I recently watched the WWE's True Story of
Wrestlemania and something stood out and bothered me about it. Well a couple of
things bothered me actually. One being that the feature came across more of a ‘Best
of’ rather than telling us, as the title suggests, the ‘True Story of’. If anybody
is going to watch it, then the feature on Wrestlemania 9 is probably the best
part as far as giving you a real insight. The other thing that bugged me was the
way they portrayed Wrestlemania 8. They were very down on the show which I
found quite strange considering it was one of the better events of the first
decade of Wrestlemania's, certainly from an in-ring standpoint. I thought maybe
I was looking at the show through rose tinted spectacles because it was one of
my favourites as a kid so I decided to stick the DVD in and give it another
watch.
First things first, the show was in the
Hoosier Dome and any time a Wrestlemania is held in a large arena with over 60,000
fans on hand then it seems like a big show from the get-go. Gorilla Monsoon and
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan were on commentary for what I consider to be
their best effort as an announce duo. Heenan in particular was at the top of
his game during this period, while Monsoon had such a great voice and a style
which added so much drama to the action in the ring. Opening match duties went to Tito Santana
and Shawn Michaels, who had recently joined the singles ranks after his famous
bust up with Marty Jannetty. The match was very good with Michaels, the young
arrogant heel managing to withstand the onslaught of the veteran who was having
a little bit of resurgence under the "El Matador" guise. The finish
was a bit soft though as Santana, trying to slam Michaels back into the ring
from the apron fell back as Michaels held onto the top rope and that was enough
for a three count. Still, it was the correct result as they tried to push
Michaels as a future contender for the Intercontinental Title.
The Legion of Doom appeared for an
interview with Mean Gene Okerlund. They didn't wrestle on the card due to Hawk’s
suspension. They didn't say a lot of note. I guess it was just a way to
introduce Paul Ellering to the WWF fans. Next up was The Undertaker versus Jake
"The Snake" Roberts, minus the snake which had been barred from
ringside following the shocking angle where Randy Savage was bitten by a cobra.
This match was nothing more than a glorified squash as Roberts did the honours
on his way out of the WWF. The Undertaker survived two DDTs before hitting
Roberts with an extremely safe looking Tombstone Piledriver on the outside of
the ring. Perhaps they should have shot that from a different angle. Anyway,
Taker rolls Jake back inside for an easy three count. Basic action really as
most early Undertaker matches were due to his zombie-like gimmick.
The same could not be said of the
Intercontinental Title bout which was a classic as Rowdy Roddy Piper defended
the title against friend and former champion Bret "Hitman" Hart.
Piper was magnificent in the pre-match interview also. The all-babyface affair
started out exactly as that but as the match wore on, Piper began to resort to
heelish underhanded tactics as he looked to retain the only singles title he
would ever have in the WWF. Hart bladed in the match but managed to convince
Vince McMahon that the blood was caused accidentally, something Ric Flair would
not get away with later on the card as he was fined heavily for blading right
on camera. The action was back and forth with Piper getting increasingly more
desperate as Hart refused to be beaten. "This is a hell of a match"
proclaimed Heenan. The end came as the referee took a bump allowing Piper to
bring the ring bell into the match with ideas of finishing Hart by any means
necessary. Piper began to have second thoughts as the crowd turned on him
before finally breaking out into cheers as he tossed the weapon away. It would
be the end for Piper though as Hart countered the sleeper into a pinning
combination to take the championship. It was all smiles at the finish as Hot
Rod presented the title to the Hitman for a happy ending.
After watching Lex Luger drink a glass of
milk (?) and talk about the WBF we get to the 8-man tag team match, the
highlight of which may be Family Feud Host Ray Combs slagging off the heel team
before the bout. The match itself was ok for what it was with Virgil, the Big
Boss Man, Sgt Slaughter and Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeating The Mountie, Repo Man
and The Nasty Boys.
Next was the match of the night as Macho
Man Randy Savage challenged Ric Flair for the WWF Championship in a heated
belter. The story was Flair had been claiming the love of Elizabeth and had
even gone so far as to photoshop himself into pictures with her to prove it.
