A Bold Last-Minute Decision Changed This Historic WrestleMania 31 Match

WWE WrestleMania 31 took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium, home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. At the time, it was instantly regarded as one of the better WrestleManias that the company had ever presented. A decade later, the event is still remembered fondly, but there is one match that stands out above the others — the main event, featuring Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and a surprise appearance by Seth Rollins.

At the 2015 WWE Royal Rumble, just two months prior, Reigns won the right to challenge Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. On the same night, Rollins was pinned by Lesnar in a Triple Threat for the title, setting up the events to come.

By the time WrestleMania rolled around, Rollins was booked in an undercard match against Randy Orton, while Reigns and Lesnar were set to fight it out in the main event. Though Rollins held the Money in the Bank briefcase, fans weren't expecting a cash-in that night, especially after Orton pinned Rollins in the second match. However, they were quite wrong.

The first 15 minutes of the main event saw momentum shift back and forth between Reigns and Lesnar, with both wrestlers lying bloodied on the ring mat when Rollins' music hit. Cashing in his title match contract, Rollins entered himself into the match and, after nearly taking an F5 from Lesnar, successfully pinned Reigns using his Curb Stomp. WrestleMania 31 ended with Rollins celebrating his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship win.

Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon was still at the helm in 2015, meaning each and every idea that made it onto TV had to go through him. According to Rollins, he himself pitched McMahon on the idea to cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania 31, right around the time of the Royal Rumble.

When the wrestler first came up with the idea, he suggested cashing in after the match, which would've been typical with the Money in the Bank briefcase. By the end of March, McMahon still had not made a final decision, and it wasn't until after his match against Orton that Rollins was informed he would be cashing in that night. However, an important tweak was made from his original pitch — instead of winning the title afterwards, he would use the contract to make the main event a Triple Threat in the midst of the match. It was something that had never happened before.

The plan went off without a hitch, and the crowd reacted accordingly. Taking place less than a year after he betrayed Shield partners Reigns and Dean Ambrose, Rollins' WrestleMania main event win marked something of a turning point in WWE, with a new generation of performers joining the existing stars at the top of the company. Rollins would hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for roughly six months, until he was forced to vacate it due to injury, with Reigns becoming the next person to win the title.