WWE WrestleMania 31 a Reminder to Focus on Performances, Not Winners and Losers

Don't zero in on wins and losses when reflecting on WWE WrestleMania 31. The Showcase of the Immortals is about more than who achieves victory; it's about who creates the lasting images.

Too many fans let rooting for their favorite wrestler to win ruin the fun. When WWE decides to give the other guy the decisive pinfall, the words "buried" and "jobber" get thrown around. Anger clouds the area of the brain that controls being amazed. 

At Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Rusev lost, John Cena won again and Bray Wyatt ran his WrestleMania record to 0-2. The Eater of Worlds is now in position to begin the inverse of Undertaker's streak. 

The show shouldn't be defined by those results alone, though. WrestleMania's heart is composed of moments, spectacle and the mythology of these men and women in spandex.  

Credit: WWE.com

Think back to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X, Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 and Edge at WrestleMania 24. Each of those performances were career-defining. Not one of them resulted in a win for those men.

It didn't matter.

What fans remember is Michaels leaping onto Razor Ramon off a ladder, a blood-drenched Austin refusing to submit and Edge standing toe-to-toe with The Deadman. The Rated-R Superstar told Renee Young on the 30 Years of WrestleMania podcast (h/t Wrestle Zone) that his match against Undertaker was the biggest and best moment of his Hall of Fame career. One could easily argue that Austin's career truly launched against Bret Hart. Michaels' performance opposite Ramon catapulted him to eventually being known as "Mr. WrestleMania."

This year's event offered its own collection of losers achieving moral victories of sorts. From Damien Mizdow to Roman Reigns, a number of wrestlers ended the night far better off despite watching the referee hold up someone else's hand.

Mizdow's Moment

Big Show won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a result that had about as much electricity as a AAA battery buried in the dirt for eight years.

It was Mizdow folks were talking about afterward. After months of suffering The Miz's abuse, Mizdow stood up for himself and went into battle without his boss.

The match's most entertaining moments were when Mizdow shook his head, refusing to obey The Miz's orders, and then when he tossed him out of the ring.

Credit: WWE.com

A David-and-Goliath clash then played out as Mizdow took on Big Show by his lonesome. This is when the crowd was most engaged. Fans' desire to see something miraculous had them locked in on the action.

In the end, Mizdow fell to the giant. The gutsy, likable and (finally) defiant runner-up was the star of the show. He now finds himself ready to engage in an entertaining feud with The Miz, the crowd anxious to see him succeed.

Rusev, Badass Russian

Look to Twitter, and you will see no shortage of people, like this fan, convinced that Cena "buried" Rusev at WrestleMania:

That's ridiculous. Rusev went nearly a full year without suffering a pinfall or submission loss. He was United States champ for four months, and the men in his wake include former world champions Jack Swagger, Sheamus, Mark Henry and Big Show. One loss doesn't erase all that.

And let's not forget that Rusev rode in on a tank.

In five years, what image from this match will fans still have in their minds? It won't be Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment on the Russian powerhouse after he bumped into Lana; it will be Rusev perched atop a tank looking awesome.

Credit: WWE.com

Rusev's first WrestleMania match was against one of its biggest stars. He got the red-carpet treatment for his entrance and spent much of the match punishing Cena.

His second go-round with Cena was designed to elevate the U.S. title. The story here is that Rusev was nearly impossible to beat, which made taking the belt from him a major accomplishment.

WWE Believes Wyatt is a Star

Wyatt failed to do what Brock Lesnar did last year and take down Undertaker at WrestleMania. That puts him in a club that includes Michaels, Triple H, Randy Orton and CM Punk. Not bad company for a man who only has two WrestleManias on his resume.

The fact that WWE pitted The Eater of Worlds against Undertaker is a great sign of the company's confidence in him. That followed his match with Cena in his first outing at the marquee event.

Compare matches with Cena and Undertaker in his first two WrestleManias to what the company has handed others. Daniel Bryan faced Sheamus in a dark match his first time up and then lost to him in 18 seconds the next year. Dolph Ziggler was in a Money in the Bank ladder match, which was followed by a six-person tag involving Snooki.

Wyatt's is miles ahead of those guys' early career arc right now.

Credit: WWE.com

He had a good showing against Undertaker. Despite nursing an ankle injury, Wyatt was the dominant force for much of the match. The Deadman won, but Wyatt made sure he worked for it.

This was far from a burial. That won't stop some fans like Danny Frost from seeing things that way:

Roman Reigns Impresses In Defeat

Seth Rollins stomped on Reigns' head to become WWE champion. That had to leave many a Reigns fan frustrated.

While The Big Dog didn't win at WrestleMania, his career is better off than it was before the night began. Within striking distance of a monster, Reigns stood tall. Lesnar pounded on Reigns like he was a pinata; Reigns refused to stay down.

Credit: WWE.com

In one of the most hard-hitting matches in recent memory, Reigns looked like a warrior, like a worthy foe for Lesnar. Most importantly, he looked as if he belonged under the bright lights of the WrestleMania main event.

That sets him up to get similar opportunities next year and beyond. With pounds and pounds of pressure on his shoulders, with so many fans pushing back against his rise, Reigns did tremendously well. 

That in itself is worth celebrating.

Reigns didn't shrivel. He didn't stumble. He showed himself to be the promising star WWE has banked on him being. 

More big battles will come his way. Victory will not be unfamiliar to him.

Watching him work against Lesnar was a blast. If you allowed who won and lost to overshadow that, you missed out.