A new report has thrown a monkey wrench into all previous WrestleMania 31 reports. A new report earlier this week indicates that the WWE and Vince McMahon will do the unthinkable at 31…listen to their audience.
[adinserter block=”1″]Dave Meltzer had the scoop on a recent F4WOnline.com podcast. According to Meltzer, McMahon has called an audible on the Mania main-event. Regardless of reports that say otherwise, Meltzer is reporting that Vince has pulled the trigger and will be changing the headliner to a Triple Threat Match between Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE title.
The news comes just hours after a WWE insider leaked to Reddit.com the Fastlane result of the Bryans vs. Reigns match. The insider reported that Reigns would win at Fastlane and go to Mania as planned to wrestle Lesnar. According to Meltzer, this is a recent shift in plans for McMahon so it is likely that both reports are actually correct.
I am extremely surprised. The WWE is stubborn to a fault at times and barring injuries or guys walking out (like last year), they will rarely change WrestleMania plans. Keep in mind that plans for this year’s show were developed over the last year so a large commitment creatively and through marketing was made to Reigns in the headliner. A big question has to be what changed Vince’s mind so fast regarding Bryan?
It was clear at the Royal Rumble that the WWE had no intentions of booking Bryan in the headliner. Bryan was booked in and out of the Rumble in about ten minutes with no angles shot to indicate any further plans. Furthermore, a few days later Dolph Ziggler tweeted a challenge out to Bryan for a Mania match and reports indicated that the company were working towards a Bryan vs. Ziggler match.
Why the resistance in the first place? Vince reportedly did not want to “repeat” Mania with the same idea by putting Bryan in another championship Triple Threat. What is funny about that is that it was only two Mania events ago that the company repeated the exact same headlining match in Rock vs. Cena. I can understand where Vince is coming from, at the same time the crowds were singing a different tune than Roman Reigns.
Why the change? Is it the response at the Rumble, is it house show response, has there been a peak in Bryan merchandise sales, what is it that drove the change? My hunch is that Lesnar is leaving and the company was afraid that the fans would crap all over the match with Lesnar leaving and Reigns being the unpopular choice. Adding Bryan cleans up this mess as fans will be so excited, they’ll forget about Lesnar leaving and will be receptive to the match.
[adinserter block=”2″]So who goes over? I think Lesnar is definitely the odd man out. Whether he stays or goes, the company needs a fresh face in the title picture. I would have said Reigns but it is clear he is not clicking since returning from injury. That said, I am still waiting for a heel turn here with Reigns aligning with Paul Heyman to win the title. Another scenario could see Bryan win the title and Seth Rollins cash in immediately thereafter and win it. Rollins would be set up as the top heel, Bryan can chase, Lesnar rides off into the sunset, and Reigns is repackaged and wins the title at SummerSlam or sooner from Rollins.
Either way the fans have spoken and for once, the company is listening. Maybe there is hope after all?
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“Either way the fans have spoken and for once, the company is listening.”
How do you know that? There is no official billing of a triple threat match. You’re basing this off of a person who has been wrong before, but just says “WWE changed their plans at the last minute”.
TNA has been pretty decent lately… you gotta see Jeff Hardy’s fall from the top of the cage and onto the steel stairs is the best thing I’ve seen in over a year, regardless of brand…
A triple threat match for the HW Championship at WrestleMania is a horrible idea. I am so sick of these junk main events.
I think their biggest mistake is Seth Rollins he just doesn’t cut it for me and yet may be the most athletic on the roster; would be a great move if he turned from being heel. Reigns is all right but he doesn’t have the personality and pr program to make it; Bryan kind of tired of his being so dumped on by The Authority although he can wrestle and has the crowd I don’t think he can do the long run like Cena has.
