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Post by The Brain on Mar 11, 2019 17:27:29 GMT -5
Digging into KOTR 94 and I only got one question for you Humanoids....How much does this fella weigh?
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Post by The Brain on Mar 13, 2019 18:29:18 GMT -5
Coming soon... 
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alexxx
Superstar
Joined on: Dec 27, 2008 15:54:38 GMT -5
Posts: 790
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Post by alexxx on Mar 13, 2019 22:29:01 GMT -5
After this one could review wrestlemania 8 if anyone has a request let them jump ahead of me thanks
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Post by The Brain on Mar 19, 2019 14:30:15 GMT -5
Been sidetracked lately humanoids but the KOTR 94 review will be up tomorrow!!
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Post by The Brain on Mar 20, 2019 1:51:17 GMT -5
King of the Ring 1994 
Your Hosts-Gorilla Monsoon,Randy Savage and Art Donovan
Quarter Finals-Razor Ramon vs Bam Bam Bigelow-Decent power man match here to kick us off.The rest holds in the middle hurt it a bit but still overall not bad. Finish comes when Bam Bam goes up for his signature moonsault but is caught mid way and slammed down for the 3.The bad guy moves on. After this Bam Bam would leave his main squeeze Luna and join the newly formed Million Dollar Corporation.
Quarter Finals-IRS vs Mabel-Gotta love a pre match IRS promo ripping on the crowd for being tax cheats. Mabel during this time was solo as his MOM partner Mo was out with an injury until late in the year. This match is BAD. Only remarkable thing about it is Mabel attempting a small package on the tax man. Finish comes when Mabel falls off the ropes after IRS shakes em leading to a win for dastardly heel. Bad finish to a bad match. Its only about 5 minutes long but feels longer. Art Donovan on IRS'' is he one of the wrestlers? He looks like a businessman!''
Quarter Finals- Tatanka vs Owen Hart-Like the 1st match this is decent but nothing to write home about. Tatanka during this time was just floundering as after his undefeated streak ended he was just ''there'' basically. It was for the better when they would turn em heel at SSlam just 2 months later. Finish here comes when Tatanka tries for a sunset flip only for Owen to counter him and get the 3.
Quarters Final- 123 Kid vs Jeff Jarrett- Last match of the round and IMO the best. They were only given not even 5 minutes but man they crammed in what they could here.Finish comes when Jarrett tries for the figure four but is rolled up by the kid for the win. Post match Double would get revenge by attacking the kid with him hitting the poor ham n egger with a few piledrivers. Keep this in mind for later.
Bret Hart vs Diesel for the WWF World Title- I remember thinking why would they put this title match in the middle? Well you'll find out later. HBK is in the corner of Diesel and in the corner of Bret is none other than Jim Neidhart who's making his return to the company after over 2 years. Good match here as these two always had great chemistry. This would be the 1st of their 4 WWF PPV matches together and is definitely the weakest but still nowhere near bad. Finish comes when Diesel powerbombs Bret but before he could go for the pin Anvil comes in and causes the DQ. What's he doing??!! Bad finish aside still a good match. Art Donovan on commentary was mostly quiet with the occasional line but this was mostly all Gorilla and Savage which was for the better.
Semi-Final IRS vs Razor Ramon- Short match here with the ending never in doubt. Razor Edge puts away the tax man and sends Razor to the finals. Check out their match at the Rumble this year as it's way better than this one.
Semi Final- Owen Hart vs 123 Kid- Another match that's never in doubt but man like the Kid/Jarrett match is packed in for the short time they were given. Kid here is selling his injuries like a pro with Owen attacking like a shark that smells blood. Finish comes when Kid tries for a hurricanrana but is powerbombed instead leading to the sharpshooter for the win to send Owen to the finals. 2 short matches for the Kid here but man were they fun to watch. Definitely check em out.
Headshrinkers vs Crush/Yokozuna for the WWF Tag Titles- Shrinkers here are newly turned babyface who won the belts from the Quebecers not long before this. Just filler here to give the fans a breather before the finals. Finish comes when Lex Luger comes down and distracts Crush( they were feuding during this time after Crush cost Luger a spot in the tourney) leading to Fatu hitting a super kick for the win. Crush after this would pretty much be gone by Summers end while Yoko would be targeted by a returning deadman in the Fall.
