5 Wrestling Dream Matches That Lived Up To The Hype

#3 The Rock vs. John Cena - WrestleMania XXVIII

Should have stayed at once in a lifetime

Once in a lifetime. That's what they called it, it didn't end up being that, but for the year leading up to it and the match itself, WWE and fans treated it like it would be the only time we would be seeing this huge epic encounter.

The lead up to the match was truly excellent as the seeds had been planted from the moment The Rock had returned to the WWE in 2011. It had a year of build up with a series of shoot promos between the two. At this point, they didn't like each other, it showed and it that sense of realism made for arguably the best build up WWE has ever had to any match.

Taking place in Miami, the live audience was solidly behind The Rock. This only drove John to give one of the better performances he had in recent years, while The Rock showed that despite this being only his second match in eight years, that he never lost what made him so entertaining in the past.

The two went back and forth all match long with the fans on the edge of their seat, being with them vocally every step of the way. The Rock came out on top for the popular decision.

The 'once in a lifetime' moniker was thrown out the window when WWE presented a rematch between them the following year, which didn't have even 1/3 of the hype and half the thrilling action at the first. The match existed just so John could get a victory over him, as well as a hoped big butyrate, similar to WrestleMania XXVIII, which had been the most successful WWE event ever by that point.