Wrestlemania 31 Predictions

Well, the time has finally come. This Sunday, WWE will put on its biggest event, Wrestlemania! 7 matches on the main card with 2 matches on the pre-show, including another Fatal 4 Way for the Tag Titles for the 2nd year in a row and the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. It didn't take long for that to fall off now did it? This Wrestlemania features a lot of the same from last year. It features a lot of up and comers VS WWE veterans similar to last year, which had Bryan VS HHH and then Orton/Batista, The Shield VS The Attitude Era, and Wyatt/Cena. This year continues that trend. It was a successful year for them last year. The Shield completely dominated in their match-up, Wyatt looked like a complete star against Cena and Bryan had one of the greatest performances in Wrestlemania history by defeating 3/4 members of Evolution in one night. It took Undertaker 4 years to do such a feat. All the main singles matches, except one, features an NXT alumni facing a WWE vet. Will the youth prevail or will the vets proof it's still their time to shine? Predictions GO!!!

As far as pre-show matches goes, Kidd and Cesaro will retain in a fast and fun contest while Damien Sandow will probably win the Battle Royal. Ryback is another name that could win. Hideo Itami will represent the current crop of NXT stars when he competes at Wrestlemania. He probably won't win and I'd prefer if Adrian Neville was in it because he's about to get called up, but ah what can you do?

WWE needs to start off WM with a bang. It needs to set up the show for success. Although the rest of the card won't probably live up to it, I think the IC Title Ladder match should kick off the show and get everyone's adreanaline pumping. As with all Ladder matches, it should a fast paced contest with plenty of epic spots. Ziggler and Harper alone had a great Ladder match so I'm expecting big things from those two along with Dean Ambrose, since he's insane. I'm not expecting a lot of spots from Daniel Bryan as he's just returning from surgery so anytime he does a move, I'm going to be a little cautious. There's a lot of good youth stars in this match and they could all easily walk out with the gold. Stardust could certainly use it to try and rejuvenate his singles career again. Ambrose could use it because he definitely needs a win on a PPV. It's been quite awhile since Ambrose was a winner, dating back to PAYBACK 2014. That was in June! Daniel Bryan is the likely winner as he can help get the IC Title back to its glory days as a title that's worth winning. The others, Harper, Truth, Ziggler and Barrett, aren't convincing enough to me to win. Barrett's 5th reign as champion will most likely come to an end Sunday when Daniel Bryan wins his first ever intercontinental Championship, completing the WWE Triple Crown in the process. Is it still called a Grand Slam if they win all the titles WWE has to offer? Bryan's been WWE, World Heavyweight, Tag Team, and United States Champion. I don't know if it still exists but I'm calling Bryan a Grand Slam Champion once he wins Sunday!

The Divas get a pointless match at Wrestlemania! What a shocker. Why not just have a Fatal Four Way for the belt? Why did they go from defending the title last year to not at all this year? Where is the logic?!?! Anyway, Paige will make her Wrestlemania debut when she teams with AJ to face The Bella Twins. Hopefully it's a fast affair with Paige and AJ picking up the win over the heel Divas. I could see them doing a title change the next night on Raw or Charlotte finally making her debut to help the division a bit. Lord knows it needs the help.

In what will certainly be the best technical match of the night, Seth Rollins will make his Wrestlemania singles debut against Randy Orton. This match just scream match of the night potential. I haven't been this excited for a Randy Orton match in years. It's a match that's been in the works since November and it's good to see WWE didn't forget about the storyline they set in place. After a great 15-20 minute match, I think Orton will get the win. As much as I'd love to see Rollins continue his definite hot streak, he's facing a returning Orton. Not a lot of people lose in their first match back from return. While it has certainly happened, I don't think it will here. One spot that I need to see is Orton catch Rollins from the diving knee into a RKO. Did they do that at Wrestlemania 29? Sounds like it. Anyway, Orton wins!

Rusev had a good run. He's been undefeated since his debut last year on the Raw following Wrestlemania 30. He's beaten former World Champions in Big Show, Mark Henry, Sheamus and even John Cena himself. On Sunday though, it all comes to an end. He's angered Superman and you don't do that! He may have beaten Cena once on a B PPV, but he won't get the better of him on the grand stage of Wrestlemania. Let me put this fully in perspective; John Cena has been apart of 11 straight Wrestlemanias, has main evented 5 of them, fought over a World Title at 8 of them (with him winning 6 of those) and has a record of 8-3 at the event. He holds the record of coming into Wrestlemania the challenger and leaving the champion. He's done that 4 different time at 21, 25, 26 and 29. John Cena is almost as untouchable as The Undertaker at this point in his career when it comes to Wrestlemania. Bray Wyatt found out the hard way last year what happens when you face the man at Mania. It's not a prediction, it's a spoiler. John Cena, after making Rusev look great, will defeat Rusev and enter his 4th reign as United States Champion. Both Bryan and Cena will elevate the second tier titles as the young ones will fight over the World Title. Maybe...

