Jump to content

WrestleMania XXVIII

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jeffhardyred (talk | contribs) at 09:35, 31 March 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

WrestleMania XXVIII
Promotional poster featuring John Cena and The Rock
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateApril 1, 2012
CityMiami Gardens, Florida
VenueSun Life Stadium
Tagline(s)"Once in a Lifetime"
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Elimination Chamber (2012) 		Next →
Extreme Rules (2012)
WrestleMania chronology
← Previous
WrestleMania XXVII 		Next →
WrestleMania XXIX

WrestleMania XXVIII is the forthcoming twenty-eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It is scheduled to take place on April 1, 2012 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.[6][7][8] There are currently nine official matches scheduled for the event's card.

Production

The city of Miami Gardens was one of the two major contenders to host WrestleMania XXVII along with Atlanta, Georgia. Ultimately, in February 2010, Atlanta was awarded the right to host the event.[8][9][10] According to the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, WWE management felt that Miami's planning for the event would have been too hectic with many other sporting events held in the area around the same time of the planning, such as Super Bowl XLIV.[10] However, the Miami area was reportedly considered for the next event due to its international ties, facilities, airports and experience of hosting previous major events.[8]

Bidding documents were sent to seventeen cities in consideration for hosting a WrestleMania event between 2012 and 2014, with fourteen replying in interest.[10][11][12] Other cities under consideration for WrestleMania XXVIII included Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Toronto, Detroit, Tampa, Vancouver, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Orlando and Houston.[8][11] The city of Dallas also showed interest but had to withdraw from bidding for the next two years due to hosting events such as the NCAA Final Four.[11]

On February 9, 2011, The Miami Herald announced that Miami had won the right to host WrestleMania in 2012.[8] WWE later officially announced the event in a press conference held at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.[7][12] WrestleMania XXVIII will be the second Wrestlemania event to be hosted in the state of Florida, the fourth open-air event, and the third event to be held entirely outdoors.[8] For hosting the event, WWE will receive a $250,000 cash incentive from the Miami-Dade Sports Commission raised through grants and sponsorships.[12] Along with WrestleMania XXVIII, a series of events grouped as "WrestleMania Week" will be held in the week preceding the event including WrestleMania's annual WrestleMania Axxess fan convention at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the American Airlines Arena, the finals of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, and a Celebrity Pro-Am Golf tournament.[7][12][13]

Background

WrestleMania will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that will be played out on WWE's primary television programs. Wrestlers will portray villains or heroes as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[14]

John Cena (left) and The Rock (right) agree to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII.

The main event of WrestleMania XXVIII features The Rock wrestling against John Cena. On the February 14, 2011 episode of Raw, The Rock was revealed as the host of WrestleMania XXVII, and upon his return to WWE, began a feud with John Cena (and Cena's opponent at that WrestleMania, then-WWE Champion, The Miz), which continued for weeks in terms of verbal insults, until the March 28 episode of Raw, where Cena delivered the Attitude Adjustment to The Rock after he fended off attacks from The Miz and Alex Riley.[15][16] At WrestleMania XXVII, The Rock got involved in the main event WWE Championship match, which initially ended in The Miz's favor via a double count-out, and after restarting the match under no disqualifications, no count-outs rules, he delivered The Rock Bottom to Cena, thus enabling The Miz to pin the latter and win the match.[17] The next night on Raw, Cena challenged The Rock to a one-on-one match at WrestleMania XXVIII. With The Rock subsequently accepting, the match was officially announced on WWE.com.[18] The following week, Cena announced his intent to defend the WWE Championship against The Rock in their match at WrestleMania XXVIII. On the May 2 episode of Raw celebrating The Rock's birthday, Cena, whilst holding the WWE Championship, confronted The Rock and declared his intent to keep the title until their match. At Survivor Series in November 2011, Cena teamed with The Rock (who made his in-ring return in a match in WWE after nearly eight years, last competing at WrestleMania XX), and billed as "the most charismatic tag team", and defeated The Miz and R-Truth, collectively known as Awesome Truth. After the match, The Rock gave a Rock Bottom to Cena.[19] As Cena does not hold the WWE Championship heading into WrestleMania, it will be a regular one-on-one match.[20]

