WrestleMania 16

April 2nd, 2000 from Anaheim, California

Attendance: 19.776

Buys: 824,000

 Of the WrestleManias that took place during the WWF explosion 99 was woeful and 2001 is either overrated or a Top 5 Mania depending on my mood so how will this stand up? Also as i'm typing this I'm listening to Off The Wall which is a cracking album, so good I could see Prince doing it, I only got it for Shes Out Of My Life but recently played it through and was astonished, wait what am I doing again oh yeah the 16th installment of Mania where the unofficial TLC takes place and for the first time ever Mania has a 4-Way main event, actually the only other 4-Way top liner I can think of prior to this one is IYH 13: Final Four and Capital Carnage but does a UK PPV count in WWF/E canon?

Lilian Garcia sings us in then the opening video focuses more on McMahons than the actual wrestlers they represent. (Be more surprising if it was the other way around to be honest)

Godfather/D'Lo Brown (w/ Ice-T) Vs. Bossman/Buchanan
 2 of these never did Mania again, unsure of Bull as he may of been in RTC match at 17 or was it Stevie/Good/Val? This would be strictly pre-show territory today or not even booked at all (I'd go for the latter as doubt these guys bar maybe D'Lo would be hired these days). From Mr. T to Ice though I prefer A Cup Of, still got it, yep I've started watching Happy Days recently (But not now so can't remember this reference but I think it was something Ralph would say). JR says Bossman met Bull in Atlanta, so that's where he went after Truth Commission. D'Lo does some dodging then heel kicks bull. Splash then a leg drop as D'Lo/Godfather where apparently an urban Hardyz. Bull impresses with his agility for a man his size by leaping to the top and clotheslines D'Lo who is then Scissor Kicked for 2 as he's been isolated. Bearhug is applied I believe Mr. Kayfabe Double A called that the most boring move ever, got to agree with The Enforcer there. Bull hits a Scissor Kick off the top for 3, for some reason I neglected to note who took the fall. ** - Sound tag strategy but boring when used by these guys, average at best.

Tim White explains the Hardcore Rules to the participants on HeAt, there's that many it resembles an NFL huddle.

Hardcore Free For All - Hardcore Title
 Goes for 15mins and whoever has the belt at the end of that time is the winner, Tazz, Viscera, Joey Abs, Rodney, Pete Gas, Hardcore Holly, TAKA, Funaki, Mosh, Thrasher, Faarooq, Bradshaw and Crash Holly (c) are in this, I nearly spat my coffee out when I realised Headbangers made a PPV in 2000 I'd of bet $1,000,000 that they didn't (Being british I wouldn't lose that much these days as a cool 1 mil in $ is about £6.78 post Brexit). Most of these never made another Mania appearance and Crash's one was only running in after Spike in 2002 unsure on Hardcore and Viscera as they may of been in 23s ECW tag match but don't think they were. I'm typing this up out of my review book and unfortunately at that time I declined to review the action as it's just fighting around ringside and backstage but I did write the order of the title changes so here goes - Viscera - Funaki - Rodney - Joey Abs - Thrasher - (a bloody) Pete Gas - Tazz - Crash, then the controversial ending as you see Hardcore apparently wasn't meant to get 3 but Tim White counted 3. Someone screwed up. Don't know what to give it really so **. 9 never made a Mania appearance again, 10 if you base it on matches as stated Crash does a run-in at 18. I base it on matches so 10 as i'm not counting X-Pac either.

We see WWF Axxess and I think this is the first Axxess as 99 had the Rage Party. Of note HBK, Austin and Taker were at Axxess but not Mania itself.

Blackman tells Al Snow not to do something stupid. (Should of told him to wrestle a good match on the night instead)

Head Cheese (w/ Chester McCheeserton) Vs. T&A (w/ Trish)
 Head Cheese Vs. T&A  were these names done by sophomores? (Did Vince Russo leave potential tag names around Titan Towers in 99 that someone stumbled upon?) It's amazing how much Trish improved through the 2000s I would lean towards giving her 'Most Improved' of the 00s award but someone on Twitter mentioned Angle which is a good shout. Two of these never did Mania again. JRs headsets gone out, wish i'd though of that .... still got it (Don Most getting more promotion than the wrestling man!). Al Snow is double teamed but he does soon get 2 on Albert off an enziguri. Good lord Steve Blackman did a diving headbutt I can picture security backstage holding Benoit back. Crowds dead. JR uses his this match sucks code of 'Bowling Shoe Ugly' what has he got against bowling shoes I demand their union sue him. Head Cheese Decapitation gets 2 on Test. An elbow from the top gets Test 3 on Blackman. Post match - Al and Steve attack Chester. *1/2 - Boring and honestly *1/2 seems generous.

