A Mania match a day

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

I'm gonna give this a go, my match list is as follows

 

Wrestlemania - Andre the Giant v Big John Studd - Bodyslam Challenge

Wrestlemania 2 - British Bulldogs v Dream Team - Tag Team titles

Wrestlemania 3 - Rowdy Roddy Piper v Adrian Adonis - Hair v Hair

Wrestlemania 4 - Battle Royal

Wrestlemania 5 - Hart Foundation v Rhythm and Blues

Wrestlemania 6 - Ted Dibiase v Jake Roberts - Million Dollar Championship

Wrestlemania 7 - Hulk Hogan v Sgt Slaughter - WWE title

Wrestlemania 8 - Ric Flair v Randy Savage - WWE title

Wrestlemania 9 - Steiner Brothers v Headshrinkers

Wrestlemania 10 - Alundra Blayze v Leilani Kai - Women's title

Wrestlemania 11 - Bam Bam Bigelow v Lawrence Taylor

Wrestlemania 12 - Undertaker v Diesel

Wrestlemania 13 - Legion of Doom/Ahmed Johnson v Nation of Domination - Street Fight

Wrestlemania 14 - Marc Mero/Sable v Goldust/Luna

Wrestlemania 15 - Butterbean v Bart Gunn - Brawl for All

Wrestlemania 16 - Too Cool/Chyna v Radicalz

Wrestlemania 17 - Stone Cold Steve Austin v The Rock - WWE title

Wrestlemania 18 - Jazz v Trish Stratus v Lita - Women's title

Wrestlemania 19 - Matt Hardy v Rey Mysterio - Cruiserweight title

Wrestlemania 20 - Goldberg v Brock Lesnar

Wrestlemania 21 - John Cena v JBL - WWE title

Wrestlemania 22 - Shawn Michaels v Mr McMahon - Street Fight

Wrestlemania 23 - Money in the Bank Ladder match

Wrestlemania 24 - Big Show v Floyd Mayweather

Wrestlemania 25 - Matt Hardy v Jeff Hardy

Wrestlemania 26 - 10 Diva tag match

Wrestlemania 27 - Edge v Alberto Del Rio - World Heavyweight title

Wrestlemania 28 - CM Punk v Chris Jericho - WWE title

Wrestlemania 29 - The Shield v Randy Orton/Sheamus/Big Show

Wrestlemania 30 - Daniel Bryan v Triple H

[HarmonicGenerator]

Right then. I wasn't able to watch anything last night, so it's catch-up time.

 

For WrestleMania 2 I have chosen to watch British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team.

 

The match

 

The first thing I notice is that WrestleMania 2 got a 'this programme is featured in its original form' warning. I'm expecting that a bit later on when we get to Benoit-era stuff but what was wrong with 'Mania 2?

 

The Dream Team of Valentine and Beefcake is already in the ring to kick off the match, which is for the Tag Team Titles. Luscious Johnny Valiant is their manager, sporting a magnificent sparkly red headband. I also didn't realise the Tag belts were the same back in '86 as they were using in the early 2000s, they lasted ages, didn't they?

 

The Bulldogs are out! They've got Lou Albano, and they've got Ozzy Osbourne with them! They get an entrance. Ozzy's got a mic. One of the commentators asks what Ozzy's going to do for the Bulldogs apart from the fact he's British. Good question. The reply seemed to be that Ozzy was from Manchester. Not only is that wrong, it doesn't answer the question.

 

This is the second match out of two I've watched for this project where there are two officials. And again, the outside official does bugger all.

 

Davey Boy and the Hammer start things off with some great little exchanges. Dynamite tags in and Greg does a Flair Flop. For some reason my mind flashes forward to Valentine's little mini-run on Heat in the mid-2000s, or was that just a one-off match against Rob Conway?

 

Smith's back in again and hits a beautiful suplex on Valentine, who's been nothing short of brilliant so far. He's a Hall of Famer I think, and rightly so, possibly one of the most underrated guys of this period (I may be talking bollocks there and he's very well-rated, in which case I apologise). Beefcake tags in and my interest level goes down almost instantly. Davey Boy gets it back by press slamming Beefcake. Smashing.

 

Davey also hit a Perfectplex (okay, a Fisherman Suplex) on Beefcake while I'm checking WWE.com to see if Greg Valentine's in the Hall of Fame, but I've been distracted by a video claiming to reveal who was behind GTV.

 

The video is actually about '5 WWE myths busted' and the first one is that Hogan WASN'T the first person to slam Andre. I knew that, but it's put me off wanting to watch Hogan vs. Andre when I get to WrestleMania III a bit.

 

Bulldogs double-teaming the Hammer, Dynamite hits a backbreaker, Bulldogs absolutely dominating in the match, which to be honest has surprised me slightly, and Vince Russo's just turned up on that video to reveal that GTV wasn't ever going to be Goldust, it was going to be an MTV crossover with Tom Green.

 

I'm glad that never happened. That would have been shocking, and not in a good way.

 

Valentine just hit a crazy looking piledriver, stalling in piledriver position before dropping to his knees, so it's a kind of stalling inverted tombstone, maybe? Mad. It didn't get him a pin, anyway, but before Valentine can really take advantage, the Bulldogs are back on, and Davey hits the running powerslam… and gets a 2! What madness is this?

