I didn't have a lot of enthusiasm going into WrestleMania 31, but the show blew away my expectations. Besides all the special guests and fun moments, the booking was excellent almost all the way through and pretty much every match delivered in the ring. Plus, Ronda Rousey showed up. Yes, the UFC superstar joined The Rock to humble Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Here's how it all went down. For extensive coverage of the event, head on over to Cageside Seats.
Seth Rollins walks out with WWE Heavyweight Title - The main event match saw champion Brock Lesnar defending his title against the upstart Roman Reigns. Lesnar hit an F-5 and ended up bleeding within the first two minutes. He then yelled "Suplex City, Bitch!" at Reigns, which might be my favorite wrestling line ever. Lesnar absolutely smashed Reigns, landing 10 german suplexes and three F-5's, but Reigns survived. Roman then ran Brock's head into the ringpost, and he was bleeding. A lot. That's very rare for the WWE nowadays.
After Reigns showed how tough he was by taking the best Lesnar had and asking for more, he scored with multiple spears and superman punches, but couldn't get the pin. Then Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. It was a bit strange because the match wasn't over yet, but it quickly became a triple threat. He immediately curb stomped both men, and pinned Reigns to walk out as the champ.
This was masterful booking - Lesnar didn't get pinned, Reigns showed how much heart he has, and the sneaky Rollins is the champ with a line of contenders. When the WWE gets it right, they really get it right. They did so here.
The Undertaker defeated Bray Wyatt - The bout seemed a bit rushed, probably due to the Rousey/Rock bit. Taker hit all his big moves and Bray made it a good match, but it ended via a couple of tombstone piledrivers as expected.
Ronda Rousey enters the ring, takes out Triple H and Stephanie McMahon - Yes, you read that right. After the Rock came out to do some talking, Hunter and Stephanie jumped in to set up a WrestleMania 32 match. The Rock started hinting at Rousey helping out, and the entire crowd chanted her name in an amazing scene. Then the UFC women's bantamweight champ got in the ring, judo tossed Trips, and roughed up McMahon a bit too. Ronda came off great here and it was a huge moment.
John Cena defeats Rusev for the US Title - Rusev came out in a tank. Seriously. The match was your typical Cena fare, except for Lana throwing her shoes and Rusev being made to look pretty strong. Still though, Rusev accidentally knocked Lana off the apron and Cena AA'd him for the pin and the title. You didn't expect John Cena to lose at WrestleMania, did you?
Paige and AJ Lee defeat The Bella Twins - Paige spent the first half of the match getting her butt kicked by the Bellas before finally getting over to tag AJ in. After some DDTs, Paige came back and tossed Brie out so AJ could get Nikki in the Black Widow for the win.
Triple H defeated Sting - The entrances were ridiculously over the top (HHH looked like a weird Terminator). The match was ridiculously over the top too. I guess they decided that they didn't have the workrate to do an epic match, so they brought back 1999 instead. DX came out. And the NWO came out. Shawn Michaels gave Sting Sweet Chin Music, which was a surprise. Hulk Hogan took a bump, which was a surprise too. In the end, HHH caught Sting coming in for a Stinger Splash and clubbered him with his patented sledgehammer to get the pin. I guess Vince McMahon is still petty enough to not give a WCW guy a win, even though the promotion has been dead for 15 years.
Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins - The match told a decent story, but wasn't my favorite Rollins match ever. Both men kicked out of the other's finisher and J&J Security got involved as expected. In the end, Orton avoided a Phoenix Splash attempt, then missed an RKO. After avoiding a curb stomp, he hit a cool RKO and covered Rollins for the pin. This was a great idea, as it sets Orton up as an immediate contender for the title.
Daniel Bryan wins Intercontinental Title in Ladder Match - All sorts of crazy. It was expected to be a match with some insane spots and it definitely lived up to expectations. Lots of people falling off ladders, Dean Ambrose elbowing everyone off a ladder, Wade Barrett superplexing Stardust off a ladder, you name it. Ambrose even got powerbombed THROUGH a ladder. It eventually came down to Bryan, Barrett, Dolph Ziggler. Bryan dispatched Barrett and went up top, where he brawled with Ziggler. A headbutt knocked Ziggler off and Bryan won the title. Many YES chants followed.
Pre-Show
Big Show wins 2nd annual Andre the Giant Battle Royal - It came down to Show, The Miz, and Damian Mizdow in the final three. Mizdow wouldn't cooperate with Miz and eliminated him. He tried his best against Show, but came up short. Show threw him out to win the trophy.
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeated The Usos, The New Day, and Los Matadores to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles - It was a spotfest, with all sorts of crazy stuff happening. After some huge moves (including a double Tower of Doom) had everyone incapacitated, Jimmy Uso splashed Big E from the top. Cesaro got there in time though, getting rid of Jimmy and getting the pin himself.