3/28 WrestleMania 26 Live Coverage: Powell's report on Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Batista vs. John Cena for the WWE Title, Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon, Chris Jericho vs. Edge for the World Hvt. Championship

Dot Net Members can look forward to the Dot Net Triple Threat audio recap with Jason Powell, Rich Twilling, and Chris Shore breaking down the entire show. You can listen to all Dot Net Audio on the ad-free version of the site and correspond with other members in the Dot Net Forum for only $5 per month via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

Aired live on pay-per-view
Glendale, Ariz. at University of Phoenix Stadium

Pre-Show

1. Yoshi Tatsu won a 26-man battle royal. This was the get everyone on the show match an was not shown on the pay-per-view. Thanks to all the readers who passed along the result.

WrestleMania 26

The ring announcer welcomed us to WrestleMania. Jets flew over the open-air stadium... Fantasia performed "America The Beautiful"... A video played on WrestleMania moments and featured shots of the top stars...

Michael Cole introduced the show from ringside and hyped that there were over 70,000 fans in attendance...

Powell's POV: Well, there's our first miss of the night. WWE can still salvage this one by having Jim Ross come out to call the top matches. If nothing else, he has to call Taker vs. Shawn.

During the ring introductions for the opening match, Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Matt Striker checked in from ringside while wearing tuxedos. We also got a shot of the Spanish announce team...

Powell's POV: The stage looks awesome. A real spectacle. Spanish announce team? I think we all know what that means!

1. Big Show and The Miz beat R-Truth and John Morrison for the Unified Tag Titles in 3:25. Cole told us the show is being broadcast in Romania for the first time. The first cool move of the night actually came from Big Show, who performed a fallaway slam on Truth. He went for the Vader Bomb, but Morrison nailed him with a kick that knocked him into the ring. Truth covered Show for an early near fall.

A short time later, Morrison checked in and set up for Starship Pain on The Miz. Show reached inside the ring and pulled Miz out. Morrison went for the move and missed. Moments later, Show made a blind tag and then caught Morrison with a Knockout punch. Show covered Morrison for the pin...

Powell's POV: Quick and painless opener. They dedicated more time to setting up the match than it actually lasted. In our first celebrity sighting, I'm told that former Raw guest host Seth Green is seated behind the announcers.

A video recapped some of the WrestleMania weekend events...

2. Randy Orton defeated Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes in a Triple Threat match in 9:00. Cole mentioned the fathers of all three wrestlers. We'll see if that leads to anything. Orton went on the offensive early. Cody and Ted teamed up to take him down and put the boots to him. A "Randy" chant broke out. Ted taunted the crowd and Orton. Randy made a brief comeback, but Ted cut him off with a clothesline.

At 4:30, Ted went for the cover on Orton. Cody pulled him off and threw him to ringside. Cody hit a move on Orton and went for his own cover, but Ted returned to break it up. They jawed until Ted punched Cody. They rolled outside the ring and fought on the floor. The crowd was silent. "Catfight!" said pay-per-view party attendee Holden Mitchell.

Randy came back and beat up both of his former proteges. Ted, who was bleeding from the forehead, cut off Randy. However, when Cody and Ted tried to climb inside the ring, Randy caught them in a double DDT that popped the crowd. Orton went into Viper Pose. However, Randy's expression changed and he stood up.

Orton looked to the crowd. He backed up and nailed Cody with the punt kick. Ted snuck back inside the ring and went for Dream Street, but Randy dodged it and hit the RKO on DiBiase for the pin. As Orton posed and celebrated in the ring, a circular video screen lowered into the ring and showed his logo...

Powell's POV: I was afraid Orton was developing feelings for Cody for a second there due to his awkward facial expressions. Orton was really over. Cody and Ted? Not so much. I'm happy they went with this finish simply because I'm not digging the feud. This puts Cody out of the picture for a while, so I guess they could still keep Orton vs. Ted alive.

A don't try this at home video was shown...

Backstage, Josh Matthews delivered a big buildup about how he was about to interview one of the most charismatic superstars in WWE history. It turned out to be Vickie Guerrero. He asked Vickie, who was accompanied by her teammates, if that's what she was looking for. She gave Josh the boot and had Jillian Hall enter the picture for a song. Santino stepped in after the other Divas left.

Santino pimped Slim Jim. When he bit into the Slim Jim, Jillian turned into Mae Young, who kissed him. He bit in again and Gene Okerlund was standing there in a dress. The next bite led to Melina. Santino said anything is possible when you snap into a Slim Jim and then walked away with Melina...

