WWF WrestleMania V Review
WWF WrestleMania V
April 2nd 1989
Trump Plaza, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse Ventura
Attendance: 18,946
Buyrate: 767,000
The main rivalry heading into WrestleMania was between WWF Champion, Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan and as the tagline says, “The Mega-Powers explode”. Savage was jealous of close Hogan was getting to Elizabeth so he turned heel on him, that was huge back in the day. The feud set up this epic contest at ‘mania between the two biggest stars in the WWF at the time. WrestleMania returns to Trump Plaza who hosted the event last year. That would be the first and last time that would ever happen.
Vince McMahon provides the voice over for the opening graphic saying that the Mega Powers have exploded whiles 1989 style graphics show us an explosion. Graphics have come a long way I guess.
Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura welcome us to the show. Monsoon says that you could cut the tension with a knife!
King Haku /w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Hercules
Bobby “The Brian” Heenan had been Hercules’ manager for years, but Herc had turned face and ditched him to set up this match with Heenan Family member, Haku. Heenan, getting awesome heat, asks everyone to get on his or her feet and bowl to Haku. Obviously nobody does, but I guess it was worth a shot. Haku jumps Hercules from behind and brings the chops and punches. Hercules gets a hip toss to turn the tide and follows with a body slam. Haku gets dumped over the top with a clothesline and a suplex brings him back inside the ring. Hercules continues the slaughter with a few elbow drops. Heenan does his job and distracts Heenan on the outside. Haku stalks Hercules and drops him with a clothesline on the floor. Back inside the ring and Haku takes over with a nice back backer, and holds on to give him another, but that only gets a 2 count. A staple of the 80s sees Haku bring the bearhug. The crowd comes to life as Hercules breaks, but Haku stays ahead with a few punches. Hercules ducks a clothesline and hits a cross body for a 2 count. Haku tries his own off the middle rope and misses. A punch by Hercules drops the King and that is followed with a knee lift. A few clotheslines and a sweet powerslam get another 2 count. Hercules goes up top and dives into an ugly crescent kick (sweet chin music). That spot turned out a lot better when it was Shawn Michaels doing the kicking and Shelton Benjamin doing the leaping. Haku misses off the middle rope, and Hercules gets a back suplex for the 3 count and the win. Replays show that Hercules pulled his shoulder up, while Haku never did.
Winner: Hercules via pinfall
Rating: * ½
Nothing too special and certainly nothing too noteworthy.
The Twin Towers (Big Bossman & Akeem) /w/ Slick vs. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)
This is your classic speed and agility against power and girth match-up. The Rockers are speedy, and Boss Man and Akeem are two big dudes. Ventura mentions that they’re definitely the biggest team around unless Gorilla has a double he doesn’t know about. That was a funny line. Bossman starts the match with Shawn and quickly Shawn gets overpowered. Bossman catches him and sets him on the top rope just so he can slap Shawn in the face. Awesome! Michaels comes off top with a drop kick to the back of the Bossman’s head, as he is distracted with Marty. Michaels sucker punches Akeem while he stands on the apron. This brings Akeem in the ring, while Michaels does the moonwalk. The Rockers take turns with arm wringers on Akeem and then go cheap shot Bossman on the apron. Shawn uses his quickness to avoid a splash, and tags Marty in. He continues the eternal arm wringer on Akeem. Gorilla mentions a leg might be better to take out instead of an arm just as I was thinking the same thing. Marty gets cute and gets squashed between the Towers. Now, the pace slows, as Akeem and the Bossman methodically destroy Marty. An avalanche by Bossman in the corner is followed by Akeem squashing Bossman onto Marty. Shawn finally gets the hot tag and the Rockers bounce Akeem all over the ring from one corner to another. Shawn then gets killed with a super stiff clothesline. Shawn sells it like death, as he should. Bossman misses a splash off the top rope, and a cover only gets 2 for Shawn. Rockers hit an ugly double dropkick from the top rope that gets a 2 count. Their timing was way off on that one. The Bossman catches a leaping Shawn off the top rope in a primitive version of a power bomb. Lots of oohs and aahs from the crowd on that one. Akeem tags in and hits Air Africa for the pin.
Winners: The Twin Towers via pinfall
Rating: **
Such a fun match. This was the WrestleMania debuts for Shawn, Marty & Bossman. All of whom did well.
Tony Schiavone is interviewing Ted DiBiase. Usual gimmick promo with DiBiase talking about how rich he is and putting over his Million Dollar Championship belt.
