrestling Zone 8-Ball

Kevin Pantoja, WWE NXT Reporter, Wrestling Video Reviewer

Gary Vaughan, Wrestling 2 the MAX Podcast

Daniel Anderson, Games Fact or Fiction Organizer, Co-operative Multiplayer Podcast

Jeremy Lambert, MMA Article Writer, MMA Q &A Column

Michael Weyer, Shining a Spotlight

Dylan Diot, Wrestling Video Reviewer

Jack Bramma, Wrestling Video Reviewer

Matthew Sforcina, Ask 411 Wrestling

Mitch Nickelson, Catching Up, Wrestling Article Writer

Wyatt Beougher, Wrestling Article Writer, MMA Fact or Fiction Organizer,

Sean Garmer, Wrestling 2 the MAX Podcast, WWE Roundtable Organizer, Games Top 5 Organizer, Co-operative Multiplayer Podcast,

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(Champions) Tyson Kidd & Cesaro w/ Natalya vs. The Usos w/ Naomi vs. Los Matadores w/ El Torito vs. New Day w/ Xavier Woods
Pre-Show Kickoff Match: Fatal 4 Way WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Len Archibald: Another…strange build for a title match, and really a shame that it’s been bumped to the pre-show. All four teams have talent even though they are not usually able to show it off, so it should be a fun bit of chaos. The champs, a team I’ve dubbed Brass Ring Swing are awesome and have proven to be one of the best “pure” tag teams in a long time. The Uso’s always bring it when it counts and Los Matadores and New Day…are there too – but I digress. I envision an Uso victory, here – just to open the show with a Samoan win to parallel and foreshadow a potential title victory for their cousin, Roman Reigns.

Winner: …and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions, The Usos via pinfall

Jericho Ricardi: This is a fairly odd match. I figured we’d be getting the still-champion Usos against The Ascension by now, but The Ascension sure did get wasted once they landed on RAW. Tyson and Cesaro should win, because they’re doing really good work from what I’ve seen. Huge bonus points for WWE if they have the Ascension take somebody out (say, Los Matadores) and steal their place in the match in something resembling dominant style. If that happens, I’d give it to Ascension just for the surprise factor. But since the Ascension are tied up in the battle royal, I’ll go with the current titleholders.

Winners: Tyson and Cesaro

Paul Leazar: I still don’t know why we had to involve The New Day & Los Matadores in this when The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro for the straps would have been just as good, if not a better showcase for the tag team division. However, here we are with this match. It should prove to a fun match, full of all of the flippies one could want from a match that’s geared to get the crowd going. Jey’s shoulder injury complicates things, but I think the WWE sticks with the plan they had from the beginning and have The Usos capture the Tag Titles at Wrestlemania to further cement their dominance as the top tag team in the WWE.

Winner and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: The Usos

Mike Hammerlock: I’m not a fan of pre-show matches in general, but I consider it a cardinal sin to put championship match on a pre-show. It buries the belt. Hopefully this match gets the 15 minutes it deserves because there’s a lot of talent in that ring. I still don’t get why the tag division can’t get a few Raw or Smackdown main events to build to matches on major shows, but it never happens. Something as simple as that would get casual fans invested in the story they’re trying to tell. The disconnect is fans recognize the talent, but the WWE doesn’t treat these guys as anything more than filler. That needs to be fixed. Lots of different directions they could go in this match, really anyone but Los Matadores could win. The Usos are the star talent in the division, so I’m going to guess they get the nominal WrestleMania moment (at least as much as a pre-show match can count as a WrestleMania moment).

Winner: The Usos

Kevin Pantoja: This is a bit of a tough choice but not because there are so many options. The New Day and Los Matadores aren’t walking away with the belts here. There is no chance of that. That leaves it between the current champions and the Usos. While I fully expected the Usos to win back their belts here, Jey’s injured shoulder makes me change my mind. I see the Champions retaining, but not holding the belts for much longer despite being entertaining.

Winners and Still Tag Teams: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro

Gary Vaughan: As with any WWE kickoff show match, this one is going to be very unpredictable on how good it will be. What I do know is that there will be plenty of humor and some entertaining highspots. The Usos should regain the tag titles. Though, my heart is with Cesaro and Kidd, I know WWE can’t resist having the Usos dance with their Hall of Famer dad Rikishi.

Winner: The Usos

Daniel Anderson: I can’t help but think that we will see the champs retain here. The Usos will do something crazy along with Los Matadores and eliminate themselves while New Day and Kidd & Cesaro fight until the champs come out on top.

Winners and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: Kidd & Cesaro

Jeremy Lambert: Poor Cesaro and tag division. I had such high hopes for him after last year’s Wrestlemania and here he is, one year later, wrestling in the same position and the same match that he was in one year ago. I like the team of Cesaro/Kidd, but it’s clear that WWE doesn’t know what to do with the tag division. Even if they win, and they should win, who is next for them? Who cares.

Winner: Cesaro and Kidd

Michael Weyer: Not a bad way to kick the show off and interesting mix of teams to make it a good bout. Tricky figuring a winner here with these kinds of bouts, always possible the Usos get it back or even New Day surprising. But I’ll go with the champs retaining, a bit early for another title shift but nice to see the belts get some attention at the big show of the year.

Winners and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: Kidd and Cesaro

Dylan Diot: This will be a fun match. You’ll probably see some spectacular dives and some flashy moves but in the end, Cesaro and Kidd retain since I don’t see the need for any of the other three teams to take the belts at this time.

Winners and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: Kidd & Cesaro

Jack Bramma: Man, how the division has fallen. The tag division was THE reason to watch the show through parts of 2012 and most of 2013 with Hell No, The Shield, The Wyatts, Cody and Goldust, Real Americans, Rhodes Scholar, etc. Ever since, The NAO went over Cody and Goldust, and the Rhodes were robbed of their Mania blowoff (again), the division has fallen on hard(er) times. While talented in their own rights, The New Day and Los Matadores are basically irrelevant. I like the Usos, but they are stale as can be and adding Naomi to the mix was a net loss for me. I could easily see the WWE going for the WM moment with Daddy Dearest geting inducted into the HOF and his progeny celebrating becoming tag champs another time, but I just hope we don’t. Cesaro and Kidd are on fire and deserve a bit of a decent run.

Winners and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: The Brass Ring Club

Mathew Sforcina: … No.

Winners and STILL WWE Unifed Tag Team Champions: The Cat Swingers (Helicopter Crash to *rolls dice* Diego)

Mitch Nickelson: With one of The Usos working through injury I really don’t see them winning. Matadores are just filler in this. New Day might have a shot but I feel like the most likely scenario is a Team UpperCat retention. Given enough time this should be good.

Winner: Tyson Kidd & Cesaro

Wyatt Beougher: Easily the match I’m most excited for. This should be fast-paced and fun, even if it’s ultimately meaningless. Usos will superkick, New Day will clap and dance, Los Matadores will do…something (that’s overshadowed by El Torito), but the Uppercats will steal the show…and retain the titles.

Winner: Uppercats via European uppercut into Sharpshooter

Sean Garmer: It’s a shame that such great talents have to be on the WM pre-show, but I guess this also is great symbolism for where the WWE Tag Team division is at the moment. I’m expecting a really fun match here with dives everywhere and tag team moves galore. I’m pretty sure we will see Natalya, El Torito, Naomi, and Xavier Woods all have small parts in this match that help or hinder their representatives in the match. Jey Uso’s shoulder injury casts a small cloud on a result that I thought for sure was going The Usos way. I think that opens the door for a Tyson Kidd and Cesaro victory here. However, I think there is a huge opportunity to have a special WM moment that I don’t think WWE is going to want to pass up. Rikishi is going into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before, and it would certainly be a great way to cap off his career by dancing with his sons in the middle of the ring at Wrestlemania. It would be even better if The Usos were dancing as WWE tag team champions once again.

Winners AND NEW WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Usos (After a Splash by Jimmy on Tyson Kidd)

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Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Pre-Show Kickoff Match # 2

Len Archibald: The battle royal this year does not seem to be as important as it was during the build towards WrestleMania XXX, thereby making this year’s offering a real crapshoot as to who will win. There are a few storylines, though – the potential of a returning Sheamus, Big Show and Kane’s quiet undertone of animosity to each other, Curtis Axel and the power of AXELMANIA running wild and The Miz and Damien Mizdow finally coming to blows. At the end, I think the latter story is the one that carries this bout to be at the very least watchable and at the very most, create a moment in time for a superstar – albeit the follow up already has a precedence of not being the best. I think Mizdow finally gets his revenge on The Miz here and becomes the second-ever winner of the Invitational, while taking his original name back.

Most Eliminations: Sheamus RETURNS
Final Four: Sheamus, Miz, Damien MizDow, Ryback

Winner: Damien SANDOW, eliminating The Miz

Jericho Ricardi As much as I’d like to see Curtis Axel win this, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll get a Ryback victory. We’ll get a sorta-repeat of the Rumble with Ryback having to fend off Kane and Big Show at the end. It’d be great if Axel quietly escaped elimination earlier, then suddenly popped up as Ryback’s final foe. The middle of the match should be home to some Ryback/Mark Henry clashes, as well. I guess this is where Miz and Mizdow will have some sort of blowup; it’s a shame they didn’t get a one-on-one Wrestlemania match after all the dragging-out of this storyline. Also surprised to see Goldust and Stardust not getting a singles match at this event. Seems like there has been a lot of wasted potential in this year’s road to Wrestlemania. But I digress. Going with Ryback here, though I do wish the battle royal had a more tangible reward. I like Greg DeMarco’s idea of having the winner get a title shot the next night (or at the next PPV) and I think that’d be a great move to give this importance.

Winner: Ryback

Battle Royal Stats

Most Eliminations: Hideo Itami

Final Four: Ryback, Big Show, Kane, Curtis Axel

Paul Leazar: A ring full of jobbers, an NXT stand-out, the Miz & Mizdow feud, and what I’m predicting will be the match Sheamus makes his return to the WWE in. This means that winner of this one can only go one of two ways. Sheamus triumphant return ends with him raising the big trophy high into the air, or the much entertaining (and the bigger Wrestlemania moment I’d say), sees Damien Mizdow and The Miz as the last two in the ring. Miz tells Mizdow to eliminate himself, and as Mizdow walks towards the ropes, Miz turns around to celebrate his impending victory. However, Mizdow takes the chance to etch his name into the history books, tosses The Miz out of the ring, the arena explodes, and Damien Sandow’s future in the WWE is launched again into the right direction.

Winner: Damien Mizdow

Most Eliminations: Sheamus
Final Four: Sheamus, Ryback, Miz, Mizdow

Mike Hammerlock: Sheamus pretty much has to show up here, right? I mean, this match is screaming for surprise entrants. It’s as thin as a 20-man pool can be. Plus, Sheamus is a battle royal ringer and they’ve been running return promos for him for months. It looks like all the ducks are lined up for him to return with a splash, and hopefully a heel turn. I’m picking Ryback for the most eliminations, though Show and Kane could go aggro on the field like they did at the Royal Rumble. While I’m sure that would draw some complaints, it would constitute actual storytelling. If they really want a big pop from the crowd, though, then Mizdow should get the win. People would go nuts.

Winner: Sheamus

Most Eliminations: Ryback
Final Four: Sheamus, Ryback, Big Show, Kane

Kevin Pantoja: This is a bit of a tough choice but not because there are so many options. The New Day and Los Matadores aren’t walking away with the belts here. There is no chance of that. That leaves it between the current champions and the Usos. While I fully expected the Usos to win back their belts here, Jey’s injured shoulder makes me change my mind. I see the Champions retaining, but not holding the belts for much longer despite being entertaining.

