WrestleMania XXVIII WrestleMania XXVIII was the twenty - eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by WWE . It took place on April 1 , 2012 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami , Florida . There were eight official matches on the event ' s card . Production . The city of Miami Gardens was one of the two major contenders for hosting WrestleMania XXVII along with Atlanta , Georgia . Ultimately in February 2010 , Atlanta was awarded the right to host the event . According to the Miami - Dade Sports Commission , WWE management felt that Miami ' s planning for the event would have been too hectic with many other sporting events held in the area around the same time of the planning , such as Super Bowl XLIV . However , the Miami area was reportedly considered for the next event due to its international ties , facilities , airports and experience of hosting previous major events . Bidding documents were sent to seventeen cities in consideration for hosting a WrestleMania event between 2012 and 2014 , with fourteen replying in interest . Other cities under consideration for WrestleMania XXVIII included Los Angeles , New Orleans , New York City , Toronto , Detroit , Tampa , Vancouver , St . Louis , Jacksonville , Orlando and Houston . The city of Dallas also showed interest but had to pull out of bidding for the next two years due to hosting events such as the NCAA Final Four . On February 9 , 2011 , it was announced by " The Miami Herald " that Miami had won the right to host the event . WWE would later officially announce the event in a press conference held at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach . WrestleMania XXVIII will be the second Wrestlemania event to be hosted in the state of Florida , the fourth open - air event , and the third event to be held entirely outdoors . For hosting the event , WWE will receive a $ 250 , 000 cash incentive from the Miami - Dade Sports Commission raised through grants and sponsorships . Along with WrestleMania XXVIII , 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 at the Miami Beach Convention Center , the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the American Airlines Arena , the finals of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge , and a Celebrity Pro - Am Golf tournament . Background . WrestleMania will feature professional wrestling matches that involve 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 . The main event heading into WrestleMania XXVIII , would feature The Rock going up against John Cena . On the February 14 , 2011 episode of Raw , The Rock was revealed as the host of WrestleMania XXVII , and upon his return to the WWE , began a feud with John Cena ( and Cena ' s opponent at that WrestleMania , the WWE Champion , The Miz ) , which continued for weeks in terms of verbal insults , until the March 28 edition of Raw , where Cena delivered the Attitude Adjustment to The Rock after he fended off attacks from The Miz and Alex Riley . At WrestleMania XXVII , The Rock got involved in the main event WWE Championship match , which initially ended in The Miz ' s favor via a count - out , and after restarting the match under no disqualifications rules , he delivered The Rock Bottom to Cena , thus enabling The Miz to pin the latter and win the match . On the next night on Raw , Cena challenged The Rock to a one - on - one match at WrestleMania XXVIII . With The Rock subsequently accepting , the match was officially announced on WWE . com . At Survivor Series in November 2011 , Cena teamed with The Rock ( who made his in - ring return in a match in the WWE after nearly eight years , last competing at WrestleMania XX ) , and billed as " the most charismatic tag team " , they defeated The Miz and R - Truth , collectively known as Awesome Truth . After the match , The Rock gave a Rock Bottom to Cena . A second main event match scheduled for WrestleMania would pit The Undertaker against Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match . Last year at WrestleMania XXVII , in a No Holds Barred match , The Undertaker defeated Triple H via submission , in their second encounter at a WrestleMania ( the first being at WrestleMania X - Seven in 2001 , where The Undertaker won as well ) . However , in the post - match events , due the harsh physicality suffered during the bout , The Undertaker failed to leave the venue ( Georgia Dome ) on his power , as he was carted away by the medical staff on a stretcher for the first time in his career , while Triple H left on his own accord . After a near ten - month long hiatus , The Undertaker returned on the January 30 , 2012 edition of Raw , confronting and challenging Triple H to a rematch at WrestleMania XXVIII , reason being The Undertaker having been dissatisfied of his post - WrestleMania match scenario last year , stating " he did not want that scene to be a lasting memory of him " . After Triple H refused to accept the challenge the next week on Raw , his close friend and WWE Hall of Fame r , Shawn Michaels appeared on the February 13 edition of Raw to instigate him in accepting