Well, time for part 2 of a 4 part review of the Wrestlemania DVDs. Today I’ll be going through Wrestlemania’s VI-X. Same format as before, I’ve watched the DVDs over the past couple weeks and I’ll simply compare my thoughts when I first watched it to what I think now. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip through memory lane!
Wrestlemania VI
Easily one of my favorite Manias as a kid, in terms of wrestling. Anyone who grew up watching in the 80’s had to be excited for the Warrior/Hogan clash.
THEN: I remember being excited knowing that Wrestlemania was in the Skydome. If it would just come to Edmonton now, I’d be perfectly happy! Anyways, I do remember The Model vs. Koko B. Ware being one of the first matches as a kid I totally cheered for the heel and not the face. It’s not so much as I liked the Model, it’s just I could never get into Koko at all. I thought he was pretty boring. Well, I’ll admit, him dressing up as the Blue Blazer was one of the best things ever. Also, I remember being confused as hell with the whole Piper/Bad News Brown thing. In case you didn’t see it, Piper came into the match with black body paint on half his body. At the time I really didn’t understand it one bit and basically thought Piper looked like an idiot. I never got into Dusty Rhodes either back then and had no idea why there was a fat guy in polka dots dancing and stuff in a wrestling ring. Of course I had no exposure to NWA or anything else at the time, so that didn’t help obviously. Roberts and DiBiase was a match I loved just because Roberts was a favorite of mine and I hated DiBiase so much (as a heel he was just SO damn good). And Hogan/Warrior was my favorite match ever at this point in time. I remember going in thinking neither man could possibly lose, being shocked as hell that Warrior won, but shocked in a really happy way.
NOW: Yeah, I still cheered for The Model over Koko. That didn’t change at all over the years. Now that I know a bit of the backstory to Piper/Bad News, it’s not that confusing anymore, it’s just really awkward to watch. Both men are two of my favorites, but seeing Piper in a pretty racist getup with a racial backstory is just not that fun to see really. Now that I’ve seen lots of Rhodes in recent years, I really feel bad for him in this WWF run, much like seeing Harley Race basically being treated like nothing and given a silly gimmick. Only it’s worse in this case, Rhodes was pretty much a joke here. Rockers/Orient Express was a match I might have overlooked as a kid, but I loved watching it this time around. Really a strong little match there. Also, looking back now I totally forgot Greg Valentine in “Rhythm and Blues” ever happening. Maybe it’s not a bad thing though, I thought he was a pretty good mid card guy and this was pretty silly to have him in. Although, looking back now and seeing DDP driving them to the ring was a short little markout moment for me. One thing I noticed in the Rude/Snuka match is Superfly looked REALLY roided up here. Kind of sad to say, but he had some veins popping out and looked very strange in this match. As for Hogan/Warrior? I still love this match. Neither man is obviously great in the ring (and their WCW match was horrid) but this match was much better than it had any right to be. They were outstanding in this one, and everything just clicked. Too bad Warrior turned out to be one of the biggest idiots in history, but at the time the passing of the torch was very special.
Wrestlemania VII
For some reason, and I don’t even know why for sure, I wanted to see this Wrestlemania SO bad. I didn’t get to see it live, but I remember riding my bike to the video store every few days to see if it was in to be rented yet. Maybe it was just hoping it would be as good as Wrestlemania VI, but looking back now this was kind of a silly Wrestlemania to be so pumped up about.
