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Mark's Notes on WWF Home Video: Best of WrestleMania I-XIV
Voiceovers by Michael Cole.
All matches are clipped.
Michael Cole talks about WrestleMania XIV, and WrestleMania in
general. Steve Austin says no matter how hurt you are, or whatever, you
wrestle at WrestleMania. Triple H talks about WrestleMania, the
phenomenon.
Shots of DX public workout a few days before WrestleMania XIV. Cut to
WrestleMania I. Pat Patterson talks about the wonder of being at the
first one. He was a referee, I believe.
Tito Santana vs. The Executioner from WrestleMania I. Tito says Vince
was very excited about the whole thing. Gorilla Monsoon and Freddie
Blassie talk about the excitement building during the event. They show
about 3 or 4 seconds of this match.
Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd from WrestleMania I. Andre slams
Studd, and Bobby Heenan walks off with the money.
Wendy Richter vs. Lelani Kai from WrestleMania I. Fabulous Moolah and
Cyndi Lauper go at it. Lelani goes to the top, hits a crossbody, but
Richter rolls through it and gets the pinfall. Her and Lauper
celebrate.
Hulk Hogan/Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper/Paul Orndorff from WrestleMania I.
Big brawl, which Muhammed Ali breaks up. Patterson is indeed the
referee for this one. The brawl continues afterward. Bob Orton hits
tries to hit Hogan, but hits Orndorff instead. Hogan gets the three
count.
Fabulous Moolah vs. Desiree Peterson from WrestleMania 2. Moolah
kills her in less than a minute. Yes, they still did squashes on PPV
back then.
Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T (Boxing Match) from WrestleMania 2. Referee
goes down, and Piper attacks Mr. T with wrestling moves. This reminds
me of watching a boxer get killed in the UFC by someone like Ken
Shamrock or Royce Gracie. It was supposed to be a boxing match, so
Piper gets disqualified.
Randy Savage vs. George "The Animal" Steele from WrestleMania 2.
Elizabeth is "at stake" here. Someone out there thought George had a
chance, I'm sure. The Intercontinental Title is on the line too.
Steele talks about it being his first WrestleMania. Says he didn't like
the way Savage treated Miss Elizabeth. Macho gets pin with his feet on
the rope.
20 man Battle Royal from WrestleMania 2. This was lame. The ring
looks very small with all the humanity in it. Andre the Giant, of
course, wins. Andre was very popular at the time, but he became even
moreso after this. They talk about the hugeness of WrestleMania III,
with the 90,000 odd people involved.
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant from WrestleMania III. We don't get
Savage vs. Steamboat? I guess we'll have to settle with the match that
defined an era. Andre gets the "win" almost immediately, scoring a
"three count" that Hulk obviously kicks out of. The ropes look
extremely loose or maybe just a lot more bouncy. On the outside, Andre
headbutts a pole, shakes it off, and backdrops Hogan on the concrete.
Gotta love Andre. Back inside, Hogan Hulks up and bodyslams Andre. Big
markout at the time. Big legdrop, gets the one-two-three. That place
had to have been loud beyond comparison.
Battle Royal from WrestleMania IV. Ugh. WrestleMania IV. The less
said the better, I think. Interview from Bret Hart! Wow, I thought
this video was released after his sudden departure. Bad News Brown wins
after tricking Bret. Hart attacks him and destroys his trophy, though.
The Tournament. They show a lot of short clips from a lot of matches,
leading to the final.
Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase from WrestleMania IV. Andre accompanies
Ted to the ring. Momentum shifts many times. Savage misses the elbow,
but hits it after interference from Hogan to win the vacant
championship. I hate it how Hogan could never let people celebrate on
their own, he always had to be posing in the background or some shit
like that. Anyway, their celebration was short.
Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania V. Elizabeth was the
"prize"; the WWF Title an afterthought. Yeah. Good thing they only
covered this match; the rest of the card was something to sneeze at.
This was one of the best WrestleMania matches for both men. Hulk is
busted open. Big boot, legdrop get the win for Hulk. That really got
old, if you ask me. Hogan was set to face a new Warrior, though. (Weak
transitions between events provided by Michael Cole)
Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior from WrestleMania VI. Again, this was
about the best match from this card. For these two clods, they put
together a hell of a match. Warrior moves from underneath the legdrop,
and hits a splash for the win. I was big-time in shock at this, even
wondering if it was a shoot when the Warrior moved. But I'm just a
mark.