Winners and Still Tag Teams: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro

Gary Vaughan: Despite being relegated to a kickoff show match, I am looking forward to seeing what I think will be a fun battle royal. We should see a few storylines continue or begin with their being so many young talents in the match. Hideo Itami should last until the last five, though I hope it’s the last three. My belief is that Miz, Mizdow, and one other talent will be the last three left. Mizdow will disobey Miz by eliminating him instead of the other guy and then wins after eliminating the other guy.

Winner: Damien Mizdow

Daniel Anderson: Sheamus seems to be the obvious choice. When you look at all the participants, nobody really stands out as a potential winner other than Sheamus (unless we get a surprise entry like Samoa Joe-damn that would be nice, but won’t happen).

Winner: Sheamus

Most eliminations: Kane
Final Four: Sheamus, Big Show, Kane, Hideo Itami

Jeremy Lambert: I’d actually like to get behind this match but there are two problems with it. First, it’s been booked terribly. Second, last year’s winner is in the exact same position that he was in last year so it hasn’t proven to elevate the winner. It’s basically a way to get everyone on the show, which is fine, but at least make it meaningful and act like it matters a little bit. Here’s the one spot I want: Curtis Axel gets eliminated, but comes back in claiming that he was FINALLY tossed from the Royal Rumble and is still in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. That’s all I’m asking. I suspect this is where Sheamus finally returns and he’ll probably win the thing.

Winner: Sheamus

Most Eliminations: Sheamus
Final Four: Sheamus, Miz, Mizdow, Ryback

Michael Weyer: Tricky as always with battle royals and I’d love if a NXT guy got it. But I think I’ll lean toward Sheamus, just seems oddly right somehow and he does do well in these kinds of battles. Either way, be a nice fight overall and while we’d wish a newer guy to elevate, at least someone established winning wouldn’t be too bad.

Winner: Sheamus
Most eliminations: Big Show
Final Four: Sheamus, Big Show, Kane, Mizdow

Dylan Diot: I have three scenerios here. The first is the long shot, that Finn Balor wins the NXT tournament during Axcess and he wins the battle royal, making him a superstar in his debut at the biggest show of the year. The second is a Sheamus’ return and he wins to vault himself right back into the main event mix. The third is Damien Mizdow wins last eliminating The Miz to get a monster pop and to reward him for getting the copycat/stunt double gimmick over in the past year. I’m going to go with Mizdow since they’ve spent so much time building to his and Miz’s split on TV I think this is where we reach the climax before the official split on Raw.

Winner: Damien Mizdow
Most eliminations: Big Show
Final Four: Sheamus, Big Show, Miz, Mizdow

Jack Bramma: A lot of talented guys, but when I look at the participants, I just see a JTTS rundown. Unless they were in a stable storyline like the Authority, no one on the list has had a sustained angle for months other than The Miz and Mizdow. Cut out everyone else and we’re left with few people of consequence: Kane, Show, Ryback, Axel, NXT.

The Kane/Show stuff is such a bore and a chore because neither guy wins anything of consequence and is just a distraction. Even when they invariably dominate a match like the RR and surely like they will this match, no one gets more over in the process and it just kills the heat of everyone involved.

Ryback is enjoying a bit of a career renaissance since returning late this in 2014, though the booking has done him no favors. He turned approx. 3 times in his second show back before deciding to finally join Team Cena. He was first eliminated in the SS match on the face team. At TLC, he had trouble dispatching Kane of all people and then was fired anyway. He was a non-factor in the RR and captained a losing team that curtain jerked Fast Lane.

Axel has the jobber gimmick of a lifetime that is super over with a niche crowd, but WWE views as a joke. It’s the same non-factor gimmick they gave Miz calling out Cena several times in a row and winning by countout before getting squashed back in 2009 and Jericho had with Goldberg: get yourself over through bragging about something you didn’t actually do, while all of the hero faces don’t stand up to you, only to get treated like a jobber and unceremoniously destroyed.

The NXT call up could be a wild card, especially if its Balor after his apparent swan song against Owens this week. Balor or Zayn would be a contender to go late into the battle royal and possibly come out with a fluke victory. If it’s Neville or anyone else, they’re probably getting tossed out perfunctorily.

Another potential wild card is a returning Sheamus. He’s been rumored to turn heel, return and win this match, return and win the IC title, etc. Instead, it should finally be time for Mizdow to give Miz the coup de grace.

Winner: Mizdow

Most eliminations: Ryback

Final Four: Sheamus, Ryback, Mizdow, Miz.

Mathew Sforcina: The fact that Miz/Mizdow doesn’t have a proper match on this card is a crime. Didn’t even have to be Miz V Mizdow, even a tag match where Mizdow finally snaps, something important to give Mizdow’s turn some fire… But given they’re in this mess, at least make it the storyline of the thing. Mizdow gets all the big eliminations, he runs this town… and then, after he tosses Kane/Show, Miz tosses him and wins, and then gets beat down for 10 minutes. That please.

*Most Eliminations* Mizdow

*Final Four* Miz, Mizdow, Kane, Big Show

Winner, and NEW ARMBaR Holder: The Miz (Sneaky Mizdow Elimination)

Mitch Nickelson: Because Cesaro’s win from last WrestleMania has made this Battle Royal into way less of an honor than it should be (WWE booking’s fault, not Cesaro’s), a guy like Damien Sandow would be perfect to win this. He’s over with the fans but not hopefully positioned to make a run for the main event. Give the guy his Mania moment.

Winner: Damien Sandow

Most Eliminations: Ryback
Final Four: Ryback, Damien Sandow, The Miz, Sheamus

Wyatt Beougher: Ideally, this match would be used as a showcase four one of the biggest stars in Japan in the last decade, to make his main roster debut feel important and give him momentum. Instead, it’ll be ShowKane replaying the Royal Rumble and eliminating everyone the fans actually care about. Hooray! Did you know that Zack Ryder and Adam Rose are feuding on social media? Yeah, the WWE probably didn’t either, so you’re forgiven. If they’d put Stardust in this match, you could’ve had a final four of Miz, Mizdow, Goldust, and Stardust, and both of those feuds couldn’t gotten a Wrestlemania moment, culminating with Cody dumping Dustin at the same time Mizdow eliminated Miz. That would’ve allowed a new permutation of what was one of the more fun feuds in the WWE a couple of years ago. Like so many other matches on this show, this is a case of wasted potential, and instead we’ll get the ShowKane blowoff that no one’s been asking for. Actually, I don’t even think the WWE will mess things up that badly. They have to see that this is their chance to actually take advantage of Mizdow’s spectacular talent, don’t they?

Most Eliminations: Kane

Final Four: Itami, Miz, Mizdow, Show

Winner: Mizdow

Sean Garmer: Hideo Itami is going to debut on the freaking pre-show? Why did this not make the main WM 31 card? So we could have 2 or even 3 musical performances and probably some big promo or something? Just think this really doesn’t honor Tatsumi Fujinami at all, because we know that’s the reason Itami was picked here. Aside from that, I’d expect Sheamus to show up and eliminate a bunch of guys. I just hope we get the big Mizdow vs. Miz moment that it seems WWE has been building to and it leads to Mizdow, Miz, Sheamus, and RyBack all in the ring at the end. Then we have Mizdow eliminate Miz to win the battle royal and it will be glorious.

Winner: Mizdow

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Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
Singles Match

Len Archibald: This is the one match that was telegraphed from the day Seth Rollins joined the Authority and the build that has made the most sense and is totally natural in its long-term story. The Face vs. The Future – it sells itself. Because of that, fans and critics are invested – and for Randy Orton in this day and age, that is a near miracle. Credit goes to Seth Rollins, who has the slimy, cowardly heel that competes when it counts down to a tee. The feud has ignited a new spark in Orton, who sometimes fizzles out as a babyface. Orton’s revenge is relatable, and even if the whole “destroy the Authority from the inside” storyline was illogical and overly-contrived, the fans for the most part buy into it and want to see Rollins get his ass kicked. If we are thinking about the “future” of the WWE, Rollins wins here, but I think there are bigger plans for him. All Rollins needs to do is take his first step to becoming the NEW Mr. WrestleMania that I think he will emerge to be by the time we reach WrestleMania 40 and look like a god in defeat…so he can look like a GOD at the end of the show.

Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall

Jericho Ricardi: Will Jon Stewart be in Orton’s corner? Perfect chance for some celebrity involvement here. For a while I was convinced that Orton would win here and go on to feud with Rollins once Rollins cashed in on Daniel Bryan or whoever the champion was after WM, but at this point I don’t see that Rollins title win happening yet. It’s 50/50, but I’d say they’ll give Rollins the win here after a very good match. This has the potential to be MOTN from a technical standpoint.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Paul Leazar: Sort of a spotty build here, but ever since the absolute destruction Randy gave Seth a few weeks ago on RAW, I’ve been fairly entertained by the feud. I really like our prospects of getting a good match of this one two. Other than Seth’s ability to fly, I think they have fairly similar styles, and if Seth is the one getting the strap at the end of the night, hopefully Randy will do everything within his ability to make Seth look like a million bucks out there. Either way, I don’t think Seth goes over clean, so I expect lots of Authority interference. Going about the match that way allows the WWE to add Randy to the long list of title contender’s to Seth’s possible title reign.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Mike Hammerlock: WrestleMania 31 largely is a new guard vs. old guard card, at the very least it’s matches like this that could give it a changing of the guard feel. Rollins would seem to be the most obvious winner of the new guard guys (which include Reigns, Wyatt, Rusev and some of the IC ladder match participants). This could be Rollins’ big night. The WrestleMania cash-in is begging to be done. If he beats Orton and then walks away as the champ at the end of the night, that’s a WrestleMania to remember. Though, to be fair, it also might work if Orton wins earlier in the night. Technically he never lost the WWE Championship. No one pinned him and he never got a 1v1 rematch. If he were to beat Rollins and then Rollins became champ, Orton would have an argument to be first in line for a title match. So there is a story there, though I think Rollins establishing himself as a star player is a better one. The benefit Rollins has is a win for him is the easiest, laziest storyline. The WWE doesn’t do complex. Makes sense when you’re governed by Vince’s mood swings and inconsistent attention span. So I’m picking this as a future-is-now moment.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Kevin Pantoja: This match has suffered from pitiful booking. Since he was taken out by the Authority, I’ve expected Rollins/Orton at WrestleMania. His quest for revenge was the EASIEST thing to book heading into the show. Instead, they’ve wasted time with a fake heel turn for Orton and made me dislike this. I have a feeling that Seth will be cashing in the next night on Raw, but even with that, I don’t think he wins. Randy Orton will get his ultimate revenge, especially since he hasn’t won at the Show of Shows since 2011.

Winner: Randy Orton

Gary Vaughan: Rollins and Orton both are great wrestlers; which leads me to believe this match will be better than average. The finish to the match may not make the match so great though. I say this because I see this match ending with either J&J Security or another Authority figure getting involved in order to secure Rollins a victory.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Daniel Anderson: Logic would tell you Rollins should go over here, but I can see Orton winning here somehow. I do not think it is likely, but I can see it happening. In the end, I was debating between having Orton win via a DQ of Rollins or Rollins cleanly beating Orton. I am going to go with Rollins doing something to get DQ’ed to protect Orton since someone still has to face Brock after Wrestlemania and a DQ could leave both wrestlers looking strong no matter who gets the win.

Winner: Randy Orton via DQ

Jeremy Lambert: When it comes to one-on-one encouters, this should be the best match on the show. The storyline has been good and I fully expect these two to deliver a great match. Rollins is the future and should probably win in order to build up his momentum before cashing in, but I highly doubt that’s going to happen as WWE loves to de-push guys before giving them their moment. Orton will extract his ultimate revenge by beating Rollins, but Seth will have the last laugh at the end of the night.

