Fantasy Booking: WrestleMania 31

The Granddaddy of 'em All, WrestleMania 31, is right around the corner. This is the event that the WWE has been building toward ever since the Royal Rumble. Really, this is the show that the Creative team has had circled on the calendar ever since June 2, 2014, when Seth Rollins stabbed his brothers in the back and joined forces with Triple H and the Authority. There is a very high probability that all three members of the Shield will come out of WrestleMania 31 looking very good.

So how would I book the event? Read on and see. This is not about what I think WWE will do. No, this is how I would book the matches to end, in order to set up better stories going into the summer months...

The Matches:

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton
Randy Orton returned at Fast Lane and laid out the Authority. Then, on Monday Night Raw, he basically rejoined the Authority. Anyone with half a brain could see this was a slow burn. During a handicap match against Roman Reigns, Orton turned his back on Rollins and left Reigns to demolish the former the Shield member. Orton then set to work claiming a revenge that was four months in the making.

Now, the two are set to collide in an official match at WrestleMania. I've heard some people say that the Money in the Bank briefcase should be on the line, but I disagree. This should be a no-holds-barred, no DQ, street fight. The WWE has shied away from it, but this is the one match on the card that should feature blood. There is so much anger and animosity here that someone should be hurt bad.

Orton should come out swinging and beat Rollins down. Rollins should get in some offense, but this needs to be Orton's match. This is the pay-off to Orton being beaten down by the Authority in November. Orton should demolish Rollins in this contest. And it should be the first match of WrestleMania 31...for good reason.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (announced participants as of 14 March: Curtis Axel, The Miz, Ryback, Fandango, Zack Ryder, Adam Rose, Jack Swagger, Darren Young, Titus O'Neil, Erick Rowan, Kane, Big Show, Sin Cara, Damien Mizdow. )


So far only 14 men have announced their participation in this 30-man battle royal. For me, it doesn't matter how many men are entered into this match. This is about two people: The Miz and dAmien Mizdow. For months, Mizdow has served as stunt double and personal assistant to The Miz. His antics have earned him the adoration of fans, and payoff is due. Miz has bullied and berated Mizdow for weeks.

This battle royal should come down to Miz and Mizdow being the last two standing. Miz should order Mizdow out the ring, handing himself the victory. Mizdow, looking downtrodden, climbs over the top rope and stands on the apron. He begins to lower himself down and Miz turns away, gloating. Mizdow then storms back into the ring and attacks. He tosses Miz over the top rope and claims the battle royal trophy. Miz and Mizdow then have a brief feud, which Mizdow wins.

AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins
The hashtag #GiveTheDivasAChance carried the day for a brief minute, then stopped. The WWE, in the form of Vince and Stephanie McMahon, claimed they heard the fans who wanted longer Divas matches and better stories. Then, on Raw Monday night, the Divas were right back to their 2-minutes-or-less matches with no storyline development at all. Meanwhile, Triple H's NXT is just laughing at the main roster. AJ and Paige are set to challenge the Bellas. I honestly don't know how I would book this one, because the Creative team just doesn't seem to care about the women wrestlers any more. Once Triple H gains greater control, I think the product will get better. Until then...

United States Championship Match: John Cena vs Rusev (c)
Cena and Rusev has actually been a very entertaining feud so far. Rusev has pushed Cena to the brink, and the Bulgarian has taken on the true trademarks of heel work in the process. But Cena has a reputation for taking on up-and-coming stars at WrestleMania and beating them, stealing every bit of momentum from them. Case in point: Bray Wyatt last year. Wyatt was one of the hottest heels in the business, and had the fans on his side. He had Cena on the ropes, conflicted about how to defeat the new Face of Fear. Of course, Cena overcame Wyatt. The finality of their feud set Wyatt far enough back that it's taken him until now to reclaim a spot in the upper tier of the card.

Now, Cena has a chance to put over one of the best monster heels to come along in a long time. Chances are that Cena gets beaten within an inch of his life, only to hit an AA on Rusev and defeat him, finally taking down the Russian sympathizer and claim the US Title for himself. That's not how I would book it...