Savage played the enraged husband brilliantly as he charged to the ring to
pound the Nature Boy. The tide of the bout turned as Mr. Perfect, who was
Flair's Executive Consultant, nailed Savage in his knee with a chair and
continued to get himself involved in the match. Savage sold the knee injury
fabulously as he would many times throughout the year. Elizabeth stormed out to
the ring as various WWF officials tried to prevent her from doing so. If you
look closely you'll see one of them is none other than a young Shane McMahon.
With Flair distracted by Elizabeth's appearance, Savage surprised Flair with a
roll-up and a handful of trunks to win the title. It all kicked off after the
bout as Flair forced a kiss on Elizabeth causing the Macho Man to go ballistic!
Finally things calmed down and Randy and Elizabeth stood victorious in the ring
as the fireworks went off in the Hoosier Dome. The Savage-Flair feud was far
from over though. The post match interview with Flair, Perfect and Heenan was
fantastic.
As everyone in the arena tried to calm
themselves after the "Macho/Flair Affair", Tatanka made his PPV debut
and defeated "The Model" Rick Martel in a short, straight-forward
match-up. Like the opener it was designed to help establish the younger talent
as the Federation began to look towards the future. Next up was Money Inc.
against The Natural Disasters for the Tag Team Championship in a poor match up.
At one stage in the bout Typhoon inexplicably fell down the wrong way from a
double clothesline! Just as Earthquake was about to finish IRS off, Ted DiBiase
and Jimmy Hart pulled him from the ring and decided to head home with the
belts. Yes, that was the finish. It was designed to gain more heat for the tag champs
but an ending like that is not good enough for a title match at Wrestlemania. Just before the second half of the
"Double Main Event" Owen Hart faced Skinner in a quick, throwaway
match. Owen was cheap-shotted before the bell, didn't get a single offensive
move in but kicked out of Skinner's finisher and beat him with a roll-up. All
in just over a minute! Bad night for Steve Keirn.
Finally came the showdown between Hulk
Hogan and Sid Justice. It was billed as Hogan's 'Farewell Match' as they teased
the retirement of pro wrestling's biggest star. In reality Hogan was being
moved out of the spotlight as the steroid scandal was about to hit the WWF hard
and due to his stature the Hulkster was going to take the brunt of it. This
match came about as Sid had the audacity to eliminate Hulk from the Royal
Rumble and Hogan took exception to it. Sid then turned into a lunatic, a part
which he played very well. Hogan made his entrance to a booming ovation and
looked to have a tear in his eye perhaps taken aback by the response. The match
itself wasn't very good but as usual for a Hulk Hogan match, the crowd created
a great atmosphere. Hogan sold for most of the bout and made his trademark
comeback at the end. The only trouble was as Hogan hit the leg drop the pin
fall was supposed to be interrupted by Papa Shango, except Shango had missed
his cue and was nowhere to be seen. Sid, probably feeling he had nothing to
lose as he was soon to be leaving the company, kicked out. The referee then
called for a disqualification as Sid's manager Harvey Whippleman entered the
ring. Shango finally arrived and helped Sid attack Hogan before the place went
crazy as the Ultimate Warrior charged down to the ring to assist the Hulkster.
The match may not have been the best and they may have messed up the finish but
the fans were delighted to see Hogan and the Warrior together in the ring to
close the show as the fireworks exploded in the Hoosier Dome. It was a great
ending to an overall really good Wrestlemania. Nearly fourteen years after first watching it, I still enjoyed it.
Other notes:
· Wrestlemania 8 would mark the
end of Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper's full time WWF careers. Hogan would
return for a short run in 1993 and wouldn't be seen in the WWF again until
2002. Piper returned for one match with Jerry Lawler in 1994 and made a few
special appearances before signing with WCW in 1996. Jake Roberts also left the
company shortly after the event. He would return for one more run in 1996.
·
The main event was originally
supposed to be a "Dream Match" between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair but
the idea was scratched after matches between Hogan and Flair drew poorly on the
house show circuit.
·
The British Bulldog versus The
Berzerker match did not take place as scheduled due to time restraints.
·
The Bushwackers beat The
Beverly Brothers in the dark match before the PPV.
Stars of the show: Bret "Hitman" Hart, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy
Savage, Ric Flair, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.@wrestlingspast
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