WWE Rumors: WrestleMania 31 Preview With Full Match Card and Predictions
WWE will air its biggest show of the year, WrestleMania 31, on Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The main event pits Roman Reigns against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but there are plenty of spectacle matches on the undercard.
Before we get to our full preview, check out our interview with Reigns from earlier this week. He talked about preparing for his match with Lesnar, what matches he is looking forward to on Sunday, and more.
Now, without further ado, let's get to our predictions for WrestleMania 31:
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal aka ARMBAR (Pre-Show)
The 20 announced Superstars for this match are 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, and Hideo Itami.
Last year, Cesaro got his big Mania moment when he picked up Big Show like a garbage bag and dumped him over the top rope. Given that this match is on the pre-show this year, it's unlikely that any one of these Superstars will have such a moment. There are actually a few contenders to win in this group. Itami is likely to have a solid showing, and the Miz/Mizdow storyline could come to a head here, as well. The Big Guy, Ryback, will also probably be one of the final few contenders. But we'll go with a fan favorite in this one.
Winner: Damien Mizdow
Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship (Pre-Show)
This match pits the champions, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (w/Natalya), against The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods), Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando w/El Torito), and The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso w/Naomi). Geez, there's almost as many people in this match as there are in the Battle Royal!
Kidd and Cesaro just won the tag titles at Fast Lane from The Usos, so it's unlikely they'd surrender the belts so soon. No matter what happens, this should be a fun match.
Winners: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro
AJ Lee and Paige vs. Nikki Bella and Brie Bella
The Bella Twins have been trying to drive a wedge between AJ and Paige with varying degrees of success. It seems the two are on the same page now after this week's Thursday Night SmackDown, but the Bellas have a way of pulling out wins when they shouldn't. Still, we'll take the good girls in this one.
Winners: AJ and Paige
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
This one is personal, as Rollins put Orton on the shelf for a few months. The Viper returned at Fast Lane to attack Rollins, then wiggled his way back into the Authority to gain Rollins' trust and then strike. Orton has gotten the better of Rollins since then, which would indicate that Rollins is due for the win here. He'll likely have J&J Security at his side, which means this won't be a fair fight.
Winner: Seth Rollins
John Cena vs. Rusev (c) for the United States Championship
If you believe certain rumors and reports, then Cena is going to win this match to serve as one of two anchors for WWE going forward (we'll get to the second anchor shortly). But even setting those rumors aside, the storyline progression would indicate that Cena wins this match. Rusev has the submission victory over Cena at Fast Lane, and he has pretty much had the advantage over Cena since then. And WWE loves to throw the "overcoming the odds" storyline in there for Cena, so expect Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect to win this one.
Winner: John Cena
Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. Stardust vs. R-Truth in an Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
This one is going to be fun. The seven men in this match are all ingredients in a recipe for a stellar match. We've got the fan favorites in Bryan, Ambrose, and Ziggler. We've got the wild cards in Harper and Stardust. We've got Barrett, the rough and bruising champion. And then we have R-Truth, who has been surprisingly entertaining in this storyline.
Much like with Cena, rumors say Bryan will win this match to serve as another pillar for WWE in the near future, with Cena as United States Champion. Those two as champions would certainly bring some validity and significance to the titles, and it would make sense to give Bryan the title here. But there are so many other contenders in this match, outside of probably R-Truth and Barrett (just because his retention in a match like this seems like a waste). So we'll go with the Yes Man in this one.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker
Bray Wyatt has spent about two months feuding with a man who never even appeared. And you know what? It was damn entertaining. Wyatt cut some amazing promos on Taker and kept me hooked the entire time.
This truly feels like a battle between generations. Taker is a legend, and Wyatt is trying to send that legend off into the history books and take his place as the new face of fear. It's a compelling story, and one that should end with Wyatt's victory.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Sting vs. Triple H
This match has been brewing since Survivor Series, and now it's finally here. And I have no idea what to expect. They've been billing this match in different ways. WCW vs. WWE. Vigilante vs. Authority. Baseball bat vs. sledgehammer. But no matter the setup, it's still two wrestling icons clashing on the biggest stage of them all.
Sting has owned Triple H for this entire feud, which would likely mean Hunter gets the win. But Triple H doesn't win big matches anymore. He hasn't in years. And it wouldn't make any sense for Sting to have his first, and possibly only, WWE match just to lose.
As for the match itself, even Triple H has admitted he's not sure how great it can or will be. But I'm optimistic.
Winner: Sting
Brock Lesnar (c) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
What can we say about this match that hasn't already been said? All I want out of this one is a fight. Not a wrestling match. A fight. These are two monster athletes who should have been beating the tar out of each other at every possible opportunity. Instead, they barely interacted, and their last encounter ended with a literal tug of war over the belt.
I want Reigns to pop Lesnar in the mouth and bloody him. I want Lesnar to suplex Reigns out of the ring. I want spears. I want F5s. I want kick outs. I want table crashes. I want it all. Let these two guys go to war and destroy each other.
Until Lesnar re-signed earlier this week, it was clear Reigns was going to win. Now, I'm not so sure. The consensus has completely shifted to Lesnar retaining now, so I'll go the other way.
Winner: Roman Reigns (and no Seth Rollins cash-in)
What are your predictions for WrestleMania 31? Let us know in the comments section.