WrestleMania 31
WrestleMania 31 | |||
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Promotion | WWE | ||
Date | March 29, 2015 | ||
City | Santa Clara, California | ||
Venue | Levi's Stadium | ||
Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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WrestleMania chronology | |||
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WrestleMania 31 will be the thirty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It is scheduled to take place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.[1]
It will be the first WrestleMania event to be held in the San Francisco Bay Area and the sixth to be held in the state of California (after 2, VII, XII, 2000, and 21).
Background
WrestleMania 31 will feature professional wrestling matches that involve wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that play out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. Wrestlers will portray faces (heroes) or heels (villains) as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[2][3]
At the Royal Rumble, Brock Lesnar successfully defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match, while the 2015 Royal Rumble match was won by Roman Reigns, earning him a main event title match against Lesnar at WrestleMania.[4][5][6] On the February 2nd episode of Raw, Reigns agreed to put his number one contendership on the line in a match at Fastlane. Later in the night, Daniel Bryan defeated Rollins to earn the right to face Reigns at the event.[7] At Fastlane, Reigns defeated Bryan to retain his title shot against Lesnar at WrestleMania.[8]
At Survivor Series, Sting made his first-ever appearance in the WWE by interfering in the main event Survivor Series elimination match, attacking Triple H and aiding Dolph Ziggler in pinning Rollins, giving Team Cena the win and causing the Authority to be removed from power, which had been a secondary stipulation of the match.[9] On January 19 edition of Raw, Sting made his Raw debut by appearing backstage during the main event, a 3-on-1 handicap match between Cena and the team of Big Show, Kane and Rollins. The lights in the arena darkened as Sting walked to the stage and gestured to the Authority at ringside. The distraction allowed Cena to pin Rollins for the win, which reinstated the jobs of the recently (kayfabe) fired Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan.[10] On January 26, it was officially announced via WWE.com that Triple H challenged Sting to a "face-to-face" confrontation at Fastlane. On the February 9th edition of Raw, Triple H again called Sting out to accept his challenge. The lights went out, and a group of Sting impersonators appeared around the arena and inside the ring, illuminated by spotlights, while a video message stating that Sting had accepted Triple H's challenge played on the TitanTron.[11] At Fastlane, the two brawled until Sting got control of Triple H. Sting then pointed to the WrestleMania sign in the rafters, with Triple H accepting the challenge. Later in the night, it was announced that Triple H will face Sting at the event.[8]
On the February 23 episode of Raw, it was announced that the second annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal would take place at WrestleMania. The Miz, Curtis Axel and Ryback announced their participation in the match.[12] On the February 26 episode of SmackDown, Fandango and Adam Rose announced their participation in the match.[13] On March 2nd, it was announced on Facebook by WWE that Zack Ryder was added to the match.[14] Later in the night, Jack Swagger, Titus O'Neil and Darren Young announced their participation in the match on the WWE App. On the March 5th episode of SmackDown, Big Show and Kane announced their participation in the match.[15] On March 9th, it was announced on WWE.com that Erick Rowan had been added to the match.
On February 26, it was announced on Facebook by WWE that Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett would defend his title in a multiple-man ladder match at the event.[16] On the March 2nd episode of Raw, it was announced that R-Truth was added to the match.[17] On March 4, it was announced on WWE.com that Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper were added to the match.[18][19] On the March 5th episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Ziggler was added to the match.[15]
On the March 2 edition of Raw, Paige defeated Divas Champion Nikki Bella by disqualification after Brie Bella attacked Paige; Therefore, Nikki retained the title. Brie and Nikki attacked Paige until AJ Lee returned from injury and saved Paige.[17] On the March 5 edition of SmackDown, AJ defeated Brie after Paige prevented Nikki from interfering in the match.[15] On March 9th, it was announced on WWE.com that AJ and Paige would face The Bella Twins at WrestleMania.
Matches
No. | Matches* | Stipulations | ||||
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1 | Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns | Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[20] | ||||
2 | Sting vs. Triple H | Singles match[21] | ||||
3 | André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal[Note 1] | Battle royal for the André the Giant Memorial Trophy[22] | ||||
4 | Bad News Barrett (c) vs. R-Truth vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Stardust | Ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[23] | ||||
5 | AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins (Brie Bella and Nikki Bella) | Tag team match[24] | ||||
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- ^ The announced participants are: The Miz, Curtis Axel, Ryback, Fandango, Adam Rose, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Titus O'Neil, Darren Young, Big Show, Kane and Erick Rowan.
See also
References
- ^ Melok, Bobby (December 10, 2013). "WrestleMania 31 to take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on March 29, 2015". WWE. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ Caldwell, James. "Royal Rumble PPV Report 1/25: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Lesnar vs. Cena vs. Rollins for WWE Title, Royal Rumble, post-PPV Network show". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ Smith, Troy L. "WWE Royal Rumble 2015: Live coverage, results, photos, reaction & more". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ Schwartz, Nick. "Daniel Bryan was eliminated early from the Royal Rumble and fans are furious". USA Today. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results – 2/2/15 (Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ a b Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE FAST LANE PPV RESULTS 2/22: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Bryan vs. Reigns, Cena vs. Rusev, Sting-Hunter confrontation, final PPV before WM31". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Caldwell, James (November 23, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE S. Series PPV Results 11/23: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of Team Cena vs. Team Authority, more". Pro Wrestling Torch.
- ^ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 1/19/15 (Sting debuts on RAW)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 2/9/15 (5-on-2 Handicap Match)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Martin, Adam. "WWE RAW Results - 2/23/15 (Fallout from Fastlane PPV)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Smackdown Results - 2/26/15 (Fastlane rematch)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ "Zack Ryder to enter Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal". Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Smackdown Results - 3/5/15 (Tag Team Main Event)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania 31!". Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ a b Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 3/2: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Heyman speaks for Lesnar, Rollins-Daily Show angle, WM31 build continues". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ^ "UPDATE: The field is four so far at @WrestleMania for the HUGE #LadderMatch for the #ICTitle! http://t.co/5JpQkUqfgw http://t.co/8SL2tkHk72". Retrieved 4 March 2015.
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- ^ Martin, Adam. "New names confirmed for matches at WrestleMania 31". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns". WWE. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "Sting vs. Triple H". WWE. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "2nd Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". WWE. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match". WWE. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins". WWE. Retrieved 9 March 2015.