Backstage Notes on Changes to WrestleMania 31 Match Placement

WWE aired its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, on March 29 in Santa Clara, California, at Levi’s Stadium. The event went off without a hitch, as it was generally well-received from fans and critics alike. Even further, there was little to no controversy surrounding the event.

Though, before the event even got underway, WWE did come under some fire for moving the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to its “WrestleMania Kickoff” pre-show. A recent report from PWInsider has provided some information on changes made to the WrestleMania 31 match order.

According to the website, WWE was thinking about moving more than just the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to the “WrestleMania Kickoff.” Before the battle royal was moved, WWE was looking to move one or two matches to the pre-show, joining the Fatal 4 Way WWE Tag Team Championship match. In the end, just the battle royal was moved, but there was a possibility of the two-hour pre-show containing three matches.

One of the matches that could have found itself on the pre-show was the only Divas bout on the card, seeing AJ Lee and Paige face The Bella Twins in tag team action. However, WWE reportedly thought better of it due to the potential of more backlash stemming from the #GiveDivasAChance campaign.

WWE wanted to have two or three matches on the “WrestleMania Kickoff” for two reasons. First, WWE wanted to have necessary time for its marquee matches on the match card. Although, as noted, the show’s main event had to be slightly cut due to time constraints. Additionally, with a two-hour pre-show, WWE wanted more than one match on the show in order to keep its fans’ interest.

Editor’s Note

I’m glad WWE didn’t bump the Divas match to the pre-show. That definitely would not have went over well.