wrestling / Video Reviews

Pantoja’s RetrospectiveMania Series: WrestleMania 31

May 8, 2024 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja

Image Credit: WWE

WWE WrestleMania 31
March 29th, 2015 | Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California | Attendance: 67,000

Things for WrestleMania XXX started with a Royal Rumble that upset fans and then we had a rocky, sometimes nonsensical road to the big show. WWE ended up repeating that in 2015 with an all-time bad Rumble and a build for Brock vs. Roman that nobody seemed to want. My main memory involves Roman and Brock playing tug-o-war with the WWE Title but nearly every match received a poor build. Despite that, I do remember this show ultimately delivering so it’ll be interesting to see how it holds up.

As a reminder, I’m reliving these WrestleManias and rating them on a 1-10 scale in these seven categories. They’ll be ranked by their total score.

• Match quality – Self-explanatory. Will always be the longest section.
• Memorability – How memorable is the show?
• Historical significance – The impact the show had on wrestling
• Booking decisions – Did the event have logical booking decisions for the stories they told
• Presentation – Things like stage setup, video packages, commentary, etc.
• Pacing/Flow – How well is the show laid out? Does it drag or move along smoothly?
• Entertainment – The non-wrestling elements like promos, celebrity interaction, concerts, etc.

Match Quality

WWE Tag Team Championship: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro [c] vs. Los Matadores vs. The New Day vs. The Usos ~ For the second straight year, the tag titles are on the Kickoff Show in a four-way bout. Again, this isn’t available on Peacock or even on YouTube so I had to watch a version uploaded by someone who isn’t WWE. I miss Kidd and Cesaro. One of the best short-lived teams in history. Like last year’s Kickoff match, this was a lot of fun and was filled with action. The champs worked so well together and had some great spots, New Day was just starting to come into their own, Los Matadores did well enough, and The Usos had a story surrounding Jey leaving with an injury only to come back. There were some tropey spots like the Tower of Doom and I didn’t love the finish of Jey hitting the splash only for Cesaro to blind tag in, dump him, and steal the pin. That said, this was a really enjoyable 9:51. I can’t ask for much more than that from a Kickoff match. [***½]

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal ~ The first of these was a success as a match even if the push afterward failed. We’re still on the Kickoff Show so I still don’t have access to this match. I feel like Peacock needs to fix that. Anyway, I hated this the first time I saw it because I was really annoyed by the outcome. Big Show was on a tear of awful and him winning here sucked. The match before it also wasn’t any good. It was your standard battle royal with the only notable spots being Curtis Axel ripping of his AXELMANIA shirt to start and getting eliminated, Show stopping a repeat of last year with Cesaro, and Damien Mizdow tossing out The Miz. That left it down to him and Show and the crowd really wanted Damien but Show dumped him to win in 18:05. Not the DUD I once considered it but also pretty bad. [*]

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Bad News Barrett [c] vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. R-Truth vs. Stardust ~ The build for this, like a lot of the show, was putrid with guys just stealing the title for…reasons. Say what I will about the booking but the match itself delivered (a trend on this show from what I remember). This is a clusterfuck in the best sense as everyone gets a chance to shine even if they are lower on the card like Truth or Stardust. The crowd was also way into it given the popular of Bryan and Ambrose (and Ziggler to a lesser extent). A few things they tried missed the mark like Stardust bringing out his own ladder which was just a regular ladder that was bedazzled. Ambrose took the biggest bump of the match when Harper powerbombed him through a ladder. It looked vicious and was the most memorable moment of the match. I also liked how they reignited the Harper/Ziggler rivalry from late in 2014. It was a good rivalry that deserved a bit of shine here. They also did a good job of teasing the wins by several people, including giving us a Bryan close call before his actual win. In the end though, it was Bryan who pulled down the title, capping a very strong official opener at 13:47. Entertaining from start to finish. [***¾]

Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins ~ My favorite thing about this program was how it focused on the past vs. the present. Rollins was the new rising heel under Triple H’s tutelage just as Orton was a decade prior. A lot of the action was built around that early as Seth had an answer for most of what Orton did for two reasons. One was that he was quicker and the other was that he had years to study Orton. That forced Randy to rely on his veteran knowhow to combat Seth and bust out unexpected things like a suplex variation I rarely see him do. That then forced Seth to do something out of the box with a gorgeous springboard moonsault. I liked the first RKO Orton did but really wish Seth got his foot on the bottom rope instead of kicking out. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like overdoing finisher kick outs. The same goes for Orton getting up from a Curb Stomp. Thankfully, the finish of this is GOAT-tier as I legitimately believe this is the best RKO ever. Better than catching Evan Bourne or Chad Gable off the top. Orton countered the Curb Stomp by lifting his head and launching Seth high into the air before hitting one to win in 13:15. A hell of a match and this show is off to a rocking start. [****]

