Wrestlemania 31: Five things we learnt, including every member of NWO and DX squaring off

A brilliant Wrestlemania produced many talking points, including The Undertaker surviving his return from the dead

D-Generation X and the NWO return at WrestleMania 31 (WWE)

There were many surprises in this year’s WrestleMania with unexpected twists and match finishes. With a mixed reaction among fans since the Royal Rumble because of the lineup, many were unsure what to expect last night but the WWE certainly delivered some shocks. The Independent were live at the Grandaddy of Them All in San Jose, California and here we look back on the top five things that we learnt from the unpredictable show.

The midcard titles will be focus points for the company this summer

Daniel Bryan knocked off six other competitors in a fast-paced Ladder Match to win his first ever Intercontinental Championship. A few hours later, John Cena would win his first United States Championship after ten years of dominating the main event title scene. Both titles had previously been lost in the middle over the last few years but finally had been featured prominently on the roster since the turn of the year. With two former WWE Champions picking up the gold last night, there will be much more emphasis on their prestige, something WWE has needed since dropping the World Championship last summer.

Every member of NWO and DX finally squared off for the first time ever

The names Triple H and Sting next to each other on paper were enough to assure that this was a once in a lifetime match. However the star power was multiplied significantly with NWO strutting down the aisle to save Sting from interference from DX. Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall successfully squashed an attack from Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X Pac till Shawn Michaels suddenly hit a Sweet Chin Music to Sting. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome” to the rareness of what they were seeing, a stand off that was built after two decades in the making. There were hints that the two super-factions could face off with each other down the line but this occurrence itself is one for the ages.

The Undertaker survives his return from the dead

The conquering of the streak last year left fans speechless but The Undertaker showed exactly why they call him The Phenom with a strong win over Bray Wyatt. The win means that if The Undertaker was to finally retire, he would go out on a high. Wyatt gave a tough fight to The Deadman but it was not enough to keep him down and instead infuriated him even further. There were no signs of exhaustion or injuries suffered from Undertaker during the bout, showing a huge contrast from last year where he looked out of his depth. Is there one more match left for Undertaker with his win tally now reaching 22?

The Rock vs. Triple H may be on the cards for WrestleMania 32

The Rock made a welcome return to interrupt The Authority who were gloating about how they have broken the attendance record for Levis Stadium to reach over 75,000 attendees. The Rock called upon UFC Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey to handle Stephanie McMahon while he took down Triple H. The Two had previously confronted each other on Smackdown at the end of last year and this stand off only adds more fuel to the reports of the two locking arms one last time at the next WrestleMania. With Triple H beating Sting, he finally got a win after a losing streak at pay-per-views and will be looking to divert his attention to a new rebel to The Authorty’s power.

Seth Rollins is truly the Architect as he cashes in to become WWE Champion

With Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble win and Brock Lesnar’s contract issues dominating the headlines since the turn of the year, Seth Rollins took his time to plan out his execution of becoming the new WWE Champion. Rollins knew that he would be challenged if he chose to cash in on Lesnar so let Reigns do the hard work before entering himself in the match to make it a triple-threat. The Architect was the de facto champion of the last year due to Brock’s absence and now finally has a piece of gold to reflect his performances. The crowd was increasingly hostile to Reigns with the feeling that other competitors should have been in the main event instead. The outcome however favoured all three of the Superstars with Brock not actually being pinned, Reigns looking strong and Rollins coming out on top.