I would have Cena put up a valiant fight, only for Rusev to beat him down and put him in the Accolade. Cena would struggle, but Rusev would cinch down on the submission move and Cena would tap. Then Cena would have to explain to his legions of infant/toddler fans why he gave up. It would work. The Cena character needs something. He's been stale for years now, as his character refuses to change. On Monday night, Cena beat Rusev down, locked in an STF, and held it until Rusev passed out. Cena then dumped water on Rusev to wake him up...only to lock the STF in again until Rusev tapped. That type of aggression needs to be front and center in Cena, especially after Rusev beats him at WrestleMania.

The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt





This is, without a doubt, the most difficult match to predict. Undertaker just suffered his first ever WrestleMania loss last year when Brock Lesnar took him down. Now that the allure of the streak is gone, we have a potential "passing of the torch" moment for this match. Bray Wyatt is the self-proclaimed "New Face of Fear." He has been verbally attacking the Undertaker for weeks, single-handedly carrying the feud on the mic. Undertaker accepted the challenge on Monday night, and we'll see two fairly similar characters take on each other at the biggest show of the year.

I'm torn. Does Undertaker defeat Wyatt? That would hand Wyatt another WrestleMania loss and basically consign him to the midcard for yet another year. Does Wyatt beat the Undertaker? That's back-to-back losses for the Deadman at the show he once dominated.


The best call for business is for Wyatt to win. Undertaker has, perhaps, one match remaining in him after this. The dream has always been Undertaker vs Sting at WrestleMania. So, for Taker vs Wyatt, what direction does WWE go?


I would have Wyatt simply beat down the Deadman. WWE is in need of a fearsome, monster heel. Rusev is a monster, but he can't play the headgames that Wyatt can play. Having Wyatt beat down the Undertaker in convincing fashion will immediately position Wyatt for an upper tier or main event run. After Wyatt defeats the Undertaker, I would have him enter into a feud with the winner of the next match.




Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs Dean Ambrose vs Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler vs Stardust vs R-Truth vs Luke Harper (vs Sheamus?)
A seven man ladder match is a bit odd. I think there will be another man added to this match as a surprise entrant: Sheamus. We've been told for a long time that Sheamus is coming back. He needs to return as a heel, preferably in the employ of the Authority. Sheamus can then bring a strong heel presence to this match. Let's be honest, Bad News Barrett has been booked so poorly as IC Champ that he's not a true heel at this point. Luke Harper could be, but Creative seems reluctant to push someone who doesn't look like a model.

The booking concept of having the title constantly stolen by those chasing it has been a load of fun. This match should be between Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan. Sheamus will probably be there in the end, as well. I would book Bryan to win this match. Stardust is a definite dark horse, but I'd rather he revert to the Cody Rhodes character before gaining the gold. Bryan wins the title, then Sheamus Brogue Kicks him into next week. While Bryan is knocked out in the ring, Bray Wyatt comes out, hits a Sister Abigail on Bryan, and steals the IC Title.

Sting vs Triple H
This is the match pitting the face of the WCW against the heart of the WWE. Sure, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock were more popular and widely known than Triple H, but the Game was the most loyal to the company. On the flip side of the spectrum, Sting was the stalwart of WCW, the franchise player. He never jumped ship. He never came to WWE after Vince bought WCW.

Sting has twice laid out Triple H, once at Survivor Series and once more at Fast Lane. Triple H has, basically, exacted no vengeance on Sting. That needs to change before WrestleMania 31. In order to better sell this match, the creative team needs to book Triple H to beat Sting up at least once, preferably on the go-home show ahead of WrestleMania. That way Triple H looks like a threat to the Vigilante. Right now, it's almost a foregone conclusion that Sting is going to win. No one doubts this, as bringing in Sting almost brought the surety of a Sting victory.

I have no problem with Sting winning. What I would do, though, would change the face of the business. I would have Sting and Triple H add stipulations to their match. Triple H should say if he wins Sting must retire. Sting should say if he wins, Triple H is truly out of power as part of the Authority.

At WrestleMania 31, Sting overcomes Triple H and wins. I don't care how they play that out. The next night on Raw, Triple H comes out to deliver a normal promo. He says that, since he lost fair and square to Sting, he has lost power in the Authority. Since his power officially ended at noon, he took several steps to make the business better. Triple H says that, effective at the end of April, SmackDown is ending on SyFy. Taking its place will be Triple H's pet project, NXT. Triple H then takes the helm at NXT and outright challenges Raw as a separate brand.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns very unpopularly won the Royal Rumble. For the third consecutive year, the Royal Rumble was extremely telegraphed for the fans. It was obvious who was going to win. There was not even an attempt at surprise. The fact that fans were cheering for the overly heelish Rusev to win the Rumble over Vince-McMahon-approved Reigns should tell them something.

