WWE WrestleMania XXVIII Review

Match 1: World Heavyweight Championship - Daniel Bryan © vs. Sheamus
The opening match for the big show is once again for the World Heavyweight Championship. Sheamus kicks Bryan and gets the win in 18 seconds. This was a glorified squash match and it was just ridiculous. Was definitely hoping for a really good match between two really good wrestlers. However, I can’t say I’m surprised. Here’s hoping for a better future after this for Bryan.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: n/a

Match 2: Randy Orton vs. Kane
Before I get into this match, it should be noted that Kane gets the victory! It was really cool to see WWE’s most underrated guy get a win over Orton on the biggest stage. Anyway, this was a pretty good match at best and Orton put up a very serious effort against the bigger and stronger Kane. Kane reminds me of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team, he isn’t the most entertaining guy to watch but he gets the job done efficiently and is the veteran that doesn’t get the attention he so rightfully deserves. Good back and fourth contest to come off the opening match with an awesome finish!
Winner: Kane
Rating: **¾

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship - Cody Rhodes © vs. The Big Show
Pretty cool story going into this match about Cody teasing Show for never having a big moment at WrestleMania. Couldn’t help but feel throughout the course of this match that this was a complete filler and maybe having the Money in the Bank match would have helped miles more. Alas, the match was decent for what it was with Show pulling out the big win to capture gold and capture a cool moment. Pretty interesting to see Kane & Show go over in consecutive matches over two former Legacy members.
Winner: The Big Show
Rating: *¼

Match 4: Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve
This match will always be remembered for the stain that was on Menounos’ pants because this match was a dud. Your typical Divas match that just brought nothing to the table which is a shame considering they had a few good past matches.
Winners: Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos
Rating: ¼*

Match 5: Hell in a Cell - The Undertaker vs. Triple H
The epilogue after the series of matches between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels continues here as Triple H gets another opportunity at conquering The Undertaker and The Streak. With Shawn Michaels as the guest referee and the contest being battled inside Hell in a Cell, this is easily one of the most anticipated matches of all time. Just the matches between Michaels and Undertaker, I don’t know where to begin with this one. Just a definite masterpiece in its own right. The ambiance, the production, the lowering of the cage, everything was done masterfully and the match already had its pace set before the bell even rang. Good action from the first few minutes before Hunter seemingly had his grasp on the match. He began to take The Undertaker out with a series of nasty chair shots to the dismay of Shawn who tried to stop the match to Undertaker’s refusal. Hunter calls back to WrestleMania XXVI by telling Undertaker to stay down. Shawn tries to get himself involved until Undertaker takes him out before being saved by Triple H. Good psychology and smart wrestling from the first half until the second half takes off with The Undertaker getting back into the thick of things and gives Triple H chair shots. Plenty of great spacing, kicking out, and spots from the match so far with Michaels dropping Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music in revenge. However, Triple H can’t capitalize and that even after bringing out the sledgehammer, The Undertaker and his streak is safe. After a grueling battle, Triple H tries to hit The Undertaker with one last shot through the sledgehammer to which The Undertaker catches the shot and caps off the match with a Tombstone. Everything worked, this match had so much hype that I didn’t think it would live up to it. However, I was wrong. Amazing action, Shawn was great in his role, and the whole match consisted of smart wrestling psychology. One for the ages. A definite end of an era.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: *****  

Match 6: Booker T, The Great Khali, R-Truth, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, & Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, & The Miz
It’s Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy with the winner taking over both brands. This match feels like a complete filler but a much needed one at that to both give all these guys a spot on the card and to also ease the mood after the crazy match before this. Basic big tag team match with everyone getting their share of action and a few cool moves here and there. Ultimately, The Miz finishes off Zack Ryder and Team Teddy after Eve distracted Ryder. Eve then gave a low blow to Ryder afterwards.
Winners: Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, & The Miz
Rating: **½

Match 7: WWE Championship - CM Punk © vs. Chris Jericho
The WWE Championship has only changed hands twice on this grand stage since 2004. Before the match, John Laurinaitis declares that Punk will drop the title to Jericho if he gets disqualified. This has been a sensational and personal feud surrounding Jericho mocking Punk for his dysfunctional family and their addictions. With this, Jericho tries to get himself disqualified early on until realizing Punk won’t fall for his tricks. Jericho takes control of the match early on until the momentum quickly turns into a swing. Fantastic fundamental wrestling from the two, a breath of fresh air from what we’ve been watching tonight. However, considering that the feud is a very personal one, I was hoping that they would amp up the action just a bit. Even still, the reversals and submissions were just a joy to watch as Punk manages to make Jericho to submit using the Anaconda Vice. A cool showing from both men who manage to change the pace of the show with something different. The crowd may have not been reacting greatly to it, but they definitely showed their respect and attention to it.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ***¾

Match 8: John Cena vs. The Rock
It is not time for the main event, the second WrestleMania main event without a world title on the line in the past three years. A match that is being billed as once in a lifetime, John Cena vs. The Rock. It’s a clash of two different generations as both men come out to special entrances under the night sky of Miami, Florida. This is one of the rare cases in pro wrestling where the hype was more than the match itself. The action in the ring wasn’t anything particularly special in the first half. They played things smart and used the crowd as a way to build anticipation and suspense for the latter half. It seemed as if they were trying to recreate The Rock’s showdown with Hulk Hogan. Although The Rock looked to be drained after the first half of the match, his will help kept him moving forward and the crowd was hot in turn. Great exchanges and close calls with both men hitting their main finishers. Sometimes, wrestlers milk this opportunity and make every pin come off as predictable and less exciting than the last. However, the spacing from both men was tremendous and while both men did not go for submission victories or pins constantly, it helped make each one special. In their case, less was more. After The Rock kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment by Cena, Cena tried capping off the match by mockingly doing a People’s Elbow on The Rock. Rock then hit a Rock Bottom to pick up the victory in front of his hometown. Great main event and a memorable contest to finish a memorable show. Rock winning only allows for a future rematch. Some may see this as an odd choice, but it makes sense in a financial standpoint. WWE took a look at the bigger picture and helped shape the future.
Winner: The Rock
Rating: ***¾

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Very reminiscent show to that of WrestleMania 24 with the atmosphere and matches themselves resembling each other. With that said, the show was very good and definitely lived up to the WrestleMania lineage. Things started off pretty slow until the three main matches came in to save the day and make this show something to remember. From a ratings standpoint, the show didn’t set the world on fire. However, the show managed to capture memorable moments for different reasons.
Rating: 7.75/10