ATLANTA – In his first-ever WrestleMania main event, WWE Champion The Miz successfully defended his title against seasoned Show of Shows veteran John Cena when WrestleMania XXVII Host Dwayne “The Rock " Johnson – still seething following Cena’s Attitude Adjustment on Raw six days earlier – hit the Rock Bottom on The Cenation Commander-in-Chief. This retaliatory act allowed The Awesome One to capitalize and score the pinfall.
One year earlier, The Miz competed in the opening match at WrestleMania XXVI, emanating from Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium. But in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome – in front of a record-breaking crowd of more than 71, 000 – The Awesome One clung to the coveted WWE Title in a “Miz-toric” main event.
However, The People’s Champ would not allow the most “must-see” WWE Champion in history to savor his ill-gotten victory for long, driving the People’s Elbow into the heart of The Awesome One after the bell had rung. More than seven years after his final match in WWE, The Rock electrified the millions … and millions … of Team Bring It members around the world on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Before The Rock’s interference in the match, Cena unleashed on The Miz, venting his many frustrations after being brutalized by The Awesome One for several weeks prior. Kicking out of The Miz’s signature Skull-Crushing Finale, Cena then leveled the crafty WWE Champion with an Attitude Adjustment. But the referee – incapacitated by an in-ring collision – was unable to count the pinfall.Following the illegal intervention of his associate, Alex Riley, The Miz was able to kick out of a second Attitude Adjustment. When the action spilled outside the ring, both Superstars catapulted one another over the barricade and onto the floor. After making contact with the concrete, neither Superstar was able to respond to the referee’s 10-count.
When this emotionally-charged bout ended in a double count-out and a title retention, the anonymous Raw General Manager chimed in via email. Keeping his hosting duties in mind, The Rock took to the podium to read the latest decree from the master of Monday nights’ infamous laptop, but was ultimately reluctant to relinquish control of “The People’s WrestleMania” to a digital dictator. The Great One proclaimed that it “doesn’t matter” what Raw’s GM thinks, laid the smack down on the computer and ordered the match to resume. To ensure a winner, the WrestleMania Host mandated that there be no count-outs and no disqualifications.
Just moments after the match continued, The Great One nailed Cena with a Rock Bottom, allowing The Miz to crawl atop Cena’s battered form and secure the pinfall victory. Of course, The Miz’s victory celebration was short-lived, as he soon found himself on the receiving end of “the most electrifying move in sports-entertainment,” the People’s Elbow.
Cena and The Miz crossed paths with The Rock numerous times leading up to their epic encounter at the Georgia Dome, making the involvement of The Brahma Bull not only likely, but a near-certainty. After more than a month of long-distance verbal sparring, Cena and The Rock finally confronted one another in the ring, an anticipated meeting of WWE icons that was soon spoiled by the brash, young WWE Champion.
With Riley’s help, The Miz viciously attacked the WrestleMania XXVII host, who overcame the two-on-one odds and silenced The Awesome One with a People’s Elbow. Seeing an opportunity to prove to The Rock that he’s not to be trifled with, the Cenation leader went on the offensive, giving The Rock an Attitude Adjustment that set the tone for their inevitable meeting at The Showcase of the Immortals. Taking his rivalry with Cena to a whole new level at WrestleMania, The Rock cost Cena the WWE Championship in a decisive act of retribution.
Hostility is still brewing between Cena and the WWE Champion, and the WWE Universe surely hasn’t seen the last clash between these two incredible Superstars. As for The Rock, the electrifying host lived up to his promise: He did indeed “bring it” to WrestleMania XXVII.
