The Spectacle of WrestleMania 31: pyrotechnics, ladders and Money in the Bank

Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE World title by defeating Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns in WrestleMania main event. <photo=AP/뉴시스>

All year round, wrestling fans may complain about the quality of wrestling and storylines and wrestlers, but if there is one time of the year, everyone comes together to celebrate, it is WrestleMania. The biggest event of the year, at the Grandest Stage of them all, WrestleMania. Millions of people gather from around the world to celebrate ‘wrestling’. Whether watching from home on the WWE Network (which, by the way, costs only $9.99) or live at the arena, every single one of us feels like a family. And perhaps, that is why, the passion for wrestling runs in our blood and perhaps, that is why we laugh, we enjoy, we cry (when emotions come crushing down at us during a fan-favorite’s victory) together, just like we do in movies, because we are a family. I may not like you for being a John Cena fan. You may not like me for being a Brock Lesnar fan. But we sure are part of a family that goes beyond the love/hate relationship. When it comes to WrestleMania, there is no discrimination. Wherever you come from, first you are a wrestling fan.

WrestleMania is the World Cup, the Super Bowl of wrestling. Once a year, thousands gather to watch live while millions watch from home. What we witness is one of the best forms of storytelling. Wrestling is athleticism and theater, combined into one to provide a unique kind of entertainment.

Although the build-up to this WrestleMania was average, at best, the show itself delivered like no other. From the grand entrances to the incredible action inside and outside the ring; it FELT like WrestleMania. The card consisted of nine matches, of which two, 4-team tag title match and Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, were on the pre-show. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd retained their tag titles against the teams of New Day, Los Matadores and The Usos in a fast paced action-packed match up.

Big Show won the battle royal by last eliminating Damien Sandow who earlier eliminated his storyline employer, The Miz. Then the main show began.

Brock Lesnar, the defending champion before losing it to Seth Rollins <Photo=AP/뉴시스>

Starting the main show with an incredible 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental championship, the pace was set. Daniel Bryan, who main-evented last year’s WrestleMania, started off this one by winning the prestigious Intercontinental title for the first time in his career. He defeated the likes of Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett (the defending champion), Stardust, R-Truth and Luke Harper. The tone was set. Fans blew the roof off by chanting Bryan’s catchphrase ‘YES! YES! YES!’. Actually there was no roof in the first place.

Next was the grudge match between Randy Orton and Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins. Rollins had put Orton out of action four months ago and now Orton was back for revenge. And revenge he did get. What cannot an RKO, a three quarter facelock front face bulldog, out of nowhere do? It certainly can knock out your opponent for a 3 count and that is what it did to Seth Rollins.

Following this was the anticipated WrestleMania debut of Sting. The man who, till its demise, remained loyal to WCW, another wrestling company who gave stiff competition to WWE in 1990s, and had never set foot in a WWE ring until November 2014, was to make his first ever WrestleMania appearance to face the on-screen COO of WWE, Triple H. In a full-on Terminator style, Triple H entered, wearing a robotic Terminator-esque mask and carrying robot skulls.   After a lot of action and drama between New World Order (NWO) and Degeneration X trying to help Sting and Triple H respectively; a super kick from DX member and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels to Sting helped Triple H get the win. After the match, a handshake followed between the two men which ended the apparently final episode of decades old rivalry between WWE and WCW.

Seemingly, Hashtag ‘Give Divas a chance’ was a huge deal on Twitter for the past couple months. And it certainly opened WWE officials’ eyes. The female wrestlers got some time to tell a story on WrestleMania stage in a tag match between AJ Lee, Paige against The Bella twins. For the past few months, these two had been trading blows while Nikki, being the Divas champion, ruled the Divas division. This led to the tag match between the returning AJ (who Nikki had defeated for the title a few months back) and Paige teaming up to show the Bellas their place. That’s exactly what they did, thanks to the Black Widow submission move by AJ Lee.

Now it was time for USA vs. Russia for the United State championship. I mean, John Cena, an American patriot vs. Rusev, a Bulgarian brute, along with his valet, Lana, representing Russia. Making a grand entrance, Rusev came out in a tank with a number of supposedly Russian army members. Talk about an impressive WrestleMania entrance! Previously, Rusev had not lost a match via pin fall or submission in around a year. This marked his first loss, making Cena the new US champion who finally after months of a tyrannical reign, brought the title home, while also creating tension between Rusev and his valet, Lana when he accidentally slammed into her.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Triple H facing off during a segment. <Photo=AP/뉴시스>

But UFC fighter and Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey also made an appearance. Along with The Rock, she confronted Triple H and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, proclaiming “Any ring I step into is mine!” and kicked some authority butt. Way to give fans a WrestleMania moment to remember, Rousey!

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey made an appearance and took it up to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. <Photo=AP/뉴시스>

Now, if you could hold your breath for ‘Eater of Worlds’, Bray Wyatt has a statement to make. He claimed to be the ‘New Face of Fear’ and expose The Undertaker’s weakness and mortality after Lesnar broke his 21 year streak last year in a moment no fan could ever forget. But Taker had other plans, he showed he has still got it and defeated Wyatt, albeit it took 2 tombstone piledrivers to finish him off. Wyatt still looked strong in defeat.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for the main event of WrestleMania! WWE Heavyweight champion of the world, Brock Lesnar, the unstoppable beast, who killed Taker’s streak, gave Cena the worst loss of his career, would face off against the newcomer Roman Reigns, although coming from the legendary Anoa’i family, which gave wrestlers like The Rock, Rikishi, Umaga, to the world.

Now as you may have guessed and personally, as a long-time wrestling fan, I can assure that WrestleMania never disappoints. Last year, the ‘WWE Universe’, as WWE terms us, witnessed the rise of Daniel Bryan, one of the best wrestlers alive and the ultimate underdog who had been fighting the authority for over 8 months and eventually, triumphed in the main event of WrestleMania 30 by winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title.

This year, the situation was a bit different yet quite similar to last year’s. Last year, Bryan was not in the annual Royal Rumble match yet was inserted into the title picture due to fans reactions. This year, Roman Reigns, real life cousin to Hollywood actor and former wrestler, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, won the Royal Rumble but the fans rejected him. They wanted Bryan all over again. Or Dolph Ziggler or Dean Ambrose. WWE did not give in to fans by inserting the third person into the match again but there was another factor involved: The Money in the Bank.

Seth Rollins, who held the contract to cash in on the champ anytime, anywhere he wanted for the WWE title match, was another factor that could come into play and it did. After fans witnessed Paul Heyman’s client Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns destroy each other, Seth Rollins, today’s Ultimate Opportunist, cashed in his contract during the match, making it a triple threat match and easily won the WWE title to the fans’ rejoice. Throughout the match, Roman Reigns, portrayed as the good guy, was booed by fans while Brock Lesnar, the ultimate heel, the bad guy, was heavily cheered. Finally, Seth Rollins saved the day and became the first NXT champion to go on to win WWE World title.

The epic encounter between the men eventually ended with the third guy, almost ‘stealing’ the victory. What matters is that the fans ate it up. This was the first time that money in the bank contract was ever cashed in in the main event of WrestleMania and boy, did it work! There has been a lot of talk about Vince McMahon, the mastermind behind WWE phenomenon, that he has lost touch. He can’t put on a show anymore. He needs to shake things up, possibly even retire. But what a show he put on for the fans!

For those of you who missed it, you can catch it on WWE Network any time only for $9.99!