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

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The last classic '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

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#6 A unique setting

Like it or hate it, this was unique.

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.

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