Wrestlemania 31 Recap: Rollins New WWE Champ, Rousey Gets ‘Moment’

Seth Rollins is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion and that’s the reason why you should have loved this year’s Wrestlemania.

But with many more surprise appearances than you would have thought and a few amazing finishes, this year’s Wrestlemania was better than anyone could have expected.

With the lackluster build up and lack of big names associated, who could have blamed fans for not being excited?

But that’s when the WWE threw the curveball.

The Rock and Ronda Rousey.

Although it dragged out much longer than it should have, Rousey was a perfect fit in a WWE ring and thanks to some help from The Rock, provided an awesome emotional lift before the show’s final two matches.

Away from those special moments, the guys and divas on the roster worked tonight. The in-ring action was like a NXT show- on steroids. Every match was filled with offense and “moments.”

Although Daniel Bryan and John Cena’s Intercontinental and United States title wins may signal a slowing down of the brand’s youth movement, Seth Rollins’ win of the WWE World Heavyweight title proves that the brass ring is able to be reached by the company’s youth- they just have to go through the Rollins to get it..

Matches:

Kickoff: Tag Team Champions Tyson Kidd and Antonio Cesaro w/Natalya Neidhart vs. Kofi Kingston and Big E. Langston w/Xavier Woods vs. Los Matadores w/ El Torito vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso w./Naomi: An almost TNA-styled tag match with a ton of offense. All four teams had their moments,(Natalya even locked in the Sharpshooter on El Torito) but after a Jey Uso Splash, Cesaro tagged himself in (he actually tagged himself in right before Uso hit the air) and stole the pinfall from the Usos to retain their titles.

Kickoff: Andre the Giant Battle Royal: Naturally Cesaro, Kane and Mark Henry, as well as Ryback had no problem throwing people out. The Ascension was solid as well, teaming up for a few eliminations and shows of strength. It was actually The Big Show, however, who put on the coolest performance, taking a beating, but eliminating The entire New Day by himself. Kane also had his moment, hitting a Double Chokeslam on the Miz and Sandow before Cesaro eliminated him. The Miz, Damien Sandow, and The Big Show were the last three left until Sandow turned his back on Miz and eliminated him. Although Sandow fought hard, Show was ultimately too much for him. throwing the former Money in the Bank winner over the top rope for the win.

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose vs. R-Truth vs. Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust vs. Daniel Bryan: An insane match that saw every competitor hit a ton of offense. In some of the crazier moments, Harper Powerbombed Ambrose through a leader from the inside of the ring to the outside and Barrett was a force with strikes galore and a beautiful Superplex from the top of the ladder on Stardust. In the end, it was a battle of attrition as Bryan and Ziggler were the only ones left. After a series of headsets back and forth, Bryan managed to knock off the Showoff and win his first Intercontinental Championship.

Seth Rollins w/Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury vs. Randy Orton: Rollins brought it in typical heel fashion. Kicking out of the RKO and delivering a plethora of high-flying offense, this was a beautifully paced match. After interference from Noble and Mercury, Orton nailed both of them with RKOs and kicked out of The Curb Stomp. With Orton still down, Rollins went for the Phoenix 450 but missed. Going for the Curb Stomp again, Orton countered, in mid-air, into the RKO for the win.

Sting vs. Triple H: This was all spectacle, especially from the beginning, thanks to Triple H’s Terminator-inspired entrance. Appearances from Kevin Nash, Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Road Dogg, Sean Walkman and Billy Gunn, this one got spicy. Sting brought the offense, but Triple H was game, kicking out of the Scorpion Death Drop and escaping the Scorpion Death Lock in the middle of the ring. Interference from Shawn Michaels in the form of a Sweet Chin Music evened out the match, but Sting was able to kick out. When Gunn gave HHH the sledgehammer, Hall gave Sting the bat and again, the stalemate continued. Sting then broke Triple H’s sledgehammer in half and went on the attack. But using the broken half of the sledgehammer, Triple H nailed Sting and got the win. In spite of the way he won the match, Triple H and Sting eventually shook hands at the end of the match.

Paige and AJ Lee vs. Divas Champion Nikki Bella and Brie Bella: Probably one of the best Divas matches in weeks, even in the face of a few flubs. In spite of well-timed interference from Brie, Nikki was unable to get the win. After Paige took out Brie on the outside, Lee got the win on Nikki with the Black Widow.

United States Champion Alexander Rusev w/Lana vs. John Cena: Rusev once again brought it to Cena, but unlike the last time the two competitors locked up, Lana couldn’t play nearly as big dividends. After he broke the Accolade, Cena locked in the STF in the center of the ring. After he let go of the hold, Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment, but first dodged a Rusev attack that sent Lana to the outside. With Rusev dazed, Cena hit his finisher for the win and the United States title.

The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt: The chants of “You Still Got It” came early when Undertaker hit the Old-School, but Wyatt held his own for much of the encounter in spite of taking a ton of punishment from the Dead Man. Kicking out of the Tombstone, Wyatt proved he deserved a shot against Taker. Hitting a sloppy, but effective Sister Abigail on Taker, Wyatt quickly got back into the match. With both competitors on the floor, Wyatt did trademark spider walk, but Taker responded with his signature stand up as well. After the two traded strikes, Wyatt went for the Sister Abigail again, but Taker countered with the Tombstone for the win.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Roman Reigns: With an early German Suplex and a F5, Lesnar dominated early, but didn’t go for the pin. Continuing the bevy of Suplexes, Lesnar, who was bloodied by Reigns punch early on, was like a cyborg. Although Reigns got in a few knees that temporarily gave him an advantage, Lesnar fought back quickly and hit another Snap Suplex that sent Reigns to the outside. After another Suplex, Lesnar hit the F5, but Reigns kicked out. That’s when Lesnar decided to take the gloves off, literally. Slapping Reigns around, Reigns smiled and laughed until Lesnar hit another two German Suplexes and another F5, but Reigns kicked out again. Leans then made a huge mistake, throwing Reigns to the outside, where Reigns responded by throwing Lesnar into the ring post. With Lesnar wobbly, Reigns hit three Superman Punches and a Spear, but Lesnar got up, walking into another Superman Punch, Lesnar kicked out. Going for the Spear again, Lesnar hit the F5. before a pin could be counted, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money n the Bank, making it a three-way match.

After he took care of Reigns, Rollins hit the Curb Stomp on Lesnar, but couldn’t get the pin. Lesnar then fought back and went for the F5 on Rollins, but Reigns hit Lesnar with the Spear, allowing Rollins to hit Reigns with the Curb Stomp and steal the WWE World Heavyweight title.