31 Manias in 31 Days: Rewriting Wrestlemania XXVIII

[LODemolition]

Today's installment of my "Rewriting WrestleMania" series takes us to Miami, Florida's Sun Life Stadium which hosted almost 80,000 fans in 2012 for WrestleMania XXVIII. The main event had been announced a year in advance, a WrestleMania first, the night after WM27 between The Rock and John Cena. Rock had cost Cena the WWE Championship in his match with then-champ The Miz. It was The Rock's first Mania in the ring in 8 years. In a match dubbed "The End of an Era", The Undertaker would face Triple H for the 3rd time and 2nd year in a row on the WrestleMania stage, this time with the retired Shawn Michaels as referee in a Hell in a Cell match. And WWE Champion CM Punk was at the height of his popularity after 2011's "Summer of Punk", and he would defend his championship against a heel Chris Jericho. Overall, I would place WrestleMania 28 in the middle of the pack as far as how it rates among the greatest of all-time. But it was a huge step up from one of the worst there ever was the previous year. Here are the results.

April 1, 2012
Sun Life Stadium (Miami, FL)

1. (Pre-Show) Tag Team Championship Triple Threat:

Primo and Epico (c) w/ Rosa Mendes def. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel and The Usos to retain

2. World Heavyweight Championship:

Sheamus def. Daniel Bryan (c) w/ AJ to become new champion

3. Kane def. Randy Orton

4. Intercontinental Championship:

Big Show def. Cody Rhodes (c) to become new champion

5. Divas Tag Team Match:

Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos def. Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres

6. Hell in a Cell (with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee):

The Undertaker def. Triple H

7. 12-Man Tag Team to Determine Raw & Smackdown GM:

Team Johnny (David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, The Miz, and Drew McIntyre) (with John Laurinaitis, Vickie Guerrero, and Brie Bella) defeated Team Teddy (Santino Marella, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali, and Booker T) (with Theodore Long, Hornswoggle, Eve Torres, Nikki Bella, and Aksana)

8. WWE Championship:

CM Punk (c) def. Chris Jericho to retain

9. The Rock def. John Cena



*Rewriting WrestleMania XXVIII*


1. (Pre-Show) Handicap Match: Ryback def. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel

Ryback debuted just 2 days later on the Smackdown tapings, so why not debut him on the WrestleMania pre-show instead? Ryback started off wrestling nothing but handicap matches and squashing his opponents in no time. As much as I liked Kidd and Gabriel as a team, they didn't have a chance of winning the belts.

2. (Pre-Show) Tag Team Championship: Primo & Epico (c) w/ Rosa Mendes def. The Usos

I used to like Primo and Epico as a team. I don't know why they chose to fix something that wasn't broken by rebranding them as "Los Matadores", but it's awful. I let them retain here since The Usos had yet to really break out at the time.

3. World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton def. Cody Rhodes (c)

I sort of like the idea of putting the World Title on the line in the first match of the main card. I also liked Daniel Bryan as champ, but if they were going to let Sheamus win in 18 seconds, then I would rather they not have made Bryan champ at all in the first place. I thought Cody Rhodes should have had a run with the World Title at some point and a great feud for him would have been his former Legacy partner, The Viper. Rhodes and Orton were both terribly misused at this Mania. Big Show competing for the IC Title was laughable and Kane should have finished his feud with Zack Ryder here. Orton wins the World Title in a great Mania opener.

4. Kane def. Zack Ryder w/ Eve Torres

This match absolutely should have happened at WrestleMania 28. It was a really good feud that had no closure. Eve would have turned on Ryder in this match just like she did after the 12-man tag and Kane takes advantage.

5. 6-Man Tag to Determine Raw & Smackdown GM: Team Johnny (The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger) w/John Laurinaitis and Vickie Guerrero def. Team Teddy (Kofi Kingston, Booker T, and R-Truth) w/ Teddy Long and Hornswoggle

12 guys was just too many to get involved in this match. I'd keep the best 3 from each side and have the same result.

6. Mark Henry def. Brodus Clay w/ The Funkadactyls

With the time they wasted on Brodus Clay's dance routine, they should have had him in a quick match with Mark Henry. Clay was somewhat over at the time as "The Funkasaurus", but we all knew better than to take him seriously. Henry wins with a World's Strongest Slam.

7. Intercontinental Championship: Daniel Bryan (c) w/ AJ def. Sheamus

I liked these 2 as opponents, but hated the result. Let them have an actual match and let Bryan retain to establish himself as the real deal. Bryan retained at the Rumble in a cage match over Henry and Big Show, retained in the Elimination Chamber, and then drops the title in 18 seconds to Sheamus? It was one of those things that drove me crazy. Get rid of the mini concert by Flo Rida and MGK and use that time for this match.

8. Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (c) def. Natalya

Forget the tag match with a celebrity, let the best 2 divas and former "Divas of Doom" partners go 1 on 1 for 7-8 minutes and show that they can bring something worthwhile to the show.

Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman def. Big Show

Lesnar returned the very next night on Raw. I personally wouldn't have waited. Surprise the hell out of the fans by having Big Show come out and issue an open challenge. The story around him leading up to Mania was how he had never had his big Mania moment. Lesnar comes out, accepts the challenge, and makes short work of the giant.

10. The Rock def. John Cena

I'd shorten this match up by about 10 minutes (a half hour was just too long), but still have The Rock win in his hometown. Miami or not, I just don't think it deserved to be put on last.

11. WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) def. Chris Jericho

I wouldn't change much about this match either except I'd probably shorten it up by about 5 minutes. Jericho should have absolutely won the Rumble though, not Sheamus. It was and is the only thing missing on his resume. He was completely fresh having just returned. Jericho was the last man eliminated, but it should have been the other way around. Nonetheless, Punk retaining was the right call.

12. Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker def. Triple H (with Shawn Michaels as referee)

I absolutely loved this match and in hindsight, it deserved to be last. I also didn't have them face off at WM27, so this wouldn't have been the 2nd year in a row for them to meet at Mania. 3 shots at The Streak? Nobody should get more than 2. This match was an absolute classic and stole the show. It's very rare for me to put anything but the WWE Title on last at Mania, but if any match deserved it, this one did. The end of an era with Taker, Hunter, and Shawn standing at the end of the aisle closes the show. And that's my WM28.


Feel free to comment and/or post your rewritten WrestleMania XXVIII.

 

[Seosa]

I'm liking it all, but most of all the Lesnar surprise. Shit, the crowd would've exploded.

 

[MMK]

I agree that the crowd would have went crazy if Brock had shown up. But I would still save Brocks return for the next night on RAW. It was done so well and the interaction with Cena was fantastic. Plus, Brock appearing at Mania risks overshadowing the main event entirely. Not sure Rock would be all that happy about that.

WRESTLEMANIA 28

The Rock def. John Cena

WWE Championship:
CM Punk (c) def. Triple H
Punk NEVER should have lost to Triple H in the fall of 2011. Yet another example of Hunter trying to leach off the popularity of someone else in an attempt to make himself relevant again. But I liked the feud. It felt real. There was real animosity that should have been exploited even more. Save the match for Wrestlemania with Punk going over. I would have had Punk win the championship at last years Mania and hold it all the way through to the next. Triple H comes out of a semi-retirement to take on the man who called him out back in July during his infamous pipe bomb.

After a long grueling match, Alberto Del Rio cashes in his money in the bank on Punk and becomes the new WWE Champion. I would never have had Del Rio cash in back at Summerslam. Too soon. He could have carried that briefcase a lot longer. His "Destiny" should have been fulfilled at Wrestlemania. They've never had someone cash in at Mania. I think Del Rio would have been the perfect candidate to do so.

World Heavyweight Championship: Submission Match
Daniel Bryan (c) def Chris Jericho
Jericho returned at the 2012 Rumble and did absolutely nothing. Sheamus never should have won that match. Jericho should have not only returned, but he should have returned as a suprise entrant. Dont promote his return with cryptic videos that end up meaning nothing. At some point in the rumble the 10 second countdown clock glitches and then starts up again only this time as the Jericho countdown to the millenium clock. Jericho returns, stunned crowd, and Y2J gets the win and advanced to Mania where he opts to face Bryan. At mania the old blood puts the new blood over and Bryan retains.

The Undertaker def. Randy Orton
Undertaker and Shawn put on an all time classic at WM25. Back in the day that would have been suffice. Taker won and that would have been that. But in modern day WWE storylines NEVER end. They milk them for everything they're worth. There was no Savage/Steamboat 2. No Hulk/Warrior 2. No Iron Man sequel between Bret and Shawn. Someone won. Someone lost. That was it. That being said I was okay with Taker/Shawn 2. The build up was even better than the match at WM26. It was a fitting sendoff for Shawn. That should have been it.
But nope. Along comes Triple H to extend the story another 2 years. Thats 4 years of the same storyline. Taker doesnt have many years or matches left and I didnt want to see him using nearly all of them to fight DX.

I never would have Randy Orton face Undertaker at WM21 as I felt he should have been involved in the Batista/Triple H title match that year and had an all Evolution triple threat with Batista coming out on top. Orton just wasnt believable enough yet for me to think of him as an Undertaker level opponent. But at this stage he was an established veteran with a much more imposing look. I think now was the time for the viper to strike. And this would have been the perfect catalyst for his much needed heel turn. Back to his legend killer routes.

