Wrestlemania 28
Mania started off shocking fashion with Daniel Bryan losing his World Championship to Sheamus in 18 seconds after a Brogue kick. I'm not really sure how to feel about this. On one hand, WWE wants it's fan base to feel like anything can truly happen, despite it being scripted. UFC has main events that end inside of a minute and it hasn't hurt them. On the other hand, this was one of the four most-hyped matches of the event. While it didn't sell as many pay-per views as Rock-Cena or Taker-HHH, there are some Bryan Danielson fans who may have bought Wrestlemania just to see him. In the long run, it may have helped Daniel Bryan because of the live audience's negative reaction to the finish at Wrestlemania, and rallying for him the following night on Raw.
The rest of the undercard was average, which is what most people expected. Kane beat Orton with a top-rope chokeslam in an uninspired match, that was probably the worst on the show. Big Show and Cody Rhodes had a fun match, with Show getting his Wrestlemania moment by knocking out Cody. The divas tag match was alright, with Maria Menunos rolling up Beth Phoenix for the win. Finally, Team Laurinitis beat Team Teddy after Eve distracted Zack Ryder, which led to the Miz hitting his finish for the win.
The top three matches on the card were all very good to great, and in the long run, that is what Wrestlemania is remembered for. Triple H and Undertaker's Hell in a Cell match told a great story, that was made even better by having the incomparable Jim Ross calling the match. Hunter was getting the heat during most of the first half of the match, hitting the Undertaker repeatedly with a chair and sledgehammer. Shawn Michaels teased stopping the match, but was put into a triangle choke by the Deadman. In a really good spot, HBK hit Sweet Chin Music and Triple H hit a pedigree, that led to a believable near-fall. Once Undertaker took over the match, a defiant Triple H gave him a crotch chop that led to a tombstone piledriver that finally put Hunter down. After the match, all three guys shared a hug at the top of the ramp, and ended essentially a four-year storyline. If this truly is Undertaker and Triple H's last match they went out with a masterpiece, Shawn Michaels added an extra element with his facial expressions to all the carnage that was going on inside the cell.
If HHH-Taker told the best story, then CM Punk and Chris Jericho had the best in-ring match of Wrestlemania 28. Both guys had a hard time getting the crowd into their match, until the mid-way point when they started trading near falls. Jericho had Punk in the Walls of Jericho, but Punk kept reversing it. Eventually Punk locked on the Anaconda Vice and got Jericho to tap. Despite the match being really good, it was in a tough spot between Hell in a Cell and Rock-Cena. I wonder if it would have been received better if it was the first match and WWE put Sheamus and Bryan here.
Finally, in one of the hottest crowds in recent history, Rock and Cena had a good match that sent the Miami fans happy. The match went about 30 minutes, and you could tell that The Rock was exhausted by the end. The pro-Rock crowd led to a great atmosphere, which made up for some clunkiness in the ring. The finish saw Cena going for a Peoples Elbow, but Rock jumped up and hit him with the Rock Bottom for the victory. After the match Cena sat on the ramp looking sad that he got a little too cocky and it wound up costing him the self-proclaimed biggest match in his career. I think WWE made the right decision by having Rocky go over in this match. Cena's fans will still love him, and some of the older crowd that complains about Super-Cena finally got to see him lose clean to someone, and might give him some sympathy.
Raw
The two main stories after Raw, were The Rock's opening show promo, and the return of a former World Champion. Rock started the show by thanking the Miami fans and giving John Cena props for giving him all he could take at Wrestlemania. He said that he had a vision that he would be WWE Champion again. This sets up an interesting storyline, and hints that Rocky will try to make sporadic appearances throughout the year despite his busy schedule.
Raw ended with the return of former UFC and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. He interrupted John Cena's promo, came out to a big pop, and delivered and F-5 to Cena. Reports are that Brock signed a one-year contract for 20 dates throughout the course of the year. People may question his motives, but Brock made a ton of money in the UFC, and lives a simple lifestyle, so he doesn't really need the money.
This sets up what should be the start of a successful year for the WWE. Between Brock Lesnar and The Rock making intermittent appearances, perhaps bringing back some fans that stopped watching the product, it is essential that WWE starts to push some new talent. Brock's return stifles some of the usual Wrestlemania hangover, when certain part-time superstars take some time off. I for one am aready counting the days until Wrestlemania 29 at Jet-life Stadium.
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