WrestleMania 28 Review

Is it too late for a WrestleMania 28 review? I hope not. For the first time in my life, I watched an entire WrestleMania live as it happened. Not in Miami, but in a sports bar. It was a fun event and I decided to review and give my reaction to each match.

Match #1: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

This is a easy play-by-play. The bell rang, Daniel Bryan got a good luck kiss from AJ, Daniel Bryan turned around, Sheamus hit Daniel Bryan with the Brogue Kick, Sheamus covered Daniel Bryan, and Sheamus won the match. The match lasted 18 seconds and was shorter than the time it took me to write the play-by-play for this match.

Winner: Sheamus

Rating: No Rating (NR). This wasn't one of the main matches I really wanted to see, but I was interested to see what Daniel Bryan would do at WrestleMania. There are probably more people pissed off than I was, but I was disappointed. It was an interesting and unexpected WrestleMania moment, but I wanted to see Daniel Bryan try to steal the show at WrestleMania. Fortunately, I will be at Extreme Rules later this month and Daniel Bryan will probably get his rematch at the event.

Match #2: Kane vs. Randy Orton

I'm reviewing these matches from memory so the play-by-play for the rest of the matches aren't going to be great. I remember Kane getting most of the offense in the beginning and Orton making a comeback later in the match. At one point in the match, Orton tried to punt Kane in the head, but Kane prevented that from happening. Later in the match, Orton went to the top rope. I forget what he was trying to do. Maybe he was trying to do a Super RKO. Whatever his plans were, Kane stopped them by chokeslamming Orton off the top rope. Great spot and Kane's hand never left Orton's throat until Orton hit the mat. After that, Kane pinned Orton and won the match.

Winner: Kane

Rating: **1/2 I wasn't expecting Kane to win and I was surprised to see Kane win cleanly. The match got nearly 11 minutes which is decent time for a mid-card match at WrestleMania, but the match didn't really impress me. The rematch at Extreme Rules has already been advertised. The match will have an extreme match type and I think that match will be better.

Match #3: Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

This was a forgettable match. I remember that Cody's face was in Big Show's ass and I remember that Big Show won after hitting Cody with the knockout punch (as known as the WMD).

Winner: Big Show

Rating: *1/4 I thought this match would have been better, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this was a bad match. It wasn't terrible, but it's not a match I would pay money to see again. I would have liked to see Cody Rhodes to extend his Intercontinental Championship reign, but I'm not really a Cody Rhodes fan so I don't really care that he lost. That was Big Show's first singles win at WrestleMania so good for him. I grew up watching the Big Show during the Attitude Era and I'm happy for him. He deserved to add a WrestleMania win to his wrestling career accomplishments.

Match #4: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounous vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve

This match was too early on the card. I'm sure this was a bathroom break for many people so I thought it should have happened after one of the two big matches before the main event. Instead, the WWE put it before the Undertaker vs. Triple H match. I guess it gave fans a chance to empty their bladders before one of the biggest matches of the night, but this would have been a great match to place after an exciting match so the fans could get a chance to relax. I don't remember much about this match except that Kelly Kelly did a cool flip move off the top rope. I have no idea why she waited until WrestleMania to do that move. Stuff like that would make RAW divas matches more interesting.

Winners: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounous

Rating: * When I first saw this match, I thought it was decent and I was surprised it got more time than the Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes match. But almost a week later, I remember very little about the match and I realize that it was one of the less memorable matches of the night. Maria is now 3-0 in the WWE for what it's worth.

Match #5: Triple H vs. The Undertaker w/Special Guest Ref Shawn Michaels (Hell in a Cell)

I loved the entrances to start this match and I thought Undertaker's hair style looked awesome. Triple H and Undertaker used the Cell as a weapon a little bit in the beginning, but the Cell was rarely used in the match. The Cell made the match feel more epic, but I would have liked to see it used more. It was mostly a decoration for this match. Triple H dominated most of this match by hitting Undertaker with a chair 100 times. Triple H tried to crush Undertaker's head with a sledgehammer, but Shawn Michaels stopped him. Triple H kept telling Shawn to end the match, but Undertaker kept telling Shawn to not stop the match. My favorite spot of the match was when Shawn Michaels hit Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music and then Triple H hit the Pedigree. Undertaker would kick out of the pin, but it was a great spot and a great near-fall. Another memorable spot was when Undertaker was resting on Triple H and when the camera zoomed in on Undertaker, I could see Undertaker drooling and the drool was landing on Triple H. That was an unintentionally funny moment. Undertaker would later take control of the match, and Triple H refused to quit despite Undertaker telling Triple H to stay down. It was similar to the way Undertaker's WrestleMania 26 match against Shawn Michaels ended and it felt a lot like last year's Undertaker vs. Triple H match, but this time it was Undertaker who was telling Triple H to give up. Undertaker hit Triple H with the Tombstone and won the match.