Winner: Randy Orton

Michael Weyer: Man, a feud that seemed perfect on paper but in reality, just not building up right. Still, we should get a good match and fits the “old vs new” motif the show seems to be doing. Rollins and Orton should clash nicely and given enough time, maybe even one of the better bouts of the entire show. It’s up in the air depending on the whole “will Rollins cash in” thing but I do think in the end, he gets the win and boost himself more as the guy who should be in the main event.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Dylan Diot: This feud should have been so easy to set up but the WWE screwed it up from the get go. At least we should get an excellent match with Rollins being on a roll over the past couple of months and Orton should be motivated again after a few months off. Rollins needs the win more but I think Orton wins and we keep the feud going for another month.

Winner: Randy Orton

Jack Bramma: This was undoubtedly the hottest match on the card a month ago. Orton returned at Fast Lane, and the crowd came alive for one of the only times on that show. Orton was EASILY the second most over guy in the company behind Dragon for the smallest of windows. All of that was gone after WWE tried to pull a Superman I and wind back the clock to act as if Orton hadn’t already turned on and beaten up Rollins. Instead, Orton was forced to improv his way through an extended version of Ryback’s return angle going into Survivor Series for weeks instead of one show – return as a face, suck up to the heels and pretend to be on their side, but ultimately end as a face where you were all along. Whereas it took WWE about 6 months to cool off Ambrose and 2 months to put DB in the midcard, they kneecapped Orton’s momentum in only 2 weeks. Since that wretched stretch though, Orton has regained a bit of his fuel by terroring through J&J a few times and getting Sting’s help to hold off the Authority. All that being said, I have a face heavy card and the heels have to take some.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Mathew Sforcina: Considering how this feud has gone, I think these two get cut off after 3 minutes and forced to shake hands and make up by Triple H and we’re back to square one again. That won’t happen, but hopefully the right result does.

Winner: Seth Rollins (Curb Stomp Onto Briefcase)

Mitch Nickelson: Because Orton has the Money In The Bank briefcase I believe that he’ll lose this one. That’s my storyline thought process. As far as the match goes I’m hoping that WWE gives them a huge amount of time. This match could be the best match of the night based on the competitors alone.

Winner: Randy Orton

Wyatt Beougher: In another example of “this match could’ve been so much more”, imagine if Orton hadn’t pretended to play nice with the Authority and had instead just went all Stone Cold on Rollins, ambushing him in a variety of places with a variety of methods, with Rollins fleeting for his life and/or sacrificing J&J at every turn. Instead, we got about two weeks’ worth of quality build, but this match could actually be a showstealer. In the end, I expect Rollins to win, as he’s the future, but I would expect Authority-related shenanigans to allow Orton to retain some of his momentum. Oh, and Rollins is going to eat at least one RKO, and Mercury and Noble will likely suffer the same fate.

Winner: Seth Rollins via Curb Stomp

Sean Garmer: Considering the two men that are facing off here, this could be one of those under the radar matches that when you look back on the whole night winds up being one of the matches you enjoyed the most. We know what Seth Rollins can do and Randy Orton has really become a great worker in recent years. I will be completely floored if we don’t see any type of Authority interference because this is what this whole feud has been predicated on, can Seth Rollins win without somebody’s help. I feel that Orton beating up Rollins on RAW a couple weeks ago will be his semblance of revenge. WWE should use this opportunity to give Rollins a win on the big stage against a major talent in the company. If Rollins doesn’t get involved in the main event later on in the night, a win in this match could set up something big happening at the next PPV involving the Money in the Bank briefcase perhaps.

Winner: Seth Rollins (Curb Stomp onto Briefcase)

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(Champion) Wade Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Stardust vs. Luke Harper vs. R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler
Intercontinental Championship Seven Person Ladder Match

Len Archibald: In a strange way, it is nice to see the IC Title defended at WrestleMania in what has amounted to a somewhat high-profile match – even with the spaghetti-monster-awful build to it. Wade Barrett has finally looked like a champ and not a chump going in, but it may be too little too late and Barrett’s prospects as a future WWE Champion may be done unless someone at Titan Towers has a secret plan no one is aware of. One thing is for sure, though – this could very well end up being the match of the night and serve as a spotfest-induced bit of anarchy that reminds some fans of the MITB or TLC matches of WrestleManias past. All competitors involved have something unique and tangible to bring to the table (even R-Truth) and can entertain when they are given time and motivation to do so. We know the performers have the motivation; the question is will they get the time? Much like the United States Title match, the winner of this match needs to go to someone who can instantly elevate the championship’s credibility and be a face who can get the fans invested. As much as I love all performers in this match, there is really only one option, and with six other competitors in this match, the winner can use his “movement” to take on all comers on SmackDown! over the course of the year, hold the same title for a year and defend it to 100,000 fans screaming YES! in Dallas next year.

Winner: …and NEW Intercontinental Champion, Daniel Bryan

Jericho Ricardi: Yes, Daniel Bryan, the most over face since Steve Austin, is wrestling for the IC title. Putting aside how I don’t like him being in a ladder match right after returning from a neck injury, this is just a ridiculous misuse of the guy. Having Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler also involved in this match is interesting, though. All of the crowd favorites are going to be going at it and this match should get a pretty great reaction. I think it’s very deliberate that the company is putting their three most popular faces in the opening match so that none of them are anywhere near the main event. This whole thing is weird as hell. To quote Spoony, these seven guys should be journeying to cast the IC title into the fires of Mount Doom, not fighting over it.

Winner: Some unlucky soul… okay, Daniel Bryan most likely, but I really hope they don’t book him like they booked Wade

Paul Leazar: Here’s a match where everybody wins. The match should prove to Match of the Night, and outside of maybe Barrett, their ain’t a person on here who I wouldn’t mind seeing walk out with the championship. I’m interested to see how Barrett works in this match, I’m interested to how R-Truth’s apparent fear of ladders that he’s been hyping on commentary plays into this, I want to see what type of insanity Dean, Luke, and Stardust unleash, and perhaps most importantly, how many bumps D-Bry is willing to take three to four months after having some major neck surgery. I also want to quickly note how great the booking has been for this match. Not only have the WWE made people interested in the championship, but they’ve created a division around the title with everybody stealing it and wanting to get their mitts on that white strap. The perfect guy to lead that charge in making the IC title relevant again is Daniel Bryan, so he’s my pick to win this one.

Winner and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion: Daniel Bryan

Mike Hammerlock: Over the past two weeks, the story here has turned into Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan while the others engaged in endless belt theft. Ziggler’s gotten the better of Bryan in those matches, which have been the best wrestling the WWE has put on during this terrible Road to WrestleMania. Everyone expects this match to steal the show, which probably means it won’t. I’m sure it will be fun and anybody (except for maybe Truth) could win, but they’re going to have to do something insane for this to stand out from the standard Money in the Bank ladder match. As for the individuals, I repeat that Daniel Bryan doesn’t need the IC title and it doesn’t need him. If he wins it’s not really a YES! moment. The crowd will do the chant regardless, but it’s going to feel a little hollow. Ziggler has a better story here since he got screwed out of the belt and never got a rematch. Barrett might be the most surprising winner in that he’s lost consistently since winning the belt. It would be interesting to see what Cody Rhodes could do with a serious push for his Stardust persona. Luke Harper is a hoss and a win here would establish him as a mid-card heel for the next few years. Though Truth feels like the 7th wheel here, I wouldn’t complain if he pulled the upset victory. With all these guys, it’s mostly about where their story goes after a win here. Yet the guy who really needs the win is Dean Ambrose. His last PPV win was at Payback as a member of the Shield. Like many writers and fans, I think he’s got main event potential, but he requires some reputation rehab. Dude has to start winning some big ones. WrestleMania would be a good start.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Kevin Pantoja: It’s the match that everyone thinks can steal the show. I feel that it could too, but the build has been lackluster. Also, what the hell is R-Truth doing in this thing? And where has my Stardust/Goldust feud gone? Regardless, I want to see everyone bring things to the table. Barrett and Harper hitting hard, Stardust and Ambrose bring the weirdness, Dolph and Bryan bring their incredible ability and Truth being Truth. The guy who absolutely needs to win this is Dean Ambrose since he’s been fumbled so hard since the summer. That being said, he won’t win. Daniel Bryan will.

Winner and new IC Champion: Daniel Bryan

Gary Vaughan: This will be the match that steals the show. With so many great wrestlers involved, I don’t see how it can be anything else. I’ll be rooting for R-Truth and Ziggler, but Bryan will win. The IC title needs a strong home and Bryan can give it that exceptional home.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Daniel Anderson: On paper, this looks like an amazing match. If everyone gets a shot to shine, we could see the building of several top stars over the next couple years and a revitalization of the IC title. Sadly, I have heard this all before. This will be a good match which will possibly steal the show, get the crowd excited, but in the end, the writers will lose interest in whoever holds the title and we will get more of the same when it comes to Raw. Since someone has to win, I will say it will be Daniel Bryan as an attempt to get the crowd not to crap on the main event.

Winner and NEW IC Champion Daniel Bryan

Jeremy Lambert: This should be the best match on the show as it’s pretty tough to screw up a multi-man ladder match with a number of great competitors. The booking of the IC title has been terrible for years now, so I’m not sure why anyone would want the thing, but these guys are going to kill themselves trying to get it. Who wins doesn’t really matter because most of these are worthy victors, it’s how they follow-up with the belt. And that I have no faith in. I’ll pick Bryan just because it’s a way for WWE to say, “we know you want Bryan in the main event, but that didn’t happen. So here’s him winning the IC title.”

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Michael Weyer: This should be the best match of the night, a throwback to classic MITB bouts of past Manias. It’s a bit tricky picking things out as Ambrose seems to likely to win after close calls and such. However, I’m going by rumors of it being Bryan and while not the spot we want for him, at least it’s a boost to his fortunes and if anyone can make the IC belt more interesting, it’s him. Either way, expect spots galore and fantastic battling to steal the show totally.

Winner and NEW IC Champion Daniel Bryan

Dylan Diot: I hated the build-up to this match with everyone stealing the Intercontinental Championship but at least this feels like a rebirth for the championship. This will be the show stealer and I hope Ambrose, Ziggler, and Bryan get a lot of focus and a chance to tell some good stories during the contest, because they are going to be the three guys in the Intercontinental Title mix over the next couple of months and will help re-establish the Intercontinental Championship as something prestigious. Daniel Bryan wins here to give him his big, happy moment that he has yet to have since coming back from injury.

Winner and NEW IC Champion Daniel Bryan

Jack Bramma: I’m not sure if it’s a compliment or an insult to say that this match has succeeded the ATGMBR as the guaranteed entertaining clusterfuck of the year. Then again, this match is basically the Fed’s way of saying they wish they could still run MITB as a gimmick and as a stand-alone PPV. However, since they can’t, they might as well throw out another multi-man ladder match with roughly every relevant midcarder that deserves better and is in need of a push going after a symbolic prop that “should” promise a push in the aftermath. Given that corollary, I’d say Truth and Stardust are out of contenders. BNB should be in the picture (and is still champ) but has seemingly been punished and treated like a joke for getting over so much with the IC strap in 2014 that I’d say he’s out as well, if they have genuine plans to push the champ. Harper is another guy who deserves a push or needs to be folded back into the Wyatt Family, but given that neither is likely, I’d say he’s just here for the menace factor. We’re down to three potential mega-faces that the company can’t seem to make up their minds about: Ziggler, Ambrose, and DB. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m sort of holding out hope for a Shield reunion to take out Brock in the main, so Ambrose is out. Ziggler is awesome and will probably be Dragon’s first feud after he wins the belt (unless of course Sheamus returns and… turns heel and/or wins the belt).

Winner and NEW IC Champion Daniel Bryan

Mathew Sforcina: Seven… Seven guys just seems off. It’s an odd number, in all senses of the word. And since there’s a guy who’s due back, and one with a vague connection to The Authority, albeit under the radar. So, I’m saying that after all the chaos, and just as Bryan is about to win… There’s a blur of red and white, and we have a new lackey to replace Orton.

