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WrestleMania 31 undercard predictions: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins, Andre Battle Royal, more!

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. Last but not least, the undercard:

Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins

The General: You have to think that while they've gone back and forth, Rollins is likely moving up to the main event immediately following WrestleMania to feud with new champion Roman Reigns, assuming Brock Lesnar moves on to UFC. Even if Brock retains the title and sticks around, he could just disappear until SummerSlam, leaving Reigns in need of a follow up program. Seth also needs a big victory after doing so many jobs over the past few months, Money in the Bank briefcase or not.

Pick: Seth Rollins

Sean Rueter: On the one hand, we have the "briefcase holder who jobs a lot right before he cashes in and becomes champ" theory. On the other hand, previous briefcase holders haven't been Seth Rollins. I definitely don't think Seth is cashing in to close out 'Mania - that would be too much of a heel move and a bit hard to sell to the casuals at home watching a former football player and MMA champion duke it out at the end of the night. This is a feud that a guy who calls himself the Future and who The Authority has dubbed the Face of WWE should win, and The Viper already had his moments along the way (including the type of extended beatdowns Bryan took from The Authority last year to set up his big wins). Time to do what's best for business, Randy.

Pick: Seth Rollins

Keith Harris: Even though Rollins has fallen victim to the curse of the Money In The Bank briefcase of late, namely losing every major match he's in because he's eventually probably going to get the WWE title, I have a sneaky feeling he'll win here to keep the program with Orton strong going into Extreme Rules where The Viper will get his revenge.

Pick: Seth Rollins

Cain A. Knight: I think WWE whiffed big time when they brought Orton back and had him immediately join back up with The Authority, and then made Seth Rollins the only person gullible enough to believe Orton was being genuine. What made Randy so exciting back in November is that he was a loose cannon and would just explode out of nowhere to victimize Rollins and his cronies. I think the reason WWE went with the more boring route this time is that they desperately needed to fill 3 hours of television every Monday night, and so they chose the story that would be easier to drag out for five weeks. Randy Orton ultimately flipped off Rollins and beat the living crap out of him a few weeks ago on Raw, and that seemed like the climax of the feud. Therefore I'm not really sure what's left to be excited about here now, and I don't think it makes sense for Orton to win considering that he already got his revenge. These guys will probably put on a good match, but it seems to me like Bryan or Ambrose would make a much more interesting opponents for Rollins on this show than Orton. But unfortunately if you build a sports entertainer from the ground up, you don't get Dean Ambrose or Daniel Bryan.

Pick: Seth Rollins

Joshua Gagnon: The Authority has looked awful this entire feud, so why change up things now? The winner of this match could give a clue to what happens later. Rollins could lose this one, only to do bigger things later on in the night.

Pick: Randy Orton

Jason Martin: I think this has the potential to be the sleeper of the show, because the angle has sucked so many eggs over the past month. Why do we need this match after we saw Orton put Rollins through a table with the RKO? Why do we need it after Randy got his revenge? There's no title on the line and the briefcase isn't involved; it's just a grudge match. But, Rollins could be the best pure professional wrestler, along with Bryan, in the company. Lesnar is the biggest and most unique and important attraction, but Seth is HBK in 1993, maybe even 1994. Orton, despite his propensity to turn into walking milquetoast, is someone I've always been a big fan of in the ring. He knows how to tell a story, as his match with Jericho in September proved. What we have are two talented hands in a singles match on the grandest stage of the year, both wanting to stand out, knowing their match has ZERO stakes. J&J Security will take a beating, maybe Show and/or Kane, and it should be really good. I see no real reason for Orton to win, because Rollins seemingly has to slide into contention against Reigns (or for that matter, Lesnar). If Seth was going to cash in, I'd say Orton wins, because that would make his re-emergence seem less likely, plus would offer a second contender in Orton. I don't expect the cash in, so the right decision on a show that, as always, will be dominated by baby faces and fan favorites, is to put over the Future. The beating he took two weeks ago makes it far more obvious.

Pick: Seth Rollins

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The General: If they are, in fact, bringing Sheamus back in this spot how silly would it be to have him lose? And how much more sense would it make to have him win? I'm going to pick with my heart, though, and go with Damien Mizdow last eliminating The Miz to a thunderous ovation from Santa Clara.