Ted DiBiase/w/ Virgil vs. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake
DiBiase greets Donald Trump, who is ringside, on the way down. They’re both rich, you know. DiBiase talks smack to Brutus to start and Beefcake replies with a right hand. Brutus starts quick with a body slam, and hiptoss before DiBiase is all like I’m too rich for this and bails. The pace grinds to a halt as DiBiase stalls before getting back into the ring. DiBiase gets some weak shots in that are no sold and Beefcake delivers 3 consecutive body slams (Geez, don’t kill the poor guy). DiBiase takes a nice bump as he is clotheslined over the top rope and to the floor. Again, DiBiase realizing he went from Main Event to mid card in 1 year decides to think about that for a while as he stalls on the floor. Back inside and punches are exchanged which doesn’t go well for Ted. Virgil ears his keep and gets the advantage for his employer. DiBiase hits a back elbow and drops a first as he finally takes control. A clothesline leads to DiBiase heading to the middle rope. I was expecting a fist drop, but he pulls out a play from Savage’s playbook and hits a double axehandle for a 2 count. Gorilla reminds the fans of Jesse’s outlook on life: “Win if you can. Lose if you must, but always cheat.” DiBiase gets caught in a small package for 2. A suplex by the Barber and then both men go out following a double clothesline spot. The crowd is pretty dead and we don’t get the heat I think they were hoping for with that spot. DiBiase hits a suplex of his own and sinks in the Million Dollar Dream. Beefcake takes the cheap way out and gets the ropes to break the hold. This leads to the Barber getting the sleeper locked in, and he breaks when Virgil tries to get involved. Both men brawl on the floor and we get the double count-out. That finish sure sucked. Not because the match was good, but because I don’t like finishes like that on any PPV, let alone WrestleMania. Whom does that elevate? Post match sees Brutus abuse Virgil and DiBiase before they bail when Beefcake gets the hedge clippers.
Winner: Double Countout
Rating: **
You could see that Brutus has improved and working with a solid worker like DiBiase would prove to be beneficial for him. DiBiase has gone from being involved in the WWF title picture last year, to competing in the 3rd match of the night.
Mean Gene Okerlund is interviewing Ravishing Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan regarding the Intercontinental title match against the Ultimate Warrior later on tonight.
The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques & Raymond) /w/ Jimmy Hart vs. The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch)
The Rougeaus’ All American theme has to be the best music of all time. It’s so corny! Jesse says the Wackers look like they’re on the joy juice right about now. Hard to disagree. The Wackers take poor Jimmy Hart’s coat and Ventura says knowing them, they’ll probably eat it. Before we can find out, the Rougeaus attack. They control for a while and hit their classic abdominable stretch/Raymond’s savate kick combo. They celebrate, but the Wackers take the opportunity to hit a double stomachbreaker for the pin. The Bushwhackers lick Sean Mooney when they exit. “Words can’t express what it’s like to be licked by a Bushwhacker.”
Winners: The Bushwhackers via pinfall
Rating: -**
What a complete mess this match was. Still love the Bushwhackers though.
Mr Perfect vs. The Blue Blazer
Mr Perfect is undefeated at this point. The Blazer, of course, is Owen Hart, before the gimmick was a joke, and nobody knew who he was. Perfect gets a quick hiptoss, and decides to slap Blazer in the face to wake him up. Apparently Blazer got the message as he slaps Perfect back, and decides to do it once again. Some chops from Perfect, and he goes for another hiptoss, but Blazer flips out of that. Two body slams, and a drop kick follow as Perfect bails to the floor. Blazer doesn’t let him stall like all the other heels have done, as he delivers a baseball slide. The action returns to the ring, and Blazer goes to work on the arm with an arm-wringer and arm bar. Perfect pushes him back into the corner and brings the noise with some nice chops. Blazer counters again with some more flipping and hits his own hiptoss. A slam and drop kick are followed by a backbreaker that leads to a 1 count. Blazer uses the slam once again and heads to the top rope, but the splash hits nothing but knees. Perfect goes to work on the back and uses a modified camel clutch to continue the punishment to the lower back, Blazer catches him in a power slam, and throws some European uppercuts (perhaps the Blazer character is from England?). A nice overhead belly-to-belly suplex from the Blazer, and he tries a crucifix pin, but only gets 2. Perfect says hell with this and drops Blazer with a clothesline that looked more like a fist to the side of the head, but still effective either way. Perfect connects with the Perfect-Plex and gets the win.