Powell's POV: Cute skit. THe Money in the Bank is up next.

3. Jack Swagger won the Money in the Bank ladder match over Kofi Kingston, MVP, Drew McIntyre, Kane, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Christian, and Dolph Ziggler in 13:45. Swagger came out wearing a new red, white, and blue outfit complete with a sparkly robe. He's the new Kurt Angle. Kofi tied his hair into various ponytails. MVP had new ring gear. Kane had a black eye.

Kofi tried to run the ladder early on and slipped. He took the first big bump when Kane powerbomed him onto the ladder. There was a cool visual with one ladder set up in the middle of the ring and then ladders leaning on the ropes on both sides. Swagger pushed one ladder aside and sent Hardy flying. Cool spot. Bourne, who missed a knee press earlier, went for a big move when it looked like he could have reached up and grabbed the briefcase.

Hardy and Bourne ended up on top of the ladder. Bourne took the big bump when Hardy slammed off the top and into the ring. At 8:15, Ziggler was on top of the ladder when Kane knocked him off. Kane grabbed the ladder and threw it at Ziggler, who ducked. The ladder went over the top rope and took a good bounce. A bad bounce would have resulted in some lawsuits as it looked like it easily could have flew into the crowd.

Kane continued the assault on Ziggler and broke a ladder in two while wedging him between it. Kofi took the two ladder pieces and tried to use them as stilts. He got to the center of the ring (you know, because he couldn't have just walked there and then tried to climb them at that point) and hopped up each rung in a fun spot, but McIntyre stopped him.

At 11:00, Hardy set up the ladder made a play for the briefcase, but Kane brought another ladder into the ring. Hardy had to wait for Christian to teeter over to stop him from grabbing the briefcase. Awkward that he had to wait so long. Kane joined Christian and Hardy on top of the two ladders. They sent Kane crashing to the mat. Hardy went for a Twist of Fate on Christian, but Christian turned it into a reverse DDT. Cole still called it a Twist of Fate.

Christian had the briefcase stopped and ready to unhook when Swagger caught up to him and swung the briefcase into Christian's face and knocked him off the ladder. Swagger had trouble unhooking the briefcase. It was obvious he was going to win because no one else was even in the picture. He eventually unhooked it and won the match...

Powell's POV: Fun match, as always. There were some big bumps and Hardy had some noticeable red marks on his back, as I'm sure others do. There were a lot of guys taking breaks at ringside by selling injuries so that there weren't too many guys in the ring together. They had enough big bumps that it seemed didn't seem unusual that so many guys were selling. This wasn't the best MITB ever, but it was a fun match. It's just too bad the final seconds were so anticlimactic. That had to feel like an eternity for Swagger. It's good to see him win even though I'm not crazy about his new Angle look. It's not like Kurt has a copyright on wearing patriotic colors, but Swagger's amateur wrestling background makes it a little too close for comfort.

An Extreme Rules commercial aired...

A Hall of Fame recap video was shown... Howard Finkel introduced the Hall of Fame Class of 2010. The Hart family came out for a bow (Bret Hart wasn't with them) for their father along with the other members of the class...

A video set up Triple H vs. Sheamus...

4. Triple H pinned Sheamus in 12:10. No furry Conan outfit this year. Just green laser lights. Cool look. Cole made millions of people want to vomit when he said some crap about how if ever there was a man made for WrestleMania and if ever WrestleMania made a man it's Triple H. Surprisingly, they didn't close the roof for Sheamus, who may change color in mid-match as a result of the Arizona sun.

Sheamus backed Hunter into a corner early and mouthed off. Hunter applied an early figure four. Sheamus went back on the offense a short time later. He put the boots to Hunter in the corner, backed off, and played to the crowd for heat. He got a lot of boos, and then a Triple H chant broke out.

After a few minutes of Sheamus taking it to Hunter, Triple H came back with a DDT at 7:50. They traded punches and Hunter got the better of the exchange. Hunter hit the high knee and some signature moves. At 9:00, Hunter stood on the second rope and punched Sheamus, who snuck underneath him, took a couple shots to the back and went for "that maneuver" (Celtic Cross) according to Cole.

Hunter avoided the Celtic Cross and the big boot. However, Sheamus hit him with the big boot on the second try and scored a good near fall, though it was obvious that Hunter would kick out as you could clearly see him watching the ref's count. At 11:15, Sheamus clotheslined Hunter on the top rope and then caught him with another kick while standing on the ring apron.

