My WWE WrestleMania XXVIII Recap

Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan (c) in just 00.18 to win the World Heavyweight Championship after applying a swift Brogue Kick. Boy, where to start here. What an absolutely disastrous start to the years biggest event. A match for the World Heavyweight Championship, the companies second most prestigious title, on the grandest stage and it ends in just 18 seconds? Needless to say most fans reacted very poorly to this, especially considering one of WWE's top talents in Bryan was completely wasted here.

I have nothing against Sheamus winning the title, his run over the last few months as a face has been a success and been well received by most crowds, and he's a wrestler of the future. It's just the fact that both he and Bryan were treated like this. Loosing the title this quickly could also damper the heelish, egotistical persona Bryan has developed since winning it. Anyway, on we go...   

Backstage John Laurinaitis gave a pep talk to his team, claiming that if they won it'd be up there with the great 'Mania moments, such as Austin refusing to submit to Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre. Slight exaggeration there Johnny.   

Kane defeated Randy Orton in a surprisingly fair contest. The bout started off a little drab, with disgruntled parts of the crowd still chanting "Yes!" in support of Daniel Bryan, but fortunately picked up in quality in the final third as Orton picked up the pace.   The crowd also reacted very well to Orton's attempt to punt 'The Big Red Monster'. For the finish Kane Chokeslammed Orton form the top rope in an effective and believable pinfall victory.  

In a shameless backstage segment to promote the show 'Deadliest Catch' (can you believe they'd advertise a show like this at WrestleMania?) Santino Marella and Mick Foley attempted to break open king crabs with Captain Jake, or whatever his name was. The only part which saved it was the well received appearance and trademark "Damn!" of Ron Simmons.  

Big Show defeated Cody Rhodes (c) to win the Intercontinental Title. The actual bout was okay, by Show's standards anyway. But the wrong man completely won here. Show, unlike the talented Rhodes, has no major future in WWE, Rhodes should've retained here, even with a tainted win he should've won. He's the one going places, not Big Show. Or at least Cody should've dropped the belt to another younger wrestler. At least Rhodes managed to look fairly competitive here against the challenger which was a minor plus I suppose.  

Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos predictably defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve in a mediocre tag team match, which is probably a big compliment to the Divas division nowadays. Unfortunately guest celebrity Menounos couldn't live up to Snooki's surprisingly entertaining performance and effort at last years 'Mania and rather amusingly elicited chants of "Let's go skid mark!" after obtaining a brown stain on her trousers.  Maria picked up the win with a roll up pin on Phoenix. The fact that this contest went on longer than the World title on was a joke, and at the fan's expense. 

Before the Hell in a Cell match Jim Ross was wisely brought out to guest commentate and even Michael Cole, who usually belittles JR every chance he gets at the order of Vince McMahon, shook his hand and admitted that it wouldn't be WrestleMania without JR. Undertaker also revealed his shaven head for the first time on television, which received a warm reaction from the crowd in Miami. 

The Undertaker defeated Triple H in the Hell in a Cell Match. Well I can safely say that this match up is without a doubt the most dramatic and intense of the year so far, although it'll take something special to outdo it. Both men managed to top their superb bout last year on the big stage and went all out to provide another exciting and 'Mania calibre match. Taker and Triple H both went back and fourth through spells of dominance over the other man, with Shawn Michaels torn between the two.

HBK also deserves a hell of a lot of credit here for his part in the match. He acted brilliantly and provided even more drama as his emotions clearly surfaced as he officiated. Without Michaels the match would've still been tremendous, but with him it just added even more. The near finishes were also executed perfectly, such as 'The Game' almost submitting to Taker's gogoplata like last year and a Sweet Chin Music followed by a Pedigree to 'The Dead Man' for perhaps the finest near fall for Undertaker at a WrestleMania ever.  

Undertaker gained the one-two-three after Tombstone Piledriving Triple H.   

Backstage we had to witness a missable and dull segment with Heath Slater trying to convince Flo Rida to let him perform with him on stage. Rida eventually had enough and pushed Slater into the wall.