repeating a Cena/Rock main event is a lot bigger in the fans eyes than having a 3-way..and the real place where creative screwed up was putting Bryan into the mix at all( I’m not saying BD shouldn’t have a spot at mania but when they put him into the rumble mix they started messing around with dynamite, they saw what happened last year). they had to know the fans would be doing their yes chants, that he’d be the hero underdog vs anyone and it was creative who screwed Reigns push not Reigns..answer me this if I’m wrong because maybe I am seeing it from the wrong angle..but everyone knew Reigns was going to be put in the main event at mania correct? it’s been written about for a long time..he was over like clover in the shield and when they decided it was time to break them up they did a great job individualizing them and allowed Reigns to break from the pack as a face..and as a face he was getting big support from the fans, they loved him and he had everything a hero needs in the looks department..he goes on a nice streak, he gathers more fans and he’s ready to go..at this time right up to his injury there was not many people who questioned him, (don’t get me wrong, by that I mean, yes there were people myself included,who said he might be a bit green and needed some work on the mic but nothing that couldn’t be taken care of in a short period of time, cause no one can convince me Bryan is that good on the mic) then he gets hurt, okay no big deal, there was still plenty of time to recover and push him they figured he’d be back at full strength by rumble where he could win it.. so he comes back and everything is peachy again, and what happens??? DB comes back too and now the fans have someone to cheer with a catchy reaction and back comes the YES movement, they love the underdog face so no matter who they put in front of Bryan they’re going to YES the building down..and now here we are..creative put their foot in their mouths and screwed the pooch..reigns has done nothing wrong, he’s exactly the same guy he was when they loved him, it’s just that booking booked him right out of the fans eyes by putting bryan in the Rumble..and now they must scramble to appease the masses because they want their 9.99 a month
You nailed it perfectly.
The article doesn’t say how DB gets added into the mix. No one is going buy DB being in WM31 out of no where ,especially if he loses at Fast Lane. There must be a match/situation similar to HHH/Bryan of last year that were not hearing about.
Sure they will. Its the fans that want Bryan in there in the first place. Though I’m sure its going to come down the the finish at Fast Lane. I predict either Daniel or Reigns is going into Wrestlemania as a heel.
I just need Rollins to cash in already. Hell he only has until Wrestlemania to do it and time is running out given that we have a champion you hardly ever see.
no, if I read it correctly he has at least until june to cash in
You could be right on that. Though every other time it was cashed in by mania. Of course that was before they turned it into its own PPV.
better look into it because I’m positive they said he had a lot longer than mania to cash it in this year, doesn’t mean he won’t, but look around because I know I’ve read it..I too thought it was until mania till I read it was longer
Thanks for pointing that out about not having to cash until l June because I too think Rollins will not cash in but there have been people on facebook wrestling group who say he will.m For once I can say they were wrong, Actually i have said, that Rollins will not have success in trying to cash it in.
all they have to do is the old ref gets knocked out, another ref comes down to the ring, while the match continues until the end both reigns and bryan and in a situation where they both have their shoulders down, the ref who’s been knocked out revives, he counts 3 on reigns while the second ref counts 3 on bryan and you know the rest
HHH has already said “legally” they cannot stop Reigns from getting his earned title shot at WM31. So have DB beat Reigns at Fast Lane. Have Reigns start his heel turn by attacking DB after the match. Reigns insists that he still deserves a title shot at WM31 and there you go the DB/RR feud has started
no he said that they didn’t have the right to make him fight his way into the main event, once reigns agreed to do it then all bets were off, it was backstage after the fact when HHH told that to stephanie..had reigns just said no from the beginning THEN they had no legal right to stop him and that’s the difference
Anyone who watches this probably already had thought this,i know i did.Roman isnt ready to carry the company.B4 the match was officially over at RR the crowd was chanting for the Russian,that should been your first clue
I see Roman and Rock feuding after the match and setting up a match against the cousins next year’s Mania. With the recent Rollins scandal, I seriously doubt they’ll put the belt on him. I predict Reigns wins, Rollins cashes in Rock interfers allowing Reigns to win and then the turn on Rock with Reigns saying he didn’t need Rock’s help and is tired of living in Rock’s shadow. (This sets up the Rollins/Reigns feud that they were building up to before his appendectomy.)
Just a guess, but WWE is getting pretty predictable
Sorry.. I don’t like DB.. this does nothing, but make me dislike him more.. I hate the reality era.
The oldest and most often used slogan in Wrestling history: “Card Subject To Change”…
This is such BS that Roman Reigns is unpopular now. He won The Rumble so he should be the only one going against Lesnar – and win the title. Sure Daniel Bryan is popular as well, but for the fans to boo Reigns now is just flat out “rude”. WWE already announced that it would be Bryan & Ziggler at WM31 and now they decide to put Bryan in there for a 3-way …….. NO NO NO. Reigns, to me, is as popular as ever. He should get the title and keep it for many, many months. A message to the WWE universe about your change of attitude toward Reigns and all I can say is ” I got 2 words for ya – – – – SUCK IT”
Reigns sucks. Terrible wrestler, no skills in the ring or on the mic, zero charisma, that stupid superman punch and the wet hair is a joke. get rid of the vest have him work a few more years and develop some skills. Too many other wrestlers deserve Wrestlemania before him.
Point to Make: Reigns’ skill on the mic is not that of true champion yet.
um neither is Lesnars Skill on the mic, but look at him yea he is a decent wrestler but he can’t talk for sh#t.
