With the first hour feeling a bit "lacking," this WrestleMania really felt like it kicked off after the sun went down and The Undertaker came out. WrestleManias are never, ever perfect and I'm of the opinion that if there are two, if not three, great matches, then it's a pretty epic event. The Rock faced John Cena. Triple H clashed with Undertaker. Punk and Jericho schooled everyone. Check out who won at WrestleMania XXVIII:

Well, that was fast. Daniel Bryan kissed AJ on the apron and then turned around and ate a kick from Sheamus. 1, 2, 3! Bryan will wind up blaming AJ for this, but hopefully he'll get the belt back soon. Man, and I was hoping for a really good match from these guys too. On the bright side though, other matches may get a bit more time. This crowd was also WAAAY into Bryan. There were a lot of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" chants. Hope this doesn't kill the fever too fast.

There's still a "Daniel Bryan" chant going on during the Kane/Orton match, btw.

Winner, and new World Heavyweight Champion, Sheamus!


Wow. Way to keep us on our toes WWE. The match itself was fine, with both men hitting their usual moves. But KANE WINNING? That was a shocker. Because this match doesn't really mean anything. But perhaps they're going to keep the Bryan/Sheamus feud going (rematch later tonight?) so they need to sideline Orton with someone else. Anyhow, Orton kicked out of the first chokeslam but couldn't overcome the chokeslam from the top rope.

Winner: Kane!


Of all the limited spots on a 'Mania card, I couldn't figure out why this match made it on. Or why THIS wasn't the match to end after five seconds instead of Bryan/Sheamus. I mean Big Show was going to win. The payoff to this story was that he was going to finally get his "winning Mania moment." So why not just have him knock out Cody right away? We'd all much rather watch Cody wrestle against a guy his own size.

Anyway, the match was fine. Nothing great. Cody went for the Beautiful Disaster kick and got slight-botch speared in the groin. Then came the WMD punch. The rest is history. Boring, boring history.

Winner, and new Intercontinental Champion, The Big Show!


No, Menounos didn't s*** herself. But, man, she did get a "Skidmarks" chant going after she mistakenly wore white pants and did a Double Stink Face with Kelly Kelly. So, yeah. Her butt "marking" was unfortunately/fortunately the most notable part of the match. Oh, and the HUGE "Daniel Bryan!" chant that broke out. Also, a nice GDYC! sign could be seen.

Kelly and Maria won after Ol' Poopy Pants rolled up Beth for the pin.

Winners: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounous!


20 and 0, my friends. I won't even TRY to break down what happened in this amazing match, but it was filled with chokeslams, Tombstones, Pedigrees, chair shots, slegehammer shots, Hell's Gates and more! Epic. It was a little slow to start since these guys brawled for about five minutes, but then it picked up after Triple H gave Taker a spinebuster onto the ring steps. No blood, but tons of drama. HBK added a lot of tension since at one point he stopped Hunter from using the sledgehammer and at another point he gave Taker Sweet Chin Music.

In fact, the pop of the match came after Taker took Chin Music AND a Pedigree and still kicked out. And the finish? The finish made everything come full circle, calling back to the end of Taker/HBK II, with Triple H on his knees and Taker crossing his thumb across his neck. Then...Tombstone (not Hunter's first one, mind you). And it was over. The three of them stood on the stage at the end, the reps of their era, waving and saying goodbye to the crowd of 78,000!

Winner, and owner of a 20-0 WrestleMania streak, The Undertaker!


AKA the crowded-as-hell match that squeezed everyone else on the roster into 'Mania. But still, it was fun. Not too bad. Some nice spots. Everyone in the crowd was basically waiting for Ryder to tag in the entire time. Plus, there was a lot of "teasing Miz losing" going on. At one point he took a Cobra from Santino and it looked like it was over. Then it looked like Ryder might finish him off. Eve was on hand though, and her distraction helped Miz hit Ryder with the Skull Crushing Finale for the Team Johnny win - ending his losing streak. And hopefully, with it, his losing-end storyline.

Because the guy who really paid for all our sins in this match was Ryder, who lost the match and then got kicked right in the ballskis by Eve. ARE YOU SERIOUS, HO?

Winner: Team Johnny!


Many people tweeted to me that they thought the crowd seemed dead on TV, but being here I think they were just watching more intently. Because they were definitely into this match. But this also was more the kind of contest that you savor. There was definitely a build here. The match started with Jericho trying to make Punk DQ himself since Laurinaitis told Punk that if he got DQ'd he'd lose the belt.

After that, the match was pretty much "see-saw back and forth" with, at one point, Jericho nailing Punk with an honest-to-goodness SUPLEX OFF THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! You know, that move that never ever happens? Anyhow, this thing got ridiculously great and then, after a finish that involved reversal upon reversal, Punk made Jericho tap to the Anaconda Vice! Some good s*** right here.

Winner, and still WWE Champion, CM Punk!


Man, great effing match. Plus, like with Hogan/Warrior and Hogan/Rock, the crowd really helped take this one above and beyond. Well paced, well executed and, well, The Rock won! It seems weird that some people billed this match as a "passing of the torch" scenario, when Cena, with his title reigns and tenure in the company, really doesn't need a torch passed to him. But I was still very surprised, pleasantly so, that The Rock won. No Brock Lesnar run in, just a clean finish. Both men hit each other with FU's and Rock Bottoms, Sharpshooters and STFUs. It was a grand affair.

But it was Cena going for his own People's Elbow at the end that did him in when he got caught with a final Rock Bottom as he bounced off the ropes! And it was over. Cena sat in the entrance aisle, stunned. And The Rock celebrated with an arena that was almost entirely pro-Rock. After the show, he walked around the ringside, laughing at a guy's "If Cena Wins, We Riot" sign, holding it to the camera. This wasn't a technical wrestling clinic by any means, but it was insanely fun.

The winner of the "Once in a Lifetime" match, The Rock!

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So what did you guys think of 'Mania? Yeah, there were some bad parts, and I lament the loss of an actual Daniel Bryan/Sheamus match, but the HHH/Taker, Punk/Jericho and Rock/Cena matches were all super-strong.

Matt Fowler is an Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @MattIGN.

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