Classic WrestleMania Match: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania 31

Kyle Fowle
Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns (source: WWE)

RondaRousey.com’s Classic Match series takes a closer look at significant and super cool matches from wrestling history. For WrestleMania Week, the RondaRousey.com staff is covering an entire week of some of our favorite WrestleMania matches.


Heading into the main event match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 31 in 2015, the story was rather simple: Brock Lesnar had returned to WWE the previous year and absolutely demolished the usually unbeatable John Cena to win the WWE Championship. He suplexed Cena 16 times on his way to an easy, dominant victory, one that saw him hold the title all the way to WrestleMania, where Roman Reigns—a Royal Rumble winner recently coming off the breakup of The Shield—would challenge him for the strap.

This match is all about two questions: Could Roman Reigns prove himself to be the next big thing in WWE, the guy that would take John Cena’s place in the main event for years to come? And could Brock Lesnar actually be beat? Lesnar looked infallible in the months leading up to WrestleMania 31, and Reigns, despite his wins, wasn’t making his mark with the crowd the way he was when he was the “Big Dog” of The Shield. But WrestleMania is a different stage, one that allows for shocking, exciting, unbelievable things to happen.

With boos raining down inside Levi’s Stadium, Roman Reigns is announced as the challenger. He stands in the ring, not boasting or putting his hands up or playing to the crowd. Instead, he locks eyes with Brock Lesnar. He’s completely still and laser-focused. This, already, is a different kind of Roman Reigns. He knows what this stage means, and he’s ready for a fight. Lesnar, of course, is always ready for a fight, so when Reigns comes in hot early, hitting him with a few fists and busting open the champ’s cheek, Lesnar quickly turns the momentum in his favor. He picks Reigns up, runs him around the ring, slams him into a corner, and then hits him with a nasty German suplex. He follows that up with a quick F-5 and that should be the end of the match. But Lesnar doesn’t go for the cover, choosing instead to revel in punishing Reigns. It’s a choice that would prove to be costly by the end of the match.

Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar (source: WWE)

There’s simply no recovery for Reigns. At this point in his career—arguably the apex—Lesnar could take control of a match in seconds, and that’s what he does here. He hits Reigns in the ribs with a few driving knees, leaving the challenger gasping for air. Reigns tries to fight back with a few running clotheslines, but Lesnar simply absorbs them like the monster that he is. Lesnar hits him with another suplex. To Reigns’ credit, he gets to his knees and starts laughing. He’s taunting “The Beast,” looking for more. Is it admirable? Yes. Is it also very dumb? Yes.

That just pisses Lesnar off, so he goes back to the driving knees, more German suplexes, and eventually, he hangs Roman over the ropes, delivers more knees—this time to his face—and then sends him crashing to the outside with a running forearm. Lesnar is in complete control, but he’s hesitant to move outside the ring. That gives Reigns just enough time to recover. When he’s back on the apron and Brock goes for another attack, Reigns reverses it. He hits him with his own knee to the gut, then drapes Lesnar’s face over the middle rope. Then he delivers two straight brutal knees to the face, which leaves Brock bleeding from the mouth.

This is an incredibly physical match. When you’re talking about a heavyweight bout, this is what you’re talking about. It’s one power move after another, one stiff punch, forearm, and suplex after another. Brock is clearly shaken by the knees to the face, but he recovers and delivers an explosive suplex that sends Reigns flying across the ring. Reigns rolls out onto the apron, but that doesn’t provide any refuge from “The Beast.” Lesnar hooks him under the arms and suplexes him over the top rope. Then he picks him up and delivers the second F-5 of the match. Reigns kicks out, and all Brock can do is smile. He appreciates this kind of gutsy performance… or at least the opportunity to keep beating the hell out of Reigns.

Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar (source: WWE)

And that’s exactly what he does. He slaps Reigns a few times, and with each blow, Reigns laughs and asks for more. His mouth is bloody, he’s been beaten across every square inch of the ring, but he’s still fighting. That’s what defines Roman Reigns and his appeal. This is the match that saw Roman go from a promising if flawed talent to one with charisma, true heart, and an athletic instinct that would carry him to many victories in the years after WrestleMania 31.

Brock doesn’t care about any of that though. He hits Reigns with a 10th German suplex, and then a third F-5. Once again, Reigns kicks out. This time, there’s no smile on Lesnar’s face. For the first time in a very, very long time, he looks puzzled and frustrated. Paul Heyman notices the look too and immediately sets about motivating his client. He shouts about how Reigns is disrespecting the champ, and that now is the time to really put him away.

So, Brock pulls him to the outside, the place where he was hesitant to go before. He lines up Reigns for a slam into the ring post, but Reigns reverses the move. Brock’s forehead slams against the post, and he’s immediately busted open. The blood pours and pours from his head, and it makes him woozy. He stumbles back into the ring, where Reigns is waiting in the opposite corner.

Reigns hits him with a Superman Punch, but Brock, unbelievably, doesn’t go down. He hits him with another, but Brock only drops to a knee. He hits him with a third, and this time Brock is reeling. Reigns doesn’t waste any time, seeing his opening. He hits the champ with a spear, but Brock gets up again. So, he delivers another spear, goes for the pin, and Lesnar kicks out. There’s just no putting either of these guys away.

What else is there to do other than keep going for devastating finishing moves? Reigns lines up a third spear, but Brock counters this one. He lifts Reigns onto his shoulders and slams him down with the fourth F-5 of the match. But Brock can’t make the pin. Both men are down and out… and that’s the perfect opportunity for a certain “Architect.”

Seth Rollins (source: WWE)

Seth Rollins’ music hits. He runs down the ramp carrying his Money in the Bank briefcase that guarantees him a title match at any time. He hands over the briefcase, and Lillian Garcia confirms that this is now a Triple Threat match. Both Reigns and Lesnar can barely function, and Rollins takes advantage. He pushes his former Shield brother to the outside and focuses on Lesnar. He lines up a Curb Stomp and he hits it, but Brock is still moving. Rollins checks on Reigns and then goes for another Curb Stomp, but just like Roman’s spear, Brock counters this one.

He puts Seth on his shoulders and it looks like Lesnar is about to retain. He turns around to hit Rollins with the F-5, but Roman comes out of nowhere and hits him with a spear instead. That sends the champ rolling to the outside, and leaves Reigns prone to an attack out of pure exhaustion. That spear took everything he had, and now he’s on his knees gasping for air. Rollins knows this is his chance. He lines up his Curb Stomp and connects with Roman, sliding into the pin. The ref counts 1, 2, 3, and suddenly we have our first ever successful cash-in for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. After Reigns and Lesnar demolished each other, it’s the sneaky Seth Rollins, with an immaculately conceptualized plan, stealing the win and the title in one of the greatest moments, and matches, in WrestleMania history.

Seth Rollins (source: WWE)

You can go back and revisit this match (and the entirety of WrestleMania 31) on the WWE Network.

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