So, now that Reigns has the main event at WrestleMania, here's how I would book it:

Reigns and Lesnar have a brutal slugfest. Lesnar hits two or three F5s, but Reigns keeps barely kicking out. Reigns hits a spear or two, but Lesnar kicks out. After a back and forth battle, Reigns finally hits a spear and pins Lesnar for the title. In a fit of rage, Lesnar absolutely demolishes Reigns, hitting another F5 on the title.

While Reigns is struggling to get up, Rollins rushes in and hits a few chair shots. He curb stomps Reigns on a chair and cashes in, winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Reigns and Rollins then have a long feud over the summer, with Rollins carrying much of the mic work.


ALTERNATE ENDING: Reigns and Lesnar have a brutal slugfest. Lesnar hits two or three F5s, but Reigns keeps barely kicking out. Reigns hits a spear or two, but Lesnar kicks out. After a back and forth battle, Heyman climbs up on the ring apron and hits Lesnar in the head with the title. Reigns nods at him, spears Lesnar, and wins the title. Reigns and Heyman then join forces.

A Few Thoughts on the Product

The Road to WrestleMania is already in full swing. In the course of the WWE bus getting on that road, they felt the need to undo everything that was accomplished at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, John Cena's team defeated the Authority, with Dolph Ziggler eliminating the final three members of Team Authority, with a little help from Sting.


As a result of the victory, the Authority was stripped of power and removed from television. Thanks to Vince McMahon, John Cena was given the power to bring the Authority back or to keep them out of power. Just a month later, Seth Rollins knocked out Christian and, with the help of the Big Show, held the injured Edge's neck over the Money in the Bank briefcase and threatened to cripple the Rated-R Superstar if John Cena did not bring back the Authority. Cena gave in, and then all of Dolph Ziggler's hard work was rendered meaningless.

On the next episode of Monday Night Raw, the Authority held a John Cena Appreciation Night, during which they fired Ryback, Erick Rowan, and Dolph Ziggler, leaving a dejected Cena standing in the ring with the fired superstars. So now, with the Royal Rumble fast approaching, the over-arching storyline in January 2015 is the same that it was in January 2014, except that Batista isn't here.

Frankly, the truth is that the product stinks. So I put some thought into some different ideas about fantasy booking

The Royal Rumble's Final Four

One of the biggest things about the Royal Rumble is to pay attention to the final four wrestlers left in the match. This is, more often than not, an indication of who WWE plans to push in the coming year. Given the storylines the company has been pushing lately, the final four for this year’s event may seem obvious.

Roman Reigns has been anointed by the WWE as the next big thing in wrestling. Problem is, his promo work is sub-par. He can work with almost anyone, although he’s still learning the babyface style, which in WWE means getting his butt handed to him for 90% of the match before executing a comeback of epic proportions and winning. John Cena is a master of this. Cena can, seemingly, be beaten within an inch of his life and then come back and win. Go ahead and chalk Reigns up as a final four participant.

The next man up, obviously, is Daniel Bryan. Bryan’s return from injury has been a feel-good story so far. Having him reach the final level of the Rumble would whip the fans into a frenzy.

So we have two babyfaces in the final four…who’s next? To get the requisite heel into the final four, we turn to Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds has been on a steady rise since the summer. He’s scored victories, albeit dirty, over Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan in the last month. Wyatt would be a great choice for the final four, and it would set him up for a major heel push headed into WrestleMania season.

The final member of the Final Four is a fan favorite: Dolph Ziggler. The Show-off is probably the best ‘seller’ in the company, and can make anyone look good in the ring. Reaching the final four would set Ziggler up for a steady rise in 2015, leading to a big match at WrestleMania.

The End of the Rumble

Last year’s Royal Rumble was a debacle of near-biblical proportions for the WWE. The intention for Batista to win the Rumble was made clear from the day Batista returned to the company. Once Daniel Bryan did not enter the Rumble, the fans turned on the then-babyface Animal. Batista was left in the ring with Roman Reigns, whose Shield stable was still in their heel role at the time. The fans turned on Batista and began cheering for Reigns, a basically unproven rookie, to win the Rumble over the despised part-timer.