A second main event, billed as the "end of an era", features The Undertaker against Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. The previous year at WrestleMania XXVII, in a No Holds Barred match, The Undertaker defeated Triple H via submission,[17] in their second encounter at a WrestleMania (the first being at WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001, where The Undertaker won as well). However, in the post-match events, due to the harsh physicality suffered during the bout, The Undertaker failed to leave the Georgia Dome on his power, as he was carted away by the medical staff on a stretcher[17] for the first time in his career, while Triple H left on his own accord. After a near ten-month long hiatus, The Undertaker returned on the January 30, 2012 edition of Raw, confronting and challenging Triple H to a rematch at WrestleMania XXVIII,[21] the reason being The Undertaker having been dissatisfied of his post-WrestleMania match scenario the previous year, stating "he did not want that scene to be a lasting memory of him" and was willing to give Triple H "another chance at immortality". After Triple H refused to accept the challenge the next week on Raw, his close friend and WWE Hall of Famer, Shawn Michaels appeared on the February 13 episode of Raw to instigate him in accepting The Undertaker's challenge, which was in vain as Triple H stated he was willing to put his ego and personal agendas aside for the future of WWE, and viewed The Undertaker's 19-0 undefeated WrestleMania streak as a "brand" to cash-in for the company, finally ending the argument saying he would not be the one to end it. Then, on the February 20 episode of Raw, The Undertaker still remained adamant in getting a WrestleMania rematch with Triple H, going so far as to label Triple H as a "coward", and comparing his abilities and career to that of Shawn Michaels.[22] Enraged due to these comments, Triple H finally accepted The Undertaker's challenge at WrestleMania XXVIII, saying that if "he [Undertaker] wanted an end, they would go all the way", and proposed that they would compete in a Hell in a Cell match.[22] On the March 5 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H again, this time expressing his views on the debate of who was better than the other (Michaels or Triple H), and predicting Triple H's chances of defeating The Undertaker, in addition to announcing that he would be the special guest referee in their Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania.[23]

On July 17, 2011, at the Money in the Bank event, Daniel Bryan defeated seven other wrestlers to win the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match.[24] On the July 22 episode of SmackDown, Bryan declared his intentions of cashing-in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania XXVIII.[25] However, despite this claim, he attempted to cash-in his contract briefcase on the November 25 episode of SmackDown. He pinned the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry to supposedly win the title and began to celebrate, but SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long informed Bryan that Henry was not medically cleared to compete, and declared the match void, thereby returning the briefcase to Bryan and the title back to Henry. The next week on Raw, Bryan acknowledged that he went back on his word, saying that headlining WrestleMania was his dream and that his "plans changed"; that the briefcase "doesn't guarantee [him] anything", since he could be put out of action at any time.[26] WWE, however, continued to maintain the advertisement for WrestleMania, until Bryan successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract briefcase on Big Show at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event on December 18, 2011, to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.[27]

In January 2012, at the twenty-fifth annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Sheamus won the thirty-man Royal Rumble match, giving him the right to challenge either the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXVIII.[28] Sheamus announced on SmackDown that he would decide who he wishes to face at WrestleMania after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.[29] At the Elimination Chamber event in February, Sheamus attacked Daniel Bryan, after the latter successfully retained his World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match, thus declaring his wish to challenge Bryan for his title at WrestleMania. The match was officially announced the next day on WWE.com.

Another match booked for WrestleMania is from the Raw brand, which features CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho. Since the summer of 2011, calling himself the "best wrestler in the world", Punk went on to win and successfully defend the WWE Championship numerous times. On the January 2, 2012 episode of Raw, after extensive hype through several viral vignettes proclaiming the "end of the world as we know it" on that day, Chris Jericho returned to WWE after over a year, and established a villainous persona over the next several weeks. On the February 13 episode of Raw, Jericho accused Punk in an in-ring segment of being a copycat of him, and that he (Punk) stole his proclamation of being the "best in the world". While competing in the Raw Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Jericho was knocked out by a kick to the head by Punk, rendering him unable to compete any further, and Punk went on to win that match. This incident further fueled Jericho's animosity towards Punk. On the February 20 episode of Raw, Jericho last eliminated Big Show to win a ten-man battle royal to determine the number-one contender to face Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII. In subsequent promos, both wrestlers expressed their desire to prove who is "the best in the world."[30]

Another title match scheduled is between Cody Rhodes and Big Show for the former's WWE Intercontinental Championship. Their feud gained increased momentum week after week when, over January and February 2012, Rhodes began mocking Big Show's less than stellar performances at WrestleMania over the years, calling him "a reverse Undertaker" (a direct reference to The Undertaker's undefeated 19-0 record at WrestleMania, compared to Big Show's 3-8 record), in addition to citing the "ridiculous nature" of some of his matches, such as his Sumo match against Akebono at WrestleMania 21 and a No Disqualifications match against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at WrestleMania XXIV, both of which Big Show lost. Rhodes also cost Big Show a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship, by eliminating him from the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in February, and a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, when he pulled Big Show over the top rope, aiding in his elimination by Chris Jericho in the end of a number-one contender's battle royal on the February 20 episode of Raw. On the March 2 episode of SmackDown, General Manager Theodore Long announced an official match between Rhodes and Big Show for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII, where the latter has vowed "to win at all costs."

