#2. WrestleMania XXVIII Was the Ultimate Spectacle
When a show is built 12 months in advance, it is bound to be something special. WrestleMania 28 brought WWE back to the mainstream and made a strong case for the most hyped up Mania of all time. The Rock vs. John Cena in their “Once in a Lifetime” showdown made the show and build-up absolutely legendary.
Where do we begin? The seeds were sown at WrestleMania 27 when The Great One, who hosted the show, cost Cena the WWE Title, but it caught fire a few months before WWE took over Miami. We got the Doctor of Thuganomics, Rock Concerts, and insults that blurred the line between fiction and reality. Fans couldn’t tell what was planned or scripted.
While many sided with the Rock, the kids rallied behind Cena. Elsewhere on the card, The Undertaker and Triple H tried to replicate their magic from Mania 27. However, this time, the stakes were much higher. Taker, who left their previous match on a stretcher, wanted redemption.
The clash was built as the “End of an Era.” Shawn Michaels, close to both men, was dragged into the chaos as the Special Guest Referee. It had emotion, starpower, and the “big fight” feel that a Mania match needs. Furthermore, other prominent matches saw CM Punk defend the WWE Title against Chris Jericho.
This should have been a straightforward match, but Y2J made things personal by dragging Punk’s family into the storyline. On the undercard, we had some compelling angles too. For instance, the IC Title program between Cody Rhodes and Big Show centered on the latter’s failures at The Show of Shows, adding significant intrigue to the rivalry.
