Brock Lesnar Returns To WWE, Attacks John Cena On Monday Night Raw

Brock Lesnar has quite a few fans in the Minnesota area considering his escapades both as a wrestler for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as well as his exploits in mixed martial arts as a member of the UFC (we'll forget about the failed endeavor with the Minnesota Vikings). On Monday night, however, the former heavy weight champion of the world triumphantly returned to professional wrestling by attacking John Cena on WWE's Monday Night Raw.

Lesnar didn't show up until very late in the show, during a monologue where Cena was recapping his fight with The Rock at Sunday night's Wrestlemania 28. Cena had mentioned that he wasn't ready to "call out" The Rock for next year's Wrestlemania and the crowd ran with it, starting a "We Want Lesnar" chant.

Cena ignored the chants for the most part, but eventually Lesnar's entrance music hit and the crowd went wild. The behemoth of a man then walked down to the ring, extended his hand to Cena and -- instead of the firm handshake your's truly once was given at a promotional appearance in lovely Bismarck, N.D. -- Lesnar loaded Cena on to his shoulder's before slamming him to the ground using the "F5" slam that finished quite a few professional wrestlers during his first stint in the promotion.

Lesnar than celebrated on the ring's ropes while Raw went off the air without saying a single word, meaning nothing has been officially decided, but it seems as though it could easily set up Lesnar versus Cena at next year's Wrestlemania.

Brock Lesnar Could Be At WWE's Monday Night Raw After Missing Wrestlemania

Brock Lesnar is a Minnesota institution, having won NCAA wrestling championships as a heavyweight with the Minnesota Golden Gophers as well as keeping a home base in the state during his run in the UFC. The mountain of a man is rumored to have re-signed with the WWE now, though, and was expected to make his return to professional wrestling at Sunday night's Wrestlemania 28.

Lesnar didn't make an appearance on Sunday night, however, and nothing was mentioned about him on the pay-per-view. Our friends over at Cageside Seats mentioned that it could all just be setting Lesnar up for an appearance on Monday Night Raw.

But he never showed up, despite reports that he was backstage at Sun Life Stadium. Maybe he was there and simply finalizing a deal to drop in at a later time or maybe he was supposed to do a run-in and the script was rewritten at the last minute. No matter what it was, Lesnar did not appear on the pay-per-view broadcast.

His name wasn't mentioned by anyone in WWE either. Well, except for The Rock during the pre-event press conference. When asked who he could envision as potential future WrestleMania opponents, "The Great One" pegged both Lesnar and Undertaker.

To that end, Lesnar could drop by tonight at Raw for a surprise appearance, seeing as it's being held at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. And speculation is still high that WWE has plans to announce the main event of WrestleMania 29 in New Jersey next year on tonight's show.

If people needed a reason to tune into professional wrestling, maybe Lesnar's return is it. Maybe.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: The Rock Pins John Cena

I joked earlier about the fact that people were actually able to bet on Wrestlemania. Luckily for me, I didn't actually bet, because I would have only wound up batting .500. . .a figure that isn't terribly good in the betting world.

Yes, in a result that makes pretty much no sense to me for reasons that I detailed in the preview, The Rock pinned John Cena clean as a whistle in the main event of Wrestlemania XXVIII in The Rock's home town of Miami, Florida.

Overall it was a pretty good match, with both men kicking out of various finishing manuevers. . .Cena kicking out of the Rock Bottom and the People's Elbow while The Rock kicked out of the Attitude Adjustment and managed to work his way out of the STF. The end of the match was a nifty little sequence as well. Rock came off of the top rope with a cross-body, but Cena rolled through it and managed to put The Rock on his shoulders, hitting another Attitude Adjustment and getting a two-count.

Cena then got a little too greedy and tried to hit The People's Elbow on its innovator, but got tripped up. Cena then ate another Rock Bottom, and got pinned by The Brahma Bull in the middle of the ring.

There were no run-ins and no other interference of any kind, just Cena and The Rock going at it one-on-one. The match went over thirty minutes, which is fairly impressive considering that The Rock hadn't been in a match that long in a very long time.

With this result, I have no idea where they go from here. I'm pretty sure that Rock isn't coming back as a full-time competitor, so I don't know what the wisdom of having him win here is, but that's the path WWE has chosen to take. I guess we'll just have to tune into Raw tomorrow night to see what kind of payoff comes from this.

