Welcome to List This, in which we look at the ten who, what, where, when and why’s

of professional wrestling. that time of year once again, where wrestling fans come together as one and celebrate the crowning achievement of

Vince McMahon. However, it’s hard to remember a road to Wrestlemania paved with this much controversy since, well, last year’s Wrestlemania before they pulled a quick fix out of the bag. So, here are ten things we want to see at this year’s Wrestlemania.

IT’S

1It may seem like a strange place to start with Howard Finkel, but in reality, there’s no better way to kick off this article than with “The Fink”. In fact, Finkel is credited with coming up with the name ‘Wrestlemania’ to begin with. We’re big fans of Howard Finkel at The Tag Rope, and we’d love nothing more than to see him return once again to continue what is now the most prolific streak in sports entertainment today, with Finkel having made an appearance at every single Wrestlemania event since its inception. Whilst Howard’s trusty tux may be a little snugger on him than it used to be, the annual spectacular that is Wrestlemania just wouldn’t be the same without his trademark pipes.

Howard Finkel

STING’S ENTRANCE (AN ORCHESTRA WOULDN’T HURT)From a man who has appeared at every single Wrestlemania to date, to a man who has never even competed inside a WWE ring. He’s had his moniker taken away from him, his entrance music taken away from him and even had his voice taken away from him, but when Sting walks through the curtain at Wrestlemania 31, it will be electric. WWE have been known for creating historic entrances at Wrestlemania, and you just know they have something gargantuan in store for The Man Called Sting. We can’t wait to see it, and whilst we may not be getting his old orchestral theme back (go on, please?), expect plenty of smoke and mirrors to keep us entertained.

2

Brock Lesnar looking like brock lesnar: win, lose or drawThe reigning, defending, WWE Heavyweight Champion of the World, Brock Lesnar has been a man at the centre of controversy in the lead-up to Wrestlemania 31. Absent for extended periods of

time, and even walking out on a recent episode of Monday Night Raw, a lot of the build-up to his title defense against Roman Reigns has been left in the hands of his (more than capable) mouthpiece, Paul Heyman. No matter what happens in the main event of Wrestlemania, we want to see Brock Lesnar kept strong in the fallout, because even though he may end up going to UFC, this is still the man who conquered The Streak.

4

the stage is set...and it doesn’t look like rawIn an attempt to drastically slash costs that were spent on the WWE Network, the carefully-themed PPV sets of old have had to fall by the wayside. Nowadays, we’re treated to the same HD set that is used each and every week on WWE television. We totally see why they’re doing it, but who doesn’t love seeing wrestlers walk by ridiculous props such as hanging taxis, swinging spikes or even a fist shattering through a pane of glass as they walk down to the ring? The exception to this rule in the modern day though, is Wrestlemania. That’s the one event a year where WWE production members are forced to construct a replica of the Statue of Liberty. And we can’t wait to see what they come up with this year.

3

ridiculous andre the giant battle royal entrantsBattle royals are rarely, if ever, prestigious affairs. We weren’t huge fans of last year’s inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal being placed on such a high pedestal, but this year it looks like they’ve found a pretty happy medium. Battle royals are by design supposed to be a fun schmozz that can cool the crowd down before we move on to more serious affairs, and that’s exactly what we’re getting this year. But let’s harken back to the greatest Battle Royal of all time – the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania X-7 – and bring back some fun names from yesteryear. I’m talking about your Steve Blackman’s, your Vader’s, hell, have the newest Hall of Famers, the Bushwhackers re-enact Luke’s infamous Royal Rumble 1991 entrance (and exit). Then have Cesaro go H.A.M. and win it again before hitting the big red reset button from last year.

5bray wyatt beating the undertaker(yeah, we’re serious)Okay, okay, okay, hear us out on this one. The general belief seems to be that The Undertaker has to get his win back against Bray Wyatt, following last year’s jaw-dropping loss to Brock Lesnar. But we’re not so sure. Heralded as ‘The New Face of Fear’, how big of a notch would it be in the belt of Bray Wyatt to completely run through a broken Undertaker at Wrestlemania? The win would solidify Wyatt at the top of the card, without giving him the pressure of having to live up to being the first man to defeat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Then, the Undertaker can go back into hiding and prepare for one last rodeo at Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas, where he can defend his legacy and earn one last victory at the biggest show of the year and bring his record to 22-2, ending this three year story-arc that began at the end of The Streak.

