Category: Ramblemania (2024)

Date: March 31st, 1996
Venue: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA
Attendance: 18,853

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

When someone brings up Wrestlemania 12, chances are the only thing people can recall about that show is the hour-long Iron Man match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. And that would be totally justified because the better part of Wrestlemania 12 is pretty forgettable for the most part.

Wrestlemania 12 lacked celebrity stars of any kind. Some would argue that the WWF wanted to showcase the talent themselves rather than have any outside influence, but I would think that no celebrity wanted to be a part of Wrestlemania or be associated with the company after they witnessed a string of mostly terrible television shows. The PPVs didn’t necessarily fare all that better, especially when it came to Diesel defending his world title against guys like Sid or King Mabel, resulting in some really mediocre matches even by those days’ standards. All things considered, if Nash had been given credible opponents who could work, his reign wouldn’t have been a chore to sit through… but what would I know? I wasn’t watching at the time.

Wrestlemania 12 was about the 60-minute Iron Man match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels… the very same match that made Shawn’s career and marked the beginning of Bret’s downward spiral. The Iron Man match, for me personally, hasn’t held up all that well. Despite some of the quality wrestling and athletics on display here, the sad truth is that nothing happens in this match worthy of merit and I often find myself fast-forwarding just to see if anything is going to happen. And while it’s still a good match, each time I watch it, I find myself getting more bored and the match loses quite a bit of its luster as a result. Besides, the only other significance of this match is that it set the stage for a year and a half’s worth of real life drama that would culminate in Survivor Series 1997… and we know what happened there.

Perhaps this is why I’ve warmed up to the undercard a bit in recent years. I hadn’t considered it all that great years ago, but watching it again, the handful of matches on display did provide some decent matches… even if they weren’t anything special. I guess if you wanted to check out Steve Austin’s first ‘Mania match or the Ultimate Warrior’s squashing of a young HHH, then this would be worth it. Even Undertaker/Diesel was surprisingly good. Go figure.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 12 – WWF Wrestlemania XII (1996)”

Date: April 2nd, 1995
Venue: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
Attendance: 16,305

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

They say that peering into each Wrestlemania tells you the state of the company at the time and this would hold true to a certain extent. Barring Wrestlemania 9, which was just a horrific show by any means, each ‘Mania spotlighted the top stars, best matches of the time, and top-notch performance. Wrestlemania X was considered a good wrestling show, but 1994 would play home to other great wrestling shows from the WWF. Wrestlemania XI, on the other hand, was a good spotlight into everything that was wrong with the company, long before it would be truly damaging.

Wrestlemania XI took place during the heyday of the WWF’s New Generation era and a Kevin Nash title reign; a period of time that most “experts” and otherwise consider to be the Dark Age of McMahon’s utopia and this show clearly illustrates the road of mediocrity the promotion was headed. The fact that they had to crop this show up with any kind of celebrity presence – no matter how low-tier they may be – to try and drum up ANY kind of interest is a telling sign. When the only thing that really sticks to mind is the kid from Home Improvement beating Mr. Bob Backlund in chess during a backstage skit of a WRESTLEMANIA show, you’ve got problems.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 11 – WWF Wrestlemania XI (1995)”

Date: March 20th, 1994
Venue: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Attendance: 18,065

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

They call this ten years in the making… I call it blatant hyperbole… but not quite hyper hyperbole. Also, ten years in the making? We started planning for Wrestlemania in 1984? Really?

So Wrestlemania X returns to Madison Square Garden – site of the first Wrestlemania – and is often considered to be one of the best Wrestlemania cards put together… which is a fair statement to make if I’m being honest. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but being sandwiched between an awful Wrestlemania IX and an awful Wrestlemania XI, I can see why people would be inclined to make that distinction. Still, this is a fine show with two WWF Title matches and two Bret Hart matches… and strangely, only one Lex Luger match. Cool.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 10 – WWF Wrestlemania X (1994)”

Date: April 4th, 1993
Venue: Caesars Palace – Las Vegas, NV
Attendance: 16,891

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

There was a time and place when Wrestlemania IX would’ve been considered one of, if not THE WORST, Wrestlemania of all time. And there was a time and place where that may have been true. But in the decades since this show’s inception, there have been a number of Wrestlemanias to come along that have managed to outsuck this show to such a degree that I’d have a hard time trying to place this show in the Bottom 5. Yes, I can think of five Wrestlemanias that are far worse than this… and no, it won’t take long to find out which of those shows take the cake. Hell, if you’ve been following this blog for who knows how long… first off, my condolences… but second off, you would probably have a good idea as to which shows I’m referring to.

