{"id":975,"date":"2013-04-07T20:38:56","date_gmt":"2013-04-07T19:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/?p=975"},"modified":"2013-04-07T20:38:56","modified_gmt":"2013-04-07T19:38:56","slug":"wrestlemania-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/?p=975","title":{"rendered":"WrestleMania 28"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WM<\/a><\/p>\n

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Match 1 – Daniel Bryan Vs Sheamus – I was looking forward to this match. Out of the \u00a315 I spend to watch WM live, \u00a35 of it went on this match. What a waste of fucking money. So the bell rings, and Bryan wants AJ to give him a good luck kiss before they officially get into it. They kiss, and Bryan turns around into a kick to the face and is pinned, losing the WHC. What a load of fucking bullshit. I said when I reviewed this match last year that this MIGHT very well lead to something good, with Bryan\u2019s character developing even more than it already has in the last few months. It might lead to somewhere truly great, and that\u2019s, well, great. But that\u2019s no excuse for doing this at WRESTLEMANIA. Do it on SD. Do it at a \u201cB\u201d PPV like Extreme Rules. But don\u2019t do it at WRESTLEMANIA. Of course it DID lead to something great at the time for Bryan, and the WM rematch was TREMENDOUS, but still, DON’T DO THIS SHIT AT WRESTLEFUCKINGMANIA. Unless it involves Chavo Guerrero Jr. Then job him out in as little time as you like. DUD.<\/p>\n

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Match 2 – Kane Vs Randy Orton – Kane shook Orton\u2019s hand last year so now they need to have a match at WM. Totally understandable\u2026 I was actually surprised by this match; it didn\u2019t suck. Kane since his return really hasn\u2019t looked that good, but here at WM he looked better than he has in a while. Orton kept trying to go full speed ahead but Kane would absorb everything thrown at him and then nail Randy with one big powerful looking move, allowing him to wear down the Viper and control the match. This is WrestleMania though, and Orton just keeps coming back again and again, forcing Kane to take bigger chances such as attempting the clothesline from the top rope which doesn\u2019t go as well as he\u2019d hoped. Neither does the chokeslam, with Randy being able to kick out! So if the chokeslam don\u2019t work, what do you do? Super chokeslam! Was actually expecting Orton to reverse this into an RKO ala WM 21, but damn, Kane actually hit it AND got the 3 count! I legit thought Kane stood no chance of winning a WrestleMania match against a guy like Orton, but he did it. Which I guess means a re-match at Extreme Rules. Not fussed about this \u201cfeud\u201d continuing, but it keeps Orton out of the title picture for a little while longer and with a stipulation they could have another good match. All in all, solid stuff here. Kane actually looked good, Orton in a loss still looked good as it took a super chokeslam to beat him AND he never hit the RKO so we don\u2019t know for sure if Kane would have been able to kickout of it had he landed it. ***.<\/p>\n

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Match 3 – Cody Rhodes Vs The Big Show – One of the few matches on this show with a decent build up, and honestly Cody was the one carrying the feud with his promos and the video packages of Show\u2019s embarrassing WM moments lol. This one goes exactly as I thought it would; Show starts dominant, Cody finds an opening for a little while, then Show mauls Cody and wins. Best part of this match was Show spearing Cody in the balls. Luckily this isn\u2019t too long (though they might as well have had this go as long as the WHC match with Show just knocking out Cody, so the WHC match could have actually been a match). It’s not BAD, but its short and there isn\u2019t much to it so I can\u2019t call it good either. Just kinda there, not annoying me, but entertaining me a little. *.<\/p>\n

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Match 4 – Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos Vs Beth Phoenix & Eve – NO.<\/p>\n