 

Meanwhile, the next myth is that there were 2 Ultimate Warriors. There weren't.

 

Oof! Beefcake just chucked Davey into the air and he crashed down with some force. NOW the Dream Team's in control.

 

Myth number four concerns the origins of the Hardcore Title belt, and I missed the pinfall because I was listening to the story of Mark Jindrak joining Evolution instead of Batista (myth number 5).

 

Rewinding, Valentine got thrown headfirst into the turnbuckle and pinned for the 3. That'll do it! The Dream Team are not happy, but Ozzy looks like he's loving it as he celebrates with one of the tag title belts (Lou Albano's got the other one). Mean Gene interviews him afterwards and while his voice is coherent - "British Bulldogs FOREVVVVVVVVVA!" - his eyes are telling a very different glazed-over story.

 

Davey Boy Smith does get a word in as well. Tag Team Champions!

 

My thoughts

 

Good tag match, that. I'm assuming Bulldogs were the faces for this match, but national bias would have made them so for me anyway. They worked really well as a team, the match flowed really well throughout, but I'd probably put Greg Valentine as the MVP, he made the Bulldogs look even better. Beefcake, not so much, but it's not like he dragged things down or anything. Good stuff!

 

Oh, and Greg Valentine is a Hall of Famer.

[HarmonicGenerator]

For WrestleMania 3 I will be watching Harley Race vs. Junkyard Dog.

 

I thought I might have gone for Hogan vs. Andre, but Harley Race vs. Junkyard Dog? I like the sound of that.

 

The match

 

Beforehand we get some very handy backstory. Harley Race is the King, JYD says in a promo that America doesn't have kings. He tried to nick the crown and robe, but Race and Bobby Heenan made him bow to the King.

 

Race will have Heenan and Moolah (the Queen of Wrestling and 'Keeper of the Crown') in his corner. Harley has such a fantastic promo voice. The three of them truly make a regal trio as they take the cart down to the ring. MASSIVE boos, and there's a spectacular crowd shot before we cut to a JYD promo (and he's got a cracking promo voice as well). I know it wasn't 93,173, but fuck, it's a glorious sight to see that many people. This might just be a little mid card match but just having it take place here makes it feel huge.

 

There's a shot of Junkyard Dog on the apron that is burned into my mind despite me never having seen this match before. I think it's on the Kid Rock 'Lonely Road of Faith' video. Remember that? I still think it's the best video package they've ever done. Might try and find that after this.

 

The match is on! I love the camerawork for this show, and the lighting - everything possible is being done to give it a feeling of being HUGE. It works. Sorry to keep banging on but THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THERE.

 

Dog and Race are clobbering each other, Harley's bumping in every direction. JYD has 'thump' written on the back of his tights. He should have had a t-shirt for sale with that on. Race misses a head butt and gets whipped into the turnbuckle, up and backflip over to the outside. Heenan gets his charge back in - trademark JYD headbutts! But Heenan's distracted JYD and Race slammed him for the win! BOO! 

 

The crowd is not happy, and I'm not either, I wanted more! BOO, I say, BOO! 

 

Oh fuck, there's a stipulation that Junkyard Dog has to bow and kneel before the King because he lost. Don't do it, JYD! Thump him! Heenan has Race sitting in a chair and did Moolah just do a 'wanker' hand motion at him? JYD does a curtsey and then a little bow… Race gets up… Dog nicks the chair and thumps Race with it! Good! Do it again! 

 

JYD puts on the king's robe and the King's music (later used for Jerry Lawler?) plays as the crowd goes nuts. Dog beats a hasty retreat back in his card, smiling and waving like a … well, like a king. The fans are happy again, so am I. Cut to a mental Hogan promo, and that's it!

 

My thoughts

 

I was very surprised to have seen Harley pick up the win there - but it all became clear in the post-match, so that was fine. I would have liked more time, though. Race and JYD in front of a massive stadium crowd - I would have hoped for 10 minutes, maybe, but I don't think it got near that, which is a shame. What they did was very basic stuff - playing to the rafters, I suppose - but each one had such a great projection of their character that the basic stuff worked absolutely fine. Race acting like a bastard of a king, JYD standing up to him… yeah, it was fine. Little mid card match, yes, but a nice little mid card match with a story behind it.

 

Here's the 'Lonely Road Of Faith' video. I haven't seen it for years, but it's just as good as I remember it (albeit slightly different, I only ever saw the pre-watershed version which substituted Sable's tits for D'Lo Brown's chest protector). Amazing video. Goosebumps.

 

 

(it has got the shot from this match of JYD on the apron, incidentally)

[HarmonicGenerator]

WrestleMania IV now, and my match of choice will be the Bad News Battle Royal.

 

The match

 

Trophy! There's a trophy! Just like they do now with the ATGMBR!

 

Battle Royals are an interesting thing. You always know exactly what you're getting with a battle royal. They haven't really evolved all that much compared to other kinds of wrestling - I don't expect this one from 1988 will be all that different from the one at WrestleMania X-Seven, or indeed the one at XXX. I never find them boring, I love a battle royal. I'd like to see Lister or someone write a history of this kind of match. 

