Everything you needed to know about WrestleMania 31, Sunday night, March 29, from Levi’s Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
Main Event: WWE champion Brock Lesnar defends against #1 contender Roman Reigns
Preview: Reigns became #1 contender by winning the Royal Rumble. The sense since SummerSlam was that Reigns was being groomed to win the belt at WrestleMania, but tepid fan reaction to his elevation, and the news that Lesnar has signed a multi-year extension with WWE, has us wondering who will emerge victorious at the end of the night.
Prediction: Lesnar retains his title
Legends Collide: Sting vs. Triple H
Preview: Sting was the face of WCW, and his WM 31 match marks his first in-ring effort in WWE after a long run in TNA. Triple H, the face of The Authority, has referenced Sting’s long-term departure from the mainstream wrestling scene in a series of worked shoots.
Prediction: Sting
The Dead Man Riseth: Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
Preview: The mystique is no longer about The Streak. Undertaker makes his first appearance in a WWE ring since his 21-match unbeaten streak at WrestleMania came to a shocking end at WM 30. It’s a compelling matchup with Wyatt, the logical sideshow successor to ‘Taker.
Prediction: Undertaker
U.S. Title Match: U.S. champ Rusev defends against John Cena
Preview: Rusev already owns a pay-per-view victory over Cena, but it’s hard to imagine Cena taking the fall two straight times. Though it’s also hard to imagine what WWE is going to do with Cena holding a second-tier title belt.
Prediction: Cena wins the U.S. title
Grudge Match: Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
Preview: This one between the former teammates in The Authority has been in the making for months in one of the better extended storylines from WWE creative for this WrestleMania. No title on the line, but fans still want to see Rollins get his comeuppance for months of a brilliant run as the company’s top heel.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Give Divas a Chance: A.J. Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins
Preview: Nice psychology with the discord between Lee and Paige sewn at the go-home Monday Night Raw earlier in the week. It would be nice to leave this one with a seeds to the next series of Divas feuds having been planted.
Prediction: The Bellas
Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: I-C champ Bad News Barrett defends against Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, R-Truth, Stardust and Luke Harper
Preview: This has the feeling off the top of being a cluster, but given the participants should be quite entertaining, with tons of high spots that will have fans chanting “This is awesome!” at least a couple of times.
Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins the I-C title
Pre-show: The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Title Match
Preview: The battle royal was moved to the pre-show earlier in the week, which tells us WWE creative thinks it needs more time for some sort of surprise on the main show. These two matches were basically warmups anyway. And an excuse for those on the roster with any kind of future in WWE to say that they had a spot on the biggest show in the business.
Prediction: Ryback wins the battle royal, The New Day wins the tag titles
– Preview by Chris Graham
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