Sting vs. Triple H ~ Absolutely wild to see Sting in a WWE ring. Commentary immediately started with “THIS ISN’T STARRCADE, IT’S WRESTLEMANIA.” Guys, we get it. WWE won the war. Sting shocked HHH a lot at the start of this by doing things like overpowering him or no selling and firing up. The kind of spots Sting did masterfully during his AEW run. JBL on commentary “This is where we find out if Sting was all that good to begin with.” Why is WWE like this? Sting was taking a beating but then rallied and applied the Scorpion Death Lock. Since this was No DQ though, DX’s theme hit and out came X-Pac and the New Age Outlaws. Strange choice but whatever. The match took a huge turn for the worse though when the nWo arrived to help Sting. HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? STING WAS THE NWO’S BIGGEST RIVAL! This was just “let’s pop the crowd with cheap nostalgia” even if it’s illogical. The old men brawled outside while HHH survived the Scorpion Death Lock and got help from a Shawn Michael Sweet Chin Music. The only cool spot after was when Sting broke the sledgehammer with his bat. HHH still used part of it to hit Sting and win in 18:36. That sucked harder than I remembered. The action itself was bad, it made no sense, and the booking was even worse. [*]

AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins ~ It’s the year 2024 and I’m shocked to say that Paige is my least favorite of the four. I was all in on her in 2013-2014, I’ve grown to really like the Bellas, and AJ Lee is only behind Mercedes Moné for my favorite female wrestler ever. The idea here was that Paige and AJ weren’t exactly friends but they’d come together to take out a common enemy. This was a standard tag with Paige playing face in peril as AJ was knocked off the apron. The Bellas used tandem offense to wear her down until the big tag came to AJ, who lit up Nikki Bella. Paige took care of Brie, allowing AJ to make Nikki tap to the Black Widow in 6:42. Like Is aid, standard tag that was fine. I also love AJ so I’ll give it a slight boost. Sue me. [**½]

WWE United States Championship: Rusev [c] vs. John Cena ~ Rusev came out in a tank, which is five stars on its own. Alas, once the bell rang, this wasn’t a five star match but that’s okay. They ultimately put on a solid match here even if it was kind of basic. Rusev overpowered Cena a lot at the start only for the great veteran to weather the storm with his usual array of offense including the Five Knuckle Shuffle and diving Fameasser. Rusev took back over and held serve for a while, making sure to talk trash along the way and berate both Cena and the United States. I say it whenever I see it but Cena’s STF has always looked so bad. When Rusev applied the Accolade, commentary had to play up how nobody had ever broken the hold before. Of course, that meant Cena had to break the Accolade by powering up and backing Rusev into the corner. Soon after Cena debuted his springboard Stunner, Rusev accidentally knocked Lana off the apron and Cena hit the AA to win the title in 14:31. Better than I remembered. Just a good solid match that did what it needed to and gave Cena the big first win over Rusev. [***]

Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker ~ I think this was a good idea on paper but in execution, it missed the mark, especially since Undertaker wasn’t there for any of the build. They kind of just had the stereotypical Undertaker match for his Mania runs but on a much smaller, less impressive scale. Undertaker was only two years removed from the great match with Punk but you could tell he’d never hit that peak again. Most of the actual action itself was mundane and didn’t stand out but what did were the character moments. Bray trying to be spooky against the master. The standout moment was certainly Bray doing his creepy walk only for Taker to do his signature sit-up right in his face. A few of spots throughout looked a bit awkward but again, I get it given who was involved. I do think they went to the typical finisher kickout stuff that wasn’t needed here. It fit in epics against HBK and HHH but this wasn’t that. Both guys survived each other’s finishers before Undertaker won with a Tombstone in 15:12. Largely fine. [**½]

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Brock Lesnar [c] vs. Roman Reigns ~ The reaction coming into this was pretty negative so it was interesting to see how the live crowd would handle it. Roman came out hot and cut Brock early but Brock responded with suplexes and an early F5, showing what kind of match this would be. Brock kicked Roman’s ass from start to finish with Roman’s best defense just being him smiling and trying to show that he wasn’t afraid or overwhelmed. That aspect of the match didn’t work for me. It felt like they were trying too hard to make Roman seem tough. He’d get in a handful of hope spots and they’d be impactful but a suplex would just shut him right back down. That aspect worked better. Roman really got going when Brock hit the ring post outside and got busted open. He hit some Superman Punches and Spears, making fans believe this would be the expected comeback victory. Brock caught him with one more F5 and both men were down, which is when Seth Rollins’s music hit to a huge pop. He cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to make this a triple threat match. He hit Brock with a Curb Stomp but had the second countered only for Roman to hit Brock with a Spear. That sent Brock outside, Seth planted Roman with the Curb Stomp and won the title in 16:43. One of my favorite finishes to a match ever and one of the better Mania main events. [****¼]

For a show with a terrible build, they delivered in the ring. There are only two matches I’d consider bad (Sting/HHH and the battle royal), a few that are solid enough (Bray/Taker, women’s tag), and then some really good ones (Orton/Rollins, Reigns/Brock, Ladder Match, Tag Titles). It adds up to a strong night of wrestling.