Kat is naked backstage but we get some strategically placed items.

Triangle Ladder Match - Dudleyz (c) Vs. Edge & Christian Vs. Hardyz
 Triangle is the name used as TLC was born for the SummerSlam encounter. Nowadays ladder matches a lot of time feature spots pretty cliched now but this is what started it all so things may seem common place here but this is where they first happened like how Benoit/Sullivan at GAB 96 was pretty groundbreaking, at least for WCW/WWF, but over time got thrown in with the matches that followed when it was really the birth point. Not only did all of these appear at Mania again they had the same match a year later. I have noted the moves on show and feel it should be done it bullet point form if not for the space it would take up. Jeff does a 450' but hits a ladder as Bubba moves. Edge rides a ladder onto a sandwiched Matt. Bubba does the ladder spin bit. Christian leaps off a ladder onto Matt and Bubba who are ringside. Edge Spears Jeff off a ladder, a year later they'd one up themselves as Edge Speared Jeff from the heavens at 17. Christian is Bubba Cuttered off a ladder. Hardyz hit their splash/leg drop onto Bubba but do it off of ladders. D-Von is superplexed off a ladder by E&C. All six are on ladders now as Jeff and Christian are pushed over the top rope, i'd hate to do that. Bubba and Michael Clark Duncan, RIP, exchange words at ringside. Dudleyz place
a table across two ladders, that becomes important later. D-Von goes to headbutt Jeff through a table but he moves but Bubba makes amends by powerbombing Matt off the SAT and through a table. Bubba sets a huge ladder in the aisle but Christian lays him out on a table and Jeff kind of Swantons Bubba through it, it was 5% on Bubba 95% onto the floor, I think that's the one where backstage clip reveals he hurt himself on it. Matt and Christian are on the table platform the Dudleyz made earlier, that's got a ring of Blue Peter to it, and Matt is flipped off it through a table by Edge who along with Christian pulls down the Tag Titles. **** - This and the TLC I and II were **** affairs but I do have to ask was it worth it when you consider the problems most suffer now from these type of matches almost feel guilty for liking it. This blew my mind when I saw it then I recovered and it got re-blown when I saw the SummerSlam re-match which incidentally is my fave of the trilogy involving these tandems. (SummerSlam - WM 17 - WM 16)

Special Ref/ Val Venis - The Kat Vs. Terri Runnels
 Basically a two women battle royal as first to throw opponent out wins. A buffer match for fans to get their jaws back in place and me to have my cereal as I don't review stuff like this. Terri won.

Advert for WM 17 plays then we see Eddy, Dean and Perry converse as do Chyna and Too Cool.

Radicalz Vs. Too Cool/Chyna
 Fair to say Benoit was earmarked for success already over the other three, you know when you buy something and you get something free with it that you generally just toss aside well that's how I think WWF felt about Saturn and to an extent Malenko when they got Benoit and Guerrero from WCW. Too Cool are proof that Vince still had that Midas touch in 2000 as they didn't amount to much in 1998 when they were funnily enough called Too Much, 3 of these appeared at a subsequent Mania but Perry gets the Crash Holly treatment as he was only Eddies corner man at X7 though his hat from then holds a special place in my heart. Sexay and Chyna suplex Dean. Eddie cheapshots Chyna but Sexay suplexes him to outside. Double Worm to Perry and Dean. Scotty superplexes as Eddie as Dean wonders of how to counter such a maneuver, see Backlash 2000 for the answer and cause that PPV is brilliant. Chyna goes all Great Muta. Testicular Claw, which is mive that finished Mankind at No Mercy 1999 and also move 539 of Deans 1000. Sleeper Style DDT gets Chyna 3 on Eddie, as stated earlier this is being typed from a review already penned so I can't remember how the hell a Sleeper DDT works, unless I genuinely misnamed it. **1/2 - It was one of them matches which isn't great but by no means bad, good filler if you will.

Shane bigs up Big Show.