All in all, a better-than-average show, with things really picking up after the first hour. Match of the night honors clearly go to Triple H and the Undertaker for bringing the house down in their Hell in a Cell match, and the worst match. . .if you can call it that. . .easily goes to the 18-second debacle between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan.

We hope you've enjoyed our coverage of Wrestlemania XXVIII, and we hope you'll be following along again next year when we give you all the goods on Wrestlemania XXIX from East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: C.M. Punk Defeats Chris Jericho, Retains WWE Title

In a match that was probably a little too short, C.M. Punk retained his WWE Title by defeating Chris Jericho in the semi-main event of Wrestlemania XXVIII.

Prior to the match, John Laurinaitis told Punk that he wanted "a wrestling match, not a brawl." He subsequently made the rule that if Punk got disqualified, Jericho would win the title. As a result, the first part of the match consisted of Jericho attempting to get Punk angry enough to get himself disqualified, but to no avail.

Both men attempted their finishers on numerous occasions, with Punk attempting to hit the Go To Sleep and Jericho trying to lock in the Lion Tamer/Walls of Jericho, but each time their adversary was able to escape. Eventually, Punk locked in the Anaconda Vice submission manuever, and Y2J had little choice but to tap out, giving the match and the title (temporarily) of "Best In the World" to the Second City Saint.

I was hoping that this match would get a little more time, but you had to expect that the main event was going to get a huge time slot, taking into account the entrances and things of that nature. That said, Punk and Jericho did a pretty good job with the time they were given, but the crowd was a little on the dead side early on.

Speaking of the main event, the one you've all been waiting for, it will close the show next as John Cena takes on The Rock.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: Team Johnny Defeats Team Teddy

April Fools Day was not terribly kind to Zack Ryder, as the Long Island Iced Z took the fall that allowed Team Johnny to defeat Team Teddy in the 12-man tag team match to determine who would be in charge of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown.

In the end, Ryder appeared to have The Miz right where he wanted him, as he had him set up in the corner for the Broski Boot. Eve Torres, who was at ringside after her match earlier in the evening, got into the ring to celebrate with Ryder, but as they fist-bumped, Miz came up behind Ryder to hit the Skull-Crushing Finale and secure the victory for Team Johnny.

After the match, Eve was consoling Ryder in the ring after the loss. . .right up until the part where she kicked him in the groin and dropped him like a three-foot putt. That, everybody, is what we call a "heel turn."

The result of this match means that John Laurinaitis, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Monday Night Raw™, is now in charge of both Raw and Smackdown, effective immediately, and that Teddy Long is out of a job.

Just two matches left for the evening, with Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk locking horns for the WWE Championship next.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: Undertaker Defeats Triple H To Run Streak To 20-0

If anyone ever asks you why it is that you watch and enjoy professional wrestling, find a copy of this match and show it to them.

This, ladies and gentlemen. . .this is why you watch and enjoy professional wrestling.

In what was billed as "The End of an Era," The Undertaker defeated Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match to run his career record at Wrestlemania to an even 20-0, defeating The Game for the third time during that streak and the second year in a row. This was The Dead Man's first match since last Wrestlemania, and just Triple H's second, and it looked as though neither one of them had taken a break.

Undertaker showed a new look in this one, as his trademark long, black hair was gone. He said that he had cut his hair every day until Triple H accepted his Wrestlemania challenge. I'm not sure of the connection, but he's the Undertaker, and hence can do whatever he darn well pleases.

Triple H got things going by beating the heck out of Undertaker's back with chair shots in the early going, and was screaming at special referee Shawn Michaels to stop the match, but the Undertaker begged The Heartbreak Kid not to. At one point, when it looked like Michaels might stop the match after all, The Undertaker put him in the Hell's Gate submission manuever until Michaels passed out, and when Triple H landed a shot with his trusty sledgehammer, there was no referee to be found. Eventually, Charles Robinson came down as the replacement official, and the match continued.

The match continued on, and there were many times when it appeared that The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak was in jeopardy, but in the end The Dead Man hit Triple H with a Tombstone piledriver and got the three count to push his Wrestlemania streak to new heights.