The Undertaker ' s challenge , which was in vain as Triple H stated he was willing to put his ego and personal agendas aside for the future of the WWE , and viewed The Undertaker ' s 19 - 0 undefeated WrestleMania streak as a " brand " to cash - in for the company , finally ending the argument saying he would not be the one to end it . Then , on the February 20 episode of Raw , The Undertaker still remained adamant in getting a WrestleMania rematch with Triple H , going so far as to label Triple H as a " coward " , and comparing his abilities and career to that of Shawn Michaels . Enraged due to these comments , Triple H finally accepted The Undertaker ' s challenge at WrestleMania XXVIII , saying that if " he [ Undertaker ] wanted an end , they would go all the way " , and proposed that they would compete in a Hell in a Cell match . On July 17 , 2011 , at the Money in the Bank event , Daniel Bryan defeated seven other wrestlers to win the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match . On the July 22 edition of SmackDown , Bryan declared his intentions of cashing - in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania XXVIII . However , despite this claim , he attempted to cash - in his contract briefcase on the November 25 episode of SmackDown . He pinned the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry to supposedly win the title and began to celebrate , but SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long informed Bryan that Henry was not medically cleared to compete , and declared the match void , thereby returning the briefcase to Bryan and the title back to Henry . The next week on Raw , Bryan acknowledged that he went back on his word , saying that headlining WrestleMania " was " his dream and that his " plans changed " ; that the briefcase " doesn ' t guarantee [ him ] anything " , since he could be put out of action at any time . WWE , however , continued to maintain the advertisement for WrestleMania , until Bryan successfully cashed - in his Money in the Bank contract briefcase on Big Show at the event on December 18 , 2011 , to become the new World Heavyweight Champion . In January 2012 , at the twenty - fifth annual Royal Rumble pay - per - view , Sheamus won the thirty - man Royal Rumble match , giving him the right to challenge either the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXVIII . Sheamus announced on Smackdown that he would decide who he wishes to face at WrestleMania after the Elimination Chamber PPV . At the Elimination Chamber event in February , Sheamus attacked Daniel Bryan , after the latter successfully retained his World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match , thus declaring his wish to challenge Bryan for his title at WrestleMania . The match was officially announced the next day on WWE . com . Another match booked for WrestleMania is from the Raw brand , which would see CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho . Calling himself the " best wrestler in the world " , Punk went on to successfully defend the WWE Championship numerous times . On the January 2 , 2012 episode of Raw , after extensive hype through several viral vignettes proclaiming the " end of the world as we know it " on that day , Chris Jericho returned to the WWE after over a year , and established a villainous persona over the next several weeks . On the February 13 edition of Raw , Jericho accused Punk in an in - ring segment of being a copycat of him , and that he ( Punk ) stole his proclamation of being the " best in the world " . While competing in the Raw Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay - per - view , Jericho was knocked out by a kick to the head by Punk , rendering him unable to compete any further , and Punk went on to win that match . This incident further fueled Jericho ' s animosity towards Punk . On the February 20 edition of Raw , Jericho last eliminated Big Show to win a ten - man battle royal to determine the number - one contender to face Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII . In subsequent promos , both wrestlers expressed their desire to prove who is " the best in the world . " Another title match scheduled is between Cody Rhodes and The Big Show for the former ' s WWE Intercontinental Championship . Their feud gained increased momentum week after week when , over January and February 2012 , Rhodes began mocking Big Show ' s less than stellar performances at WrestleMania over the years , calling him " a reverse Undertaker " ( a direct reference to The Undertaker ' s undefeated 19 - 0 record at WrestleMania , compared to Big Show ' s 3 - 8 record ) also citing the ridiculous nature of some of his matches such as his match against Akebono at WrestleMania 21 in a Sumo match and Floyd Mayweather , Jr . at WrestleMania XXIV . Rhodes also cost Big Show a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship , by eliminating him from the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay - per - view in February , and a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania , when he pulled Big Show