Team Johnny defeated Team Teddy in a match that ranged in quality. Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston kicked it off with some decent exchanges. Unfortunately Khali entered the fray and slowed down and dulled the bout. Booker probably received the biggest reaction for a tag as he entered and tangled with McIntyre and looked to have quite a lot of fun in there. Ryder, Kingston and Truth later performed simultaneous flips to the opposing team on the outside, which looked great and was the highlight of the match. It also conveniently removed most wrestlers for the finish. 

Marella almost pinned Miz for a nice near fall after a Cobra that was thwarted by Ziggler. For the ending Ryder was distracted the villainous Eve, which caused him to receive a Skull Crushing Finale from Miz for the victory for Team Johnny. So he finally redeemed himself after weeks of loosing on Raw and SmackDown.

Afterwards Eve then low blowed a confused Ryder and left. This storyline with Eve has really ruined Ryder's former momentum and credibility. At least on the plus side it's made Eve ten times more interesting, to capitalise on this I'd have her manage a major heel. Maybe her and Miz could link up? He could use it and it would gather some red hot heat for them both.

Backstage Laurinaitis warned CM Punk that he wanted a "wrestling match" between him and Jericho, not a brawl, so he added a stipulation that if Punk got disqualified he would loose the WWE Championship. Laurinaitis' new reign has begun, expect a lot of this kind of thing. 

CM Punk (c) defeated Chris Jericho to retain his WWE Championship in a fine effort by both wrestlers. Both men here went back and fourth with nice counters and effective near finishes, along with some crisp action. Jericho would convert a top rope hurricarana attempt into the Walls Of Jericho to a big pop from the fans as Punk would later on also reverse Jericho and lock on the Anaconda Vice to a strong reception. They went toe to toe until Punk eventually forced Y2J to tap to the Anaconda Vice. 

Both wrestlers here, who clearly take real pride in what they do, wanted to steal the show with this match and almost did. It also certainly exceeded my expectations, and I'm a huge fan of both men. They should both be extremely proud of their work here.

In a bizarre segment Brodus Clay came out and introduced his 'Momma', along with the rest of her Bridge Club and performed a dance routine. It was just odd, I'm not sure if it was entertaining or a waste of time to be honest. All I do know is that this guy needs a real feud, I've had enough of his same old routine now. Maybe he could face another powerhouse like Kane?   

Then came the main event of the evening. And a match that has had just about every single wrestling fan debating fiercely. 

The Rock defeated John Cena in the match billed as 'Once In A Lifetime'. The action was decent enough as both men traded moves, although not technically brilliant the bout created an absolutely exhilarating atmosphere. With every STFU, Sharpshooter, AA and Rock Bottom the crowd jumped out of their seats to witness if that was the move that would determine the victor in this huge match up. 

In the end it was The Rock that would gain the surprise win after applying a Rock Bottom out of nowhere. Although I disagree with the victor, as Cena will be around far more than Rocky after the event, it was a fitting and exciting finish to the contest, I can't argue that. Although saying Cena winning would've made more sense isn't necessarily true. I mean, it's not like one clean loss in a blue moon for him will hurt his status, he's still going to be the top guy in the company. Plus Rock's win was always going to prove more popular in his home of Miami. And there will more than likely be a rematch at some point anyway where Cena can even the score with 'The People's Champ'. Maybe at the rumoured SummerSlam appearance or next years 'Mania.   

Overall it was a very memorable and exciting WrestleMania, and one that has seemed to have gone down well with most fans. Unfortunately the first four matches could've easily been taken from a Raw and were definitely not 'Mania calibre bouts, and the treatment of Bryan was inexcusable. On the other hand we witnessed three very special matches that I'm sure we'll all remember for a very, very long time to come.

Brock Lesnar rumored for WrestleMania 28

Posted by: Ben Kerin of WrestlingNewsSource.com on Mar 30 2012

Source: PWInsider.com

Former WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar is in negotiations with WWE to appear at Sunday’s WrestleMania 28 pay-per-view event at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida according to PWInsider.com. The odds of the three-time WWE Champion appearing at show are ‘more than 50/50.’