IC/Euro - Chris Benoit Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Kurt Angle (c and c)
 Kurt holds both belts and the first fall is for the IC Title and second is for the European Title. All three made Mania appearances again well 18-20 had at least one of these in the main event. We see Angle attack Bob backlund on HeAt as he's the reason both belts are being defended. Benoit stops Jericho hitting his springboard dropkick. Angle flapjacks Y2J onto the ring steps but he responds in the ring with a double underhook backbreaker. They take turns breaking pins up. Jericho gets 2 on Angle off a bulldog. Benoit wins the IC Title with a Diving Headbutt and I love it as he straight away goes for the pin again to try and claim the European strap but Angle manages to break that one up. I thought we were getting their take on the Tower Of Doom spot as a german and belly-to-back off the top was on the cards but alas no. Benoit breaks up the Walls on Angle. Jericho reverts to his Dubya-Cee-Dubya days with a double powerbomb on Angle. Benoit hits rolling germans on Jericho and bridges the third one but it only gets a 2 count. Ref Bump as Jericho forearms Tim White who doesn't then see Jericho tapping to the Crossface, Jericho recovers and applies the Walls but Angle hits him with a Title. Benoit misses a Diving Headbutt and Jericho Lionsaults a wounded Benoit for the 3 count and the European Title. Angle is protected as he loses both belts but neither fall and Benoit is shown some respect as he had both titles won when he made Jericho tap but the ref was down. *** Okay triple threat, not fantastic or ground breaking but certainly not bad either. Was it as good as it could've been? I'm not sure. In the extras the three of them provide commentary on the match separately with Kevin Kelly. Nice protection of Angle as well as he loses both belts but no falls, I think Jericho lost his the next night on RAW when Chyna helped Eddie, if not on the following RAW it certainly happened prior to Backlash.

Vince McMahon says tonight he'll make it right, hmmm foreshadowing are we Vinnie?, then HHH is angry in his locker room but being around Stephanie would probably make Buddists angry.

X-Pac/Road Dogg (w/ Tori) Vs. Rikishi/Kane (w/ Paul Bearer)
 X-Pac and Kane had been rivals since the break up of their team in late 1999 but how Rikishi fits in this I can't remember. Kane appeared at subsequent Manias whilst the others did not (Either I wrote this ages ago or forgot about Mania 30 but Road Dogg wrestled there). Kane grabs Tori but X-Pac makes the save. Stink Face to Road Dogg. DX leave but are caught in the aisle. Bronco Buster to Rikishi. Flapjack into a Diamond Cutter lays out X-Pac and Rikishi busts out a WrestleMania roll to tag in Kane. X-Pac avoids a Stink Face but Tori doesn't and Kane pins X-Pac after a Tombstone. Must note I met Rikishi at Wales Comic Con in 2014 and will meet X-Pac if I go this November. Post match a San Diego Chicken runs down, JR says it's Pete Rose, it dances with Too Cool and Rikishi as Kane and Paul Bearer look on then Pete Rose runs down with a ball bat but is Chokeslammed  and Stink Faced as this drew a line under both of Kane's rivalries with X-Pac and Pete Rose. Kane wouldn't appear on PPV again until the WWF Title 6-Man tag at KOTR 2000. ** - Meh.

Rock is interviewed by Kevin Kelly.

