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:   In rewatching this WrestleMania, I am honestly a little bit in awe of it. This may be as close to perfect as WrestleMania is ever going to get. Everything just seemed to click. Daniel Bryan is the big story here, having two matches, to both open and close the show. Either one of those matches could be a contender for match of the year, and together, along with the video packages, told one of the best underdog stories to ever come out of this company. The “Monster” video they played, telling the background of this story is one of the best video packages that the WWE editors have ever put together. Even if the rest of the show had been nothing more than subpart, the strength of the Daniel Bryan material is enough to pull the overall quality into good territory. But that’s not the case, as almost every other spot of WrestleMania is great. I enjoyed the opener of Hogan, The Rock and Stone Cold just coming out and having fun for a little bit. It worked to celebrate the mil...

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 ...

In Chris latest video chronicling his journey to obtain the 50 Superstars trophy on WWE 2K15 for PS4, Joel joins him and they magically turn Daniel Bryan into Ultimate Warrior. Confused? Just watch below!