Wrestlemania 28 Highlights
Wrestlemania is the granddaddy of all WWE pay-per-views, so I am going to give it proper treatment. I am going to review each segment and match in order and give it a rating of 'Good', 'Bad' or 'Meh'. At the end of my review I will give it an overall score and final comments. Right, let's snap into it:
Daniel Bryan (Heel) vs. Sheamus (face)for the Heavyweight Title
What?!?!?! A 16-second match for the title? Daniel Bryan gets a good luck kiss from his GF AJ, turns around and gets knocked out with a brogue kick? Are they trying to bury Bryan, like they have done with many other young stars, to see how he handles it? Or is this a double-switch? Daniel is the bad guy, yet the crowd was cheering like mad for him. Maybe they want to build some sympathy for him and turn him face again? Either way, they risk making Daniel Bryan and the World Title less prominent by booking a short squash match, and to do it at Wrestlemania takes testicular fortitude.
Rating: Meh
Kane (Heel) vs. Randy Orton (Face)
This was a very good mid-card match. There was a story here and good back-and-forth action. Kane's chokeslam from the second rope was surprising, as was how he got up and chokeslammed Orton when Randy was going for the punt kick. It was nice to see Kane win clean, making him look a little bit like the monster he returned as. He needed a win after getting vanquished by John Cena months back and I am thanking the heavens that Orton didn't hit an RKO out of nowhere after getting dominated, which happens too often with him.
Rating: Good
Deadliest Catch Promo
I don't like these promos in general, but there were a few humourous moments. Attacking the crab with the Cobra and Mr. Socko was pretty funny and having Ron Simmons come in and say "Damn" was a fitting end, especially since he just inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I'm going to give it a mixed rating, as it was funny but still a promo for a TV show and taking away time from quality matches...cough Daniel Bryan and Sheamus cough...
Rating: Meh
Cody Rhodes (Heel) vs. The Big Show (Face) for the Intercontinental Championship
The build up to this match excellent, what with Cody playing a lot of videos showing Big Show's embarassing moments to get him flustered. Rhodes is ready for superstardom. This was a charisma and power moves match full of power slams, but definately lacking technical maneouvers. Cody did get a couple leg locks in and worked the crowd well. Show used a couple nice counters near the end and knocked out Cody with a big right hand to win the belt. Ok mid-card match and now Rhodes is free to compete for the WWE title, but the crowd seemed disinterested till the end.
Rating: Meh
Maria Menounos/Kelly Kelly (faces) vs. Eve/Beth Phoenix (heels) in a Divas Tag Team match
Maria Menounos of Extra was this year's celebrity involvement at Wrestlemania. She held her own for someone with fractured ribs and very little wrestling training and the ladies were actually given a few minutes to tell their story in the ring. Shocking. Menouncos actually took a lot of punishment in there and Kelly's flip off the top rope was well executed. Maria scored the pin on a roll-up of Beth Phoenix. It was obvious that the celebrity would get the win, but a roll-up is not enough to take down the divas champ; however, with Maria's limited skill set, what else could they do?
Rating: Meh
Triple H (Face) vs. Undertaker (face) with Shawn Michaels (face) as special referee in a Hell-in-a-Cell-End-of-an-Era match
It was a classy move to have Jim Ross call this match, as he was the voice of the WWE during the late 90's, the heyday of these three superstars. I loved HHH's entrance and Undertaker's Shredder costume and short haircut. I was waiting to see his nearly bald head and it was shocking to see it on him after years of having long locks. It was also fitting that the match was in the Satanic structure, as this match became synonymous with the Dead Man. One question for JR, though: can an inanimate structure (the cell) be morally corrupt?
Anyway, there was so much emotion and drama in this contest and Michaels' face sold it so well. I thought it made sense that HHH and the Showstopper teamed up in attempt to finish off the Undertaker, which ultimately failed, especially since Taker has beaten both of them in Wrestlemania's past. There were chair shots, sledgehammer shots, steel step blows and a flurry of finishing moves. The Undertaker's back was the colour of a lobster by the conclusion of the contest. A great story was also told, which included lots of near-falls and changes in momentum.
The correct man won in the end, as The Dead Man hit a final Tombstone Piledriver after a sledgehammer shot, running his Mania record to 20-0. This match was even better than their clash at last year's Showcase of the Immortals and was easily match of the night. The aftermath was also highly emotional, as Taker and Shawn Michaels helped drag Triple H out of the ring and the three shared a hug on the stage, signalling that all 3 careers may now be over.
Rating: Gooooooooooood
Hall of Famers presented on stage
This is a nice moment every year. It was great to see Edge, Ron Simmons and the 4 Horsemen among the HOF inductees. I remember being amazed at seeing Edge get put through 2 tables during a match with John Cena once. It was a bit odd to see Ric Flair on that stage, though, given that he is still an employee of TNA.
