WWE WrestleMania 31: Most Underrated Individual Performances

WrestleMania XXXI has come and gone and in its wake are several performances that will stand the test of time, guaranteed to live on forever in video package and other marketing materials devoted to the Showcase of the Immortals.

Brock Lesnar, Triple H, John Cena, The Undertaker and Daniel Bryan are popular Superstars likely to be the talk of the wrestling world. Their performances were among those garnering the most attention, and rightfully so. They were all great in their own right but those Superstars were all part of high-profile bouts set up so that they could succeed.

Some were not that lucky. Some did not benefit from overly complex entrances, booking that presented them like elite stars on the biggest night of the year, or the unwavering support of WWE Creative. Some had to deliver in matches that flew under the radar, not necessarily the most important on the card, but never allowed that to hamper their efforts. 

You have heard about the performances by WWE's golden boys by this point. Now, relive the most underrated individual performances from WrestleMania, featuring some incredibly talented professional wrestlers. 

Credit: WWE.com

Bad News Barrett

The intercontinental champion kicked off WrestleMania with a performance that was overshadowed by Daniel Bryan's eventual victory.

Barrett was strong throughout the ladder match, delivering a huge superplex to Stardust from atop the ladder, then delivering one last-gasp offensive flurry, blasting his opponents with the Bullhammer before fallen prey to the running knee to the face by the aforementioned Bryan.

Barrett entered WrestleMania ice cold, WWE Creative doing him no favors as they repeatedly booked him to lose. He was treated like a joke on numerous occasions but on the grandest stage in sports entertainment, the former bare-knuckle fighter proved to the world that he is still one of the brightest and best young stars on the entire roster.

Credit: WWE.com

Jimmy Uso

His brother hurt and unable to compete in the WWE tag team championship match that opened the in-ring portion of the Kickoff Show, Jimmy Uso delivered a phenomenal performance that saw him nearly capture the titles all by himself.

He took punishment as well as he dealt it out and his top-rope splash set up the finish of the contest. Unfortunately, it was not him picking up the pinfall victory as Cesaro tossed him aside and retained the tag titles for he and Tyson Kidd.

Uso is a ball of energy. Along with Jey, he is one of the best curtain-jerking performers in WWE history, thanks in large part to the energy and excitement he and his brother elicit from fans. Jimmy proved why Sunday night, clearly the most over babyface in the tag title match and someone fans wanted to see pull off the win.

Credit: WWE.com

Cesaro

Cesaro and partner Tyson Kidd kicked of the night's telecast with a huge victory over Los Matadores, the New Day and Jimmy Uso, retaining the WWE tag team championships in a very good match.

But that is not why Cesaro finds himself on this list. No, the Swiss Superman delivered one of the night's most underrated performances in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he was aggressive late in the match, firing away at Big Show and nearly defeating the World's Largest Athlete for a second year.

Unfortunately, the giant learned from his mistakes last year and was able to catch him and toss him over the ropes, eliminating him, much to the dismay of the fans in Santa Clara.

Again Cesaro proved that he is the one of the best wrestlers on the planet, a Superstar capable of getting a great match out of anyone and whose hard work and dedication are evident even when he is not in the midst of a push. 

Credit: WWE.com

Paige

The Divas tag team match may have been somewhat rushed and definitely disappointing but Paige turned in a strong performance, carrying the workload for her team by enduring a beatdown at the hands of Brie and Nikki Bella, who isolated the Brit.

With her tag team partner AJ on the arena floor, it was up to the former NXT standout to continue fighting. She was able to fight back and make the hot tag before sending Brie into the ring steps, ensuring that AJ could trap Nikki in the Black Widow and win the match.

In her first opportunity to compete on the biggest stage in wrestling, Paige was clearly motivated to deliver a performance that caught the attention of the fanbase.

She did just that, standing out in an otherwise lackluster bout.