I don’t think I was ever more excited to wake up at 4 AM after 3 hours sleep than when I got ready to fly to Miami for Wrestlemania XXVIII on Friday, March 30. The flight was quick with the only inconvenience being that I had to cover my ears with headphones so as to not hear two jackasses behind me try to spoil the ending of the 3rd book of The Hunger Games. I quickly got in a shuttle with some other wrestling fans to our hotel and made it to the Hyatt Regency Miami just before lunch time. Because my two buddies Justin and Anthony were not going to arrive for a bit, I decided to venture out, check out the surrounding area, and grab some lunch.
My first impression was that the harbor was just incredible looking. A good traveler never goes anywhere unprepared. Before the trip, I prepared a restaurant list with all types of cuisine. My first stop was Sparky’s Roadside Barbecue, a no frills bar serving up the usual options with a plethora of different sauces. I was very pleased with my selection of the BBQ Pork sandwich with fried pickles, mac & cheese, and coleslaw. The meat was succulent, the sauces were divine, and I was immediately rejuvenated for the rest of the day. By the time the meal was over, my friends had arrived and I reunited with Anthony and Justin for the first time in almost three years. We previously attended Wrestlemania XXIV in Orlando and made a pact to go again if something huge happened in a good city. With the Rock returning to wrestling to face John Cena in his first singles match in 8 years and the venue being the gorgeous city of Miami, the time was now to return.
After some introductory conversation and pool time, we headed to the incredible River Oyster Bar for Happy Hour oysters, beverages, and dinner. I had a salmon with crab fried rice, some raw oysters, several Stella Artois drafts, and a Macadamia Nut sundae. Everything delivered in spades and our next stop was Ocean Drive to attend a party hosted by ex-wrestlers Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, X-Pac, and Rikishi at Ocean’s Ten Club. You knew you were surrounded by hardcore wrestling fans when at a beautiful open-air club, fans were chanting “YES, YES, YES” in support of Indy Legend and at the time World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan all night long. From what I could tell, the wrestlers were very gracious with the fans. The atmosphere was awesome and it was a great way to introduce ourselves to the city.
On Saturday morning, we woke early to attend Wrestlemania Axxess, an annual WWE theme park of sorts that they set up at a convention center with exhibits, meet and greets, and live matches. It was a complete thrill to get to meet Roddy Piper, a main eventer at the first Wrestlemania and living legend, at the morning session. He took pictures with me and my friends, talked to us a bit, and seemed extremely pleased to be there. Another thrill was getting to audition for The Marine 3. WWE Studios is a joke itself, but getting to act out a scene on camera in front of my friends was humorous and provided several great photo opportunities. I also loved getting to take a picture with the replica WWE title belt over my head. One other factoid was how popular CM Punk was. At the “ Superstar Entrance” attraction at Axxess, people mostly chose CM Punk’s “Cult of Personality” over that of the Rock, Triple H, and John Cena to name a few. The summer of Punk which got the man in Rolling Stone and On Bill Simmons’ podcast propelled his merchandise to surpass the sales of John Cena in the 4th quarter last year, the first time in six years someone did that. Hopefully the company continues to use Punk strongly as he can be an asset for them for years to come.
Later that day, we went to an incredible Italian Restaurant Fratelli Milano that delivered an authentic taste of Italy in the heart of Miami. This provided us the fuel to walk over to the American Airlines Arena for the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. WWE initiated a dress code of “neat casual” this year, a standard so confusing that people showed up in tees and shorts, tuxedos, and golf shirts and jeans (what I wore). The big inductees this year were the 4 Horsemen (Ric Flair’s signature stable) and Edge (one of the best workers in the past 12 years who’s career was derailed due to nagging neck injuries at the age of 38). The Hall has a reputation as the classiest night of the year in the industry and this year’s ceremony lived up to that. After giving credit to all the performers that got him to where he went in the business, Edge was hilarious in reflecting on some of the best moments of his journey. A highlight was a discussion of rooming with Tommy Dreamer on the road one night after he told Edge that he didn’t snore. Suffice to say, Dreamer lied and Edge got up in the middle of the night buck naked, did the Superfly Jimmy Snuka pose, and gave Dreamer the Snuka splash (check Youtube for what it looks like) to stop the horrendous noise. He also made a great comparison of his three best friends in the business to the Seinfeld cast. Rather than be played off to the generic Hall of Fame Music, WWE paid for Foo Fighters and Edge rocked out at the end of his speech performing 5-second poses to tremendous crowd adoration and applause. It’s sad to see Edge done at 38 years old, but the guy is in a good place and will definitely do some big things in the future.
