Wrestlemania XXXI Predictions

As many know the world over, this weekend is basically the Superbowl of the wrestling world. Thats right this weekend is WRESTLEMANIA!!!!! The show of shows is back for its 31st year, and while there are some concerns I have over the state of the WWE, the card for this year’s event looks like it could be awesome! So as you may have seen before every new PPV for WWE comes around, I make my predictions on who is going to win each match. Now granted sometimes I do pretty good and then sometimes I bomb horribly with my predictions, but that’s one of the great things about the WWE and wrestling in general – you truly never know what’s going on in the writers heads and it makes it nice and hard to try and predict winners. A great example is for the Main Event….up until a few days ago I knew for sure Roman Reigns was going to walk out as champion as Brock Lesnar’s contract ran out on the RAW after WM and we all know after how Vince handled Brett Hart’s leaving that he would not let Brock leave with that title. But now Brock has resigned a multi year deal which is putting things back up in the air on this one… but I’ll get into this in a little more depth at the end of the blog. Now onto the PRE-SHOW!

This year the pre-show is starting 2 hours before the main show, we will also be getting two huge matches during the preshow! I honestly kinda feel bad this time for people who don’t have access to the pre-show so deng it go out there and spend 10 bucks for the network it really is worth it! So this time around in the pre-show we are getting a 4-way Tag Team Title match and the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. I’m assuming the Tag Match will be first so off we go with my pre-show predictions!

4-WAY TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Cesaro and Kidd defend against the Usos, The New Day (Big E and Kofi) and Los Matadores.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this match to tell the truth. I mean I love Tag Team matches but in this match you are seeing about 90% of the Tag Divisions roster. I hope that Cesaro and Kidd lose the title, I know they work well as a tag team but honestly Cesaro needs to find a way to break out on his own and well Kidd just needs to find his way back down to NXT for now because in my opinion he’s not ready to run with the big boys. I’m not seeing Los Matadores securing the title because you barely ever see them on the big shows. I would love to see the Usos get the title back, however as of late there has been a lot of talk and rumors about the WWE bringing back the Freebirds rule. For those of you not familiar with this rule, back when the Fabulous Freebirds were champs they had 3 people in their stable, and so what they did was they would switch up which members of the freebirds held the title each night. They said this was fair because the team truly was the three of them and not just two. Even recently I think the rule had been revived for the Spirit Squad back when they warred with DX but I may be wrong. Anyway, the rule has been the talk of the town lately and even has found it’s way onto the WWE website. So with that in mind, I will be choosing the only team that the freebird rule could possibly work for so WINNERS- THE NEW DAY!

ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL

Konnor, Viktor, Kane, Big Show, Darren Young, Titus O’Neil, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Fandango, Adam Rose, Zack Ryder, Erick Rowan, Sin Cara, Damien Sandow, Goldust, Mark Henry, Heath Slater, Hideo Itami

With a match as big and chaotic as this it’s going to be hard to figure out who will win. I will rule out Konnor and Viktor right off the bat because of their reception into the WWE so far. I’m seeing the final break between Miz and Sandow happening here with Sandow tossing Miz out of the ring after Miz mouths off to him one too many times or perhaps Miz telling him to just jump over and Sandow tossing Miz out. I think Curtis Axel will be eliminated swiftly because of the big deal he kept making about not getting tossed out in the Royal Rumble. I see Young and and Titus trying to work together as Prime Time Players for a bit but most likely Kane and Show or Henry and Rowan getting them out. I think Show and Kane will put each other out. I see a possible dance off between Fandango and Adam Rose with Rose being tossed out. I think Hideo Itami will be a breakout star lasting till almost the end to get the people in Japan on the WWE’s side, but I think perhaps the WINNER IS JACK SWAGGER so that he can shove the win in Cesaro’s face after what happened last year and perhaps start a new rivalry between them.

And now onto the main show! From Triple H and Sting, to Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt and the Undertaker this night sounds like it is going to be truly awesome and memorable! So we’ll start with the non-title matches and work our way to the main event.

