Randy Orton def. Seth Rollins:
Randy Orton has been searching for vengeance on Seth Rollins ever since Mr. Money in the Bank ousted him from The Authority and tried to end his career with a pair of devastating Curb Stomps several months ago. The serpentine Superstar got his fill on The Grandest Stage of Them All, picking his rival apart at WrestleMania 31 before taking the victory in unbelievable fashion, countering another Curb Stomp with a thunderous RKO.
Rollins, as always, thought he had the advantage heading into the bout with J&J Security keeping a close eye on the proceedings from ringside. The Apex Predator stalked slowly to the ring, psyching himself up for the impending battle and rarely taking his eyes off of his foe. The two competitors went hold for hold in the opening moments of the match, yet when Rollins tried to show off with a backflip, he was struck down by The Viper. Mr. Money in the Bank almost found himself on the receiving end of an RKO, but quickly scurried out of Orton’s grasp.
Orton didn’t let Rollins rest, pouncing on him in the corner, but The Future of WWE countered with a brutal turnbuckle powerbomb. When things looked bleak for Rollins, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury distracted Orton, only to take a double DDT onto the Levi’sﾮ Stadium floor. That gave Rollins the opening he needed to execute an aerial attack on The Apex Predator and take control of the bout.
Rollins seemed to have reversed his fortunes and talked trash to Orton, declaring that this was “his time” on The Grandest Stage of Them All. However, just when Rollins evaded his trademark powerslam and thought he had The Viper on the ropes, Orton caught Mr. Money in the Bank mid-Curb Stomp and slammed him into the canvas.
The two rivals engaged in a high-speed series of counters, with Orton eventually assuming the controlling position. He then connected with a ring-rocking RKO, but was stunned when Rollins kicked out. Perhaps wanting to end things then and there, The Apex Predator lined Rollins up for the punt that has put many Superstars out of action. J&J Security quickly dove on the proverbial grenade once again for Rollins, each willingly going into Orton’s path and eating an RKO for their troubles.
Rollins pounced on The Viper and positioned him for another Curb Stomp. Unbelievably, though, Orton popped up and vaulted Mr. Money in the Bank mid-air, catching him on the way down with a bone-jarring RKO to seal the victory.
Seth Rollins may have gone into WrestleMania 31 looking to cement himself as the Future of WWE. That future will have to wait another day, however, until he can find a way past Randy Orton.
Daniel Bryan won the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match:
Daniel Bryan has a tendency to defy expectations. He was told he would never be a WWE Superstar, but he scratched and clawed his way onto the roster five years ago. He was told he would never be in the main event of WrestleMania, but he nevertheless celebrated a WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory on The Grandest Stage of Them All last year in New Orleans. At WrestleMania 31, nearly one year after neck surgery seemed to herald the end of his career, The “Yes!” Man rose above adversity once again, winning one of the most kinetic Ladder Matches in the history of The Show of Shows to win his first Intercontinental Championship.
The chaos that ensued after the bell was appropriate given the championship’s bizarre journey in recent weeks as it had spent more time in the hands of the bout’s challengers – Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Stardust and Luke Harper – than it had in the grasp of its bearer, Bad News Barrett. Morphing quickly into a brawl outside the ring, the match put on full display the lengths to which Superstars will go to carry the title held by such WWE Hall of Famers as Bret Hart, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and the title’s first holder, Pat Patterson.
The battleground seemed like it would change dramatically when the unusual Stardust pulled a customized ladder from underneath the ring, his “Exo-Atmospheric Starbird,” but that cosmic implement was quickly destroyed by the defending champion. The intergalactic Superstar faced an even greater setback when Barrett – willing to do anything and everything to leave WrestleMania with his title reign intact – incapacitated Stardust with a wince-inducing superplex.
The brutality would only continue to escalate moments later, when Harper folded Ambrose in half with a powerbomb from the ring through a ladder bridging the ring and the outside barricade. Pressing his advantage, Harper began ascending another ladder in the center of the ring as Ziggler – intent to steal The Show of Shows – latched onto the behemoth with a sleeper hold. Unfortunately for The Showoff, the maneuver was all too effective, as a fading Harper eventually sent both Superstars crashing to the canvas. Staggered but determined, Ziggler seized opportunity and made what seemed to be his victory ascent, but he received only a Bull Hammer from the cunning titleholder for his efforts. Barrett similarly dispatched Stardust and Truth in a show of brute force, but would be the recipient of some decidedly “Bad News” just moments later.
