Well it’s RUMBLMANIA here on Pulse Wrestling in preparation for Wrestlemania XXIII (Has there really been that many?) so I thought I’d review some of my old Wrestlemania tapes and DVDs that I have in my collection. Expect many a feature to happen over the coming month or so and maybe I’ll be taking part in some of them too? Anyway, to the show. For old times sake I’ll be doing this in the traditional “review†form as opposed to “rant†form.
We’re in the Houisia Dome
Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain†Heenan
Tito Santana Vs Shawn Michaels w/ Sensational Sherri
Tito was in the charming role of “Mexican Stereotype Matador†here where as Shawn had just kicked Marty Jannetty through a window a few months previous. Sherri was still singing his theme song here. Bobby and Gorilla’s banter is hilarious. Shawn acts like a jerk to start so Tito shoves him and gets a cross body for two. Tito grabs a headlock but Shawn fights out with some fists but gets clotheslined over the top to the outside. Shawn yells at the crowd on the apron and gets dragged in with another headlock. Shawn shoves Tito into the corner and gets some shoulders to the abdomen. Tito comes back with some right hands and goes back to the headlock to wear Shawn down. Really funny bit of commentary where Gorilla says he’s never seen anyone win with a headlock and Bobby replies “I have. I can beat guys in hundreds of ways. I once made a guy submit during instructionsâ€Â. Bobby is AWESOME, just saying.
Anyway Sherri yells words of encouragement at Shawn, and it must work because he sends Tito over the top to the outside. Sherri stalks Tito on the outside but he crawls onto the apron before she can get him. Shawn gets a back breaker inside for two and goes to a chin lock. Tito fights up to his feet but walks into Sweet Chin Music, but this was before it was his finisher and he goes for what his finish was, the Side Suplex, but Tito counters it and gets the flying forearm sending Shawn tumbling outside. Tito sends Shawn face first into the ring steps and shoves him back in, where he gets the sling shot shoulder block for two. Inverted Atomic Drop leads to another forearm to the back of the head but Shawn rolls out again. Tito tries to bring him back in but Michaels uses the ropes to land on top for the win
WINNER – SHAWN MICHAELS
Match Time: 09:39
*** – Solid opening match there, if unspectacular
Mean Gene does an interview with LOD and Paul Ellering is with them. He promises death and destruction to everyone and such. This was all very good until they brought in “Rocco†the dummy to finally kill LOD during this run.
Jake “The Snake†Roberts cuts his usually evil and brilliant heel promo on The Undertaker. Trust Me was one of the best heel catchphrases ever. Meanwhile, Undertaker and Paul Bearer retort.
Jake Roberts Vs The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
Taker was merely 1-0 at this point in his Wrestlemania streak. Jake ducks around to start and peppers Taker with right hands, which Taker cheerfully no sells. Jake knocks Taker over the top but he lands on his feet and drags Jake out. Jake eats some ring post on the outside but gets the advantage back inside the ring. Taker blocks and Irish Whip and gets one of his own. Taker does some choking in the corner, which was his primary offence during this time, and follows that with some throat thrusts. Taker gets the jumping clothesline and prepares to finish Jake off but Jake counters a Tombstone with a DDT out of nowhere. However, Taker sits up to a huge pop so Jake gets the short arm clothesline and follows that with another DDT. Jake attacks Bearer outside ,instead of going for a pin, and Taker sits up again and Tombstones him on the floor. Pin back inside is academic.
WINNER – THE UNDERTAKER
Match time:
*1/2 – Match was all punching and kicking but it served its purpose to kill off Jake and make Undertaker into a new upper card baby face.
Roddy Piper mocks Bret in a joking fashion but Bret is all serious, pissing him off making him go off on a crazy rant, which is always fun.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
(C) Roddy Piper Vs Bret Hart
The Mountie beat Bret for the title in January and Piper consequently beat him at the Royal Rumble leading up to this match. Big stare down to start. Lock up leads to a Piper arm drag and Bret follows that with one of his own. Piper gets a go behind but Bret uses his momentum to send Piper outside. Piper comes back in and demands a test of strength and they fight over the arm. Piper tries everything he can to get Bret off his arm but Bret powers him down. Bret gets a dropkick but hurts his shoulder on the way down but he’s only playing possum and gets an inside cradle for two.
Piper slaps Hart out of frustration and goes to a headlock but Bret fights back and both guys go tumbling over the top on a cross body. Piper is in first and offers to hold the ropes open for Bret but cheap shots him while Bret ties his shoes. That’s Bret’s own stupid fault in my opinion. Come on as if you’d tie your shoes while you’re wrestling Roddy Piper. That’s like giving Scott Hall the keys to a bar and expecting him to behave himself. Piper takes control of the match, and Bret appears to have been busted from something. Piper gets some right hands for a two count. Bret fights back and sends Piper outside. Piper comes back in and we have a double clothesline. Piper heads up top and Bret brings him back down the hard way, face first. Inverted Atomic Drop is followed with a Suplex for two.