Winner: Mr Perfect via pinfall
Rating: ** ½
Great chemistry between the guys. Owen was great like always and Hennig was perfect! Bret talks about this match in his book, he says that Hennig was willing to give Owen his share out of respect for his and Bret’s workmanship. Behind the scenes, Bret Hart and Curt Hennig were close friends and would have some amazing matches together in the future. None of which took place at WrestleMania though.
Run DMC perform the official WrestleMania rap. The crowd is full of corporate/ business people so they don’t know how to react to it.
Backstage, Mean Gene is interviewing the undefeated Mr Perfect. Mean Gene mentions that Bret Hart wants to challenge him, Hennig accepts.
WWF Tag Team Championship
3 on 2 Handicap Match
The Powers of Pain (Warlord & Barbarian) & Mr Fuji vs. Demolition (Axe & Smash) ©
This is a three on two handicapped match, but it’s for the Tag Titles nonetheless. Demolition had won the gold at last years’ WrestleMania and hadn’t looked back since. They were on top of the world at this point. Dusty Rhodes would love this match as we get tons and tons of clubbering. We get 1 on 1 clubbering, 2 on 1 clubbering, and the rare 2 on 2 clubbering. Sadly, we don’t get any 2 on 3, or 3 on 2 clubbering in this match. The crowd is pretty dead for most of this match, and only really come to life when Fuji is in the ring. After the standard no selling of punches and clotheslines from Demolition, the heels finally get control, and we get Fuji in the ring for the first time. Fuji brings the chops and then drops a headbutt to the abdomen of Ax, which causes the men in the audience to groan because it was close to the groin. Fuji doesn’t get down like that though. Fuji goes up top and misses a splash, and finally Ax gets the hot tag to Smash. He runs through the POP with slams and clotheslines, before all 5 men start brawling in the ring. Fuji busts out the ceremonial salt, but we know how that usually ends, and irony rears its head as Warlord takes the powder to the eyes and face. This leaves Fuji all alone with Demolition, and you can probably guess how good that goes.
Demolition nails the Decapitation on Fuji for the pin to retain the Titles.
Winners and STILL WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition via pinfall
Rating: ½ *
Nothing too overwhelming, pretty boring match if I’m being honest with you.
Twin Towers interview. They want the tag titles. Slick carried the interview.
Tony Schiavone tries to get an interview with Macho Man but he doesn’t want to talk to anyone. He shoves the camera guy down too. Awesome Savage!
Before the next match begins, Superfly Jimmy Snuka is presented to the fans. He stuck around for the next 3 years.
Dino Bravo /w/ Frency Martin vs. Ronnie Garvin
He opens up with punches on Garvin and hits a bearhug. The crowd is dead quiet. Bravo hits a couple of shoulderblocks. After about two minutes, Garvin makes a comeback with a forearm and a splash for two. Gorilla says “fans are in awe here” as his way to explain why the crowd is so quiet. Garvin hit a sleeper that didn’t work as Bravo made it to the ropes. Bravo countered a piledriver, but Garvin got a pinfall attempt for two after a rollup. Bravo got an atomic drop followed by his finishing move, a side slam. That’s enough for the win. Post match, Garvin attacks Martin and connects with the Garvin Stomp.
Winner: Dino Bravo via pinfall
Rating: ½ *
The crowd were in complete silence for this one; even Monsoon had to say something that would even suggest just why they were quiet. Ronnie Garvin goes from defeating Ric Flair for the NWA Heavyweight Championship to jobbing to Dino Bravo at WrestleMania. Ouch!
The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard)/w/Bobby Heenan vs. Strike Force (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)
Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard were mainstream figures in the NWA but they did have a decent ru in the WWF/ Strike Force haven’t teamed up in almost a year since Rick Martel was injured by Demolition. Martel starts off hot early and gets a Boston Crab on Arn Anderson. Tully Blanchard interferes with a thumb to the eye to break the hold, prompting Tito Santana to come in and lock him up in a Figure Four. Martel does the same to Arn, and the Busters are in trouble until each breaks the others’ hold. Tito and Tully do a nice wrestling sequence and Arn comes in twice to break up pinfall attempts. Santana tags Martel and then goes for the Flying Forearm on Tully, but Tully ducks and Tito hits Martel with it. Martel crashes to the floor, and the Busters work on Santana. Martel slowly climbs back on the apron, still selling the injury from the Forearm. Tito catches Anderson on the top, slams him, and crawls towards Martel for the hot tag. When he gets there, Martel refuses the tag, drops off the apron, and walks away. He leaves Tito high and dry, and the Busters make short work of Santana, finishing what has essentially become a handicapped match with the Spike Piledriver.