Rockers vs. Barbarian/Haku from WrestleMania VII. They've always got
to introduce Shawn Michaels SOMEHOW. Can't just let the story flow.
Michaels wins the match with a crossbody. In an interview, he talks
about having fun with the Rockers gimmick.
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania VII. The Gulf War
angle. Some liked it; I didn't. Slaughter talks about having to have
armed guards and stuff during this time, people hated him so much. A
forgettable match, to be sure. Big boot and legdrop (!!) for Hulk. I
said it got old. Now here we go, WrestleMania VIII.
Shawn Michaels vs. Tito Santana from WrestleMania VIII. Not a match I
would've picked. Michaels talks about this match being a new high,
because he was a singles competitor. He gets the win.
Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair from WrestleMania VIII. Yep, would've
picked this one. This was in the middle of the Elizabeth pinup shots
deal. Man, did I want to see those. Flair's only WrestleMania, I
think. He had won the title at the awesome Royal Rumble 1992. 1992 was
a good year for WWF PPV. Savage pulls Flair's tights and gets the win.
I thought Savage's retirement match the year before was better for him.
Giant Gonzales vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania IX. Another match I
would not have chosen. And no main event from WrestleMania VIII?
Undertaker says Gonzales was the only guy he ever had to look up to.
WHY is this match in here? Undertaker wins. They don't show the main
event?? Heh heh, thank god.
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon from WrestleMania X. HELL YEAH! I
wish they'd have shown the Bret/Owen match, but I'll take this. The
best WWF match, ever. Michaels said this was the match that made him a
superstar; yep. Of course, it ends with Shawn getting doubly tangled in
the ropes and Razor grabbing the belts. What a match.
Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund from WrestleMania XI. Bret uses Bob's own
hold, the crossface chickenwing. He sort of gives up, but not really.
As dumb as it sounds.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor from WrestleMania XI. Taylor was
the best football crossover, but I hate the idea of crossovers in
general, and this match sucked, so there. Taylor's one attack seems to
be a forearm smash. Bigelow sells it like hell though.
Undertaker vs. Diesel from WrestleMania XII. Undertaker takes it with
a Tombstone.
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart from WrestleMania XII. Shawn makes his
aerial entrance. One of those things you just watched with your jaw
hanging down. This started the real life feud between the two. Bret
didn't want to job, and Shawn was very sure he'd be better as champion.
No falls happen in the allotted sixty minutes, so they let it go into
overtime. Shawn hits a superkick for the win.
Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart from WrestleMania XIII. This is how to do
a brawl. Five stars all the way. WrestleMania XIII is recommended only
for this match. Austin says this match was a turning point for him,
getting cheered by the fans, once they did the double turn. Hart wins
with the Sharpshooter.
Undertaker vs. Sid from WrestleMania XIII. Another "Why is this match
on here?". The mat is stained with Austin's blood. Didn't like this
match. This is a 90 minute tape, I just realized, so the tape I'm
recording on is fucked. Fuck. Bret Hart runs down and distracts Sid,
who gets Tombstoned. Undertaker wins.
Kane vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania XIV. Pete Rose gets Tombstoned
by Kane to start things off. As I said in the Undertaker: The Phenom
report, I didn't like this match. Undertaker gets the win with three
straight (!) Tombstone piledriver.
Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania XIV. Mike Tyson is
the enforcer. Shawn's back was dead right now, but he still gives it
everything. Blocked Stunner leads to a dodged Superkick, and Austin
lands the final Stunner for the win. Michaels protests with Tyson, who
made the three count, and gets knocked out.
End of tape.
The Verdict: Well, mixed feelings. For one thing, it's freaking
WrestleMania, a nostalgia trip like no other. On the other hand, they
chose such crappy matches to show that I was in disbelief, and the left
out classics like Bret/Owen at WrestleMania X and Savage/Steamboat at
WrestleMania III. Plus, they didn't show the return of the Warrior at
WrestleMania VIII, one of my favorite moments in wrestling history.
Mild recommendation to avoid.
Mark Smith
Tape Review WWW Archive coming soon
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