WWF Title - Triple-H (c) (w/ Stephanie) Vs. The Rock (w/ Vince) Vs. Big Show (w/ Shane) Vs. Mick Foley (w/ Linda)
 Rock won the Rumble on a controversial finish then Big Show won the WM Title Shot off Rock at No Way Out thanks to Shane then it got made into a triple threat and then Linda appeared on RAW and put Mick Foley, who was retired by HHH at No Way Out into the main event so we could have all McMahons involved. The build up made it seem like the four wrestlers were the cornermen, not the last time Stephanie would overshadow a Mania main event. I love HHHs My Time theme, Big Show goes through his power repertoire early as he is on top. Foley stops HHH getting Chokeslammed then all three team up on Big Show, weird seeing Rock and HHH team up. Foley uses a chair on Show then Rock Rock Bottoms Show eliminating him from the match already. HHH tries to form an alliance with Foley then with Rock but it backfires as Rock and Sock beat on Hunter. Foley gets the Barbed Wire 2-by-4 but HHH disarms him and uses it on him. Mick fires back with a Double Arm DDT and now Sockos here, Mandible Claw leaves HHH easy prey for a title shot. Peoples Elbow is signalled but Mandible Claw is applied. Double Arm DDT on Rock gets a 2 count. Foley and HHH team up on Rock but can't put him away, Rock is laid on the announce table as Mick comes off the middle rope for an elbow drop but misjudges it and bounces off the announce table as he came up short, I had to pause the DVD as I had tears from laughing though being a Foley fan I did feel bad, HHH elbows Rock through the table himself. Foley is Pedigreed but it only gets 2, good near fall there, HHH swings a chair like a ball bat then kind of Pedigrees Foley on a chair and Mick Foley is gone leaving it Rock Vs. HHH, nice pop as Foley leaves he then sees HHH on the titantron so goes back and hits him with the Barbed Wire 2-by-4. Rock has the ring steps but HHH blocks it with a chair, like a lethal Rock-Paper-Scissors or Roshambo. Rock is piledrivered onto the ring steps, bit of a quick recovery from that as soon a Rock Bottom and a Pedigree are avoided. After some fighting in the crowd then Vince attacks HHH but Shane attacks Vince which cuts him. Back to Rock/HHH now. Vince swerves and hits Rock with a chair then does it again and HHH pins Rock to retain the title, the first heel to do so. Rock comes back to cut through the McMahons, big pop for Rock Bottom to Stephanie then he Peoples Elbows her, I assume this was to hope fans forget the fact HHH retained. *** - For me the match dipped after Foley's elimination as the crowd fighting felt unnecessary and the Vince, Shane stuff brought the match to a stand still and it did drag towards the end. Not bad but disappointing and the result ends a subpar Mania on a low, you can justify it by mentioning the following PPV Backlash where Rock won the title and I believe got a good buyrate but that doesn't effect this match itself. 

20 / 40 - The PPV was subpar so .500 may seem okay but 10 of the *s came from three matches on a eight match card which says how bad the rest was. I would give this a thumbs down as the main event and triple threat are good but not must see and the Triangle Match while good aswell is overshadowed by it's predecessors so thumbs down here from me. I'd recommend watching the PPV that follows this as there Rock wins the WWF Title, Tag Title match is good and Dean drags Scotty II Hotty to a near classic. 21 of these never wrestled at Mania again.
Thumbs down.

WrestleMania 31

- My 360 has decided to stop reading Madden 13 and as it's 2am TV is horrendous and TruTV aren't airing Conan, at all this week it seems and I only started watching it wednesday it's Devil's Dinner Party all over again. I got this last monday and have already watched around half of it however I have been ill all week so this is the first clear headed review also my first in a while.

 LL Cool J, who I assume is culturally relevant again, talks us through Mania moments of past in the opening video.

IC Title - Ladder Match - Wade Barrett (c) Vs. Ambrose Vs. Bryan Vs. Ziggler Vs. Stardust Vs. Harper Vs. R-Truth
 It'd be nice to think WWE had created a 7-Way feud revolving around Wade and the IC Title, say he cheated to beat the 6 others in one-on-ones over the past month or two but I think it's a case of let's throw a ladder match in there and make it the IC Title, yeah yeah that saves us booking something meaningful good job boys. Stardust looks like Mister Sinister. Asai butt bump by Stardust then some others get dumped or jump over the top rope and Ambrose elbow drops off a ladder onto them. Bryan dropkicks Stardust into a ladder but Harper then hits him with it. Ziggler superkicks Bryan from San Fran to San Juan. Something new as Wade breaks off a rung and hits Stardust with it. Now we get something done in seemingly every multi-man ladder match the put a ladder over head and twirl spot but R-Truth ends it with a Scissor Kick on Harper. We get a Holy Shit chant and no doubt each other will pat themselves on the back due to that as Wade superplexes Stardust off a ladder. Harper powerbombs Ambrose over the top through a ladder. Wade Bullhammers various people. Bryan and Ziggler exchange headbutts atop the ladder then Bryan wins the IC Title. **1/2 - Don't much care for spot fests especially the ones of the present day where spots are generally rehashed from older matches I mean how many times have people gone through ladders now? Didn't it start at least 8 years ago w/ Jeff and Edge. I like psychology in my matches and they are, understandably, non-existent in ladder matches. (Man Flu has left me sofa-ridden the past few days and I have rewatched this PPV and **1/2 seems a tad harsh, I think my dislike of Bryan, due to fans, played a part in this rating and that's unprofessional even for an amateur when the pain in my head subsides I'll give this a proper look back)

