Once in a Lifetime: Review of WWE WrestleMania 28

When something is hyped up so much, it is extremely hard for it to live up all the hype.  John Cena vs. The Rock along with WrestleMania 28 had close to a whole year of hype, the only question was could it live up to this incredible amount of hype.  Built as the greatest WrestleMania of all-time, WrestleMania 28 was supposed to blow every wrestling fan’s expectations.  If you were hoping for WrestleMania 28 to be the greatest WrestleMania, you would have been incredibly disappointed.  If you kept your expectations realistic like yours truly, WrestleMania 28 was an entertaining show that was a little better than last years’ anticlimactic event. 

Where most of the big matches at WrestleMania 27 did not live to the hype, the top matches at WrestleMania 28 sure did other than Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, which was only given 18 seconds.  John Cena vs. The Rock was great though the wrong guy went over, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho started out a little slow then built into an incredible technical match with one incredible ending and last, but not least Undertaker vs. Triple H was just legendary, easily the Match of the Night and possibly the Match of the Year.  Undertaker vs. Triple H is well worth the price to buy this PPV on iTunes or on DVD, it is that amazing.  The rest of the card is hit or miss.  Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus was disappointing only because WWE gave them 18 seconds, Kane vs. Randy Orton was a good back-and-forth match, Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes was just plain boring, the Divas Tag Match was the definition of sloppy wrestling and Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy was a highly entertaining match that could have been a bit better if it went a little longer.  From top to bottom, WrestleMania 28 was a mixed bag, but overall an entertaining four hour wrestling PPV.  It is by no ways the greatest WrestleMania of all-time; also in no ways is it the worst. 

Sheamus def. Daniel Bryan to win the World Heavyweight Championship

Rating:  5/10

Kane def. Randy Orton

Rating:  7/10

Big Show def. Cody Rhodes to win the Intercontinental Championship

Rating:  5.5/10

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos def. Beth Phoenix & Eve

Rating:  2.5/10

Undertaker def. Triple H in Hell in a Cell

Rating:  10/10

Team Johnny def. Team Teddy

Rating:  7.5/10

CM Punk def. Chris Jericho by submission to retain the WWE Championship

Rating:  9/10

The Rock def. John Cena

Rating:  9/10

Overall, WrestleMania 28 is a good entertaining PPV.  It did not live up to the massive hype that WWE put on it, but still pulled out to be a better show than my least favourite WrestleMania, WrestleMania 27.  The top three matches on the card all delivered in spades and should not be missed by any wrestling fan.  At the end of the day, WrestleMania 28 is worth watching or even owning on DVD or iTunes.  My rating for WWE WrestleMania 28 is 7.5 out of 10.

WrestleMania Hangover: Quick Preview of WWE Extreme Rules 2012

No matter what happens at the biggest show of the year, there is always some sort of fallout.  Each year the PPV immediately after WrestleMania is used as the place to blow-off to many of the feuds that hangover from WrestleMania in order to make way for new feuds and storylines for the months to come.  This blow-off makes the PPV immediately after WrestleMania be it Backlash or Extreme Rules as exciting as WrestleMania itself.

Much like WrestleMania, most of the excitement for Extreme Rules comes down to one match, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar.  WWE has done a pretty good job of building this budding feud between the Face of the WWE and Laurinaitus’ handpicked Face of the WWE.  Considering how big this match is, this writer thinks WWE will find a way to keep it going for the next few months than have a definitive winner this Sunday at Extreme Rules.  Along with Cena vs. Lesnar, WWE has packed Extreme Rules with what looks like some great bouts.  With the amazing Chicago crowd, there is a high probability that Extreme Rules will turn out to be one of the best PPVs of 2012.

Randy Orton vs. Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

Prediction:  Randy Orton wins

Nikki Bella (c) vs. Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship

Prediction:  Nikki Bella retains

Big Show (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship

Prediction:  Cody Rhodes wins the Intercontinental Championship

Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the World Championship

Prediction:  Sheamus retains

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar in an Extreme Rules Match

Prediction:  Match goes to a No Contest

CM Punk (c) vs. Chris Jericho in a Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship

Prediction:  CM Punk retains

Great build, solid six match card and one of the hottest wrestling crowds in North America, WWE Extreme Rules has everything going for it.  We will just have to wait this Sunday evening to see if the WWE executes on this incredible situation.  Personally my hopes are high for this PPV considering the conditions and the top three matches on the card.  Nonetheless it should be an exciting night of wrestling to say the least. 