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Match 5 – The Undertaker Vs Triple H – Fuck. Yes. This is where another \u00a35 went lol. Awesome that JR got to call the match, and they actually didn\u2019t ruin it by playing up on all the shit between him and Cole. In fact, Cole was toned down a TON all night, which was awesome. He\u2019s decent when he isn\u2019t being a retard. The build up to this one hasn\u2019t been epic, but I have enjoyed it more than any other WM match build this year. The whole \u201cuncertainty\u201d angle with Undertaker was a great way to set up the re-match imo. I remember listening to a radio show with JR, and the host summed up this angle in a great way. It’s just like Rocky II. Undertaker is Apollo Creed, and he wants the rematch because, and I quote \u201cI won but I didn\u2019t BEAT him\u201d. And that\u2019s just perfect for this. Undertaker got the win last year, but he was unable to leave the ring on his own and wasn\u2019t able to return until a year later. So he wants another shot at HHH to prove that he CAN beat The Game and not JUST win the match. Undertaker\u2019s coat looks epic btw. And his new hair cut reveal isn\u2019t nearly as bad as I was thinking. I was expecting him to be completely bald and clean shaven on top of his head, but its grown back a little and he even has a slight Mohawk going that actually adds to his new look. The cell lowers to the sound of Metallica, and I have to wonder what shitty generic rock music they\u2019ll replace it with when they release the show on DVD\/Bluray. Seriously, why bother getting music like that for JUST the one night and not including it on the DVD\/Bluray releases? They\u2019ve done it before in the part, but now they replace anything they don\u2019t already own the rights to. Last year, Triple H ran straight into The Undertaker to start the match and would be the one to control the pace and the match for the most part. This year, Undertaker has something to prove to himself and to HHH, so HE starts the match on fire and takes the fight right to HHH, showing him that the beating he took last year isn\u2019t going to happen again; at least, not to HIM. I\u2019ve been reading Mick Foley\u2019s first book as of late, and there is a chapter where he talks a little about the best way to bust someone open \u201cthe hard way\u201d. It involves targeting the spot just above the eyebrow\u2026 and about 3 minutes into this match I noticed that Undertaker starts targeting that exact spot with a couple of right hands and a few headbutts! Blood might be a big no-no in WWE these days, but hey, if someone is \u201caccidentally\u201d busted open, they can\u2019t be punished, right? Besides, who the FUCK is going to come down to the ring and stop a Hell in a Cell match between HHH and THE UNDERTAKER? Nobody with a brain. The match slows down a little for a while now unfortunately. The match is inside the cell so I guess they figure they should do SOMETHING with it, and that ends up as nothing more than throwing each other into the side of it a couple of times. There really was no need to put this contest inside HIAC. I think they did it just to say that HHH and Undertaker finally had a HIAC match. Things pick up again when HHH tries to get himself back into the match with a quick DDT. He attempts a Pedigree on the steel steps that Undertaker brought in the ring, but a back body drop puts a stop to that. A nice little callback spot I guess you could say from their previous match, except last year it was a table HHH got back dropped. Another callback spot from last year with HHH hitting a brutal AA Spinebuster, except its the steel steps once again standing in for the table and damn does it look and sound a hell of a lot worse than last year! A desperate Undertaker sees an opportunity to use Hells Gate, but HHH has it scouted and is able to power Undertaker up and set him crashing to the mat! Undertaker\u2019s back has taken some punishment now, so it’s time for the cerebral assassin to do what he does best; go to work on an injured body part. Time for the HBK factor to get involved in the match, with HHH brutalising The Undertaker with a steel chair, causing Shawn to show some concern for the man who ended his career. Triple H tells Shawn to end it, to ring the bell and stop the suffering of one of the biggest legends, or else HE\u2019LL end it, and it won\u2019t be as quick and painless as ringing a bell. Undertaker makes damn sure to tell Shawn not to end it, which just infuriates HHH to the point where he brings out his trusty Sledgehammer to finish the job. HBK gets involved again, actually preventing HHH from smashing the sledgehammer down on the head of the Dead Man. Instead he looks like he\u2019s going to ring the bell, a way he sees best to prevent HHH from not just beating HHH, but ENDING him. But its WrestleMania, and The Undertaker isn\u2019t going to let a match end like this any time, never mind HIS show. And if Shawn is considering ringing the bell, Undertaker believes he needs to take out Shawn, and he locks in the Hells Gate! With Shawn gone, HHH is next to feel the pain of Hells Gate, and just like the end of last year\u2019s match, HHH does his best to use the sledgehammer but he passes out from the pain! This one is OVER! Except\u2026 HBK is still out! Another referee runs down as Undertaker levels HHH with a Chokeslam, and we get probably the biggest near fall a Chokeslam has gotten in quite some time, as HHH was still out from the Hells Gate and might