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton

I am really looking forward to this match which is really odd and almost painful for me to say. I for one have never been a huge Orton fan, sure he’s great in the ring but I have never liked that type of character. However, with that being said, lately I have really hated Seth Rollins’ character. I mean how many times can he play the self deluded fool character? I am so sick and tired of “I beat so and so all by myself!” when he has J&J running distractions or Kane cheap shotting someone. So as much as I hate to say it I am truly rooting for Randy on this one. However, I am also thinking this match may be early in the night if they are smart and I’ll tell you why later in the blog and I am expecting WINNER SETH ROLLINS due to some sort of interference.

Sting vs Triple H

I’m wanting to see Sting take out Triple H. This however, is another one that pains me to admit. I used to like the ole Tripster but ever since he became a part of the Authority and took Vinces place as the evil boss, well he has slipped in my opinion character wise. But by the same token I was never a Sting fan, even back in Highschool when he was so popular in WCW. I found him to be a silly character, too bland and too much like everyone else. Then he went all dark and broody and made himself look like the lead character from the movie The Crow and that just made me dislike him more for not being able to do something creative. I will admit over the years he has stayed true to that character but then again how hard is it to be dark mysterious and usually silent. So it’s my hope that Sting will win but I will predict WINNER TRIPLE H as I don’t see them taking power away from the Authority again so soon.

Bray Wyatt vs the Undertaker

Another fun one to try and predict. Until last year Wrestlemania was the Undertakers personal playground. Taker won for 21 out of the 22 ‘Mania’s he was in. Last year however he lost in a horrible squash match to Brock Lesnar. Taker is getting old and it’s almost time for him to retire and last years match showed it. Last year Taker barely put up any offense and when the match was done he was really hurt. So everyone wants to know can Taker recover some of his former glory this year? On the other side of things we have someone who could quite possibly be a good replacement for Taker but only if he finds a way to put his family back together again. Bray is a great character but he truly is a cult leader type of character and right now he has lost his cult. If he beats Taker could he “inherit” the urns power and begin a new Wyatt family or even a new Ministry? I think Wyatt has a good chance here as he has a huge following if you can believe all of those “fireflies” are truthfully rooting for him during his entrances. Hopefully as Triple H gets more power in the WWE we’ll be seeing more Tag Teams and Stables and a resurgence of the Wyatt Family with the New Face of Fear being supercharged in his leadership by a win over the Undertaker! WINNER BRAY WYATT!

AJ Lee and Paige vs the Bella Twins

I can’t help but be a bit apathetic for this match. To me the NXT Divas Division is a lot more exciting than the main rosters division is. Right now on the main roster the only really good wrestlers are Paige and AJ (Natalya and Naomi are up there too). The Bella Twins really don’t even make a blip on my radar anymore when it comes to talent as they have seemed to be coasting recently just like most of the Divas Division. I am hoping that in this case talent takes a team to the top the way it should, especially after the things Paige said on Smackdown. You see I’m a geek and Paige made a very good showing as she spoke about the fact that she and AJ were proud to not be normal, they were proud to be geeks and freaks and the like. So this one instead of going with instinct and what I think the WWE will do I am going to go with my gut. So WINNER AJ LEE & PAIGE

And now onto the matches that contain some sort of Title defense These are the last three matches and they will be a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title, the United States Title and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. So as they would say in the WXW (sorry Chris Russo for stepping on your lines here but) IT’S TIME…..thats right internet IT’S TIME…..IT’S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENTS. So first lets go to the US Title Match!