Pick: Damien Mizdow

Sean Rueter: Or, some big old guys and a bunch of jobbers. I only have two wishes for this match. (1) That whoever the NXT entrant ends up being is booked respectably - and that either means as the winner, or the way Rusev was booked in the '14 Rumble (like a big deal and requiring a group effort to eliminate him). (2) That AXELMANIA RUNS WILD, brotherdudejack!

Pick: Curtis Axel

Keith Harris: My heart says Damien Mizdow should toss out The Miz to win the trophy and complete their breakup angle, but my head says that WWE would be reluctant to give a comedy character such a big victory on their grandest platform. Given all the vignettes hyping the return of the Celtic Warrior for the past couple of months, I think he'll get the nod.

Pick: Sheamus

Cain A. Knight: This match should just be canceled or put on the pre-show. WWE showed how pointless this one is when they had Kane and Mark Henry host a preview of this match on a recent Raw and they proceeded to eliminate all the jobbers in less than thirty seconds. They even included an over the top rope elimination of Curtis Axel in that segment, which is a spot that could have been saved for WrestleMania. So we really don't need to see that same 30 second sequence from Raw drag on for about 8 minutes at Wrestlemania 31 when it is going to clearly be a giant waste of the audience's time. This thing is so meaningless that even Kofi probably won't be in it, because it just isn't worth the time to come up with a fun Kofi elimination tease for a match that is full of so many inconsequential wrestlers. The Royal Rumble already showed us that one thing we definitely don't need to see is Big Show and Kane just tossing helpless dudes out of the ring, but it looks like they are going to subject us to that boredom yet again. There's really only one thing worth looking forward to here, and that's Damien Mizdow finally standing up for himself and physically attacking the Miz. Mizdow should really be the winner of this match, but I think WWE will give it to either Ryback or a returning Sheamus.

Pick: Sheamus

Joshua Gagnon: The battle royal is a great way to showcase someone in the mid-card. Last year's winner, Cesaro, was a worthy pick, as he was already over with the WWE Universe. I will stick with that same train of thought and go with one of the most over individuals at the moment, Damien Mizdow. It's the perfect way to start his in-ring feud with Miz.

Pick: Damien Mizdow

Jason Martin: After watching last Monday's version of this match, I have no interest in watching it, not that I had much before that horrendous segment. However, there are a few things that will almost assuredly happen that will at least make it newsworthy. ONE: Mizdow eliminates Miz to the biggest pop of the entire match. They've pretty much broken up and the last few weeks have not been handled well creatively, but this is the time Sandow gets his due. TWO: Show and Kane get into it and either one throws the other out and the one on the floor pulls the one in the ring out...or they argue and someone dumps both of them. The point is neither of them wins. No one cares. THREE: Sheamus returns. Why would we see so many sizzle videos in the weeks prior to WrestleMania if the plan were to use him after the big day? Makes no sense at all. Sure, he could show up on the post-Mania RAW, but that would make my prediction impossible. He comes back strong and gets put over "big" in a match that maybe should mean something, but we already know based on 2014 that it absolutely won't.

Pick: Sheamus

Paige & AJ Lee vs. Nikki & Brie Bella

The General: Someone is turning on someone else in this match, I just can't decide who it will be. We've seen each of the four feuding against each other in some form or another and I'm not sure anyone wants to see another Bella feud. Then again, do we really want to go back to the Paige-AJ well? Perhaps the Bella twins will emerge victorious and it will represent a blow off of sorts for this entire thing, a system reset for the Divas division moving forward.

Pick: Nikki & Brie Bella

Sean Rueter: This seems to me like pretty basic WWE-style, WrestleMania booking should apply. The belt isn't on the line, the heel champ and her lackey have been bullying one of the good girls for a while prompting her old rival and the closest the Divas division has had to a main event act to return and help her get revenge. In fact, I'd be surprised if Paige pinning or submitting Brie isn't the exact finish.

Pick: The Legion of Womb

Keith Harris: It's a WrestleMania tradition: a meaningless Divas match that will be lucky to get 7 minutes! They really haven't given the ladies much of a chance here, as who wins doesn't really matter. I guess the Bellas win, as the frenemies won't be able to stay on the same page.