Winner, and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion: Sheamus (Mass Authority Run-In)(

Mitch Nickelson: Even if Reigns wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship it should remain a special title that isn’t defended as often. The IC title then could truly be positioned as a worthy title again. It can headline shows, even Pay-Per-Views. And putting it on a guy the caliber of Daniel Bryan is a huge boost for the belt.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Wyatt Beougher: This should be the match I’m most excited for, considering nearly all of my favorite Superstars are involved and I’ve long been a proponent of making the secondary titles important again. Instead, I keep thinking about how much cooler Lesnar vs Bryan would be as the main event, how literally none of these guys has any momentum going into the match, and how, in the build-up for it, I actually heard Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler actually call Daniel Bryan a “turd” on a nationally televised show. Allegedly, Bryan is going to win the belt as a reward for being such a loyal employee (read: putting over Reigns at Fast Lane in spite of being more over and more deserving), and the goal is to use Bryan to elevate both the Intercontinental Championship and Smackdown. Unfortunately, like “the WWE is heavily invested in rebuilding the tag team division” and #GiveDivasAChance, those are also pipe dreams in Vince McMahon’s kingdom. So while this match will very likely be the most entertaining on the card, in the grand scheme of things, by the Raw after RawAfterMania, it’ll likely be forgotten and whoever the champion may be will be back to losing twice a week. (Told you I had used up my optimism.)

Winner: Daniel Bryan via belt retrieval after multiple Knee+’s.

Sean Garmer: I know wrestling traditionalist’s will say that the way Wade Barrett has been booked in the build up to this match has been nothing short of atrocious. But to those people I say, who cares? It really doesn’t matter if Barrett won one match or 20 matches, he is competing in a ladder match with six other men that all want that title. You are not going to be pinning anyone in that match and momentum means nothing because how many times have we seen someone out of nowhere win a ladder match? Too many to count quite honestly. This match should steal the show and be all kinds of wonderful. I have greatly enjoyed the thievery of the Intercontinental Championship storyline because it has made all seven of these guys relevant. It also symbolizes what they will be doing in that ladder match at Wrestlemania trying to pull down that belt and snatch it away from the other guys. Not to mention, this has allowed R-Truth to be thoroughly entertaining as well. Remember, this is also the same IC Title that WWE has dragged through the mud so many times because they didn’t know what to do with singles guys that are not in the main event. Essentially, this feud has created a mid-card that WWE can work with and the guy that gives WWE the best chance at doing that is Daniel Bryan. I don’t think Bryan was just puffing smoke when he made mention about wanting to rejuvenate SmackDown and make the IC Title important again. Daniel Bryan could easily take that title and do what Shinsuke Nakamura is doing for the IWGP Intercontinental in New Japan right now, make it a huge prize that people will want to hold. Not that Ambrose, or Ziggler, or any of those guys couldn’t do that, there’s a certain credibility with Bryan that no one else has.

Winner AND NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION: Daniel Bryan

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(Champion) Rusev w/ Lana vs. John Cena
United States Championship Match

Len Archibald: Another match that should feel more epic than it is, with another weird build. In the grand scheme of things, to the rest of the world outside the United States, Rusev is the babyface. He defeated John Cena in a fashion where Cena does not deserve a rematch, and where Cena had to obliterate Rusev within an inch of his LIFE to get said rematch. The face of the company, y’all. I do feel that we are in the opening stages of seeing an evolution of the John Cena character and for that to happen, Cena has to win here. The other reason he has to win is that John Cena as United States Champion brings his career full circle winning the title he won first 11 years after he did so and with his name value, instantly raising the stock and credibility of the title. Again, Rusev’s follow up is key, but I do not think the result of this match is in any doubt.

Winner: …and NEW United States Champion, John Cena via submission

Jericho Ricardi: I’d like to see Rusev get the big win over Cena twice in a row, stay undefeated, then go on to face the world champion at Summerslam in a US/world title unification match. Because we only need one secondary title. It’d be a MMA-like situation and likely to be a very compelling feud if the champion is a dominant force at that point. A Rusev/Reigns match could actually work out really well, especially if Rusev is the face going against Heyman Guy Reigns rather than Super-Nice Guy Reigns.

Winner: John Cena

Paul Leazar: This is almost tailor made for the happy ending. Cena puts Rusev away with the AA, he raises the US Title high in the air, the pyro goes off, the American flag plops down behind him, and everybody gobbles up some ‘Mercia. The problem is that seems to perfect to me, and a terrible booking idea. The first person to pin Rusev should be somebody who needs the rub, not somebody who’s spot is so rooted into the ground like John Cena. I don’t care if it’s by Lana’s interference, somebody from the back, the Russian Army, or Vladimir Putin running in himself. Rusev walking out with the US Title around his waist just makes the most sense to me. Once again, I fully expect to proven wrong, but I can dream right?

Winner and STILL US Champion: Rusev

Mike Hammerlock: When Des Moines crapped all over John Cena in full patriot mode that should have sent the signal that Cena fatigue is running deep. If Rusev wins here, you’ve got one of the best heels the WWE has built up in a long time. He’d feel invincible. I maintain that Rusev actually should make Cena tap. That’s the most interesting story they can tell with these two. Everything is set up for the standard Cena-overcomes-the-odds victory. We’ve seen this story so many times, it feels like a lead pipe cinch that Cena’s winning here. If they turned that on its ear, we’d be in shock. I say it would be more of a stunner than the Steak ending last year. They could mint a new main eventer and open a new chapter for Cena. That said, I’m not picking that to happen. Rusev looks like traditional Cena fodder. The Bulgaro-Russian dished out the compulsory go-home show beatdown to Cena, setting the stage for Cena’s “dramatic” comeback at WrestleMania. I think Vince believes he can get a big U-S-A pop out of it, but do not rule out it being a smark crowd that spoils his best laid plans. A lot of this card is begging for a crowd rebellion, practically asking for it. If Cena wins here and the crowd hates it, woe unto Roman Reigns in the main event.

Winner: John Cena

Kevin Pantoja: So fantasy booking would have me do this. If Roman Reigns has to win the main event, I’d have Rusev win here before going on to face Reigns for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. Instead, what we all know is going to happen, is John Cena goes over because ‘MURICA. Vince McMahon sure loves his anti-American gimmicks, and they all play out with America standing tall. Especially when it’s John Cena. Where Rusev goes after this is unfortunate since I don’t have confidence that creative will book him well.

Winner and new US Champion: John Cena

Gary Vaughan: I’m kind of excited to see Rusev’s big entrance, with all the cool things I’m hearing about. When it comes to the match, I think we are going to see a few phases in this fight. We could see a brawl to start, a more wrestling based middle, & a submission finish. It should be a strong match with Cena ending Rusev’s streak with an STF.

Winner: John Cena

Daniel Anderson: It would be so easy for the WWE. Cena and Rusev go at it, both kicking out of finishers, but finally, in the end, Rusev stands tall over a fallen John Cena who leaves to recover and comes back with an edge and a score to settle (we all know he will not turn even though this would be a good spot for it to happen). Sadly, that will not happen. Cena will get beaten and somehow reach deep down and winning against all odds decisively and getting a mixed reaction from the crowd while Rusev ends up like Bray last year and stops being seen as a huge threat to anyone for a while.

Winner and NEW US Champion: John Cena

Jeremy Lambert: They can’t screw this up? Can they? Rusev laying out Cena on Raw really makes me think that they can. This just screams “Cena got destroyed on Raw, will now overcome the odds on PPV” booking, but I really hope that I’m wrong. They’ve done a great job at building up Rusev this past year, there’s no need to waste all that effort by giving Cena another Wrestlemania moment. But I fear that they will because, when in doubt, Cena wins.

Winner: John Cena

Michael Weyer: So all this build and pretty obvious how it will go. Rusev is great in the monster heel role and the build has been good overall. Pretty obvious how it’ll go as it’s Cena and after all this, not hard to see him winning. But at least be a bit different for him and the bout itself should be a good encounter for some nice fighting.

Winner and NEW US Champion: John Cena

Dylan Diot: I was a big fan of their Fast Lane match last month and I believe these two can top it. John Cena is going to be the one to end Rusev’s winning streak and they’ll have their big blow off match at Extreme Rules, probably in a Steel Cage or a Last Man Standing Match.

Winner and NEW US Champion: John Cena

Jack Bramma: This is probably the best built match on the show since the RR. The basic slight over an interview slot at the Rumble; Cena finally standing up for Murica like he was born to do; Rusev kicking pillars with his bare legs like Tong Po like he was born to do; the cheap but effective win for Rusev at Fast Lane; and yet another squash for Rusev over Swagger who still can’t get over Zeb Colter’s untimely broken leg. Cena’s cut a few awesome promos and honestly given his A game in this feud even if it’s over the US strap. I would LOVE for Rusev to steam roll Cena and possibly move on to a feud with DB and/or possibly a champion/champion feud with Reigns (if he goes over in the main). Unfortunately, only Hogan in his “prime” going over Slaughter at Mania VII seemed more perfectly crafted for some red, white, and blue jingoism that passes for patriotism.

Winner and NEW US Champion: John Cena

Mathew Sforcina: Imagine if Rusev gets the win and blahblahblah see Taker/Wyatt.

Winner, and NEW WWE United States Champion: John Cena (STF)

Mitch Nickelson: If John Cena doesn’t give Rusev his first pin or submission then I’m of the mindset that Rusev should not get pinned or submitted until next year’s Mania. I think Cena winning might be the best thing for him, though. Losing to the #1 guy in the company on the biggest show of the year in front of the biggest crowd of the year seems like the best spot to do it. It’s commendable that WWE held off his first loss this long, actually.

Winner: John Cena

Wyatt Beougher: The actress who played John Cena in Max Landis’ Wrestling Isn’t Wrestling had a shirt that perfectly summed this match up: “Spoiler I Win”. Since the beginning of Rusev’s streak, most fans knew who the first man to pin or submit Rusev was going to be, and Rusev’s win at Fast Lane all but cemented that Cena will pick up the win on the biggest show of the year. Cena doesn’t always lose at Wrestlemania, but when he does, it’s to either the biggest champion in the company or an established veteran who is a remnant of a bygone area that enjoyed greater popularity than this current epoch. Sadly, as much as a win here would benefit the Bulgarian, Rusev is neither. Of course, there’s always the possibility that the WWE is actively trolling me specifically and Rusev picks up the win here when the more deserving Bray Wyatt couldn’t last year. But I doubt that’s the case.

Winner: loljohncenawins via Attitude Adjustment

Sean Garmer: Aside from the idiotic Russian lawyer, I’ve enjoyed everything about this feud. John Cena has been in super serious mode the whole time, which adds so much because he is taking Rusev as a threat to not only himself, but to the United States of America as well. Rusev has grown so much these past few months that people actually want to see him and Lana on shows. We know that Cena brings it to the big matches and Rusev is really underrated I feel when it comes to his matches. I feel like what we saw at WWE Fast Lane is just a taste of what these two can do. This feud has been heated, Rusev pummeled the crap out of Cena on RAW, and now Cena has to respond. Brock re-signing with WWE affects so many things on this card, it is possible that Rusev wins here and retains the US Title. This allows for Rusev’s streak to be beaten by someone else. Roman Reigns winning the US Title wouldn’t be such a bad thing. However, very much like how Vince has booked himself in a corner with Reigns, I think there really isn’t much left but to pull the trigger and Cena win here. There’s a lot to be told in the story of Rusev and his first pinfall or submission loss will certainly keep the pages turning.