Winners: The Brain Busters via pinfall
Rating: ***
A better match at last but it was more of a set up for Martel’s heel turn.
Mean Gene is standing by with Rick Martel who was sick and tired of carrying Santana.
Next up is the famous Piper’s Pit skit with Brother Love and Morton Downey Jr. Piper is introduced, but instead we get Brother Love (Bruce Pritchard) doing his dead on Piper impression. Pritchard is pretty entertaining as he bounces back and forth between his Brother Lover character and his Piper imitation. The crowd is not very amused though. Morton Downey Jr. is the next to join this circus (as he gets a decent pop). He also hosted his own talk show.. Some sparring ensues between Downey and Brother Love. Finally, Piper joins the party, and the crowd comes to life. He verbal abuses Brother Love (while Downey tosses cigarettes at him) and then sets his sites on Downey Jr. Some good one-liners between the two, and Downey makes the mistake of blowing cigarette smoke in Piper’s face. That boy ain’t bright! Piper finishes by setting of a fire extinguisher on Downey. Entertaining segment, but it just ran way too long on a show that ran way too long.
Clips are shown of the Megapowers throughout the previous year and up to when they split up at a SNME show.
Mean Gene is with Hulk Hogan who cuts his usual over the top promos. He vows to become the WWF Champion by the time the night is over.
Guest Referee: Big John Studd
Andre the Giant /w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
The issue is simple: Andre’s afraid of snakes. Big John Studd, former Andre rival, is the Special Guest Ref for this one. Studd and Andre give each other the evil eye, and then the trash talking between the 2 starts. Roberts comes out to a decent pop even though the crowd has had nothing to cheer about for around 15 minutes. Andre ripped the buckle pad, and jumps Snake before the bell. Andre throws Jake into the exposed steel and hooks in a standing chinlock. Jake elbows out and goes for the snake, but Andre squashes that idea. Back to the chinlock, and Jake throws more ineffective punches. Butt squash in the corner as Jake continues to get dominated. A straight choke by Andre as the pace continues to move at a snail’s pace. While it may be a slow pace, Andre’s offense looks very effective just due to his size, as the crowd fears for Jake’s safety every time Andre lands a blow. Andre does his traditional spot where he gets tied in the ropes and Jake starts choking. Studd, being impartial, pulls Jake off the choke. Andre finally gets loose (w/ Heenan’s help) and goes back to the choke. Fighting words from Jesse to Gorilla: “You’re getting worse than McMahon.” Another rest hold from Andre as parts of the crowd try to rally Jake, while the other half fall to sleep. Jake hits a few short knees and he rams Andre into the exposed turnbuckle. One chop from Andre and Jake goes flying out of the ring. Jake tries to get back in the ring, but he is cut off by an Andre headbutt each time. Studd and Andre trade words, while the Jake gets Damian. Andre and Studd come to blows, and Dibiase comes from behind and steals Damien. Jake chases after him, and Andre starts pounding on Studd. Roberts gets his snake back and returns to the ring, where he tosses Damian in the ring and Andre moves faster than at any point in his life. That looked like genuine fear on his face!
Winner: Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Rating: Dud
Andre was in poor shape here. To put in a 10 minute match was a massive mistake, after this he would team up with Haku in order to hide his limitations.
Honkey Tonk Man & Greg Valentine /w/ Jimmy Hart vs. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart)
It should be noted that Gorilla did coin the phrase Excellence of Execution for Bret, as he uses it to describe him even here, in 1989. Gorilla was actually saying that about Bret and others as early as 1986, but it wasn’t until Bret became a singles standout that the nickname stuck. HTM and Bret start with a lock-up. HTM gains control and punches, but Bret plays rope a dope before hitting an atomic drop. Valentine rushes in and catches an inverted atomic drop. Bret slingshots the Anvil into the ring and he drops Valentine with a shoulder block. Bret returns and drops the back breaker, but misses the 2nd rope elbow. Apparently, Valentine knows the 5 Moves of Doom. The heels control in the corner with good old-fashioned ref distracting, and cheating, which is always nice to see from the heels. Jesse gets in a dig about Pat Patterson. Bret continues to get dominated by the heels, as the crowd seems completely out of it at this point. HTM hits Shake, Rattle, and Roll, but doesn’t go for the cover. Valentine goes for the Figure 4, but Bret counters. No tag though as Valentine cuts him off. Bret hits a crossbody on HTM, and then flies out of the ring. Back inside and Valentine returns with elbows for Bret. Finally, the hot tag is made and Anvil throws drops kicks to anyone that moves. A nice stiff clothesline drops Valentine, but HTM breaks the pin attempt. HTM plays heel in peril as the Hart Foundation turn him into a grease spot on the canvas. The Anvil chases Jimmy Hart and steals his megaphone. It is passed to Bret and he nails HTM for the pin. Nice pop from the crowd as the faces use nefarious ways to win for a change.