Randy Orton Vs. Seth Rollins (w/ J & J Security - Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble)
 Rollins is current MITB holder. Video depicts Rollins as similar to Orton from his Evolution days, though I doubt he's as much as a headache for management as Orton was. Dropkick right to Rollins mush but he avoids an RKO by going ringside. Double Draping DDT wipes out J & J. Cole says it's 16:20 so is it 00:20 UK time? Rollins may of watched TNA pre-match as he does Mic-Check. Orton is fighting back, turns a Curb Stomp into a powerslam. Rollins avoids DDT and sends Orton ringside where he asai moonsaults but almost does a Shawn Michaels as his back hits the table hard, the announcers make a note of it. Seth Rollins rolls through a crossbody for 2 but is soon hit with a Draping DDT. RKO gets 2 then J & J eat RKOs allowing Seth to hit Curb Stomp for a 2 of his own. Nice finish as Curb Stomp is countered with an RKO. *** - Technically sound and proficient if unspectacular overall, like the SA Spurs, I wasn't drawn in to it as much as i'd of liked to of been despite the beautiful finish. (Love having Orton go over though given what happens later as it makes a ready made challenger)

Sting Vs. HHH
 Don't get me wrong I understand how big Sting being on a WWE card, no less WrestleMania, is as I was a fan during the WCW days albeit the latter ones (I feel I should explain why I was a fan of latter day WCW given its rep, Channel 5 showed it so I watched it, I think it was on a friday night, I used to buy figures from Brewsters, I really liked Crowbar if  Iremember rightly) but not until watching the pre-match video did it really hit me just how big this is, though some say Sting is the last big WCWer to appear for WWE I counter that with Disco Inferno ain't appeared yet (I think anyway). Now I have already watched this match so let me state here that I hate the commentary throughout this one as we get constant WCW digs in, ignoring the fact that WCW had a spell of being dominant over the WWF but what really irks me is that JBL bangs on so much you'd think he himself helped put WCW out of business even though in reality nobody paid to see The Acolytes kind of like if Adam Morrison took credit for the 2 NBA Titles Lakers won during his tenure as a Laker. The crowd here may be bigger than all of the people who saw Sting in TNA combined, HHH has a Terminator style entrance and now I want to watch Judgment Day. Kind of fitting Charles Robinson is the ref (As he was a WCWer). Sting throws his first dropkick since around 1995 earning a 'you still got it' chant which is kind of like Ali coming back doing a shuffle and earning a YSGI chant. Sting no sells a facebuster as HHH has memories of WM 12 then he goes ringside to avoid a Deathlock. Sting misses a Stinger Splash at ringside then soon HHH gets a 2 after a knee drop following a vertical suplex, another 2 follows after a spinebuster. Scorpion Deathlock is applied and this brings out DX, minus one prominent member .... Chyna, oh and that Shawn guy, but Sting fights them off then avoids Pedigree which sends HHH ringside and Sting dives onto DX. Pedigree only gets a 2 count, HHH gets his sledgehammer but nWo are here (Everytime I watch this, multiple times recently as I'm to ill to change the disc .... and lazy, I smile when nWo come out, a true moment though would've been nWo music hits and Adams, Norton and Vincent come out .... and then the main three), I kind of want X-Pac to morph into Syxx, Scorpion Death Drop gets 2, that should've been the finish for me. Deathlock is reapplied as Hogan removes the Sledgehammer from the ring. HBK takes a break from killing animals to Sweet Chin Music Sting, maybe he heard the word Scorpion and agreed to show (Anti-Hunter mode engage!). Billy Gunn gives HHH the Sledgehammer but Scott Hall hands Sting his Ballbat which he uses to break the Sledgehammer in half, so in modern Roshambo Baseball Bat beats Sledgehammer. Disappointing finish which takes the wind out of the matches sails as HHH hits a charging Sting with the head of the Sledgehammer for the 3 count. *** - Bittersweet for me, I got into wrestling around 99/00 so was around for WCW and did love the nWo/DX stuff which I honestly never thought i'd see let alone Sting at WrestleMania but that ending is disheartening as HHH screws another WCWer at 'Mania, we get it WWE won and you're the alpha male but do you need to stop a happy ending Hunter? The match was a good WWE style match a type that Hunter excels at. Tack on a better ending and the rating would go up.

