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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)”