I Paid $70 For WrestleMania

By: Bill McAllister

I haven't been a fan of professional wrestling since I was a kid. Back when Bobo Brazil and The Sheik (not the Iron Sheik) used to grapple at "the air-conditioned Cobo Arena" and it was called Big Time Wrestling, not WWE or WWF. But for some reason I was intrigued by Wrestlemania 28 and the headlining bout of John Cena vs. The Rock.

Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson hadn't wrestled since 2003 and this would be his triumphant return to the squared circle. I was looking at it as more of a pop culture event than anything else. I actually attended WM23 at Ford Field and I have to say, it was pretty cool. And who can forget WM3 at the Silverdome and Hulk Hogan body-slamming Andre The Giant?

So my wife and I agreed it might be kinda fun to grab a pizza and some beer and purchase the Pay-Per-View of WM28. After all she was a huge fan of the WWE/F in the 80's and 90's and especially of The Rock. So, after a little research we discovered that the PPV would cost us no less than...$64.99+taxes+fees. What? Now, I'm not a cheapskate but essentially $70 to watch some costumed dudes pretend fight is a bit out of my common sense zone. Granted I would get to see Maria Menounous of the TV tabloid show 'Extra' cat-fightin' as part of a tag team match. And I would see The Undertaker go 20-0 in WM match history by defeating Triple H. And sure, who doesn't want to see musical acts perform like Flo-Rida and some rapper dude named Machine Gun Kelly, who looked more like he should be on an episode of 'Intervention' rather than Wrestlemania. But $70?

I'll cut to the chase. I caved. I bought the PPV, sat down at 7:00, had some pizza and beer with my lovely and was marginally entertained for almost four hours. Oh, by the way, The Rock defeated John Cena. I'm assuming that's what the script said would happen.