not have been able to kick out. The referee suffers for only making a 2 count, and then\u2026 SWEET CHIN MUSIC! SWEET CHIN MUSIC! HBK kicks Undertaker\u2019s teeth down his throat, and sends him straight into a Pedrigee! Its over! Its over! NO!!! Undertaker WILL NOT DIE! Triple H goes back to the trusty Sledgehammer, but Undertaker sits up and nearly scares HHH into submission! It’s almost like Undertaker is remembering everything that happened to him last year, and its firing him up more than ever before! Tombstone! HBK makes the count\u2026 only 2! Shawn is GREAT here as he sits in the corner looking like an emotional wreck, knowing he almost screwed Undertaker out of his streak, and almost counted out his best friend in this \u201cend of an era\u201d match. We get a great battle from both men as they throw big lefts and rights at each other to the \u201cyey!\u201d and \u201cboo!\u201d of the crowd, with them starting off on their knees before staggering up and continuing it on their feet. PEDIGREE! Another 2 count, and Shawn looks like he just wants this one to end so nobody has to get hurt any more. With both men hurting badly, they begin to crawl to separate weapons. Undertaker goes for a chair, and HHH for his sledgehammer. A great visual as Undertaker has the chair in his hand, and stands on the sledgehammer before HHH can pick it up. All the chair shots Undertaker received earlier are now fresh in his mind, and similar to the HIAC match with Edge back in 2008, Undertaker looks now to give everything back to his opponent and then some. Chairshots the head have been outlawed in WWE, but the way these two have been swinging the chair for just back shots more than makes up for it. These are hard and every bit as brutal as a chair shot to the head would be. The match now really is a reverse of last year; Undertaker has destroyed HHH with chair shot after chair shot and is screaming at HHH to stay down, but like Undertaker last year, HHH refuses to, even though he has almost nothing left. Another tremendous visual moment as HHH charges at Undertaker one last time with the sledgehammer, only for Undertaker to put a stop to it and shake his head. HHH, like his best friend HBK 2 years earlier, is defiant to the end and essentially forces Undertaker to finish him because there really is no other way. Another Tombstone, and this one is over. The Undertaker is able to put his year of uncertainty behind him as he not only won, but he BEAT Triple H. The stuff that follows the match is really fucking great too. We have Undertaker and Shawn hugging, as Undertaker breaks away from his \u201cDead Man\u201d character as much as possible without being Mark Calaway. And it was great to see Undertaker and HBK help HHH up and WALK him up the ramp to the back. Almost like Undertaker didn\u2019t want HHH to go through what he went through last year. It might not have been on his own, but dammit, HHH WALKED out of WrestleMania. As JR put it, \u201cThat ladies and gentlemen, is respect\u201d. This really was an end of an era, because it’s going to be a long damn time before anything like this is going to be able to take place in WWE. This was incredible. Better than last year. If it wasn\u2019t for the part near the beginning of the match slowing things down and not really going anywhere, I\u2019d throw the full ***** at it. This is one hell of a way to finish the incredible story arc that in a way began at WrestleMania 24 with HBK ending the career of Ric Flair. It really doesn\u2019t get any better than this. ****3\/4.<\/p>\n

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Match 6 – Team Johnny: David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Mark Henry & The Miz Vs Team Teddy: Santino Marella, Kofi Kongston, R-Truth, The Great Khali, Booker T & Zack Ryder \u2013 NO.<\/p>\n

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Match 7 – CM Punk Vs Chris Jericho – And here is where my last \u00a35 went. Yep, I didn\u2019t pay to see Cena\/Rock. I\u2019ll talk more about that when I get to it though. Before the match, Punk is backstage and runs into Johnny, who adds the stipulation that if Punk loses his cool and gets DQ\u2019d, he also loses the WWE Title. Punk does his best to look\u2026 pissed off? I dunno. His facial expressions as of late have been fucking horrible lol, making me want to laugh during this feud more than anything. Jericho added to that with his hilarious dick headed comments about Punk\u2019s family. Wrestling needs more dick head heels btw. Been watching a bunch of ROH stuff from Joe and Danielson and KENTA in 06 when Bryan was a heel and the other 2 were\u2026 I dunno, tweeners maybe, and all 3 just act like complete DICKS to each other and it makes their matches, be it singles, tag or triple thread, so much fucking fun. So yeah. More dick heads