Ric Flair, who was inducted back in 2008 before his last match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXIV, cried like a baby and was so honored to be the first double-inductee. He told stories of partying till the wee hours of morning with John Cena and telling his 4th wife that he would never grow up. Why? “I’m a horseman baby, WOOOOO!” There was also a funny tail about his 2nd wife where she wanted to go home one night. Ric, being the party animal he is, said he wouldn’t leave until close and that if his wife mentioned going home again, he would punt her purse across the bar. She asked again, he punted the purse across the bar, and divorce number two was set in motion. Each of the Four Horsemen got to deliver speeches and you could see how emotional the public recognition of their work from two decades ago made them.
We capped off Saturday night with several drinks and shots at Hoops Bar across from American Airlines Arena. The bartenders were dressed in referee attire that fit in with the hundreds of televisions throughout the facility. It was a great way to discuss what we witnessed and get ready for the main event on Sunday. Mania day kicked off with an Al Fresco brunch at Deli-Lane Café and pre-game at the hotel pool with Bud Lights. Eventually the bus transportation included into the package arrived and we took off for Sun Life Stadium. Our seats were great due to the travel package as they put you directly across from the hard camera. Besides the incredible production which included as much pyro and fireworks as you would see at Disney World, a beautiful set, military flyover, and a touching rendition of America the Beautiful from Lillian Garcia, this Wrestlemania will be remembered most for the End of an Era Hell in the Cell Match between Undertaker and Triple H with Shawn Michaels as guest referee and the Rock/Cena Once in a Lifetime main event. An honorable mention of something that will be remembered is the birth of the “YES, YES, YES” chants that got Daniel Bryan a new t-shirt following the weekend’s festivities.
From the facial expressions to the move combinations and false finishes, Triple H and Undertaker put on a classic that will be talked about for years to come. The crowd repeatedly chanted, “This is awesome,” and there was a feeling that Taker might finally go down at Wrestlemania after Michaels delivered sweet chin music sending the Deadman right into a pedigree for a great near-fall. Instead after dozens of chair shots, sledgehammer hits, and other assorted shenanigans, Taker took Hunter’s sledgehammer away from him, wacked him in the head with it, and tombstone piledrove him for the finish. After the 20-0 banner flashed on the stage, all three men hugged celebrating the culmination of a 4 year storyline of Undertaker working with Triple H and Shawn Michaels at the biggest show of the year to a large standing ovation.
Rock/Cena was pure spectacle with the crowd firmly behind hometown boy Rock and booing John Cena out of the building. The Rock had Flo Rida play him out to the ring, while Cena had Diddy product Machine Gun Kelly. The match was a 30 minutes of back and forth action with loud chants, momentum swings, charisma, and one heck of a finish. Most smart fans expected Cena to go over as Rock is a movie star while Cena works every week. Rock went for a cross-body off the top rope and was caught by Cena who gave him the Attitude Adjustment, a move where Cena lifts his opponent above his shoulders and drives him into the mat. Rock kicked out of the pin attempt causing Cena to mockingly go for a people’s elbow, the Rock’s signature move. Rock got up during Cena’s attempt and hit a Rock bottom to get the win to one of the loudest ovations I’ve ever been a part of. The Sun Life Stadium crowd was party-like as the Rock walked around thanking everyone to end the night. While WWE had Brock Lesnar in the back ready to re-debut imminently, it was smart to let the Rock have his moment with the fans before heading back to Hollywood.
Overall Wrestlemania functions as a time capsule of the year that was in WWE where storylines culminate in epic fashion in front of a stadium-sized crowd. This was easily one of the best ones WWE has put on and it was awesome to attend it with my friends and take it all in. While the talent roster is incredibly thin in WWE right now, bringing back vets like the guys mentioned above gave the show that special feel. Miami delivered on everything including the exceptional weather, great venues, banners around the city to get the word out, awesome food, drinks, and great accommodations. I would not be shocked to see the city to receive another Wrestlemania someday.
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