WrestleMania 28 matches planned for April 1 event in Miami

The plan for WrestleMania 28 is reportedly coming along nicely and, in fact, all but a few matches on the card are already made. Officially, nothing has been set just yet but that will slowly start to change beginning with the Royal Rumble match this Sunday night (Jan. 29, 2012).

Here's how things are looking at present time:

-- The Rock vs. John Cena

Really, no other match is even necessary after this one. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of hype there's going to be for this by the time it actually rolls around. The Rock is now officially being advertised for Raw dates as early as March 12, which is about three weeks out from WrestleMania. I would hope he shows up for a few more than that and he comes around earlier. Either way, this is the biggest match WWE has had in the last decade.

-- Triple H vs. Undertaker

Probably the most controversial match on the card, simply because no one seems to want to see it. Opinions are wide ranging, from those who simply think 'Taker shouldn't waste his few remaining matches on old warhogs like Triple H to those who believe Trips might actually be insane enough to get himself over as the guy who broke "The Streak." I can't ever see that happening. The good news for this match is that Shawn Michaels is reportedly going to be added in as a new wrinkle. Apparently, the angle is going to be that HBK will be the referee and they'll build to whether or not Michaels will help "The Game" because he wants his friend to end "The Streak" or he'll help Undertaker because he doesn't want someone to do something he himself could not. He could simply call it down the middle, but then there's really no point in bringing him in other than the hype. The story sounds interesting but I still can't decide whether to look forward to this or not.

A look at the rest of the card after the jump.

-- CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

The WWE championship is necessary to make this match work but it's reportedly going to be on the line and be one of the big money matches, probably third down on the card from the two mentioned above. Jericho still has yet to fully reveal his intentions since his return but that's supposed to change at the Royal Rumble this Sunday night, whether that means he attacks Punk or wins the Rumble altogether. The obvious selling point here is that Punk started calling himself the "Best in the World" long after Jericho first used it and now Y2J has come around again to take his title back. Jericho is in the best shape of his life, according to his own words, so hopefully they'll be able to go for a half hour and tear the house down.

-- Shaquille O'Neal vs. Big Show

There is no match on the card I'm looking forward to more than this. That's driven by how much I enjoy Shaq's work, in all aspects of entertainment. He's a mammoth of a man who is still fairly athletic and he's a huge mark for pro wrestling. That mix, added together with the fact that Show is as game as it gets and willing to work with a celebrity to make it something special, and this could steal the show as one of the best matches on the card. I'm literally giddy with anticipation of seeing Shaq (freaking Shaq!) take a bump and his ensuing sell job. This should be rich.

-- Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry or Daniel Bryan

The Smackdown world heavyweight championship match is all but guaranteed to include Orton but who is opponent will be is still up in the air at this point. As pointed out in this post here, Randall apparently wasn't the biggest fan of working with Henry. However, he put him over clean multiple times and gave him most of his credibility as champion during his run as the monster ruling Smackdown. Orton took a backseat on the show to give Henry his run and has been on the sidelines while Bryan has taken over that spot and gradually grown into an awesome heel champion. So it looks like this will come down to whoever Orton decides. Does he want to get his wins back over Henry? Or is he more interested in working a great match with Bryan? We shall see.

-- Money in the Bank ladder match

WWE has been messing around with its schedule, making changes that include dumping shows altogether and simply moving some to separate months. The Money in the Bank pay-per-view is no longer, which would seem to indicate that they are going to bring it back as a showcase match at WrestleMania. Indeed, there are plenty of upper tier mid-carders/former main eventers with nothing to do at "The Granddaddy of Them All." What better way to make sure they get on the show? Possible names include Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, R-Truth, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, and Sheamus. That's eight guys right there. Wade Barrett would be left out but they could move Rhodes vs. Goldust to 'Mania instead of the current plan of having it at Elimination Chamber and put Barrett in the Money in the Bank match. That would get the 'Mania match count up to seven, meaning one more match needs to be added to the card to get to eight like last year.

-- Diva fun!

Even if WWE doesn't really give a crap about their female performers, they'll most definitely be given a slot on the biggest event of the year. Whether that be a singles match for the Diva's championship or a tag match or even a battle royal, they'll make it on the card somehow.

And there you have it, Cagesiders. That's what we're likely looking at for WrestleMania 28 on April 1, 2012, on pay-per-view in Miami, Florida.

The card is not official, of course, and changes may very well be made but that's how it currently looks. Thoughts?