6

no debuting nxt talentYou don’t have to dig too hard on the Internet to find someone who has come up with the idea of bringing one of the many talents from NXT up to the main roster at Wrestlemania. And at The Tag Rope, we’re dead set against this idea. Sure, as a wrestling fan, who wouldn’t love to see Finn Bálor make his beautiful, dark, twisted, fantastical entrance in front of 70,000 people? But without the context being given to main roster audiences, it becomes less powerful and is ultimately overshadowed by the existing established talent on the card. Wrestlemania isn’t the time for the stars of NXT to make an impression. The Raw after Wrestlemania, however...

7A feud-ending gimmick matchWrestlemania is the biggest show of the year, and yet, in recent years it has frequently not been the destination for blow-offs to long-standing feuds, but rather the beginning of a three-month journey for new rivalries. Imagine if Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had their 60-minute Iron Man Match at Wrestlemania XII, then had a rematch at In Your House the next month? It just wouldn’t work. Wrestlemania is often seen as the culmination of a year’s worth of television for WWE, and because of this, we want to see more grudges come to a head at the Granddaddy of Them All. So stick John Cena and Rusev in a Dog Collar Match, it would solve literally all of our problems.

8what you want to see at

wrestlemania 31

What I’d like to see and won’t is Brock going over clean. The next evening Rollins cashing in - walking away with the title.

@GregMexico909

NXT. No hyperbole. Not even an ounce.

@judekilgour

Sting and Taker to perform well in their respective matches.

@aewreview

At this stage they should just replay Wrestle Kingdom 9 on the titantron.

@paddybappin

A 20 minute plus wrestling match that isn’t the main event.

@joshua_e91

Last year’s Wrestlemania seemed like the dawning of a new era, and yet one year on, it really feels like not much has changed in the grand scheme of things. The Authority is still ruling with an iron fist, Dolph Ziggler is still waiting for his chance to break out and Wrestlemania is still dominated by part-time wrestlers in the main attraction slots. In the era of the mid-card, where everyone is a mid-carder, we want change. We want the next generation to step up and grab the proverbial brass ring, and if the powers that be are dead set on that guy being Roman Reigns? So be it. With John Cena’s historic run on top surely coming to an end, WWE needs new stars, and fast. So let’s make things interesting and give the next generation a chance on top, Wrestlemania is a good place to start.

not the future, the right now

9what you want to see at wrestlemania 31

I want more than one women’s match. Singles or tags, no battle royals. Also: Bayley. She’s been ready for a year.

@figurefourcast

I suppose some nice fireworks are the most one could hope for at this point.

@nojoeonlyzuul

I want to see me being proved wrong when I think that Vince McMahon has finally lost it and really no longer knows what we want.

@aw_tanner

Kurt Angle throwing milk at Stone Cold Steve Austin. Editor’s note: She’s only just seen this and loves it.

@oliviagwheeler

Bryan winning the IC title, Lesnar retaining but Rollins cashing in afterwards, and an NXT four-way with Owens, Balor, Neville, Zayn.

@vinceofohio

10And finally, what we really want to see at Wrestlemania 31, is Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins cashing in his briefcase namesake to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If you want an extended list of reasons, you can check out our feature article on the man himself from this very issue, but to keep things short, Seth Rollins has consistently been one of the most entertaining aspects of WWE television for the last year (and perhaps even longer than that). Whether it’s Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns on the wrong end of a Curb Stomp, Rollins lifting the World Heavyweight Championship to close out Wrestlemania is the perfect way to generate buzz and get people talking about what lies ahead. Moving forward, an Authority-protected Seth Rollins can have fresh, entertaining encounters against Randy Orton, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan for the title, with the added dynamic of going into these battles as WWE Champion.

seth rollins cashes in

This article was written by The Tag Rope chief editor, Ryan Carse. Be sure to follow the magazine on Twitter at @tagropemag, or over on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheTagRope.

THANKS FOR READING

All I want out of WM31 is an incredible IC title match and Brock Lesnar murdering one or more people.

@indiandeathlock

Rollins stealing the show. Maybe some NXT guys in an epic opener.

@mattsingleton17

WANT TO READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS?

THETAGROPEISSUE 4 spring 2015 £3.00

PLUS: antonio inoki dustin rhodes wrestlemania AND MORE!

SETH ROLLINS

global war

tommy endAS TOLD BY MAREK BRAVE

audience with an anti-hero

FIRST SHOTS FIRED IN BATTLE

BEST OF

2014issue #4 available now!thetagrope.bigcartel.com