Sheamus picked up Hunter and was setting up for a move when Hunter countered and caught him with a kick to the gut. Hunter hit The Pedigree and scored the pin. The announcers immediately put over the fight that Sheamus showed. "He proved he belongs in the game," Cole said. I don't think he meant that to sound as homoerotic as it did...

Powell's POV: A good match that made Sheamus look strong in defeat. Not a special match by any means, but WWE can continue to tell the story that Sheamus proved himself. By the way, Rey Mysterio vs. C.M. Punk is taking place after the Triple H match? Remember this moment.

A video recapped the Rey Mysterio vs. C.M. Punk feud...

5. Rey Mysterio defeated C.M. Punk (w/Serena, Luke Gallows) in 6:30. If Mysterio loses, he must join the Straight Edge Society. Punk cut a promo on his way to the ring. The usual topics including referring to himself as a savior. Good stuff. Mysterio, who has had some wild looks at WrestleMania over the years, wore a powder blue mask with a long braided ponytail. Cole said it's based on the movie "Avatar."

Punk has G.I. Joe trunks and boots with his own name on the back. Nice. Serena and Gallows circled opposite sides of the ring. Gallows slammed his hands on the mat to distract Mysterio, which allowed Punk to take the early advantage. Mysterio came back with a springboard move off the ropes a couple minute later, but Punk caught him with a power slam. Cool move.

The wrestlers traded offense. Mysterio had his first real flurry and went for another springboard only to be caught in GTS position, but he fought out of it at 5:00. Mysterio went up top for a splash and missed when Punk moved. The crowd was really hot for Rey's offense. Punk hit a high knee in the corner.

Mysterio came back and had Punk in position for the 619. However, Serena climbed onto the ring apron and covered Punk, so Mysterio stopped. He went to run the ropes, but Gallows stood up and blocked him. Punk recovered and went for the GTS, but Rey avoided it and rammed him into Gallows and knocked him off the ring apron. Rey followed up with a springboard splash for the win...

Powell's POV: Really fun while it lasted, but my concern over how much time they'd get was justified. They should have given these two at least five more minutes. The crowd was really into Mysterio and were happy with the result, but it felt like the match was just getting started. There hasn't been a bad match yet, but no major WrestleMania moments either.

A graphic hyped Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon. An excellent video package with Bret career highlights and recent footage of his saga with Vince was shown...

Powell's POV: Just a reminder that Rich Twilling is covering the show live, and Chris Shore is blogging about the show right now if you're looking for different perspectives.

6. Bret Hart defeated Vince McMahon in a no holds barred match in 11:05. Bret came out wearing a t-shirt, long jean shorts, and a leather jacket, so no old school pink and black. Too bad. Sure, it's a street fight, but many of us were looking forward to seeing Bret in the old gear. Vince wore the usual black shirt and black jeans and flexed when he walked onto the stage with a mic in hand.

Vince stood on the stage and delivered a brief promo. He recalled promising Bret "a WrestleMania sized screwing" on Raw. He said he bought himself a bunch of lumberjacks. Vince said Bret screwed Bret, Vince screwed Bret, and now the entire Hart family will screw Bret. The Hart Dynasty and Bret's siblings came out as Vince's lumberjacks.

Cole tried to act disgusted and said Vince will stop at nothing to humiliate Bret. Cole rewrote history by claiming Hart's contract was going to expire, which led to the Montreal Screwjob. Bruce Hart entered the ring and removed his dress shirt to reveal a referee shirt. Bret took the mic and questioned whether the family actually agreed to this.

Bret said if there's one thing he knows about the Hart family, it's that they all got paid up front. Bret said it's a double cross because the Hart family is united. He said this will be remembered as the night that Bret screwed Vince. The live crowd gave a small cheer after the promo and the bell finally rang.

Vince rolled out of the ring and tried to run away early. The Hart Dynasty members took their shots at him along with some of the siblings. Tyson Kidd went up to the top rope and hit the Hart Attack clothesline on Vince, whose head hit hard on the mat. They finally rolled Vince back inside the ring, where Bret went to work with basic moves.

Vince ended up back at ringside at 3:20. He rolled under the ring momentarily and emerged with a tire iron. The Hart family backed away as if Vince had pulled out a nuclear weapon. Ugh. Vince headed back to the ring and swung the tire iron at Bret and missed. Bret got the tire iron and used it as a weapon on Vince. The crowd was really flat. The family made more noise at ringside by slamming the mat than the fans were.