The Silver Report: April 15- 21

I have been a very busy week for yours truly with working two jobs and writing for two blogs.  Did not even get to watch Smackdown due to how busy I am.  This week saw the WWE go to Europe for their annual tour that always takes place after WrestleMania.  Raw was a really good show and I don’t know how Smackdown was, but I believe it was much better than Super Smackdown from the week before.  This coming week is the last week before next Sunday’s Extreme Rules PPV so hopefully we get two good go-home shows that properly build this great card.

Just Not Cena’s Month

April just has not been John Cena’s month.  He lost to The Rock on the Biggest Stage of Them All and Brock Lesnar and his signature F-5 have laid him out for two straight weeks now.  What could have gone wrong for the Face of the WWE this week?  To prepare for his match against Lesnar at Extreme Rules, John Cena was put into an Extreme Rules Match with an opponent of John Laurinaitus’ choosing.  To John’s dismay, Mr. People Power chose Lord Tensai, who has ran through his opponents the last two weeks on Raw, to face John Cena.  It was a highly competitive back-and-forth match as Lord Tensai and Cena traded moves.  Not much of an Extreme Rules Match as we say no weapons enter the match at all, but a really good main event nonetheless.  Right when John locked in the STF on Tensai, David Otunga hit the ring to break the hold.  Otunga did break the hold, but was on the receiving end of a big Attitude Adjustment.  With Cena pre-occupied with Otunga, Lord Tensai got some time to catch his breath before spitting green mist right into Cena’s eyes.  The green mist stunned Cena long enough for Tensai to hit his devastating sit-down powerbomb finisher for the win.  While it was another devastating loss for Cena, Lord Tensai needed the win much more than the self-proclaimed Champ as WWE tries to build him as their newest monster.  Now things get interesting for Cena as this month has been the most vulnerable he has been in about a decade.  It is strange; Cena no longer feels like the superhero the WWE has built him up to be.  He feels like a normal human being and it is the most interesting he has been in years.  We will have to tune into Raw this week to see if John Cena’s luck turns around or if his bad luck continues.

Punk Vanquishes the World’s Strongest Man, Moves Onto Y2J

After weeks of losing to Mark Henry via count-out and disqualification, CM Punk had to put-up or shut-up this Monday on Raw as he faced off with Henry in a No DQ, No Count-Out Match for the WWE Championship.  Personally, I was quite surprised this match kicked off Raw because I thought WWE would have saved it until later in the show, but it came as a nice change of pace as Raw starts with a promo most weeks.  With Chris Jericho as a distraction, Punk focused at the task at hand, taking down the World’s Strongest Man and retaining his WWE Championship.  Punk and Henry fought back-and-forth trading blows, holds and chair shots.  This match was not one of the most extreme No DQ Matches in the world, but Punk and Henry used enough chairs to justify putting the stipulation on the match.  Seeing as Mark Henry is a hefty fellow, there was no way Punk was going to lift him up for the GTS.  Neither did they follow the trope some these big man, little man matches have when the smaller guy tries to lift the bigger guy early in the match, but fails then miraculously is able to lift them in the ending moments to hit their finisher for the win.  Instead Punk went to his tribute to the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage to finish Mark Henry with a little bit of a twist.  Punk went to the top rope after hitting his signature high knee bulldog combo with a chair in hand.  Punk hit a variation of the flying elbow while holding onto the chair on Henry for the 3 count.  CM Punk vs. Mark Henry was another highly entertaining match from this past Raw that those who missed it should check out.  After Punk’s victory, Chris Jericho appeared on the Titantron to announce Cm Punk vs. Chris Jericho in a Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules and to try and get under Punk’s skin yet again.  Considering that Extreme Rules is in Chicago, this match should blow off the roof next Sunday.  I am really hoping Punk vs. Jericho will be the main event over Cena vs. Lesnar because this match could be one of the best of the year.