Big Show won 2nd Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff Match):
Big Show has heard the Andre the Giant comparisons for 20 years. WCW announcers even labeled him as “Andre’s son” when he first stepped inside a ring in 1995. At WrestleMania in Levi’sﾮ Stadium, though, the four-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion lived up to those lofty comparisons, eliminating 10 Superstars (more than one third of all the competitors) to win the 2nd Annual Andre the Giant Battle Royal.
The World’s Largest Athlete finished as the runner-up of the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30, but he exorcised those demons in 2015.
The action kicked off with Curtis Axel getting crowd-surfed from the ring by his 28 opponents. The competitors vied for momentum early on – with The Miz getting help from Damien Mizdow to eliminate his former prot￩g￩ Alex Riley, Ryback tossing opponents left and right, and NXT’s Hideo Itami booting Bo Dallas.
But Big Show did everything he could to prevent another heartbreaking Battle Royal defeat. The 425-pound Superstar even skinned the cat to stave off elimination from The New Day, before tossing all three Superstars. When he ran into last year’s winner Cesaro, Big Show acrobatically squirmed free from a bodyslam to flip The Swiss Superman over the ropes.
In the match’s final moments, Miz tried to enlist his employee Mizdow to double-team Big Show, but Mizdow took a stand, throwing Miz over the ropes and quitting his personal assistant job on the spot.
The size difference proved to be too much for Mizdow against Big Show, though, as The World’s Largest Athlete overpowered the former stunt double for the deciding elimination.
In the lead-up to WrestleMania, Hulk Hogan called Andre the “king of the Battle Royal,” and 25 years since Andre’s final match, a fellow giant made him proud.
WWE Tag Team Champions Tyson Kidd & Cesaro def. The Usos, Los Matadores and The New Day’s Big E & Kofi Kingston
The best tag team in WWE is Tyson Kidd & Cesaro ﾅ FACT! The WWE Tag Team Champions retained their titles in front of an electrified capacity crowd at Levi’sﾮ Stadium after overcoming The Usos, Los Matadores and The New Day’s Big E & Kof Kingston in a high-flying Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Championship clash during the WrestleMania Kickoff.
WWE’s tag team division didn’t disappoint on The Grandest Stage of Them All, kicking off the biggest event in sports-entertainment with an instant classic. The single pinfall contest began with The Swiss Superman and The Dreadlocked Dynamo squaring off, but it didn’t take long for things to quickly spiral out of control after Los Matadores’ Diego tagged himself in. This prompted Cesaro to take his frustration out on Jey Uso, sending the Samoan Superstar over the announce table and onto his previously injured shoulder. Despite his brother being helped off to the locker room just seconds into the matchup, Jimmy stood strong, immediately taking out the competition with a series of superkicks.
The action continued fast and furious, with Superstars tagging themselves in at a rapid rate. But then the battle moved to the outside floor, where the wily Kidd used his wife for protection before El Torito and Naomi launched themselves into the chaos.
The referee had his hands full keeping track of who was legal in the contest, as bodies flew around the ring at a fevered pace. Eventually, Cesaro and Big E showed off their strength in an “OMG” moment, bringing the WWE Universe to its feet as they hoisted Diego & Fernando onto their shoulders while the masked luchadors superplexed Kingston and Kidd to the mat below.
Attempting to take advantage of the chaos below, Jimmy Uso hit a top-rope Splash onto a fallen Big E, only to get tossed from the ring by the legal man, Cesaro. A replay showed The Swiss Superstar had shrewdly tagged himself in before Jey left the top rope, allowing him to secure the pinfall victory and keep the WWE Tag Team Championship around himself and Kidd.
The “fact-droppers” had talked a big game leading up to The Showcase of Immortals, but like all great WWE champions, they backed it up inside the ring. Now that the Kidd & Cesaro have a victory under their belts on The Grandest Stage of Them All, what’s next?