Now, with that in mind, is Wrestlemania IX a better show than perceived? No… no, this is still a largely bad show. This show was inducted into Wrestlecrap. It’s a worthy induction into Wrestlecrap. It is not a hidden gem or misunderstood classic. This show fucking blows… but what I’m saying is that it doesn’t blow as much as other Manias that have come along since. Hell, I’d argue that Wrestlemania V is a worse show than Wrestlemania IX. And so many other Wrestlemanias have come along that are far worse than this show that this gets bumped up the list by proxy.

Make no mistake; this is still a bad show. It’s just not Dino Bravo bad. It’s not the worst.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 09 – WWF Wrestlemania IX (1993)”

Date: April 5th, 1992
Venue: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 62,167

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

The first positive that you could say about Wrestlemania VIII is that no bomb threats or anything of the sort forced the event to move to a smaller venue due to low ticket sales, so we’re back in a big stadium setting via the Hoosier Dome. Sadly, this would be the last time that Wrestlemania graced a large stadium setting for NINE YEARS before Wrestlemania X-Seven came along and took place in the Reliant Astrodome in Houston. Some people would say Caesar’s Palace at Mania IX, but that’s more of an outdoor arena setting and it’s not even a large one.

It’s been said that the big main event for this show was supposed to be Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair. Who said it? I don’t recall, but it certainly should have been the case. However, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s comprehension, we didn’t get that match. Instead, we get Flair defending (and losing) his WWF championship to Randy Savage in a good, bloody affair and the main event match of Hulk Hogan getting a DQ win over Sid in what was built as Hogan’s retirement match. If only…

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 08 – WWF Wrestlemania VIII (1992)”

Date: March 24th, 1991
Venue: Los Angeles Sports Arena – Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 16,158

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

We went from Skydome to the LA Sports Arena… a much smaller arena setting.

So you’ve probably heard the story before; Wrestlemania VII was supposed to take place in a much larger stadium setting, but due to lagging ticket sales, they had to switch to a smaller venue. Of course, the official WWF reasoning was that there was a bomb threat and thus we needed to switch arenas where there would presumably be tighter security. Keyword being presumably.

And why would there be a bomb threat? Because the main event for this show was Hulk Hogan challenging for the WWF title against the defending champion Sgt. Slaughter – yes, the long-time wrestling representative to G.I. Joe and as Real American as can be, one day turned his back on America to join the Iraqi cause… because this was during that whole Gulf War thing and naturally, Vince wanted to exploit that action of sorts. You could shit on him for it, but this is perfectly in line with his character. There is no low that he won’t capitalize on if it meant he could make a few bucks in the process.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 07 – WWF Wrestlemania VII (1991)”

April 1st, 1990
Skydome – Toronto, ON
Attendance: 67,678

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

I had originally described Wrestlemania VI as being a one-match show. The main event title for title contest pitting reigning World champion Hulk Hogan against the reigning Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior was the only thing on this show that mattered. On this here show – the first Wrestlemania to take place outside of the U.S. and the first since Wrestlemania III to take place in a proper stadium rather than the dining hall that is Trump Plaza or whatever it’s called these days –

Taking place in Toronto, you had Hulk Hogan taking on the Ultimate Warrior. You had Warrior defeating Hogan and winning his only world title… well, if you had to do something bold and daring, it had to be in Canada because heaven forbid Hulk Fucking Hogan would lose a match at Wrestlemania taking place in the United States during his prime.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 06 – WWF Wrestlemania VI (1990)”

April 2nd, 1989
Trump Plaza (a.k.a. Boardwalk Hall), Atlantic City, NJ
Attendance: 18,946

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024.)