3 Hour Raw, But For What Occasion?

Well tomorrow’s Raw is going to be a 3 hour extravaganza.  Usually WWE has themes for their 3 hour Raws to make them seem more special than a normal 2 hour show, but nothing has been announced for this 3 Hour Raw and it seems a little weird.  Normally after WrestleMania, WWE likes to shake-up the roster with the annual draft, which usually takes right before or right after Extreme Rules.  Yet nothing has been even mentioned about the draft.  Making me think it might happen a little later this year, as I do not think WWE will have two 3 Hour Raws in a row.  They have done it before so it will not surprise me if they announce the draft will be the Raw after Extreme Rules.  The only thing announced for the show is a contract signing for John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules.  It will be interesting to see how WWE fills the rest of the show.  Hopefully it will be as good as the last few Raws have been because this is the best Raw has been all year.

The Silver Report: April 8-14

A week removed from WrestleMania 28, things seemed to have settled down quite a bit in the WWE.  Programs are gearing up for what should be a crazy Extreme Rules PPV in Chicago.  The Chicago crowd should be up to their usual amazing selves, which should add a lot to the PPV.  Raw was solid while Smackdown was horrible.  Honestly, there has to a curse on every Super Smackdown as everyone WWE has done in the past year has absolutely sucked.  Around this time last year, Smackdown was much better show than Raw, but now things seem to slipping on the blue brand.  Smackdown’s slip from glory is a topic for another day.  Right now, let’s look at the biggest news from the World of Wrestling this past week.

Cena vs. Brock, Extreme Rules

Brock Lesnar’s return at the end of last week’s Monday Night Raw will most likely go down as the greatest moment in the WWE for this year.  There was no doubt that all eyes were set on this week’s Raw to see if the fallout to live up to that legendary return.  In short, it was not as good as Brock’s return, but it was great set-up for their match at Extreme Rules.  Raw started with a bang as Brock and Cena came to blows, which saw the entire roster come out to break them up and Cena busted open.  That confrontation was not it as “People Power” Johnny Laurinaitus set the Leader of the Cenation to face his stooge David Otunga in the main event.  While the match between Cena and Otunga was nothing to run home about, it was not that bad either.  After the match, Brock made his way into the ring and hit another devastating F-5 to end the show.  Did I just have a déjà vu?  Yes, this past Raw ended the exact same way as the week before, but I did not mind it as much because WWE is trying to put over how dominant of a force Lesnar is.  We got two more weeks to go until Extreme Rules, but speculation is already flying on John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules.  Personally, I can see the match going one of two ways.  Either Brock outright beats Cena or the two fight to some sort of no contest, double count-out or double DQ in order to set-up a second match at Over the Limit.  No matter what happens it should be good.

Is Jericho in Punk’s Head?

Before WrestleMania, CM Punk seemed to be able to handle Chris Jericho’s attempts to get in his head.  Jericho’s attack from the previous week looks like it finally broke Punk’s composure as he was a complete mess on Raw this week.  Set to defend his WWE Title against Mark Henry for the second week in a row, CM Punk took it upon himself to make an example of the World’s Strongest Man as he immediately hit Henry with punches to kicks to even a TV monitor, which got Punk disqualified.  Punk was on his way to sending a message when Chris Jericho’s music distracted Punk for just a moment.  A moment was all Henry needed as the World’s Strongest Man laid out the WWE Champion for the second week in a row.  Jericho was not done as he brought down two cases of beer to share with Punk after laying the Champion out with the Codebreaker.  So after the events of this past Raw, is Chris Jericho really in the head of CM Punk?  This writer certainly thinks so, but this writer thinks by getting into Punk’s head, Jericho has released a whole other crazy can of worms that will not stop until Y2J rightfully atones for his sins.  We might even get a preview of crazy Punk as he faces off with Mark Henry for the WWE Championship in No DQ, No Count-Out Match tomorrow on Raw.

