WWE WrestleMania 28 Results: Was It Worth the PPV Money?

It was no April Fools' Day joke for wrestling fans looking to watch WrestleMania from the comfort of their own homes. At the home that I watched the pay-per-view from, the service would set you back $55 for an HD version of WrestleMania XXVIII. Yes, it was in high definition. We are in 2012, after all.

The important question for every PPV purchase is five simple words: was it worth it? There's no real way of knowing about it before, but the hype sure tries to help sell the event. WrestleMania is often more expensive than your regular PPV as well. Not only is it due to the extra hour of coverage, but it is also WrestleMania—the biggest event of the entire calendar year.

So, did the money spent match up with the entertainment put out?

Let's break down the pros and cons of each match, how much each bout brought to the table and tabulate how much WrestleMania 28 was actually worth. It isn't like refunds can be handed out. This isn't Halloween Havoc 1998, where refunds were being given out everywhere.

World Heavyweight Championship Match

This was probably the match that deserved to be the dark match, not the one that ended in a no-contest between these two at last year's WrestleMania. Luckily, this match lapped WrestleMania 24's ECW Championship match, which lasted all of eight seconds. A match that many would hope would last 18 minutes lasted just 18 seconds.

All that happened after the bell rang was Bryan kissing his girlfriend, getting a Brogue Kick to the face and being pinned for three. Sheamus celebrating afterward was minutes longer than this match. Heck, it took longer for either of these men to make it to the ring than it took for them to actually have the match.

A feud with little build being put on that early in the night and not lasting one entire minute? Why? Don't they realize that some people had delays in the event starting on their television sets? There were some people who could have missed the entire world title match! This would have been worth it on free television, and it wasn't even on there.

Worth: $0

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Randy Orton did not have a good birthday at WrestleMania 28 as he ended up falling to Kane in their matchup. The ending had Orton literally doing some falling as he was chucked from the second rope with a thunderous chokeslam, which did Orton in ultimately. It's fitting that a feud sparked by a handshake was terminated from Kane's hand clutching the throat of Orton.

There were a few interesting spots in this match, and it all looked cool and long, considering the opening contest being so short. Running just shy of 11 minutes, it ended up as the fourth-longest match of the night.

Some great counters and exciting nearfalls were in this match to at least keep things interesting. It was also nice to see Kane get a WrestleMania victory. Kane now hasn't lost at WrestleMania, with Money in the Bank matches aside, since losing to The Great Khali at WrestleMania 23.

This was a heck of a lot better than the first match, obviously. It probably should have been the opening contest ultimately. In fact, it pretty much could be considered that much. It was good enough for a few bucks, but it wasn't the reason that the event was bought by anyone.

Worth: $5

Intercontinental Championship Match

What does it say about a brand that their midcard title match had so much more time than their world title match?

It hopefully says big things are in store for Cody Rhodes. That's certainly the mentality about him following his loss to The Big Show at WrestleMania. After 236 days as champion, the title has a new look and a new sense of importance in WWE, which we can thank Rhodes for.

We can also thank The Big Show for making quick work of Rhodes, lasting just over five minutes in the second-shortest match of the night. It didn't feel like a WrestleMania-caliber match though and probably could have been done on a SmackDown episode all the same.

It gave us all another look at The Big Show's lack of WrestleMania moments, but his title win would add both a positive and negative one for the giant. Winning the belt was big, but his reaction to victory had him blubbering and not knowing what to do with himself. The Big Show was an emotional mess that would be outdone by a certain special referee later on in the night.

Worth: $4

Divas Tag Team Match

What was there really to expect here? A poor build leads to a sub-par Divas tag team match at WrestleMania. Despite having broken her ribs in practice for Dancing with the Stars, Maria Menounos had those ribs possibly aggravated again. She seemed fine after all, but WWE might have had her booked too heavy, considering she is a celebrity and an injured one at that.

Kelly Kelly may have been the worst of the four athletically, but pulled out a well-executed sunset flip from the top rope, which was unusual from her. It seemed too risky to do that regularly in matches, but it was a nice spot. As if it wasn't predictable, Menounos got the pinfall victory with a roll-up, a staple of babyface Divas in the past few months.

Nobody bought this to see this match, but the girls did look good. If a guy could look away from Menounos for a minute to stop contemplating that that stain on her white pants was (it was spray tan from Eve's face, by the way), this match was about what was anticipated, which wasn't much.

Worth: $3

Hell in a Cell Match

This match was one of those matches where WWE put a whole bunch of eggs into this basket. Between this match and The Rock and John Cena, these were the two matches that were the selling points for this event.

They billed this match as the end of an era, and it was exactly that. With that said, if you liked this match better than last year's encounter between these two, I don't quite know where your thought process is.

I guess it will be one of those matches historically that you either couldn't get enough of or was just one that you thought would have been better. Ultimately, the sequel rarely beats the original, and this match proved that.

The Hell in a Cell did only a few things. It helped keep the pace of the match early on from being an absolute standstill. It also eliminated the countout possibility that just would ruin a match had Undertaker suffered an injury of had a hard time getting up.

Undertaker looked like he was in bad shape from the very beginning, but he seemed to have enough to make the match interesting when he needed it to be. There was too much of a story told by Shawn Michaels as a special guest referee, whose only job in a Hell in a Cell match is to count a pinfall. Taking bumps and removing weapons doesn't fall into that category. It nearly ruined the match entirely.