Winners: The Hart Foundation via pinfall
Rating: ** ½
The right team went over. Bret carried the match throughout.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Ravishing Rick Rude /w/ Bobby Heenan vs. The Ultimate Warrior ©
Rude takes off his robe to reveal a design of the IC Title on his tights, prompting Ventura to say, “Look, Monsoon, he’s the Intercontinental Champ already.” Don’t think it works that way, Jesse. Warrior charges the ring like the insane fool that he is, runs the ropes and Rude tries to catch him with a knee to the gut. Only problem is Warrior’s still wearing the Title belt. Ouch. Jesse on Warrior: “This guy’s a lunatic”, that’s a shoot right there! From there, Warrior is in control, manhandling to start. A bearhug is broken only by a thumb to the eye. Rude hits a dropkick off the top, but Warrior comes right back with two bodyslams. Another bearhug. At least he went back to it. That resembles some psychology, I guess. That’s, dare I say, a smart move. Heenan is shown outside the ring reaching into his pocket. Gorilla grows suspicious, and Ventura wisely explains that we’re at a casino and he probably just has some loose change in there. Warrior reverts to the science that is professional wrestling and bites Rude. He follows it up with a backdrop, but Rude brings up the knees on a splash attempt. A jawbreaker and a clothesline get two for Rick. Warrior hulks up. Shoulder tackle, backbreaker, clothesline. Poor execution by Warrior. Rude dodges a charge and goes for the Rude Awakening, but Warrior powers out and clotheslines him. Rude bails, and Warrior throws him back in. Clothesline over the top and Rude is on the floor again. Warrior tries to suplex him back in, but Heenan grabs Warrior’s foot, causing Rude to collapse on him, and get the three count. Rick Rude is the new Intercontinental Champion. Well, Jesse had been calling it the whole show. This is Bobby Heenan’s first gold; he’d soon see the Tag Titles with the Busters as well. The Ravishing One takes the belt and bails, leaving Warrior to Gorilla Press Slam Heenan, albeit weakly. He land awkwardly and you see the look of pain on his face!
Winner and NEW WWF Intercontinental Champion: Ravishing Rick Rude via pinfall
Rating: ** ½
Rude busted his ass to make Warrior look good. The rematch set up a rematch at Summerslam.
Bad News Brown vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Can you say brawl? Let’s see: Punch, punch, punch, whip, charge, miss, punch, punch, punch, whip, clothesline. Brown bails. Back in. Punch, punch, punch. Bad News now- Punch, punch, punch, buckle, headbutt, punch, buckle, buckle. “Hooooo” is screamed at various intervals by one Hacksaw Duggan. Punch for Duggan, punch for Brown… at the same time. Way to mix it up, boys. Kick, punch, headbutt. Duggan to floor. News posts him. Punch. Back in. Punch. Ghettoblaster misses. Three point clothesline hits, sending Brown to the floor. He grabs a chair and climbs back in. Duggan gets his two by four. They hit each other with their foreign objects of choice simultaneously. Double DQ. Duggan wins the slugfest after the match and proudly smiles for us all… with this huge piece of snot stuck in his beard. Disgusting, and Jesse lets Gorilla know it.
Winner: Double Disqualification
Rating: ½ *
Bad Bad Bad. At least it was short.
Bobby Heenan /w/ The Brooklyn Brawler vs. Red Rooster
See, Heenan used to manage Taylor, but they got frustrated with each other and the result was a Rooster face turn. Brain comes to the ring with the Brooklyn Brawler, still selling the rib injuries he sustained at the hands of the Warrior just minutes ago. Heenan wears mini-Andre tights. Rooster corners Brain. Heenan reverses a whip, misses a charge, and Taylor pins him. Brawler attacks Taylor, but the Rooster comes back and clears the ring
Winner: The Red Rooster
Rating: DUD
A match designed to humiliate Heenan.
Mean Gene is standing by with Elizabeth. She’ll pray that neither man gets seriously injured.
