The Rock Returns To Host WWE WrestleMania 2011

One of the most exciting parts of WWE WrestleMania 27 for the average fan has to be the presence of The Rock, WWE legend Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, after a long absence from the industry that made him a star. The Rock — also known to wrestling diehards as The Great One, Rocky, or The Most Electrifying Man In All of Entertainment, and known to your daughter or nephew as "that guy from The Game plan" — will host WrestleMania XXVII from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta this Sunday, and might well tussle with either World Heavyweight Champion The Miz, longtime WWE performer John Cena, or both.

You can imagine why WWE fans are excited about that prospect. The Rock's probably the most unimpeachable of the WWE's modern superstars, thanks to a run of charismatic dominance during the WWE's high point around the turn of the century, and his ability to work a mic during in-ring promos certainly hasn't deserted him.

Since that February 14 return to WWE Raw in Anaheim, The Rock has been part of the Cena/Miz storyline leading up to that duo's clash for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt at WrestleMania. And he's a great third vertex of that triangle: Cena's perpetually caught between his popularity as one of wrestling's most consistently interesting characters of the last half-dozen years and many WWE efforts to turn him heel, while Miz has parlayed fame from MTV's The Real World into a great heel character who never passes up a chance to remind the world of his greatness.

The Rock's something of a split between those two things: he's as popular and enduring a character as Cena, but has more than a bit of The Miz' arrogance to him. Oh, and he's a Far better athlete and wrestler, so seeing him get his hands a little dirty on this week's Raw have raised hopes that he'll be doing some work in the ring at WrestleMania 2011.

Wrestlemania 27 Undertaker vs Triple H

Wrestlemania 27: Are We Expecting Too Much From Undertaker and Triple H


Is There Too Much Pressure On Triple H And Undertaker At Wrestlemania 27?


If you haven't heard by now, the Triple H vs Undertaker match at Wrestlemania is going to close the show. For what reason, I don't know. The biggest angle on the show - the biggest angle that WWE has had in years - is The Rock - John Cena confrontation, but that will happen right before this match.


So the crowd will get their big payoff to the big angle of the show and have one match left. Remember two years ago when Triple H and Randy Orton closed Wrestlemania after the first HBK - Undertaker match, and how well that went?


Let me remind you, the match came off completely flat. Part of that was because the match was laid out horribly, but a big reason was because the match that everyone wanted to see had already happened.


Now, these two men, who by the way haven't wrestled consistently in a long, long time - Hunter's been gone nearly a year, Undertaker is coming off major surgery - want to close the show after The Rock and John Cena do their big thing.


If that's not enough pressure to deliver, they have to live with the gigantic shadow of Shawn Michaels and Undertaker each of the last two years. Undertaker had two of the best matches of his entire career with Shawn Michaels at the last two Wrestlemanias. If people are expecting this match to live up those, they will be tremendously disappointed because Triple H is not Shawn Michaels and Undertaker is in worse shape this year than he was last year.


Add to that the fact that Triple H has to have 15-20 minute matches on a regular show, and will probably want 25 minutes at least for a Wrestlemania match and you have a disaster in the making.


I could be wrong, these two certainly know what they are doing, but I really, really feel that this match is going to be a wreck for all those reasons. The match would be fine if it's the semi-main event, but to close the show with this puts far too much pressure on these guys.


We know that Undertaker is going to win because there's no reason for him not to, but how they get there might not be pretty.

Wrestlemania 2011 To Be Held In Atlanta

Wrestlemania 2011 To Be Held In Atlanta

   
Wrestlemania 2011 will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting there will be a press conference at noon on Monday to make the formal announcement.

Current result of WWE RAW 21/3/2011

Sheamus vs. Evan Bourne                (Winner - Sheamus)

Maryse vs. Eve                                (Winner - Eve)

Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Kozlov & Santino w/ Tamina    (Winner - Slater & Gabriel)

Dolph w/ Vickie & Lay-Cool vs. John Morrison w/ Trish            (Winner Dolph w/ Vickie & Lay-Cool)