WWE: WrestleMania XXVIII

After last year's dud a Wrestlemania I was a little worried about how this mania would deliver. My worries melted away as I watched a fantastic WM from start to finish. This WM learned from last year and did not waste so much time on the little things. One thing that I found strange was that it appeared that the 78,363 fans that attended the event just did not seem like they were into the show at all. I really don't remember a single part of the show where the fans became rabid and really into the show so that kinda brought the show down a bit but not enough to ruin it for me. The show opened with WWE ring announcer Lillian Garcia doing a rousing rendition of America the Beautiful and of course the fly over from the US Military. After that we get your standard WM opening promo.The opening match, which might start to become a new WM staple, was the WWE World Heavyweight title match pitting Daniel Bryan against Sheamus. I for one was really looking forward to this match because last year these two were supposed to go at for the US title and the match was bumped to a dark match and because I am a huge Bryan fan and was hoping to see him let it all hang out at this event. That was not to be because this would shortly become one of the shortest matches in WM history. Eighteen seconds! Eighteen seconds was all it took for Sheamus to win the title from Daniel Bryan. This was sort of a rip off for me but geez what a hell of a way to begin the program. (8/10)After that we get a backstage moment from Team Johnny which was ok and then we get a commerical for WM 29 and find out that it will be at Metlife stadium next year. After that we get a pretty good match from Kane and Randy Orton. I really was hoping for a down and out fight between these two but instead we a get a rather slow and plodding match but I still enjoyed it. I was a little suprised that Kane won but still an ok match. (6/10)After this we did get a boring segment with Mick Foley, Santino Marella and Captain Keith from Deadliest Catch fame. I don't remember now what the segment was about but it was a waste of time. We see Cody Rhodes intro and some footage of what led up to the IC title match followed by the Big Show into. I always look foward to an IC title match at WM because now they are so few and far between but this one did disappoint me a little bit. I thought it was pretty good but a little short. I was also suprised that Show won the title because let's face it, Show has already made it and Cody is one of the few bright spots that WWE has to look forward to in the future so I do think that having Cody lose was a big mistake. (5/10)The next segment we get is a feature on the divas which was good to see, followed up by the intro of Beth Pheonix and Eve and then we see some of the events that led up to the Divas match and the intro of Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos (who is the celebrity this year). The match was pretty good but really just a standard divas match. I did appreciate Maria's tenacity in the match due to the fact that she had some cracked ribs due to an injury on Dancing with the Stars. I do hate when celebrities compete at WM because they never lose so it was no suprise when Kelly and Maria won. (5/10)Up next we get a great interview with the great Shawn Michaels that was definatly not a waste of time. They of course announce the attendance next and then we get a special entrance of Jim Ross so he can commentate the following match. I don't understand these special intro's that they do just for commentator. It's a waste of time, just have them already out there.The next match is the Hell in a Cell match and one that I had been waiting for and was a little suprised that it was this early in the show. Of course each man in the match even Shawn gets their own entrance and then they lower the Cell to Metallica's The Memory Remains (which will probably be deleted from the DVD release due to royalities). This match was brutal and a killer match. I have never seen so many chair shots in one match but boy did this one have that and more. There was so much emotion and so much brutality that it was hard to watch sometimes. Will it win match of the year? No probably not. I thought it was great for over a half an hour but no I don't think it will win match of the year. A couple of things that suprised me: Undertaker's new haircut. What the hell was that about? Why was it a Hell in a Cell match because the cell was hardly used. Lastly, I was very suprised that UT won. I really was. I have heard that UT has stated over and over that he does not want to retire with a perfect WM record so I was a little suprised that UT won. Great match and great performances by all involved including Shawn Michaels. (10/10)The next segment is one of my favorites at we get footage of the Hall of Fame ceremony and then the announcement of the class of 2012 which included: Ron Simmons, Mil Mascaras, Mike Tyson (in the celebritiy wing), Yokozuna, The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillion) and Edge. This was a good class and I was suprised that Flair was there as he is under contract with TNA and I was also suprised that Windham was there as he has a heart attack or