 

The Hart Foundation get introduced, as do the Young Stallions, Sika, Danny Davis (a lot of hate for him), the Killer Bees (big pop), Bad News Brown, Sam Houston (surprisingly popular), some more people who the commentators are talking over the introductions for. It's interesting to hear who the crowd like and who they don't. Harley Race looks remarkably different from the WrestleMania III match - hard to believe only a year's passed when you look at him.

 

And we're on! Houston out first, and Sika gone soon after. I don't think George Steele has been eliminated, but he's hanging around outside watching and grabbing Neidhart by the ankles. Is that allowed? I thought everybody had to start in the ring, at least.

 

It's interesting how a lot of the competitors were introduced in their teams rather than individually, and that they are working together in the match. Contrary to what I was saying a few lines ago, I don't think you'd get that so much in a battle royal now. Though hopefully they'll do that with the Usos, Ascension and so on in a couple of weeks' time.

 

Steele eliminated Neidhart! A Rougeau and both Bees are out as well. 

 

Now, I said I never find battle royals boring. That's not to say they're not dull - here, for instance, not much is happening at all. But it keeps your attention because you're always watching for the next elimination. Dull, but not boring. See, even as I was writing that, Hillbilly Jim and Danny Davis got chucked. People are happy Davis was out. Jim Powers as well, didn't even notice he was in it.

 

'At least the guys who went out early got their per diem money'. Now there's a phrase you'd never hear in modern WWE.

 

Ken Patera eliminates Volkoff and Zhukov! And Bad News eliminates him! Bad News is bad news.

 

JYD eliminates Harley Race! THAT'S FOR LAST YEAR, YOU MONARCHICAL TYRANT!

 

We're down to BNB, JYD and Bret Hart. That's a good final three. JYD's doing his trademark headbutts and the crowd have woken right up. Hart and Brown double team on Dog and try out a series of ill-advised high fives. JYD's a fantastic babyface in peril.

 

The crowd have kind of gone to sleep again, they don't sound that bothered even when JYD gets eliminated. Oh, hang on, Bret and Brown have decided they're co-winnENZIGUIRI! Bad News blindsides Hart! Poor, trusting Bret Hart. He gets the chest-first-into-the-turnbuckle treatment (that looked painful) and mercifully eliminated. Bad News doesn't get that much of a reaction for the win. I remember reading the crowd for this 'Mania was a bit tepid, I can certainly see myself coming to that conclusion if I watched more of the show.

 

Anyway, Bad News celebrates with the trophy - which is taller than he is - and Bret smashes it! He's stomping on it, stretching it, and then throws it over the top rope. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the trophy approached Bret backstage afterwards and, tears in its tiers, thanked him for carrying it to the best match of its career.

 

My thoughts

 

It was a battle royal. As I said, you know what you're getting. Not boring, but it was by no means the best battle royal there was or will be. I can see why they put it on first, to kind of warm up the crowd before the night-long tournament, but it didn't really work. Nice to see plenty of nostalgic names in there, though, JYD was very good (and got to eliminate Harley Race), and the final two of Hart and Brown were both good too.

 

George Steele, who I never saw get in the ring never mind get thrown out again, is presumably still in the match. Axelmania has nothing on this, 26 years and still going.

[JNLister]

 

 

Battle Royals are an interesting thing. You always know exactly what you're getting with a battle royal. They haven't really evolved all that much compared to other kinds of wrestling - I don't expect this one from 1988 will be all that different from the one at WrestleMania X-Seven, or indeed the one at XXX. I never find them boring, I love a battle royal. I'd like to see Lister or someone write a history of this kind of match. 

 

You are totally in luck!: http://johnlisterwriting.com/wrestling.html#Anchor-Industr-3552

[HarmonicGenerator]

 

 

 

Battle Royals are an interesting thing. You always know exactly what you're getting with a battle royal. They haven't really evolved all that much compared to other kinds of wrestling - I don't expect this one from 1988 will be all that different from the one at WrestleMania X-Seven, or indeed the one at XXX. I never find them boring, I love a battle royal. I'd like to see Lister or someone write a history of this kind of match. 

 

You are totally in luck!: http://johnlisterwriting.com/wrestling.html#Anchor-Industr-3552

 

 

You beauty, Lister! Many thanks - I'll be reading that before I watch the Mega Powers explode tonight. And you reference Invisible Man too! 

[HarmonicGenerator]

As mentioned in my last post, for WrestleMania V I'm going to watch the Mega Powers EXPLODE! with Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage.

 

 

The match

 

I'm really looking forward to watching this again. It's just got such a 'WrestleMania' feeling about it. Hogan vs. Savage is a match so huge it could only possibly be the main event of the biggest show of the year.

 

Does Trump Plaza still exist? It's an odd looking building.

 

Miss Elizabeth gets her own entrance, which is interesting - she's in 'a neutral corner'. Pat Patterson is pretending to be a zombie directly behind her, because not even Trump Security are allowed to touch her, I assume. Odd image, but fair enough, there doesn't seem to be a natural thoroughfare from backstage to the ring. The commentators have just pointed out another odd thing, that the Champion has made his entrance first. We can all probably guess why that might be...

 

Crowd is very much in favour of Hulk Hogan. This should be good, they look ready to tear each other apart, Savage especially.

 

"This is what WrestleMania was made for" - I couldn't agree more, Ventura.