Pick: Bella Twins

Cain A. Knight: The divas don't have much of a chance to get significant time on this card. I'm glad that WWE decided to do a more focused divas story heading into WrestleMania 31 rather than repeat last year's 14-diva invitational concept just to get everyone on the card. AJ, Paige, and the Bella twins all have entertaining characters, and it's really easy to root for the heroines and boo the villains in this one. I hope AJ and Paige can come up with an innovative double-team finishing move to wipe that condescending smirk off the face of the Bella twins.

Pick: Paige & AJ Lee

Joshua Gagnon: These four have all feuded with each other, so I'm not exactly sure where things can go from here without becoming incredibly stale. To help shake things up, I'm thinking this is a great spot for Charlotte to debut. Starting out as a heel, I could see her helping The Bella Twins get the win.

Pick: Bella Twins

Jason Martin: Give Divas a Chance? Well, one of the three kind of worked. The long Nikki/AJ match wasn't good, the Summer/AJ match was atrocious, and the Nikki/Paige match was decent. Here, the title isn't on the line, but four Divas are better than two when the Championship means nothing. The Bellas haven't lost anything important in ages, so they probably lose here, unless there's another heel turn. I don't think there will be. Fans get what they want. Nikki still has the title, and with it not being on the line, it makes less than no sense for her to win a match. I'm much more interested in whether or not Charlotte shows up on Monday night than I am in the tag match. However, this should be absolutely fine in the ring. Nikki has improved, and though she isn't up to the level of most NXT women, she's not phoning it in...they will work hard to achieve respect. That mindset is sad, but it's the current WWE reality.

Pick: Paige & AJ Lee

Tag team fatal four way match

The General: FACT!

Pick: The Brass Ring Club

Sean Rueter: The match on the show with the least build is ironically the one I'm the most emotionally invested in...I just hope my new shirt gets here in time for the pre-show.

Pick: The Swinging Cats

Keith Harris: With an extended two hour pre-game show, this match should get time and be a crowd pleasing opener, just like last year's four team elimination affair, but have little by the way of storyline advancement. With Los Matadores being perennial underachievers, The New Day being a creative flop and Jey Uso being injured, the silky smooth tandem of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd should be heavily favoured to retain and rightfully so.

Pick: Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

Cain A. Knight: This match is really missing something if The Usos can't compete. The New Day is an awful gimmick and they should just get rid of it as soon as they can. I cringe every time I see Big E putting his all into this gimmick when he deserves so much better than this. Then there are Los Matadores, who WWE tries to dust off once a year for a WrestleMania pre-show tag team match. And not surprisingly, they have no heat because they have been largely invisible for the last year. El Torito will always be entertaining to watch, but that just isn't enough to make it worth caring about this team. Well at least this means that Cesaro and Kidd will probably retain the championships after a decent match.

Pick: The Brass Ring Club

Joshua Gagnon: For me, the tag division is in a weird place right now, as I find it difficult to care much about any of the teams. The Usos, have been champs long enough, and need to run as challengers for awhile. New Day is just a car wreck, and shouldn't be anywhere near those titles. That just leaves Kidd/Cesaro, so I'll pull for them. At least Cesaro will continue to have a title of some kind. They have great chemistry together and deserve a long run. No, I did not forget about Los Matadores, they are just so lame, I can't even fathom them being tag champs.

Pick: The Brass Ring Club

Jason Martin: Had this just been an Usos-Kidd/Cesaro match given 15 minutes on the big stage, I'd have been excited. Throw Matadores in and throw New Day in and take Usos out and I simply couldn't care less. It'll be fine in the ring, but the crowd will be more dead here that at any other point in the evening, which is a shame, because the Tag Team Champions are a bundle of fun to watch, especially with Nattie doing her thing. Not a chance the titles change hands here. No reason to take them off the heels, because they're ascending in the eyes of the mainstream fan that doesn't see them as big stars...because they're the Champions. That's the general goal of secondary titles, to help elevate someone that needs a boost. Here, despite some horrible booking on television, the obvious answer will be the one chosen. If it turns into some kind of non-title multiple person and multiple team match, probably still the same finish. Either way, this is a complete throwaway on the card.

Pick: The Brass Ring Club

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Those are our predictions, Cagesiders. What are yours?

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