Maria Menounos interviews Daniel Bryan but they get interrupted by various ex-IC Champions - Pat Patterson, sad times as Roddy Piper appears and as of writing he passed away 3 days ago, Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair and Bret Hart, they do YES chant and Ron Simmons appears with a DAMN as he wasn't IC Champion, did laugh when Naitch chopped Ricky as I don't think Steamboat expected it.

Musical interlude time, I know Travis Barker but have no idea who the other two are as I generally avoid today's music when possible, the lady looks like the girl who dies in season 1 of Orange Is The New Black. (Still not got round to Season 2 yet or finding out who these two were)

AJ Lee/Paige Vs. Bella Twins
 Is Paige meant to be one of them annoying 'look at my jet black hair gosh aren't I against society' girls? AJ looks bored and during the Bellas entrance 90s Lawler returns. AJ is knocked off the apron and Paige gets isolated, Arizona-Slam gets 2, AJ is still prone at ringside, oh wait she's up and then down again. JBL says great teams always beat great individuals and I sigh contently remembering
the Detroit Pistons of 2004. Paige hits the Bellas but AJ is down again. Good lord AJ is up and tags in. AJ gets 2 off a messy DDT  then uses Black Widow to earn the win. ** - Didn't care much for it but do appreciate Tag Psychology so boosted for that reason.

Annual bit where HOFers or people representing them appear on stage, Nash gets headline spot. Advert plays for WWE 15 and even there HHH is burying Sting.

US Title - Rusev (c) (w/ Lana) Vs. John Cena
 Rusev enters on a tank. Always felt that when a European holds the US Title it should revert to the old European Title. Rusev beat Cena at Fast Lane via passout. This is the generic American Vs. Foreign heel. Not much love for Cena on the west coast. Nice gutwrench suplex gets Rusev 2. Rusev is on top so much so that he takes time to wave the Russian flag. Cena does his shoulderblocks, suplex routine but AA is avoided as is STFU. Rusev goes all Abyss hitting the Blackhole Slam for 2. Cena hits his usual sloppy top rope leg drop. AA is again avoided. Budapest Slam gets Rusev another 2 count. Cena avoids a stomp and applies STFU so Lana throws one of her heels at the  ref, she's a true heel. Rusev hits a crackers Diving Headbutt evoking memories of Benoit at the 03 Rumble. Rusev may hold the record for most 2s on Cena. 10 years into his main event career Cena adds a new move to his repertoire by hitting a springboard Stunner, that was nice. Rusev hits a wheel barrow inverted slam then applies Accolade and of course Cena stands up then is fully recovered and locks in STFU. Lanas distraction backfires and Cena hits AA for the US Title. *** - Enjoyable at times but 
Cenas sudden recoveries grew tiresome, after all these years I just can't let them slide, for example Rusev dominates 80% of the match then Cena still stands in The Accolade. WWE should've had Putin do a run-in i'm sure he would have. (Oh my god I have the pun of the century .... Cena beats a Russian, man you must me Putin-me on!!)

WrestleMania 32 or WrestleMania Dallas Cowboys Star is being held in .... Dallas. Freebirds have to be inducted right. (I believe they were as well)

We go to WrestleMania Panel - Renee Young, Booker-T, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton. We get pre-show results as Kidd/Cesaro retained the Tag Titles and Big Show won Andre The Giant battle royale, wasn't Show billed as Andres son for a time in WCW?

 Well this next segment can be described as a waste of time, worst Mania segment ever (A tad dramatic but upon further viewing I still hate it). Stephanie and HHH come out, Steph in face like fashion announces the attendance. They ramble on about WrestleMania and HHH beating Sting, yawn. Here's The Rock, who'd of guessed in 2004 that Rock would make 5 Mania appearances in a row. Eventually it continues, HHH says he remembers beating Rock throughout their careers, actually in terms of PPV I have 2-2-1 though can't remember OTE 99 and Rebellion 99 winners. Shane O'Mac chant and honestly an appearance by Shane-O would save this for me. Rock goes ringside and gets Ronda Rousey. What the hell are the Four Horsewomen? Rita Flair, Annie Anderson, Sally Blanchard and  Brenda Windham? (I still don't know who they are) Anyway Ronda judo throws HHH to end it. Could of been saved had Stephanie took a bump as that's what it was building to.