SCORE: 8.0

Memorability

While it’s a very good show in the ring, there are only a few bits of this show that stand out as truly memorable. First, there’s that finish to Orton/Rollins. We’ve seen some great RKOs over the years but for my money, this one on Seth is the best ever. Even if you disagree, it’s one that most people remember and is a highlight of Orton’s career. There’s also the simple sight of seeing Sting at a Mania and the Bray/Undertaker situp spot. Of course, the most memorable piece of this show was the ending, with Seth Rollins pulling off “the heist of the century.” It’s among the best Mania endings ever, was something we’d never seen before, and gave us a legendary soundbite.

SCORE: 7.0

Historical Significance

Sting wrestling on this show was easily the most historic bit of it all. That’s something nobody thought we’d ever see yet there he was in a ring at a WrestleMania. Seth being the first (and still the only) person to cash in during Mania, and in the main event of all places, stands out. This show also marked the first time that Ronda Rousey was in a WWE ring, as well as the final Mania for AJ Lee since she retired just a few days later. Not a huge score here but it does well.

SCORE: 6.5

Booking Decisions

Let’s get the terrible out of the way, Sting losing is one of the dumbest booking decisions in WWE history and that’s saying something. On top of that, the match made no sense either with the interference being there purely for a nostalgia pop rather than because it helped the match or was even logical. Otherwise those, I think this was a well-booked night of wrestling. Bryan winning the IC Title was a good call, Cena ending Rusev’s undefeated streak made sense, and even Bray losing was fine because it was The Undertaker. I really liked Orton winning because it set up Seth’s first title contender perfectly. Seth cashing in also saved the main event because it gave the crowd something to positively react to.

SCORE: 7.0

Presentation

WrestleManias that take place in the daytime look cool because they stand out. I think it doesn’t work for The Undertaker’s entrance or even Bray Wyatt’s but overall it was good. The stage was good, though not one of the more creative ones in history. Where this show excelled was with the entrances. Even if Sting’s drum entrance was weird and Triple H’s Terminator one was corny, there was at least an effort put into them. Rusev had a tank which was awesome and the sheer idea of Bray Wyatt’s with the scarecrows was really cool. Again, another good rating here.

SCORE: 8.0

Pacing/Flow

I think this event mostly rolled along smoothly with a few hiccups. They probably should’ve moved Orton/Seth a bit down the card because it started with two really strong matches and then hit a bit of a lull before picking back up late. The concert wasn’t long but almost always hurts the flow of a PPV. The biggest problem here was the Rock/Ronda Rousey segment. It went on for nearly 30 minutes.

SCORE: 7.0

Entertainment

I may not have been a big fan of the Rock/Rousey segment but the crowd ate it up so it clearly succeeded on some level. A lot of the stuff for this category otherwise was good but not really memorable. There’s an LL Cool J narrated opening segment that I totally forgot existed and it was fine. Aloe Blacc did well enough with “America the Beautiful” and the mid-show concert was also solid enough. Other than that, we had a backstage segment with former Intercontinental Champions that was a nice idea even if it was a bit cringe.

SCORE: 7.0

Overall

I had some low expectations for this show but it turned out to be one of the better Manias I can recall. The matches mostly delivered, the presentation was strong and, at least through 31 iterations of these, this sits right on the brink of the top 10. That’s impressive.

TOTAL: 50.5/70

WrestleMania Rankings
1. WrestleMania XXX – 62.5/70
2. WrestleMania XIX – 62/70
3. WrestleMania X-Seven – 61/70
4. WrestleMania XXIV – 59/70
5. WrestleMania III – 55/70
6. WrestleMania 21 – 52.5/70
7. WrestleMania X – 52/70
8. WrestleMania 23 – 51/70
9. WrestleMania VIII – 50.5/70
10. WrestleMania 31 – 50.5/70
11. WrestleMania XX – 50/70
12. WrestleMania I – 50/70
13. WrestleMania XII – 48.5/70
14. WrestleMania 22 – 48/70
15. WrestleMania VII – 46/70
16. WrestleMania XIV – 46/70
17. WrestleMania XXVIII – 45/70
18. WrestleMania XXVI – 44/70
19. WrestleMania VI – 44/70
20. WrestleMania XXV – 43.5/70
21. WrestleMania XXVII – 43.5/70
22. WrestleMania X8 – 43.5/70
23. WrestleMania 2000 – 39.5/70
24. WrestleMania V – 39/70
25. WrestleMania 13 – 37/70
26. WrestleMania 29 – 35.5/70
27. WrestleMania XV – 35/70
28. WrestleMania IV – 32/70
29. WrestleMania XI – 31.5/70
30. WrestleMania IX – 31.5/70
31. WrestleMania II – 29/70