WWE History: 6 things that made WrestleMania 31 the last truly great 'Mania

A little over five years ago to the day, WWE presented WrestleMania 31. It may not have been the product of a perfect build like WrestleMania 17, nor was it as star-studded as WrestleMania 19. It also did not have the gigantic moments that WrestleMania 30 produced.

But on March 29th in 2015, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, WWE put on a show that was in no way indicative of its poor build. Against all odds, WrestleMania 31 went from looking like one of the worst 'Manias of all time to one of the best 'Manias of all time.

It is up there with its 2014 counterpart as the greatest WrestleManias of the past decade. And while the aforementioned 30th edition of The Show of Shows had a couple of explosions in the form of "WrestleMania moments", 'Mania 31 was a calm and consistent show which peaked at the perfect time.

This remains the last classic 'Mania, primarily due to it being the last four-hour edition of The Showcase of The Immortals. WrestleManias 33 and 35 were pretty good shows, but they fail to reach the level of the Silicon Valley showcase due to being too long.

Here are six elements that made WrestleMania 31 the last one that was truly great. But first, a few great moments that did not make the list:

The greatest RKO of all-time
AJ Lee's last pay-per-view match
Rusev entering on a tank

#6 A unique setting

WrestleMania 31 took place on the West coast, meaning the show began at 4 o'clock local time. As a result, pretty much all of it happened in daylight. This was unique, as WrestleMania 31 was the only outdoor 'Mania to transpire through the afternoon, aside from WrestleMania 9.

Every match and moment from this show happened with the sun out, except for the ending. It enhanced most of the show, but the light did take away from some of the entrances. Bray Wyatt vs The Undertaker, in particular, could have done with some darkness.

Nevertheless, a background like this is extremely rare for a WrestleMania and it was nice to see a change.

#5 Daniel Bryan climbs towards another WrestleMania moment

The perfect way to kick off a WrestleMania is with a multi-man Ladder Match. It is guaranteed to be good and get the crowd fired up. This show was no different, with the Intercontinental Championship being up for grabs.

The cast of Superstars in this match was excellent. Bad News Barrett defended his title against Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Stardust, Luke Harper, R-Truth, and Dean Ambrose. It's a who's who of some of the most popular stars in the business, even five years later.

And like every other multi-man ladder match at 'Mania, this was a beautiful car crash. Some of the spots were extremely brutal, with Harper's powerbomb on Ambrose standing out in particular.

In the end, Daniel Bryan won the IC Title, creating yet another WrestleMania moment after his unbelievable WWE Championship victory at the previous year's Show of Shows. It may not have been another main event world title match, but this was a good alternative for Bryan.

It's a shame that he wasn't able to have a full-blown reign as the Intercontinental Champion like John Cena's time as the United States Champion, which also began at WrestleMania 31.

#4 DX vs nWo

The big attraction match of WrestleMania 31 saw Triple H engage in a surreal encounter against Sting, the last WCW star to come to the WWE. Seeing the Icon wrestle at WrestleMania was incredible, no matter what the outcome was.

Sting and The Game had a decent showing before their match lit up thanks to the presence of some familiar faces for both sides of the contest. Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and X-Pac showed up to help Triple H, before Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan came to Sting's aid.

The Monday Night Wars came back to life as the two groups had a fun and nostalgic brawl at ringside. Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels also made his presence felt to tilt the match in his best friend, Triple H's favor.

After some back-and-forth with the Game's sledgehammer and the Stinger's bat, the battle was won by the 14-time WWE World Champion. After the match, Triple H shared a handshake with Sting, as their respective allies made up the background. It was an incredible image, making for a memorable moment.

#3 The Rock and Ronda Rousey embarrass the Authority

About an hour after defeating Sting, Triple H joined Stephanie McMahon in the ring to announce the Levi's Stadium attendance record for WrestleMania and, eventually, run down the WWE Universe. But just as the Game bellowed "The Authority always wins", The Rock's music hit.

The Great One had some fun with the people, before proceeding to make a WrestleMania moment with Triple H. His wife intercepted, cutting a scathing promo on The Rock before slapping the taste out of his mouth.

That was the cue for Rock to enlist the help of then-UFC megastar, Ronda Rousey. Leaving her ringside seat alongside her fellow UFC Horsewomen, Rousey entered the ring alongside The Rock to make a truly memorable WrestleMania moment.

The two of them took out the Authority, with Ronda Rousey giving us fans a preview of what she would do to Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34. It was a great first look for her, while The Rock got to enjoy another surprise 'Mania appearance.

But best of all, the 'Queen of WWE' got her yearly comeuppance on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

#2 Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns

Over the course of the 'Road to WrestleMania', the scheduled main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns failed to garner any real excitement. Lesnar seemed to be leaving WWE, while fans did not buy into Reigns being the next face of the company.

But days before the big event, it was announced that the Beast had re-signed with WWE. This saved their match and gave the WWE Universe somebody to root for, even if it was the villain.

The match was a violent slugfest, one of the stiffest matches in WWE history. The term 'Suplex City' was also coined during this match, as Lesnar hit Reigns with a whole variety of suplexes. He was dominant for most of this match, much to the delight of the fans.

But the Big Dog fought back and busted the Beast open, going on a Spear and Superman punch rampage of his own. Of course, nothing was able to put Lesnar down, neither did Reigns succumb to the vicious F5.

The rest, as they say, is history.

#1 Heist of the Century

After around 15 minutes of intense action and with both Superstars down on the mat, Seth Rollins ran down the ramp with his Money in the Bank briefcase. He had his own match at WrestleMania 31, losing to Randy Orton after the greatest RKO of all-time, but came back in a major way.

Rollins cashed in his contract, making the WrestleMania main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns a triple threat match. After another couple of twists and turns, the Architect pinned Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

After an evening of consistency and gradual progression, WrestleMania 31 exploded with the moment of a lifetime. Seth Rollins had just executed the Heist of the Century, taking the WWE Title after two men had destroyed each other for it.

This moment remains historic as the first and only Money in the Bank cash-in at The Grandest Stage of Them All, while giving the fans one of the most exciting endings in 'Mania history.

It was the best thing on the show by a mile, and that is saying something. WrestleMania 31 was a very special show, for all the reasons mentioned. It was a near-perfect show with zero bad matches and minimal flaws.

What makes it even more impressive is how WWE managed to turn the lack of excitement for the show into the brilliance that it was. And the biggest example of that is the entire main event between Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and eventually, Seth Rollins.

Despite all of its simplicity, WrestleMania 31 was a classic show. It will be a tough ask for any future 'Mania to reach its level, let alone exceed it.