 

Aha. According to Wikipedia, Trump Plaza was closed permanently last September, and Donald Trump threatened to sue Trump Entertainment if they didn't remove his name from the company.

 

Anyway, Hogan has overpowered Savage in the early going, and the crowd's alive for Hulk, but Savage gets a headlock in. Hogan overpowers again and Savage is using the 'roll out of the ring' heel tactic. Good man. Well, bad man, but you know what I mean.

 

The main thing I'm noticing so far in this match is how good the commentary is. It's really, really good, they're …. they're just really good, this is exactly how wrestling commentary should be.

 

Hogan's already really sweaty. Oh! Nice bit of wrestling from Hogan, taking Savage down with a toehold-type thing into a front face lock. Savage reeling from Hogan punches, but a thumb to the eye and an axe handle from the top rope later, Savage is in control. 

 

A few minutes later, and Savage takes a nasty bump through the ropes - Hogan's back in control. That didn't last long. Saying that, as soon as I say that, Savage is back in control again - very back and forth, this match - and Hogan's busted open. Looks nasty. Hogan fights out of a sleeper and now it's him again. He takes Savage out with an Atomic Drop, and it looked very much like he was going for the Leg Drop, but he didn't. Double knees to the back from Savage, and now it's Macho time again. Despite the back-and-forth nature of the match, Hogan bleeding definitely makes it feel like it's Savage's to lose. Supported by the fact Hogan's in control again...

 

Fucking hell! Savage body slammed over the top rope! Great move by Hogan, and Savage took it really well. Now the Elizabeth storyline starts to take over. Savage is not being kind. The referee takes control and sends Elizabeth out - Ventura has a point, she shouldn't have been out there in the first place - integral as she was to the build-up, she didn't add a huge amount to the match itself.

 

Savage is absolutely in control this time, following an axe handle from the top to the outside. Savage has been on the offensive for the longest uninterrupted period to date. Slams, strikes, chokes, he's got Hulk reeling.  THE ELBOW! Great visual of the crowd standing up in unison as Savage prepares to hit it. Hogan kicks out, and what a kick out, that was huge! He's Hulking Up! Right hand! Right hand! Right hand! Big Boot! LEG DROP! ONE! TWO! THREE! NEW CHAMPION! What a final stretch!

 

Savage heads backstage pretty sharpish, and Hogan stays in the ring to celebrate and pose and stuff.

 

My thoughts

 

One thing that was in my mind watching most of this match was how they'd do it if it took place now. I can imagine the drama and storyline elements being really ramped up throughout the match - maybe even to the extent of HHH vs. Undertaker at WM28. Presence of Elizabeth in the first stages aside, they played this very much as a wrestling match, but one with all the associated buildup behind it, that you didn't really need to be constantly reminded of to know how much these two wanted to beat each other.

 

I'm not sure if Savage got the upper hand quite early enough, as the first two-thirds were really quite even, but that approach works just as well - these two are the best, so it makes sense that neither would get an early advantage. Once he did, though, it was sports entertainment at its best. Building up to hitting the elbow, hitting it, Hulk KICKING OUT, and then the greatest comeback sequence in history. Great stuff, and once again, the commentary was superb.

[HarmonicGenerator]

For WrestleMania 6, I'm going with Demolition vs. The Colossal Connection. It's another tag title match!

 

The match

 

So Andre and Haku, and Bobby Heenan, are already in the ring. And they're the champions! Doesn't seem fair, especially when Demolition gets a whole cart-music-and-gimp-outfits entrance. Big pop for them, though.

 

They don't get to finish their entrance because Colossal Connection go after them straight away. Haku's upper hand lasts about thirty seconds before the teamwork of Demolition takes over. Haku doesn't really get much of a look in.

 

He and Smash have a backslide battle, in which both attempt to hit a backslide. It's quite boring, if I'm honest. Smash wins and Andre breaks up the pin with a little tap of a kick. Haku then gets his time to be in control, and does a nice transition from a backbreaker into a pin - he just sort of lets them slide off his knee after the backbreaker, and voila, natural pin.

 

Ax gets trapped in CC's corner. Good teamwork here - obvious, simple tag team wrestling just works, doesn't it? The frequent tag technique, or keeping the opponent in your corner, and it's so easy to get crowd support/jeers by attempting to get in to help your partner but not being allowed, or sneaking in when the ref's distracted… Don't suppose you've done a feature on tag team match psychology as well, Lister?

 

Ooh, crowd shot! The Toronto Skydome's looking huge. It'll be interesting to compare with the set-up for X-8 in the same building.

 

There's a case-in-point of what I was just talking about when Andre chokes Ax with the tag rope with Smash powerless to stop it on the opposite side of the ring. Beyond that, there's not much going on. I think this is partly me expecting Haku to just clobber people all over the place, which he hasn't done much. And Andre hasn't even tagged in yet.

 

Smash got the tag, however, and Demolition are making a comeback! Lovely back body drop, Andre gets a double clothesline and they're about to finish Haku off, but Andre stops them… Haku goes to kick Smash, but misses and gets Andre! Andre tied in the ropes! He can't get out, Heenan can't get him out! Demolition hit their finisher and we have new Tag Team Champions!