Winner: Undertaker

Rating: ****3/4 I thought this was an awesome match and better than the Triple H vs. Undertaker WrestleMania 27 match. Right now, I have this match just short of five stars, but that it could change in the future. It's a little too early to decide if this was an all-time classic match, but I thought it was very good. If the Cell was used more, if it was more back-and-forth near the end, and if both men were bleeding (Triple H was bleeding a little but not enough), maybe I would have given it five stars. I felt it could have been a little bit better and for that reason, I'm not ready to call it a five star match. But I really did enjoy this match. I think it's a match you got to watch live to truly appreciate it. If someone sees this for the first time in five years, they might not think it was a great match. It was mostly two guys hitting each other with chairs. But, I really enjoyed this match and I enjoyed watching two of my favorite wrestlers of all-time wrestle each other. I remember not wanting the match to end. It was over 30 minutes long and it was so enjoyable that it didn't feel that long. If you can have a match that lasts that long and the viewers enjoy every second, that is a very good match. It's not hard to have an enjoyable 10 minute match, but 30 minute matches can get boring. This match was not boring and I felt that it could gone longer and still be enjoyable. I was very interested in finding out how the match would end despite the fact that I was 90% sure The Undertaker would win.

Someone who loves technical wrestling might not love this match. This match was for fans of the Attitude Era...fans who remember watching Triple H and Undertaker when they were full-time wrestlers in the late 90s and early 00s. This match felt like an Attitude Era match (very violent match despite the lack of blood and headshots) and it felt like a match you can only see at WrestleMania. For the first time of the night, I knew I was watching WrestleMania and not another episode of RAW. In my opinion, this was the best match of the night. 

Match #6: Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny

This was another forgettable match. The end of the match was Eve interfering in the match which allowed The Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Zack Ryder. After the match, Eve kicked Ryder in the balls.

Winner: Team Johnny

Rating: *1/2 This was a boring match. One of the bad things about watching WrestleMania live is that I couldn't skip the bad matches.

Match #7: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

A stipulation was added before the match that Punk would lose his WWE Championship if he lost his temper and got disqualified. The stipulation didn't really affect the match very much, but I loved watching Chris Jericho try to get Punk to hit him on the head with a chair. Jericho will do anything to become the WWE Champion. The match started slow, but the second half of this match was awesome. Chris Jericho and CM Punk went back-and-forth and I wasn't really sure who would win. There were many awesome spots in this match. Punk went for an off the top rope hurracarrana, but Jericho turned it into the Walls of Jericho before Punk fully completed it. There were a few submission holds in this match and both men did a great job fighting out of the holds. Punk went for a springboard off the ropes and Jericho caught Punk with the Codebreaker. There were also a bunch of roll-ups by both men that were near-falls. Finally, Punk got Jericho in the Anaconda Vise and Jericho tapped out.

Winner: CM Punk

Rating: ****1/4 Great match! I wish the beginning of the match was as good as the last 10 minutes, but I enjoyed this match. I really didn't know who would win until the match ended. Like the Undertaker vs. Triple H match, I thought it could have been a little bit better. It wasn't quite a classic, but it wasn't a disappointing match. It had great spots and the unpredictability helped this match. This is a match I would love to watch again. Maybe it will be on CM Punk's DVD.

Main Event: The Rock vs. John Cena

This match was the main reason I had to see this WrestleMania live. I wanted to remember where I was when The Rock and John Cena faced each other for the first time. WrestleMania is a long event so I was a little bit tired while watching this match. I can't remember everything that happened but I remember that both The Rock and John Cena kicked out of each other's finishers. Cena also kicked out of the People's Elbow. I also remember that I could see John Cena talking to The Rock during the match. Cena wasn't very good at calling spots without the viewers noticing. This match had a few other good spots like The Rock's crossbody off the top rope and John Cena's flying leg drop off the top rope that nearly took The Rock's head off. John Cena was in control of the match, but he tried to do the People's elbow which gave The Rock enough time to get up and hit Cena with the Rock Bottom.

Winner: The Rock

Rating: ****1/4 It was almost impossible for this match to live up to expectations the way it was promoted. It wasn't a five star match or a match I will consider to be one of the greatest matches of all-time, but I'm okay with that. It was great to see John Cena vs. The Rock which has been a dream match for me for many years. I wanted to see The Rock return to the ring and I wanted to see him face John Cena because it would be my generation vs. today's generation. It wasn't as good as the Rock vs. Hogan match in my opinion which was another Past vs. Present match, but I enjoyed the match. I'm happy that The Rock won. That was the right decision. I laughed when I read that some people thought that The Rock's job was to put Cena over. Why would people believe that? Cena is already over. A win over The Rock would put Cena among the greatest of all-time and I don't think Cena deserves to be considered one of the best ever. Is Cena the best of today's generation? Yes. Does that mean he would have been just as great during the Attitude Era (The Rock's era)? No. If The Rock and Cena were in their prime at the same time, The Rock would destroy Cena. If Cena was in the Attitude Era, he would be competing with The Rock, Stone Cold, Mankind, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, and Triple H. Cena wouldn't be a ten-time WWE Champion. He would be very lucky to be a five-time WWE Champion. The Rock is only 39 years old and if he was a full-time WWE Superstar right now, he would definitely still be a main event star and he would probably have more WWE Championship reigns than John Cena. In 50 years, The Rock will be remembered as a bigger star than John Cena so it was the right decision for The Rock to win. The Rock is the only man to defeat Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, and John Cena at WrestleMania which means The Rock is the greatest WWE Superstar of all-time.

I enjoyed WrestleMania 28. There were only three matches worth seeing, but those were three great matches that will be remembered forever. I loved seeing WrestleMania live and I want to see WrestleMania live every year now.