The grand-daddy of them all has arrived. Wrestlemania 31 kicks off at 4 p.m. PT Sunday evening, in what some would argue is the biggest event in Levi's Stadium short history. The 49ers stadium hosted the Pac 12 championship game, a hockey contest, and of course ten 49ers games. Next year it hosts Super Bowl 50. For now though, Wrestlemania is kind of a big deal for the stadium.
Wrestlemania will air on pay-per-view and the WWE Network. The Network is only $9.99 a month (register here), so it makes sense to make that purchase, rather than the traditional PPV route. There is no long-term commitment, so if you were so inclined, you could purchase it for Sunday evening, and then cancel on Monday. I don't know how sustainable the model will be for WWE, but for the fan, it's a great deal.
WrestleMania 31 had nine matches planned, but they have moved two of them to the pre-show. The pre-show kicks off at 3 p.m. PT on WWE Network, and will feature the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
You can still watch Wrestlemania through your regular cable box, for the cost of $59.99. I could see bars and other public viewings paying that, but unless you do not have Roku or anything like that and absolutely have to watch it on your TV, the Network is the better deal. It is worth noting that Dish Network and DirecTV have dropped WWE PPVs from their schedule due to displeasure with the launching of WWE Network. Click here for a list of providers.
This will serve as an open thread during the show later today. If you are not a fan of WWE, there is still going to be plenty of 49ers content to keep you occupied, so there is no reason to get pissy about today's rare non-football content. For those watching the show, I'll have some recap content in this story stream. We'll have a full show recap, and potentially some in-show stuff.
Here is the full card for WWE WrestleMania 31.
- WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (c) vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos
- 2nd annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
- AJ Lee & Paige vs. Nikki & Brie Bella
- Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
- Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper vs. Stardust vs. R-Truth
- United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs. John Cena
- Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
- Sting vs. Triple H
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns