Wrestlemania 28 comes to us from the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL in front of over 78,000 fans. The set up reminded me a lot of WM IX. That year, the ring was surrounded by tall pillars that held up a flat-top canopy. This year, the ring was surrounded by giant palm trees, with a canopy that gave the appearance from a distance of action being taking place in a cabana. The overall set up was well done, and one of the better ones they've done recently. Except if you were sitting behind the palm trees.
Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole are on commentary. The main draw to this Wrestlemania for many was the main event pitting The Rock versus John Cena.
The first match was Sheamus versus Daniel Bryan (champion) for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. I was looking forward to this match. I was watching at a friend's house, went out to make myself coffee. The match was over before I came back into the living room. We rewound the match. Sheamus wins with a Brough Kick as soon as Bryan turns around from kissing AJ. I was infuriated. Especially when they gave more time to the divas match, a racist dance skit with Brodus Clay and a bunch of "mammas", and the MGK and Flo Rida performances. Lousy start, and a terrible statement on how WWE views that title.
Next match was Randy Orton vs. Kane. I wasn't into the buildup, and hence this match. The match itself wasn't too bad, but would've worked on free television. Kane actually wins with a nice chokeslam off the second rope.
Up next is the Intercontinental Title match pitting Cody Rhodes versus The Big Show. The buildup to this match was entertaining. The match itself was okay. Big Show wins the IC championship when he does a nice counter to Rhodes' Beautiful Disaster with a spear.
Divas Match time. My friend and I turned to ESPN to watch the UConn women's basketball team play their Final Four game against Notre Dame. We turned back to 'mania after close to ten minutes, and the match was finally wrapping up. WTF! You give the divas match where one of the performers is a host on Extra that much time, and not Bryan and Sheamus? I give up thinking there's logic in the world anymore.
So that's the first hour of the show. So far, it's been lackluster, I'm still seething about the opening match, and both my friend and I started to feel we were not getting the $55 we paid for the show.
The tide finally turns in the next match. It is the Hell in A Cell match featuring The Undertaker and Triple H with guest referee Shawn Michaels. It is AMAZING how these two can still take bumps and chair shots galore! What really made this match was the pushing of story. The commentators begin the match by saying how Triple H has a better Hell in A Cell record, putting some thoughts into my mind at least that Triple H could break 'taker's streak. Shawn, perhaps the best special referee ever, gets highly emotional during this match. Triple H keeps yelling at him at one point to "stop the match". Michaels seems tempted to, but doesn't. At the end of the match, when Undertaker hits Triple H with a sledgehammer, Shawn turns away. Undertaker wins in a classic. While there were too many chair shots for my taste, the psychology and story being told in this match was outstanding. An instant classic.
Six Man Tag Match (Team Johnny versus Team Teddy). This match should've been the opener. However, it was placed well considering the match that came before it, and the one that would follow. A crowd calmer match. This honestly was a decent match, with a ending where Eve kicks Zak Ryder in the private parts, allowing Team Johnny the win. YES! John Laurenitis is now GM of both Raw and Smackdown. Should be interesting to see what direction this takes.
Next is the WWE Championship match over who is the "best in the world" between CM Punk and Chris Jericho. This was the other match I was looking forward to, and it didn't disappoint. Fantastic mat and counter wrestling in this match. There was one counter where Jericho counter's an Hurricurana off the topes into the Walls of Jericho. That was the best counter I think I've ever seen.
Punk would win with the Anaconda Device submission in another instant classic.
Here we go...John Cena versus The Rock. Before the match, MGK performs before Cena comes out, and Flo Rida performs before The Rock enters.
As for the match itself, Rock did an admirable job for being out of the ring for as long as he has been. However, it was obvious that Cena was dictating the direction and pace of the match, and the Rock definitely looked gassed towards the end. Speaking of, the ending of the match was an unexpected surprised. Cena goes for The People's Elbow. However, Rock counters with a Rock Bottom for the win. At the time I was disappointed, because I was actually invested in the buildup, and wanted to see Cena, a full-time WWE performer win. However, now that I rested over it, the ending really was fantastic, and should be interesting to see where the WWE goes with both these guys.
Overall, the first hour didn't feel too much like a Wrestlemania, but the rest of the card definitely made up for it. After I first watched the show I was down on it, but I had some time to wind down from my disappointment with Bryan/Sheamus, and decided to view the event with less cynical eyes. With two outstanding matches that can be considered instant classics (Undertaker/Triple H and Punk/Jericho) and one match that was better than I had expected (Cena/Rock), the WWE put one one of, if not, the best Wrestlemania in at least five year (though XXVI was solid).
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