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WrestleMania 31 predictions: Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt

With WrestleMania 31 all set to invade Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California this coming Sun., Mar. 29, 2015, live on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network, it's time to go about making predictions for the biggest show of the year. The match card is filled out and the cSs staff of learned blowhards will give their best guess on who is going to emerge victorious this weekend.

But instead of doing this all in one post and giving you a wall of text and 3,000 words to read through, we'll give the top five matches their own post then cover the undercard.

Got it? Good. Up next:

Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt

The General: The idea that Undertaker could start a WrestleMania losing streak here is too far fetched for me. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe Wyatt should go over. The mystique is gone. Brock Lesnar took whatever "The Phenom" had left and any magic that existed while the streak was still alive has completely dissipated. Now, the idea should be about getting to Undertaker's retirement. He wins here because I just can't see Vince McMahon booking him to lose, especially if "The Deadman" wants his last ride to come in Dallas at WrestleMania 32.

Pick: Undertaker

Sean Rueter: Say what you will about the build to this show, and I haven't been complimentary of it, but at least there's suspense about the outcomes - more so than last year (although, boy, were we all wrong about The Dead Man's match...I'm pretty sure we all were talking about how booking him against Lesnar was turning Brock into an expensive joke. Whoops). Wouldn't be surprised to see this one go either way. My gut tells me they won't have Taker lose twice in a row, but I wouldn't put it past them. Falling again would set him up for redemption next year as a farewell. But will Mark Calloway make it to next year, and if he does, will the locker room leader insist on going out on his back? Wyatt should be fine either way - he's torn through everyone since leaving John Cena's atmosphere, and is young enough that becoming one of the many to fall to The Phenom at 'Mania wouldn't be much of a setback. Oh well, old habits die hard, and I've been writing this guys name down in this spot for many a year.

Pick: Undertaker

Keith Harris: I'd be really surprised if WWE risked damaging The Undertaker's mystique further by having him lose two years on the trot, even though it would have the long term benefit of putting over a star who could be headlining WrestleManias for many years to come. Got to keep Undertaker strong for Cowboys Stadium next year!

Pick: Undertaker

Cain A. Knight: Bray Wyatt is going to lose this match. The whole point of this WrestleMania card is to make Roman Reigns look like a mega star by conquering the invincible Brock Lesnar. A major reason why Brock Lesnar is untouchable right now is because he is the only guy who was talented enough to conquer The Undertaker at WrestleMania over the last two decades. If Bray Wyatt then also defeats Undertaker just one year later, that destroys the uniqueness of Lesnar's accomplishment, and there's just no way that's going to happen before Lesnar puts over Roman Reigns as the next top guy. If that reasoning seems like over-analysis, then consider which stars will be the top draws for WrestleMania 32 in Dallas. WWE wants to sell out that huge stadium, and they'll rely way more on Undertaker's star power to accomplish that goal than Bray Wyatt. So Bray Wyatt triumphing at WrestleMania 31 and retiring the Undertaker for good just isn't going to happen. But regardless of whether Bray wins or loses here, he'll probably just end up awkwardly forced into a comedy undercard ladder match at next year's WrestleMania 32 anyway

Pick: Undertaker

Joshua Gagnon: Bray has been carrying this feud on his own, but unfortunately he's not going to get the big win at WrestleMania. With the streak over, Undertaker could really use a win here to build momentum to his next, and most likely, last WrestleMania.

Pick: Undertaker

Jason Martin: I will be in the minority here, and this may be because I'm using logic rather than the obvious. I don't know what an Undertaker victory would mean, other than an Undertaker victory. The Streak ended, so what's really left here? In my mind, the right thing, and it strikes me as a very Taker thing, something he'd understand. The only thing that remains is to officially pass the torch of his character, of his aura, of that spot, to Bray Wyatt. That can't happen without a loss, unless Wyatt finishes Taker's career in the afterbirth, which doesn't make sense. The general consensus is that Undertaker wins and it doesn't really hurt Bray Wyatt. Last year, the thought was Bray would beat John Cena, and he didn't, even though that should have been a DQ win after Cena used the chair. It was the original plan, changed when the Taker decision was made. The Cena program damaged Bray, the Jericho program flopped, and the Ambrose program arguably hurt both men. Bray right now is on the precipice of either being pushed toward the main event or solidified as a mid-carder, potentially forever. Last year's loss to Brock was Taker doing the right thing for the future of the top of the card. This year's loss would be the first-ever "passing of the urn" to his immediate successor. Bray Wyatt, an amalgam of Taker and Mankind, whose promos have become monotonous, needs a shot in the arm. If Harper and Rowan come out to assist him, I'll be pleased. That needs to happen. Maybe they lay Taker out after the match and that's the passing of the urn. I know they'd love to have him and Sting end their careers together in Texas next year, but my head tells me this will be the final match of Undertaker's Hall of Fame, epic, iconic, one-of-a-kind career. Damn...as I've written this, I've realized something. I'm wrong. Let it be said that I believed Bray Wyatt was the right choice to go over, but that I couldn't predict it. Bray doesn't seem to fit the company mold right now atop the card. I hope to be wrong. A second thing I hope to be wrong about: This will not be a good match.

Pick: Undertaker

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Those are our predictions, Cagesiders. What are yours?

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