10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 31 Facts
6. The United States Title Match Was WrestleMania's First In Eight Years
Even though John Cena's match with Rusev was pretty solid, it truly was all downhill after Rusev made his entrance in an armored tank. Really, there's no topping that. After Rusev made that grand arrival, he and Cena may as well have just called it a day.
The fact that the bout took place ended a streak of WrestleManias where the US Championship was not defended. Before Rusev was machka'ed, the last time the United States Championship was defended on the big stage was in 2007, when Chris Benoit retained the gold over MVP.
May as well run down the other US Champions during that stretch. At both 24 and 25, Champion MVP took part in Money in the Bank. For 26, The Miz was busy with a Tag Team title match. At 27, Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan was bumped to the pre-show, prolonging the futility. Santino Marella took part in a twelve-man tag at 28, while Cesaro was left off of 29 entirely. Finally, Dean Ambrose teamed with his Shield brethren at 30. Go figure that the man who does right by the US title is the one who hates the US.