WrestleMania XXVII WrestleMania XXVII was the twenty - seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . It took take place on April 3 , 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta , Georgia . Background . WrestleMania featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing feuds , plots , and storylines that will be played out on WWE ' s primary television programs . Wrestlers will portray villains or heroes as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches . Since 1993 , the winner of the annual Royal Rumble match ( an over - the - top - rope elimination style match ) at the January event of the same name has won the opportunity to fight for a world championship at WrestleMania . Alberto Del Rio won the match in 2011 and will wrestle Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship . At the following month ' s Elimination Chamber event , John Cena won the Raw brand ' s annual Elimination Chamber match to earn himself a WWE Championship shot against the reigning champion , The Miz . Starting from the January 31 episode of " Raw " , ominous vignettes featuring a mysterious figure began airing on WWE programming promoting an upcoming event on " 2 21 11 " . On the February 21 edition of " Raw " , The Undertaker was revealed as the mysterious figure , who made his return after a four - month absence . However , Undertaker ' s return was interrupted by a returning Triple H . The two men stared each other down and both peered at the WrestleMania marquee , teasing a possible challenge at WrestleMania XXVII . The match was later confirmed four days later on WWE ' s official website . This match marks the second time the two will face each other at a WrestleMania , the first being WrestleMania X - Seven ten years earlier . Since December 2010 , " Raw " color commentator Jerry Lawler began a feud with fellow announcer Michael Cole when the anonymous Raw General Manager gave Lawler a WWE Championship match in a Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match against The Miz . As Lawler started to climb the ladder to retrieve the belt , Cole interfered and prevented Lawler from winning the match . On the February 21 edition of " Raw " , Cole mocked Lawler for losing his rematch against The Miz at Elimination Chamber as well as his dreams of having a WrestleMania match , going as far as even mentioning Lawler ' s mother who died weeks earlier . Lawler responded by challenging Cole to a match at WrestleMania , which Cole denied before running through the crowd . A week later , Cole accepted Lawler ' s challenge under two conditions - that his trainer Jack Swagger would be in his corner , and that he could choose a special guest referee - which Lawler accepted . Another plot building up towards WrestleMania involves CM Punk and Randy Orton . Beginning the year , CM Punk became the leader of the Nexus , rebranding it as the " New Nexus " . In the following weeks , Punk attacked Orton , telling him that it was his revenge for Orton punting him at Unforgiven in 2008 while Punk was the World Heavyweight Champion , thus not allowing him to defend his title , which had to be vacated . On February 28 , the anonymous Raw General Manager announced a match between Punk and Orton . In addition , the General Manager stipulated that Orton will face one of the members of the New Nexus each week . If Orton lost , his opponent would be allowed to be in Punk ' s corner at WrestleMania ; if he won , his opponent would be banned from attending the event . Another feud heading into WrestleMania is between Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes . On the January 21 edition of " SmackDown " , Mysterio and Rhodes had a match in which Mysterio broke the nose of Cody Rhodes with his finishing maneuver , the 619 . Rhodes , who underwent facial reconstruction surgey , later accused Mysterio of forcing him to miss the Royal Rumble match and the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship . On the March 4 edition of " SmackDown " , Cody ' s father , Dusty Rhodes , came out to talk to Mysterio and asked Cody to apologize for his accusation , but it turned out to be a setup to allow Cody to attack and unmask Mysterio . The next week Rhodes challenged Rey to a match at Wrestlemania , which was accepted the following week . On the March 14 edition of Raw , Nicole " Snooki " Polizzi appeared as a guest star and exchanged insults with Vickie Guerrero backstage . Later that night , Vickie defeated Trish Stratus with the help of Lay - Cool ( Michelle McCool and Layla ) . After the match , Snooki , who observed the match at ringside , took down Lay - Cool after being provoked by McCool . A brawl ensued between Snooki & Stratus and Lay - Cool until Lay - Cool retreated from the ring . Vickie then proposed a six - person mixed tag team match at WrestleMania between Lay - Cool & her boyfriend , Dolph Ziggler , and Snooki , Stratus , & John Morrison which Snooki accepted . In an eight - man tag team match , The Corre ( Wade Barrett , Ezekiel Jackson , Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater ) will wrestle Big Show , Kane , Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov . The Corre had been going after Big Show on Smackdown , but Big Show and Kane joined forces to destroy the Corre on Raw two weeks before WrestleMania . Later , Kane and Big Show helped Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella fend off an attack by the Corre . On April 2 , after a WrestleMania Axxess match between Kozlov and Tyler Reks , The Corre attacked Kozlov , leaving his shoulder injured . Kofi Kingston who recently lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Barrett was chosen as Kozlov ' s replacement . Event . Production . In September 2009 , it was reported that the city of Atlanta was seeking to host WrestleMania XXVII at the Georgia Dome . A press conference was held on February 1 , 2010 at the Georgia Dome to formally announce the event for Atlanta . According to WWE ' s senior vice president of special events , John Saboor , Atlanta was ultimately chosen for , among other reasons , " their track record of success with large events , rich in its tradition with the WWE , great infrastructure . " The event will mark the first time WrestleMania has been held in the state of Georgia . Atlanta ' s main rival bid came from the city of Miami , Florida who proposed to host the event at Sun Life Stadium along with " WrestleMania Axxess " at the Miami Beach Convention Center and the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the American Airlines Arena . Miami would eventually become the host for WrestleMania XXVIII . Tickets for the event commenced sale to the public on November 13 , 2010 . Along with WrestleMania XXVII , a series of events grouped as " WrestleMania Week " will be held in the week preceding the event including WrestleMania ' s annual " WrestleMania Axxess " fan convention , the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony , the fourth annual " WrestleMania Art " exhibition and auction , and a Celebrity Pro - Am Golf tournament . " WrestleMania Axxess " will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center , while the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at the Philips Arena . " Written in the Stars " by Tinie Tempah is the theme song for the event . R & B singer Keri Hilson will be performing " America the Beautiful " at the start of the show . According to WWE , the attendance at WrestleMania XXVII was 71 , 617 fans . The event grossed $ 6 . 6 million for WWE . WrestleMania XXVII will be the first pay - per - view event under WWE ' s promotional rights deal with Kmart . Under the deal , Kmart will be the official sponsor for all of WWE ' s live events in the United States for the rest of 2011 . As another part of the promotion for the event , " WWE Magazine " released a " Guide to WrestleMania XXVII " app for the iPhone , iPod Touch and iPad , featuring information about the upcoming event as well as trivia from past events . Pre - show . Before Wrestlemania went on air , there were two dark matches . The first match was for the WWE United States Championship held by The Celtic Warrior Sheamus . He was defending his title against Daniel Bryan in a lumberjack match . The match ended in a no contest because the lumberjacks got involved and this created chaos . Teddy Long came out and declared a battle royal to settle everything . The Great Khali went on to win the battle royal after last eliminating Sheamus . When Wrestlemania went on air , The Rock came out and he cut a promo on John Cena and Wrestlemania . Preliminary matches . The first televised match was for the World Heavyweight Championship . This match saw Edge ( the champion ) defending his title against 2011 Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio . Edge has Christian in his corner , and Alberto Del Rio has Brodus Clay & Ricardo Rodriguez in his . In the early part of the match , Del Rio focused on Edge ’ s injured arm . Edge answered back with good offense . Christian warded off Clay and Ricardo at some points . The ending came when Edge and Del Rio locked in their signature maneuvers . Edge locked in the Sharpshooter while Del Rio locked in the armbar . When both men got up , Edge hit the spear for the win . After the match , Edge and Christian destroyed Del Rio ’ s car . The next match was featuring “ Dashing ” Cody Rhodes and Rey Mysterio . Rhodes wore his facial mask , while Rey wore a knee brace . These two had a very good brawl . Rhodes mainly dominated this match . He reversed the headscissors by Rey into an Alabama Slam . Rhodes also hit a Rey with a superplex from the top rope . The ending came when Rey got Rhodes ’ facial mask off and hit Cody with some headbutts . Rhodes was able to capture Mysterio ’ s knee brace . When Rey went for a dive , Rhodes knocked out Mysterio with the knee brace . This allowed Rhodes to hit the Cross Rhodes for the win . Coming up next was the Eight Man Tag Team match . One team consisted of Kane , The Big Show , Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston . Kofi Kingston was placed in the match instead of Vladimir Kozlov due to his injury . The other team consisted of The Corre ( Wade Barrett , Ezekiel Jackson , Heath Slater , and Justin Gabriel ) . This match was two short minutes . The ending came when Slater got hit with the Cobra and KO Punch from Big Show . Big Show pinned Slater for the win . The next match featured “ The Viper ” Randy Orton facing off against CM Punk . CM Punk had the upper hand most of this match when he was focusing on Orton ’ s injured knee . CM Punk hit the Anaconda Vise , a Figure Four - Leg Lock on the ring post , and some other good submissions . The ending came when Randy Orton went for the punt to the skull , but his injured knee stopped him . Cm Punk signaled the GTS , but Orton went for a RKO . Punk dodged and went to the top rope . He went for a crossbody , but Orton hit the RKO out of nowhere for the win . Main event matches . Following Orton vs . Punk was the first main event between two commentators . Jim Ross is on commentary from now on . This match featured Michael Cole against Jerry “ The King ” Lawler . The special referee for this match was none