Winner AND NEW UNITED STATES CHAMPION: John Cena (After making Rusev TAP OUT to the STF)

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Nikki & Brie Bella vs. Paige & AJ Lee
Divas Tag Match

Len Archibald: Another match with a strange, nonchalant build. The four divas have been given time to establish their rivalry, but in the grand scheme of things, everyone is just kind of there for it. A win by the twins virtually does nothing for anyone, but I have come to the conclusion that the ‘E is dead set on basing the entire division around them – or at least giving the perception until the RAW after WrestleMania, where Charlotte makes her official debut and takes the Bellas out. This is the ONLY reason a Bellas victory makes any sense, even though I know logic and WWE does not always go hand in hand – especially with the Divas division.

Winner: The Bella Twins via pinfall

Jericho Ricardi: Alexa Bliss is the future face of WWE women’s wrestling. Just predicting that now. Will she get to have actual real matches and interesting storylines on RAW by then? Time will tell. AJ and Paige win, because of course they do. If the title were on the line in this tag-match (WCW-style) I’d predict Brie to get the pinfall on AJ or Paige, transferring the title between the Bellas and causing some major friction again (since their friction was never actually resolved before). However, it isn’t on the line, and I’m not sure what the point of this match is.

Winners: AJ and Paige:

Paul Leazar: I really hope these girls get some time to go out there and put on a show. The past two RAW’s have been nice, as both matches between Nikki & Paige & AJ have gotten time, and some fan response (Nikki vs. Paige in particular). There really is no other way to go then to have Paige & AJ go over. You can then start to build up title feuds between these four by having Nikki go postal on her sister by saying she is holding her back, and what not, and begin to rebuild the Diva’s Division around these four that should hopefully re-attract the fans to the division again, and give those girls down in NXT some hope that getting called up won’t be a demotion.

Winners: Paige & AJ Lee

Mike Hammerlock: Lots of credit to the divas title match on this past Monday’s Raw. Paige and Nikki put on one of the best WWE divas matches we’ve seen in a long time and some credit to Creative because this storyline seems to be hooking the crowd. Hard to say if the WrestleMania crowd will have the same reaction to the women, but I’m hoping this is all building to something positive. The best women’s match in WrestleMania history is still the Victoria-Trish-Jazz three-way at WM19, which is a bar these ladies could clear with relative ease. I’m wary of predicting that because the last time I thought we might get a statement match from the divas it was the AJ vs. Nikki kiss of death match at Survivor Series. So, just because it’s there to be done doesn’t mean the WWE has any intention of doing it. I’m rooting for this to be a surprise hit, especially because it’s surely leading to a fatal four-way in the near future.

Winner: Paige & AJ

Kevin Pantoja: With the news that we are going to get some musical performances on the show, I fear for the time that the girls will get. I want them to get a chance to do some good work, because these are four of the most capable females on the roster. They’ve been given good time since the #GiveTheDivasAChance trend, and the crowd has positively responded. I think this has potential, but with the Bellas (namely Nikki) coming out on top of every PPV since Survivor Series, it’s time to get their comeuppance.

Winners: Paige and AJ Lee

Gary Vaughan: We will see if Vince really will Give Divas A Chance in this match. WWE made more room for time on the card with putting two matches on the pre-show. So, I expect the Divas to get over ten minutes and I think the Divas will take advantage of that. The Bellas have no big reason to go over hear and my guess is AJ isn’t in the mood to lose to them. Paige will get the pin after a pretty decent bout.

Winner: AJLee & Paige

Daniel Anderson: This sounds bad, but I really do not care who wins. I know the feud has not been as bad as it was originally feared, but it still hasn’t been great. Sadly, I think we will see the Bellas winning here after AJ and Paige inexplicably screw up and one hits the other and the feud will continue.

Winners: The Bella Twins

Jeremy Lambert: I hope these four get a little bit of time, but I’m not holding my breath. It seems like the Bella’s have been on the right side of things for months now, so it’s probably time for AJ and Paige to extract a little bit of revenge. Last year Paige won the title from AJ the night after Mania. This year Paige and AJ celebrate together at Mania.

Winner: Paige and AJ Lee

Michael Weyer: The feud hasn’t been as bad as some might fear but still not too sensational. I’ll give it to Paige and AJ, makes more sense that way and hopefully if we get enough time, be nice for the ladies to show their stuff off.

Winners: Paige & AJ Lee

Dylan Diot: The Bellas have been dominating the division for the last few months so I’ll say Paige and AJ win to shake things up and set up a triple threat match at Extreme Rules. I’ll think this will be an above average Diva’s match too if given some time.

Winners: Paige & AJ Lee

Jack Bramma: Because.

Winners: Paige & AJ Lee

Mathew Sforcina: Well this has been a decent enough little feud, and while the attention they’ve gotten is small, it’s better than your usual fare for women at WM. They aren’t in some giant lumberjill match or whatever so every diva gets a payday, there’s a legit issue here, albeit one that the announcers haven’t fully gotten across, but then what have they gotten across fully these days? Common sense says that you put over the ‘faces’ here so as to build to a title match of woman who gets the fall over the champ.

Winners: Pai-J (Double Pin on Nikki)

Mitch Nickelson: I have little interest in this match. They did a good title match on Raw on Monday which makes this one feel way less important. I’ll pick the Bellas for no real reason.

Winner: The Bellas

Wyatt Beougher: Remember when #GiveDivasAChance was a thing, you guys? Remember when AJ Lee stood up for the women on Twitter by publicly calling out Stephanie McMahon? Yeah, those were the days. If this match is anything other than a “cooldown” match, sandwiched between two bigger, “more important” matches, I’ll be thoroughly surprised (so surprised that I’ll write a long-form apology to the WWE and post is as my first post-Wrestlemania column). My biggest regret for this match isn’t that it’ll be booked as meaningless filler, or even that the Divas title won’t be defended on the biggest show of the year, it’s that AJ Lee, once the most vibrant performer in the Divas division and someone who very clearly loved her job, now looks as listless in every segment and match she’s involved in as her husband did when he was battling a severe MRSA infection and possibly suffering from a concussion. When AJ returned, I was thrilled, but that thrill has quickly evaporated upon seeing how listless and uninspired she’s looked since her return. On the bright side, because this match is likely to last less than ten minutes, there’s a strong possibility that Paige and Nikki will be able to build on the pretty-good match that they had earlier this week. But there’s the Divas division in a nutshell – the talent is there (Nikki, Paige, Alicia Fox, Emma, Summer Rae, even Nattie and Brie are passable, and AJ is phenomenal when she wants to be) but you never know when or if they’re going to get to show it off. If this were last year and I was as hyper-optimistic about Wrestlemania 31 as I was about Wrestlemania XXX, I would say that the WWE has purposely waited until their biggest show of the year to #GiveDivasAChance, but the build to this Wrestlemania has been abysmal and I’ve already used up all of my optimism on the main event (and hoping that Wyatt actually gets a well-deserved, and much-needed win). So, like I said, this will be a less-than-ten minute affair sandwiched between two other, higher profile matches, and I’ll guess the faces win so that one of them can take the belt off of Nikki at RawAfterMania.

Winner: Paige/AJ via RamPaige

Sean Garmer: I really hope these four ladies are given time to go out there and show what they can do. This whole #GiveDivasAChance thing means nothing if WWE gives them five minutes to try to rush through everything. In fact, that is the underlying story to be told here is that they want to prove to the crowd in the stadium and the fans watching at home that women’s wrestling should be taken seriously when watching the WWE product. There’s also tension between everyone involved in this match and they could quite possibly all turn on each other by the end of it as well. AJ and Paige had that long rivalry last year, Nikki Bella wished her sister had never been born at one point, and Nikki and AJ obviously don’t like each other. Since these four women are the Divas division right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something happen between Nikki and Brie that allows AJ and Paige to pick up the win. This setups for dissension to start happening between the Bella sisters and we eventually get a four way for the Divas Title at some point.

Winners: Paige & AJ (After Paige hits the Rampaige on Nikki)

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Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
Singles Match

Len Archibald: I don’t think I have seen a build for a match as – strangely one-sided and yet not like this one. Bray Wyatt has done 95% of the talking and action to build towards a match that does not have a reason to exist – unless the end result is for Bray to actually become the new face of fear. An Undertaker win does nothing for either and would once again cut Wyatt off at the knees at WrestleMania. But The Undertaker losing TWO WrestleMania matches in a row after going 21-0 is nearly unthinkable – albeit The Undertaker losing at all looked impossible until the referee counted his hand on the mat for the third time last year. I think Taker does the job here to set up the ultimate redemption story to help pull in 100,000 in Dallas for WrestleMania 32 where he faces the only man who can restore Taker’s legacy: Sting. Wyatt, meanwhile takes the largest leap of any other superstar in the event by being the first “full-time” superstar to defeat the Deadman at WrestleMania en route to a short WWE Title reign to test the waters of how well he can handle the pressure of being champion.

Winner: Bray Wyatt via pinfall

Jericho Ricardi: I really wish they would have given Undertaker’s first loss to Bray. It has been totally wasted on Brock at this point, and giving it to Bray would have been beneficial to the company for YEARS. Bray would have been totally set. I think Bray deserves to get the win here and there’s still a lot to be gained from being Undertaker’s second loss. That said, I doubt this will happen. He isn’t a part-timer, so his power level isn’t high enough to defeat one. Also, Undertaker needs a recovery match before he faces Sting next year in the ultimate part-timer challenge.

Winner: Undertaker

Paul Leazar: First, let’s give a quick round of applause to Bray Wyatt, who has carried the build for this feud on his shoulders, and has (in my opinion) absolutely knocked it out of the park. However, the result of the match no matter which it way goes hurts somebody. If Bray doesn’t go over here, it may not be the end of the world, but it would only lead him right back to where he started at the beginning of the year. If ‘Taker loses, we add another loss to the Streak (not the worst thing in the world in my book personally), but he certainly doesn’t look the strongest. Which is why I’m going with this: We get something super over the top gimmicky where Bray Wyatt, somehow, some way, does something to take away The Undertaker’s powers, beats him, leaves him broken, and walks out the winner. You can then make The Undertaker’s match with Sting @ Wrestlemania 32 (assuming that’s the plan) about The Undertaker trying to show that he still has something left in the tank, that he’s got one more Wrestlemania victory left in his body, and what better way to prove that then by beating Sting of all people? I fully expect to be entirely wrong about this, but this is the dream scenario for me.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Mike Hammerlock: Bray Wyatt has done all the work here and he deserves the reward for it. I’m hoping Undertaker’s respect for the business will mean that he’d refuse to win the match even if Vince tells him he’s going over. Seriously, what we want here is the iconic entrance and for Taker to be resurrected in the ring. If they can have a great match, then Taker has put that turkey he had with Brock Lesnar in his rearview. He doesn’t need the win. He’s the goddamn Undertaker no matter how this match ends. All he needs is to show he’s still got it. Meanwhile, Bray gets no rub for coming close and losing. He took a swinging miss against Cena last year and this would reinforce the perception that he’s not capable of playing with the big boys. I think it would be a tragic waste of talent to let that perception take hold. Bray should be in or near the main event for the rest of this decade. Just one guy’s opinion, but I’d have Rusev run riot all the way to the WWE title and then have Bray be the one that takes him down. Fans are loving them some Bray Wyatt, when he turns face he’s going to be over like no one’s business. Yet first he needs to win this match.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Kevin Pantoja: This is the absolute definition of a lose/lose situation. If Bray Wyatt loses, everything that they’ve built back up after his unfortunate feud with John Cena is wasted. However, if Undertaker loses, the guy who won 21 straight years, all of a sudden can’t buy a win. They did this with the Bray/Dean Ambrose rivalry because neither guy could afford a loss there, and the one who did, Ambrose, is stuck now. I’d rather Bray win here, but I feel like we get the Undertaker winning leading to Sting/Taker next year before he retires.