United States Title Match

Rusev defending against John Cena

I personally can’t wait to see this match. As you may have read in a previous blog of mine, the US Title is not nearly as prestigious as it used to be. If you haven’t read the blog yet feel free to go and look at it here—>https://draxisweb.com/dwp/?p=1095 . I am of the mind that John Cena is what’s needed here. For too long now we have had someone that’s not billed from America and then half of them have done nothing but insult America as they hold the US Title. This has dragged the title through the muck. With the way that Cena has been acting lately, seeming to get his backbone back, and seeing his “Ruthless Aggression” finally coming back out, I think he is exactly what has been missing from this once prestigious title. Seeing as John Cena, while mutually loved and seemingly despised by the crowds, has been the boy scout of the WWE for the past 7-10 years or so he could easily bring this title back to it’s former glory. Wrestlemania is also the perfect place to give Rusev his first true loss since they still bill him as “undefeated”. So I am both hoping and predicting that the WINNER IS JOHN CENA!

Intercontinental Title Ladder Match

Bad News Barrett defending against, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Luke Harper, Daniel Bryan, Stardust

I touched upon this heavily in the state of the titles blog linked above so I am just going to go through it swiftly here. The IC Title, like all of the other WWE titles, has been tarnished as of late… and in this case especially with the constant changing of hands and the seeming hot potato storyline they have had going for almost the last month. This title used to be the one that was one step down from the World Heavyweight Title and it was held by the ones that would one day go on to hold the Heavyweight Title. This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Now out of this list of possible champs there are really only about 3 names that stick out to me to be World Champ material now or sometime soon and that is Dolph Ziggler seeing as he has been there and done that and that means Daniel bryan as well for the same reasons. The third possibility is Dean Ambrose. To be honest, I would love to see any of these three win; however after the fan uproar over the outcome of the Royal Rumble, I think they are going to go with the safe bet that the fans want. Because of this I am going to say WINNER DANIEL BRYAN!

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match

Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns

This is probably what’s going to go down as the most heated match this Wrestlemania for a division of fans. You see, there are many fans like me who believe the WWE made a huge mistake giving Brock Lesnar the title in the first place. However, even though Roman Reigns was riding high on the tide of fan worship for a while his fan base seemed to go a bit cold with the combination of the time he needed off due to surgery and the return of Daniel Bryan. With Daniel Bryan’s return and a bunch of goofy outdated Vince supplied dialogue for Reigns, a lot of people decided he wasn’t ready for the big shot that he had been getting groomed for this whole time. Lots of people forgot how much they had been cheering Roman and they decided now that Daniel was back he should reclaim the title. However, the WWE had other thoughts about that and put Roman Reigns as the big winner in the Royal Rumble which to me wasn’t a big shocker, what was a huge shock though was the fan backlash. So they put Reigns in a few tough spots that he works his way out of including possibly giving up his WM31 spot to Daniel Bryan if he loses a match to him. However, Roman Reigns wins against all odds and in my eyes proves he has what it takes though many fans still don’t see this. The thing is everyone who is a true fan of wrestling knows that Brocks contract runs out after Wrestlemania and we all know that Vince won’t let a precious title be taken away from the WWE, I mean look what happened to Brett Hart in the infamous Montreal Screwjob. So it seemed pretty easy as to who to pick to win with the only real question being if Roman wins does Rollins come out and cash in his Money in the Bank Briefcase or is that used to create this generations Screwjob to make sure Lesnar loses. However, just a few days ago Brock Lesnar signs a new multi-year deal with the WWE and officially announces his MMA days are over. So now our waters are murky again. Will the WWE leave the belt with Brock but still give him the type of schedule he has now so we barely ever see the title? Did the new deal count for more matches and more airtime so we could see the title a lot more if Brock keeps it? Could they still give it to Reigns and see how the fans react and go from there? I think the last possibility could have two scenarios one where Reigns wins and Rollins comes out with the MITB Briefcase and takes advantage of Reigns and thus takes the title and we have a three way story of Brock and Roman fighting each other and the Authority to get the title back, OR Brock wins and Rollins comes out and becomes the third person ever to fail in a MITB contract cash-in match. In many ways I think the MITB has to be shown either now or soon because the time limit on that case is running out. Now as much as I hate to say this my prediction for the WINNER IS BROCK LESNAR.

What are your predictions for this epic night of wrestling? Let us know in the comments and share your thoughts on Wrestlemania XXXI