Intercontinental/United States Championship Ladder Match
The Miz def Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth
Miz needed something to stay relevant after he fell out of main event status. He was still an over enough heel at this point that having him unify the two midcard titles would not be seen as a demotion. Although I'd personally rather see Ziggler win. I think Miz needed it more at this point. I include Zack Ryder as he was pretty over at this point, though I refrain from going the route of Ryder vs Kane because in my WWE at this point Kane is no longer a regular on the roster and therefore the feud never happened.

Tag Team Championship Triple Threat:
The Usos def Primo & Epico, Bourne & Gabriel
Only a modest change of putting Bourne w/Gabriel instead of Tyson Kidd.

Sheamus def Alberto Del Rio
Sheamus wins in 18 seconds This feud and match exists only to keep people from expecting a Del Rio cash in later in the night. Sheamus gets the same quick victory he got over Bryan only this time it makes much more sense. Del Rio will cash in later in the night so he doesnt walk away looking like a chump the way Bryan did. Sheamus still goes over strong and actually the reaction they intended for him to get because fans legitimately didnt like Del Rio. As for how it goes down, Del Rio cuts a long winded MITB briefcase related promo before the bell rings in which he drones on about his destiny only to turn around and be hit with a brogue kick. Del Rio appears to be knocked out cold but regains consciousness enough later in the night to make his surprise cash in.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Dude, there's NO WAY that Rocky v Cena could have been anywhere else but last. First and foremost because the match was announced a year earlier, but mainly because the crowd would have been dead for anything that came after it.

I was at Sun Life Stadium that day, and I've never heard a crowd so loud in my life. 78,000 marked out for the Rock's entrance. You could barely even hear his music for about a minute, he was getting so many cheers.

Wrestlemania 28 was a very strong card, but had Rock v Cena not been the main event, the card would have been killed. The first hour of the show was already quiet enough as the fans were pissed at the WHC match.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This had the potential to be one of the best Wrestlemanias ever. There's a few things that need changing.

The first change that has to be made deals with the opening match. So many things wrong with that. First of all, Sheamus won the Royal Rumble. Your prize for winning the Rumble is not to OPEN Wrestlemania. Secondly, why would you OPEN a show like WRESTLEMANIA with a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP match? Don't EVEN get me started on how short it was. In my version, Bryan and Sheamus get an actual match. Sheamus still wins and the match goes on 3rd. They trade spots on the card with Big Show and Cody Rhodes who open the show with their Intercontinental Championship match.

I'd also have put Ryder in the match with Kane instead of Randy Orton. Kane wins. Orton could have been on Team Teddy in Ryder's place, they simply just swap spots on the card in my version. This brings closure to the angle with Ryder that got stopped so suddenly. The next change I would make is the divas match. Beth Phoenix should have defended the Divas Championship against Kelly Kelly here. Maria Menounos would have been in Kelly's corner while Eve was in Beth's corner. Beth retains. As much as I would have liked to see Jericho VS Taker, I wouldn't change Taker VS Trips 3. The match was excellent plus the moment at the end where Michaels, Taker, and Trips are on the ramp together at the end is one I'll never forget. Punk still retains against Jericho.

Last but not least, the main event. JOHN CENA SHOULD HAVE WON. I cannot possibly stress that enough. Everyone who whines about how "Once In A Lifetime" devolved into the akward "Twice In A Lifetime?" can thank the person that decided The Rock would win at Wrestlemania 28. The year long build was amazing and the rest of Wrestlemania 28 in its actual version was good, but the event is tarnished by the ending. When two generational icons face each other and one has NOTHING to gain from winning while the other has EVERYTHING to gain by winning, WHY would you NOT give the win to the guy who NEEDED it? Cena defeats The Rock to end the show. This also makes it to where we do not have to have the 2nd match at Wrestlemania 29 and we get the result that we SHOULD have gotten.

 

[roipdh123]

Wrestle Mania XXVIII

0.Pre-Show Match: Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Pepole Power {"A-Lister" David Otunga and "The Chosen One" Drew Mclntyre} {C} {W\John Laurinaitis} def. Team Pepole {"The Cobra Master" Santino Marrela and "Book-End" Booker T} {w\Teddy Long}.

1.Opening Match: Inferno Match with Eve Torres in a Natural Corner
"The Big Red Machine" Kane def. "The Internet Champion" Zack Ryder

2.Singles Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
"The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus def. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes {C}.

3.Singles Match for the WWE United States Championship
"The Destroyer" Brodus Clay def. "The World's Largest Athlete" The Big Show {C}.