After the match, all three men pretty much left the ring together and embraced at the top of the ramp. If this is, indeed, Undertaker's last match, he picked a heck of a match to go out on. In the previews, I said that Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk would likely put together the best wrestling match of the night, and they probably will.

But this was probably your Match of the Year for 2012, ladies and gentlemen. My words can't even begin to do it justice. If you're a fan of sports entertainment, you owe it to yourself to find a way to watch this match.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: Maria Menounos And Kelly Kelly Defeat Beth Phoenix And Eve

Did I say we had gotten three matches in during the first hour of Wrestlemania XXVIII?

Yeah, better make that four.

In a strange booking decision, the Divas tag team match went on much earlier than I had anticipated, but the result was definitely not a surprise, as the team of Extra's Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly triumphed over Eve and Beth Phoenix. The match was better than expected, and one could even probably say that Menounos looked significantly better in the ring than her tag team partner did.

The end came when Menounos and Kelly shoved Beth Phoenix into Eve, knocking Eve off of the apron and allowing Menounos to roll her up for the victory.

And, yes, this match got more time than the first two matches put together. Why this is, I really don't know.

Half of the matches on the card have been completed in the first hour of the show. Maybe this year's Wrestlemania isn't a four-hour affair after all. It has been for the past few years, but maybe things have changed a bit.

Things will certainly slow down a little bit now, however, as it's time for the Hell in the Cell match between Triple H and the Undertaker with Shawn Michaels as the special referee.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: Big Show Defeats Cody Rhodes To Win Intercontinental Title

I guess the Big Show isn't too big for the WWE Intercontinental Title after all.

In a show that it would appear is moving way, way too rapidly, our third match of the night is in the books, as The Big Show won the Intercontential Title by pinning Cody Rhodes. Rhodes hit the Beautiful Disaster kick, and decided that he would go for a second one. Before he could hit it, however, The Big Show flattened him with a massive spear, and then hit the Knockout Punch to win the title in a little more than five minutes.

The match was about what you would expect for a five-minute affair, but for the life of me, I can't understand what WWE is doing with the pacing of the card here. Wrestlemania is a four-hour show, and after three matches going down in the first hour, there are only five matches remaining to fill three more hours of air time And one of those is a Divas match, which would wouldn't expect to last a terribly long time.

Maybe WWE has plenty of swerves planned for later on in the evening. At the rate this show has been going, I certainly hope they do.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: Kane Defeats Randy Orton With Top-Rope Chokeslam

In the second match of the evening down in Miami, "The Big Red Machine" Kane took on Randy Orton. In a bit of a surprise. . .at least to this writer. . .Kane came out victorious over WWE's "Apex Predator," winning with a huge chokeslam from the top rope to take Orton down.

I figured that Kane was going to get flattened for Orton in an effort to push Orton back into the title picture, but with this result, it appears that the folks at WWE think that Orton can retain his heat and his position in the heirarchy even with a loss on the biggest show of the year. On the other hand, if Kane is going to continue to be a big, scary monster guy, I suppose a win was the best thing for him.

Man, am I glad I didn't put money on this show. Don't laugh. . .there are apparently places that were taking Wrestlemania bets leading up to the event today.

Next up on the card will be the Intercontentinal Title match, with Cody Rhodes defending the belt against The Big Show. With only eight matches on the card and three of them getting knocked out inside of the first hour, they must be planning on devoting a lot of time to the Punk/Jericho, HHH/Undertaker, and Rock/Cena matches.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Results: Sheamus Squashes Daniel Bryan For World Heavyweight Championship

If you had 7:07 PM Eastern time for the start of the first match at Wrestlemania 28, congratulations to you!

If you had 7:08 PM Eastern time for the time Wrestlemania's first match would conclude. . .well, you're a liar.

Yes, the first match of Wrestlemania 28 was over and done with in 18 seconds, as Sheamus flattened Daniel Bryan with the Brogue Kick right out of the gate and got the pin to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

You read that correctly. . .eighteen seconds. That's King Kong Bundy/S.D. Jones territory.

I'm not sure what may or may not have happened to merit such a squash of Bryan at this point, but it seems a little strange to have one of your champions job in less than 30 seconds at the very beginning of the biggest event of the year when you have four hours of Pay-Per-View time to fill. But, I'm not a part of WWE Creative, so I guess it's not for me to know.