Lesnar really only talks inside the ring. I am referring to taking out side the ring and it is because Heyman does practically all the talking for him. Ever the hear expression, “practice makes perfect.” Any way, Brock talks a much better game that Reigns does.
Brock has no mic skills, that is why he has his adviser (walrus) but he can wrestle! Reigns has no Mic skill, The Rock should teach him a few pointers and (More wrestling moves)! Reigns earned his shot, he isn’t a suck up, i say let the fans boo him, don’t change anything, lets see how it builds his character. Hey, The Rock got booed and he still entertained us!
I think it is terrible that a organization that promotes bullying as its main story line (The authority and 5 on 2, etc) actually has commercials telling us how bad it is to bully people. I know it is only entertainment, but try to practice what you preach. I guess it is a case of do as I say, not as I do.
Holy crap! Really… If you don’t understand how this has always worked.. then don’t watch it. Bullying..lol
If Bryan Cranston told you not to use meth, would you bring up his role on Breaking Bad and call him a hypocrite?
Whats up with hat meth thing.? The WWE is trying to stear clear of the talk, LOL.
I think this is going to be the worse WrestleMania that they have. Other than whomever wrestles in the Main Event, there is nothing else worth watching. I see also that they are building up the Bray Wyatt vs Undertaker match. That is junk! On Monday Night Raw He beat Dolph Ziggler like He wasn’t anything and yet Ziggler took on five or six Men to win the match that got rid of HHH and Stephanie. So, now we are supposed to believe that Bray Wyatt is better than Ziggler. That’s garbage. This is a farce in the making. How can we think that Bray Wyatt would be a good foe for the Undertaker. Why isn’t there a rematch from last year between Lesnar and Undertaker? Is Undertaker that bad where He couldn’t win? I also am tired of paying a pay per view to see matches and my wrestlers winning and then the next night HHH comes on and changes the decisions from the previous match or will do something to effect the outcome. I’m tired of HHH and Stephanie. They think the audience likes them coming out and playing the heel on the favorite Wrestlers. When is this garbage going to stop? I don’t understand why the Wrestling Fans don’t write in and complain about this garbage. Something has to change or Wrestling is going to be history in another couple of years. HHH and Stephanie are not getting the job done. HHH is doing business like He did when He wrestled. Let people fight His battles so He could win the title and now He talks about How hard he fought to make wrestling a great sport. He is totally wrong. He didn’t do much. Vince McMahon made Him because His daughter liked HHH. He won many titles because they were given to Him by Vince. Now, He is trying to do the same thing with the wrestlers “in His Stall” which is garbage. Now we also assume He is going to wrestle Sting at WrestleMania. You might as well ink that one, too. Well, as I said this is going to be the worst WrestleMania they ever had. Maybe 3 matches at the most that will probably be worth watching. I don’t plan to spend my money on PPV watching this sorry junk. It’s not worth it.
Fuck Bryan two years in a row get the main event @wrestle mania give it to Ziegler or Ambrose
Reigns wins the Triple Threat, Rollins comes down to cash in, Heyman hits Rollins with the MITB case, Reigns pins him, Reigns is new Heyman guy.
Meltzer said no such thing. I’ve subscribed to the Wrestling Observer for over 35 years. It requires a PAID subscription and 100% of the time when dirt sheets claim them as their source they are lying because they know most people won’t pay to subscribe.
Of course he did, its the lead in this weeks Observer.
Bryan will win but Rollins will cash his money in the bank and become champion.
If both Bryan and Reigns are going to be in the title match with Lesnar, then here is my guess on how it goes down…Bryan and Reigns beat the hell out of each other and at the end Lesnar or Rollins interferes before the match is over resulting in neither winning and thus both go to Wrestlemania vs. Lesnar….
At Wrestlemania, Bryan fights his heart but gets tossed out to the floor and Lesnar and Reigns go at it with Reigns getting the win…then Rollins cashes in and curb stomps Reigns after attacking him from behind and wins the title!….Bryan is still a crowd favorite for his effort…Lesnar hits the road back to UFC and Regins turns heel with the help of Heyman, as Heyman needs a wrestler to manage….and Rollins gets his title run….just a guess on my part…
Rusev vs Lenar woulda been better.
So what I’m seeing here is that winning the Royal Rumble is absolutely worthless now.
Well, Rollins bringing the authority back kind of made the main event at Survivor Series worthless too.
That’s not the same though, that’s for storyline. What this is saying to Reigns and others is that it doesn’t matterif you win the Rumble, because Daniel Bryan is still gonna get a spot in the main event just because a few fans are unhappy (this is no longer the case thank God but still it should give anyone pause for next year when they are slated to win the rumble.)
