Irrelevant But Awesome

Joel:  Honestly I hadn’t gone back and watched WrestleMania 31 straight through after watching it live about a year ago. Having seen this particular WrestleMania so recently, I can remember that my initial reaction to the show was that it was really quite, good and surprisingly good considering how bad it looked like it was going to be going into the show. So, on this rewatch, I was looking forward to closing out the whole thing with two really strong WrestleManias back to back. However, upon actually sitting down to watch WrestleMania 31 I realized that “surprisingly good” only works when you’re expecting it to be really bad. I don’t think WrestleMania 31 is terrible exactly, but rewatching it now doesn’t hold up to watching it live as much as I thought it would. For example, the ladder match that opens up the show is still one of the best matches on the card, but it doesn’t mark the triumphant return for Daniel Bryan anymore. Another example is the exciting “surprise” app...

Joel:  Unfortunately, there’s not much on this card to make up for the frustration of Twice in a Lifetime. I don’t know what it is about Brock Lesnar and Triple H, but these are two talented guys who just do not work well together. As bad as this match was, it pains me to remember this was one of the best matches that these guys put on together during this particular feud. I remember at the time also being surprised that Fandango’s debut landed with such a thud since they were obviously high on the guy, putting his debut match on WrestleMania, against Chris Jericho no less. Well now, seeing where Fandango’s career has gone, that thud is even louder rewatching the show. Honestly, CM Punk vs. The Undertaker is the only match I feel like praising here. It’s a strong match between the two of them, and has some nice spots, but I think both guys had a stronger showing the previous year. On a technical level it’s a great match, but the emotion for this match isn’t there the way it ...

Joel:  It took twenty years, but it seems like WWE has finally figured out how to make a good WrestleMania. Not that this is the first good Mania or even the best one so far. The three before this one all all probably better quality than XX was itself, but up until this point WrestleMania quality seemed to vary wildly from year to year. If we take WrestleMania X7 as an example (which at this point is still the best WrestleMania we’ve seen so far) watching that show, it feels like all the stars had to align just so and everything had to happen exactly when it did for the show to come out as good as it was. It’s finally starting to feel like WWE has figured out what makes a good and a bad WrestleMania as a whole and aren’t relying so much on hoping things work out. WrestleMania has been good for a few shows now and that streak of WrestleManias are more good than bad is going to run till about WrestleMania 27. The incredibly long runtime on this particular WrestleMania can m...

Joel:  This WrestleMania had several firsts for the show. This was the first WrestleMania after the company switched from WWF to WWE. (If you watch the show on the WWE Network, even though the WWF scratch logos have been unblurred, there are a few cases here where they remain blurred in footage of past WrestleManias.) But it’s also the first WrestleMania after the Brand Extension, which means that the show was presented as two separate rosters coming putting on one giant show. This leads to a somewhat clunky feeling as we bounce between the two rosters, but it’s not a huge issue. I think this may have also been the first time that Undertaker’s streak was mentioned by the show. It was little more than a throwaway line by the commentary saying that Undertaker was 10-0 but still, it’s going to be shaping up to be its own thing in the next couple of years. The match quality is impressive for the show as well. Chris Jericho has is best WrestleMania appearance to date and the same...