Wrestlemania Play Button!

[Slyder]

Here is my usual contribution starting with the match I care least about and what I think is going to happen.

:CenaWinsLOL: AKA The Burial of Iron Kozlov:
I've come to accept the inevitable, maybe WWE will surprise me but if Bray Wyatt couldn't do it last year in a glorified 3 on 1 handicap match then Rusev has 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000001% chance or about as much chance as WVU vs Kentucky if they were to play again.

Such a shame too, I wonder what it could mean for someone else to be the one to defeat a guy who lays claim to wins over former champs such as Cena, Henry, Show, Swagger, etc.

Ending:John Cena makes Rusev tap after 5 moves of doom in that crappy STF. Rusev becomes the new Khali or Kozlov.

Frenemies vs the Bellas (part 2023940 in varying combinations):
They've learned well from their significant others but I just can't bring myself to care about anything involving the Bellas. Bellas win, how I don't know and don't really care.

Ending: Paige probably returns the favor to AJ + whatever that thing Nikki does.

Tag Team Titles:
Cesaro and Kidd pulled a bit of an upset at the last PPV, one of the Uso's is hurt (supposedly), they really need to put down this New Day kiddie crap it isn't working, and they care about Los Matadores again?

Moment of the Match(if rumor is true):Usos take a big bump to write them off for a bit.

Ending: Cesaro and Kidd retain (probably on the other Uso).


Triple H vs Sting:
I just can't get into Sting vs Triple H, if I wanted to see this I'd pay $9.99 and find the WCW matches of Terra Rising (but I've NEVER been a real fan of Triple H). Sting alone keeps this from being much higher on the list. I hope they do the right thing but like with Cena, there's always that potential.

Winner: Sting.

Andre Battle Royal:
I wish they had something better for stories like Miz/Mizdow and Golddust/Stardust than to be part of some big collasal cluster mess.
The names confirmed by WWE: The Miz, Curtis Axel, Ryback, Fandango, Adam Rose, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Damien Mizdow, Sin Cara, Goldust, Heath Slater, Mark Henry, Konnor, Viktor

Thing to watch for:
1 Sheamus comes out and kicks Axel into next week taking his spot in the Battle Royal.
2 Mizdow eliminates Miz, Miz jumps back in to eliminate Mizdow (or vica versa). Starting their split toward a run of matches at the next couple of PPVs.
3 PTPers vs Ascension
4 Sin Cara's botches and injures himself again!

Favorites: Mizdow, Miz, Sheamus... darkhorse Ryback
Ending: Mizdow eliminates Miz to win. Just don't send him at Cena.. EVER.

The MITB... I mean Intercontinental Title Ladder Match:
I really like a bunch of the guys in this match so I'll be interested in seeing what they do. I hope the rumors of Bryan vs Cena unifying the mid card belts at Summer Slam are false. That reallyyyyy under utilizes Bryan IMO.

Favorite:... is there really one when the story is the IC belt is taking the place of Melina with as many guys as its been with...
Prediction: Ambrose I guess could use it... I feel sorry for Barrett, it truly is criminal that he hasn't made it out of midcard hell yet.

Viper vs the Future:
THe one thing WWE has done right the last year is Seth Rollins. Even this match they sort of screwed up iMO with Orton beating the ever living tar out of him for 15 minutes, and putting this on a slow burn having Orton play nice. This could very easily tell how the night is going to go. I expect this to be early in the show.

Ending: RKO out of no where, winner Randy Orton.

World Title:
This is either going to be an epic great match or train wreck, there will be no in between. That hernia and WWE creative really derailed this match. If you had told fans a year ago this was going to be the main event... they probably would have LOVED it.

Ending: Double turn that ultimately ends with Seth Rollins taking his rightful place as the new Mr Ultimate Opportunitst and becoming the World Champ.

Battle of Fear in WWE:
Its Taker... Its Mania... as much as a may hate the whole feud I still want to see it. Bray has done a good job keeping this going. I don't know how they will end this one as I can see reasons why both should win.

Prediction: I don't see WWE watering down what Brock did last year. 22-1 Taker.

[Witlon]

Okay...I'll bite.

Witlon's Wrestlemania 31 predictions
Preshow
WWE Tag Team Championship, Fatal Four Way: The Brass Ring Club (c) vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs New Day - Champs retain in a spot fest, I'd guess. Maybe the Usos could win and their daddy can come out to celebrate with them and dance or something, but I'm totally digging the champs, and taking the belts off them would probably be a mistake.