Sheamus, Bryan, 2 out of 3 Falls

Out of the three major feuds going on in WWE right now, Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan feels the least interesting.  That is not the fault of Bryan and Sheamus as they have been trying to make the best with the little they are given.  It is WWE’s fault for first giving them only 18 seconds at WrestleMania and now placing the two in different storylines that seem to have no connection with their feud.  Sheamus seems to be starting a feud with the returning Alberto Del Rio and Bryan is busy with his break-up with AJ.  The fact that they have had little to no interaction with each other these past weeks makes their rematch at Extreme Rules seem out of place to say the least.  Not to say, I am not excited to see this 2 out of 3 Falls Match.  It should be much better showcase of what these two wrestlers can do together than their WrestleMania match was.  At the very least, this 2 out of 3 Falls Match ensures the match will last longer than 18 seconds this time around.

The Silver Report: April 1-7

Welcome to the Silverdome debut of the Silver Report.  Originally made up for my short stint contributing to the Tribal Wrestling website (where you can find all past Silver Reports), the Silver Report is where I will look at the biggest news in the wide World of Wrestling from the past week and give my two cents on each.  I have always wanted to bring the Silver Report to the Silverdome, but the timing did not feel right as there was always something big going on be it a big match, a big promo or for the last month the Road to WrestleMania 28 series.  With all the craziness WrestleMania season brings out of the way, it seemed that this week was the perfect week to bring the Silver Report to the Silverdome.  So from now on you will see the Silver Report posted each weekend except when there is a PPV to preview or a wrestling DVD/PPV to review.  Without any further delay, let us jump on into the crazy aftermath of WrestleMania 28.

Cena Gets Brocked!!

After all the year-long build, the Rock got the better of John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania, a surprising decision by WWE as you would think they would rather put over the current poster boy of the company than the guy who is not a full-time wrestler, but I personally am reserving judgment until I see things play out in the coming months.  Come Monday night for Raw, all eyes were glued to the screen as the WWE Universe waited to see John Cena’s reactions to his huge loss in possible the biggest match of his career.  Would John finally turn heel?  Would he get so desperate that he would immediately challenge Rock to a rematch?  Would he even call it quits?  All these questions and more swirled in the heads of every wrestling fan watching.  Everybody had their theory, but no one expected what Cena actually did.  The Face of the WWE came down to the ring and stayed true to his bland generic character.  Cena again rose above the hate and was humble in defeat to the point he asked Rock to come down to the ring for him to show the Great One some respect.  Well that did not happen as a familiar tune rang through the speakers and a familiar entrance video popped up on the Titantron.  The pain finally returned to the WWE and the crowd in Miami and fans around the world went nuts when Brock Lesnar walked on stage.  Brock made his ring to the ring and put out his arm to shake Cena’s hand.  Being the classy good guy, Cena went to shake Brock’s hand only to eat an F-5 from the Next Big Thing.  What started out as another run-of-the-mill promo from John Cena turned into an epic ending for what was an incredible episode of Monday Night Raw.  Even with the Rock, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Undertaker all leaving for the time being, this budding feud between the returning Brock Lesnar and John Cena should keep people glued to Raw for the next couple of months.

YES!  YES!  YES!

The opening match of WrestleMania 28 saw Daniel Bryan lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in a whopping 18 seconds.  While WWE finally made winning the Royal Rumble mean something again, but at the expense of squandering what could have been an incredible main event level match and also snubbing Bryan and Sheamus for the second year in a row.  Daniel Bryan’s 18 second loss drew the ire of the hardcore wrestling fans as for the three matches preceding the opener and for the entirety of Raw they chanted Daniel Bryan along with dueling Yes/No chants.  Wrestling fans made their voices heard literally through these amazing chants.  Personally I am hoping these chants catch on with other crowds around the world as I want to hear them every single Raw, Smackdown and PPV.  Maybe with Daniel dumping AJ this past week on Smackdown see Bryan a more intense heel much like he was during his heel run in Ring of Honor.

