10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 28 Facts
Once in a Lifetime (unless WWE feels there's money in a sequel)
It's too common these days to see WWE run characters, stories, concepts, and ideas quickly into the ground, lacking the patience to pace themselves, thereby giving their creative properties a shot at a long-term shelf life. Knowing that, it's damn near unfathomable that WWE could book a WrestleMania main event one year in advance without mucking it up somehow.
Somewhat surprisingly, WWE managed to deliver on their long-term plans for WrestleMania 28, as the anticipation for John Cena and The Rock's "Once in a Lifetime" showdown didn't peak too soon. Granted, it's not like The Rock makes a weekly appearance that would burn out the crowd on him. He's a "special attraction" that remains special due to the sparseness with which he appears, and it sums up WWE's self-consuming reality: the full-time wrestlers lose their specialness by being booked into oblivion with the passage of weeks, while the aging stars of another era swoop in for WrestleMania, because their rarer appearances make them more attractive as 'Mania-inhabitants.
But that conundrum can be mulled another day. Cena and Rock proved to be one of professional wrestling's biggest drawing cards, outsizing even the very notion that "WrestleMania always sells." They added something more.
10. WWE Had To Let TNA Borrow Christian So That Ric Flair Could Appear At The Hall Of Fame
When it was announced that The Four Horsemen were entering the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012, that naturally meant a second induction for Ric Flair, who is more synonymous with the Horsemen group than anyone else. Problem: Flair was under contract with TNA, and despite WWE's resolute advertising that Flair would be inducted, they were stepping into a legal hornet's nest. In fact, Flair's attempt to break his contract not long after his induction was the basis of a contract tampering lawsuit against WWE.
To mollify the TNA side, and allow for Flair to appear on a WWE telecast, WWE permitted TNA to use former two-time NWA Champion Christian at their Slammiversary pay-per-view in June. At the event, Christian, by this point WWE's Intercontinental Champion, made the announcement of TNA's number one moment, as part of a list that had been counted down throughout the night.