That all changed when Bret set up for the Sharpshooter. However, he stopped short of applying the hold. He grabbed the tire iron from one of his family members at ringside and hit Vince with it a couple more times. He spread Vince's legs and kicked him in the gut several times.

David Hart Smith slid a chair inside the ring. Bret set up the chair and sat down in the ring. He looked at Bruce and gave the "timeout" sign. When Vince stood up, Bret hit him with repeated chairshots to the back. Vince rolled over and Bret continued to hit him. Striker said it was 13 chairshots for 13 years of frustration.

Bret jabbed the chair into Vince's lower back at 10:10. Bret continued to use the mangled chair as a weapon while Vince writhed in pain on the mat. Bret set up for the Sharpshooter again. The Harts slammed their hands on the mat around ringside and the fans cheered once he finally applied the hold. Vince tapped out immediately...

Powell's POV: Wow, that was boring. It was a big letdown for me even though I didn't have high hopes going in. Vince took a hell of a beating with the chair (and I'm sure Bret enjoyed dishing it out), but I just don't care about the Hart siblings and they added nothing to the match. It was nice to see the Hart Dynasty, but it was easy to see the doubles cross coming as soon as Vince introduced the family. Lame. I guess the silver lining is this could lead to the Hart Dynasty being featured a little more prominently if the idea is that Vince is out to screw them now. He needs to say he's keeping them around to torment them or else the whole thing looks stupid because Vince should just fire them on the spot from a storyline standpoint.

A video hyped WrestleMania 27 for Atlanta, Ga... Justin Roberts announced the attendance as 72,219...

A video recapped the Edge vs. Chris Jericho feud...

7. Chris Jericho defeated Edge to retain the World Hvt. Championship in 15:45. Roberts handled the in-ring introductions for the championship match. "I hope a Canadian wins," read one fan sign. Meanwhile, someone else held up a "USA" sign. Striker delivered some lame line about both men being goal oriented superstars. Cole said they've won 55 titles combined.

The crowd was really flat during the first five minutes. Jericho took a bump off the ring and intentionally slammed his face off the announcers' table. Edge dove at him on the floor and then hit a facebuster in the ring for a near fall that no one bought into at 6:25. There was a small pop when Jericho hit an offensive move a short time later.

Jericho went for a Codebreaker, but Edge blocked it. Edge went for the spear and the crowd was into it, but Jericho avoided it and applied the Walls of Jericho a short time later. Edge countered with a small package for a near fall. Jericho came back a short time later, but Edge cut him off with an Impaler for a decent near fall. The crowd started to show some signs of life for the first time since the Vince vs. Bret yawner.

At 11:00, Jericho actually went for the spear, but Edge caught him with a boot to the face. Edge set up in the corner for a spear of his own, but Jericho must have heard the crowd chanting "spear" as he turned it into a Codebreaker. Jericho covered Edge, who kicked out at two.

At 12:30, Jericho kicked the back of Edge's leg as the announcers put over the way he was targeting the Achilles. Edge hobbled on one leg. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho again. Edge nearly reached the ropes, but Edge pulled him back into the center of the ring and wrenched only on the bad leg.

Edge finally reached the ropes at 14:00. Jericho tried to pull him back to the middle of the ring, but Edge caught him in a pinning situation for a great near fall. Jericho bailed to ringside and grabbed his belt to leave, but Edge stopped him. The referee took an elbow to the head and was bumped. Jericho hit Edge with the belt and got a near fall when the referee recovered.

Edge stood up at 15:40 and hopped on one leg. Jericho hit the Codebreaker and scored the clean pin to retain the championship. After the match, Jericho tried to go after Edge's injured leg again, but Edge fought back and put him on the Spanish announce table. Yes! Edge went to the other table, ran at Jericho, and speared him into the timekeeper's table. "Spear, spear, spear," Cole yelled.

Powell's POV: Damn good match and just what the show needed after the Bret vs. Vince snoozer. This is the type of big clean win that Jericho needed to regain credibility as a champion with the casual fans. It was too soon for Edge to win the title, and now there's a need for another chapter of their saga. My only complaint is that the Spanish announcers' table is still in one piece.

Highlights aired of the 26-man battle royal that opened the show with Yoshi Tatsu eliminating Zack Ryder to get the win...