CM Punk Meet Jack Daniels

CM Punk bested Chris Jericho on the big stage in Miami last Sunday night with the Anaconda Vice, but that was not the end of this personal feud.  After Punk lost to Mark Henry via count-out in a great TV WWE Title match, Jericho took advantage of a hurt Punk.  Chris Jericho grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and poured it over the defenseless Punk trying to the Straight-Edge Superstar.  Drenched in booze, Punk came to only to get beaten down by Chris Jericho.  Jericho then took another bottle of Jack Daniels and bashed it against the back of Punk’s skull with a wince-inducing impact.  While Punk may have proved he was the Best in the World at WrestleMania, Jericho’s attack on Punk proved that this feud is long from over.  With things quickly escalating between Punk and Jericho, we should a big No Holds Barred WWE Title Match announced for Extreme Rules, which is being held in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, in the coming weeks and it should be good.

The Road to WrestleMania 28 Part 4: The Best in the World

While WWE is focusing a lot on Rock vs. Cena and Triple H vs. Undertaker, the major heavyweight championships seem to be lost in the shuffle.  One feud in particular that is sadly getting little attention is CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, self-proclaimed Best in the World vs. self-proclaimed Best in the World.  Things started out a bit rocky between Punk and Jericho, but they have consistently put on the best segments on Raw for the last month.  Their segments rival those between Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Triple H and sure as hell beat Cena and Rock’s segments on Raw each week.  Today, we will be looking at both CM Punk and Chris Jericho and which one is the Best in the World.

 He has been wrestling for 20 years, has won over 30 championships and achieved many things few wrestlers even dream of such as beating the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night to become the first WWE Undisputed Champion or winning the Intercontinental Championship a record nine times.  He has reinvented himself time and time again.  Going from Y2J to an egotistical hypocrite-hating heel to now a cocky veteran wrestler who believes everyone from the wrestlers in the back to the people in the crowd want to be him (Jericlones as he calls them).  He is a trend setter in the WWE and all of wrestling.  Just look at all the clean-dressed suit wearing heels in the WWE and other promotions since he made it popular back in 2008.  From the world of wrestling to music to television to even dancing, he has been the best at anything he does in and outside of the ring.  He is the challenger to the WWE Championship and the title of “Best in the World” in a couple weeks at WrestleMania.  His name is Chris Jericho and he is the best in the world at whatever he sets his mind.

He is the Voice of the Voiceless, the Cult of Personality and the current WWE Champion.  He has been considered upon one of the elite wrestlers in the world from his days in the Indies all the way to being a squandered talent in the WWE.  He has enough personality and charisma to play any character from a crazed cult leader to an outspoken punk.  He even turned his career in the WWE around with a microphone.  Now he is the new top dog in the WWE and he is not afraid to speak his mind about whomever.  He has lead two factions, the Straight-Edge Society and the New Nexus.  He is the fastest wrestler to become a Triple Crown Champion.  He is the only wrestler to win tow Money in the Bank Ladder matches and two in a row no less.  His name is CM Punk, the WWE Champion and currently the top dog in the WWE.

Considering that I am a big fan of both CM Punk and Chris Jericho, deciding which one is the Best in the World.  Chris Jericho has had a much longer career than CM Punk and has proved that he can do anything he sets his mind to and be the best at it.  CM Punk has been wrestling just over a decade and is now at the top of his game.  While Punk might not a multimedia superstar, this debate is about the Best Wrestler in World, not who is the Best Superstar of the World.  By a slim margin, it has to go to CM Punk.  He is the current WWE Champion, the top dog in the WWE and clearly puts on the best match and/or promo every time he is in the ring.  Also with CM Punk being much younger than Jericho, he has more potential to get better.  While Chris Jericho is a bone-fide first ballot WWE Hall of Famer right here, right now, CM Punk is in my opinion the Best in the World.

This week saw Jericho make things personal as he attacked Punk and his alcoholic father.  While some think it was not needed, I personally think it added a great new dynamic to this feud in the last couple weeks leading to WrestleMania.  If you have not been paying attention to this feud, you better start now because you will be in for a surprise come WrestleMania when Punk and Jericho steal the show.  Make sure to come back next weekend for the next installment in The Road to WrestleMania 28 series.  Next week will be my personal Top 10 WrestleMania Moments.