Rating: Good
Flo Rida knocks out Heath Slater Backstage
It was just a way to get Heath on the show and to hype Flo Rida.
Rating: Somewhere between Bad and Meh
Team Johnny (The Miz, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre and David Otunga, Heels) vs. Team Teddy (Santino Marella, Booker T, Kofi Kingston, Great Khali, Zack Ryder and R-Truth, faces) for control of Raw and Smackdown
There were some nice spots, such as a triple suicide dive from Team Teddy, but the end was unsatisfactory. Not everyone had gotten into the match and the Miz, the guy who kept getting beat in squash matches before Mania, scored the pin over Zack Ryder. Then Ryder, who has been jobbed enough lately, took a low blow from Eve. WWE needs to start building Zack back up, not tear him down even more. They also should have found someone else to get the win, not a bigtime loser in recent months. Looks like the rollercoaster for the Awesome One continues: awesome 2010 and early 2011, horrendous 2011 and early 2012 and now a turnaround again? This was a Raw match at best.
Rating: Almost Meh
GM John Laurinaitis tells CM Punk that if he gets disqualified in his match, he will lose his title
This move cements Johnny Ace as a heel GM and adds more intrigue to his match with Chris Jericho. It's the icing on the cake of the awesome buildup to this match and fits the storyline really well, as Jericho has been bashing Punk's family and taunting his foe and Punk has started to lose control as a result.
Rating: Good
Chris Jericho (Heel) vs. CM Punk (Face) for the WWE Championship
Now this is what I'm talking about!!! It was by far the best "wrestling" match on the card and featured more counters in the last 5 minutes than in all the homes in China combined. Both wrestlers also kicked got out of each other's finishing manouevers several times. Brilliant match. It was just like the buildup of the rivalry: No frills, no grand entrances, no interference, just superb wrestling. they let their skills in the ring do the talking and Punk pulled off the victory with the Anaconda Vice, which works for me. He needs to be champ for a long time to give his reign and the belt some meaning again. The crowd seemed to enjoy this contest, too, as they were chanting and into the match from the getgo. Chris Jericho did a wonderful job trying to goad Punk into hitting him with a chair so that Punk would be disqualified, thus making Jericho the new champion. Great use of psychology by the ultimate villain. The suplex to the floor by Y2J was another match highlight. This rivalry and match is what every Wrestlemania contest aspires to be.
Rating: Goooood
Brodus Clay Dances with his Mama
This was just a short filler to give fans a breather between the Punk/Jericho and Rock/Cena match. It was also a way to put distance between the matches so that Rock/Cena didn't look slow and sloppy in the ring. Many people find Funkasaurus amusing, but I'm not on the bandwagon. This skit also took time away from the Sheamus/Daniel Bryan and Big Show/Cody Rhodes matches, making it a fail in my book.
Rating: Bad
The Rock (Face) vs. John Cena (Face) in the Main Event
Having MGK and Flo Rida sing before John Cena and the Rock, respectively, came to the ring gave this match the hype and main event feel that the year-long buildup to it failed to do. The crowd was insane for it as well. Cena good booed out of the building and the Rock received a hero's welcome from his hometown crowd. What a pop!
The beginning of the match was a bit slow and Rock looked tired quickly, but the combatants really picked it up and made the last 10 minutes special. THe moves were executed well and each man got huge crowd reactions when they kicked out of each other's finishing moves. A personal highlight was the Rock getting his arm up before the ref dropped it a third time while he was in the STF. If it had dropped again, the Rock would have lost the match. I'm a sucker for this oldschool crowd pleaser, what can I say? Additionally, I did enjoy it when Cena caught the Rock after his dive off the top rope and delivered an Attitude Adjustment.
I thought it was genius to have Cena mock the Rock by preparing to drop the People's Elbow, only to have the Rock get up and counter it with a Rock Bottom for the victory. Hopefully this will be the start of Cena having more edge and a chip on his shoulder, and hopefully the Rock will stick around for next year's Mania. It was a surprise to have the Rock, a part-timer, beat John Cena, the face of the company, but WWE does like to send Wrestlemania crowds home happy and something tells me this rivalry isn't dead.
Rating: Gooood
Overall: 80/100
3 matches made this a special, memorable Wrestlemania. Undertaker/HHH was an epic, legendary contest that won't be topped. Meanwhile, Punk/Jericho was a brilliant "wrestling" match and Rock/Cena had the excitement of a main event worthy of Wrestlemania. The rest of the card and the skits were good enough to keep the show interesting between big matches, but weren't all that great. I was really let down by Sheamus/Daniel Bryan and I hope their was a reason behind squashing Bryan. I've seen the show twice now and I liked it more the second time, which is a testament to the fact that it was a good show.
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