This year’s Rumble will be different. WWE has several options, but the apparent design at the moment is for Reigns to win the Rumble and face the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 31.

But there’s another option that sets up almost every main event level storyline for the WrestleMania season. It’s a bit of fantasy booking on my part, but here’s a thought:

The final two wrestlers in the Royal Rumble are Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. All other 28 wrestlers have been eliminated. Being competitors and babyfaces, the two men shake hands before engaging in what amounts to a one-on-one match to end the battle royal. That is, until the clock starts counting down, the number 31 appears on the screen and the Big Show comes out. Reigns and Bryan begin working together to eliminate Big Show. But the clock starts again and out comes Jamie Noble at #32, followed immediately by Joey Mercury at #33. Reigns and Bryan manage to eliminate Mercury and Noble, but keep struggling with Big Show.

The clock starts again and Seth Rollins comes out at #34. Rollins and Big Show work together, but Big Show is accidentally eliminated. Rollins begins to back away from Reigns and Bryan, leading to a bit of babyface vengeance as they beat down Rollins and eliminate him. Before they can restart their one-on-one, the clock starts one last time and, at #35, out comes Triple H. While Reigns and Bryan stare at the COO, Big Show, Rollins, and J & J Security sneak back in and attack them.

Big Show, Noble, and Mercury hold down Reigns in the corner while Rollins and Triple H decimate Daniel Bryan. Ryan suffers a Pedigree and, while he is struggling up, is curb-stomped by Rollins. Triple H picks Bryan up by the hair and throws him at the feet of Roman Reigns. He takes a mic and tells Reigns to throw Bryan over the top rope. Reigns at first refuses, but Triple H threatens to fire him if he doesn’t. Reigns reluctantly picks up Bryan and carries him to the ropes. He dumps Bryan over the top, but follows after him, simultaneously eliminating them both, and ruining Triple H’s plan.

Triple H, being the Cerebral Assassin, declares himself the winner of the Royal Rumble. It’s massive heat for the Authority. It sets up Reigns’s opposition to the Authority and Rollins in particular. It sets up for finally bringing closure to the Bryan-Authority angle.

Reigns can defeat Triple H at Fast Lane to regain the WrestleMania title shot. We can set up the inevitable Triple H vs Sting match that is sure to happen. Daniel Bryan will enter a feud with Seth Rollins.

Triple Threat Title Match

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match was set to be John Cena challenging mostly-absentee champion Brock Lesnar. But, in one of the better heel moves in the industry, Triple H rewarded his protege, Seth Rollins, a spot in the title match for coercing John Cena into re-instating the Authority.

Lesnar, while being around only occasionally, has been quite effective as champion. Any appearance by Lesnar has enhanced whatever Raw it occurred on. Cena, while not the best choice for #1 Contender, is definitely the safest choice. WWE knows that Cena can carry a title program, so it trusts him against Lesnar. Rollins, meanwhile, has been on a steady climb up the ladder since destroying the Shield and aligning himself with Triple H. Rollins currently holds the Money in the Bank Briefcase, guaranteeing himself a title shot. 

The problem now, though, is what happens to Brock Lesnar? There's talk that Lesnar is almost done with the WWE. So now rumors are flying that the company is going to book Lesnar to lose the belt at Royal Rumble. I don't think so.

Lesnar needs to be champion at WrestleMania 31, so that the Rumble Winner gets the rub of beating the man who conquered the streak at WrestleMania 30. Whether it is Reigns or Bryan, defeating Lesnar will be huge...and it will set up the WrestleMania twist.

I would have Lesnar defeat Rollins, just so that Cena doesn't take yet another loss to Lesnar. Lesnar can finally gain revenge on Rollins and carry the title into WrestleMania. 

At WrestleMania 31, Lesnar will defend the title against either Bryan or Reigns. Lesnar will lose. It's inevitable. When Lesnar loses, he will snap and demolish the new champion, leaving them laying in a head in the middle of the ring in the middle of Levi's Stadium. As the new champion is struggling to his feet, Seth Rollins will cash in the MITB contract, curb stomp the champion, and claim the title. It will put massive heat on Rollins, and it will establish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship angle for the summer months.