WrestleMania 31 Predictions – What Would Carmine Do?
I’ve been very vocal about my preferences and opinions of WrestleMania 31. While I’ve tried to stay excited for the event despite the majority of fans having the opinion of “…ech,” There are many matches I feel strongly about and feel can only go one way for the best-case-scenario booking. With that being said, this will be less of a “predictions” article, and more of a “preferences” article.
Let’s of course start with the Pre-Show. The first match on the Pre-Show card is actually a recent addition. The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (a.k.a. The ARMBAR) will feature 30 talented superstars who had nothing better to do this week. With names like The Miz, Damien Sandow, Curtis Axel, The Prime Time Players, and Sin Cara already announced for the match, it’s safe to say that none of them will win. Sheamus has been slated to return at Mania and be featured in this match. However, there are also going to be some NXT stars, or at least one, featured in the ARMBAR. The main point we all have to keep in mind, is that this match is meaningless. Last year’s winner may be one half of the tag team champions, but he’ll also be featured in the Mania Pre-Show. The fact that this match is on the Pre-Show speaks volumes about it’s uselessness. The winner is pointless.
WINNER: Who-Gives-A-Sheamus
Next up on the Pre-Show card is the fatal 4-way for the Tag Team Championships. The current champions (Tyson Kidd & Cesaro) will defend their belts against The New Day, Los Matadores, and The Usos. While I love Kidd & Cesaro as champions, there’s a hidden factor that is influencing my opinion on this match. The Ascension. Viktor and Konnor are on the rise (pun intended) in the Tag division, and while having them face the current champs after Mania would be cool, we all know how WWE hates making Heel vs Heel feuds. The Ascension will not begin their chase for the gold until that gold belongs to the Usos, and because I believe that time is approaching, I believe that…
WINNERS: The Usos
Now we’re finally on to the main show. Starting us off is the match I hate the most. AJ Lee & Paige (from now on known as PaiJ) vs the Bella Twins. I DON’T CARE! This match should have been a fatal 4-way for the Divas title, but it isn’t. Instead it’s a pointless tag match with nothing on the line and no meaning. I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care.
WINNERS: The brunette divas tag team
Now for a match I actually have been enjoying the build for. Seth Rollins has been the most hated man in WWE since destroying the most popular faction in years, The Shield, back in July of last year. Once he joined the Authority and became the new favorite child of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton went from being the “face of the WWE,” to being the middle child that no longer got any attention. Back in November, Orton’s patience officially ran out and he snapped. After attacking Rollins and being excommunicated from the Authority via a Curb Stomp, he vanished for months. Only 2 months ago at Fastlane did we finally see the Viper return. I guess Triple H thought he suffered from amnesia when he went away, because Orton was invited back into the Authority. For 3 weeks, Orton made Rollins feel safe by his side. Finally, the Viper picked his spot and destroyed Mr. Money in the Bank. Now the two of them are going to battle it out on the grandest stage of them all. It’s pretty simple, Seth is the future for a reason. Who better to defeat and prove his spot, then the former “face” of the company.
WINNER: Seth Rollins
Next on the card is a match that genuinely terrifies me. Rusev vs John Cena for the United States Championship can not end well for me. Either Rusev wins, which I’d love, but then I’ve lost a bet which means I have to down a bottle of hot sauce on air during the BroCast (Check it out on iTunes), or Cena wins, which means I win the bet, but I’m miserable. I think if Cena wins, Rusev will either never recover, or we won’t see him do anything relevant for at least a year. If Rusev wins, it can only be good for the roster overall. People claim that Cena would elevate the title, but let me ask you something, how does having an undefeated champion who has defeated big name players NOT elevate the title? Rusev is the clear answer to the question of “What SHOULD we do?”
WINNER: Rusev
When a man builds a legacy for over two decades as being an unstoppable force that no mortal man can defeat at WrestleMania, and then a mythical beast comes along and strips that man of his pride and his legacy, what does he have left? According to Bray Wyatt, he has nothing left, and he no longer deserves to walk among the living. The Undertaker obviously disagrees. Fans have stated that they want the Deadman to win this match because it would be “redemption” for his loss against Brock Lesnar at last year’s event. This is a fallacy. Defeating Bray Wyatt would accomplish nothing. On the other side of that coin, if Wyatt defeated Taker at Mania, he would actually become the “new face of fear” that he claims to be. He would do something that only one other being has ever done, and when that other being is a beast incarnate, that still means a lot for Bray. Just like how John Cena winning the US Title would accomplish nothing, Undertaker trying to avenge the Streak’s end by beating a completely separate person would accomplish an equal amount of nothing.
WINNER: Bray Wyatt
Now for the one match that every fan wants to see. Not just because they know it’ll be a great performance, and not just because it features 7 of the mid-card favorites vying for the newly rejuvenated Intercontinental Championship, but they want to see this match because DANIEL FUCKING BRYAN IS IN IT! Now don’t get me wrong, I love Daniel Bryan, and I know what he can do for the championship if he wins it. However…I don’t care. I want Dean Ambrose to win for one simple reason: he needs something. Dean, since breaking up with The Shield in July, has competed in 9 matches on PPV. He has won none of them. While the fans haven’t held this against him, and he’s still one of the most over babyfaces in the company, he needs some kind of victory to validate his singles career before inevitably moving in to the main event and fighting for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I know how much people want Daniel Bryan to win, and I understand it, but please understand that as much as you love Daniel Bryan and want him to succeed, that’s how I feel about Dean Ambrose.
WINNER: I’m an Ambrose fan, sue me!
A vigilante…versus a king…a man who hasn’t been seen (on relevant wrestling television) in 14 years versus a man who hasn’t been left off TV without injury…ever. Sting vs Triple H. The man who fought the n.W.o. single handed, taking on the man who has truly brought the WWE into a dictatorship. On paper, this match makes perfect sense and should be one of the most anticipated matches of the night. In reality, it’s two old men fighting for relevance when no one is willing to give it to them. I have never cared about this feud, and this match is no different. However, seeing how Triple H hasn’t won a WrestleMania match in 5 years, I’d have to say…
WINNER: Sting
Now for the highly anticipated
somewhat anticipated
sort of anticipated …now for the main event.
Brock Lesnar. The man that ended the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at last year’s WrestleMania. The man that decimated John Cena at Summerslam and captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the most dominant title match in history. The man who has recently signed a new 3-year deal with the WWE, securing his position for a long time.
Roman Reigns. The man that won the 2015 Royal Rumble. The man who defeated Daniel Bryan in a 5-Star match to secure his spot in the WrestleMania main event. The man that…NO ONE LIKES!
I personally enjoy the in-ring work of Roman Reigns, and believe that he is more than capable of putting on a great match with Lesnar at Mania. What can not be denied, however, is that Roman Reigns is not over with a majority of the fan base. I have never had a problem with Brock Lesnar holding the WWE Title, and I can’t explain why. Usually, I am adamantly against the idea of part-timers holding a main event championship, but Lesnar seems to be an exception for me. With that being said, Roman needs the victory more. If you take a look at all of the booking decisions that have gone into Reigns’s push, it makes no sense for him to lose. Now, does this mean that a certain Seth Rollins, hot off the heels of his victory over Randy Orton, can’t come in and take that title from Roman using his MITB briefcase? Of course not. But when it comes to the one-on-one main event championship match…
WINNER: Roman Reigns
But that’s just what I want to see happen at the showcase of the immortals. What would you like to see happen? Are you looking forward to the show? Let me know in the comments section.
It’s WrestleMania time folks, and while the build has been cold, this could very well be a momentous event. HAVE SOME FUN, DAMMIT!
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