Wrestlemania 31 Reaction
In the lead up to this years edition of Wrestlemania I will admit my hopes were not very high given the lacklustre build up since Summerslam last year. Over the past six month it has felt like the WWE creative team and their audience have been embroiled in a back and forth shouting match with WWE seemingly trying to tell the audience what to like rather than listening to the reactions and catering storylines accordingly.
Preshow Matches:
WWE Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way (Kidd/Cesaro (c) v The Usos v The New Day v Los Matadores)
This was a fun high energy match that perfectly suited to opening the show and immediately getting the crowd hyped up. As was the theme for multiple matches throughout this card a lack of storyline ahead of the match really hurt the atmosphere.
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
It seems that this match will become a staple of the Wrestlemania card moving forward and is a nice way to get multiple names on the card to get a nice payday however the match was really lacklustre. Heading into this match the only two storylines of any consequence were the growing tension between The Miz and Mizdow and also Curtis Axel’s Axelmanoia so I felt one of those had to be some of the favourites. It was great to see the tension between Miz and Mizdow finally boil over but I think it would have been much more affective had it occurred immediately after the pair teamed up to eliminate Big Show. Mildew could have used the prestige associated with the victory much more than Big Show.
Main Card Matches:
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match (Barrett (c) v Ambrose v R-Truth v Ziggler v Bryan v Harper v Stardust)
During the entrances Barrett quickly caught my attention looking more lean and ripped than ever before, he will rise up the card quickly with this look.
Throughout the match there were many memorable moments which included each superstar hitting a dive onto the rest of the group of competitors and culminated with Ambrose hitting an elbow drop from a ladder onto the pack. Later in the match Barrett had his moment superplexing Stardust from a ladder.
Harper then seized his chance to stand out with a brutal powerbomb spot on Ambrose over the top rope onto a ladder spanning the gap between the ring and barricade.
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The match ended with a very Japanese strong style type spot atop the ladder with Ziggler and Bryan trading headbutts until Bryan eventually came out on top and claimed the victory.
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This result immediately reestablishes prestige to the Intercontinental Title with it once again being held by the best in-ring worker on the roster.
Orton v Rollins
Orton approaching the ring wearing his old Evolution ring gear, elbow pads included, initially threw me off but the pair quickly got my attention back. The most memorable moment here was the closing sequence with Rollins attempting the Curb Stomp only for Orton to pop him up into the air and hit the RKO for the win.
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Given the result later in the night this booking decision was a questionable choice.
Sting v HHH
Next up was one of the few matches with a lengthy build prior to the show. Stings entrance didn't make a lot of sense to me as I feel the Japanese drummers didn't fit with the Sting character, I would have much preferred to see Sting enter via a zip-line ala the old WCW days.
The decision to make this match a total nostalgia moment was a brilliant decision, although I couldn't wrap my head around why the nWo would help their arch nemesis from the WCW days in Sting. During the match we had appearances by both the nWo and DeGeneration X, the only thing missing was an appearance from Ric Flair who has a lengthy history with both men. The end to the match was a little flat and seemingly came out of nowhere.
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AJ & Paige v The Bellas
This was one of the best divas matches on a Wrestlemania card in years, although I feel it would have been even better as a fatal 4-way for the Divas Championship. The psychology of the match was also a touch off with AJ selling a shot on the floor as though she was legitimately knocked out for much of the much to only return, clear house & pick up the win.
United States Championship Match (Rusev (c) v Cena)
Rusev was made to look like a star even before this match started with a memorable entrance featuring a group of Russian soldiers accompanying Lana while Rusev entered atop a tank.
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During the match Rusev maintained his dominance and looked strong for the majority of the match with the only reason for his loss being a distraction from Lana as he crashed into her on the apron.
With both Cena and Bryan now holding the secondary championships we can expect a restoration of prestige and rejuvenation of the divisions. Following this result I was assuming that Lesnar was going to retain in the main event as they now had legitimate main event stars that could potentially main event shows while holding secondary titles.
Undertaker v Wyatt
Once again a young up and coming star was made to look like a star just with his entrance as he walked to the ring bringing scarecrows to life as he did so.
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This wasn't one of the Undertaker’s typical show stealing matches but given the result last year I wasn't expecting him to do so, just seeing him this year was enough. In hindsight this result was rather obvious given another loss for the Undertaker would have totally destroyed Lesnar’s “the 1 in 21-1” gimmick.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match (Lesnar v Reigns)
From the outset this match was worked extremely stiff with Lesnar being split open beside his eye in the opening exchange. As the match went on the “fight” atmosphere continued and at points the line between work and shoot were blurred. Highlights included Lesnar shouting “Suplex city bitch” at Reigns following one of many duplexes and also Lesnar bleeding profusely following a shot to the ring post, given the location of this laceration I can only assume Lesnar ‘bladed’ and would have been reprimanded appropriately.
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The ultimate highlight of the match though came when Seth Rollins ran down to the ring to cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase mid-match, something which has never been done before.
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Whilst many fans had been predicting a cash in attempt prior to the show I don’t believe anybody envisioned it in this fashion. This result was a stroke of genius by the WWE creative team to solve the problem of a part-time World Champion and a challenger that the WWE fanbase had seemingly not yet accepted as credible.
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Other Notable Moments:
J & J face-off with The Stooges
With Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury serving as a modern take on the stooges it was a really fun moment for long time fans of pro wrestling tosee them face off with the originals in a short backstage segment.
The Authority (HHH & Stephanie McMahon) Face Off With The Rock & Ronda Rousey
The Authority come out to gloat about the attendance for Wrestlemania only to be interrupted by The Rock and as expected electrifying comedy gold followed. Following a verbal berating from Stephanie The Rock would retreat momentarily before recruiting Rousey from the front row for back up. This was a fun filled segment culminating in The Rock attacking and disposing of HHH before Stephanie and Rousey would get physical which fans can only hope is the foundation being laid for a potential Stephanie v Rousey match at Wrestlemania 32.
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Overall this was a fun show throughout with very few low points and plenty of fresh new storylines potentially being opened up heading into Monday Night Raw tomorrow.
All gifs created by and credit goes to @SenorLARIATO
Once again thanks for reading and as always I love to hear readers thoughts on Twitter @Appsy_JAM or Facebook on my page J.A.M.