Views From The Turnbuckle: Wrestlemania Review, Star Ratings, Reactions And More

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff.

Among hardcore fans, the idea of "entertainment" in the WWE's product is a dirty word. Entertainment is WWE Films, boring promos and bad acting. Wrestlemania 31 was not the greatest display of technical wrestling ability, and maybe there wasn't a match that really stole the show, but no one can deny that it was at least very entertaining for a majority of the show. There were still some bad entertainment moments (did we really need Skyler Grey and Kid Ink?) but if the purpose of Wrestlemania is too hold the attention of the viewer for four hours, than the event was largely a success.

Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins-****

I don't think Seth Rollins cashing in his contract and winning the world title was a big surprise for most people, I think most fans accepted that it was a real possibility to end the show. However, the real surprise was that Rollins cashed it in during the match, and not after the main event, which is pretty much what every other MITB winner has done in the past. Rollins getting the pin on Reigns to win the match and the title was one of the smartest booking decisions WWE has made in a while. Why? Because it opens up several different directions that they can go with. Lesnar has beef because Rollins didn't beat him for the title, and Reigns has beef because he went through hell to get Lesnar in a vulnerable position, and Rollins snuck in and stole the championship. In addition, since Rollins lost to Orton earlier in the night, Orton also has a legitimate claim to a world title match. Just right there, WWE has three interesting title feuds that they can line up for Rollins. A champion is really only as good as his opponents, and WWE has gotten Rollins off to a great start.

The match itself was about as good as it possibly could have been. Lesnar, for all of his faults, wrestles matches that are unlike everyone else's. Reigns came out just to punch Lesnar in the mouth, but Brock just shrugged it off and hit Brock with a F5. Just a minute into the match, the challenger had already taken a finisher and was crumpled over in the corner, while the champion stood tall. Nobody else has matches are like that. Reigns held his own and took the beating admirably, and towards the end of the match he managed to quell some of the hostility that was directed towards him at the beginning of the match.

WWE had stubbornly booked Reigns as the next face of the company, receiving an unstoppable push since last summer. It seemed academic that he was going to gain the title after winning the Royal Rumble. However, WWE showed more creative than fans (including myself) were willing to give them credit for, and they hit a homerun tonight in the main event. Reigns is still young, still has a ton of potential, and will likely be a big star in the company, but the issue with him was that right now, he left you hoping. WWE was hoping he would become better in the ring, hoping he would improve on the mic, hoping that he would become more comfortable as a character, etc. Rollins is someone who already has all of those skills, and WWE will now hopefully give him the ball and let him run with it, while Reigns continues to progress.

The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt-***

In my preview of Wrestlemania Thursday, I mentioned that even if The Undertaker wasn't in the greatest physical shape, he was still powerful enough figure to have an interesting match. It was pretty clear that 'Taker wasn't in his prime tonight, but he and Wyatt worked hard enough, and sold each other's antics to make the match entertaining. Wyatt's promos leading up to the match were kind of bland, and I think that the storyline suffered by The Undertaker not appearing until Wrestlemania. The story was that Wyatt was the new face of fear and wanted the reputation that The Undertaker had. Without 'Taker to come around every once and awhile to interact with Wyatt, the storyline would have been a lot stronger and the match would have felt more alive.

Wyatt lost at Wrestlemania, but his loss this year was different than his one previously. At Wrestlemania 30, Cena pretty much had his way with Wyatt before beating him. The Undertaker gave Wyatt a lot of offense and sold for him extremely well. He may have come up short and picked up a loss, but overall Wyatt still looked pretty strong and a legitimate threat for future opponents. As for The Undertaker, who knows how long his career is going to last? I don't even think he does. I think it is safe to say that the 5 star classics at Wrestlemania are gone, but through sheer force of character, 'Taker could keep having entertaining matches for years to come.

Rusev vs John Cena-*3/4

This match was pretty much a replay of their match at Fast Lane, only this time the ending was much more predictable. Rusev bumped and he scowled and he tried his best, but of course it wasn't enough to fit the living embodiment of America, John Cena. Rusev broke out some new moves and Cena tried that springboard ace-crusher that kind of worked, but overall, why should fans really care about this match? WWE always likes to say that whether it was cheers or boos, Cena already got a big reaction from the crowd, but the 76,000 (or whatever) fans were laid back for this match, mainly because it was exceptionally predictable match. Cena will move onto some other feud, but Rusev's future remains uncertain. Maybe he will wrestle Jack Swagger for the rest of eternity?