KOTR Finals- Razor Ramon vs Owen Hart- Short match here that felt like a tv bout. Finish comes when Jim Neidhart comes out and turns heel by laying out Razor leading to Owen hitting an elbow drop and in the process becoming King. I like the storytelling here as the heel turn is brilliant in the fact that Anvil made sure Bret retained the belt earlier so he's champ when Owen takes it from and proves once and for all he's the better brother. Good stuff looking back and another reason why the Bret/Owen feud from this year is gold. Post match we get the coronation and the start of classic heel Owen as the '' King of Harts''. 25 years later and this is still by far my favorite KOTR winner of all time. Owen was just awesome here.
Jerry ''The King'' Lawler vs Rowdy Roddy Piper- This is Piper's 1st match since WM VIII over 2 years prior. During this time the WWF was promoting it's ''new generation'' campaign but yet this is your main event. I can understand why it's main event here considering they didn't want a heel celebrating at the end as king but man this match SUCKED. I love both guys to death but man I cant say anything positive about it. Finish comes when Piper suplexes Lawler with a bridge for the 3 to end this after about 12 minutes of torture. I liked the build to this match with classic Heel King taunting Piper leading to the big return here but like I said the match is just horrendous.
Final thoughts- Overall even though this is nowhere near the greatness of the year prior, this is still a pretty good show. Definitely check out the 2 Kid matches, World Title and Owen's coronation but I urge you to AVOID the main event. Oh yeah as far as Art Donovan on commentary is concerned, looking back I thought he was intolerable but like I said in the past here it's like watching wrestling with your grandfather who has never watched it before in his life and for that I'll give em a pass.Verdict- Recommended
Next time on the Classic Reviews we'll head to the Hooiser Dome for WM VIII!!
Until next time... Stay Classic Humanoids
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Post by The Brain on Mar 23, 2019 20:08:50 GMT -5
Coming soon... 
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Post by The Brain on Mar 25, 2019 16:52:33 GMT -5
My upcoming WM VIII review will be #50! What a journey.
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Post by The Brain on Mar 29, 2019 18:06:23 GMT -5
WrestleMania VIII 
Your Hosts- Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
El Matador Tito Santana vs Shawn Michaels- Michaels here was new to his HBK persona as he just turned heel a few months prior.Tito by this point was jobber to the stars. Good nearly 11 minute match here with Shawn looking like the future of the company while Tito holds up his end as well.Finish comes when Tito tries a suplex with Shawn on the apron leading to HBK falling on top for the win. I gotta point out though the girl in the crowd during the beginning of this match yelling ''SHAWN!!"" is still annoying as hell all these years later. Decent opener here.
We get a Mean Gene podium next with the returning....LOD with Paul Ellering! They've been out since February since they lost the belts to Money Inc at a house show.If I recall they briefly left the company right after that. Right after this they would bring in ''Rocco'' the dummy which would pretty much be the end of em in the WWF until early 97. Man what a terrible angle that was.
Undertaker vs Jake Roberts- I loved the build to this with the incident on Superstars with Taker's hand getting caught in the casket with Jake hitting em countless times with the chair. LOVED heel Jake. Not a very good match here with Jake you could tell just wanting to get it over with since he was leaving the company post match after being promised a spot on creative only for Vince to change his mind. Finish comes when Taker hits em with a tombstone on the floor(looks real bad as his head doesn't even come close to the floor) with him then rolling him back in for the pin.2-0!
Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart for the WWF IC Title- Oh boy now we're talking. Such a classic match here with both guys getting to shine with the crowd into everything.At one point in the match Bret does a blade job which you can clearly see. He somehow avoided being fined for that as he would recall in his book years later. We get a glimpse of heel Piper here as at one point when Bret enters the ring he gives him a sucker shot. Finish comes when we get a ref bump with Piper getting the ring bell in an attempt to use it(Heenan-''You know the old saying what the hell use the bell!'') but in the end he chooses not to leading to a sleeper attempt only for Bret to counter it using the turnbuckle ala the Bret/Austin finish at SSeries 96 and we have a new champ! Outstanding match here with both guys going all out to give a classic that still holds up 27 years later. This is a must see humanoids and a big reason while this Mania is nowhere near the crap list as far as I'm concerned. Piper after this would pretty much go back to acting with him making a cameo at SSlam that August but he would not return to the ring until 2 years later at KOTR.
Next up is a Lex Luger WBF interview.What a failure that endeavor was.
Sgt. Slaughter/Big Boss Man/Jim Duggan/Virgil vs Nasty Boys/Mountie/Repo Man-Total filler here with the only entertaining thing about it being Ray Combs doing the introductions during the beginning.Finish comes when Saggs hits accidently hits Knobbs leading to the babyfaces getting the win.
Ric Flair vs Randy Savage for the WWF World Title-''Liz was mine before she was yours'' Ahh yes this classic feud. My 2 favorites of all time fighting for the World Title. HELL YEAH!!! I absolutely loved everything about this feud. From Flair winning the belt in the best Rumble match ever, Savage getting the nod from Tunney and from there Flair playing mind games with em over his so called ''past'' with Liz. They even teased a big centerfold to pop on the screen in the Hoosier Dome but it never came to be. At one point during this match Randy hits Flair with the axe handle from the top to the floor in which Flair hits the ring barrier leading to another plain as day blade job. He wouldn't be as lucky as Bret though as he was fined for it. Finish comes when Flair tries for a figure four only for Savage to block with a punch with him then following it up with a roll up with the tights pulled. Post match both Flair and Perfect attack Savage leading to Liz getting in the ring only for Flair to kiss here but then get slap for his troubles. Absolute classic here humanoids. Everything about this match was perfect from the in ring work to just the story told of can Savage overcome these big odds.Plus you got the classic commentary of Bobby and Gorilla as the cherry on top. Without question this is my favorite World Title match in Mania history.
Intermission time as we get classic interviews from Savage,The Flair camp plus a recap of the Sid/Hogan feud. The interviews are MUST see here. Just gold stuff all around.
Rick Martel vs Tatanka- More filler to give the fans a breather after the last masterpiece. Highlight of this match was Gorilla getting under Bobby's skin over the result of the last match. Finish comes when Tatanka hits em with a cross body. Post match with Tatanka doing his war dance Heenan''Is he dancing or does he have a tack in his shoe''?
Money Inc vs Natural Disasters for the WWF Tag Titles- Disasters here are newly turned babyfaces after Jimmy Hart abandoned them to go with Money Inc. Terrible match with a dead crowd to boot which is a shame as I love both teams but they just never clicked here. Finish comes when Quake goes to squash IRS only for Ted to pull em out leading to a countout. The Disasters would eventually get the belts by the Summer.
Owen Hart vs Skinner-More filler here with Owen getting the easy win with a roll up after about a minute. After this he would form High Energy with Koko B Ware.
Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan- This was build as Hogan's ''retirement match''. Very lackluster main event here but the crowd was hot for it so points there. Finish comes when Hogan hits Sid with a leg drop leading to Sid having to improvise and kick out after Papa Shango misses his cue. Harvey Wippleman comes in and hits the Hulkster with his medical bag leading to the DQ. Shango does eventually come out with him and Sid then double teaming until from out of nowhere here comes the Warrior!! HUGE pop as this would be his first appearance back since the previous SSlam. He comes in and clears house and we get a posedown afterward between the former Mania opponents. Pyro and a shot of the dome takes us out. After this Hogan would go film Mr. Nanny and wouldn't return until nearly a year later while Sid would leave not long after alleged issues with the Warrior. In the past I heard Sid quit the company and I also heard he was fired for failing a drug test so your guess is as good as mine.