Kane and Randy Orton will be up next.

Wrestlemania: The Real First Day Of Spring

For the most up-to-date news and notes on Wrestlemania and professional wrestling in general, be sure to check out Cageside Seats.

Wrestlemania: Brock Lesnar Returns To WWE On One Year Contract

Instead of a small cameo appearance at tomorrow's Wrestlemania XXVIII event, former champ Brock Lesnar could be back to his old tricks in the ring as an active WWE wrestler. Lesnar, who has battled illness as a mixed-martial arts fighter in the UFC over the last few years, reportedly signed a one-year contract with the WWE on Saturday.

Lesnar's addition to the WWE roster coincides interestingly well with comments made by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson earlier this month, the same man who will be making his first Wrestlemania appearance since 2004 in tomorrow's main event:

It's clear if the WWE wants to squeeze another potential blockbuster buy rate out of the Rock, the last man standing to get the headline match would be the return of former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

How about it: Brock vs. Rock at WrestleMania 29?

"I'm not saying a thing," said a laughing, grinning Rock, eyebrow raised. "I didn't say anything."

The Rock silenced. That's a first.

It's clear that the WWE has its eyes on holding a historic event at some point during the next year, one that very well might take place at Wrestlemania XXIX with the two headliners opposing each other. Lesnar and The Rock are each two of the best draws in the history of wrestling, so it seems inevitable that the two will eventually square off in a match for the ages.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: The Rock vs John Cena

And that pretty much does it for our Wrestlemania 28 preview, ladies and gentlemen. We hope you've enjoyed our looks at all the matches, and remember that the show gets underway at. . .

Oh, right. . .one more match yet. Alrighty, then.

In a match that has been one year in the making, The Rock will take on John Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania XXVIII in Rock's home town of Miami. This match is being billed as "Once In a Lifetime" and, as such, you may ask yourself, "Well. . .how did we get here?"

The whole shebang started when the Rock came back in early 2011 to serve as the host for Wrestlemania XXVII in Atlanta. Immediately upon his return, the Rock launched into a war of words against Cena, and even getting into physical confrontations with him leading up to the big event. In the night's final match, Rock got what he thought was the last word, planting Cena with a Rock Bottom and allowing The Miz to pin Cena to retain the WWE Championship.

The next night on Monday Night Raw, John Cena and The Rock found themselves face-to-face in the ring once again. This time, however, things ended not with a fight, but with a handshake. The two men agreed, a full year in advance, that they would meet at Wrestlemania XXVIII, and the build-up has been coming ever since. The Rock has only been in the ring once since the announcement was made, and that was when he teamed with Cena at the most recent Survivor Series to take on The Miz and R-Truth. John Cena and the Rock came out victorious, but the celebration was short-lived, as Cena once again found himself on the wrong end of a Rock Bottom after the match had concluded.

Both men have continued to jab at each other since then. . .whether it's face-to-face, via satellite, or even on Twitter (where you can find them at @TheRock and @JohnCena). Finally, on the last Raw before Wrestlemania this past Monday, the two of them cut a promo that distilled the essence of what this entire feud is about.

Cena feels that he needs to win this match in order to define himself not necessarily in the annals of history, but to himself. He has been in the WWE busting his tail day in and day out for years now, and says he'll be damned if he's going to let a "visitor" like The Rock negate what he's accomplished over his career. The Rock, on the other hand, needs to win in order to put himself into the conversation of "greatest superstar of all time." At Wrestlemania, he's beaten Hulk Hogan, he's beaten "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and now he wants to beat Cena to add to that legacy.

To me, there is absolutely, positively no scenario in which it makes sense for WWE to have The Rock win this match. None. Zip. Zero. The only way it would make sense in my mind is if The Rock was coming back to be a full-time wrestler, and with the kind of money that guy is making in Hollywood right now, it wouldn't make any sense for him to do that. Cena, on the other hand, is still going to be the face of WWE, and is still going to be there every night.

