{"id":17410,"date":"2015-04-03T20:25:10","date_gmt":"2015-04-03T10:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=17410"},"modified":"2016-01-14T20:57:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T10:57:05","slug":"wrestlemania-xxxi-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=17410","title":{"rendered":"Wrestlemania XXXI Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tagwwe\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"wm31\"<\/a><\/p>\n

W<\/span>restlemania XXXI<\/em> was a show that had a lousy build up. \u00a0Three of the main event matches (Triple H vs Sting, Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt, Lesnar vs Reigns) featured part time talent that either appeared infrequently during the lead up to the show or in the case of The Undertaker – not at all. \u00a0There was all manner of problems anticipated with the World Heavyweight Championship match due to the fans rejection\u00a0of Reigns as a main event babyface. \u00a0It looked like a wobbly card to say the least.<\/p>\n

Happily, what we got was a surprisingly decent show. \u00a0The outdoor stadium setting gave the show a special feeling about it\u00a0that was evocative of the classic pay per view\u00a0Summerslam 92<\/em> from Wembley Stadium. \u00a0As has been the case in recent years, the WWE succeeded in packing out a monster sized stadium and brought the event to life with an enormous set and elaborate ring entrances. \u00a0The ‘Superbowl’ feel of\u00a0Wrestlemania<\/em> has never been done better.<\/p>\n

As for the matches themselves, here’s a breakdown of the show and my two cents on how it went down.<\/p>\n

\"wm31ladder\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wade Barrett (c) vs Daniel Bryan vs Stardust vs Dolph Ziggler vs Dean Ambrose vs R-Truth vs Luke Harper<\/strong>
\nIntercontinental Championship Ladder Match<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The show opened with the multi man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. \u00a0Although there were plenty of handy workers in this match and it was a well organized spotfest that transitioned smoothly from moment to moment, it never really hit the heights of the best Money In The Bank ladder matches in years gone past, let alone the famous TLC match from\u00a0Wrestlemania X7<\/em>. \u00a0In some respects, I don’t mind that the company has moved away from the arms race to perform dangerous moves multiple times over. \u00a0Particularly when I have little faith that they’ll succeed in recovering the lost prestige of the IC title. \u00a0As expected, Daniel Bryan won which was a wise booking choice to ensure the fans started the show in high spirits.<\/p>\n

Bryan is an excellent worker and some observers have pinned their hopes on him being the man to restore a bit of lustre to the belt by defending it regularly against all-comers – ala Bret Hart in the Nineties. \u00a0Whether the WWE have thought that far ahead, we shall see.<\/p>\n

Who I Said Would Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Daniel Bryan
\nWho Did Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Daniel Bryan<\/p>\n

\"wm31rollinsorton\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This match did not disappoint. \u00a0A recent sabbatical appears to have done wonders for Randy Orton’s motivation as he put in a solid match with Seth Rollins. \u00a0The two wrestlers threw everything at each other in a match that succeeded in elevating the stature of both men. \u00a0In the end, Orton picked up the win after a sensational curb-stomp counter into an RKO. \u00a0Rollins flying skyward and being caught on the way down by Orton was one of the memorable moments of the night.<\/p>\n

Of course, hours later, we’d find out that it wouldn’t take long for Rollins to bounce back from this loss.<\/p>\n

Who Should Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Seth Rollins
\nWho Did Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Randy Orton<\/p>\n

\"wm31cenarusev\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Rusev (c) vs John Cena<\/strong>
\nUnited States Title<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rusev vs Cena will probably be remembered more for the entrances than the match itself which didn’t quite live up to the standard set at\u00a0Fast Lane<\/em> a month prior. \u00a0Rusev had a glorious entrance which involved a military parade setting the scene before the Bulgarian Brute arrived in a tank with Lana in tow, draped in fur. \u00a0Cena himself had a standard entrance but not before the WWE ran a patriotic propaganda video trumpeting American Values with footage of soldiers, star spangled banners and speeches from the likes of Reagan and Bush. \u00a0It was a magnificent piece of theatre to set the stage for this clash of nations.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the match itself didn’t quite live up to its billing. \u00a0I couldn’t really fault anyone in particular. \u00a0For some reason the match never quite clicked into that fifth gear and ended rather abruptly when Rusev accidentally bumped into Lana and turned into an Attitude Adjustment for the one, two, three. \u00a0Cena won the US title on the eleventh\u00a0anniversary of his maiden US\u00a0title win over Big Show at\u00a0Wrestlemania XX<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who Should Win: \u00a0<\/strong>John Cena
\nWho Did Win: \u00a0<\/strong>John Cena<\/p>\n

\"wm31stinghhh\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sting vs Triple H<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The weirdest and most unintentionally funny entrance of the night must surely go to Triple H for his incredibly cheesy Terminator get up. \u00a0Not far off it was Sting’s weird Oriental themed entrance which was simply puzzling. \u00a0The match itself was a gloriously overbooked schmozzle. \u00a0The crowd had plenty of appreciation for Sting and he won them over, throwing the best dropkick one could reasonably expected a 56 year old man to do.<\/p>\n

