WrestleMania XXVIII took place last night at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami.  It turned out to a great show with many memorable matches, highlighted by the HIAC match between HHH and the Undertaker, and the Rock defeating John Cena in the main event.  Thanks to various conversations and text messages throughout the course of the night, our wrestling panel of Aaron “Lake Show” Waymire, Jon Davis, Bobby Morello, BJR, and William “Drew” Cloninger were able to share their sentiments on the happenings as they took place.

Pre-first match/opening of Mania

JD:  I like the crowd; they already seem to into it.

BJR:  I’d like to see someone get beat with a palm tree.  8 out of 10 on the set. 

PAC:  This is going to be good. 

Opening match:  Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship, which lasted all of 18 seconds

Morello:  Can anyone be that white?

JD:  Michael Cole, nice pink vest….here we go.

Morello:  Shortest match in Mania history?

PAC:  Poor Daniel Bryan. 

Drew:  Really?  Terrible.

BJR:  HHH said he’d give him the title if he has a short match so we have more time for the wet blanket later. 

Waymire:  Maybe Daniel Bryan’s hurt?

JD:  Can’t the EVP come out and restart this?

Randy Orton vs. Kane, Kane wins.

PAC:  Great mask.

JD:  You see that BWO shirt in the crowd?

BJR:  I’d have no problem watching Kane fight all the time, he still has it. 

PAC:  Is that a Daniel Bryan chant?  Slightly surprised they had Kane go over.

Drew:  No interest. 

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Big Show for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Big Show takes it.

JD:  Big Show getting a little fat again huh?

PAC:  Cody rocking the white boots.

Morello:  No interest.

Drew:  Surprised about that one.

BJR:  That match was so-so.

PAC:  I expected better.

JD:  Three matches down and we are only 45 minutes in. 

Waymire:  This whole “predict the pay-per-view” thing hasn’t gone so well for me. 

Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve

Waymire:  Wow, the main event this early…interesting. 

PAC:  Love Kelly Kelly, but still bold strategy. 

Morello:  Time for a bathroom break. 

BJR:  I like Eve’s style.

Drew:  No interest.

Morello:  Did I just see a sign that said Mario Lopez is a tool?

Waymire:  Wasn’t too bad, good flip from Kelly. 

Triple H vs. The Undertaker Hell in a Cell match with special guest referee Shawn Michaels, Taker wins to improve his Mania record to 20-0

JD:   Jim Ross!  About flipping time.

Morello:  How many superkicks do we see from HBK this match?

JD:   Over/under is two. 

PAC:  Nothing like a Taker/Mania entrance. 

BJR:  Great entrances.  Never gets old, either one. 

Waymire:  These entrances alone took longer than like 15 Daniel Bryan matches. 

PAC:  AA spinebuster!   

JD:   Taker doing a great job of selling, he is getting beat to shit.    

Morello:  There’s sweet chin music #1.

JD:   Did they really just bleep out “suck it”?

Drew:  Better than expected.  Where’s Brock?

PAC:  Waiting for his music to hit.   

Waymire:  I really liked it, they got the most out of those two that they could. 

Hall of Fame class of 2012

JD:  Why does Howard Finkel always look like a homeless person?

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) 12-man tag team match. The General Manager of the winning team will become the General Manager of both Raw and SmackDown.  Team Johnny gets the win. 

BJR:  EVP of TR and Interim RAW GM shops with Coach Pitino. 

PAC:  EVP of TR looking like a million dollars. 

Drew:  Loving the white suit. 

Morello:  Ryder mania.

Waymire:  Once again, Khali has stolen the show.

BJR:  Poor Miz.

Waymire:  Eve, that dam jezebel!!

PAC:  Love the EVP.

Pre Punk/Y2J Match, camera flashes to Andy Garcia in the crowd

BJR:  Terry Benedict!!  Taking in Mania. 

PAC:  The Bellagio, the Mirage, MGM Grand....

CM Punk (c) vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship, Punk retains belt

JD:  WWE could’ve done a better job hyping this match.

Waymire:  Great end to that match.

BJR:  Awesome match.

PAC:  Lived up to the billing.

The Rock vs. John Cena, Rock bests Cena in epic back and forth match

JD:  My biggest problem with Cena is that he wears jean shorts.  Really?  Jean shorts?

BJR:  Rock owns that stadium right now.

JD:  Great stare down.

PAC:  Wow, the crowd is unbelievable.

BJR:  Flipping awesome.

JD:  From a wrestling standpoint this is already better than Rock/Hogan.

BJR:  WC (aka Drew) is disgusted with the People’s Elbow.

PAC:  WC’s gotta drink it in. 

JD:  This is why I hate Cena. 

After Rock wins…

JD:  Bam!!!

PAC:  Yes!  Call me surprised. 

BJR:  Victory!  Not bad for a 10 year break!  

Waymire:   That was really good, the crowd was awesome.

BJR:  Benedict is a Rock fan.  WC and I agree to 7 out of 10 for Mania overall.

PAC:  I might even go 8 out of 10, best Mania in quite a while.