THEN: I loved the Texas Tornado as a kid, and always wondered why he kind of disappeared after a while. This is one of the matches I remember most from him, probably since I was so pumped up about this show in the first place. I was also really a huge Bulldog fan by this time and loved seeing him against the Warlord. I hated the Nasty Boys and I was so mad they beat the Hart Foundation for the belts. The build to the Roberts/Martel blindfold match was out-freaking-standing I think, and the match was really interesting I thought. I never thought Jake could ever use since he was so used to being blind by this point. Warrior/Savage was HUGE back then and I don’t think anyone could help but get emotional over the Savage/Elizabeth reunion. I loved the match at the time too. I remember thinking Regis interviewing Tenryu and Kitao was pretty funny at the time, even if it is kind of stupid and offensive now thinking that all Japanese wrestlers know are words like “Toyota”. Legion of Doom was just a huge favorite of mine by this time and I loved seeing their little squash match on the show. Virgil’s breakup from DiBiase was such a feel good story I remember being totally behind him . Funny story too, The Mountie was widely censored here in Canada at the time. It was feared that people here would start being scared of real Mounties and he didn’t portray them in a positive light (no shit, he was a heel!). Anyways, all his matches were usually censored out here, so I never really got to see him much at all. Hogan/Slaughter was probably the match that made me want to see this show so bad, as I thought the Slaughter heel turn was one of the more interesting things done at the time. Match wasn’t that memorable, but hey, Hogan got the big win for the USA, right?
NOW: Kind of sad looking back at Kerry Von Erich now, knowing the history behind the family. He was pretty damn good when he was on though. Bulldog/Warlord I still think was a really good “power vs. power” match, even if Warlord sucks for the most part. I still can’t really get into the Nasty Boys to this day. Even when Knobbs was in WCW I just couldn’t stand him. Just one of those teams I can’t seem to like no matter what. Blindfold match was slow and maybe a little long, but for a blindfold match it was still really entertaining. And after seeing Cena in a match doing the same things Roberts did back here, it was kind of neat to see. Savage/Warrior is still a great match in terms of emotion, but looking back now it’s tough to see Warrior come back from finishing moves the way he did. 5 elbow drops and he kicks out? Ugh. The L.O.D. squash was maybe even more fun this time around knowing how badly Power and Glory sucked. And Hogan/Slaughter wasn’t great, but it was a feud based on emotion over the war and such. I feel bad for all the threats and danger for Slaughter through the feud, but I still think it was an entertaining story with a feel good ending for the country. Kind of corny now, but at the time it worked.
Wrestlemania VIII
This is around the time I started losing some interest in WWF for a few years, but I still somewhat followed it from a distance. Rather than rush to rent it or anything like that though, it would be more a case of rent it and watch if I’m really bored sometime.
THEN: The build to Piper/Hart was something I did remember, and I was really excited for this match. I loved the whole Piper hesitating to use the bell spot, I remember watching and hoping he wouldn’t actually do it. As I said before, I didn’t get anything other than WWF so I really didn’t appreciate Ric Flair at ALL back then. In fact, I really hated him for quite a while. I didn’t understand how this guy that looks like an old man could come in and be the champion. Money Inc. I hated too, mainly from a being a great heel standpoint once again. DiBiase was great as I’ve said a million times, and Rotundo as IRS was just phenomenal as well. I really hated the ending to Hogan/Sid too, but I was hoping the rumors of it being Hogan’s last match were false. Really strange Wrestlemania that was easily my least favorite at the time.
NOW: Piper/Hart stands the test of time, it was still really good I think. Makes up for the strange Piper/Brows stuff from before. Seeing the first glimpses of HBK was really cool too. One thing I do enjoy watching it now is being able to really appreciate Savage/Flair now, especially since I love both guys a ton now. And now the strangeness of the Hogan/Sid ending makes sense knowing what happened. I was wondering why Sid kicked out so strong from the legdrop since it’s like never happened before. And now it’s really kind of funny to watch Hogan’s reaction knowing that Sid wasn’t supposed to kick out. And I read a couple places that the match was supposed to end with a Papa Shango run in, but it was all messed up because he came down late. Well, if that’s the case, Shango was REALLY late as he finally came to the ring like a minute or two after the fall. Really strange ending. Weird Wrestlemania as well, it was super short with barely any matches at all on the card. Probably the weakest so far out of all of them, despite a couple good matches in Piper/Hart and Flair/Savage.
Wrestlemania IX
I know this one is usually panned as maybe the worst Wrestlemania in history (toss up between this and a couple others) but personally it’s my most memorable. Not because it was good (it did suck for the most part) but because I went with my dad and a younger brother to a bar in a small town outside Edmonton to watch live. They allowed kids in to watch wrestling shows with their parents, and for me it was just a special family memory.