over the top rope , aiding in his elimination by Chris Jericho in the end of a number - one contender ' s battle royal on the February 20 edition of Raw . On the March 2 episode of SmackDown , General Manager Theodore Long announced an official match between Rhodes and Big Show for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII , where the latter has vowed " to win at all costs . " At the Elimination Chamber pay - per - view in February 2012 , Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis and his legal counsel David Otunga expressed Laurinaitis ' desire to be become permanent General Manager of Raw , as well as General Manager of SmackDown . Alberto Del Rio , Mark Henry , and Christian all came out and voiced their support for Laurinaitis over SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long . Later that night , Long agreed with Laurinaitis ' desire for only one man to run both brands , but believed that it should be him . On the February 21 edition of Super SmackDown , the two General Managers got into an argument following a match between Raw ' s WWE Champion CM Punk and SmackDown ' s World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan that ended in a draw , with each man supporting the opposing brand ' s world champion . The two were then given the chance by the WWE Board of Directors to run the other show for one night in order for the Board to evaluate them , with Long running the March 5 edition of Raw and Laurinaitis in charge of the March 9 edition of SmackDown . On March 12 , the Board of Directors announced that a 12 - Man Tag Team Match would take place at WrestleMania XXVIII , with the General Manager of the winning team being awarded stewardship of both Raw and SmackDown . That night on Raw , Long appointed his assistant Santino Marella to be the captain of his team , while Laurinaitis appointed Otunga to be the captain and named Mark Henry as a member of his team . On March 15 , it was announced that R - Truth had been added to Long ' s team . On the March 16 edition of SmackDown , Christian officially joined Team Johnny , and Kofi Kingston was announced as Team Teddy ' s newest member . Prior to the March 19 edition of Raw , Laurinaitis and Otunga announced on WWE . com that ( Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger ) had been added to Team Johnny . Another match scheduled for WrestleMania is between Divas Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres taking on the team of Kelly Kelly and " Extra " co - host Maria Menounos . The feud between Phoenix and Menounos began on the October 12 , 2009 edition of Raw when Menounos accompanied then - " Access Hollywood " host Nancy O ' Dell , who was the guest host of Raw that night . Phoenix , angered over having been traded to the SmackDown brand by O ' Dell , barged into their office and got into a confrontation with both women , leading to a Six - Diva tag team match later that night in which Menounos ' team defeated Phoenix ' s team . On the 2011 edition of Tribute to the Troops , Menounos made an appearance , this time in an Eight - Diva tag team match , winning the match for her team by pinning Phoenix . Kelly and Eve , on the other hand , had a falling apart of their friendship after Eve admitted to having used Zack Ryder and John Cena to further her own career . On the March 15 episode of " Extra " , Phoenix and Eve interrupted an interview between Kelly and Menounos , which resulted in a confrontation . Phoenix would then challenge Menounos to a match at WrestleMania , which the latter accepted . Later that night , it was announced on WWE . com that WWE officials had sanctioned a tag team match pitting Phoenix and Eve against Menounos and Kelly for WrestleMania XXVIII . Another rivalry heading into WrestleMania is between Randy Orton and Kane . On the March 2 edition of SmackDown , Kane interrupted Orton ' s match against Daniel Bryan , causing Orton to lose by count - out . The two men then brawled , with Orton ultimately being chokeslammed by Kane . Orton got his revenge on the March 5 edition of Raw by delivering an RKO to Kane , who had just defeated R - Truth . On the March 9 edition of SmackDown , Orton and Kane once again brawled at the end of the show with no man appearing to gain an advantage . The next week on SmackDown , Orton demanded Kane to explain his intentions . He referred to his handshake with Orton after a Street Fight on the July 22 , 2011 edition of SmackDown , in which Orton had defeated him . Kane , explaining that the handshake made him look weak and " human , " claimed that this " wretched " self was now gone , and announced that he would challenge Orton at WrestleMania XXVIII . On March 30 , WWE announced on their website that a Triple Threat Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between the defending champions Primo & Epico , The Usos ( Jimmy and Jey ) , and the newly formed team of Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd ( see Tyson & Justin ) , would be streamed online free before the pay - per - view on both WWE . com and the official WWE YouTube channel .