other than “ Stone Cold ” Steve Austin . This match started off with Lawler trying to get Cole out of his cube , but he couldn ’ t . Eventually , Lawler got Cole out of his cube and started pounding on him . One highlight was when Cole locked in the An - Cole Lock . The ending came when Lawler forced Cole to tap out to the ankle lock . After Lawler won , the RAW GM reversed the decision because Stone Cold played games with Cole . He reversed the decision that way Cole wins is DQ . After the match , Stone Cold stunned Booker T and Josh Matthews due to his anger . The next main event was a No Holds Barred match between two icons in the WWE . These icons are known as The Undertaker and Triple H . These two put on a great match from start to finish . The beginning of this match started off with Taker and HHH going at it on the outside . They destroyed Michael Cole ’ s cube in the process . Triple H had the advantage in the match after giving a spinebuster to Undertaker through the Spanish announce table . This match went back and forth . Undertaker couldn ’ t keep HHH down after a Chokeslam , Last Ride , and even a Tombstone Piledriver . After that , HHH answered back with three pedigrees and even Undertaker ’ s Tombstone Piledriver . That was not enough to hold down The Phenom . The ending came when Triple H grabbed a steel chair and hit Taker a couple of times . HHH then grabbed a sledgehammer , but Undertaker locked Hell ’ s Gate on HHH . He tried to fight out of it , but HHH tapped out . The Undertaker ’ s streak has continued to 19 - 0 . The next match was a six - person mixed tag team match . One side featured John Morrison , Trish Stratus , and Snooki competing against Dolph Ziggler and LayCool ( Michelle McCool & Layla ) . One highlight happened in this match . That was when Morrison hit Starship Pain on Ziggler who was on the outside of the ring . The ending came when Snooki hit a cartwheel splash on McCool to get the win for her team . The last match of the night was for the WWE Championship . It featured John Cena facing off against current champion , The Miz . Alex Riley accompanied The Miz to his match . The match started off with Miz getting the upper hand , but Cena fought back . Very slow match , until Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle on The Miz . Of course , this happened after his shoulder blocks . Cena went for the AA , but Miz countered into a DDT . There was a lot of back and forth action until The Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale . That couldn ’ t keep Cena down because Cena then answered back with the AA . That didn ’ t keep Miz down either . The ending came when both men were counted out . That means The Miz is still the WWE Champion . After that The Rock came out , but the GM hit . The Rocks says it doesn ’ t matter what the GM says . The Rock basically makes this a No DQ match . The match restarts and The Rock hits Rock Bottom on Cena . The Miz covers him for the win . The Miz is still the WWE Champion . After that match , The Rock lays Miz out with The People ’ s Elbow . Wrestlemania 27 goes off air with The Rock posing for the fans . Aftermath . The following night on Raw , John Cena called out The Rock . The Rock makes it clear why he doesn ' t like him and issues a challenge to Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII . A few moments later they were ambushed by The Corre and then started a battle of who would have the last laugh " per say " . Alberto Del Rio defeated Christian on the April 8th edition of Smackdown to earn another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules . Three days later on " Raw " , Edge announced that he had to retire due to issues with his neck and he later vacated the World Heavyweight Championship days later on " SmackDown " . Christian would go on to win a battle royal for the right to face Del Rio for the title , and at Extreme Rules , Christian defeated Del Rio in a ladder match to win his first World Heavyweight Championship . After their loss at WrestleMania XXVII , LayCool split up when Michelle McCool attacked Layla in a backstage segment . On the April 29 edition of " SmackDown " , McCool challenged Layla to a Loser Leaves WWE match at Extreme Rules . Layla defeated McCool at the event , ending McCool ' s WWE career . Reception . The event has received mixed reviews from critics . " The Sun " in a mixed review said The Rock as host " never quite clicked " and that the opening segment involving The Rock was " excessive and generic " . However , they called the World Heavyweight Championship match " solid " , the Orton - Punk match " a little gem " with " clinical timing and execution " , and the WWE Championship match " odd " and that the match itself " never got going " . They praised the Undertaker - Triple H match , calling it " match of the night " and saying " the emotion and drama in the match was incredible " . Overall , they award the event a 5 . 5 out of 10 . Canadian Online Explorer ' s professional wrestling section gave the entire event 6 . 5 out of 10 , the same as the previous year ' s rating . The World Heavyweight Championship match received an 8 out of 10 , the Undertaker - Triple H match received an 8 . 5 out of 10 , and the WWE Championship match received a 5 out of 10 . Note . Battle Royal featuring Superstars . Chavo Guerrero , Chris Masters , Curt Hawkins , Daniel Bryan , David Hart Smith , Drew McIntyre , Evan Bourne , Jey Uso , Jimmy Uso , Johnny Curtis , JTG , Mark Henry , Primo , R - Truth , Sheamus , Ted DiBiase , The Great Khali , Trent Barreta , Tyler Reks , William Regal , Yoshi Tatsu , and Zack Ryder .