THEN: I loved the Steiner Brothers, and their match against the Headshrinkers was the first I ever saw. Heel Doink the Clown is one of the best gimmicks I can remember. I loved him back then and I thought then (and still do) that he was horribly underused and turned into a lame face way too fast. I didn’t know the full story behind the Mega Maniacs and Money Inc, but I was so pumped up for that match. I did notice that Hogan looked different for this show (besides the face injury) and I noticed it the first while in WCW as well. Giant Gonzalez and Undertaker was a match I actually liked, it made Taker actually look like an unstoppable zombie, coming back from a chloroform attack and all. But even then I would be stupid to not think Gonzales had the single worst wrestling outfit of all time. As for the main event, I remember marking the hell out when Hogan won. It was just so cool that a Hart/Yokozuna main event ended up with a Hogan title reign. I thought it was one of the coolest endings to a show I’ve ever seen.
NOW: Damn, I thought the last Mania was short, this one was crazy! Didn’t seem like a Wrestlemania at all looking at the short match listing now. Anyways, knowing the condition of Scott Steiner now and knowing Rikishi was a headshrinker, it’s kind of funny enjoying a Rikishi/Scott Steiner match so much. But hey, they ruled back then. Looking back now, I’m pretty sure this was around the steroid problem times, so Hogan looking a bit different was probably due to coming off the drugs. I don’t know for a fact, but that’s the best educated guess I can make. And Taker Gonzales, well, at least now I can look at it at the brutal match it was. Not Taker’s fault though, he was damn good back then. Still, that being said, the size of Gonzales is still pretty impressive I think. And the main event is kind of strange to watch now. I do love surprises and all, but to have a bait and switch like this to end Wrestlemania just isn’t a great idea I think. And I know a lot happened because of Hogan politics at the time, but still, a guy barely able to wrestle that night due to an injury shouldn’t win the title like that obviously. Made Bret look pretty weak looking back now, which I’ll obviously never be a fan of. But oh well, I liked it at the time so it did it’s job I guess.
Wrestlemania X
Despite how much fun I had watching the last show as a kid, I didn’t watch this one as I was pretty much in my non-wrestling phase growing up. Over the years I caught the must see matches on the show, but this is my first time watching this one beginning to end. I did watch the occasional show every few months back around this time though, so I did kind of know what was going on so I’ll go off that.
THEN: Some things will never change, and me drooling over a Bret vs. Owen match is one of them. It’s the one match I really did have to see from the show for sure. I remember my dad thought Alundra Blaze was pretty cute, so I cheered for her when I did see her. And Men on a Mission, well, I loved them. I’ve always been a big tag team mark, and as bad as they might have been wrestling wise, I loved them as a team back then. I thought Luger was a great heel as “The Narcissist”, and I didn’t really dig his big American face run. Seemed way too much like a Hogan rip off (which it turns out, he was supposed to be the next Hogan so it made sense I suppose). The ladder match was a really cool idea I thought, and seeing highlights I always thought there’s no way they could possibly fake or fix a ladder match. Way too real not to get hurt. And I was, of course, ecstatic to hear Bret won the title back again. Sweet revenge for the year before.
NOW: Looking back, the whole booking for the 2 title matches and Bret/Owen was GENIUS. Especially having Owen win, something that nobody could have possibly seen coming I think. And after the main event, having Owen come out to stare Bret down? Perfect. What an ending to a show, and it made perfect sense. Ladder match was outstanding as just about everyone knows by now, and most the rest of the show was pretty strong as well. The one funny thing was a big “argument” with the heel team for a big 10 man tag match. They were arguing over who should be the team captain, so after showing that Vince just says “well, it looks like that match won’t take place, they can’t decide on a captain!”. I researched and found that they were running short on time so they just scrapped the match, but what a horrible way to write it off the show. At least just say someone couldn’t make it or something, but that excuse was pretty lame I thought. Otherwise, this show was just strong all the way around, and for me I’d pick this as the best Wrestlemania…..so far of course!
Well, there’s part 2. I’ll be watching the next shows whenever I got some free time the next couple weeks, so check back for part 3 very soon. Until then, thanks for stopping by.
Always feel free to leave feedback or ask questions.
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