CB’s Slant: Why The Raw after WrestleMania 31 Will Be More Important Than Mania Itself

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We are just 1 week away from WWE WrestleMania 31 and for better or for worse, everything is now set. Here is a look at the final card that is planned for the Grand Daddy Of Them All:

–Sting will have his first ever WWE match against Triple H – speaking of Triple H, WATCH THIS NOW. It’s well worth the 25 minutes and will be better than just about anything that happens at WrestleMania.

Anyway, I digress…

–Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Championship is sure to create controversy no matter the finish

–The Undertaker will appear for the first time in a full year when he takes on THE NEW FACE OF FEAR, Bray Wyatt

–Daniel Bryan will be in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match against a bunch of thieves and Bad News Barrett

–John Cena will be in the United States Championship Match against Rusev in a match straight out of the The Cold War Era

–Randy Orton and Seth Rollins finish this thing, though it looked like Orton already pretty much did that on Raw in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago

–Andre the Giant gets Memorialized one more time. Will #AXELMANIA run wild? Will The Miz finally get punched by Mizdow? Will Mark Henry make it to the ring without getting injured?

–The Bella Twins, Paige and AJ Lee #GiveDivasAChance, or at least a match on the card that will NOT be cancelled or shortened under any circumstances because if they do, PEOPLE WILL TWEET ANGRILY!!!! RIOT!!!!

–The tag teams wind up on the pre show with their Tag Titles Match when Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defend against NEW DAY, Los Matadores, and a half-injured team in The Usos.

While I feel like I’ve already said everything I need to say about the above lineup for WrestleMania 31 including the big title match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, one thing that I am still VERY fascinated by will be what happens on the post-WrestleMania episode of Monday Night Raw.

To me, the Raw after WrestleMania is going to be the true litmus test for WWE because you just never know what will happen in a closed arena filled with thousands of hardcore fans. And think about this for a second: if a smattering of fans in Iowa of all places were throwing “Daniel Bryan” chants at Roman Reigns last week on Raw, what do you think will happen if Roman Reigns enters the arena as WWE Champion on Raw? My guess is that it won’t be very pretty, and no matter what WWE thinks *might* happen, it will be much worse when it actually does happen right in front of their eyes.

It didn’t HAVE to be this way, and hey, it still might not be so bad for WWE. If Roman Reigns loses to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania or if Seth Rollins cashes in, then the backlash won’t be as resonant because at least WWE finally acknowledged that Roman Reigns shouldn’t have been placed in the position he was in. A Reigns loss at WrestleMania (to either Lesnar or Rollins) will serve as validation to those hardcore fans that what happened at the Royal Rumble was a joke, and that WWE actually understands and acknowledges that.

But if Reigns wins at WrestleMania? Well, then get your popcorn ready, because the Raw after WrestleMania will make for one Hell of a show that is sure to set the course for the rest of the year in WWE, and could even make or break Roman Reigns career at the top of the card.

The Raw after WrestleMania 31 can change EVERYTHING in 3 hours, and I personally can’t wait to see it.

Believe That.

That’s all from me — CB.

CB is an Editor for Pulse Wrestling and an original member of the Inside Pulse writing team covering the spectrum of pop culture including pro wrestling, sports, movies, music, radio and television.