Sting vs Triple H-**3/4

And this is where the star rating system fails me. How does one fully grasp this match and compare it to say, Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton? If you are looking for great technical wrestling, look elsewhere. If you are looking for hard-hitting action, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a match that tells a logical story and makes sense, look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a match that was entertaining, than this was the match of the night. Wrestling wise, it was what most fans expected. Sting is pretty limited in the ring, and Triple H did his best to sell for him, but it wasn't going to impress anybody. WWE decided to counter that by having run-ins by roughly 10,000 friends of Triple H.

DX came out to help Triple H, which at least makes sense. Then the nWo came out to help Sting, which of course made no sense at all, since the nWo (at least the incarnation of Hogan and The Outsiders) were sworn enemies of Sting. Of course, Shawn Michaels had to show up and superkick somebody to top it all off. Both guys kicked out of finishers, Sting's baseball bat cut through HHH's sledgehammer like it was a chainsaw, and Triple H won by blasting Sting in the head with the broken piece of the sledgehammer, which would have killed someone in real life, but hey, it's wrestling.

At the end they all hugged it out, which was kind of weird and ruined the entire purpose of the match. During the embrace between Triple H, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels after their Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania 28, at least the storyline was based around the guys having respect for each other. Sting vs Triple H didn't have any of that, Triple H was a bully and Sting was going to make him pay, except the match ended when the bully ran over Sting with a lethal weapon and won the match, and then Sting shook the bully's hand. This match made little sense, but at least they could have stuck to kayfabe a little bit.

Lastly, Triple H's entrance was hilarious in a so-bad-it's-good way, and it is a travesty that The Rock didn't spend 20 minutes making fun of it.

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton-****

By far the most technically sound match of the night, both guys delivered in a match that had some decent drama going into it, and Orton winning actually sets up a later program between him and the now-champion Seth Rollins. Orton has pulled off a lot of impressive RKO's during his career, but the one tonight was the best I have ever seen. Rollins was just so high in the air, watching it live and at full speed, it looked like he flew 30 feet in the air and got spiked into the mat by a vicious RKO. Not much more to say about this match other than it was too really elite performers doing their jobs really well.

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match-***

It was entertaining enough to open the show, but overall I think this match was a little bit disappointing. Yes Bryan won and yes there were some cool spots, but it felt mostly like a bunch of guys getting together and running through a checklist of spots. Ambrose had the bump of the night breaking through the ladder, but it just lacked a lot of identifiable moments. If you think back at the great ladder matches, you can remember several high spots. Outside of Ambrose crashing through the ladder and Barrett throwing a bull-hammer party, I don't really remember all that much from the match.

Bella Twins vs Paige and AJ Lee-**

It might be Wrestlemania, but realistically there was nothing different about this match than any other Diva's match. There wasn't a whole lot of momentum going into the match, and outside of Paige kicking out of the Rack Attack, nothing unusual took place. Wrestling wise it wasn't terrible, but it was short and the outcome likely does not really effect anything in the Diva's division, so there is only so much the ladies can do.

The Rock's promo with The Authority and Ronda Rousey is probably going to be one of the more debated aspects of Wrestlemania. The Rock is always going to get a big pop, and he was on point as usual. Stephanie McMahon is still an excellent heel on the microphone, and Rousey is going to make some headlines. However, the segment was very long, and it seemed like something that should happen on Raw, and not take 25 minutes of precious Wrestlemania time. It also sends a message to the rest of the roster. The battle royal got pushed back to the preshow because of time restraints. Instead of the battle royal, fans were treated to this long segment and musical acts that nobody cared about. The Rock is a legend and Rousey will get some publicity, but I would feel bad if I was in the battle royal and WWE subjugated me in order to focus on The Rock and Rousey, two people who will not be in the company tomorrow. As a Diva, it kind of sucks for them to only get a little bit of time on Wrestlemania, while they give a bunch of attention to a woman who doesn't work for the company and to only have her make a pouty face and give Triple H an awkward arm drag.

Wrestlemania got plenty of well-deserved criticism for it's sub-standard build-up, but what WWE never gets credit for is that despite all of the mistakes WWE makes building up the show, as soon as the PPV goes live and you see the giant set and the huge crowd, the emotion of the event changes. WWE has changed a lot over the years, but the one constant year in and year out has been that Wrestlemania always feels special, and that is a tribute to everyone who works hard for the company to make the event seem so extraordinary.

@@JesseCollings