Granted, I understand that "common sense" isn't always part of the criteria for WWE booking matches the way that they do, but I would be pretty shocked to see The Rock get his hand raised on Sunday night.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - John Cena by pinfall

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: The Undertaker's Wrestlemania Streak

Nineteen times, the Undertaker. . .the Phenom, the Man from the Darkside. . .has appeared at Wrestlemania. Nineteen times, he has had his hand raised in victory. It's a testament to the staying power of The Undertaker that he has had a streak that has lasted this long and gone through this many people.

This is a list of all of The Undertaker's Wrestlemania victims, from the beginning up until last year's event.

Wrestlemania VII - Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Wrestlemania VIII - Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Wrestlemania IX - Giant Gonzalez
Wrestlemania XI - King Kong Bundy
Wrestlemania XII - Diesel
Wrestlemania XIII - Sycho Sid (won the World Heavyweight Championship)
Wrestlemania XIV - Kane
Wrestlemania XV - Big Boss Man (Hell in a Cell match)
Wrestlemania XVII - Triple H
Wrestlemania XVIII - Ric Flair
Wrestlemania XIX - Big Show and A-Train (Handicap match)
Wrestlemania XX - Kane
Wrestlemania XXI - Randy Orton
Wrestlemania XXII - Mark Henry (casket match)
Wrestlemania XXIII - Batista (won the World Heavyweight Championship)
Wrestlemania XXIV - Edge (won the World Heavyweight Championship)
Wrestlemania XXV - Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania XXVI - Shawn Michaels (streak vs. career)
Wrestlemania XXVII - Triple H

The Undertaker was not a part of Wrestlemania X or Wrestlemania XVI.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Triple H vs The Undertaker

On a personal level, while the majority of the hype surrounding this year's Wrestlemania has centered around the main event, there isn't a match I'm looking forward to more than Triple H taking on The Undertaker in the "Devil's Playground," a match we all know and love as "Hell In a Cell." As a cynical wrestling fan, there aren't a lot of things that I "mark out" for at this stage. . .but, honestly, there is no better moment at a wrestling event where the lights go out, the crowd gets quiet, and you first hear "BONG!"

These two put on one hell of a match at last year's Wrestlemania, where about two minutes into the proceedings they basically said, "You know, we're just going to throw bombs at each other for half an hour or so and see what happens." Triple H hit The Undertaker with three Pedigrees and a Tombstone Piledriver over the course of the match, but just couldn't put the Dead Man away. Triple H then went outside of the ring to grab his trusty sledgehammer, and just when it appeared he was going to use it, The Undertaker slapped the Hell's Gate submission maneuver on "The Game." Triple H had no choice but to tap out, and the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak went to 19-0.

After the match, 'Taker had to be helped to the back by the medical staff, while Triple H was able to get up the ramp under his own power. . .a fact not lost on the Undertaker, who is using that for his reason behind wanting to get Triple H in the ring one more time. At first, Triple H refused the challenge, saying that he didn't want to be the guy that finally put The Undertaker out. After continued goading by the Dead Man, however, Triple H accepted the match, on the condition that it take place in the Cell at Wrestlemania.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Triple H's D-Generation X partner (and real-life best friend) Shawn Michaels has been inserted into this match as the "special guest referee." Michaels had amazing matches with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 and 26, coming just short of ending the Undertaker's legendary Wrestlemania streak both times. Will Michaels help his best friend to end The Undertaker's streak, or will he prevent Triple H from getting the victory, knowing in the back of his mind that ending the streak was something that he couldn't do on two separate occasions? Or, will he call it right down the middle?

(Yeah, we know that last one isn't going to happen.)

There are a lot of reasons why The Undertaker should wind up victorious in this match, so I'll just go with the biggest one. I don't think Triple H is insane enough to put himself over as "the guy that ended the streak." If the streak were to end. . .and there's a very good chance that this is going to be The Undertaker's last match, so it might not. . .the "rub" from that particular milestone should go to a younger superstar that could really get propelled to the next level by such a thing, not a guy that's going to wrestle two or three matches (at most) a year from here on out. Triple H, as the guy that will be taking WWE over from Vince McMahon at some point, has to know that's the case.

The streak gets to 20-0 this Sunday, after which The Undertaker will ride off gracefully into the sunset. Well, as far as "pro wrestling retirements" go, in any case.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - The Undertaker by pinfall

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: C.M. Punk vs Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho will challenge C.M. Punk for the WWE Championship on Sunday at Wrestlemania 28. I don't think there's any doubt in anybody's mind that, in terms of pure wrestling showmanship, this is likely going to be the best match of the night by a wide margin. These are two of WWE's best and most skilled workers, and the story they've managed to put together over the course of the past few weeks has just added to the intrigue of this match.