Powell's POV: The crowd is finally hot again, but now WWE is going to bring them down with the Divas. Ugh. Here's your buffer match. It may have been necessary if the crowd wasn't killed by Vince vs. Bret.

8. Vickie Guerrero, Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, and Alicia Fox defeated Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, and Kelly Kelly in a 10-Diva tag in 3:20. Vickie had real ring gear that read, "Excuse Me" across the front. Not a fan of that. Sure, it's funny, but it also makes it seem like she's aware that it's her gimmick rather than something her character says naturally. Yeah, I'm thinking too hard.

After Vickie took a beating, Mickie tagged in and hit a tornado DDT on Michelle McCool. At one point, McCool hit a Styles Clash. Kelly sold it forever and kept lying there while the other Divas worked around her. This was just a setup for Vickie going up top and hitting a frog splash on Kelly. Vickie covered her and the ref counted to two, but stopped the count because Kelly's shoulder wasn't down. Vickie was confused but covered her again for the win. Vickie did the Eddie Guerrero shimmy as her celebration...

Powell's POV: Cole told us it wouldn't be WrestleMania without the smart, sexy, and powerful Divas. Really, I could have done without that. It was nice to see Mickie do more than stand there, as that means she's on the road to recovery from her recent surgery. This didn't add much to the show and was only a little shorter than the opening tag title match. It was an appropriately timed Divas match given the way WWE doesn't care about the division, but I'm still surprised the tag title match was so short.

A video recapped the Batista vs. John Cena buildup... Batista had a basic entrance. A group of Airmen walked onto the stage and twirled guns. It was really cool, yet I could hear the groans from across the country for Cena playing the military card again. It was just a movie, John. Again, though, very cool display by the Airmen.

Powell's POV: Both men received mixed reactions. A group of fans in the first five rows held up "Cena Sucks" letter. Meanwhile, a single fan topped it with a "Batista likes Fish Sticks" sign. For those who have no clue, find that episode of "South Park." There's also a "Norway hates Cena," and an "It's still real to me dammit" sign.

9. John Cena defeated Batista to win the WWE Championship in 13:30. Batista went after Cena's neck early on. Cena went for an Attitude Adjustment, but Batista countered with a DDT. It looked like Cena took a bad bump and he acted hurt, but they may have just been playing into the story that bad things happen to Cena whenever he gets in the ring with Batista.

They traded punches around 6:00 and the crowd did the "Yeah" for Batista and "Boo" for Cena. The latter had his share of fans, but he had more haters than usual. Cena went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Batista caught him coming off the ropes and hit a spinebuster. A short time later, Cena applied the STF, but Batista reached the ropes to break the hold. Batista came right back with a spear for a near fall.

Cena and Batista ended up fighting on the second rope. Cena got the better of it and sent Batista crashing into the ring. Cena hit a fist drop for a near fall. Batista right back with a Batista Bomb for a great near fall that really popped the crowd. Batista went for his finisher again, but Cena avoided it. They jockeyed for position and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment, but Batista kicked out at 12:00. The fans popped even bigger for that near fall.

Cena went up top and jumped at Batista, who caught him and turned it into an awkward slam. Batista picked up Cena for his finisher, but Cena slipped away and turned it into the STF. Batista eventually tapped out. Cena was all smiles afterward as he celebrated with the title belt. He eventually headed to the floor at ringside and posed right in front of a group of the haters. Very funny...

Powell's POV: A really fun match. Good work from both men, but the live crowd really made it special with their excitement over the near falls. Both title matches were good, but they didn't do so much that Undertaker and Shawn Michaels won't be able to top them in the main event. This is going to be awesome.

10. Undertaker pinned Shawn Michaels in a no DQ, no countout match in 24:00. The ring announcer stressed that the only way to win the match was by pinfall or submission. Pretty standard entrance for Shawn. Taker got the laser show treatment. It was circular lights around the center of the stage and then he rose from underneath the stage in a new long jacket with a hood. Very cool. Charles Robinson is the referee. No Jim Ross. What a crock.

Taker and Shawn stood face to face in the center of the ring. The announcers got quiet to let the crowd tell the story. Shawn did the Taker throat slash hand gesture in a really cool moment. Taker acted really pissed and then charged Shawn when the bell rang to start the match. Taker hit Snake Eyes within the first minute of the match and followed up a short time later by going Old School.