This is a moment that needed to be seen. The emotion between the three at the end showed me that it really was the end of an era and likely is the final match either man will ever compete in again. For that, the price of this match goes up.

Worth: $15

12-Man Tag Team Match

This match probably would have been better suited for Bragging Rights to return one more time this summer. This match could have main-evented that event and had plenty of importance by then. Instead, this buildup seemed rather rushed.

There were multiple stars who could have been on either team but were held out for injury purposes. In time, even main-event caliber talent could have been sprinkled in. When Drew McIntyre and Booker T need to be thrown in days before to save it, there's an issue.

This match also should have been an elimination tag team match. It only got 10-and-a-half minutes as it was, so making it elimination tag could have doubled that and trimmed some of the fat from the rest of the event. Things broke down as they usually do in big tag team matches.

Teams alternate with moves that knock opponents out of the ring, which left Zack Ryder and The Miz in the ring. I still couldn't follow if those were the two legal men in the ring, but I suppose that basic aspects of tag team wrestling matches get thrown out the window.

Eve was going to cost Ryder the match, which seemed likely from the start. The Miz getting the pinfall means that The Awesome One is in line for some good things in his future. This match could have been a bigger deal, but it wasn't, and it sure acted like it wasn't.

Worth: $8

WWE Championship Match

This is my favorite match for the night. Chris Jericho and CM Punk wrestled the match that we had waited to see for three months. Thankfully, they were given 22 minutes to do a fantastic job at wrestling a great match. It was a refreshing sight to see these two with unique holds and adjusting their submissions slightly. It was honestly about as close as it comes to amateur wrestling or MMA inside a WWE ring.

Jericho was in great shape for this match, and there were a few spots in the match where I feared that Jericho couldn't perform that spot correctly, and he proved me wrong. There was a fear in my mind that I would be talking about how Punk carried Jericho through this match, but I really don't feel that way.

It seems like Punk will be moving on with his championship, while Jericho may be moving on with his career, but this match is a crown jewel for both of them, especially for Punk and his upcoming DVD for this year. This match belongs on that DVD if the release dates line up well enough.

Worth: $13

The Rock vs. John Cena

A half hour was devoted to this match, and I was happy to see that it didn't really disappoint me. In the first few minutes, I was concerned that The Rock was having an issue. That shot he took on the barricade on the outside didn't hit his head at all but may have bumped a rib or even did some damage to his left arm.

He practically ran over to the announce table to tell Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole something. It looked for a second like an injury could have messed up a once in a lifetime match. Cena was even caught on camera being told to come back out and get The Rock back into the ring to avoid a countout.

The Rock still looked great and did enough to make this a watchable match. He was clearly calling spots for this match aloud, but that's all forgivable in the end. This match was pure electricity that just wasn't there last year. WrestleMania is a big deal for matches like this.

This match changes the game for a few reasons. For one, it all but promises that The Rock sticks around for at least one more match. It also says that Cena, who was going to be without a feud this morning anyway, will go through an interesting journey in the coming weeks and months.

This wasn't the best match that I had ever seen, but it was obviously a lot that was trying to be done and some of the performance suffered. The Rock was having trouble helping Cena with his arm drags, and Cena overshot a leg drop from the top rope that he had way too much time to set up for. Mistakes aside, I liked this match. I'll love it if it is the only one of its kind.

Worth: $14

Others and Extras

There were a few things thrown in with the matches as well. The Flo Rida and MGK performances were all but useless, which goes double for that Deadliest Catch ad backstage. The only thing that awful segment showed me is that Mick Foley is paying debt off for his Hall of Fame bid next year.

The Brodus Clay segment was just ridiculous and that's probably why it worked out a little bit. I don't think it really was needed, but I thought it was funny at first that he actually called his momma. The fact that his momma and about 30 of her stereotypical friends were all backstage was just nuts. It's also clear that someone thinks big butts on women are hilarious on older women.

The only added worth to this night besides the matches was Jim Ross on commentary for the Hell in a Cell match. Fittingly, he helped to end an era with his storytelling, but the yelling and crying in the ring by Shawn Michaels really limited Ross to do what he needed to do.

He also could have stuck around for the remaining three matches, although Cole and Lawler didn't actually ruin any matches tonight. I guess it says something that it's a notable thing that they didn't ruin anything.

Worth: $3

Recap

Undertaker/Triple H: $15

The Rock/Cena: $14

Punk/Jericho: $13

Team Johnny/Team Teddy: $8

Kane/Orton: $5

Rhodes/Show: $4

Divas Tag Team: $3

Others: $3

Bryan/Sheamus: $0

Total: $65

So, with a $55 investment in an HD version of WrestleMania, those who purchased the event were treated to $10 more than what they asked for. Most of the card did not help anything, but the Hell in a Cell match changed that.

Even if it could have been better, the simple idea of what it represents is worth enough to make that match valuable. You'll remember where you were for this WrestleMania, and three matches definitely proved what the rest of the card needs to live up to.

I couldn't call it the best WrestleMania I've ever seen, but it does surpass last year's and is around the level of the last few WrestleManias. It could have been an absolute dud, especially given its first hour being four putrid matches. A three-hour WrestleMania, which probably would have been around $40 would have been a better bargain.

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