The genesis for this particular feud came at this year's Elimination Chamber event, when Punk kicked Jericho in the back of the head, knocking him out and causing him to be taken from the Chamber without actually having been eliminated. Jericho was pretty angry about that, and won a battle royale the next night on Monday Night Raw to earn the right to face Punk at Wrestlemania.

Jericho has taken the volume up a notch in the past few weeks, however, attacking the family of the "Straight-Edge Superstar." He has informed the world through interviews that Punk's father is an alcoholic (albeit one that has been sober for a very long time, from all accounts) and that Punk's sister has had her own issues with drugs. Those were the reasons that Punk adopted the "straight-edge" lifestyle, and Jericho's mocking of his family finally got to Punk on last Monday's Raw, when he administered a beating to Christian that knocked "Captain Charisma" out of the "Team Teddy vs Team Johnny" match that we previewed earlier.

Punk is no stranger to strong words in interviews. . .look no further than his "pipe bomb" promo that kicked off 2011's Summer of Punk. But his reactions to Jericho's most recent comments have made what was already a pretty good feud a great one, and it should come to a head this Sunday with an outstanding match.

Punk has had a pretty nice run in his most recent title reign, but I have a feeling that Chris Jericho is finally going to fulfill the hype that his return to the WWE was given earlier this year and find a way to walk out with another WWE championship.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - Chris Jericho by pinfall, becoming the new WWE Champion

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus

The match for the World Heavyweight Championship at this year's Wrestlemania will give us an interesting clash of styles, as the technical expert and "submission specialist" Daniel Bryan will do battle with the powerful Irishman known as Sheamus.

Sheamus got to this point by winning the 2012 Royal Rumble back in January, a match that everyone thought that Chris Jericho was a lock to win (Jericho was the last person eliminated). After the event was over, the rumors began circulating that Sheamus' victory was a "swerve" of sorts, designed to get a rise out of the fans that were all set to see Jericho go over. In any case, winning the Rumble meant that Sheamus was guaranteed a championship match at Wrestlemania 28, and he could choose the champion that he would face. He made his choice abundantly clear at this year's Elimination Chamber event, when he planted Daniel Bryan with the "Celtic Cross" after Bryan had defended his title in the Chamber against five other WWE Superstars.

Bryan got to this point by cashing in his "Money In the Bank" briefcase at this year's T.L.C. event. After Big Show had beaten Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship, Henry beat the stuffing out of Show after the match. Down to the ring came Bryan. . .who had long maintained that he wouldn't cash in the briefcase until Wrestlemania. . .with a referee in tow, and he pinned an unconscious Big Show to win his first World Heavyweight title. In recent weeks, Bryan has done an outstanding job of playing the role of "cowardly" heel. (I put the word "cowardly" in quotes because there's a more accurate phrase. . .one that could be used to describe poultry droppings.) He has hidden behind his girlfriend, A.J., on several occasions while being pursued by opponents, which is sad when you take into account that A.J. weighs about 100 pounds soaking wet with a handful of spare change in each pocket.

The ending that makes the most sense to me in this particular match has Sheamus going home with the title, and I have a feeling that Miss A.J. is finally going to get sick of being used as a human shield. Her telling Daniel Bryan that's the case will somehow lead to Sheamus landing the blow necessary to win the match and take home the World Heavyweight Championship.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - Sheamus by pinfall, becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Team Teddy vs Team Johnny

In this year's annual "we need to get everybody onto the card so that they can get their Wrestlemania bonuses" match (that isn't a Money in the Bank match because that has its own pay-per-view now), we have ourselves an elimination tag team match that actually has some storyline behind it.

For a few months now, John Laurinaitis has serving in a dual capacity as WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the Interim General Manager of Monday Night Raw™. (The font on his business cards is really, really small.) At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in February, Laurinaitis made it known that he wanted to be in charge of not only Raw, but of Friday Night Smackdown as well. Naturally, the man currently in charge of Smackdown, that being Theodore R. "Teddy" Long, took umbrage to such a suggestion, and also expressed his desire to be in charge of both shows as well.

