-- WWE WrestleMania 28 PPV Reax

Brandon Berrett of Ogden, Utah (7.5): Best Match: Taker-Trips. Worst Match: Sheamus-Bryan debacle. For the most part, Mania brought the goods this year. Hell in a Cell was about as good as it gets. If that is the last time Taker is in a ring, he definitely left on a good note. Also, Shawn Michaels did a solid job portraying being stuck in the middle between his friend and someone that he really respects... Cena-Rock was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. With all of the build-up from Cena beforehand on how he had to win the match, it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. The only thing that really didn't work for me was the World Hvt. Title basically being in a throw-away match. The second-most-important title in WWE was featured less prominently than Brodus Clay and a group of women in fat butt suits. Not a good sign.

John in Farmington, Conn. (4/5): I was mad they chose to rush the Sheamus-Bryan match. Why not rush Orton-Kane or something else that people didn't care about? It was a four-hour event and the first hour was something I would have been happy to miss. I thought Rock-Cena was very sloppy and didn't live up to a year's worth of hype. I enjoyed the Cell match and parts of Jericho-Punk, but the rest I could have done without. Not worth $65!

Rana, PWTorch reader: Best Match: Triple H vs. Taker absolute classic. There will never be another breed of those wrestlers. Now, Bryan vs. Sheamus was a sad way to start WWE's flagship PPV. It's a World Hvt. Title match and they got 18 seconds. Are you for real? I think it hurts the credibility of the belt (not like it meant anything before that) and for both performers. I rate it as bad as the Finger Poke of Doom. Rock vs. Cena - Cena should have won full stop. WWE's top guy of the last ten years lost to someone who has only wrestled three matches in the last nine years. Cena totally deserved to win.

Fred Hannah of Nova Scotia, Canada (8.5): Best Match: Taker-Triple H, Worst Match: Sheamus-Bryan. Somewhat predictable show with a somewhat lackluster undercard. Bryan squashed was the deathblow of the first hour of the show. They could have run the same quick finish with Show-Rhodes, and a lot fewer people would have cared. Three outstanding matches made this show. The rest...meh. Things picked up in a big way with HIAC. If that was Undertaker's last match, what a way to go out! A masterpiece by two master performers. Punk-Jericho was a fine match in its own right, amazingly without going the cheap route of having the DQ stip end the match. And, Rock pinning Cena clean without a Brock Lesnar sighting was icing on the cake. Will SuperCena ever be the same? Hmmm.

Josh Lavian in New York City (7.5): Best: Hell in a Cell. Worst: Team vs Team. Weird Mania this year, but leaps and bounds ahead of last year. Sheamus's "win" was a huge surprise, but what a waste! No doubt they'll have their re-match at Extreme Rules, but still... The backstage skits have to stop if they're going to be so badly acted... When Kane kicked Orton's head, Cole actually said, "Now this is where Kane is very dangerous." What does that mean? Cole has got to go. And, Jim Ross should not have been out for one match only. Kane's win was a surprise, but I'm not sure it's worth it. On the other hand, Big Show as champion can bring a lot of value to the IC Title... I'm not sexist, but I have an issue with women's matches: they show too much light. I won't denigrate their efforts, but this issue remains... Nothing against Heath Slater, but Flo Rida was the one who looked like the pro wrestler when they stood together... The drama built well in the Hunter-Taker match, but all the vicious offense from Hunter, and the care shown by HBK, solidified the obvious; that Taker would end up coming back and winning this. That said, it was good to see the veterans do their thing so well (the Superkick to the Pedigree team effort was a great sequence, and Shawn's breakdown in the corner was an excellent touch). There was something very MSG Incident about the hug afterward, but I doubt McMahon was angry about it this time. If this was Taker's last match, I weep with the same sadness that HBK's early retirement caused... Jericho-Punk was the Y2J special; slow build, ending with some very innovate technical wrestling and chaining. I think Y2J deserved the win, for everything he's done for pro wrestling. Speaking of which, I was sure Rock would do for Cena what Hogan did for Rock at WM18. The match even lifted a lot from that one, from them absorbing the crowd's reaction before the bell, to the feats of strength beginning. These two pros had a lot of responsibility and pressure to deliver resting on their shoulders. Unfortunately, Cena didn't have good physical chemistry with Rock; his timing was off, he didn't sell well, or lock moves in well. He looked off, and this was the most important night of his career. I was expecting him to re-create - and surpass - what he did with Punk at MITB, but I thought he came up very short. Still, I feel Rock winning was a major mistake. This was the most surprising finish to a match that I've seen in years.

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We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here or email us at pwtorch@gmail.com.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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