4.Money In The Bank Ladder Match
"The Show Off" Dolph Ziggler {w\Vickie Guerrero} def. "The Awesome One" The Miz & "The All American American" Jack Swagger {W\Vickie Guerrero} & "The Wildcat" Kofi Kingston & "The Face Droper" Tyson Kidd & "The Daredevil" Justin Gabriel & "A-Ry" Alex Riley & "The Truth" R Truth.

5.Lumberjill Match for the WWE Divas Championship
"The Glamazon" Beth Pheonix {C} def. "The Hart Dungeon" Natalya.

6.Singles Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
"The American Dragon" Daniel Bryan {w\AJ Lee} def. "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry {C}.

7.Singles "First Time Ever" Match
"The Beast Incarnate" Brock Lesnar {w\Paul Heyman} def. "The Viper" Randy Orton.

8."End Of An Era" Hell In A Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Referee
"The Phenom" The Undertaker def. "The Game" Triple H.

9.No Holds Barred Match for the WWE Championship
"The Best In The World" Cm Punk {C} def. "Y2J" Chris Jericho {the 2012 Royal Rumble Match Winner}.

10.The Main Event:"A Year In The Making" Singles Match
"The Great One" The Rock def. "The Cenation Leader" John Cena

 

[Double S]

As with some previous manias I feel the changes people are making don't really help the show, this mania was close to perfect;

I'd remove otunga, Henry, truth and Ryder from the johnny vs teddy as it was too big

Have Henry vs orton and Ryder vs Kane, Henry and Ryder deserved Spotlight matches after their previous autumn

Kane vs Ryder is a possibili

 

[Rocky84]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this card at all. One of the best Manias ever too. I don't see how anyone could want to change HHH vs Taker. I was there in Miami too for this and that match was unbelievable. That Sweet Chin Music followed by the Pedigree followed by a kickout was INSANE! Crowd went apeshit as did I. One of the best matches I've ever seen in my entire life.

I definitely don't understand how anyone could think that Cena should have won. JR said it best when he said that fans who think the newer/younger talent should always beat the older talent don't have a real understanding of how the business works. He also said it's not necessary for them to get the win, and that by just being in that spot with a big name alone is enough. It's the show, not the outcome.

With that said, if Cena won that night, that crowd would've rioted 100%. I mean they reaaaaally hated Cena. The next night on Raw that I also attended, everyone and I mean everyone was chanting F*** You Cena after Brock took him out. Not only that, but this dude didn't need the win more than the Rock. Cena has beaten everybody at Mania...why did he need to beat the Rock? Rock has barely beaten anybody at Mania too, so how is that fair? Cena beat HHH, HBK, Batista, Edge, Big Show, JBL, etc. The Rock lost at Mania 14 (technically won because Shamrock didn't let go), 15, 16, 17, and won at 18 & 19, lost at 20. Soooo yea....look at that resume. Who needed it more?

Anyways, that triple main event (Punk vs Jericho, HHH vs Taker w/ HBK, and Cena vs Rock) was simply amazing. Punk vs Y2J was a damn near perfect wrestling match as well.

I wouldn't have changed Big Show vs Cody either as that was a hilarious feud...Cody killed it with the video package of Show and the jokes...awesome.

Probably would've changed the DB vs Sheamus match though...made it a real match. I see what they were doing with it though, but I'd pefer a match just like practically everyone else.

Still a truly amazing night for wrestling fans.

 

[Double S]

Totally agree, Cena losing actually gave him something to work with, I wish he'd lost to lesnar the month after, then the confidence issues/ big match choking could be a pretty engaging storyline, much better than cena lining them up and knocking them down as usual

 

[HBKperfect23]

This mania was near perfect. I would pretty much leave it alone. Although I really like the OPs idea of Show w/ the open challenge and lesnar returning. He could still come out on raw and f5 cena, it just wouldn't be nearly as big of a surprise.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

There are two thing I'd change..

Kane vs. Orton becomes Kane vs. Zack Ryder. Ryder was red hot and deserved an one-on-one match at Wrestlemania.

Also, instead of Sheamus vs Bryan(C) in 18 seconds we get Sheamus vs Bryan(C) vs Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship in an actual match. Why? I can understand that the company felt that Sheamus and Bryan were not big enough names to go on par with the rest triple main event. So I'd add Orton on the mix, to increase the name value and make it seem like a real World Championship match. After all, Sheamus, Bryan and Orton were the top three dogs of Smackdown at that time.

Y2J wins the Rumble. No question about that. Sheamus wins a #1 Contender Elimination Chamber match, while Orton and Bryan battle it out in a draw at No Way Out. That's Orton's reason to be in the match. The result stays the same, with Sheamus winning.