WWF Championship
Macho Man Randy Savage© vs. Hulk Hogan
Match is underway, and Macho jaws at Liz, who is in a neutral corner. On the outside, he physically uses her to shield himself from Hogan. Back inside, Hogan does some wrestling, eventually ending up with a front facelock, but Mach counters with a back suplex. He misses an elbow drop, and Hogan resorts to fists. That’s more like it, Hulk. No, wait- Hogan goes to an arm ringer. What the hell’s going on here? Savage rakes the eyes and hits a quick axe-handle from the top to get a two count. Arm bar. Savage works on the arm and Hogan cheats, using Macho’s tights to gain leverage and throw him to the arena floor. Jesse is pissed and so am I. Hogan controls in the ring, but puts his head down and gets caught. The MACHO CLOTHESLINE gets two for Savage. Hogan blades. Very rare for blood in those days, Kids. Savage goes to a chinlock, and Hogan bleeds from a cut above the left eye. Of course we all know that a cut above the eye is worse than one below it, because from above the blood will flow into the eye. Hogan elbows out of the hold, and uses an atomic drop, but then misses an elbow. A Savage high knee followed by a quick rollup gets two. Macho pounds ferociously at the cut. Hogan battles back with punches and a clothesline, and slams him over the top to the floor. Liz checks on him, and he shakes her off, then confronts her. Hogan is now on the floor and picks up Savage, preparing to ram him back-first into the ring post. Liz stands in the way and won’t let him, so Macho counters and shoves Hogan into the post anyway. Liz now tends to Hogan and Macho puts a finger in her face. Hebner has had enough and makes Liz leave ringside. Macho connects with an axe-handle from the top rope all the way to the arena floor. Back in the ring, he uses the top rope to clothesline Hogan’s throat. This is vintage Macho Man Savage. A bodyslam and a kneedrop follow. He chokes out Hulk with the tape from his wrists, but the ref somehow doesn’t see it. Savage chokes him down and goes up top. He hits the FLYING ELBOW and covers. Like an idiot, Hogan makes the big kickout at about one, not two, thus nearly killing Macho’s finisher. He hulks up and delivers several fists followed by the Big Boot and the Leg Drop. 1-2-3. New World Champion.
Winner and NEW WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan via pinfall
Rating: *** ½
It was a fun main event with an epic feel to it. The only thing I didn’t like was Hogan kicking out of Savage’s finisher at 1. Nearly killed Macho’s finisher right there! Macho worked a fast paced style and Hogan did a good job of selling and making Savage look credible. Fun match.
Hogan celebrates with his 2nd WWF Championship reign as the show goes off the air.
Random Thoughts
- The show was at the same venue but the crowd last year was a lot better. I guess it was an older crowd who tend not to make a lot of noise that a younger crowd would do.
- This was Hogan’s best match in his prime. He and Savage had so much chemistry together.
- I think having a four hour show was a bad idea. The roster wasn’t deep enough and that resulted in too many short matches.
- There wasn’t any celebrities on the show. I don’t mind them. Just as long as they have some product knowledge.
Best match: Macho Man vs. Hulk Hogan- The best match on the show, never really had a re-match though. I guess that was down to Hogan’s ego.
Worst match: The Fabulous Rougeau vs. The Bushwhackers – Terrible match.
WrestleMania moment: Hogan wins his second WWF title.
Top 5 Superstars
1. Macho Man Randy Savage- Top spot for the 3rd year running.
2. Hulk Hogan- The best match in his prime. Did a great job.
3. Rick Rude – Managed to pull out a good match with the Warrior.
4. Mr Perfect – Had a solid debut at ‘Mania.
5. Bret Hart – Carried the tag match he was involved in.
Updated rankings chart:
Macho Man Randy Savage – 18pts
Hulk Hogan -16pts
Ricky Steamboat – 10pts
Dynamite Kid/ Roddy Piper – 5pts
Terry Funk/ Ted DiBiase – 4pts
Tito Santana- 3pts
Andre the Giant/ Greg Valentine/Rick Rude/Bret Hart -2pts
Overall Show Rating (Out of 10): 4
The only thing worth talking about is the main event; everything else was pretty much forgettable. The poor crowd also contributed to this being a bad show.
WrestleMania Rankings
WrestleMania 3 – 7
WrestleMania 1 – 4.5
WrestleMania 5 – 4
WrestleMania 4 – 3.5
WrestleMania 2 – 3
Up Next: Champion vs. Champion at the first WrestleMania of the 1990’s WrestleMania VI (Monday)
The Rif Files 