THE 10 BIGGEST NEWS STORIES OF 2012

Compiled by Dan Murphy & Al Castle

1. WRESTLEMANIA 28 A FINANCIAL AND CRITICAL SUCCESS

WWE’s biggest match in years helped make WrestleMania 28 one of the most watched wrestling events history.

The April 1 show garnered approximately 1.22 million pay-per-view purchases—just behind 2007’s WrestleMania 23’s 1.25 million buys. The WWE reported that the event generated $5.3-million in new revenue as compared to the previous year’s show, and $102.7-million in economic impact for the host city, Miami, Florida. The show also boasted the biggest live gate ever for a wrestling event at $8.9-million.

Some 78,000 fans from around the world packed Sun Life Stadium to watch hometown boy The Rock compete in his first singles match in nine years. In the epic main event, “The Great One” defeated John Cena after hitting him with his patented Rock Bottom.

WrestleMania also featured “The End of An Era,” when The Undertaker defeated Triple-H in a Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels as a special guest referee. The dramatic bout, which saw The Undertaker extend his WrestleMania win streak to a stunning 20-0, went on to be voted as 2012’s Match of the Year by PWI readers.

Also on the show, WWE heavyweight champion CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho in a grudge match, and Sheamus captured the World title by beating Daniel Bryan in just 18 seconds.

As usual, WrestleMania featured appearances from several celebrities, including recording artist Flo Rida, who sang before The Rock’s entrance, and Extra TV host Maria Menounos, who competed in a Divas tag team match.