 

Heenan is pissed off. He's yelling at Andre, jabbing him with his finger… go on Andre, smack him! Smack him! YES! He's got Heenan by the throat, and … the slaps and the right hand are a bit crap. Oh. Maybe he didn't mean to really hurt Heenan… He's going after Haku now, couple of chops and a headbutt, and Andre heads back on the cart by himself.

 

My thoughts

 

That wasn't as good as I was hoping. Andre was clearly in no shape to be competing at this point, so he didn't, until the post match. Haku was alright, but I must admit my favourite Haku is 2001 Haku so my expectations may have been retroactively skewed. Demolition were alright as well, the crowd were happy with them, but I've never been the biggest fan. As a match, I couldn't really go beyond 'alright' either. Probably the most disappointing of the six matches I've watched so far...

[HarmonicGenerator]

I am completely aware I am not, nor at any point have I been, watching these matches at the rate of one a day. It's just not going to work out like that. I'll watch a few a day when I can, and none a day when I can't. If I can get to WrestleMania 30 by the 29th of March (actually the 28th because I know I'll be busy on the Sunday) then that's the objective achieved. And it's not like anyone's reading these anyway!

 

 

 

Anyway, time for WrestleMania VII, and for this one I'm spoiled for choice a little bit. Bulldog vs. Warlord, Rockers vs. Haku and Barbarian, Boss Man vs. Mr Perfect, DiBiase vs. Virgil maybe, or the first match of the Streak? I'd be happy watching any of those, but I'm going with the bona fide classic of Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage.

 

(I don't know whether it worked out in execution, but on paper WM7 has a great-looking card.)

 

 

The match

 

I'm going to start watching from the pre-match video showing the build-up. Savage attacked Warrior on Saturday Night's Main Event, so at Royal Rumble, Queen Sherri (she was great, wasn't she?) distracted him during the Sgt Slaughter match. Savage then DESTROYS Warrior by the entrance way - that was Attitude-esque, actually - and then clatters him with the Macho King Sceptre later in the match, making Slaughter the new Champion.

 

Monsoon bills the match as a Career Ending Match, and the camera lingers on Heenan, who has spotted Elizabeth at ringside. Heenan's expression is great here. Elizabeth looks worried.

 

Macho King is wearing a tremendous blue and white outfit. He looks an absolute star, and just like with the Mega Powers match, this already feels like a HUGE occasion. Warrior's music then hits and he's got an outfit on that I would have absolutely loved to have coloured in in the Ultimate Warrior colouring book I had when I was little. So many colours. Heenan points out that Warrior hasn't run to the ring - very unusual, but this is just another aspect of the magnitude the match has. He's taking it seriously. These are two of the biggest stars in the company, and one of them's going to have to retire - this is MASSIVE. The closest recent equivalent I can think to compare it to is Michaels vs. Undertaker at 26.

 

"This could be Warrior's greatest moment… or his final one". I've been waiting seven WrestleManias to get to Heenan and Monsoon on commentary and they are not disappointing.

 

They lock up, and it's already very intense, there's some force behind it as Warrior shoves Savage away. I'd have been on Warrior's side, but watching now, I wouldn't want either one to lose. The next Cena vs. Orton should have a retirement stipulation, they haven't done that one yet.

 

Warrior's absolutely in control in the early going - Sherri gets in the ring to try and distract him, but Savage gets dropped into her, she bumps out of the ring again, and I've just realised that all three of the people involved in this match - four, if you count Elizabeth - are dead.

 

God, that's really sad.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry. Anyway, Savage went for the axe handle but Warrior caught him, Savage goes to the outside and throws a chair in. As the referee gets rid of the chair, Macho blindsides Warrior. Clever. Doesn't last long though, this is all Warrior. The 'heel in peril' is a really difficult role to pull off, I don't think many did it as well as Savage could. Macho gets the advantage again, and Warrior rolls to the outside. We get a gratuitous shot of Sherri's bum, she slaps Warrior (or pokes him in the throat, I'm not sure which) and Savage attacks from behind. Sherri goes for Warrior again, and he shoves her over. Savage attacks from behind, Sherri's up again, she gives Warrior a kick, and we're back in the ring where Savage is now in control. This is very reminiscent of Attitude and later - especially as Savage just spat in Warrior's face as well.

 

I think there was a discussion on here recently about how it seemed in '91 that they were trying for something more risqué, and I can certainly see elements of that in here. Aside from all that, though, it's a great match - both men look great, and Sherri adds so much to the dynamic.

 

Warrior fights out of a sleeper, they do a beautiful criss-cross-into-double-clothesline move and they're both down. Sherri distracts the referee with a snog as Warrior rolls Savage up - he had that won! Oh no, ref bump. That's another late '90s trademark, but if I'm honest, I prefer it in this early '90s environment. It works better with a crowd invested in the wrestlers rather than where the next twist/run-in/turn/chairshot is coming from.

 

(Not to say late '90s crowds weren't into the characters, but you usually knew that one ref bump meant shenanigans aplenty were coming.)

 

Savage has the advantage again now and he hits the elbow. Beautifully done. Warrior is OUT, but Savage is going up for a second one. And up again! He's making absolutely sure he's won here. THREE elbows! AGAIN?! Three was probably enough Randy… four! And he's going AGAIN! Five! 1… 2… HE KICKED OUT! HE KICKED OUT! WARRIOR FUCKING KICKED OUT OF FIVE FINISHERS AT ONCE! Bloody hell. You have to think at that point there was no way anyone could believe Savage would be winning this. (and can you imagine how dem wans would have reacted to that kickout?) Warrior hits a few clotheslines, press slam ("it's all over but the shouting", says Monsoon), splash… and SAVAGE KICKED OUT! I thought that was it.