As a result, the mythical WWE Board of Directors issued an edict that Wrestlemania would be the stage where the future of both shows would be set. Each GM would put together a team of six WWE Superstars, and an elimination-style tag team match would take place, with the winning General Manager being placed in charge of both of the WWE's shows.

Team Johnny is captained by former Nexus member David "Jennifer Hudson's Fiancee" Otunga, who has served as Laurinaitis' assistant over the past few months. He is joined by Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, The Miz, and Drew McIntyre. Christian was originally slated to be a part of Team Johnny as well, but was injured by C.M. Punk on Monday night's edition of Raw, and McIntyre was announced as his replacement towards the end of the program.

Team Teddy is captained by current United States Champion Santino Marella. The other members of the team are The Great Khali, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Zack Ryder, and. . .in a surprise from Monday night. . .Booker T, who saved Long from a beatdown at the hands of Mark Henry.

I think that Team Johnny is going to end up pulling this one out when it's all said and done. Long is getting up there in years, and the rumors are that he could be in line for a reduced role with the company. Laurinaitis, on the other hand, is one of the WWE's bigger heels at this point, and could not get the opportunity to botch his lines and annoy the heck out of fans on two shows instead of one. The only issue is who is going to end up surviving for Team Johnny, in my opinion.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - Team Johnny wins, with Dolph Ziggler taking down Santino to secure the victory

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Cody Rhodes vs The Big Show

Twenty-five Wrestlemanias ago, the Intercontinental Championship was contested in a match between the late Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. The performance that those two men put on that night was the epic conclusion to one of the epic feuds in WWF history. (You can watch the match here if you've never seen it or if you'd like to see it again.) The Intercontinental Title isn't quite what it used to be, but the match involving it on Sunday night could wind up being better than you might think, as Cody Rhodes takes on The Big Show for the belt.

Rhodes has spent the past few months mocking Big Show as sort of an "anti-Undertaker," citing all of the times that he's gotten beaten at Wrestlemania over the years (as opposed to the Undertaker, who is undefeated on wrestling's biggest stage). Rhodes does have something of a point. . .in 11 Wrestlemania appearances, Big Show has compiled a record of just 3-8, and has lost to a sumo wrestler (Akebono at Wrestlemania 21) and a boxer (Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania 24).

Rhodes has also developed into one of WWE's better, and more underrated, workers over the past few months. He defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. at last year's Wrestlemania, and has held on to the Intercontinental Title for over six months. Big Show, on the other hand, just seems to be sort of languishing in the mid-card, despite the fact that he's still pretty over with WWE fans and is one of the company's bigger names.

Pardon the pun here, but Big Show just seems to be too big for the Intercontinental Title. He's a premiere player in WWE, and giving him a secondary title seems like a waste when he was just in hunt for World Championships. Remember, he was the World Heavyweight Champion for about two minutes at December's TLC event before Daniel Bryan cashed in his "Money in the Bank" briefcase. A win for Rhodes over Big Show on Sunday night could be the thing that propels the second-generation superstar to new heights, and I think that's the way WWE will go with this one.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - Cody Rhodes by pinfall, retaining the Intercontinental Title

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Randy Orton vs Kane

In a feud that was largely put together over the course of the past few weeks, and largely done just to get both guys onto the card at this year's Wrestlemania, we will see the "Apex Predator" Randy Orton take on "The Big Red Machine" known as Kane.

This feud got underway on the March 2 edition of Friday Night Smackdown, when Kane interrupted Orton's return match against World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan. A few nights later on Monday Night Raw, Orton jumped Kane and hit him with an RKO after Kane had defeated R-Truth. The two have pretty much gone back and forth in the weeks leading up to this event, and it will come to a head on Sunday night.

I'll tell you, I don't think there are many characters in WWE that have fully run their course, but Kane is one of them. I mean, yeah, we get it. . .he got burned in a fire, he's angry all the time, and he likes to go around beating people up and attempting to send them to hell. We've seen just about everything that Kane has to offer at this point, and it wouldn't be surprising to learn that he's pretty close to the end of the trail here after a surprisingly good WWF/WWE run. Remember, the guy used to be Isaac Yankem, D.D.S., for crying out loud. I don't think anyone could have seen this sort of success coming after that disaster.