Final Thoughts- Both the IC and World Title matches alone make this Mania must see. This event was definitely the end of an era as after this Hogan would leave with Vince having to push new blood in his company. A lot of filler in this one but still overall enjoyable plus Gorilla and Bobby once again hit a home run in the booth. Verdict- Recommended
Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Mar 29, 2019 19:35:30 GMT -5
Great recap, thanks for bringing back memories.
I always wondered whose themes the 8 man tag guys came out to since we didn't see the entrance. All the guys had their own theme but I'm guessing for how long the entrance was they all came out to one guys theme. I'm guessing all faces to Hacksaws and all heels to Nastys.
This is one of the few, if not only, manias with a bunch of match changes to the original card. I'm not talking just a scrapped match due to time or a replacement but multiple matches with different lineups. Besides a potential Hogan v. Flair, the WWF magazine also cited Hacksaw and Slaughter v. Money Inc, Natural Disasters v. LOD, Bulldog and Virgil and Bossman v. Nasty Boys and Mountie.
In defense of the Rocco puppet...yes, this was a bad idea but LOD needed a refresher and WWF was probably thinking a new marketing opportunity. LOD often needed refreshers in WWF. I think they were a team that really fit the late 80s or very early 90s only but after that, their time had passed but both guys could really only ever work the LOD gimmick. Not necessarily their faults, just the gimmick was so great that it would typecast any performer doing it.
Also, Hawk was always messing up due to drugs. If it wasn't Rocco as his excuse for his leaving in 1992, it would've been something else. He worked for WCW in late 1993 and didn't last long and he worked for WCW in 1995 for just a handful of matches, if not just one at Slamboree. They both returned in 1996 but I don't think lasted more than five months. When a makeshift team of former jobbers (all due respect to Billy Gunn and Road Dogg who did awesome things together) embarrass you and pretty much force you to rethink your gimmicks and careers (in kayfabe terms reflecting real life) than you definitely have nothing left in the tank.
On a personal note, and with ALL due respect to Hawk, I joined the Road Warriors fan club back in 1994. It was advertised in one of the non-WWF magazines. I can't remember what it promised for the dues but I'm sure it a signed 8x10 and some goodies or else I wouldn't have wanted to join. What I received was a signed Road Warriors 8x10 photo signed simply "Road Warriors" in Animal's handwriting. I was pretty disappointed (espec. not knowing Animal wrote it until getting his autograph years later) but I chalk that one up to Animal probably manning the fan club all by himself with no help from Hawk and maybe not even being able to get with Hawk to have both guys sign it and it would look silly for just Animal's autograph on it.
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Post by The Brain on Mar 29, 2019 19:46:46 GMT -5
Great recap, thanks for bringing back memories.
I always wondered whose themes the 8 man tag guys came out to since we didn't see the entrance. All the guys had their own theme but I'm guessing for how long the entrance was they all came out to one guys theme. I'm guessing all faces to Hacksaws and all heels to Nastys. This is one of the few, if not only, manias with a bunch of match changes to the original card. I'm not talking just a scrapped match due to time or a replacement but multiple matches with different lineups. Besides a potential Hogan v. Flair, the WWF magazine also cited Hacksaw and Slaughter v. Money Inc, Natural Disasters v. LOD, Bulldog and Virgil and Bossman v. Nasty Boys and Mountie. In defense of the Rocco puppet...yes, this was a bad idea but LOD needed a refresher and WWF was probably thinking a new marketing opportunity. LOD often needed refreshers in WWF. I think they were a team that really fit the late 80s or very early 90s only but after that, their time had passed but both guys could really only ever work the LOD gimmick. Not necessarily their faults, just the gimmick was so great that it would typecast any performer doing it. Also, Hawk was always messing up due to drugs. If it wasn't Rocco as his excuse for his leaving in 1992, it would've been something else. He worked for WCW in late 1993 and didn't last long and he worked for WCW in 1995 for just a handful of matches, if not just one at Slamboree. They both returned in 1996 but I don't think lasted more than five months. When a makeshift team of former jobbers (all due respect to Billy Gunn and Road Dogg who did awesome things together) embarrass you and pretty much force you to rethink your gimmicks and careers (in kayfabe terms reflecting real life) than you definitely have nothing left in the tank. On a personal note, and with ALL due respect to Hawk, I joined the Road Warriors fan club back in 1994. It was advertised in one of the non-WWF magazines. I can't remember what it promised for the dues but I'm sure it a signed 8x10 and some goodies or else I wouldn't have wanted to join. What I received was a signed Road Warriors 8x10 photo signed simply "Road Warriors" in Animal's handwriting. I was pretty disappointed (espec. not knowing Animal wrote it until getting his autograph years later) but I chalk that one up to Animal probably manning the fan club all by himself with no help from Hawk and maybe not even being able to get with Hawk to have both guys sign it and it would look silly for just Animal's autograph on it. You're quite welcome. Thanks for the positive feedback. Watching these shows bring back great memories as well. |