 

Warrior's looking up to the gods now, and it's all gone a bit weird. Warrior's walking out, but he's taking an age on the apron, and Savage clocks him. Rightly so, as well. I love Warrior, but he probably should have just splashed Savage again and won the match. Warrior's been placed on the barricade, and Savage comes off the top with an axe handle, but misses, hitting the metal railings. Now Warrior takes advantage. HUGE shoulder tackle, and another, and another. One-footed pin… and Warrior's won it.

 

Although now I think about it, Savage stuck around the WWF longer than Warrior did despite having lost the match, is that right? 

 

Savage is out as Warrior celebrates with his swanky jacket. I wonder what happened to that jacket, it's the sort of thing you'd have as a star attraction if WWE ever opened a museum or a physical Hall of Fame. Can you imagine how cool a Costume Gallery in a WWE museum would be? Warrior jackets, Savage ensembles, Jeff Jarrett stuff, Bossman's uniform, Ric Flair robes, Austin jackets, Undertaker costumes, Kane's original outfit, hold that thought, Sherri's attacking Savage AND ELIZABETH IS RUNNING TO THE RING AND SHE'S CHUCKED SHERRI OUT AND SHE'S GOING OVER TO SAVAGE!!!!! GO ON LIZ! SAVAGE, GET UP! GET UP!

 

HE SEES HER! Heenan cries that everyone in the arena is standing - the announcers are putting this over huge, I can't help but feel that any modern commentary team would absolutely ruin a moment like this. Even when Heenan's putting it down, it only serves to make the moment bigger and more important. Which sounds weird, but you know it wouldn't work that way if it was JBL or Michael Cole. Savage looks at Sherri, looks at Liz, looks at the crowd… THEY'RE HUGGING! THEY'RE HUGGING! THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER! Savage's music is playing, the crowd are cheering their hearts out, what a fucking incredible moment. Savage lifts her onto his shoulder.

 

Heenan: "This is better than Love Story, if you like that kind of mush"

Monsoon: "I love it!"

 

Audience shots of people crying (two Heenan belters for these: "maybe her shoes are too tight", and "must have had a chilli dog with onions"). Liz holds the ropes open for Savage, but he says no… he holds the ropes open for her, and the ovation is MASSIVE. He poses on each turnbuckle… "he lost the match, but he got something much more valuable" says Monsoon. "I'd rather have the match" says Heenan. Savage doesn't seem to mind. 'Scuse me, I have something in my eye...

 

My thoughts

 

What a match. And what a glorious moment afterwards. Bloody brilliant all round. That is all.

[air_raid]

Although now I think about it, Savage stuck around the WWF longer than Warrior did despite having lost the match, is that right?

 

 

 

It's very right. Savage stayed in the company until November 1994. Warrior had left, come back and left again by then.

[HarmonicGenerator]

 

Although now I think about it, Savage stuck around the WWF longer than Warrior did despite having lost the match, is that right?

 

 

 

It's very right. Savage stayed in the company until November 1994. Warrior had left, come back and left again by then.

 

 

How did they get around the retirement stipulation? Was there an explanation, did he 'win' his career back, or did they just sort of not mention it again?

 

 

 

-

 

Straight on to WrestleMania VIII and it's about time for another main event. I've chosen Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice. This is mostly because I fancied watching a Sid match.

 

 

The match

 

Sid's got some presence about him, doesn't he - as Enzo Amore would say, you can't teach that. Sadly I don't think this is going to be one of his super squashes, but never mind. Hogan's music hits. He's getting a big-time reaction in the Hoosier Dome (which is a cool looking venue) but after watching Warrior vs. Savage and Sid's entrance just now, Hulk's feeling very slightly like a relic from a bygone age. WrestleMania I this ain't.

 

Sid doesn't even wait for the second chorus of 'Real American' before going for Hogan, but by the time of the screechy backing vocals lady, Hogan's punching Sid all over the place. I hope they keep the music playing throughout the match because this is great! More matches should be set to music. Oh, it's stopped. Sad. That was a different side to Hogan, anyway, hungrier, more aggressive, I like it. I take back that relic stuff. The crowd are amped.

 

Sid overpowers Hogan but Hulk recovers and knocks Sid out of the ring a second time. He poses and the crowd get even more amped. If they do this a few more times there'll be spontaneous combustions. 

 

Back in the ring, Sid challenges Hogan to a test of strength. After a bit of playing to the crowd, Sid wins the test of strength decisively. You'd think a pinfall would be easy if you could use the test of strength to force someone onto their back and just hold them there. The test of strength goes on for approximately four years before Sid takes Hogan to the corner and knees him in the gut a few times. Hulk, showing few effects from the test of strength, clotheslines Sid in the opposite corner but BOOM! Chokeslam! Gorgeous. The chokeslam is my favourite move, and that's the first one I've seen in this project.

 

He chats to the camera a bit, and should really think about chokeslamming Hogan again. That was good. On the outside, Sid maintains the advantage, smacking Hogan with Harvey Wippleman's handbag a couple of times before getting him in a shoulder clutch thing inside the ring.