Orton, on the other hand, is still one of the hottest properties in WWE, and would probably be involved somewhere higher up on the card if not for injuries. My guess is that he'll do something on Raw the night after Wrestlemania to inject himself into one of the title situations. Regardless, I don't see a heck of a lot of reason for Orton to take the loss in this one. He'll get the win to kick-start his momentum going forward in 2012.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction - Randy Orton via pinfall

Wrestlemania: Minnesota's Brock Lesnar Could Meet The Rock Next Year, Maybe?

Minnesota has a history of pretty solid professional wrestlers dating back to the days of Nick Bockwinkel, Ric Flair and Jesse Ventura in the AWA on to Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) and then more recent Minnesota Golden Gophers athletes like Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin and Hennig's son Joe, currently wrestling under the name Michael McGillicutty, in the WWF and WWE.

That bit of information isn't typically relevant to anything happening around these parts, but this weekend's upcoming Wrestlemania XXVIII means professional wrestling interest is at its yearly high. It's particularly relevant to Minnesota, too, as The Rock recently teased a match at next year's Wrestlemania featuring him and Lesnar.

It's clear if the WWE wants to squeeze another potential blockbuster buy rate out of the Rock, the last man standing to get the headline match would be the return of former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

How about it: Brock vs. Rock at WrestleMania 29?

"I'm not saying a thing," said a laughing, grinning Rock, eyebrow raised. "I didn't say anything."

The Rock silenced. That's a first.

It'd certainly be interesting if Lesnar and Rock -- the collegiate football player turned professional wrestler turned Hollywood actor -- set up a match at next year's Wrestlemania, but that would also likely mean Lesnar would make an appearance at this year's Wrestlemania. Things like that were rumored during Lesnar's UFC career, but it's much more possible now that Lesnar's technically retired from the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

Considering Lesnar is currently unemployed, there are matches available for him even if WWE doesn't want to plan another match that'll take a year in the making. It'd be easy to set something up with the majority of the WWE superstars, but there's a match in the making between him and Mark Calaway, the man better known as the Undertaker.

So, even if Lesnar and the Rock don't meet up, it might not be surprising to see the former Golden Gophers All-American (and Minnesota Vikings flunky) show up on Pay-Per-View this Sunday night.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres vs Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos

The WWE's Divas division has become more of a sideshow over the course of the past few years, as the women that can actually work a decent wrestling match (notably Mickie James, Gail Kim, and Victoria, among others) have been pushed to the side or pushed out entirely in favor of "eye candy."

One of the WWE's few remaining competent female workers is in this year's Wrestlemania Divas match, that being current Divas champion Beth Phoenix. She will team with Eve Torres to take on former Divas champion Kelly Kelly and talk show host Maria Menounos, currently working with the television show Extra. Wrestlemania is usually a fairly star-studded affair, but Menounos is one of the few "stars". . .such as she is. . .that is actively involved with this year's card.

Now, normally the involvement of a celebrity in a match would be enough to pencil a team in for a victory, such as Snooki's team was at last year's event. However, according to our friends at Cageside Seats, Menounos apparently broke two ribs while practicing to be on Dancing With the Stars, so she might not be able to do much. At this time, it's still being said that she's going to wrestle, but it's entirely possible that she could be replaced.

Frankly, the best thing that they could do with this match is to pull Menounos out of it or let her be at ringside in a manager-type role, and replace her with the (hopefully) soon-to-be returning Kharma. Kharma was making quite a splash after her WWE debut before her pregnancy forced her out of the ring, and a feud between her and Beth Phoenix could make the Divas division genuinely worth watching again.

This match, as it stands now, isn't terribly compelling, and will probably end up going on towards the end of the card to give fans an opportunity to decompress (i.e. use the restroom) before the main event of the evening. Despite the injury to Menounos, the "celebrity usually goes over at Wrestlemania" rule is too strong to ignore, in my opinion.

SB Nation Minnesota prediction: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos win by pinfall.

Wrestlemania XXVIII Preview: The WWE's Biggest Night Of The Year Is Here

For the best professional wrestling coverage and perspective anywhere, be sure to check out our friends at Cageside Seats.