TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,629
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Feb 25, 2020 0:05:07 GMT -5
This is not a "What's Your Least Favorite WrestleMania?" topic. The focus is 100% on the steaming pile that is WrestleMania XI. With the 25 year anniversary coming up soon, our mission is to discuss why it sucked and how it could have been better.
I love the New Generation Era with all my heart, but even with that bias it's hard to find many positives with Wrestlemania XI besides my own childhood nostalgia.
The event just didn't have the aura that most WrestleManias have. The card was stacked with an assortment of forgettable matches and some absolute duds. Even the venue lacked any character with an array of C-list celebrities sprinkled on top. And of course you have the main event. I'll always give both Bam Bam and Lawrence Taylor credit for putting on a match way better than it had any right to be, but it all still just reeked of a desperate publicity stunt created to get a short-term bump in viewers. Otherwise, Owen unveiling Yokozuna as his mystery partner then winning his first title was great and Diesel versus Shawn was pretty good as well. That sums up the only redeeming qualities of the entire show in my opinion.
When Bret Hart admits that his match was a total stinker, you know you're looking at a bad WrestleMania. The company was in the dumps at the time, but they still had a talented enough roster to put on a much more compelling PPV especially considering it is the biggest show of the year.
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Post by The Brain on Feb 25, 2020 0:35:15 GMT -5
Only highlights for me were Owen/Yoko winning the belts and HBK/Diesel( Which should've main event considering their history and how great they built the feud up with the seeds being planted at the previous SSlam)
Bam Bam/LT was decent all things considered but still didn't deserve to go on last IMO. As a Bigelow fan I remember rooting for him to win even though I knew he had no chance.Bigelow's a guy who I always felt they should've did so much more with.
But yeah other than that terrible Mania here.
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Mclovin
Superstar
This Forum's Resident Future WWE Champion, Not Changing This Until It Happens.
Joined on: Nov 12, 2018 4:12:19 GMT -5
Posts: 826
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Post by Mclovin on Feb 25, 2020 0:39:46 GMT -5
I am a fan of the new generation, cheesy crap and all. But this show sucks.
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Post by Mongo Bears on Feb 25, 2020 8:18:06 GMT -5
I hated the new gen era of wwf.
I was over watching tnt
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Post by warriorlynx on Feb 25, 2020 10:01:10 GMT -5
I remember taping it and watching it many times, I enjoyed it at the time but can't look back now because of how bad it was. I just think the booking was all a mess. LT vs. Bigelow was actually good because it brought mainstream attention and so there was hype. Diesel vs. Shawn I just didn't care and I think the roles should've been reversed, Shawn as the face and Diesel as the heel.
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rateddal
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Feb 22, 2019 21:36:45 GMT -5
Posts: 334
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Post by rateddal on Feb 25, 2020 10:02:45 GMT -5
The Hart-Backlund feud brought back for some closure was just bad and unnecessary. The feud to begin with was more about Owen and Bret anyway, so putting those 2 back together months later for closure that wasn't entirely needed.
If Backlund were still champion, it would have made more sense to revisit those two.
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The Shiniest Wizard
Main Eventer
Bored at work, entertain me.
Joined on: Jan 31, 2013 12:44:25 GMT -5
Posts: 1,483
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Post by The Shiniest Wizard on Feb 25, 2020 11:15:31 GMT -5
This is upsetting because this is the only Mania my town has to brag about that we held...
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Post by LA Times on Feb 25, 2020 11:37:14 GMT -5
This is upsetting because this is the only Mania my town has to brag about that we held... When Wrestlemania is held at the Hartford Civic Center and draws 10,000 people, you know something is terribly wrong. |
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Post by CM Poor on Feb 25, 2020 11:54:53 GMT -5
This is upsetting because this is the only Mania my town has to brag about that we held... When Wrestlemania is held at the Hartford Civic Center and draws 10,000 people, you know something is terribly wrong. Generally, when anything is held in Hartford, you know something is terribly wrong. |
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ClassicFan2
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 22, 2010 15:25:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,251
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Feb 25, 2020 15:10:21 GMT -5
yea, kinda felt like wwf wrestling was a sinking ship to me. lucky for me i started watching UFC starting with UFC 3, so that helped fill a gap for me as both WWF & WCW were not the same as years before (wcw was gettin cheezy with hulk, booty man etc).
like others bigelow/LT was fun for what it was, bam bam did AWESOME! hbk/diesel was cool esp both chicks coming out with diesel. owen/yoko winnin belts was great.
hart/backlund was lame. piper as ref wa cool. i liked bundy so him vs taker was ok for me except i knew taker would win. razor/jarrett was ok at best then the allied powers match vs blus bros? lol.
very WEAK WM for sure. poster even sucked and had no wrestlers on it.
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 19, 2024 13:17:16 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 15:34:57 GMT -5
This is my least favorite WM of all time. I think this is the only wrestlemania that’s in the wrestlecrap hall of shame.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Feb 25, 2020 17:48:36 GMT -5
I noticed something about Wrestlemania XI many years ago.... it was done exactly how the first Wrestlemania was done.
Make the under card look weak to show off the main event?? Check!
Have the Tag Title's change hands and the IC Title match ruled a DQ?? Check!
Have a special attraction match between two big men (Andre/Studd and Taker/Bundy)?? Check!
Have the main event with a celebrity of sorts?? Check!
Have many celebrities all through out the show, and involved in the show?? Check!
