WrestleMania 28: Why John Cena vs. the Rock Will Trump Hulk Hogan vs. the Rock

The clash between John Cena and The Rock at next month's WrestleMania XXVIII has repeatedly been called the biggest match in history, and while many don't think it can measure up to past classics like Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock, there are plenty of reasons to believe that it will far exceed it.

Make no mistake, when Hogan and The Rock met at WrestleMania X8, it was an epic encounter.

Hogan was supposed to be the heel, but he was cheered wildly, which made the atmosphere quite incredible. On top of that, it had the great "passing-of-the-torch moment" as The Rock won and shook hands with Hogan afterwards.

As good as the entire package was, there is plenty of revisionist history involved with the match.

When somebody says that Hogan vs. The Rock was a great match, that isn't entirely true. The circumstances surrounding the match and the crowd reactions were obviously great, but the match itself was just average.

Also, the card as a whole suffered because Hogan vs. The Rock wasn't the main event. Triple H vs. Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship was a good match, but there was no way it could live up to what Hogan and The Rock had created. The crowd had essentially reached its high point, and it was unable to garner as much enthusiasm for the main event.

Cena vs. The Rock figures to be better in plenty of aspects.

I'm not a Cena fan by any stretch of the imagination, and Hogan is one of my all-time favorites despite how many feel about him, but I'm quite willing to admit that Cena is the better in-ring worker.

That doesn't mean that I consider Cena to be fantastic in the ring, but he has had his share of solid matches, with his battle against CM Punk at Money in the Bank obviously coming to mind first.

I've also always thought of The Rock as underrated wrestler. Many have said that he has more sizzle than steak, and while he does rely on theatrics, he has always been incredibly athletic and has a fun moveset.

Because of that, there is no doubt in my mind that the wrestling itself will be much better than Hogan vs. The Rock was. Also, the WWE brass surely realizes the importance and magnitude of this match, so there is no doubt that it will go on last.

Match placement may seem insignificant to some, but a wrestling card should be a crescendo that culminates in the best and most-compelling match of the night.

The buildup for Cena vs. The Rock has taken a lot of abuse since The Rock only recently began appearing regularly on television, but it is far more purposeful than the build toward Hogan vs. The Rock. Hogan and The Rock didn't have any real beef, so while the match was cool, there was no sense of hatred.

Whether you've enjoyed it or not, the Cena vs. Rock match has been a long time coming and it has a good background. The Rock didn't like how Cena talked behind his back when he left and he thinks he's a phony, while Cena thinks that The Rock is too Hollywood and that he doesn't care about the business.

The feud works from every angle because while a lot of it is storyline-related, there seems to be some legitimate heat as well. We are currently in an era of wrestling that many claim to be the "Reality Era," so for a feud to have real-life aspects rather than being based solely in kayfabe, it truly takes the rivalry to an entirely different level.

When Hogan and The Rock wrestled, there wasn't such a divide in terms of whether or not The Rock should be the guy. While Hogan was cheered throughout the match, that was due to nostalgic purposes and not out of hatred for The Rock. Cena, on the other hand, has roughly half of the viewing audience that loves him, while the other half hates him.

The WWE is at a crossroads right now as Cena, who is supposed to be the super face that everyone loves, is also the most hated superstar in the company.

The WWE has the potential to make this something huge, and while I don't anticipate something as drastic as a Cena heel turn, you never know.

The atmosphere is going to be fantastic, the buildup has been sufficient and relevant, and there is going to be a dream match between two wrestlers that the WWE Universe is split down the middle on.

There really isn't any way this match can miss, and all signs point to it trumping Hogan vs. The Rock.