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Mar 29, 2019 20:07:43 GMT -5
Oh yeah as far as Art Donovan on commentary is concerned, looking back I thought he was intolerable but like I said in the past here it's like watching wrestling with your grandfather who has never watched it before in his life and for that I'll give em a pass. I'm from Baltimore where Art Donovan was a huge legend not just in sports but for his entertaining persona. To a Baltimore football fan and a wrestling fan, it's obvious he has no clue about wrestling because his entertaining persona is really not present here. He's trying his best despite the confusion. Another thing about Art is, he was so popular he was always being asked to do personal appearances. He would do autograph signings, charity dinners, tv and radio spots and commercials among many things. I am sure this show was literally just another appearance for him and unfortunately he was really out of his element. The week after the show, he probably forgot he had even done it-he was always so busy. He was probably called by someone in WWF about doing it, didn't understand what he was signing up for and was probably just sent out on live TV at the last minute with no preparation. He probably even lucked out naming Razor Ramon his pick like someone may have introduced Razor to Art right before the show. |
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Post by The Brain on Mar 29, 2019 20:37:11 GMT -5
Yep a Baltimore Colt legend. Imagine if he knew wrestling more and had more preparation. He would've been a very good heel announcer I bet. He was very entertaining on Letterman back in the day.
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alexxx
Superstar
Joined on: Dec 27, 2008 15:54:38 GMT -5
Posts: 790
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Post by alexxx on Mar 30, 2019 0:13:41 GMT -5
could review wrestlemania 9 as it’s nearly wrestlemania timeif anyone has a request let them jump ahead of me
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Post by MKSavage on Mar 30, 2019 0:54:33 GMT -5
Loved WM8, two of my all-time favorite matches Bret vs Piper and Savage vs Flair. Two classics that everyone should watch. Bret was definitely on a run here with his win at SSL91 over Perfect and his upcoming matches with Bulldog at SSL92 and Shawn Michaels at SSE92, he pretty much had the best match or tied for the best match at each event. I was really glad that Savage got another run with the WWF title. He and Flair were just gold, seemed to be made for one another (the ladies man vs. the overprotective boyfriend/husband). I was always a fan of Michaels so it was good to see his start as a heel, he and Tito had a good match. Jake and Taker was the typical Taker match at this time but still enjoyable, I'm with you, I really liked the build for this match on the funeral parlor when Jake locked Taker's hand in the casket and DDT'd Paul Bearer. Then Jake hit Taker repeatedly with the chair which didn't effect him, then Taker stalking Jake while his hand was still in the casket. Good stuff. Next match was just a filler but Ray Combs did a good job, the crowd seemed to be into his insults of the heels. I actually liked the interview with Luger and Heenan/Gorilla. I think this was a great setup to his Narcissist gimmick. One of the better interviews I've seen of Luger. I liked the Tatanka vs Model match, nice start to Tatanka's career. Like the crowd, I wasn't really interested in the Money Inc. vs Natural Disasters match. Mainly because I wasn't a fan of the Disaster's (they had just turned face and the audience didn't really have a chance to get behind them). Owen vs. Skinner was just filler, to bad I think a full 8-10 minute match with them could have been good. I believe the only match that was announced to be on the card that didn't get a match was Bulldog vs. Berzerker, not sure which match went long to knock it off the show. The Main Event match wasn't great but the crowd was in to it. Best part about this was Warrior's return, one of the things I miss about old school wrestling is the fact that there wasn't an internet giving away surprises. Fans had no idea that Warrior was even there which made it even more exciting, when his music hit the crowd went nuts. Overall a good WrestleMania.