Here’s a rarity; Trump Plaza played host to Wrestlemania for the second year in a row, having hosted Wrestlemania IV and the WWF Championship tournament that saw Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage winning his first World title. While there have been venues who would play two-time hosts to the event, there hasn’t been another occurrence of the venue playing BACK-TO-BACK hosts. Whether this was by design or purely coincidental booking on their part, I can’t help but sense a touch of irony that Randy Savage would return to the building where he won the championship, only to walk out empty-handed and lose the title to his rival, Hulk Hogan. I suppose this is the WWF’s subtle way of wiping the stench of ‘Mania IV’s abysmal tournament from the year prior, including the guy who won it. Not to worry, though. Macho stuck around for a bit. No biggie.

Sadly, in an attempt to replace Mania IV’s abysmal stench, Wrestlemania V ended up stinking up the joint far worse than that show could ever hope to achieve.

Back in my original Ramblemania post from 2012, I noted that I wasn’t too fond of the show. It was a show with very few highlights – mostly any match that involved a championship at stake. I had accused this show of stuffing as much crap as possible to fill a four-hour runtime. A runtime, mind you, that was justified the previous year because you had the big WWF title tourney. As much of a chore as that was, it was a legitimate excuse for expecting fans to sit through a four-hour sloth… but this show?

Yeah, I’m showing my hand a little early, aren’t I?

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 05 – WWF Wrestlemania V (1989)”

Date: March 27, 1988
Trump Plaza (a.k.a. Boardwalk Hall), Atlantic City, NJ
Attendance: 19,199

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

So you’ve just booked perhaps the greatest main-event in wrestling history. Where do you go from here? Proper logic suggests that you build for the eventual rematch for the next big show. And certainly with Hogan and Andre leading 5-man teams in the inaugural Survivor Series PPV, you’d think that would be the logical course of action to take.

Unfortunately, the rematch to the most important match in wrestling history took place not at a grand stage or big-time PPV such as, oh I don’t know, Wrestlemania IV where it should have been, but instead it took place on The Main Event, a free show airing at NBC. Andre won the match and the title, but circumstances vacated the title and it was decided that the new WWF champion would be crowned at ‘Mania via a tournament that would be determined at the show.

Single-night tournaments are a tricky thing because it requires that every match taking place holds the audience’s interest through the duration of the show, lest they get bored and uninterested. Survivor Series 98 had a pretty entertaining tournament that flowed through nicely throughout three hours. Wrestlemania IV did not.

A lot of the matches often fell into two categories; too short to actually go anywhere or not good. There are seldom few gems to be found here and chances are they’ll be missed by whoever is watching this because they will have passed out. Subsequently, the show was just a chore to sit through, with some going so far as to call this Wrestlemania BORE. And no, kids. Not even the Ultimate Warrior’s match with Hercules Hernandez could save this show.

On the bright side, Macho winning the title at the end is actually pretty touching. A shame it would all go crashing down afterwards…

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 04 – WWF Wrestlemania IV (1988)”

March 29, 1987
Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI
Attendance: 93,730 (78,000 actual paid attendance)

(Note: The following post was written prior to the McMahon lawsuit from January 2024).

If there was any single show that was truly worth of the moniker “showcase of the immortals”, it would be Wrestlemania III.

Some would regard this as the most important PPV in professional wrestling simply because it’s responsible for putting the sports-entertainment genre on the map. Despite being the third, it is considered the pinnacle of the industry and the most successful show that made the WWF the hottest thing going. With a heavily-hyped and anticipated main event in the WWF Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant that delivered in drama along with a solid undercard, Wrestlemania III is the gold-standard for what a big-time PPV should be and what all big supercards strive to be. It is perhaps the purest highlight of the sports-entertainment form that McMahon was pushing, with a healthy balance of grandeur, celebrity, and wrestling that makes the whole thing work.

Continue reading “Ramblemania Rewind 03 – WWF Wrestlemania III (1987)”