James Stewart's Wrestlemania Preview: Lesnar-Reigns Main Event Holds Plenty Of Promise
BOSTON (CBS) -- For wrestling fans, this Sunday night is our Super Bowl -- Wrestlemania 31 will be live from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
I don't feel the buzz around this year's Wrestlemania like I have in years past. Lots of people I talk to compare this to Wrestlemania 2 or Wrestlemania 27 in Atlanta. Which gives me chills.
The match I'm looking forward to the most is the main event, Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns. It's exciting for a number of reasons.
1. Crowd reactions
With Brock Lesnar's impending free agency and the hardcore fans' dislike for Roman Reigns, it has the feel of the Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar Wrestlemania 20 match when the New York crowd took over that match. The fans will have fun with both performers but the best thing for Lesnar and Reigns is to ignore the San Francisco crowd and have the match they want to have.
The Royal Rumble 2014 crowd in Pittsburgh tried to take away from the outstanding match that Randy Orton and John Cena had -- and to the casual fan, they might have. But to the people who really care about the art of wrestling (sorry, Colt), that might have been the best match in the history of John Cena vs Randy Orton.
2. Match quality
It will be better than you think. Has Brock had a bad match since he came back? My answer is a strong NO! He's worked with the best of the best. (Keep in mind, I write off his match with Undertaker last year because of the concussion Taker suffered during the match.)
Brock is a physical performer and has a stronger style that Roman Reigns will have to step up and match Brock with his intensity and physicality.
3. The Result
I don't think there is a question as to what the WWE will do: Roman Reigns will win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday. How they get to that in the ring and behind the scenes seems to be quite the story. More on that as you read on.
For fun and an attempt to be different, I'll give you what I would do and what I think WWE will do.
Match: Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins
Odds: Randy Orton favored (8/11) to defeat Seth Rollins (even odds)
Rollins favored (4/7) to NOT cash in his briefcase
What I would do: I would have this matchup open up the show. Seth Rollins has to win this match and moreover tease in a post-match interview that he will cash in his Money in the Bank contract TONIGHT. I wouldn't be shocked if this match was as good as the Randy Orton vs CM Punk Wrestlemania 27 match.
What WWE will do: Seth Rollins cheats to win and gets run out of the building with no tease of a cash-in.
Match: AJ Lee and Paige vs Nikki and Brie Bella
Odds: Paige and AJ Lee favored (3/10) to defeat The Bella Twins (11/5)
What I would do: As the faces of the Divas Division and the TV show "Total Divas," Nikki and Brie Bella have to win this match. I'm for the WWE giving the Divas some match time but Wrestlemania isn't the time for them to try and re-educate the fans on what a Divas/Womens match is. The women of NXT have been given time and I believe the future of women's matches can be similar to the WCW cruiserweights. Paige vs Nikki Bella from RAW is one example.
What WWE will do: What I just said, Nikki and Brie Bella win in a short match.
Match: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Odds: Damien Mizdow favored (8/5) to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal over Sheamus (9/2), Mark Henry (6/1) and others
What I would do: Remember how Ryback was so strong and over? Then he lost and it slowed him down. Some other issues got in the way of his push toward a WWE Championship. If you watch how the fans react, combine that with his size (which WWE loves) and how WWE would love to troll CM Punk, Ryback should win.
What WWE will do: Damien Mizdow will win by last eliminating Miz.
Match: WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match -- Bad News Barrett defends against R-Truth, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, Dolph Ziggler, Stardust and Daniel Bryan
Odds: Dean Ambrose favored (4/6) to win the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match over Daniel Bryan (3/1), Bad News Barrett (9/2), Dolph Ziggler (11/1), Stardust (8/1), Luke Harper (19/1) and R-Truth (35/1)
What I would do: Let's be clear, Daniel Bryan should be in the WWE Championship match. But since he's not and I'm on a crusade for the WWE to make the IC and US Championships mean something, nothing would be better for the WWE than to have Bryan win this ladder match and have a run with the IC Championship.
What WWE will do: Dean Ambrose has been chasing a singles championship since Money in the Bank back in June, in Boston. I believe that WWE will reward him with an Intercontinental Championship win in this ladder match.
Match: WWE United States Championship -- Rusev defends against John Cena
Odds: John Cena favored (1/7) to defeat Rusev (4/1) for the WWE United States Title
What I would do: Because I'm for the WWE making their secondary championships important, I would have John Cena win. Cena can then be put on house shows as the main event defending the US Championship against all evil-comers. I'd like to see Cena get a good 8-to-12 month run with the US Title so that defeating Rusev won't be for naught.
What WWE will do: John Cena is still the No. 1 man in the WWE. For the happy ending reasons to this feud, he'll capture the US Championship but likely won't hold it very long.
Match: Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
Odds: The Undertaker favored (2/9) to defeat Bray Wyatt (11/4)
What I would do: Bray Wyatt NEEDS TO WIN! Bray really hasn't recovered from his feud last year with John Cena. Bray has been outstanding on his promos and needs a dominating/statement victory over Undertaker.
What WWE will do: If Undertaker's final match is next year in Dallas at Wrestlemania 32, WWE feels like Taker needs a win to recover from the loss last year to Brock Lesnar.
Match: Sting vs. Triple H
Odds: Sting favored (1/7) to defeat Triple H (4/1)
What I would do: Triple H is a WWE guy and should win. Logic tells me that Triple H is 11 years younger, has wrestled more and is in better shape than Sting. Triple H should dominate this match and it shouldn't even be close. I should admit for the record that I've never been a Sting guy.
What WWE will do: Sting didn't come to the WWE to lose. He's here to win and I have to believe that a Sting win would mean more is coming. I'm not sure if it's a GM role or a match at SummerSlam, but Sting should be doing more than just this one match at Wrestlemania.
Match: WWE World Heavyweight Championship -- Brock Lesnar defends against Roman Reigns
Odds: Roman Reigns favored (2/7) to defeat Brock Lesnar (9/4) for the WWE World Heavyweight Title
What I would do: Brock Lesnar is the clear No. 1 drawing card in WWE. He should retain with a clean and clear victory. Don't be shocked if we see The Rock make an appearance on camera at Wrestlemania. The big money looking forward is to see Brock Lesnar take on The Rock at Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas. I admit that matchup doesn't need the WWE Championship to be on the line but it would add to the aura of the match.
The WWE has to do something big to get a chance at getting 100,000 people to fill AT&T Stadium a year from now. Brock vs Rock with an entire year build to it would certainly help the cause. In the WWE world of 50-50 booking, the Rock does need to get his win back on Brock from SummerSlam 2002.
What WWE will do: It's obvious that Roman Reigns will walk out as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion on Sunday night. WWE invested a lot of time and money into the Roman Reigns push to the top. WWE wants to use the drawing power and big match wins that Brock Lesnar has had in the past year to make Roman as strong champion. With Brock about to hit the free-agent market, the WWE can't afford to let Brock walk out of Levi's Stadium with their championship. UFC is a very real threat to sign Brock. Roman needs to make a statement in this match. He needs to be aggressive and physical so that the fans will appreciate him when he wins and believe that in a fight, he really could beat Brock Lesnar.
As lackluster as the hype and build for Sunday has been, just remember: This is Wrestlemania. We all watch with our hardcore friends and our casual friends and from my scorecard, every year we've come away with a favorite moment or match.
Enjoy Sunday!
James Stewart is the executive producer of the Felger and Massarotti Show, which airs 2-6 p.m. on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Find him on Twitter @IAmJamesStewart.