stroke in November or December. Great class and all deserving!After that we get a waste of time with a segement involving Heath Slater and Flo Rida. Nothing much there. After that we get the 10 man tag match for control of Raw and Smackdown. For Team Johnny we have The Miz, Mark Henry, Drew McEntyre, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and David Otunga taking on Team Teddy's which was comprised of Kofi Kingston, Great Khali, R-Truth, Zack Ryder, Booker T. and Santino Marella. This was a good match and everyone did get to get involved in the match but really there was no suprises here. I mean really did anyone think that Teddy's team was going to win? If you did then you were just living in a fantasy world. (6/10)After this we get footage of WWe happenings in Florida. Then we see CM Punk backstage with Johnny who announces that Punk's match will now be a no DQ match. Lastly, we get Chris Jericho's entrance followed up by events that led up to the match and CM Punk's entrance. I know a lot of people did not like this match but I for one loved every second of this 22:00 minute match. It was billed as "Best in the World vs. Best in the World." This match did deliver that and more, in my opinion. I just wish these two could have went close to a half hour if not more than that. A lot of back and forth action and some great near falls is what really made this match great and makes it one that I want to see again and again. (10/10)After that I guess they had to cool everyone off for a bit because we get this retarded segment with Brodus Clay and his Momma's Bridge Club doing a stupid dance segment. We get the events that led up to the Main Event and that is followed by special ring intros for both John Cena and the Rock. Finally, we get to the match and we get in my opinion one of the best WM Main Events that I have ever seen. We see back and forth action, near falls, false finishes and each guy performing all the moves that made them great. For over a half hour these two guys went out and gave it their all and left me exhausted. I do not like John Cena but honestly I was kind of hoping he would win because he would still be with the WWE when it was over whereas the Rock would be gone once again. I have to give my props to both men they really pulled out a great match. I was expected maybe a 18:00 to 20:00 match but never thought we would see a 30:34 match. Really cool moment in WM history. (10/10)All in all this was a great WM from start to finish. There were some slow matches and one or two matches that didn't live up to its potential but it was a whole hell of lot better than last year's flop. I would definatly watch this one again. I would say this WM was a 10/10. Great matches from UT and Triple H, CM Punk and Jericho, Rock and Cena and an 18 second world title match is what made this one great!

This year's Wrestlemania took place in Miami, Florida, which is fitting considering that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will finally return to the ring and face one of WWE's biggest stars, John Cena. First of all, WWE looks great in HD, this blu ray is no exception. You can see the vibrant colors of the crowd, the details of the wrestler's costumes and of course, enjoy the music of Flo Rida and Machine Gun Kelly. Unfortunately, Machine Gun Kelly got the crowd hot with his pop for Cena. Sean Combs should have told MGK that when in Miami and The Rock is on the bill, don't insult the crowd (especially if you are in the entertainment business and your revenue is dependent on people buying your music, etc) he got the biggest "booo!" but luckily Flo Rida came out and did his set piece and got the crowd back on their feet and excited for the "Once in a lifetime" main event.A few notes on the matches:Daniel Bryan vs SheamusWaste of a match, 18 seconds and its over! Bryan is capable of giving his opponents great matches and people were clearly shouting his "YES, YES, YES!" phrase as he entered the ring. Everybody expected a great battle and instead got a "blink, brogue kick, 1, 2, 3, over" match. Overall rating 1/5.Randy Orton vs KaneStandard wrestling match, Orton and Kane traded shots until Orton tried a RKO off the second rope, Kane made his move and captured the victory. Overall 3/5Big Show vs Cody RhodesGood match with lots of hype, Cody brings back the classic Intercontinental belt back, awesome, he plays a classic heel by taunting on Big Show's failures and Show finally makes his Wrestlemania moment by knocking out Rhodes with his WMD finisher. Overall 3.5/5Beth Phoenix and Eve vs Kelly Kelly and Maria MenounosYou can already tell this is going to be horrible since a celebrity is involved, a month prior, Kelly Kelly came out on WWE magazine saying she wanted her Wrestlemania moment and clearly, it was handed to her, it wasn't earned, it was handed to her. Phoenix and Eve clearly dominated the match and I remember the crowd made fun of Maria Menounos' attempt at a stinkface on Eve, since Eve's makeup smeared on Maria's backside, which sums up this match. The "pretty faces" manage to get a victory and further erode the Women's division, poor Beth, she deserves serious competition. Overall 0/5Undertaker vs Triple H, Hell in a CellThis is the match of the