WWE - Wrestlemania 28 [DVD]

WrestleMania over the last few years hasn't been as spectacular as it should be.
This year's WrestleMania however, is something of a return to the glory and splendour that makes the show what it is.

Since last year, we've had reason to anticipate WrestleMania 28, mainly because of the year-long build-up towards The Rock vs. John Cena, truly a dream-match of epic proportions. But there's also the highly-anticipated rematch between the Undertaker and Triple H (inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the referee!) and a much-anticipated bout between WWE Champion CM Punk and Chris Jericho. With a strong set of main-events, there's plenty of greatness to be found this year. And although there's some annoying blemishes, WrestleMania 28 definitely succeeds as a whole.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Daniel Bryan (Champion w/AJ) vs. Sheamus
I was so angry that these two were shafted from competing on the actual show last year. So I was thrilled that at last Bryan and Sheamus could finally be allowed to compete at WrestleMania...only to watch Vince screw me, all the fans and both wrestlers all over again for the second year in a row! 18 seconds and that's it! Happy for the victor, but I see this more as another booking injustice than anything else! (3/10)

Kane vs. Randy Orton
After having a sour taste in my mouth from the opener, I was thankful to these two for producing such a solid and well-executed bout that put me back in a good mood. Instead of being tedious, this storyline was actually decent and it reflects in the ring. Orton is truly one of the best all-round workers today and it shows in his performance against Kane. Ten minutes long with nothing major to criticise really. Just a strong, pleasant bout with the right winner. (8/10)

Intercontinental Championship Match
Cody Rhodes (Champion) vs. The Big Show
Cody has done a very good job as the IC Champ, and I was glad he would get the chance to defend the belt at WrestleMania. It would've made much more sense to have him face off against brother Goldust in a title vs. career affair, but Vince instead decided on a defence against the Big Show for some daft reason. To be fair, the result is actually okay, with both champion and challenger managing to work a good match but it's far too brief to amount to anything special, and the finish is so contrived and abrupt that it gives the outcome so very little emotional appeal. (5/10)

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres
Ah, the "celebrity" involvement at WrestleMania. Infused in a Divas' bout to serve as nothing more than a breather. It's something a shame, as Beth, Eve and Kelly offer some good action (the highlight being Kelly's impressive Molly-Go-Round from the top rope!), but Maria Menounos just doesn't belong here. She either should've trained more for this contest or just not shown up. Waste of time and the finish the creative team booked is just stupid. (4/10)

End of an Era Hell in a Cell Match
The Undertaker vs. Triple H
Special Guest Referee: Shawn Michaels
For the THIRD time at WrestleMania, we see the Dead Man and the Game face off. And yet again, they give spectators a CLASSIC match (inside Hell in a Cell, no less). Far from being tiresome, the match-up turns out to be absolutely epic, with Shawn once more playing the role of ref with storyline brilliance. It may not be the most violent Hell in a Cell in history, but it's certainly one of the grandest stories ever told within the structure. A magnificent, impeccably-booked match with both participants (and the ref) giving us an excellent show. The contest itself and the genuine aftermath provide perfect closure to the Taker/HHH feud and the legacies of all three men. Match of the night, and worthy match of the year candidate. (10/10)

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny
Booker T, The Great Khali, R-Truth, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston & Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler & The Miz
Even with the high-stakes of the winning team's General Manager gaining control of both Raw & SmackDown, there's no emotional investment to be found here. The match itself is not given enough time, it's far too clustered and it's only in the last few minutes that the action elicits a genuine response (thanks in large part to Zack Ryder). The outcome is tedious also, but the aftermath is intriguing as Eve cements her promising new heel status. (5/10)

WWE Championship Match
CM Punk (Champion) vs. Chris Jericho
An excellent WWE Title match, most worthy of WrestleMania. This is a bout I'm sure many have wanted to see and it lives up to expectations. Not the five-star classic it could've been, but still a technical diamond between two of wrestling's very best. Intense build-up, great psychology, great chemistry; what more needs to be said? (9/10)

Once in a Lifetime
The Rock vs. John Cena
Wisely chosen to go on last. Again, this is a dream match of epic proportions and has been wonderfully built up over the last year. Does it live up to the hype? YES. Although it doesn't quite have the aura and magnitude of say Rock vs. Hogan, this is a real WrestleMania clash of the titans, both of whom cement their legacies in thirty minutes of exciting action. The Miami crowd are brilliant! (9/10)

Great extras include a pre-show Triple Threat Tag Team Title Match, the official WrestleMania press conference, Attitude-Era matches and interviews featuring the Rock, a video package of the Undertaker and Triple H's history and the whole 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony. Terrific extras indeed which complete a terrific package. WrestleMania 28 is a show that conquers its blemishes with the strength of some the greatest matches in history. Certainly the best Granddaddy of Them All in a long, long time.

The 28th annual Wrestlemania was held in Miami, Florida on 1st April 2012 and featured one of the most highly anticipated main events of all time.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus:
I was really looking forward to this match-up but it turned out to be a complete waste of time. Blink and you'll miss it. 1/10

Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs The Big Show
A fun rivalry that has been brewing for the past couple of weeks on Smackdown and not a bad match, some good action from both superstars and a decent finish. 7/10.

Kane vs Randy Orton
A pretty dull storyline and a pretty dull match-up too. Nothing more than a filler really. 4/10.

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs Beth Phoenix & Eve
A divas tag match featuring a "celebrity". Need I say more? 2/10.