Lesnar quit WWE in March 2004 to pursue a career in the National League Football, which was short-lived. Following a brief fling in New Japan Wrestling, he stepped away from the professional wrestling industry entirely in 2006 to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. He captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008, then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion. He lost the strap two years later to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. Lesnar announced his intentions to retire from mixed martial arts following a subsequent loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2010, which prompted speculation of a return to WWE.

An writer for the Associated Press wrote in his article on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson that if WWE wants to squeeze another potential blockbuster buy rate out of The Great One, the last man standing to get the headline match would be the return of Lesnar.

“I’m not saying a thing,” said a laughing, grinning Johnson with his eyebrow raised after being asked about the possible encounter. “I didn’t say anything.”

Now that would certainly make an already huge event even bigger. Not too sure how believable this is though, I personally reckon they're saving Lesnar for next year myself. 

My WWE SmackDown, March 23rd 2012 Recap

Daniel Bryan came to the ring and asked his girlfriend AJ what it's like "to be in love with a World Champion?" The smitten AJ went on to describe how great the experience was of being with him, even being prompted by the man himself to say what great "lover" he was. Shortly after the number one contender to Bryan's title Sheamus joined the lovebirds and called Bryan a "snivelling little coward," and went on to claim how he will be victorious at WrestleMania.    

Mark Henry defeated R-Truth in a drab contest, so usual stuff for Henry.

Backstage Zach Ryder convinced Teddy Long to add him and The Great Khali to his team at 'Mania. They're both logical choices for the team, even though I'm not a fan of Khali.

AJ defeated Brie Bella in a mediocre match up. As much as I like AJ, and the fact that she actually stands out from the rest of the Divas, she hasn't shown an awful lot of improvement in the ring to me. Afterwards Brie attempted to get a cheer going for team Teddy Long.

Zach Ryder defeated Jack Swagger in a decent enough bout between the two. The win came after Swagger was distracted by Hornswaggle at ringside, who'd been terrorising Vickie, and Ryder capitilised with a Rough Ryder for the one-two-three. 

Big Show won via disqualification versus Kane when Cody Rhodes ran in and struck him before running off into the crowd. The actual match had been nothing particularly special, pretty average really, with a slow pace (understandably) and signature power moves by both men. Afterwards Randy Orton also decided to pay Kane a visit and RKO'd him.   

Brodus Clay defeated Heath Slater in one of his usual squash matches, although I'll give Clay some credit he has seemed to have added a few new moves in there. I'd add him to Team Long if I had the choice, it'd make sense to me. And maybe that could lead on to a real feud between him and possibly Henry afterwards? He needs something like that for his character to advance a bit anyway, the act is getting stale now.

The Great Khali defeated Dolph Ziggler via count out in what was another rather drab and mediocre match for the night. Ziggler put in a decent enough effort but there's only really so much you can get back from Khali in the ring.

Sheamus and CM Punk defeated The Miz and Daniel Bryan in an entertaining and solid main event tag team match. All four wrestlers looked good and put on a great display here, which begs the question why aren't there more matches like this at the moment? You'd think there would be considering it's WrestleMania season.  

Overall SmackDown was a bit disappointing, with the action in the ring being largely average. Fortunately Bryan and AJ's segment at the start and the main event match saved the show a bit.   

My WWE Raw, March 19th 2012 Recap

A stern faced CM Punk came out and and reminded everyone about Chris Jericho's words about his alcoholic father last week and stated that no one who's been dealt a card like that in life shouldn't believe that hey can't still be destined for greatness, which was a great sentiment. He went on to explain that his Dad worked hard to then overcome his addiction later on in life and that he is "proud of my Father" and proud of being straight edge. It was a terrific and heartfeltly given speech by Punk.