Andre The Giant Battle Royal (ARM-BAR!): Seriously, the only guys with a shot to win are Sheamus, Miz, Mizdow, Big Show, Kane, Ryback and Itami. I'm still guessing Big Show wins to set up an awful feud with The Rock's Cousin.

Main Show
Divas Match - AJ Lee & Paige vs The Bellas - I'd guess the faces are going over here, but it's the Bellas so who knows? AJ goes over to set up a title match with CenaBella next month, I guess.

Strea...errr...uh...- Bray Wyatt vs The Undertaker - Taker wins. Ell oh ell.

'Dream Match' - Sting vs Triple H - I'm guessing Sting is going over, but who knows with Triple H? He may want to keep himself strong so he can try to 'make' Reigns at Summerslam.

IC Title, Ladder Match - Wade Barrett(c) vs Dolph Ziggler vs Dean Ambrose vs Daniel Bryan vs R-Truth vs Stardust vs Luke Harper - Another spot fest. They'll pull out some fun stuff and we'll probably forget it by the end of the night. Ziggler or Bryan probably win to set up their feud, and give some star power to Smackdown. I'm guessing we get a singles match between the two at Extreme Rules, as well.

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton - Already saw Orton get his revenge, so I don't understand the point of this. Orton probably wins, because it makes me scenario for Seth make more sense.

United States Title - John Cena vs Rusev(c) - Rusev needs it more, but he got the last advantage. I'm guessing it's back to CENAWINSLOL, but I'd hope not. It just makes more sense for Rusev to stay undefeated and face Reigns at Summerslam, whether Reigns wins or loses, to give him that rub.

WWE World Heavyweight Title - Brock Lesnar (c) vs Roman Reigns - It'd make sense to just keep the belt on Brock and let him run through another year, but I doubt that's going to happen. Reigns wins, Rollins tries to cash in for the big pop, and Reigns spears and pins him, too. Shortly after, Rollins is taken out by the authority, and is turned face, leading to the first Shield reunion in the Summer.

[Hammer]

title match: i expect reigns to win with the help of heyman, double turning him and brock. i think they hold off on rollins a bit longer.
us title: cena
ic title: bryan
sting over hhh
taker over wyatt
rollins over orton with lots of help [but if they go with rollins cash-in at the end of the night, this has rko out of nowhere written all over it]
dont care about the divas... shitlons plan of aj winning to set up a title match next month makes sense to me
cesaro/kidd keep the straps
sheamus wins in his return, i suppose. that big show scenario sounds scarily possible though.

[Hammer]

is the hall of fame on tv tonight, or is it network exclusive? i dont see it on usa, i imagine thats the only place it would be, but i didnt feel like searching too much.

[Witlon]

Okay, Hall of Fame thoughts. Wish I could've got to this last night, but with a bunch of people in the house, I was just drained afterwards.

- The Red Carpet show was awesome, for the second year in a row. Maria Menounos doing a really good Dusty Rhodes' Hard Time promo impression is definitely the highlight. Great stuff, and worth seeking out.

- Rikishi/The Usos weren't very good. Rikishi basically thanking everyone but Scotty and Brian was pretty shitty of him, too, but this is a guy that skipped his own son's wedding, so it's to be expected.

- Bruno was good, but Larry...aye. Talking about going into Bruno's backyard as a teenage boy over and over made me think they were going to come out as a couple after all these years.

- Madusa was amazing. Great stories, and she seemed legitimately happy to be there. Great stories, awesome stuff. Seek out the picture of her and Heyman sharing a moment backstage, too. This was one of the best speeches ever, amazingly.

- Connor The Crusher/Dana Warrior was sad. How Connor's dad made it through accepting the award, I'll never know.

- Flair looked sober inducting Fujinami, but the language barrier hurt this quite a bit.

- Hogan sucked. Lanny was good, and should be doing voice over work for the WWE, but eh. Another sad thing, but I'm glad Savage is finally in.

- Arnold cleaned out my house. About 3 hours into the show isn't the time for a long, meandering speech. Kinda wish he went on first, so I could've enjoyed what he said.

- Nash told some good stories, and HBK was fun as the inductor. It felt fine going on last, too, but I probably need to rewatch it, since GML took my attention.

[HafDawg2003]

WrestleMania 31 Kickoff Show Lineup

- Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
I'd imagine this is where Sheamus will go over, based on his impending return and the hype that's gone into it. Then he'll switch to heel role bragging about it in the coming weeks or whatnot, kinda like what they used to do when guys who won the King of the Ring tournament would let it "go to their head". However, whoever wins, I hope they give it some time. The pre-show is two hours, so I'd think they will... but nothing is worse than a rushed battle royal.

- Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos [WWE Tag-Team Championship]
Unless they decide to put the straps back on the Usos, which to me is getting pretty stale, I'd think Kidd and Cesaro retain. New Day seems to be a failed gimmick, they need to turn heel and see if that goes anywhere. Los Matadores... is Los Matadores... I hope this match gets some time too, as the pre-show is again two hours. Obviously some good performers here (Kidd, Cesaro, Usos, Kingston especially).

WrestleMania 31 Lineup

- Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
This is a tough one. However, because I think Rollins cashes in and wins the strap soon, I'll go Orton in the match. However, with Orton having the upper hand recently, that signals Rollins. Orton vs Sheamus or Orton vs Lesnar is what I was thinking would be next for Randy. I'll go Orton.

- Rusev (c) vs. John Cena [WWE United States Championship]
Cena goes over, breaking the streak. If not? Wow. But it's universally expected to be Cena here and I am no different in my thinking.

- AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins
I'm glad the divas are getting more time, the whole #GiveDivasAChance thing and whatnot. However, the Divas I want to get the chance include Charlotte and the NXT ones, as their matches are much more entertaining. If this were AJ Lee and Paige vs Charlotte and Sasha Banks or something, it would hold my interest more. That being said, with Nikki retaining recently and the friction between AJ and Paige played up, I'll go AJ and Paige winning. Divas matches have been more entertaining recently, so I'll watch for sure.

- The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
There is no way Taker loses here. I mean, I know they like Wyatt a lot... but would they actually have Taker lose TWICE in a row? Naw. I just hope this isn't a bad match, as based off last year, Taker is really in a bad way, both before, during and after his Lesnar match. Hope this one doesn't go too long.

- Ladder Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs. R-Truth vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust vs. Daniel Bryan [WWE Intercontinental Championship]
As most others are saying, I'm thinking this will be the most entertaining match of the night. We will see what kind of big spots there will be. It'll either be Bryan or Ziggler here, I'm going Bryan. However, you've got three guys in Bryan, Ziggler and Ambrose here that you're thinking more has to be headed their way soon. I think they turn Bryan heel. Now that we're clear of the Connor the Crusher stuff and the WWE clearly isn't going to put him in the Heavyweight Championship picture due to worries he'll get hurt again... what better way to quash the momentum than to turn him heel. Would lead to a fun Bryan / Ziggler feud, I'd think. Who knows!

- Sting vs. Triple H
Sting goes over, but I'm curious how good this match will be. Hunter will have to carry it. However, I'm still disappointed... as I worry this will be the only match for Sting and it really doesn't live up to my unrealistic expectations as to his involvement in storylines, etc. However, I was also one of the folks wishing they re-signed Angle and folks, so I yearn to see old favorites fight new ones. Sting wins, but does it really matter now that we're over the "STING IS IN WWE" shock?

- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns [WWE World Heavyweight Championship]
I'll go Lesnar... but I'm waiting on SOMETHING here. Couple scenarios I wonder about. One, whoever wins, does Rollins cash in? Or maybe he cashes in DURING the match when both guys are out of it... but then once he wins, Reigns spears him and wins it from him? Or not cash in tonight? Two, is there ANY chance Heyman turns on Lesnar? Reigns is over... but not like they wanted him to be. And especially now that he's re-signed, Lesnar is going to be cheered even more. I'm expecting a crowd pro-Lesnar. So if you're that set on Reigns being one of, if not THE, guy in WWE... have Heyman join him and turn on Lesnar. Talk about HEAT.

Should be... an OK match, I'm not crazy about Reigns and I love me some Lesnar... but who knows. I'll go Brock to retain, but this one will go any which way.

[Witlon]

After the reaction last night, I think they'd be leaving money on the table to not at least TRY Reigns as a heel, with or without Heyman turning. The only thing other than him that got heat on the show was Arnold mentioning he was THE GOVERNATOR!

[Hammer]

allegedly bray wyatt sprained his ankle warming up for his match with taker, and had to be carted to the back.

[Witlon]

Yeah, I read that too. I doubt it's legit, and I'll buy in when Meltzer reports it.

[Mach]

Meltzer makes shit up. I wonder if Rusev wins by DQ or some shit.

[Hammer]

well then, i guess im not watching the battle royal or the tag title matches. none of my streams are getting the kickoff show, and wwe cuts it off on the site now all of a sudden.

[HollywoodLeo]

Just get the Network already

[HollywoodLeo]

Is Natalya playing heel for Tyson now?

[Hammer]

they almost had me at like 5:00 this afternoon, but i resisted.

[HollywoodLeo]

Stupid Sandow. Shoulda worked with Miz and then turned on him as he tried to order you over the ropes.