Have Pat Patterson be the special guest referee for the main event?? Check!
I think it was Vince's way of trying to recreate the first Wrestlemania, and it just didn't take. I am not sure if he was hoping LT would stick around, or that Diesel would catch on fire, but neither really happened. Instead, Bigelow got made to look like a joke, even though he carried 99% of that match, and HBK ended up showing that he was the star that the fans wanted to cheer, not Diesel.
I love Wrestlemania XI for my own personal reasons, but looking at it on paper, it is bad.
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,629
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Feb 26, 2020 0:41:57 GMT -5
I noticed something about Wrestlemania XI many years ago.... it was done exactly how the first Wrestlemania was done. Make the under card look weak to show off the main event?? Check! Have the Tag Title's change hands and the IC Title match ruled a DQ?? Check! Have a special attraction match between two big men (Andre/Studd and Taker/Bundy)?? Check! Have the main event with a celebrity of sorts?? Check! Have many celebrities all through out the show, and involved in the show?? Check! Have Pat Patterson be the special guest referee for the main event?? Check! I think it was Vince's way of trying to recreate the first Wrestlemania, and it just didn't take. I am not sure if he was hoping LT would stick around, or that Diesel would catch on fire, but neither really happened. Instead, Bigelow got made to look like a joke, even though he carried 99% of that match, and HBK ended up showing that he was the star that the fans wanted to cheer, not Diesel. I love Wrestlemania XI for my own personal reasons, but looking at it on paper, it is bad. This is a great observation and one I've never really noticed until now. It would make sense though that Vince would attempt to mimmick what made the inaugural show so successful. The company was hurting badly at the time and he figured making the whole show nothing, but a media spectacle would take the WWF out of the darkness and into another boom period. It just didn't work like you said for obvious reasons, the main one being pro wrestling just wasn't nearly as "cool" as it was a decade earlier. |
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Post by The Brain on Feb 26, 2020 4:54:56 GMT -5
You can tell these were bad days for the WWF when during the the intro to this show Vince is all low tone with no energy at all.
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 19, 2024 13:17:16 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2020 4:58:57 GMT -5
The cliq in the main event tended to suck though. As great a performer as hbk was, a lot of folk couldn't stand the male stripper poser gimmick. Nash and Hall drew no money for Vince and HHH worked with the bigger stars and better talent to get the focus on him.
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Feb 26, 2020 5:47:31 GMT -5
My impressions of WM11 as I saw it at the time:
*Taker's match was wasted. Bundy had no heat.
*I liked the Owen-Yoko pairing, but I couldn't believe how much bigger Yoko had gotten by that point.
*I was convinced that Vince was serving notice that the Allied Powers were his next great tag team.
*The Diesel-Shawn feud was interesting from start to finish, and Vince really should have put the belt on Shawn here and given it back to Diesel later. There was no doubt who was the best performer in the company at
this point.
*After all of the build-up to the main event, I couldn't believe that LT didn't take the time to get in shape. The other football players had to hold him up after the match was over, and this was detrimental to Bam Bam's career.
Not a great PPV, but better than WM9.
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,629
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Feb 26, 2020 20:14:19 GMT -5
My impressions of WM11 as I saw it at the time: *Taker's match was wasted. Bundy had no heat. *I liked the Owen-Yoko pairing, but I couldn't believe how much bigger Yoko had gotten by that point. *I was convinced that Vince was serving notice that the Allied Powers were his next great tag team. *The Diesel-Shawn feud was interesting from start to finish, and Vince really should have put the belt on Shawn here and given it back to Diesel later. There was no doubt who was the best performer in the company at this point. *After all of the build-up to the main event, I couldn't believe that LT didn't take the time to get in shape. The other football players had to hold him up after the match was over, and this was detrimental to Bam Bam's career. Not a great PPV, but better than WM9. I know what you're talking about with LT. He was absolutely on fumes by the end of that match. Still, that was a great performance for somebody who was having their first ever wrestling match especially on such a big stage. From an in-ring standpoint, WrestleManias IX and XI may be similar, but I'll take WM IX all day. Yeah, the card might be weak and not many of the matches are great. However, it at least has a unique presence about it that makes it memorable. The outdoor venue with the whole Roman Colosseum theme looked awesome. I have no issues rewatching that show and enjoying the good/bad/ugly of it all. WrestleMania XI just has none of that. No character or special atmosphere. One of the most bland WrestleManias ever on every level. |
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Post by Zigzag on Feb 27, 2020 11:31:44 GMT -5
I was there. 15 years old. Second live wrestling show, and first WM, in person. It was right before I had the World Wide Web, so I was still pretty much a fresh mark. At the time, it was awesome. Looking back now, it could (and should) have been so much more.
I wore my "First Time...Last Time...Only Time" LT shirt to WM 24, 28, and Takeover Orlando, and I'll wear it this year, as well.
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Post by JokerFC on Feb 27, 2020 13:50:48 GMT -5
Yet another 1995 event where the talent WAS there to have an incredible event but Vince used the wrong guys in the wrong spot....see RR, KOTR & Summerslam 1995 for more evidence of this.
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rateddal
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Feb 22, 2019 21:36:45 GMT -5
Posts: 334
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Post by rateddal on Feb 27, 2020 19:58:44 GMT -5
Quite a fall for the Bulldog that year. In 2 months time he went from thinking he won the Rumble and a shot at Big Daddy Cool's title to being in the Opening tag match against the Blus.
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I dont know good luck 