At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in February 2012, Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manager, John Laurinaitis and his legal counsel David Otunga expressed Laurinaitis' desire to be become the permanent General Manager of both Raw and SmackDown. Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, and Christian all came out and voiced their support for Laurinaitis over SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long. Later that night, Long agreed with Laurinaitis' desire for only one man to run both brands, but believed that it should be him. On the February 21 episode of SmackDown, the two General Managers got into an argument following a match between Raw's WWE Champion CM Punk and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan that ended in a draw, with each man supporting the opposing brand's world champion. The two were then given the chance by the WWE Board of Directors to run the other show for one night in order for the Board to evaluate them, with Long running the March 5 episode of Raw and Laurinaitis in charge of the March 9 episode of SmackDown. But being still not convinced of either man's decision-making, on March 12, the Board of Directors announced a 12-man tag team match for WrestleMania XXVIII, with the stipulation that the General Manager of the winning team being awarded stewardship of both Raw and SmackDown. The same night on Raw, Long appointed his assistant, Santino Marella to be the captain of his team, while Laurinaitis appointed Otunga to be his team's captain, naming Mark Henry as the first member of his team. On March 15, it was announced that R-Truth had been added to Long's team. On the March 16 episode of SmackDown, Christian officially joined Team Johnny (on Laurinaitis' word of being named the new number one contendor for the World Heavyweight Championship after WrestleMania, if his team wins), and Kofi Kingston was announced as Team Teddy's newest member. Prior to the March 19 episode of Raw, Laurinaitis and Otunga announced via WWE.com that Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger have been added to their team as well. On the March 23 episode of SmackDown, Long named Zack Ryder and The Great Khali as members of Team Teddy, while also making Hornswoggle his team's mascot. And finally, on the March 26 episode of Raw, The Miz was added as the last member of Team Johnny, while due to Christian being (kayfabe) injured by CM Punk later on in the show (the real reason being Christian not having fully recovered from his real-life ankle injury), Drew McIntyre was announced as his replacement. Also, on the same night, Booker T was named as the sixth and final member of Team Teddy.

Another match scheduled for WrestleMania is between Divas Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres taking on the team of Kelly Kelly and Extra co-host Maria Menounos. The feud between Phoenix and Menounos began on the October 12, 2009 episode of Raw when Menounos accompanied then-Access Hollywood host Nancy O'Dell, who was the guest host of Raw that night. Phoenix, angered over having been traded to the SmackDown brand by O'Dell, barged into their office and got into a confrontation with both women, leading to a Six-Diva tag team match later that night in which Menounos' team defeated Phoenix's team. On the 2011 edition of Tribute to the Troops, Menounos made an appearance, this time in an Eight-Diva tag team match, winning the match for her team by pinning Phoenix. Kelly and Eve, on the other hand, had a falling apart of their friendship after Eve admitted to having used Zack Ryder and John Cena to further her own career. On the March 15 episode of Extra, Phoenix and Eve interrupted an interview between Kelly and Menounos, which resulted in a confrontation. Phoenix would then challenge Menounos to a match at WrestleMania, which the latter accepted. Later that night, it was announced on WWE.com that WWE officials had sanctioned a tag team match pitting Phoenix and Eve against Menounos and Kelly for WrestleMania XXVIII.

Another rivalry heading into WrestleMania is between Randy Orton and Kane. On the March 2 episode of SmackDown, Kane interrupted Orton's match against Daniel Bryan, causing Orton to lose via count-out. The two men ensued in a brawl, which ended with Orton ultimately being chokeslammed by Kane, who "welcomed [Orton] back" from being injured at the hands of Bryan a few weeks ago. Orton retaliated on the March 5 episode of Raw, by delivering an RKO to Kane, who had just defeated R-Truth. On the March 9 episode of SmackDown, Orton and Kane once again brawled at the end of the show with no man appearing to gain an advantage. The next week on SmackDown, when Orton demanded Kane to explain the root cause of his attacks on him, the latter referred to his handshake with Orton after a Street Fight on the July 22, 2011 episode of SmackDown, in which Orton had defeated him. Kane, explaining that the handshake made him look weak and "human," claimed that this "wretched" self was now gone, and now wanted to eliminate that memory, and announced that he would challenge Orton at WrestleMania XXVIII.