Side note; at this point you could probably refer to Savage as Mr. WrestleMania. He had the best match at WM3, 4, 5, and 7, and tied for the best match at this event.
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,357
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Post by nibs92 on Mar 30, 2019 1:23:27 GMT -5
Loved this Wrestlemania. Another classic performance by Bobby Heenan. Him saying that the singer of the national anthem was El Matador’s sister (Areeba McIntyre) cracks me up to this day.
This event holds a great personal memory for me. It fell right in the middle of the Easter holidays (I think the equivalent of spring break in the US). I was on holiday at my granny’s in the north of Scotland. I was so excited to see the event, but knew I wouldn’t be able to see it until my holiday was over so felt so conflicted. As a compromise, my mum taped it and posted it to my granny’s house so I didn’t have to wish my holiday away. Such a great family I had.
On reflection, was a great platform for Shawn, Bret and Taker. All three would help carry the company over the next few years.
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Post by The Brain on Mar 30, 2019 15:07:31 GMT -5
Loved WM8, two of my all-time favorite matches Bret vs Piper and Savage vs Flair. Two classics that everyone should watch. Bret was definitely on a run here with his win at SSL91 over Perfect and his upcoming matches with Bulldog at SSL92 and Shawn Michaels at SSE92, he pretty much had the best match or tied for the best match at each event. I was really glad that Savage got another run with the WWF title. He and Flair were just gold, seemed to be made for one another (the ladies man vs. the overprotective boyfriend/husband). I was always a fan of Michaels so it was good to see his start as a heel, he and Tito had a good match. Jake and Taker was the typical Taker match at this time but still enjoyable, I'm with you, I really liked the build for this match on the funeral parlor when Jake locked Taker's hand in the casket and DDT'd Paul Bearer. Then Jake hit Taker repeatedly with the chair which didn't effect him, then Taker stalking Jake while his hand was still in the casket. Good stuff. Next match was just a filler but Ray Combs did a good job, the crowd seemed to be into his insults of the heels. I actually liked the interview with Luger and Heenan/Gorilla. I think this was a great setup to his Narcissist gimmick. One of the better interviews I've seen of Luger. I liked the Tatanka vs Model match, nice start to Tatanka's career. Like the crowd, I wasn't really interested in the Money Inc. vs Natural Disasters match. Mainly because I wasn't a fan of the Disaster's (they had just turned face and the audience didn't really have a chance to get behind them). Owen vs. Skinner was just filler, to bad I think a full 8-10 minute match with them could have been good. I believe the only match that was announced to be on the card that didn't get a match was Bulldog vs. Berzerker, not sure which match went long to knock it off the show. The Main Event match wasn't great but the crowd was in to it. Best part about this was Warrior's return, one of the things I miss about old school wrestling is the fact that there wasn't an internet giving away surprises. Fans had no idea that Warrior was even there which made it even more exciting, when his music hit the crowd went nuts. Overall a good WrestleMania. Side note; at this point you could probably refer to Savage as Mr. WrestleMania. He had the best match at WM3, 4, 5, and 7, and tied for the best match at this event. Ahh the good ol days. Good times.
And I agree Savage was hitting em out of the park during those shows.
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Post by The Brain on Mar 31, 2019 15:21:21 GMT -5
Digging into WM IX. Togas for everyone!! 
