WWE PPV Evaluation - WrestleMania 28
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – THE UNDERTAKER VS. TRIPLE H

Wow. That’s about as eloquent as I can get to open my review of not just the match of the night, but as good of a match as I’ve seen this year. It started slowly (as it should have) and built to such a tremendous crescendo of nearfalls and terrific storytelling that the more I think about the match, the more I think it may be an all-time Mania classic. Yes. It was that good.

They weaved in moments/tributes to the two Michaels-Taker matches (I particularly liked when Triple H re-created the end of the Michaels retirement match by defiantly challenging The Undertaker to finish it and then crawling up him in an attempt to keep the ‘fight’ going) as well as great call backs to last year’s Triple H and Taker match (the sledgehammer-Hell’s Gate moment was a nice touch).

Shawn Michaels was incredible with his facial expressions, and the spot where he superkicked Taker into the Pedigree, but the match still didn’t end? Goosebumps. The match went long enough to have that "epic" WrestleMania feel, the crowd was into it, and the closing “end of an era curtain call” was awesome. Just a great piece of storytelling and physicality. Go out of your way to see it.

WORST MATCH – SHEAMUS VS. DANIEL BRYAN

Ugh. Why did this happen? I don't believe it enhanced Sheamus, and it served to annoy the fans that may have been looking forward to a hyped-up and advertised title match. WWE couldn’t have cut the weird Brodus Clay segment or trimmed some time from something else?! I thought this was a terrible way to start the show.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – THE ROCK WINS

Writing this on Monday, I was speaking from a position that I didn't know what they are going to do next, but this just made no sense to me aside from it being a feel-good end to the show and a way to pop the Miami crowd. Perhaps they think that sympathizing John Cena (“I gave it my all”) is the way to go? I’m not sure. The Rock is going to disappear for a while now, and the top babyface was beaten clean with a year to prepare for the match, after saying that The Rock was just an actor who doesn’t care about wrestling. We’ll see where it goes, but I thought this was a very questionable decision.

BIGGEST LETDOWN – WORLD TITLE MATCH

It wasn’t my nod for worst match because of anything to do with the wrestlers involved. I genuinely wanted to see them tear it up on the grand stage, and I was excited to see the performance that Daniel Bryan would turn in. Instead, the match was just a Brogue Kick. Unless it comes out that someone was injured (and even then, tell us before we buy the show), then this was just a mess.

BEST QUOTE – JIM ROSS

As The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels helped Triple H leave the ring, Jim Ross stated “That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is respect.” It was delivered perfectly, in an understated tone that helped the visual. That’s why JR is the best announcer this business has ever seen.

BEST MOVE – SHAWN MICHAELS-THE UNDERTAKER-TRIPLE H

Granted, this was more of a sequence, but it was amazing. Michaels nails Undertaker with a superkick that sends Taker into a pedigree. That HAS to be it. But, of course, it wasn’t. Still, there was a split-second when you knew The Streak had to be over. One of the best nearfalls I’ve ever seen.

BEST MATCH FINISH – THE UNDERTAKER VS. TRIPLE H

The same finish as the one that sent Michaels into retirement two years ago, and a perfect piece of storytelling symmetry. I thought this was the perfect way to book the "end of an era," as The Undertaker keeps his streak alive and ends another challenger in the same way as he ended the referee’s career, who then had to count his friend down. Great stuff here.

OTHER THOUGHTS

-- The Divas really tried hard tonight, and WWE gave them some time. Nice work.

-- The visual of the outdoor stadium always adds something great.

-- C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho had a good match, but the crowd was dead until the final five minutes or so. Having said that, they worked well together and I’m looking forward to what I assume will be a re-match at Extreme Rules.

-- Speaking of Punk, they went all out on the fireworks display during his open. Nice touch.

-- Am I the only one shocked that Randy Orton lost to Kane clean? Weird.

-- The Rock and John Cena didn’t have the match of the night, but they had a very good match for certain. After a year of hype, it was going to be hard to top expectations, but I thought this was really well done. Hats off to both guys.

-- I’d be crying if I won the IC Title as well, Big Show.

-- Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy was a complete cluster. Ziggler looked great, though.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

It’s WrestleMania. It would be remembered no matter what, but I thought this year’s show was very good. The Rock and John Cena will probably go down in history as the "bullet point" of this show, but I’ll remember it for Hell In A Cell. My favorite match of the year by a mile, and an absolute honor to sit through. Well done, WWE. Memorable night.

UPDATED 2012 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XVIII (2012-04-01)
2 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2012-02-19)
3 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2012-1-29)
4 - TNA VICTORY ROAD (2012-03-18)
5 - TNA GENESIS (2012-01-08)
6 – TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS (2012-02-12)

[Torch photo (c) PWTorch.com]

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