in wrestling please! Austin Aries in TNA is one of the best things going right now because of the way he acts tbh. The match begins with some nice little mat work, with both men wanting to prove that they are the best in the world. But Punk has more on his mind; he wants to beat the hell out of Jericho as well. Jericho sees this, and goes to work. The new stipulation allows Punk and Jericho to add a little something more to their match here. Jericho gets to be a DICK and it’s just great to watch. With the title now being able to change hands on a DQ, Jericho decides he\u2019s going to make Punk so mad he\u2019ll get himself DQ\u2019d and literally hand the belt to Chris. It starts off with a couple of slaps, but that doesn\u2019t seem to be getting the job done. So Jericho brings up Punk\u2019s Dad, but again Punk is able to cool himself off and not fully lose control. Time to bring out the Sister card, and again Punk goes crazy but pulls himself together before he does something he\u2019ll regret. Jericho literally BEGS Punk to hit him in the head with a chair, and it’s just awesome. He\u2019s so fucking happy as he does it too. Only Funk and Foley come to mind when I think about people smiling and begging to be hit with a chair lol. When it becomes obvious Punk isn\u2019t going to get himself DQ\u2019d, Jericho has to out-wrestle Punk in order to win, and luckily for him all the things he has been saying has caused Punk to lose focus. Love the transition spot into Jericho\u2019s \u201cwrestling\u201d part of the match. The suplex from the ring to the outside was a hell of a manly bump. We get some really nice back work from Chris, and the spot where Jericho throws Punk off the ropes is great due to the slow motion replay and both Cole and Lawler just going \u201coh MAN\u201d at the same time while watching it. Looked sick in slow motion. Punk makes his comeback and the match becomes more of a back and forth even contest which fits in nicely with the story of both men claiming to be the best in the world. Only real complaint I have here is how Punk shrugs off the back work completely. Didn\u2019t expect him to sell his back like death for the rest of the match, especially since Jericho doesn\u2019t go back to it aside from the Walls of Jericho, but damn, one minute Punk is having his back worked over, and the next he\u2019s fighting back and acting like nothing happened at all lol. Anyone else for a moment thought that Jericho was going to hit the Styles Clash when he countered a Hurricanrana into a Walls of Jericho? Just me? Ah well lol. I love how they transition seamlessly from the back and forth stuff into a finishing stretch, and do it without completely killing the concept of finishers too. I think Punk kicks out of a Codebreaker ONCE, and only because he had time to rest and recover before Jericho made the cover, and in a big match at WM that\u2019s kinda to be expected, and in this match it really works into the story of both men being the best in the world and having what it takes to kick out of such things. They really work their submissions beautifully in the match too. Jericho finding a way out of the Anaconda Vice by using his knees is great, and then Punk finding a way to counter the counter which results in Jericho having to tap is even better. Totally loved this match. Great storytelling, starting out with Jericho trying to get Punk to lose his temper and get DQ\u2019d, then moving onto both men just trying to prove they are the best in the world. Prefer Undertaker\/HHH to it, but I\u2019ve come to expect that I\u2019ll like \u201cbig\u201d Undertaker matches more than most people, and I can certainly see a lot of people thinking this was the best match of the night and other than my personal preference for Undertaker\/HHH I\u2019d find it hard to come up with much of a reason to disagree. Blew my expectations away, which were a little low as I didn\u2019t want to be disappointed and I honestly doubted both men a little in their ability to have a truly great match with each other. Luckily they proved me wrong! ****1\/2.<\/p>\n

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Match 8 – John Cena Vs The Rock – Urgh. It always sucks a little when they most hyped up match for WrestleMania doesn\u2019t interest you in the slightest. I don\u2019t like The Rock. Never have. I\u2019m not one of those people who bitches because he left for Hollywood. I like that he left for Hollywood because it meant he wasn\u2019t on my wrestling show any more. I don\u2019t care much for Cena. I\u2019m not one of those people who thinks he can\u2019t wrestle in the slightest or have good matches, I just don\u2019t enjoy his character. Even as the rapper. I\u2019ve just never connected with Cena, but I\u2019ve always at least been able to enjoy his matches when they have