Chris Jericho then appeared on the big screen and apologised for his words on his Dad last week and admitted that he was out of line. But then spoke about Punk's sister and her apparent history with drug abuse. He carried on to once again claim that it was Punk's destiny to begin drinking eventually. It was an even better promo then last weeks and certainly adds more hype to what should be a great match at WrestleMania.

Before Big Show's following match, Cody Rhodes once again presented a video package of Show's most embarrassing moments at 'Mania, it was just the same as we'd already seen recently, nothing new.

Kane defeated Big Show in a brief and forgettable match after Rhodes distracted Show from ringside. Afterwards the Intercontinental Champion handcuffed Big Show to the ropes and began beating on him whilst wearing boxing gloves as a tribute to Floyd Mayweather.     

David Otunga defeated Santino Marella in a mediocre bout after Marella was distracted by Laurinaitis throwing his phone into the ring, allowing Otunga to capitalise. After the match Long punched Laurinaitis in the face and legged it with Marella.

The Rock spoke outside in the streets of Philadelphia about his childhood memories of WrestleMania and his own when he wrestled in the event, but claimed that he now had to beat John Cena to become the "greatest of all time."   

Daniel Bryan defeated Zach Ryder in a fairly short but decent match up. It's a shame they weren't allocated some more time, unfortunately I didn't ahve the same feelings about the next match.

John Cena defeated Mark Henry in the return of Cena's old 'play dead then make a heroic comeback' routine. The bout was dragged on for too long for my liking and unfortunately took away from Cena's strong work on the mic as of late. Afterwards The Rock came down to the ring, Rock Bottomed Henry and left. 

We were then shown footage from the show 'Extra' where unfortunately a match at WrestleMania was instigated pitting Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos against Eve and Beth Phoenix, I was really hoping the rumours were true that after Karma wouldn't be appearing they'd decided to drop a Divas match from 'Mania. Or they could've began a feud with Natalya and Phoenix a while back with them turning on each other leading to a decent match in Miami. 

The Miz compared his situation of going from main eventing last years 'Mania to not even having a match this year on the card to King Kong Bundy's from WrestleMania 2 and 3 (when Bundy went from main eventing 2 to significantly dropping down the card at 3). Miz decided to have an open challenge to prove he deserved to be on Laurinaitis' team on April 1st.

Sheamus answered the challenge and defeated The Miz in an enjoyable enough contest. I know I've said it before but to me it doesn't make sense having The Miz in a loosing streak storyline like this, he deserves to be on the card in Miami.   

When interviewed regarding his match up with Kane at WrestleMania, Randy Orton simply reminded us of the beating he gave Kane last Summer that forced the 'Monster' to shake his hand and stated that he has the upper hand going into their match.

Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger defeated Kofi Kingston and R-Truth in an average to decent tag team bout. Afterwards Vickie Guerrero and Aksana began a heated argument and started brawling in the ring until they were separated. 

Shawn Michaels admitted that, regarding the Undertaker versus Triple H match that he'll be refereeing, it's pretty cool to be holding the end of an era in his hands. Before he could say much more 'The Dead Man' interrupted HBK and came to the ring, the same then happened with Triple H interrupting Taker. 'The Game' explained that this feud wasn't about Michaels but just about the two of them. He went on to say how it was poetic that it'll all end in a Hell in a Cell match, a match which has meant so much to both men. 

The Undertaker questioned whether Triple H was really willing to put everything on the line in their match up, to which the 'Cerebral Assassin' said that he was, and he will. Before Taker then went to leave, he claimed that he was right in his previous statement from before and that Michaels is better then Triple H. Which left HBK with a slight grin as Raw ended, nice touch.   

Update on Del Rio's return

Originally posted by Caylon Knox on the The Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 

“Former two-time WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio has been medically cleared to compete after recovering from his recent groin injury, and there is a possibility that Del Rio will be brought back as a member of Team Laurinaitis in the ongoing battle between John Laurinaitis and SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.”

It makes sense to get him involved in the storyline, although I would’ve rather seen Del Rio maybe face Orton at WrestleMania myself.