That is the exact same reason why Batista left WWE again. He got his match taken away by them adding Daniel Bryan. Let Reigns have his match! Whether people like it or not he won the Rumble fair and square! Daniel Bryan not only had 1 wrestlemania matches last year but 2! How many superstars can say they had 2 wrestlemania matches in one night?! They would bitch if it was anyone else in the situation but its okay cause it is daniel brayn. This is why i am starting to sour on Daniel Bryan people hollar give others a chance when they do they bitch. Leave the match like it is!
He only came back to get people interested in GOTG and the millions of dollars he got didn’t hurt. Even Batista said himself the way he was booked was stupid.
And the reason why people are upset is the way they did DB he was in and out of the RR like a piece of trash. He is a “Top” guy as hot as anyone has ever been and they do that to him. They never would have done that to someone like Stone Cold, Rock, Taker, Cena. They did that clearly to stick it to the fans.
And they choose a guy that was already weaning before the Rumble if they would have gave it to Ziggler, Ambrose, Cesaro, Rusev, Wyatt people would have been OK with that but there shoving Roman down our throats and people are gagging from it.
And WWE did it again they are at fault for Reigns fall because they are so outta touch. Regardless if you personally like DB or not isn’t the point the point is he was insanely”over” last year and still is and the WWE should go with him because that’s what would be best for business right now.
I am going to be selfish for a moment. I missed last year’s WrestleMania. I look forward to seeing how this all plays out. A triple threat match may be old for some, but not me! I am down for WM 31!
This is bullshi#t. I hate this idea. Another triple threat match for Brock Lesnar?? Reigns won the Royal Rumble whether you people like it or not. I personally wanted Dean Ambrose to win, but I am not bitching or crying about it like some idiots are about goat boy Daniel Bryan. The “yes” movement is getting old very quickly, especially since the Royal Rumble. And a small ass Daniel Bryan actually pinning Lesnar or Reigns?? Yeah we all know this is scripted, but it isn’t even realistic anymore. Example being that Daniel Bryan beat Kane in a casket match???? Come on! End of Rant.
I agree totally, bryan is getting old, let him go and fight bray wyatt again, or rusev, he wouldn’t stand a chance against reigns or lesnar.
Sure Daniel Bryan is popular – but so is Roman Reigns – -just as much. Reigns deserves a 1 on 1 match against Lesnar – and hopefully ( as Good Ole J.R. would say ) beat the “bejesus” out of Lesnar. I know that according to WWE rules that the champion is suppose to defend the title at least once in 30 days. He . I remember last year it was several months before Lesnar wrestled. If he wants to leave WWE – I say good riddance. Reigns should become champion – – – BELIEVE THAT.
It’s all storyline anyway, so how can we say Reigns deserves the shot for winning at RR. He was written in to win, just like WM can be written to include anyone in the ME.
I’ve been saying forever, put Reigns with Heyman, perfect fit. Heyman can do most of the talking, which he is great at and Reigns can just kick ass.
I for one do not like it.. I do not know why there is so much discontent with Reigns… He looks like the obvious choice for the future of the WWE. If the fans are partial to Daniel Bryan, why did McMahon and company allow for his injury and subsequent stripping of his title last year…
THATS THE WAY I SAY IT WILL HAPPEN ANOTHER SCREW JOB FROM STEFANIE AND TRIPLE H;NOT WORTH THE MONEY FOR A SEAT;OR THE PAY PER-VIEW STING AGAINST HHH AT FAST-LANE? THE DEAD MAN GETS BRAY WYATT? GET LESSENER OU THEN PAUL HINEMEN WILL BECOME MANAGER OF SETH ROLLINS ;DEAN AMBROSE=IS LOST IN SPACE PROBABLY WILL QUIT?JOHN CENA =MONEY MAKER ANOTHER SCREW JOB WILL RETIRE?
Would be nice to see Rollins cash-in, to put himself into the main event spot at Mania. A Lesnar / Bryan / Reigns / Rollins 4-corner elimination match, ala WM2000, certainly has a very fresh dynamic to it.
Set it up with Rollins interfering in the Bryan / Reigns match at Fastlane, leading to a No-Contest or some questionable finish. Next night on Raw, no clear winner, inserts himself into the Mania main event, using his title shot.
This would be my plan too. Cashing in your MITB to be in the Main Event at WM would be a smart heel move. And with the card shaping up to be very 1 v 1 heavy, a 4-way elimination would be more interesting…3CB