been good, and yeah, he\u2019s got a bunch of them. Same can be said for The Rock, I like a bunch of his matches too. Unfortunately I just can\u2019t find any motivation to give a shit about this match. I don\u2019t like either guy, I don\u2019t like their characters, and the build up to this one has been atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. They had an ENITRE YEAR to build this one up, and it consisted of the same old shit from both men over and over again. Oh, The Rock left and I\u2019m always here. Well, Cena is a fruity pebble and a *insert takeaway food here* bitch. A year of THAT. It wasn\u2019t good, clever or funny the first time they did it. Why would it be any of that the next billion times they said it? I hear people say that feuds these days are too short and in the good old days they could last a year blah blah blah. Well in this day and age it’s impossible to keep things going for a long time because a) there is far more programming than there was 20 years ago, and b) creative struggle to come up with an interesting angle that last longer than a fucking week. And that\u2019s all this one was; a week\u2019s worth of ideas on repeat for a fucking year. Nice to see that both guys get extremely long and shitty entrances from so called \u201csingers\u201d that I\u2019ve never heard of and for good reason because they suck, while the WHC match got 18 seconds. Once again, FUCK YOU, ROCK. Your shitty boring pointless promo last year at WM prevented Bryan\/Sheamus from happening on the show, and this year your shitty boring pointless entrance took away all but 18 seconds from Bryan\/Sheamus. And fuck you too, Cena. And Vince McMahon. Now I have that out of my system, time to watch the match. Urgh. Collar and Elbow tie ups to start things off, with Cena powering Rock across the ring the first time, kinda like he was saying \u201cLOL @ Teh Moviez Star\u201d. Then Rock powers Cena across the ring with the second one as if to say \u201cI may have been to Hollywood, but I\u2019m as much of a wrestler as you as, so don\u2019t take me lightly, bitch\u201d. Then Rock busts out some ZOMGWRESTLING moves that shocks Cena and almost catches him off guard so much he almost gets pinned! Cena is getting frustrated, but takes a time out and this allows him to regain his composure and when he gets back into the ring, he is able to take control of the match by targeting Rock\u2019s ribs and utilises the bear hug. Unfortunately these bear hug spots are as dull as shit and damn, I know wrestling is \u201cfake\u201d but come on, if you are going to talk to each other in holds, try and do it quietly lol. Takes away from the match a little, and believe me, I\u2019m not into the match that much to begin with . After a while they take turns at hitting finishers, which breaks up the dull fest of bear hugs nicely, and then Cena goes back to controlling Rocky followed by a Rock control segment which involves his terrible attempt at a Sharpshooter. Speaking of shitty attempts at submission holds\u2026 STFU! More god awful, dull and shitty submission spots from Cena. This match is way too long. We go into the finishing stretch now, and its finishers for the most part, which I\u2019m fine with because it’s a \u201chuge\u201d match and nobody is going to buy either of these being beaten by just ONE finisher. Rock goes to the ropes at one point, and in a nice throwback to his early days, lands a crossbody! But Cena rolls throw and hits the FU (or AA, whatever)! Legit thought this was it, but Rock kicked out and then I remembered something; movie stars always win! And yeah, Rock wins. Rock Bottom while Cena mocks Rock by attempting the People\u2019s Elbow. So it’s finally over. It went on WAY too long, and if it wasn\u2019t for the crowd I probably would have shot myself half way through. Rock\/Hogan not only had a better atmosphere than this in all honestly, but the actual MATCH was better too imo. Kane\/Orton was better as far as a MATCH goes. Crowd and Atmosphere were obviously better than anything Kane\/Orton had, but that\u2019s the ONLY thing this match had over it. **1\/4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Match 1 – Daniel Bryan Vs Sheamus – I was looking forward to this match. Out of the \u00a315 I spend to watch WM live, \u00a35 of it went on this match. What a waste of fucking money. So the bell rings, and Bryan wants AJ to give him a good luck kiss before they … Continue reading WrestleMania 28<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writtenreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=975"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":977,"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions\/977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrestlingview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}