WrestleMania 28 Review: 18-Second Victory by Sheamus Was a Perfect Opening

It was not a big hit with fans, but the 18-second victory by Sheamus to become the world heavyweight champion at the beginning of WrestleMania 28 was absolutely perfect.

The match began with Daniel Bryan turning to get a good luck kiss from his girlfriend AJ. He then turned from the kiss, and got a much bigger kiss from Sheamus in the form of a boot to the face. 

Bryan was out cold, he was pinned and the match was over. It took a grand total of 18 seconds and there was a new heavyweight champion. The fans in attendance were stunned, and judging by the reaction on Twitter, so were those at home.

Matt Hardy gives us a good taste of the kind of befuddled and mocking tone of countless tweets found after this match.

"

Don't sweat it.. Just saw the runsheet, the Sheamus-Bryan match will be revealed as an April Fool's Day joke.. Full match later tonight LOL

— Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 1, 2012"

While this result didn't offer a lot for fans to sink their teeth into, it was just the first of many fights, and it made them all a little more interesting. 

At WrestleMania, you expect every fight to be an epic marathon. This one came out and threw that perception in the garbage. It threw all kinds of beliefs in the trash. 

We are trained to believe when a wrestler turns his back for a delayed start that the other wrestler is just going to wait. Not this time. Sheamus knocked him into next week. 

There was no save from the pin at the count of "two." There was just the knockout. Every other match was much longer, but it progressed with fans unsure if a wrestler would get up after the first time they went to the mat.