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Post by Gorilla on Apr 1, 2019 13:19:15 GMT -5
Side note; at this point you could probably refer to Savage as Mr. WrestleMania. He had the best match at WM3, 4, 5, and 7, and tied for the best match at this event. I totally agree. Savage is underrated - he really was the best performer for years in the WWF. Imagine if he had stuck around and they let Savage wrestle Bret in 94 or 95 as a heel. I think those guys could have had amazing chemistry. |
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Post by MKSavage on Apr 1, 2019 15:26:43 GMT -5
Side note; at this point you could probably refer to Savage as Mr. WrestleMania. He had the best match at WM3, 4, 5, and 7, and tied for the best match at this event. I totally agree. Savage is underrated - he really was the best performer for years in the WWF. Imagine if he had stuck around and they let Savage wrestle Bret in 94 or 95 as a heel. I think those guys could have had amazing chemistry. Or Shawn, like he wanted to. According to Lanny, Savage wanted to have a feud with HBK that lasted a few PPV's, in the end Shawn would beat him and retire Savage and then Savage would go back to being an announcer full time. Vince didn't want to do that so Savage left the WWF for WCW to prove he could still go. I think Savage would have done well working with some of the younger guys coming up, helping to put the spotlight on them (look what he did for DDP in 1997). He could have worked with Triple H, Mankind, Austin, the Rock, etc. Would have been odd but I could definitely see a feud with Goldust, the androgynous guy vs. the Macho Man, it kind-of writes itself. Also, back to your point, I think both Bret and Lanny have said that after there brief moment at the 1989 Survivor Series, Macho Man took Bret by the arm and led him to Vince's office and said that he really wanted to work a program with him, sadly, it never came to be. If only Bret would have went solo in 1990 while Savage was still the King, maybe then they could have had a run/program with each other - after Savage/Dusty but before he and Warrior started having matches. I also thought I read somewhere that Savage filled in for one of Bret's opponents at a number of house shows after WM10 with Savage playing the heel in the match, then, after losing, being gracious and raising Bret's hand. |
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Post by rowdy1971 on Apr 1, 2019 15:31:01 GMT -5
WrestleMania VIII
Your Hosts- Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
El Matador Tito Santana vs Shawn Michaels- Michaels here was new to his HBK persona as he just turned heel a few months prior.Tito by this point was jobber to the stars. Good nearly 11 minute match here with Shawn looking like the future of the company while Tito holds up his end as well.Finish comes when Tito tries a suplex with Shawn on the apron leading to HBK falling on top for the win. I gotta point out though the girl in the crowd during the beginning of this match yelling ''SHAWN!!"" is still annoying as hell all these years later. Decent opener here.
We get a Mean Gene podium next with the returning....LOD with Paul Ellering! They've been out since February since they lost the belts to Money Inc at a house show.If I recall they briefly left the company right after that. Right after this they would bring in ''Rocco'' the dummy which would pretty much be the end of em in the WWF until early 97. Man what a terrible angle that was.
Undertaker vs Jake Roberts- I loved the build to this with the incident on Superstars with Taker's hand getting caught in the casket with Jake hitting em countless times with the chair. LOVED heel Jake. Not a very good match here with Jake you could tell just wanting to get it over with since he was leaving the company post match after being promised a spot on creative only for Vince to change his mind. Finish comes when Taker hits em with a tombstone on the floor(looks real bad as his head doesn't even come close to the floor) with him then rolling him back in for the pin.2-0!
Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart for the WWF IC Title- Oh boy now we're talking. Such a classic match here with both guys getting to shine with the crowd into everything.At one point in the match Bret does a blade job which you can clearly see. He somehow avoided being fined for that as he would recall in his book years later. We get a glimpse of heel Piper here as at one point when Bret enters the ring he gives him a sucker shot. Finish comes when we get a ref bump with Piper getting the ring bell in an attempt to use it(Heenan-''You know the old saying what the hell use the bell!'') but in the end he chooses not to leading to a sleeper attempt only for Bret to counter it using the turnbuckle ala the Bret/Austin finish at SSeries 96 and we have a new champ! Outstanding match here with both guys going all out to give a classic that still holds up 27 years later. This is a must see humanoids and a big reason while this Mania is nowhere near the crap list as far as I'm concerned. Piper after this would pretty much go back to acting with him making a cameo at SSlam that August but he would not return to the ring until 2 years later at KOTR.
Next up is a Lex Luger WBF interview.What a failure that endeavor was.
