WWE WrestleMania 31 Retro Review: Seth Rollins' Heist, Sting vs. Triple H and Every Match Rated
WrestleMania 31 took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. WWE announced 76,976 fans and said it was its highest-grossing event ever at the time. Most of it was held in daylight, under a California sun.
Coming in, many fans expected the worst. Roman Reigns, the Rumble winner, was being booed, and the main event against Brock Lesnar felt like a match nobody wanted. What they got instead was one of the most surprising endings in WrestleMania history.
The build
- Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns: Lesnar had held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship since SummerSlam 2014. Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble to a hostile crowd in Philadelphia and kept his title shot by beating Daniel Bryan at Fastlane.
- Sting vs. Triple H: Sting's first WrestleMania match, after years of being the biggest star never to work for WWE. It was sold as WCW against WWE, 14 years after the Monday Night Wars ended.
- Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins: Orton turned on The Authority, and Rollins, still holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, wanted payback.
- John Cena vs. Rusev: Rusev had not been pinned since his main roster debut in April 2014, and he had beaten Cena for the United States Championship at Fastlane.
- The Rock vs. The Authority: The Rock was not booked for a match, but he was on the show.
Match by match
Kickoff: Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores (WWE Tag Team Championship)
A fast fatal four-way that got the crowd going. Cesaro threw Jimmy Uso out of the ring and pinned Big E to retain at 9:58. Jey Uso hurt his shoulder in this match and was out for months. Our rating: ★★★½
Kickoff: André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Big Show won by last eliminating Damien Mizdow, but the story was Mizdow. He finally turned on The Miz and threw him out, and the crowd loved it. Then Big Show tossed Mizdow to win. A fun moment that went nowhere afterwards. Our rating: ★★½
Seven-man ladder match (Intercontinental Championship)
Bad News Barrett defended against Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, R-Truth and Stardust. It was a very good opener: big spots, a fast pace and the Intercontinental title in the middle of it all.
Bryan and Ziggler ended up at the top of the ladder trading headbutts, Ziggler fell, and Bryan grabbed the title at 13:47. The Observer rated it **¼, and we think it holds up as one of the best WrestleMania openers. Our rating: ★★★★**
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
A really good singles match that was all about Orton's RKO. Rollins came in with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, and Orton spent the match finding new ways to escape. The ending is the one everybody remembers: Rollins went for the Curb Stomp, Orton pushed him up into the air and caught him with an RKO on the way down for the win at 13:15.
The Observer gave it **, and that finish is still one of the best RKO counters ever. Our rating: ★★★★**
Sting vs. Triple H (No Disqualification)
This is the one that splits people. Triple H came out with a Terminator-themed entrance, and Sting walked out for his first WrestleMania. The match was slow, then turned into a full nostalgia trip: D-Generation X came out for Triple H, the nWo came out for Sting, and Shawn Michaels hit Sting with Sweet Chin Music. Triple H won with a sledgehammer shot at 18:34, and the two shook hands afterwards.
What worked: the spectacle. Seeing DX and the nWo in the same ring was fun. What didn't: WWE's side winning the WCW vs. WWE story again, 14 years after the war ended, and the match itself was slow. Some critics loved it, some hated it, and the Observer had it at ½. Our rating: ★★½**
The Rock and Ronda Rousey vs. The Authority
Not a match, but one of the best segments of the night. Stephanie McMahon slapped The Rock, so he brought in UFC champion Ronda Rousey from the front row. Rousey threw Triple H and then Stephanie out of the ring, after teasing an armbar on Stephanie. The stadium went wild.
AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins
A short, scrappy tag match. Paige threw Brie into the steps, and AJ made Nikki tap to the Black Widow at 6:36. It filled a spot and nothing more. Our rating: ★★
John Cena vs. Rusev (United States Championship)
Rusev had a huge entrance on a tank, and the crowd was more on his side than Cena expected. It was a solid, physical match. The finish came when Rusev accidentally knocked Lana off the apron, and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment for the title at 14:31. It was Rusev's first pinfall loss on the main roster.
What worked: the work was good, and it led to the US Open Challenge, one of Cena's best runs. What didn't: the ending felt sudden. Our rating: ★★★½
The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
The Undertaker's first match since losing The Streak. Wyatt had reportedly hurt his ankle earlier in the day, and the match was slow. Wyatt kicked out of the first Tombstone, and The Undertaker won with a second at 15:13, moving to 22-1.
It was better than many expected, but it is still the weakest of The Undertaker's later WrestleMania matches. Wyatt losing again at WrestleMania hurt him. Our rating: ★★½
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (WWE World Heavyweight Championship), then Seth Rollins' cash-in
This was not the slow, booed main event people feared. Lesnar threw Reigns around with suplex after suplex and F-5s, Reigns bled and kept coming back with Superman Punches and Spears, and the crowd slowly came around. It felt like a real fight.
Then Lesnar countered a fourth Superman Punch into an F-5, and before he could pin, Seth Rollins ran out and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, turning the match into a triple threat. Reigns speared Lesnar to stop him from catching Rollins, and Rollins hit the Curb Stomp on Reigns for the win at 16:44. WWE called it "The Heist of the Century."