Lawler told the story that Taker appeared to injury his knee while going for a chokeslam early. Taker sold the knee and Shawn worked it over. At 5:45, Shawn applied the figure four. Taker lied back and the ref counted one. Taker sat up and glared at Shawn. He did the same sit up routine two more times and rolled it over to put the pressure on Shawn the third time. A great wide shot of the arena was shown that really captured how big the building is.

Shawn kipped up at 8:00, but it was right into Taker's hand. Taker chokeslammed him for the first good near fall of the match. Moments later, Shawn applied the ankle lock. At 10:30, Shawn went for an Asai moonsault onto Taker on the floor, but Taker caught him and turned it into a Tombstone piledriver on the floor. The trainer ran over to tend to Shawn, but Taker shoved him away and rolled Shawn inside the ring where he got another near fall.

At 12:30, Taker went for the Last Ride. Shawn held onto Taker's face and turned it into a facebuster for another near fall. The announcers were confused by what happened because the camera angle was poor, but they quickly replayed it. Shawn followed up with a top rope elbow attempt, but Taker put his knees up.

Taker caught Shawn in the Devil's Gate submission hold. Shawn flipped over and turned it into a pining situation for a great near fall. Taker was bleeding from the arm and the blood got on Shawn's arm.

At 14:20, Shawn hit Sweet Chin Music. Taker kicked out at the last possible moment for a gem of a near fall. Shawn went to the corner and tuned up the band. He went for the kick while Taker was on his knees, but Taker caught his leg. Taker hit the Last Ride and Shawn kicked out at the last moment. Great emotion from the crowd for the near falls.

Taker threw Shawn to ringside at 16:00. Taker took apart the Cole and company's table. He picked up Shawn and tried to perform the Last Ride onto it, but Shawn slipped away and hit Sweet Chin Music, which left Taker lying on the table. Shawn went to the top rope and performed a moonsault that caught Taker's legs more than his body and the table collapsed. Taker clutched the leg that Shawn had been working over in pain.

At 19:00, they rolled back inside the ring. Shawn hit Sweet Chin Music at 19:30 for another great near fall. Shawn showed frustration. The majority of the fans were on their feet for that one. Shawn tuned up the band again, but Taker caught his foot. Taker chokeslammed Shawn. He clutched his knee in pain rather than going for the cover.

Taker picked up Shawn at 21:20, and hit the Tombstone Piledriver and placed Shawn's arms across his chest while covering him. Shawn kicked out. "What do I have to do," Taker said after Shawn kicked out. Awesome.

Taker stood in the middle of the ring and took his straps down. He was about to do the throat slash gesture, but he stopped. Shawn struggled to get to his knees. Taker told him to stay down. Shawn made the throat slash gesture again. Taker looked shocked. Shawn slapped Taker across the face. Taker scooped him up and left his feet while performing a great Tombstone piledriver for the 1-2-3. "Shawn Michaels' career is over," Cole said.

Cole said the 18-0 WrestleMania streak remains intact. "But at what cost?" he asked. The middle screen on the stage read "18-0" and fireworks exploded on the stage.

A few minutes had passed and Shawn still hadn't moved in the middle of the ring. Taker picked up Shawn and leaned him against the ropes. He said something to him that ended with "you son of a bitch." Taker shook Shawn's hand and then hugged him as the crowd cheered. Taker left the ring to give Shawn his moment.

The fans changed "HBK" and then "Thank you, Shawn." Lawler said this might be the ultimate WrestleMania moment. Shut up and it will be. Shawn knelt down in the middle of the ring as the fans continued to cheer. He thanked the fans with tears in his eyes. He rolled to ringside and shook hands with the fans near the entrance ramp.

"I've been driving my kids nuts for three weeks," Michaels yelled to a fan. He stopped halfway up the ramp and took a look around the building. He stopped a shook the hand of a fan who was right next to some tool with a "This match sponsored by the AARP" sign.

Once HBK made it to the stage, Shawn knelt down and put his hands in the air. He waved to the fans and then headed backstage. The show went off the air without the usual recap video...

Powell's POV: Phenomenal main event. Very disappointed to see Shawn go, but happy that he's going out on his own terms. I was really hoping for one more year from Shawn and a career vs. career match. Of course, it's wrestling, so I won't be surprised at all if Shawn returns for another big match or two. Monday's Raw should be sensational. I'm happy they didn't go with the Hunter turn. I'll have a ton to say about the overall show in tonight's Dot Net Triple Threat audio, which is available exclusively to Dot Net Members. You can get in on the fun for only $5 per month via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

Thanks for following along with our coverage of WrestleMania 26!