After all the incredible hype that actually began last year for this year's main event, WrestleMania XXVIII is finally upon us with the big show set to go off this evening in Miami at Sun Life Stadium with more than 70,000 fans expected to be in attendance and a million more likely watching on pay-per-view.
While this evening's show is generally seen as the culmination of the year's most compelling storylines and viewed as the group's biggest extravaganza, one of the most incredible things about WWE is the remarkable stamina and endurance of the people who work for the company in various capacities.
Although Mania follows four days of WWE Fan Axxess activities, dozens of media interviews and a slew of charitable events (all of which require incredible planning and logistical calculations), there is absolutely no rest for the weary.
Monday evening brings a traditionally highly rated post-Mania Raw from American Airlines Arena in Miami and Tuesday has Smackdown tapings scheduled for a few hours north in Orlando. Can you imagine the baseball season resuming the night after the final game of the World Series or the NFL going right back at it the day after the Super Bowl?
The Rock faces John Cena in the main event tonight and it is possible only Vince McMahon knows for sure at this point which way the bout will go. The speculation runs deep among those who attempt to put on the hat of the booker and try to figure out what the right direction for the company might be emerging from this ppv.
Rock has more movie roles lined up and will be going back to Hollywood (though he is expected at Raw Monday evening) and Cena will continue to be the face of the company going forward, so some folks feel Cena should get the duke. Others might say that a Rock victory allows for another protracted build for a rematch next spring at yet another outdoor stadium Mania in New Jersey.
Actually, a rematch between Rock and Cena could still easily be in the offing regardless of who wins this advertised "once in a lifetime" epic. Rematches have certainly been in vogue recently as evidenced by the semi-main event on this show between Triple H and Undertaker. Shawn Michaels as guest referee seems to add some uncertainty about the outcome, though breaking the Dead Man's streak even in the end of an era contest still seems unlikely.
Punk defends the WWE title against Jericho in a bout built heavily upon a personal grudge. Wouldn't be surprised to see either man win here. It depends upon how they want to use Y2J in the coming months. A title switch could extend the feud and the life of the program through Summerslam, but Jericho has lots of options and may or may not be here for a long stint.
Seems likely that Sheamus will eventually capture the world championship from the elusive Daniel Bryan, but it may or may not be tonight. Big Show looks primed to win the once prestigious Intercontinental belt from Cody Rhodes, but I would not necessarily expect all of these titles to change hands on this show as none of the championship matches are the real draw and will need to be more of the focus on the next ppv.
Randy Orton, relegated to working with Kane on the year's biggest show, will likely get a win there and move into the title picture with Sheamus or Bryan post-Mania. The 12-man tag to determine if it will be Teddy Long or John Lauranaitis running Raw and Smackdown would appear to be headed in Long's favor, but it is doubtful anybody really cares too much about that match, other than it gets a lot of guys who work hard all year a WrestleMania appearance and ppv payoff. Same can be said for the Diva tag event.
Last evening's Hall of Fame ceremonies from a sold-out American Airlines Arena included inductions of the Four Horsemen, Edge, Ron Simmons, Mil Mascaras, the late Yokozuna and Mike Tyson. The edited version of the festivities is scheduled to be televised on USA Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. - just before Raw and will not include everybody so those who eventually buy the WM DVD will probably get the most anticipated segments.
Big rumor going round suggesting Brock Lesnar may be coming back to WWE in the not too distant future. Rey Mysterio should soon be returning from his time away for another knee surgery and Evan Bourne has managed to get injured while out of action due to a second wellness policy violation.
As has been the case in recent years, other promotions tried to take advantage of WWE's WrestleMania drawing the most rabid wrestling fans from all over the United States and several foreign countries to its location by scheduling shows of their own in the vicinity. Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate USA each had two iPPV shows scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
There was also a tribute to Florida Championship Wrestling show set for yesterday, so if you took the time and spent the money to go to WrestleMania, you could also get a taste of some excellent wrestling offered by smaller promotions in more intimate venues to add to your wrestling vacation weekend.
If you have no job to return home for or are simply independently wealthy, you can always stay in sunny Florida and catch TNA Impact tapings in Orlando on Monday and Tuesday. For wrestling fans, this is a heavenly time of year.