Welcome to Last Word on Mania month at Last Word on Sports! All month long we will be doing articles to build up for WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015. Be sure to read everything this month by clicking this link. Enjoy!
Post WrestleMania 30, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins had been part of some of 2014’s finest matches. This was courtesy of The Shield vs. Evolution feud where both Seth Rollins and Randy Orton were involved in their respective teams.
At the conclusion of this feud, we saw a twist to the tale involving Seth Rollins turning his back on his Shield members and joining The Authority. Seth Rollins had officially turned heel. Tipped as the Authority’s next big project, Seth went on to winning the prestigious Money In The Bank ladder match earning himself a future title shot with the champ. However, along with Seth being elevated as WWE’s top heel (as Brock Lesnar was working a part-time schedule) comes a lot of responsibility and pressure. Could Seth live up to his expectations? How would the WWE universe depict him without the Shield? Would he fail to make an impact as his team members had done? It is fair to say that Seth Rollins has still a lot to prove as he is just reaching the peak of his career. However, there is no denying that 2014 was a tremendous year for him. From his wrestling ability, his promos and his ability to consistently provide entertaining matches, demonstrated the fact that WWE had got it right this time and he is well and truly on his way to grabbing the infamous ‘brass ring’. With just the briefcase and no titles to his name in 2014, you can just imagine (or hope) WWE has big plans for Seth in 2015. How can we forget the recent triple threat match at the Royal Rumble were he almost outshone the WWE World Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and the veteran John Cena? It is therefore quite surprising WWE has not placed Seth in the main event picture or given a title shot at the grandest stage of them all?
Randy Orton, compared to Seth, has had a lacklustre 2014. With being on the losing side as part of the Shield v. Evolution feud, losing to Roman Reigns at Summerslam, pointless matches with Chris Jericho and John Cena and most importantly being overshadowed with Seth Rollins’s push within the Authority. The biggest blow came when Randy Orton was taking out for several months by the hands of… Seth Rollins. Randy Orton made his return last month at WWE’s Fastlane PPV. For weeks the WWE Universe (and the Authority) were contemplating Orton’s intentions, was he seeking retribution against Rollins or was there to ‘assist’ Rollins as he was claiming. Thankfully, he wanted revenge and the match has now been locked for the ppv.
What makes this match interesting is the impact that it will have on both Orton’s and Rollins’s careers. You have WWE’s hottest heel set to become the top villain within the WWE and then you have “The Legend Killer” who made his return to the WWE after a long gap in order to gain some much needed momentum to his career. Both men can’t win; it can go to no contest, but this is WrestleMania and WWE wouldn’t subject their fans to such an unnecessary finish (fingers crossed). That’s what makes this match interesting. Each year at WrestleMania, there are those matches that the finish just screams the obvious outcome but others that leave you scratching your head thinking, “which way will this match end?” This match falls into this category. No doubt both Orton and Rollins are top performers and given the opportunity, there should be no reason as to why they can’t tear the house down at Levi’s Stadium.
If Orton wins, this win will elevate Randy’s meandering WWE career and would serve justice to the reason as to him being taken out by Rollin’s for all those months. Would this place Orton back into the title frame picture? Perhaps so, but we also need to consider whether this would disrupt WWE’s plans in making Seth their top heel? Again, perhaps so. But we should not forget that Seth has something more valuable to him at this present moment in time than a win over Orton at WrestleMania, and that is the Money In the Bank briefcase. If he were to lose the match at Mania against Orton, people will immediately forget this loss the minute he successfully cashes in the contract and wins the title. This scenario could also set up a rematch between Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins but with the title being on the line.
Win or lose, we are in for a treat with this match and I for one am eagerly looking forward to what both these men deliver, regardless of the outcome.