night, Triple H seeks to end Undertaker's undefeated streak with Shawn Michaels as the referee. Undertaker and Triple H trade numerous stiff shots, slam each other against the cage, beat each other with various weapons and all the while, Shawn is torn by his duty as the referee and his friend. Shawn does break his oath by hitting Sweet Chin Music on the Undertaker but that was not enough to keep the Deadman down, Undertaker pulled the power of the darkside and buried Triple H and kept the streak intact, 20-0. After the match, all three men left the ring together, they were clearly moved by the match and they all left as victors and legends. Overall 5/5Team Johnny vs Team TeddyNow for a goofy match, after all the emotion of the Hell in a Cell match, the crowd needed a break so we got this 12 man tag match. Booker T makes an appearance and takes a beating but he fights back, a brawl breaks out and Eve distracts Zack Ryder long enough for the Miz to take the victory for Team Johnny. The stakes were high in this match because the role of permanent GM of Raw and Smackdown was on the line, Teddy Long lost and John Laurinaitis began his "People Power" era. The match has its high and low spots but it felt more like filler but it was entertaining. Overall 2/5CM Punk vs Chris JerichoBack to serious action, Jericho had been pushing Punk's buttons with his taunts, almost reminded me of when Jerry "The King" Lawler taunted Jake "The Wino" Roberts (okay, I know "The Snake" but lets have some fun here) about his love of alcohol. Jericho plays a great heel, special light up jacket, arrogant facial expressions and overall jerk persona. Punk takes out his rage but keeps in check since his title can be lost if he gets disqualified. Punk breaks the Walls of Jericho and slaps on the Anaconda Vise and gets Jericho to tap out, sweet victory for Punk. Overall 4/5Brodus Clay comes out to fill out the pay per view, corny dance number with his "momma" and the bridge club, not bad but luckily you can skip this on the dvd. Isn't technology great?MGK plays "Invincible" and gets on the crowd's bad side, which only gives more heat to Cena (which he doesn't need) and Flo Rida does "Good Feeling" and "Wild Ones", very nice introduction for:John Cena vs The Rock, Once in a Lifetime match.For one year, Rock and Cena have traded verbal taunts and gotten physical a few times but it all leads to this, the main event of Wrestlemania 28. The Rocks shows the crowd and Cena that he has a few moves and takes Cena by surprise a few times. Cena has more recent ring experience and The Rock's ring rust begins to show as Cena dominates the match, both men avoid each other's finishers and Cena nearly snaps the Rock in half with his STFU. The Rock looks physically drained half way in the match and it almost looked like he was going to pass out, however, Cena let his confidence get the better of him and when he tried for a People's elbow, the Rock pounced and nailed a Rock Bottom for the win. The Rock accomplished something amazing, he was beaten Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and John Cena at Wrestlemania. Miami was clearly split between Cena and the Rock and this brought memories of Warrior vs Hulk at Wrestlemania VI, at the end, half the crowd was happy, half were upset. Cena is left alone on the ramp, soaking in his loss and what lies ahead....to be continued (in Extreme Rules 2012). Overall 4/5The Blu ray extras are okay, a few clips from Raw, the Hall of Fame with Edge! Edge's induction into the Hall of Fame is emotional and he can see how moved he and those around are during his introduction and his speech but I loved how he leaves the show, awesome. Great blu ray to add to any WWE fan or Dwayne Johnson fan.

My grandson loves this

OK, so everyone has reviewed this product as the show itself, that's fine, WM 28 was a great show and had that big show feeling as the recent past ones have lacked. I'm here to review the Blu-Ray itself and say FINALLY, WWF / WWE Does It Right!For the first time I can remember in a LONG time this release is the EXACT Program as the PPV. No Music Edits, No Re-Shots, and Actually in the case of the HITC Match it's even better as they do not try to alter HHH's "Final Stand"!As Mentioned ALL the Music as seen on the PPV is here, Metallica, Madonna, Flo Rida, etc. is all here. The Mini Concert(s) are here, it is truly a welcome addition!This is the way it should be done, in the past the PPV was far superior to the DVD / Blu-Ray not this time, in fact the Blu-Ray is better than the PPV. Congrats to WWE for finally getting this right!Btw, the Extras are cool with the HOF being the best treat. Ron Simmons speech(with JBL Intro) by far was the best of the HOF's, IMHO, even surpassing the 4 Horseman. The HOF is truly worth it's weight as a stand alone, IMHO. The Press Conference is really corny, I'm starting to lose a lot of respect for CM Punk as he really is becoming to "Hollywood", this P.C.(as well as Punks current escapades as of late) really made me miss the days of the Straight Edge Savior, watch it and you'll see what I mean. Other than that it is the Best WM Release in a Long, Long Time (in terms of the non-edit and production value) and for $19.99 (Blu-Ray) it is a Steal!