 

Approximately two more years later, Hogan powers out of it, before promptly being shut down with a side slam. Sid's a monster here. I know Hogan will make a comeback and win, but Sid should have been made after this even without winning. Was he? I assume he must have left WWE soon afterwards because he wasn't on WrestleMania again until… 1997, possibly?

 

POWERBOMB! Hogan kicks out and Hulks Up straight away. Hmm… I don't know about that. It's Hogan's thing, yes, and it works - or it did in earlier years, but as I said before, this seems like a new era is beginning and it's not quite as right-feeling as it was at, say, Mania 5.

 

Hogan hits the leg drop and SID KICKS OUT but it doesn't matter because Wippleman got in the ring and got Sid disqualified. Oh. Weird. Papa Shango's now come down to the ring, Sid's on his way out, and HANG ON, Warrior just ran down to help Hogan! Sid tries to hit Warrior with a chair, Hogan fights him off, and Warrior and Hogan stand tall in the ring. Which is a very cool visual, but the non-finish doesn't seem right for the main event of WrestleMania. It didn't sit right at 27, and it doesn't really here. Warrior's had his hair cut since last year, too.

 

Ooh, pyro!

 

My thoughts

 

Yeah. It was okay. If it hadn't been for the post-match with Warrior, I'd have placed this firmly in the mid card. With the post-match, it makes sense to have it at the end of the show, but I'm not keen on the ending of the match itself. Wippleman interfering to cause a DQ would have been passable if it hadn't been for the fact Sid had actually kicked out of the Leg Drop and didn't really need saving. I know that realistically Hogan would never have lost the match, but ideally, that would have been the way to go. Sid beats Hogan after kicking out of the Leg Drop, Shango comes in afterwards to pour voodoo salt in the wound, Warrior returns to see them off, then you get the same posedown. I don't think it would have hurt Hogan. Oh well.

 

As for the match itself, Sid looked like a psycho monster, which is exactly what he was supposed to look like. He really dominated Hogan until that comeback, but as I've said a couple of times, it felt a bit like a clash of past and future and the Hogan routine felt more 'past' and less fitting than it has on the other occasions I've watched him so far this week. 

 

I'm not sure I've explained that very well. Hulkamania certainly wasn't anywhere near dead here, but it felt a little bit antiquated up against the likes of Sid. 

 

Back to the match. It was alright, but not very memorable. I'd have liked more chokeslams and less of the test of strength/shoulder clutch thing. Maybe I've just become accustomed to Brock Lesnar style annihilations in my main event monsters...

[PunkStep]

How did they get around the retirement stipulation? Was there an explanation, did he 'win' his career back, or did they just sort of not mention it again?

 

Do you not know the storyline behind his reinstatement? It was superb. Jake targeted Savage (not sure why) and ruined Savage and Liz's wedding reception at Summerslam, with help from The Undertaker and a cobra in a box. Then later on Jake tied Savage up in the ropes and his cobra bit Savage's arm in one of the most controversial and brilliant angles of all-time then, though you probably know that bit. If you don't, watch it pronto.

 

After that, Savage wanted to fight Jake. Jack Tunney wouldn't let him as he was retired, and there was a big 'reinstate Macho Man' campaign from the fans. If I remember rightly, Sid got injured leading to Survivor Series and he was meant to captain a Survivor Series team VS Jake. Savage tried, and failed, to get reinstated before then to replace Sid. Didn't Jake get injured slightly, which ruled him out of the PPV, thus delaying Savage's return? Which also explains the six-man Survivor Series match on the show too? Either way, he got reinstated following the huge fan campaign and wrestled Jake at the This Tuesday in Texas PPV.

[CTXRussomark]

Surely the least flattering promo picture of all time.  Neither guy looks a day under 50.  Hogan is inexplicably wearing a headband that actually accentuates his baldness, and Savage looks more haggard than he did 10 years later.  And Hogan is missing the bottom half of his torso.

[air_raid]

Wippleman interfering to cause a DQ would have been passable if it hadn't been for the fact Sid had actually kicked out of the Leg Drop and didn't really need saving.

 

They were improvising. Papa Shango was meant to intefere causing the DQ but missed his cue and was late getting out there. Sid wasn't meant to kick out of the legdrop at all.

 

Didn't Jake get injured slightly, which ruled him out of the PPV, thus delaying Savage's return? Which also explains the six-man Survivor Series match on the show too?

 

If I remember right, Savage being bitten by the cobra meant he (kayfabe) wouldn't be in any condition to wrestle at Survivors, and Tunney took Jake out of the match as punishment for his part in the incident - as if reinstating Savage wasn't punishment enough. It was designed to give them something tantalising to try and sell This Tuesday In Texas off the back of, as well as the Hogan/Undertaker rematch, as part of their experiment to see if the fanbase would go for a shorter, cut-price PPV.

 

Of course, this would be something they would visit later with In Your House, except without a) having it so close to the last one and b) announcing it at such short-term notice with only a partial card. Really bizarre was TTIT.

[HarmonicGenerator]

 

How did they get around the retirement stipulation? Was there an explanation, did he 'win' his career back, or did they just sort of not mention it again?