Sgt. Slaughter/Big Boss Man/Jim Duggan/Virgil vs Nasty Boys/Mountie/Repo Man-Total filler here with the only entertaining thing about it being Ray Combs doing the introductions during the beginning.Finish comes when Saggs hits accidently hits Knobbs leading to the babyfaces getting the win.
Ric Flair vs Randy Savage for the WWF World Title-''Liz was mine before she was yours'' Ahh yes this classic feud. My 2 favorites of all time fighting for the World Title. HELL YEAH!!! I absolutely loved everything about this feud. From Flair winning the belt in the best Rumble match ever, Savage getting the nod from Tunney and from there Flair playing mind games with em over his so called ''past'' with Liz. They even teased a big centerfold to pop on the screen in the Hoosier Dome but it never came to be. At one point during this match Randy hits Flair with the axe handle from the top to the floor in which Flair hits the ring barrier leading to another plain as day blade job. He wouldn't be as lucky as Bret though as he was fined for it. Finish comes when Flair tries for a figure four only for Savage to block with a punch with him then following it up with a roll up with the tights pulled. Post match both Flair and Perfect attack Savage leading to Liz getting in the ring only for Flair to kiss here but then get slap for his troubles. Absolute classic here humanoids. Everything about this match was perfect from the in ring work to just the story told of can Savage overcome these big odds.Plus you got the classic commentary of Bobby and Gorilla as the cherry on top. Without question this is my favorite World Title match in Mania history.
Intermission time as we get classic interviews from Savage,The Flair camp plus a recap of the Sid/Hogan feud. The interviews are MUST see here. Just gold stuff all around.
Rick Martel vs Tatanka- More filler to give the fans a breather after the last masterpiece. Highlight of this match was Gorilla getting under Bobby's skin over the result of the last match. Finish comes when Tatanka hits em with a cross body. Post match with Tatanka doing his war dance Heenan''Is he dancing or does he have a tack in his shoe''?
Money Inc vs Natural Disasters for the WWF Tag Titles- Disasters here are newly turned babyfaces after Jimmy Hart abandoned them to go with Money Inc. Terrible match with a dead crowd to boot which is a shame as I love both teams but they just never clicked here. Finish comes when Quake goes to squash IRS only for Ted to pull em out leading to a countout. The Disasters would eventually get the belts by the Summer.
Owen Hart vs Skinner-More filler here with Owen getting the easy win with a roll up after about a minute. After this he would form High Energy with Koko B Ware.
Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan- This was build as Hogan's ''retirement match''. Very lackluster main event here but the crowd was hot for it so points there. Finish comes when Hogan hits Sid with a leg drop leading to Sid having to improvise and kick out after Papa Shango misses his cue. Harvey Wippleman comes in and hits the Hulkster with his medical bag leading to the DQ. Shango does eventually come out with him and Sid then double teaming until from out of nowhere here comes the Warrior!! HUGE pop as this would be his first appearance back since the previous SSlam. He comes in and clears house and we get a posedown afterward between the former Mania opponents. Pyro and a shot of the dome takes us out. After this Hogan would go film Mr. Nanny and wouldn't return until nearly a year later while Sid would leave not long after alleged issues with the Warrior. In the past I heard Sid quit the company and I also heard he was fired for failing a drug test so your guess is as good as mine.
Final Thoughts- Both the IC and World Title matches alone make this Mania must see. This event was definitely the end of an era as after this Hogan would leave with Vince having to push new blood in his company. A lot of filler in this one but still overall enjoyable plus Gorilla and Bobby once again hit a home run in the booth. Verdict- Recommended
Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids
I was at this WrestleMania and can be seen almost throughout the whole thing as I was sitting where the camera faced the ring. The IC title match was the best on the whole thing. The LOD coming out with Ellering was a nice surprise. And the main event with Sid and Hogan sucked more live. I did predict that Warrior would show up. Everyone was saying how wrong I was. Once the music hit they all looked at me like "what the hell!!!' LOL Oh, and I'm still looking for those "centerfold" pictures of Miss Elizabeth that Heenan kept on screaming about. Great show and my second WrestleMania to that date until...well...until your next review! |
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