The match descended into chaos when DX interfered on Triple H’s behalf and continuity was thrown out the window when the nWo came to Sting’s defence. \u00a0In the end, Triple H picked up the win when he struck Sting with a sledgehammer who was charging at him in an attempt to hit the Stinger Splash.<\/p>\n

I started laughing when the ending went down. \u00a0Once upon a time, Triple H earned the ire of wrestling fans with his selfish booking and refusal to do the job when it made sense to do so. \u00a0He’s built up a lot of good will in recent times thanks to his involvement in the excellent NXT program but it amazes me how little has changed when he books himself in matches. \u00a0Triple H is no longer a full time wrestler but in recent years he has gone over CM Punk (right when he was red hot), Brock Lesnar and now Sting. \u00a0I have no idea why he is still so obsessed with putting himself over. \u00a0What has he got to prove?<\/p>\n

Wrestlemania XXXI<\/em> also featured another time honoured Triple H idiosyncrasy – he likes to play to the audience at his own convenience. \u00a0On this show, he wrestled as a heel, gave a post-match handshake to Sting as a babyface (even though he just cheated to win) and then less than an hour later, resumed his mantle as a heel when he was involved in a twenty minute promo with The Rock. \u00a0Never change, Triple H. \u00a0Never change.<\/p>\n

Who I Said Would\u00a0Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Sting
\nWho Did Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Triple H<\/p>\n

\"wm31divas\"<\/a><\/p>\n

AJ Lee and Paige vs The Bella Twins<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thanks to a twenty minute promo with The Rock and Triple H and two musical interludes, this match got a whopping six minutes.<\/p>\n

Who I Said Win: \u00a0<\/strong>AJ Lee and Paige
\nWho Did Win: \u00a0<\/strong>AJ Lee and Paige<\/p>\n

\"wm31takerbray\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Considering that the guy only works one match a year, The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt was a curiously understated affair with the match not receiving any sort of pre-match video package or interviews from the Dead Man. \u00a0How does he feel about the loss to Brock Lesnar. \u00a0What does this match mean to him? \u00a0How much longer does he intend to wrestle? \u00a0We’ve no idea. \u00a0He just came in, worked a completely passable but unremarkable match with Wyatt, picked up the win and went home. \u00a0Strange to say the least.<\/p>\n

Who I Said Would\u00a0Win: \u00a0<\/strong>The Undertaker
\nWho Did\u00a0Win: \u00a0<\/strong>The Undertaker<\/p>\n

\"wm31lesnarreigns\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Brock Lesnar (c) vs Roman Reigns<\/strong>
\nWWE World Heavyweight Championship<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

I think you can make a pretty good case for Brock Lesnar being one of the best big men ever to step in the ring. \u00a0He works a unique, MMA influenced style that makes him stand out from everyone else. \u00a0His matches have an intensity that make you sit up and take notice. \u00a0His moveset is absolutely brutal looking. \u00a0He isn’t afraid to sell and bump like a madman to get his opponent over.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Wrestlemania XXXI<\/em> main event is another feather in the cap for Lesnar who absolutely monstered Roman Reigns from the opening bell, hitting his signature F5 within a minute of the match. \u00a0He continued to absolutely destroy Reigns and carry the match. \u00a0Reigns for his part took the beating admirably and may have won over some fans with the Tommy Dreamer-esque beating that he received.<\/p>\n

Reigns’ big comeback at the end of the match was made all the more effective thanks to Lesnar busting his head open the hard way when he bumped against\u00a0the ring post. \u00a0Lesnar appeared punch-drunk and wore the proverbial crimson mask which made the spectacle of Roman Reigns’ last gasp assault look all the more spectacular. \u00a0Alas, it wasn’t to be for Reigns as Seth Rollins’ music hit Levis Stadium and the crown jewel of The Authority stormed the ring and made Wrestlemania history by being the first person to cash in the Money In The Bank contract, delivering a curb stomp to Reigns and stealing the title away from Lesnar.<\/p>\n

It was a spectacular match with a thrilling finish that helped raise the overall stature of the show.<\/p>\n

Who I Said Would\u00a0Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Roman Reigns
\nWho Will Win: \u00a0<\/strong>Seth Rollins<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The WWE have had a pretty dismal 2014 where they failed to capitalize on the potential of a lot of their new stars. \u00a0In isolation, this\u00a0Wrestlemania<\/em> was an excellent show with no dud matches and plenty of highlights. \u00a0The fact remains that there are still a lot of problems with the company which seems dangerously reliant on ever-aging stars of yesteryear to fill the top of the card. \u00a0The stakes will only get higher in the next twelve months as the company will be hosting\u00a0Wrestlemania XXXII<\/em>\u00a0at AT&T Stadium in Texas which has a capacity of 100,000 people. \u00a0Naturally, the likes of The Rock and The Undertaker will be leveraged to help put bums on seats but you have to believe that they’ll need to pull the trigger on the likes of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan and others to sell the place out and move the WWE into the future. \u00a0Time will tell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An excellent main event rounded off what was a better than expected Wrestlemania<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":17411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[350,2071,495,2217,2216],"class_list":["post-17410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-brock-lesnar","tag-seth-rollins","tag-wrestlemania","tag-wrestlemania-31","tag-wrestlemania-xxxi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17415,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17410\/revisions\/17415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}