Triple H will do battle with Sting at Wrestlemania in Sting's first match in WWE. It's being billed as The King VS The Vigilante. It's Sledgehammer VS Bat, only in theory though because there is no stipulation on this match. What kind of decision is that? After having the two on multiple occasions have showdowns with their weapon of choice, why would they have anything less than a No Holds Barred match? Maybe it will be changed the day of because without it, the pace of the match would definitely be slow, seeing how Sting just turned 56 and Triple H is 45. Both haven't wrestled in awhile so the match will probably be very slow at first. Could it be a great match befitting of Wrestlemania? Certainly! Some of the best matches at Mania have involved older talents. Flair/HBK from 24, Taker/HBK from 25 etc. It can happen and I really hope that we'll see some type of stipulation so we'll see the use of the bat and sledgehammer. Will Triple H get revenge on Sting costing him his job by defeating him on the grand stage of Wrestlemania? No. Triple H, though known for burying many a talent in his day, rarely goes over at Wrestlemania. He's put over Benoit, Cena, Batista, Taker and Bryan all at the big event. Besides, it's Sting first WWE match EVER. NO WAY he loses. Triple H's quest to defeat all of WCW's past main eventers (Booker T, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Goldberg) will end Sunday when Sting defeats Triple H in the highly anticipated contest.

Just when I thought Bray Wyatt couldn't top himself at Wrestlemania! Bray Wyatt called out The Undertaker and now they will clash in a match that features the past VS the present. Out of all the matches on the card, this is easily the hardest to decide the victor for creative. The Undertaker won 21 straight times before finally losing to Lesnar at last year'sWrestlemania. He's returning to his first Wrestlemania with a loss. Another defeat might hurt his stock in the eyes of the WWE Universe. Not to me and to his Hall of Fame career because there are many great stars who has plenty of loses at Wrestlemania but are still considered the greatest of all time, names like Triple H and Shawn Michaels. A loss wouldn't kill Taker but to many, his legacy would be hurt. Bray Wyatt, on the other hand, has a lot more to lose. He's a future star of the company, with a gimmick, in ring talent and natural look to boot. The sky's the limit with him. If he's to lose to a guy who was absolutely conquered the year before, where does Wyatt go from there? Does he reset and debut again like he did last year? A loss will hurt Wyatt. The match is going to be interesting. I don't know if Undertaker is back in wrestling shape but the pictures he's taking with fans make him seem like he's in better condition than last year. Wyatt's a stiff guy so I'm a little concerned for Taker. No matter how the match is, it should have one conclusion; Bray Wyatt winning. I'm an Undertaker fan and he's a surefire Hall of Famer but we have to look to the future. Brock Lesnar ended the Streak and no one can take it away but Bray Wyatt can make sure the Streak stays dead. Bray Wyatt will defeat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania because it's best for business. Depending on how the main event goes down, Wyatt will need to play a foil to the could be new champion, a role that would perfect for him. He NEEDS to defeat Taker. IF he doesn't, he'll live. Orton loss to Taker 10 years ago and he only got better with that loss. Wyatt could do the same but why should be since the Streak has been broken already? It's going to be a hard choice but Wyatt needs the backing. Bray Wyatt wins.

The main event of Wrestlemania 31 is a controversial one, mainly because the fans have not been happy with the push of Roman Reigns. Many will say Reigns has been shoved down our throats but he was being built up since Survivor Series 2013 as the next guy. People just haven't been paying attention. This match was a pretty simple one for much of the build, as everyone knew that Reigns was the one to win the Rumble after his great performance last year and that he was going to go to Wrestlemania and take his spot a top the throne. Lesnar was leaving after WM so it made sense that Lesnar, the man who ended the Streak and dominated the WWE since then, would be the one who pushed Reigns and make him look like a true hero. That changed on Tuesday when Lesnar announced that he was staying with WWE for the foreseeable future, which meant that the ending wasn't as clear as we all thought. And although that might be a bad thing for Reigns, NXT and the future but it's a very good thing match wise. Now, there's an aura of mystery surrounding the match. Will they pull the trigger on Reigns, who hasn't been connecting with the fans as much as WWE had hoped for or will they allow Lesnar to continue to hold onto their top title on a part time basis?

I'm very pro Reigns despite what everyone else says because he represents the future. He may not be the face everyone wants but he's the face we need. You see, Reigns is a NXT alumni. When he faces Lesnar at Wrestlemania, he'll be the first NXT guy to main event Wrestlemania and he can go even further by being the first from the brand to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. You know how much that would mean for the brand? Also, they built the guy up all this way, they mind as well pull the trigger. Let's look at if he doesn't win. Lesnar continues to hold onto the title and defend it on a part time schedule, which means he probably won't be back until SummerSlam. That's a problem for two reasons. One, no WWE Title matches for 4 months. Two, Seth Rollins will run out of time on his contract. Something has to give come Sunday.

No matter what, I'm still pro-Reigns and I'm picking him. Roman Reigns is the future and the guy to lead the charge of the next generation. Will the fans like it? No, but in the long run, this win is needed. Reigns is the bright light of the future and with his win, he'll open up to feuds with Rusev, Wyatt, Rollins, Ambrose and all the coming NXT guys. The fans will get their moment when Rollins cashes in, which is still possible for this event or even the next night on Raw. He has until June and it's basically April now. Roman Reigns wins his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship, like he's suppose to. Lesnar will come back and face Orton at SummerSlam because it makes sense.

So there you go! Wrestlemania 31 is on Sunday! It will be a show to be remembered. Will the NXT alumni start their takeover of the main roster or will the Class of 2002 and The Undertaker prove it's still their time? We'll find out on Sunday!