Wrestlemania 31 preview – what you know and what you need to know

Wrestlemania 31 is set to be the biggest sports entertainment event of the year, but will it live up to the hype?...
Wrestlemania 31 will take place at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
Wrestlemania 31 will take place at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

Wrestlemania 31 will take place at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]elcome to The Pit’s Wrestlemania preview, where I recap what you already know and provide some pseudo-snarky commentary because that’s my speciality.

Tensions ran high all around on the go-home edition of Raw Monday night. Having Sting open Raw with Stephanie and then Triple H was a stroke of genius as it got the viewers more invested into the match. It felt like an extension of WCW vs WWE, with Steph channeling shades of her daddy with that sledgehammer. It was a 15 minute promo, as per usual, but it showcased two things. One: Sting can still cut a promo like nobody’s business. Two: these three are masters of their craft and know how to get everyone chomping at the bit for a match.

Fractures rose in AJ and Paige’s tenuous friendship and led to a post-match brawl between the two, much to the Bellas delight after Nikki retained the Divas Championship against Paige. It’ll be interesting to see if they can patch the cracks long enough to survive the match, or if they’re going to go the predictable route and reveal that it was simply a ruse to throw the Bellas off. I am trying to remain as optimistic about this match as I possibly can. Ever since the #GiveDivasAChance trend started, the Divas matches have been increasing in length, allowing some of the divisions top talent to truly showcase what they’re capable of. AJ and Paige are by and far some of the best workers, and though Nikki irks the hell out of me, one cannot deny she is becoming a beast in that ring. Brie can be carried through a match, no problem. I still have my issues with the overall subject, but there is promise to this.

We got a taste of what’s to come for the IC Ladder match when after Dolph Ziggler won clean over Daniel Bryan, Ambrose did a trademark turn and drug a ladder out for a mad scramble to the belt hanging over the ring, prompting all the participants to come out in a free-for-all ending in bodies everywhere. Going off my last full length article in regards to the IC title, I’m still calling that a heel turn from Ambrose is highly likely in the event he does not win, to which I’m still pulling for. All signs point to either him or Daniel Bryan walking away with gold. This match will most likely be the curtain jerker – which I’m actually hoping is NOT the case –  and has the potential to steal the show. The upside to this is that Wrestlemania will have a hell of a start. The downside is that every other match on the card has to meet or exceed expectations set forth by this or else we’re going to be in for a very lackluster event.

Bray gave a chilling promo that could give Paul Heyman a run for his money any day, signifying that we may in fact be seeing a passing of the torch on Sunday. Let’s face it, Undertaker has in fact seen better days, and has had an illustrious career. Over these next couple of years, we will be witness to a change in the dynamic of the company, primarily in the roster. With the momentum that NXT is gaining, the time has come to usher in the future. There’s no better time than now to start creating the new phenoms, starting with introducing the rise of a new supernatural character. I’m also guessing that Undertaker will probably be inducted into the Hall of Fame next year. Having Bray lose this match would make absolutely no sense, given that his angle with Ambrose was primarily to get him over as the heel he needs to be and prepare him for this fight.

Rollins and Orton is going to be the interesting one, considering that the build for this match, while hotly anticipated, has been quick and very one-sided, with Randy coming out relatively strong most of the time. Monday night’s match was primarily filler, set to make Orton look like the Viper he’s supposed to be and make Rollins look as though he has no idea what he just walked into. I don’t think this is going to see it’s end at Wrestlemania, I see this as the start. But their styles compliment each other and I do look forward to seeing what may play out.

John Cena is at the point where he doesn’t need the U.S. Championship. He hasn’t needed it in about 10 years. But they’re putting him in this against Rusev to play out the monster foreigner/ultimate ‘murrican angle, and also to give the belt some shine. Much like how placing the IC on Bryan may actually increase the perceived value of the belt, potentially placing it on Cena could have the same effect. At the same time, it has the potential to also tarnish Cena, as it’s a midcard title and he’s a franchise player. Do I see him taking the belt? No. But I see him taking Rusev’s streak. Rusev is impressive to be sure. It took me a long time to come around on him, but I have and I’m sold. I’d rather see him lose by DQ than lose the belt altogether. It won’t hurt his momentum in the least. I’m curious to see how this match plays out.

I’m still confused and frustrated about Raw’s ending. The Road to Wrestlemania has been spent trying to show that Roman is a strong contender for the title and might be the only person to be able to slay the Beast, Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman has been spending all this time trying to convince us of why we should buy into this, and he’s been doing a spectacular job. However, it did seem as though Heyman was outright forewarning us that maybe we shouldn’t care in his last promo, since the show signed off with a tug-of-war over the belt. Seriously. WWE has been trying to hype their two biggest stars in what has arguably been the least anticipated Wrestlemania maint event in recent history. They were doing a good job of gaining interest and in less than five minutes they killed all momentum by creating a literal tug-of-war over a belt, thereby reducing their stars to the role of five year old kids going “MOMMY MAKE HIM GIVE IT BACK!” Why? Why would you do that to to the main attraction!? I don’t even know if I should care about it at this point, especially since the announcement of Lesnar resigning with the company has thrown all predictions out the door and makes it look as though Roman’s push was all for nothing. The real challenge here is making sure the crowd actually cares still by the time the main event hits.

WWE hasn’t really done all the great of a job trying to make us care all that much about the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale or the Fatal Four Way Tag. Literally the only team of interest in the four way are the Uppercats, and it comes off as very last second mish-mash. They probably would have been better off just having Uso and Uppercats face off yet again, since those two teams actually have something of a history. The biggest angles to come out of the Battle Royale are the inclusion of Hideo Itami, one of the best performers at NXT, and Miz/Mizdow. We’ve all been itching to see Mizdow finally get one over on Miz and on Sunday, there should be a comeuppance, which will finally trigger a one-on-one angle between the two.

It’s currently mid-afternoon here in sunny California. Axxess is well underway and everyone is buzzing for tomorrow. Feel free to comment away with your predictions and what matches you’re most excited for!

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Just another WWE smark in a IWC world gone mad. Find me poppin' off on Twitter some Mondays, most Tuesdays, for Smackdown PPV's (Let's not forget the Big 4!), and a whole hell of a lot of wrestling RT's. You've been warned. Got something to say to me? lauren.rae.83@gmail.com
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