Do you not know the storyline behind his reinstatement? It was superb. Jake targeted Savage (not sure why) and ruined Savage and Liz's wedding reception at Summerslam, with help from The Undertaker and a cobra in a box. Then later on Jake tied Savage up in the ropes and his cobra bit Savage's arm in one of the most controversial and brilliant angles of all-time then, though you probably know that bit. If you don't, watch it pronto.

 

After that, Savage wanted to fight Jake. Jack Tunney wouldn't let him as he was retired, and there was a big 'reinstate Macho Man' campaign from the fans. If I remember rightly, Sid got injured leading to Survivor Series and he was meant to captain a Survivor Series team VS Jake. Savage tried, and failed, to get reinstated before then to replace Sid. Didn't Jake get injured slightly, which ruled him out of the PPV, thus delaying Savage's return? Which also explains the six-man Survivor Series match on the show too? Either way, he got reinstated following the huge fan campaign and wrestled Jake at the This Tuesday in Texas PPV.

 

 

Thanks for that. I knew parts of it, the wedding and the cobra etc, but didn't know the whole story.

 

 

Wippleman interfering to cause a DQ would have been passable if it hadn't been for the fact Sid had actually kicked out of the Leg Drop and didn't really need saving.

 

They were improvising. Papa Shango was meant to intefere causing the DQ but missed his cue and was late getting out there. Sid wasn't meant to kick out of the legdrop at all.

 

 

Oh right! I had no idea. So was he meant to come in to break up the pinfall? And (sorry for all the questions) was anything made of the fact Sid did kick out of the legdrop, i.e. did they use that improvisation to their advantage at all?

 

 

-

 

 

Now to a match which will probably not raise any questions whatsoever. From WrestleMania 9, Doink the Clown vs. Crush.

 

(As a sidenote, while I am not following the 'one match per wrestler' rule, I am going to try to limit myself to THREE MATCHES PER WRESTLER. So for Hulk Hogan, I've had WrestleManias 1, 5 and 8, and that's my fill for Hogan.

 

The match

 

I've picked this over something like Lex Luger vs. Mr Perfect or Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka because (i) I wanted something I hadn't seen before, and (ii) Crush gets talked about a lot on here and I haven't seen that much of him, so I'm taking WM9 as my opportunity because I'm going to watch Michaels vs. Ramon next rather than Crush's match with Savage.

 

First thought: WrestleMania IX (this one is definitely Roman numerals, I've just seen) has such a cool look. The open-air setting, the Roman thing… it looks great.

 

Crush has just got to the ring and JR's already told us how much he weighs twice. This was one of his first shows, I think, it'll be interesting to hear if the commentary style's radically different. Oh, there's Randy Savage talking as well. After eight Manias with no JR, it does have a different vibe to it to have that Oklahoma twang. I'm not sure it fits early 90s WWE as well as it fit in the late 90s. Perhaps I'm just used to other commentators, and JR's so synonymous with Attitude and post-Attitude WWE. But I don't know, this team's not really gelling for me on first impression.

 

(obviously not an actual first impression, I have seen most of this show before.)

 

Second thought: just realised I've picked another match where both competitors are dead. .

 

Crush goes straight for Doink and body slams him on the floor before smacking his head on the ring post. Between Crush's singlet and the Doink costume this might be the most colourful match in WWE history. Red, blue, green, yellow, white, orange, purple, black, we've virtually got the whole spectrum here.

 

Not much has actually happened of note in the match, but Crush has hit a backbreaker, and was going for a Beats of the Hawaiian Bodhran but Doink cut him off and has hit a couple of moves off the top. He sticks Crush's head between his legs for a while and then OUFF, nasty looking piledriver. Crush definitely landed right on his head there.

 

JR just reminded us of Crush's weight again. You'll give him a complex, Jim.

 

Big slam from Crush, Doink out of the ring, tries to hide under the apron, Crush pulls him out, press slam, very nice, and he would have had that won but Doink smacked the ref with a backhand and tries to hide again. Crush has got the Cranium Crush/Kona Crush vice grip on again and it's another Doink! Another Doink! Has he got a fake arm there? I think he has, and Crush just got clobbered with it! The Doinks are doing a mirror-image thing, Doink 2 goes to hide under the ring, Doink 1 gets the pin. Booo. The crowd has deflated like a balloon animal exposed to too much sunlight.

 

Fonzie! Bill Alfonso's just come down to point out to the referee that there was another Doink! However, they can't seem to find him. Well that's just odd. "I'm sure, two Doinks" he's saying as the refs leave without really conducting a thorough investigation. You didn't imagine it, Fonzie. Todd Pettengill in the crowd is asking is there were really two Doinks or was it an illusion. Oh, come on.

 

My thoughts

 

Crush should have won that. Call me a traditionalist but the babyface should always win at WrestleMania! Yes, I am aware that that doesn't happen all that often at all, but it felt like he should have made a comeback from Double Doink and won it.

 

Match wasn't all that great, to be honest. Both guys were quite good, Crush hit some good looking moves, but there wasn't a huge amount going on. Double Doink could have had a lot of potential going forward, which is why he won, I guess. But the look of the thing - the outfits, the venue, the Roman theme - kind of saves it, in a way. The wrestling might not be top notch but WrestleMania IX is an event. So it gets a pass from me!