What worked: everything. Lesnar and Reigns were brutal, and the cash-in made everyone look good: Lesnar never lost the fall, Reigns lost only because of an ambush, and Rollins became a top champion overnight. The Observer rated it **½. What didn't: nothing major. Our rating: ★★★★½**
Beyond the matches
- Music: Aloe Blacc sang "America the Beautiful", and Skylar Grey, Travis Barker and Kid Ink performed the theme songs "Rise" and "Money and the Power".
- Daylight: most of the show took place in daylight, which made the outdoor stadium feel different from any WrestleMania before it.
- A new look: it was the first WrestleMania with WWE's current logo.
The verdict: does it hold up today?
Yes, and better than the build suggested. Dave Meltzer called it one of the best shows he had ever seen because there was no bad match, even if nothing on the card reached the very top level. The ladder match, Orton vs. Rollins and the main event are all worth rewatching, and The Rock and Rousey segment is a lot of fun. Sting vs. Triple H and the women's tag match are the weak spots.
- Best match: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, with Seth Rollins' cash-in
- Worst match: AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins
- Overall: 4 out of 5
Full results and our ratings
| Match | Result | Time | Our rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tag Team Championship (Kickoff) | Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (c) def. The New Day, The Usos and Los Matadores | 9:58 | ★★★½ |
| André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff) | Big Show won, last eliminating Damien Mizdow | 18:07 | ★★½ |
| Intercontinental Championship ladder match | Daniel Bryan def. Bad News Barrett (c), Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, R-Truth and Stardust | 13:47 | ★★★★ |
| Singles match | Randy Orton def. Seth Rollins | 13:15 | ★★★★ |
| No Disqualification | Triple H def. Sting | 18:34 | ★★½ |
| Tag team match | AJ Lee & Paige def. The Bella Twins | 6:36 | ★★ |
| United States Championship | John Cena def. Rusev (c) | 14:31 | ★★★½ |
| Singles match | The Undertaker def. Bray Wyatt | 15:13 | ★★½ |
| WWE World Heavyweight Championship | Seth Rollins def. Brock Lesnar (c) and Roman Reigns | 16:44 | ★★★★½ |
Times are as listed by the Internet Wrestling Database.
What happened next
- John Cena started the US Open Challenge on the next night's Raw, defending the title against anyone who answered.
- Daniel Bryan had to give up the Intercontinental Championship in May 2015 because of injury.
- Seth Rollins held the title until November 2015, when a knee injury forced him to give it up. Roman Reigns won the vacant title at Survivor Series that month, only for Sheamus to cash in on him minutes later. See every Survivor Series main event.
- Roman Reigns finally won WrestleMania main events of his own later, beginning with WrestleMania 32 against Triple H.
More retro reviews
Other classic shows we have revisited, rated out of 5:
- Survivor Series 2020: ★★★ (3 out of 5), The Undertaker's Final Farewell and Reigns vs. McIntyre in the ThunderDome
- Survivor Series 2021: ★★★ (3 out of 5), the last Raw vs. SmackDown Survivor Series, with Lynch vs. Flair and Reigns vs. Big E
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2022: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), the first WarGames Survivor Series and Sami Zayn's big night
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2023: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Randy Orton's return and CM Punk's comeback in Chicago
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2024: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Reigns and CM Punk on the same side in Vancouver
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2025: ★★★ (3 out of 5), the first stadium Survivor Series and John Cena's last PLE match
- WrestleMania XL: ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5), two nights in Philadelphia, The Rock and the end of the Bloodline story
- WrestleMania 39: ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5), two nights in Hollywood and Reigns vs. Rhodes, part one
- Crown Jewel 2025: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Cena vs. AJ Styles in Perth
- SummerSlam 2025: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), the first two-night SummerSlam and John Cena's last one
- Money in the Bank 2016: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Cena vs. AJ, a great ladder match and Reigns vs. Rollins
- Crown Jewel 2021: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Hell in a Cell and a loaded card
- WrestleMania 41: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Cena's farewell year and a Heyman story in Las Vegas
- WrestlePalooza 2025: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), the first WWE show on ESPN, with Lesnar vs. Cena
- Crown Jewel 2022: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Reigns vs. Logan Paul and a Last Woman Standing match
- Crown Jewel 2024: ★★½ (2.5 out of 5), the first Crown Jewel Championships
- Crown Jewel 2023: ★★½ (2.5 out of 5), Rollins vs. McIntyre and Reigns vs. LA Knight
- Crown Jewel 2019: ★★ (2 out of 5), celebrities and the first women's match in Saudi Arabia
- Crown Jewel 2018: ★½ (1.5 out of 5), the first one, and the World Cup
- WrestleMania 30: ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5), Daniel Bryan's night and the end of The Streak
See them all on our Retro Reviews page.
Sources: WWE.com WrestleMania 31, CBS Sports roundtable review, Wikipedia: WrestleMania 31, Internet Wrestling Database.