On March 30, WWE announced on their website that a Triple Threat Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between the defending champions Primo & Epico, The Usos (Jimmy and Jey), and the newly-formed team of Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd, would be streamed online free before the pay-per-view on both WWE.com and the official WWE YouTube channel.[31]

Scheduled matches

No. Match Stipulations
Pre-show Epico and Primo (c) vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) Triple Threat Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[31]
1 The Rock vs. John Cena Singles match[32]
2 Triple H vs. The Undertaker Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee [33]
3 CM Punk (c) vs. Chris Jericho Singles match for the WWE Championship[30]
4 Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Sheamus Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship[34]
5 Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Big Show Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[35]
6 Randy Orton vs. Kane Singles match[36]
7 Team Teddy (Santino Marella (captain), R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali, and Booker T) (with Hornswoggle) vs. Team Johnny (David Otunga (captain), Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, The Miz, and Drew McIntyre) (with Vickie Guerrero) Twelve-Man Tag Team match to determine General Manager of both the Raw and SmackDown brands.[37]
8 Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres Tag Team match[38]
(c) – refers to the champion heading into the match

References

  1. ^ WWE Music Group Tweet on X
  2. ^ WWE Music Group Tweet on X
  3. ^ WWE Music Group Tweet on X
  4. ^ WWE Music Group Tweet on X
  5. ^ "Official WWE WrestleMania XXVIII 4th Theme Song "The Memory Remains" by "Metallica"". WWE. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  6. ^ "About Us". Sun Life Stadium. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  7. ^ a b c "WrestleMania is Miami-bound in 2012". WWE. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-02-09.[dead link]
  8. ^ a b c d e f Varsallone, Jim (2011-02-09). "WrestleMania 28 headed to Sun Life Stadium". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2011-02-09.[dead link]
  9. ^ Schoolcraft, Lisa R. (2009-09-25). "Atlanta is bidding for WrestleMania". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  10. ^ a b c Rupani, Meena (2010-05-20). "Miami-Dade Sports Commission chair 'relentless' in wrestling showcase bid". Miami Today. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  11. ^ a b c Graser, Marc (2010-03-28). "WrestleMania sets off bidding frenzy". Variety. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  12. ^ a b c d Chang, Daniel (2011-02-09). "WWE's WrestleMania heading to Sun Life Stadium in 2012". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2011-02-10.[dead link]
  13. ^ "Diaz, McMahon, Sophia bring WrestleMania 28 to Miami". The Miami Herald. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2011-02-12.[dead link]
  14. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment of World Wrestling Entertainment". WWE. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  15. ^ Bishop, Matt (February 15, 2011). "Raw: Finally, The Rock has returned to WWE". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  16. ^ Plummer, Dale (March 28, 2011). "RAW: One last push toward Wrestlemania". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  17. ^ a b c Bishop, Matt (April 3, 2011). "The Rock costs Cena as The Miz retains at WrestleMania XXVII". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  18. ^ Adkins, Greg (2011-04-05). "Raw Results: C U at WrestleMania!". WWE. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  19. ^ "The Miz and R-Truth vs. John Cena and The Rock". WWE. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  20. ^ "WWE Championship". WWE. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  21. ^ Clapp, John (February 3, 2012). "Once Streak-obsessed, Triple H shrugs off Phenom". WWE. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Tylwalk, Nick (February 21, 2012). "Raw: Undertaker's reverse psychology and Cena's new attitude pay off". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  23. ^ Tylwalk, Nick (March 5, 2012). "Raw: The Rock teaches history while Shawn Michaels gets a WrestleMania role". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  24. ^ Murphy, Ryan. "Daniel Bryan won the SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match". WWE. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  25. ^ Michael, Burdick (2011-07-22). "SmackDown results: Calamity after the storm". WWE. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  26. ^ "Raw: Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry stand eye-to-eye one night before their steel cage clash for the World Heavyweight Title". WWE. November 28, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  27. ^ "Caldwell's WWE TLC PPV Report 12/18: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - TLC, Table, Ladder, Chair matches". James Caldwell. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  28. ^ Murphy, Ryan (January 29, 2012). "Sheamus won the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  29. ^ "SmackDown Results". Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  30. ^ a b "WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho". WWE. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  31. ^ a b "WWE Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match". WWE. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  32. ^ "John Cena vs. The Rock". WWE. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  33. ^ "The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Hell in a Cell Match with special referee Shawn Michaels)". WWE. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  34. ^ Giannini, Alex (February 19, 2012). "World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus". WWE. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  35. ^ "Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show". WWE. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  36. ^ "Randy Orton vs. Kane". WWE. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  37. ^ "Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny". WWE. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  38. ^ "Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos vs. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve". WWE. Retrieved 16 March 2012.

Template:WrestleMania venues

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WrestleMania_XXVIII&oldid=484822690"