Bray Wyatt Vs. Undertaker
 This match is that pointless there's no video for it, not been a less interesting Taker Mania match since 2006 Vs. Mark Henry. Wyatt takes a day and an age getting to the ring so I dread to think how long Taker will take. JBL says 21-1 is greatest record in sports not true 72-10 (Since been surpassed but NBA have me hating GSW so I will refuse to acknowledge them), 16-0 or UCLA's 60s/70s NCAA is the best for me. Bray runs his mouth off then runs into a big boot. Geriatric School connects as does the apron leg drop, watching Deadman is like watching a band play old big hits. Weird bit at ringside as Wyatt runs into the steps taking a Foley bump as UT was sprawled by the ringpost it looked ridiculous. Back in Bray avoids Hells Gate and soon hits a Book-End type move and a senton for 2. Chokeslam out of a Sister Abigail attempt. Tombstone gets 2, suppose some would call that "giving the rub". Sister Abigail gets 2. Good moment as Crab Walk meets Sit Up. Sister Abigail is avoided and Tombstone gets the 3 count. ** - People disliked Brock/UT regardless of the result but I think it was better than this. Still trying to figure out why this match happened and the argument of "giving the rub" is rendered worthless as why not go whole hog and take the loss now the streak is over? (Does Wyatt ever win the big matches?)

WWE World Title - Brock Lesnar (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) Vs. Roman Reigns
 Coming in Reigns is pretty much the uncrowned Champion ala Bobby Roode at BFG 2011, say what happened there? No-one brings the big match intensity like Brock does, WWE would've been a much less interesting place without him from 2012 onwards. Reigns seems to heavily push a spectator during his crowd entrance. I think only maybe Cena could've been the other person after Brock to
be able to give Reigns a main event feel here. German and F-5 right off the bat and Brock doesn't even go for the cover, release fisherman suplex then Brock no sells clotheslines and germans Reigns causing Reigns to smile. Nice back suplex not only reminds me of Dr. Death but also leads to the great 'Suplex City Bitch' line, all hail Brock Lesnar. We Are Not Worthy. Roman gets a punch in but is germaned for having the cheek to do that. Brock hits multiple knees then sends Reigns into the crowd barrier. Crowd boos as Reigns fights back but Brock grabs his leg through the ropes and just smacks him to the floor, replay shows one of Reigns knees has cut Brock but just like Nelson Muntz it will simply make Brock stronger. Brock belly-to-bellys Reigns from the apron into the ring earning a 8 chant as it's the eighth suplex. F5 gets 2. The gloves are off for real as Brock removes his and proceeds to slap Reigns. Two germans and an F-5 get 2. Ringside Brock is bounced off the ringpost and is now busted, no obvious signs of blading either. Weird seeing Brock gloveless. Superman Punch rocks Lesnar, a second gets him onto one knee, he seemingly avoids another until Reigns breaks up a german hits a third Superman Punch then a Spear followed by another Spear gets 2 to a pop, that's akin to my MK experience Vs. Shao Kahn where I fire off great combos and he still survives (Where as the Cena/Brock from SummerSlam is akin to my MK2 experiences Vs. Kintaro, no prizes for guessing who I am in that scenario). Wait why's Chioda wearing gloves? Reigns jumps for a fourth Superman Punch but Brock catches him and hits an F-5, Seth Rollins comes out cashing in MITB and making this a triple threat, alert fans may of realised something was going to happen as Michael Cole said 'Who Can Capitalise' as Brock and Roman were down. Curb Stomp to Brock then when he goes for another Brock catches him and sets up F-5 but Reigns Spears Brock and Curb Stomp to Reigns gets the 3 count for Seth as WrestleMania ends with a new Champion. **** - Love watching Brock throw someone around and that was fun but I really liked it from the moment Brock got busted to the end as Romans flurry upped the intensity. I do understand if some didn't like the layout but I personally did enjoy it as it also told a story of Reigns being in over his head. 

18.5 / 35 - Only two matches that I didn't really care for - Divas Tag and UT/Bray the rest are solid if unspectacular at least until the top liner. The show is good overall but I can't say it holds up with other Manias in terms of having a classic on them as I don't think in the future years people will look back on any of the ones here like we do Savage/Steamboat 28 yrs ago, Savage/Warrior 24 yrs ago, Stone Cold/Bret 18 yrs ago or the HBK/Taker back-to-backs of 5 and 6 yrs ago. 
Thumbs Up for WrestleMania 31 just don't expect to  be blown away by anything bar the audacity of HHH winning oh and fast forward the music and Rock/HHH segment. (Whilst I still stick to it not having one of THE Mania matches on it I do think it surpassed expectations and is an enjoyable watch)