Winner: The Undertaker

Gary Vaughan: This should be the moment of the best entrance or entries of the night. Hopefully, we are saying this is the best match of the night. Expect plenty of hard knocks and near falls. I really want Bray Wyatt to win but I doubt Undertaker will go 21-2.

Winner: Undertaker

Daniel Anderson: You have to have Bray win here don’t you? Last year, you fed him to Super Cena, and he lost a ton of momenteum. I do not think he can handle a second Wrestlemania loss in a row (even to Taker) and still be seen as a threat. If Bray wins, he can face the IC or US Title holders, fight the Authority for refusing to work for them, or even possible be billed as a threat to challenge Lesnar. If you have him lose, he loses even more momentum and stops being seen as a legitimate threat to anyone.

Winner Bray Wyatt

Michael Weyer: It will be interesting to see how the reaction is to the Taker post-Streak and how he’s able to work it. Bray has been carrying the feud well but we still need Taker to make it work. It should be a good battle but still up in the air how things will work out between them. Still, if Taker can get motivated, this should be enough to get fans happy, maybe not make up for last year but still something to the Taker mystique and that should make this more notable than other bouts on the card.

Dylan Diot: I hope Taker has another magical WrestleMania performance in him and he helps give Wyatt a hell of a match, as he needs something to help make him interesting again. With Taker having a loss under his WrestleMania belt, Taker will come across as more vulnerable and Wyatt needs to have a dominant performance to cement him as a top heel going forward. I want to go Wyatt here but with the rumor of WrestleMania 32 being Taker’s last match he may take the win here and try to get the one loss back next year.

Winner : The Undertaker

Jack Bramma: This feud to me is fascinating but for reasons that have almost nothing to do with anything that’s happened on camera since Mania XXX. I’m convinced that Mania 31 is a dress rehearsal of a sorts for Taker/Sting next year in Dallas. If Sting doesn’t look terrible against the H’s and if UT still has gas left in the tank, then Monday night on RAW, I figure Vince will put the trigger on setting up the two icons a year out. Still, even if that’s true, Taker could go up against Sting coming off a win or loss against Bray. Taker returns victorious over a strong up-and-comer Bray who hasn’t taken a pinfall since July 2014 against Jericho and hasn’t looked an iota weak since returning at HITC last year, and then, Taker moves on to end another era with Sting. And that’s all well and good, but it’s so much more fruitful in the short and long run for Taker to lose…. again. Bray can forget the rub nonsense and honest to God get a victory that matters. Taker will have to go on the losing streak and have to confront his failing legacy as the other dark icon calls him out in his home state. But really, who am I kidding? Like I said, lots of faces going over.

Winner: The Undertaker

Mathew Sforcina: Imagine if Wyatt gets the win here, and gets the torch passed, like Taker got from Roberts at WMVIII? Wyatt has lacked a direction for months, but to be able to claim that he finally killed the Deadman, that he finished the job that Brock started, that Brock took Taker’s Streak, he’s notwtaken Taker’s Soul, Wyatt is now the True Phenom… Man, he’d be totally set for a good long while off that. Would totally revolutionise his character and his standing.

Winner: The Undertaker (Tombstone out of Crab Walk)

Mitch Nickelson: Like the Sting/HHH match this one could tell a fantastic match. But there is no in-ring general in this one so I don’t expect the workrate to be outstanding. I hope I’m wrong about that point. They’ve kept Taker off TV for year to preserve his aura and I hope that gamble pays off. Wyatt should win. Please WWE, don’t do this to Bray two years in a row.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Wyatt Beougher: This match should’ve happened last year, with Wyatt breaking the Streak and Undertaker passing to the torch from one guy with an unbelievable supernatural gimmick to another guy with an unbelievable supernatural gimmick. Instead, Cena spent three months destroying all of the momentum that Wyatt had built and Wyatt has spent the past nine months just trying to get back to where he was going into Wrestlemania last year. Will WWE screw it up again this year? Probably, and should the Undertaker win, it will further illustrate the most fundamental way that Vince is out of touch with how wrestling should work – yes, he’ll be saving Undertaker as a “big attraction” for one more year (if the rumored retirement match at Wrestlemania in his home state turns out to be true) at the expense of a full-time guy who will again have to spend the better part of a year rebuilding himself, but here’s the rub – people are still going to care what the Undertaker does next year, and they’re still going to buy tickets to Wrestlemania and buy it on PPV (if it’s even available through that avenue by this time next year). By giving the win to a guy who likely won’t appear on WWE programming again in person until Wrestlemania of next year, he’s weakening his overall product for the duration of that intervening time. Bray should be using this match as a stepping stone to become a legitimate, long-term main eventer, and I’m hoping that Undertaker was able to convince Vince that he doesn’t need the win, and the storyline of him going into a retirement match on a two-Wrestlemania losing streak is far more compelling. My head tells me that Undertaker wins this, likely after a Tombstone or two, but I’m going with my heart here (even though that got me nowhere when picking Bray’s match at last year’s Wrestlemania). Oh well, hopefully we at least get a double KO spot that ends with Undertaker sitting up at the same time that Wyatt pops up into the spider walk position.

Winner: Bray Wyatt via multiple Sister Abigails

Sean Garmer: A special award should be given to Bray Wyatt because of how he singlehandedly has kept this feud going week after week. Sure, special effects helped too, but for the most part it has been Wyatt’s words and mannerisms that have made me want to see this match. I also like that since we know the streak is broken, Bray Wyatt wants to aim at breaking the man himself, ridding The Undertaker of his aura that has kept him alive in our hearts and minds all these years. Wyatt has earned himself a victory over The Undertaker, but will he get it? I don’t think so. It would be great to see Undertaker get to put over one young talent at WM before he hangs it up and a beautiful redemption story could be told of a broken Undertaker losing his last two matches only for him to beat Sting at WM 32 and retire a winner at Wrestlemania. I feel like Vince is going to want to go with more of a traditional approach and have Undertaker comeback strong. Wyatt will do everything in his spirit to win, but it won’t be enough and The Deadman shines again at the “Show of Shows.” Then we see Sting appear and point to the Wrestlemania sign setting up a year long build to a match that will not only fill seats at AT&T Stadium, but make wrestling fans dreams come true.

Winner: Undertaker (After a second Tombstone in the match)

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Triple H vs. Sting
Singles Match

Len Archibald: This is a build for what should be an epic encounter that is confusing because of the part-time nature of Sting, the WCW vs. WWE booking (where Triple H should be the face?), and the Authority vs. Vigilante angle (where Triple H should be the heel.) Logic dictates that Sting should win this match as 1) it is his first ever match in WWE and 2) he is the avenging face to give the dastardly heel his comeuppance – BUT with nothing truly on the line, it could lead to a rematch where FINALLY the Authority is taken out of power. For that to happen, Triple H should win – but that would be deflating; but Triple H has a history of deflating fans with a WM victory. The fact remains, though – Triple H has done all he needs to do in his career, and has honestly done his job as someone who…jobs when it counts. Plus, Sting needs to be built up as a credible challenger for a “dream match” against The Undertaker next year that should help to draw 100,000 people so…

Winner: Sting via submission

Jericho Ricardi: This is a match I’m excited for. I figured if they revolved the build around Sting getting payback for HHH burying WCW’s main eventers in the past, it’d resonate with fans. That’s what they’ve done…sort of. Sting – who has been doing nothing at all for 14 years – wins to give the crowd a legit feel-good moment, and if the company wants to end the show on a high note they’ll put this match on last. People will mock them for having HHH main eventing and it’ll be yet another part-timer deal, but closing the show with Sting standing tall in a WWE ring would at least end things on a high note. As much as I want Bray to win, an Undertaker win would open the doors for a show-saving moment here. Close the show with Sting standing tall in the ring, only to have an also-victorious Undertaker stare him down from the entrance as the show ends. Boom, WM31 saved.

Winner: Sting

Paul Leazar: It’s a match that was made for Wrestlemania. You can have all the pagentery you want to go along with this one. The over the top entrances, live bands to play them to the ring, all the pyro you can jam into a football arena, and hopefully what follows puts all of that to shame. I don’t think the result of this match was ever in question from the beginning. Sting has to go over, but the reason to watch this one lays in mystery of whether Sting can still go or not. The last time we saw him in TNA, it wasn’t a pretty sight. Let’s hope Sting can put all that badness behind him, and brings everything he’s got left in the tank because he deserves to have as many epic matches at Wrestlemania as he can muster.

Winner: Sting

Mike Hammerlock: What we’ve had here is a classic Roadrunner-Coyote build. HHH, playing the role of Wile E. Coyote, has had his various plots foiled by Sting, playing the role of the Roadrunner. Every time Trips thinks he’s set the perfect trap, he ends up at the bottom of a ravine. If they follow that story arc, the Coyote never wins. However, in the world of wrestling the Coyote gets inside a ring with the Roadrunner where it is guaranteed the Coyote will sink his teeth into his nemesis. That’s really been the tease here. The Game has yet to get his mitts on Sting. That changes at WrestleMania. An unholy beating awaits the self-styled vigilante. On top of that, I’m not buying Sting’s story. HHH has been out of control for years and Sting never did or said squat about it. No, this is a nostalgia match. As a lifelong WWE fan, my nostalgia is WWE kicking WCW’s ass. That’s my feel-good moment. Plus, Sting doesn’t have much skin in this game. The better story is that he doesn’t get to roll in and win at WrestleMania like he was picking up his dry cleaning. I think we’ve been lulled into a false sense of complacency. No way they’d have Sting lose at WrestleMania. Really? Wouldn’t they? Empire’s about to strike back, bitches.

Winner: Triple H

Kevin Pantoja: Probably the easiest match to pick right here. This should be an absolute spectacle. Sting’s first ever WWE match will be against a guy who, while he never was THE guy, bleeds WWE more than most. The outcome is not in doubt, but I’m pretty pumped for this. Every single time Sting is on WWE TV, part of me is still in shock because it’s so surreal. I’m very intrigued to find out if Sting can still go after his unfortunate run near his final TNA days.

Winner: Sting

Gary Vaughan: Now, this is going to be one of the most interesting and anticipated matches on the card. In my opinion, Sting will hold up just fine. I believe will get a treat when Triple H and Sting go into battle. Sting will prevail after a hard earned victory.

Winner: Sting

Daniel Anderson: There is a logical pick here. I am scared to take it though because we all know how sometimes HHH gets a bit of an ego. Still, I do not see why you bring in Sting just to have him lose at Wrestlemania. Sting beats HHH here with some wacky interference occurring throughout the match. Part of me wonders if we will see some non-Authority people interfere to help Sting. Maybe DDP comes in for a few moments and clears out some Authority members? In the end we will see Sting winning and HHH having a stricken look on his face again.

Winner: Sting

Jeremy Lambert: I’ve been a Sting mark for 20 years, so I’m excited about his WWE in-ring debut. I know he’s 56-years-old, but I still think he can get up for a big match and Triple H, as much as I don’t care for him, is a really good professional who can also get up for a big match. It’s not like they’re going to work a grueling match either. Sting runs wild early, Triple H dominates, Sting makes his comeback and wins. It’s a simple match with a predictable outcome and if they do anything different then I’d be shocked and possibly disappointed.

Winner: Sting

Michael Weyer: And again, the obvious pick is not there. Sting/Undertaker has always been a dream bout and seemed so logical but nope, got to be HHH. To be fair, Hunter is still capable of damn good stuff when he’s motivated and Sting should be able to hold with him. So a good fight to be sure, expect plenty of interference by the Authority but in the end, you don’t sign Sting on and not have him get a Mania win so at least HHH puts him over well enough.