"End of an Era" Hell in a Cell Match - Triple H vs The Undertaker
Two of the biggest WWE superstars of the Attitude Era (three if you count the guest referee, Shawn Michaels) step inside the Devil's Playground in the rematch to their incredible match from last year's `Mania. I felt as if the hype surrounding this was overshadowed a little by The Rock/Cena main event but for me this really was the match of the night. It really re-captured the gruelling violence that we haven't seen in the WWE since the beginning of the PG Era and made me miss this time even more. The action really took everything out of both superstars but the end result was brilliant. If anything, this match has guaranteed both of these superstars into the Hall of Fame in the years to come. 10/10.

Team Johnny vs Team Teddy
This 12-man tag team match was to decide who was going to be the overall GM of both Raw and Smackdown between John Laurinitis and Teddy Long. A good fight that featured some of the up and coming superstars in the organisation. Great to see Booker T in action again as well. 7/10.

WWE Champion CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
Title match to also see who is "Best in the World". A decent technical match with some real hard-hitting manoeuvres and and close finishes. Very fast paced and exciting. 9/10.

Hall of Fame Class of 2012
Edge, The Four Horsemen, Ron Simmons, Mike Tyson and Yokozuna are some of the inductees this year. As someone who grew up watching wrestling during the 80's and 90's I really felt that all of these superstars deserved the placements (except maybe Mike Tyson, but they always have a celebrity spot and he is definitely better than last years'!).

"Once in a Lifetime" Main Event - The Rock vs John Cena
In the 21 years that I have been a fan of wrestling I can't remember a main event ever being so hyped up as this one. The match was booked a year ago and the build-up since then has been electric. The match thankfully lived up to the hype, the crowd were on fire and it really felt like both Cena and The Rock gave it their all. It was amazing to see Rocky in a singles match for the first time in eight years and it seemed as if he'd never been away. I would have been happy with the result either way it went but the ending was so good, I was out of my seat. What a main event! 10/10.

Overall this was a brilliant Wrestlemania and one of the best in a long time. I can't comment on the special features on the DVD edition as I'm just reviewing the PPV itself, so I'll come back and add this to my review once I have the discs, Anyway, a top PPV that I highly recommend.

Overall i thought WrestleMania 28 PPV and Blu-Ray was great! However i wouldn't have said that if it wasn't for the 3 main events and the Hall of Fame ceremony.

World Heavyweight Championship - Daniel Bryan (c) vs Sheamus - 1/5

Whatever i say about Bryan/Sheamus has already been said about 50,000 times so no need for me to comment on this one.

Randy Orton vs Kane - 2.5/5

A decent match but for me it never really got going so i was quite glad when Kane hit the Chokeslam off the rope.

Intercontinental Championship - Cody Rhodes (c) vs Big Show - 1/5

Well this was a typical Big Show match and a typical Big Show burial here, a couple of minutes of offense by Cody until the WMD was unleashed "out of nowhere!", once again i was quite glad when it was over as it didn't really interest me for the short amount of time they were given.

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs Beth Phoenix & Eve - 2/5

One of the better Diva's matches i've seen in quite a while but still nothing spectacular, it was better than Cody/Big Show though in my opinion.

"End of an Era" Hell in a Cell Match - The Undertaker vs Triple H with Special Referee Shawn Michaels - 5/5

Now here is when WrestleMania begins to actually feel like a 'Mania! From the epic entrances of 'Taker and Triple H, to the reveal of Undertaker's new hair, to the lowering of the Cell with Metallica in the background, to the overall match and drama, absolutely fantastic! In my view the best Hell in a Cell i've seen, definately recommended to anyone who hasn't saw the PPV yet.

Team Teddy vs Team Johnny - 3.5/5

The match that displayed the mid-to-upper midcarders to see who becomes GM of RAW & Smackdown. I actually enjoyed this and it had some good high-flying spots, such as the three man flip over the top rope and Ziggler's amazing sell of Ryder's monkey flip.

WWE Championship - CM Punk (c) vs Chris Jericho - 5/5

A classic wrestling match between the two "Best in the World". Great storytelling, especially when Jericho is trying to provoke Punk to get himself disqualified with the family comments, and some great spots such as the reversal of Punk's Hurricarana off the top rope into the Walls of Jericho. Great match and a great ending of Punk making Jericho tap out to the Vise.

"Once in a Lifetime" - The Rock vs John Cena - 4.5/5

The match that 28 was centered around, Rock vs Cena. The year-long build helped make this even bigger to be honest and the spectacle surrounding the match was incredible. The reason i didn't give it 5/5 though was because i thought the performances from MGK and Flo Rida, and even the appearance from P Diddy, were quite cringe-worthy and took a little bit away from the spectacle of Rock vs Cena. The other reason was that although it was a great match, i still think Hogan/Rock was better as it had the one epic nostalgia moment when Hogan started Hulking Up, which in my view Rock/Cena didn't have. The ending was great though with Cena attempting the People's Elbow and Rock hitting the Rock Bottom out of nowhere.

Extras

Hall of Fame Ceremony - 5/5

The Hall of Fame is always a great night, and this one was no exception with the inductions of Edge, The Four Horsemen and Yokozuna to name a few. There's not much else i can say about the Hall of Fame which hasn't been said every year beforehand so i'll leave it with the word "Great".

Other Extras - 3/5

The one thing what aggravates me when it comes to WWE releases nowadays is that there aren't tons of extras like there used to be. For example years ago we had interviews, promos, bonus matches, TV commercials, the "Making" of the TV commercials, there were loads, now for WrestleMania i'd expect all of these extras to be on, but we only get a bonus match and a few clips from RAW, which i find really disappointing.

To sum it all up though i'd definately recommend purchasing as it has a classic Hall of Fame ceremony, a great 2nd half to the PPV, and mainly, because it's WrestleMania!