Winner: Sting

Dylan Diot: Sting should win this match. It’s his first ever match in the WWE and you need to get whatever you can out of him as a special attraction. However, the fact that Sting has dominated this feud worries me and I’m concerned they’re going to convince Sting that losing to Triple H and setting up a rematch at SummerSlam is going to be the better option. They have one chance to have Sting make his mark, if he loses here his WWE run is dead from the start. I’m going with Sting but I’m incredible worried they are going to screw this up.

Winner: Sting

Jack Bramma: This match reeks of H positioning himself into another supercard spot. I get that there’s only so many matches for Sting to have and I think Trips is seriously underrated as a worker, but roughly no one was clamoring for this match. That being said, the feud has been a big bag of hit or miss. Sting’s limited dates didn’t help, but the Fed made them count. His appearance at SS and his next one to help save Ryback, Rowan, and Ziggler’s jobs were nice choices. However, WWE’s insistence this feud be positioned as WCW vs WWE where Trips is the gatekeeper of the Fed’s legacy is so much of a shoot (or at least the revisionist history shoot popularized by the WWE) that H came off as the face against the invading, anachronistic heel moreso than the delusional, power-mad H grasping at straws to rationalize his greed. Also, Steph’s strange need to never give an inch in promos against some of the biggest stars in history also hurts a tad.
But the biggest issue with this match remains what it has since day one to me. Can Sting still go? Crow Sting to me has ALWAYS been more interesting as a character than as a wrestler – dynamite in segments, but underperforming in the ring. What’s the last unquestionable great match Sting has had? Something against Angle or Roode or Aries? What about pre-TNA? Goldberg on Nitro when he was in the Wolfpac? Quite frankly, I’m just interested to see what kind of bells and whistles these guys can pull off to make this entertaining, but if Trips tries making Sting do business and teaching him how to work WWE main even style like he did Steiner at RR03, look out. Come hell or high water though, Sting goes over and it’s Sting-Taker at Mania 32.

Winner: Sting

Mathew Sforcina: This will get all the booking. A Booker T run in, lots of broken sledges and bats, Steph donning stripes, a nWo reunion, Vince McMahon flying in by helicopter, whatever it takes to make this match memorable and important seeming and everything that isn’t needed since both Triple H and Sting are experienced enough to perform a perfectly acceptable match without any gimmicks. And said gimmicks would be more useful in, say, Brock/Reigns or whatever. But nope, this gets all the bells and whistles… Match should be good though.

Winner: Sting (Scorpion Deathlock with dramatic sledge dropping tap out)

Mitch Nickelson: I’m looking forward to this match. Triple H might not be a regular competitor at this point but I do have faith that he can be the in-ring general to keep this match at high level of workrate. Workrate won’t be the main focus though, because both of these guys are icons who have no trouble captivating a crowd. I expect a great story. I think Sting will go over. If Triple H wants to beat him then there will be a rematch for that.

Winner: Sting

Wyatt Beougher: If there’s any justice in the world, the entrances for this match will take a combined fifteen to twenty minutes and the match itself will go five. Any longer than that, and you’re seriously risking exposing the fact that Sting does not, in fact, “still have it”. And for anyone expecting this to be even a fraction as awesome as HHH/Bryan was last year? I’M AFRAID I’VE GOT SOME BAD NEWS! (The IC champ’s not using that anymore, right?) Sting hasn’t had a good match in over a decade and hasn’t been truly relevant in half again that long, so there’s little chance of this being anything special, unless you’re only there for the spectacle, in which case, I hope you get what you’re after out of this match. Sting wins a nothing match.

Winner: Sting Scorpion Death Drop

Sean Garmer: Though this feud has focused way too much on WCW and not enough on the reason in which Sting decided to appear in a WWE ring, at least they eventually got to telling us why Sting wants to wrestle Triple H. I really wouldn’t be surprised to see a NO DQ stipulation added to this match at some point. Mainly because the sledgehammer and bat have come into play a lot recently and I feel like the stipulation could take advantage of that, while also hiding any weaknesses the two men may possess at their advanced ages. No matter how anyone tries to spin this, the only story that works is Sting winning here. You cannot possibly bring Sting into WWE to lose at Wrestlemania in his first match ever. There’s just so much instant credibility that comes with winning a big time match at Wrestlemania. The fans in the stadium will all know who Sting is, but there are still many people that will be watching at home who have never watched a Sting match at all. It will be very difficult to get people to care about Sting for any kind of match in the future if he loses here. Not to mention, we’ve seen Triple H lose on the big stage before, which leads me to believe the same will happen here. I just hope Sting comes out in his singlet and not a t-shirt and that Sting and Triple H put on one hell of a match before it is over.

Winner: Sting (Via Scorpion Death Drop)

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(Champion) Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. Roman Reigns
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Len Archibald: So here we go. The main event and the future of WWE lies – and perhaps thrives or backslides on the result and aftermath of this match. Ever since Survivor Series 2013, it was rumored that Roman Reigns was the next major WWE project and successor to John Cena. His performance there and the 2014 Royal Rumble had confirmed those notions. Now he has reached his destiny. Paul Heyman has done his best to sell this match as the most important in history. Brock Lesnar has just been Brock Lesnar (which means all man, all awesome, all the time.) To his credit, Roman Reigns has begun to adjust his mindset and posture to make it at least look like he could belong there, but this match lives and dies by his performance. If it is lackluster or merely average and/or the match layout makes Lesnar look like a killing machine only for Reigns to John Cen-Up and win with a few minor offensive moves, Reigns – reign may be dead in the water. My heart wants Brock Lesnar to win by MURDERDEATHKILL and dominate the rest of the year en route to a WrestleMania 32 rematch where Reigns finally figures out how to slay the beast. My head says Roman Reigns wins and stands tall to merciless boos to close the show. But there is always…

WINNER: Roman Reigns via pinfall – to lose to NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion, SETH ROLLINS via MITB cash-in

Jericho Ricardi: The initial face-off will get the Brock/Goldberg treatment, with Paul Heyman in the Stone Cold role of cheer-magnet. Despite this, the crowd will pop for Lesnar’s offense. They’ll completely reject the match at times, but once Brock starts throwing Reigns around they’ll get sucked in. Reigns will win after either three or five Spears altogether. Usually they go three finishers for these situations, but this is a special case so my guess is five.

Winner: Roman Reigns…but wait!

I predict that no-good non-Hulkamaniac Seth Rollins will cash in on Roman immediately after the Lesnar match…to a massive crowd pop. A short match will follow, and Reigns will win after one spear. People will make jokes about it being April Fool’s Day already and life will go on.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Paul Leazar: I’m sure a lot of wrestling fans out there aren’t really looking forward to this match at all, but it carries the most intrigue. We’ve all read or heard the various rumors flying about how this match is going to shake out, and it was further complicated by Brock’s announcement that he is staying on with the WWE for a few more years to come. So, is the golden boy in Roman Regins crowned champion? Does Brock retain? Does Paul Heyman turn and cause double turn between these two combatants? Does the ring explode from the sheer amount of rumor that has flown about this match? For me, I’ve put my hat on the idea of Seth Rollins cashing in on Roman Reigns to set up the rest of the year. Not only does it add Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns to the laundry list of people who have beef with Seth, but I think it sets WWE on track to put the young talent into the spotlight, with Seth leading the charge. It’s too perfect not to do in my humble opinion.

Winner and NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns, only to have Seth Rollins successfully cash into to become the actual NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion!

Mike Hammerlock: Brock Lesnar re-signing with the WWE adds some much needed intrigue here. The news broke on SportsCenter for crying out loud. Brock’s promo interview this past week was pure gold as well. Yes, he has Paul Heyman doing most of his talking for him, but Brock can convey that this is a fight and he’s going to beat you silly as well as anyone in the business. Probably because he’s been in real fights and beaten people silly. Roman Reigns is the other guy in this match, though he’s been the one with the maddening storyline. Back in early January I did two columns, one laying out why Reigns shouldn’t win the Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania, one laying why he should win the Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania. I put up a reader poll and got roughly a thousand responses (and polling firms predict Presidential races with fewer responses), the anti-Reigns vote won 3-to-1 over the pro-Reigns vote. And that was BEFORE Philadelphia declared open season on Reigns after his Rumble win. The WWE has done everything to put Reigns over as a babyface hero and it hasn’t worked. B. Denny wrote a fine column on the subject this week. To expand upon one of his points, this has changed from a rebellion against WWE booking to an active dislike for Reigns. The Samoan dreamboat is coming across as a smug, entitled, overhyped prick, and 70,000 people inside Levi’s Stadium are going to want to see Brock Lesnar erase his ass. If the plan was to make Reigns a top tier heel, the WWE has succeeded wildly. He will be actively hated on Sunday. However, that may be the best case scenario for a Reigns win. Heyman turns on Lesnar, Reigns ekes out a win, Lesnar goes after Heyman, Rollins cashes in, stadium explodes. We all feel better if it goes down that way. Or Vince could stick with his disaster plan to push Reigns as a face. Either way, Reigns strikes me as the most likely winner, though it’s not nearly the ironclad guarantee it was a week ago.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Kevin Pantoja: Before yesterday, I had zero interest in this match. Brock Lesnar choosing to re-sign with the WWE gives me hope though. Not on the outcome but on the actual match. If Brock was leaving, it was possible that he would mail it in and give us a WrestleMania XX repeat. Instead, he is committed to the WWE, which should help the main event. I still don’t think it will be great, but it should at least be interesting. Either way, I fully expect the WWE to pull the trigger on the era of Roman Reigns.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Gary Vaughan: Reigns and Lesnar will have an interesting fight with both not being known for their in ring leadership. Despite all that, I look for them to fight both inside and outside the righ. We should see a few near falls on Reigns to swerve the audience. My best guess is that Reigns will get a win by some sort of fashion that is not clean. Though, this matters not, cause Rollins will cash in his Money in the Bank contract and pin a near lifeless Reigns after a ciurb stomp.

Winner: Reigns, Seth Rollins cashes in and becomes the NEW WWE Champion

Daniel Anderson: I can only imagine how bad the crowd would crap on this match if Brock was leaving afterwards. It would be Wrestlemania XX all over again. I feel like we are in store for more monster Brock with Reigns falling short of winning the title. I do not see a MITB cash in happening, but I do see it teased. There is no reason to cash it in right now and weaken Brock after he resigned.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Jeremy Lambert: With the news of Brock Lesnar re-signing with the company, this match got a lot more interesting as far as the winner. The build hasn’t been good and I don’t have high hopes for the actual match, but at least it’s not a foregone conclusion that Reigns will be the victor as Brock goes through the motions on his way to the UFC. They’ve built up Brock this much and haven’t done a whole lot for Roman ever since he returned from injury so logic says that Reigns puts up a good fight, but Brock still wins. And maybe I’m being naive, but I think that’s sort of what will happen. Reigns will give Brock all he can handle, but Brock will win, which leads to Rollins cashing in and a ready-made Reigns/Rollins feud consisting of Rollins bragging and Reigns saying he was the one who did all the work.

Winner: Brock Lesnar retains, Seth Rollins cashes in

Michael Weyer: There’s little to say here that hasn’t been ranted about for months on end. Is Roman ready? Nope. Is the crowd hot for him to win? Nope. Is this really what we want? Nope. But it’s happening. Yes, we may have a cash-in at the end and such but the fact of the matter is, the writing has been on the wall for a while. We can hope for a swerve but it’s been made obvious that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Vince McMahon believes Roman Reigns is the future of WWE and this is his time. So just suck it up, accept it’s going to happen and hope the match itself is at least serviceable. If nothing else, notable to see just how bad the crowd turns on it and how this is going to affect the company.

Winner and NEW WWE World Champion: Roman Reigns

Dylan Diot: I really hope this match overachieves and the structuring of the match is going to be crucial as to whether the crowd completely craps all over Reigns or not. If they can pull off a spectacular match and Reigns either wins a brutal war or goes down swinging, then his run at top may be salvageable. This could be a huge disaster but I hope that somehow the WWE can right their wrongs over the past few months and we can cap off this WrestleMania on a high note. I can’t see them not going all the way with Reigns after the months of trying to get him over and I can’t picture a Rollins cash-in ending the show either, so I’ll take Reigns with a clean finish.

Winner and NEW WWE World Champion: Roman Reigns

Jack Bramma: And here we are. I’ve gone back and forth on this match so much over the last few days much less the past few weeks and months. Will Vince ride Reigns no matter what? Will they keep Brock as the unstoppable monster akin to Vader and have him go over the conquering hero to have him possibly go after Punk’s 434 day reign? Will Rollins cash in? Will Reigns turn heel and with Heyman’s help go over Brock like at SS02 when it was Show doing the same to Brock? Will Rock interfere to help Reigns win the belt thus setting up Rock/Brock for revenge? Will The Shield reunite to take out Lesnar as a unit? So many fantasy booking scenarios out there and only a few days to go. I’m just excited to see it go down. Reigns showed at Fast Lane that he is capable of being in a ****+ match, and Lesnar is one of the all-time great big man workers and power wrestlers. We could be in for something special if Reigns didn’t leave his boots in Daniel Bryan’s bags. My money is on the Reigns heel turn with Heyman’s help.

Winner and NEW WWE World Champion: Roman Reigns

Mathew Sforcina: So this match got a whole lot less predictable in a hurry. And yet… I really do feel for Reigns here. Dude could have been so many things, with just a little more time, or a better booking setup, or without other names overshadowing him… And the thing is, a loss here for Reigns would be wonders for him, allow him to actually connect to the crowd as he rebuilds and… But nope, he’s getting the nod. And he’ll never recover from it.

Winner, and NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns (Spear X1)

Mitch Nickelson: The original thought suggested that Reigns would defeat Lesnar at this WrestleMania in his ascent to the top of the company. Even though Brock has resigned with WWE and Roman is still in tepid waters of being over I think WWE will stick to plan A. It can be argued that WWE would change plans to put the title over on the wrestler who’s more over at the moment, but if WWE followed that train of logic even in the slightest then Daniel Bryan would be in this match.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Wyatt Beougher: Until Tuesday evening at approximately 6:45 pm, I assumed that this match was going to be the most boring, paint-by-numbers affair in the history of Wrestlemania – Lesnar was going to come in and dominate, only for Reigns to “Roman Up”, hit his three moves of doom (looking strong in the process), and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And while I’m not as sold as some other people that Brock re-signing with the WWE for another three years automatically means he’ll be retaining the championship, at this point, even the possibility of that happening is a boon for this match. It will actually have some of the drama that the Fast Lane main event was supposed to have, but after the lackluster Royal Rumble really didn’t. The ending of this match will determine whether Vince McMahon is motivated by money or ego – if Brock wins, it’s the former; if Reigns wins, it’s the latter. Because there has been precious little to be optimistic about during this Wrestlemania season, I’m choosing to be optimistic about this match. Seth Rollins gets involved in the ending somehow, but I think Lesnar still walks out with the title.

Winner: Brock Lesnar via F5

Sean Garmer: THOUGHTS: There has just been so much intrigue added to this match recently it has now gone from something many people were dreading to watch, to something they are dying to see. This could go so many ways and I think either one would be fine. However, you have to wonder if anything but Roman Reigns leaving Levi’s Stadium with the WWE Championship will hurt him permanently in the eyes of the fans. Vince McMahon has gone so far with Roman Reigns, can he really turn back now? Right before you pull the trigger on deciding whether or not he really is the future of the company. WWE now has two “get out of jail free” cards in Brock retaining and Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. I just don’t think Vince will wind up using either one here. I believe Roman Reigns is the champion at the end of the night and I think this match could surprise us. Brock generally doesn’t do that great without a ring general in there, but I think Reigns has grown from when he first started and he will definitely hold his own out there against the Beast Incarnate.

Winner AND NEW WWE WORLD CHAMPION: Roman Reigns (After second Spear in the match)

Overall Thoughts & PPV Interest Level (from 1 being the worst to 5 being the best)

Len Archibald: My interest level for this PPV is a 5: Should it be less than a 5? Does this make me an unashamed mark? Yes. Do I care? No. It is WrestleMania. I am a professional wrestling fanatic. No matter how lame the card or buildup is going in, once the day comes and the pyro explodes, I am hyped and caught up in the spectacle. Brock Lesnar’s new contract has added well-needed intrigue to the main event, while Seth Rollins lurks to make the ultimate name for himself. John Cena and Daniel Bryan have a chance to bring titles back to prominence and potentially steal the show. The Undertaker is back and Bray Wyatt may have his defining moment. STING IS AT WRESTLEMANIA. I can’t help it. It’s the showcase of the immortals. I can be a mark…Cuban, Anthony, Calloway or otherwise.

Jericho Ricardi: My interest level for this PPV is a 2: This is about as not-interested as I can remember ever being in a Wrestlemania show since I started watching, though WM29 was also pretty bland. Most of my interest comes from seeing Sting wrestle in a WWE ring, which is a big deal any way you slice it. I’d say the crowd should be really interesting too, but I’m not one of the people expecting an MSG-style smark reaction. They’ll be in California, so I’m expecting general apathy for most of the show once all of the faces people actually like are out of the way with the ladder match.

Paul Leazar: My interest level for this PPV is a 5: It’s Wrestlemania. Sure the build hasn’t been perfect for everything on the show (some of it has been down right awful at times), but I really want Wrestlemania 31 to a Mania we all look back at, point our fingers at it, and say, “That was the night the new generation of stars in the WWE was born.”. It may not have the giant feel that last year’s Mania has, but being the night something new started for the WWE as a whole is just as special.

MIke Hammerlock: My interest level for this PPV is a 3 out of 5: The “but it’s WrestleMania” argument doesn’t sway me. I’ve seen good WrestleManias and bad WrestleManias. It’s far from a guaranteed great show. For instance, I doubt this will measure up to New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom IX from January. I’m not saying that to be a snob, just to note where the bar is set. The WWE’s big event does not automatically set the standard anymore. So it takes more than putting a WWE card in a stadium and calling it WrestleMania to get my blood pumping. If we’re being fair, this Road to WrestleMania has been a catastrophe. Live audiences are not buying what Vince McMahon seemingly wants to sell. The storylines have been uninspired and the weekly wrestling product is as bad as it’s been in a long time. Seemingly, we are at a flashpoint for WWE booking vs. fans. That’s actually one of the reasons I’m at a 3 and not a 2. We could see a WrestleMania takeover. As I noted above, if John Cena wins and the crowd buries him while he’s wrapped figuratively, or literally, in the American flag, then it’s on. Another thing this card has going for it is talent. We saw this at last year’s WrestleMania. Give these folks some time and some decent booking and they can deliver. As bad as it could be, the talent could save the day. Mind you, I made the exact same point about the most recent TLC and that did not go well. Finally, there is a saving grace even if the show is one giant turd. If Seth Rollins cashes in at the end, that’s going to mindscrub the previous four hours. Everyone in the stadium and in TV land will go ballistic for that. It’s a Get Out of Jail Free card. The only way to screw it up would be to have Rollins cash in and fail, particularly to Reigns. That happens and I hope someone tips off the Santa Clara riot squad, as it may be needed. Yet I refuse to believe the WWE is that stupid. So hopefully we get the payoff of Rollins stealing the spotlight at the end of the night. It really is the main story they’ve been telling ever since the Shield rupture.

Kevin Pantoja: My interest level for this PPV is a 3: It’s Wrestlemania so I’m at least somewhat excited but the build to this show has been difficult to watch at times. The big matches don’t interest me much and honestly, if it wasn’t part of my WWE Network $9.99 package, I would not order as I don’t feel it is worth the $70+ price tag. The only time I’ve done that was for WM29. Still though, it’s Mania and I have hopes that they can surprise me and put on a great show.

Gary Vaughan: My interest in this PPV is a 4 This year’s Wrestlemania card is good ,but not great. You have a top heavy card with only a ladder match of value to balance out the card. The two pre-show matches are not strong, the Divas match means very little, and your hope is that the battle royal is more than a low man on the totum poll match. In the end though, I think the show will be great and the time you spend on it will feel worth it.

Daniel Anderson: My Interest Level for this PPV is 2.5: This is Wrestlemania, and hopefully it is a good show. The show had the potential to be a good show. Sadly, the main event does not excite me, and that is what helps get me really excited for Wrestlemania. The undercard looks good, but in the last few years, that has fallen short. At this point, I tend to be pessimistic when it comes to outlooks, but I always enjoy sitting around with friends and watching, so no matter how bad, it will be fun. If the undercard lives up to its potential, then this will be a good Wrestlemania.

Jeremy Lambert: My interest level for this PPV is a 5: I’m pretty excited because it is Wrestlemania and it’s only $9.99. I’m not sure I’d pay $70 for this thing, but the fact that I’m getting it very cheap makes it hard for me to complain. The build hasn’t been great, but there’s still some intrigue and you know everyone works extra hard on this day. I have no problem in admitting that I’m a mark and still get excited for Wrestlemania, even if it doesn’t look like it’ll be a home run show.

Michael Weyer: My Interest Level for this PPV is 4.0: Look, it’s WrestleMania, biggest show of the year and we know we’ll want to watch. If nothing else, we’ll want to see the Reigns title change and how the reaction to it will unfold. But it has promise with Sting/HHH, the ladder bout and more. We can argue the reasons of the main event but the time has come to at least see if it works or not. It’s the show that shifts the entire landscape of WWE for a year so we’ll need to watch anyhow if only to bitch about it.

Dylan Diot: My Interest Level for this PPV is a 2: This is the least interested I have been in a WrestleMania since WrestleMania 22. The build up to this show has boring, poor, and really has been consistent with what the WWE has been producing over the last ten months. I think this will end up being the best non-NXT show in some time because the in-ring work will be really good, but I just don’t have the level of excitement that I normally have for a WrestleMania, which is a shame.

Jack Bramma: My Interest Level for this PPV is 4.5: From a distance, I see all the reasons to be lukewarm on this show, but I’m in full mark mode this week. Bring on Mania 31.

Mathew Sforcina: My interest level for this PPV is a 4: This is a show that, seen independently from all the stuff around it, it’ll probably be a good enough event on a wrestling level. But the storylines around it, that’s the real kicker. This PPV could be the start of a real shift with youth being front and center. Or, it could suck, and be only remembered for the Death of Reigns. We’ll have to wait and see…

Mitch Nickelson: My interest level for this PPV is a 3 out of 5: The build is way lower this year compared to many previous WrestleManias but I’m moderately optimistic. There are few matches where I’m totally certain what will happen so I have intrigue. Not too many look like they’ll be match of the year contenders but I do think there can be great moments.

Wyatt Beougher: My interest level for this PPV is a 3: if this were any PPV other than Wrestlemania, it would be a 1, and if Lesnar hadn’t announced his re-signing, thereby casting some doubt on the outcome of the main event, it would still only be a 2. And that’s the most damning indictment I can make about WWE thus far in 2015 – the Road to Wrestlemania has inspired mostly apathy, instead of the excitement that it should’ve. They’ve already got my ten bucks, though, and it’s an excuse to get together with some friends, so I’ll make the best of it.

Sean Garmer: My interest level for this PPV is a 5: Yeah the build was kind of Meh throughout, but they stepped it up the last two weeks. With this week of just waiting for it to happen, I’m gonna get pumped up and I will be really excited by the time the PPV rolls around. It’s Wrestlemania baby and I find it hard to believe by the time we get to the first match, you won’t be really excited too.

Well, that is all for this month everyone. Don’t forget to leave us your thoughts and predictions below in the comments and we will see you again in April for Extreme Rules.

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