Russian Leg Sweep gets another two. Side back breaker as I fight the urge not to type “Five Moves of Doomâ€Â. Pipers fights off a Sharpshooter attempt so Bret comes off the second rope with something but takes a boot to the mush. Referee gets bumped and Piper sends Bret over the top with a clothesline. Bret eats some stairs on the outside and Piper grabs the ring bell. However, he has an attack of conscience before he uses it, come on what is this? A Christmas special? HIT HIM YOU WUSS! Piper decides to use the Sleeper instead and Bret makes him pay for niceness by kicking off the ropes, turning the move into a pinning combination for the win.
WINNER – BRET HART
Match time: 12:42
**** – Tremendous match, the only complaint could be that it was a little on the short side. Apart from that it was mucho splendido. Piper gives the handshake post match too just to give Bret that extra rub. Say what you want about Flair or Piper but they both put Bret over clean as a sheet without any complaints, where as Hogan point blank refused bastard.
Bobby Heenan interviews “The future WBF Champion†Lex Luger. He cuts a good “Arrogant Heel†promo about how he’ll be a top body builder etc. He was back in the ring wrestling again within the year.
The Mountie, Nasty Boys and Repo Man cut a promo on their opponents in tonight’s big 8 Man Tag Match. Slaughter, Bossman, Duggan and Virgil retort. Duggan says this will be a fight, not a wrestling match, well thank God he cleared that up for us.
Repo Man, The Nasty Boys and The Mountie
Vs
Virgil, Big Bossman, Jim Duggan and SGT Slaughter
Ray Combs from “Family Feud†introduces the heels and makes fun of them. The best insult is when he says that Repo Man isn’t two faced because if he was he would be wearing his other one. Big kafuffle to start as the faces clear the ring. Duggan and Saggs start it our officially and Saggs jumps Duggan as he HOOOOOOOOOS at the fans. Duggan gets a couple of clotheslines and an Atomic Drop before tagging in Slaughter. Knobs comes in and pounds away on Slaughter but takes a clothesline for his trouble and a chest breaker.
Bossman comes in with a big boot and some fists in the corner. Knobs dodges a charge in the corner and tags in Repo Man who misses a clothesline but dodges a splash. Bossman fights back with a low blow and some right hands. Virgil, the good wrestler of his team, comes in with a dropkick but gets clobbered by The Mountie and becomes the face in peril. Virgil is wearing a face mask here, like Joey Mercury is wearing now, due to Sid beating the ever loving crap out of him. Saggs gets a nice Pumphandle Slam for two but Bossman comes in with a Spine Buster and it all breaks loose. Some heel miscommunication involving Virgil’s mask allows Virgil to make the pin on Knobs for the win.
WINNER – DUGGAN, SLAUGHTER, BOSSMAN AND VIRGIL
Match time – 06:34
* – Like your clotheslines? Then this is the match for you! It wasn’t too bad though for a 7 minute 8 man tag match.
Sean Mooney is backstage with Perfect and Flair who taunt Savage. See the storyline here was that Flair wanted to get in Savage’s head by making up a lie about how Elizabeth was a ring rat who he used and discarded back in the day. “She was MINE! Before she was yours!†Perfect and Flair are awesome, as you would imagine and say they have a big centrefold of Liz they’ll unveil when Flair wins.
Meanwhile, Savage won’t give a promo because he’s angry and all
WWF Championship
(C) Ric Flair w/ Mr Perfect Vs Randy Savage
Savage wastes no time taking it to Flair, nailing him in the aisle with right hands but Perfect drags him away allowing Flair to get back in. flair gives Savage some choppage in the ring but Savage fights back with some right hands and a clothesline. Savage gets a running elbow for two but gets back dropped over the top to the outside. On the outside, Flair gets a chop and sends Savage spine first into the ring apron. Back inside, Flair stomps away and gets some chops in the corner. Flair gets a big hanging suplex for two and a back suplex for another two. Flair continues to chop away on Savage and drops a knee to rub some salt into the wounds. Savage gets kicked outside and Flair sends him back into the apron again.
Flair suplex’s him back in for another two as he continues to dominate and work the back. Savage no sells some chops and fights back with some right hands and a spinning neck breaker to send both guys down to the mat. Savage unloads with some rights and lefts but takes a thumb to the eye. Flair heads up top and I think we all know how that will turn out. Savage gets a back body drop, causing Flair to beg for mercy, and spits in Flair’s face for that extra touch of awesome. Flair takes the flop and comes off the top straight into a lariat for a two. Crowd was totally buying that near fall there. Savage sends Flair outside and comes down with and axe handle sending Flair face first into the guardrail.
Flair takes the opportunity to blade, earning him the ire of Vince McMahon at the time, and gets sent into the ring post for added measure. Savage gets a vertical suplex on the outside, as Flairs hair is starting to get stained by the blood. God these two had brilliant matches didn’t they? Savage continues to pound away and gets the ace handle inside for another two. Again the crowd was totally buying the prospect of that being it. Savage comes down with the Elbow from the top on Flair but Perfect breaks the count. Savage stalks Perfect but Flair uses the chance to nail Savage with an international object for a really close two.
That would be a usual match winner for Flair. Flair resorts to choking on Savage and, as the ref is admonishing him, Perfect nails Savage in the knee with a chair. Elizabeth makes her appearance, while Flair starts to take Savages knee apart with the usual. Flair slaps on the Figure Four, with Perfect lending a helping hand but makes the mistake of slapping some life back into Savage. Savage is able to turn the move over but his knee is f*cked to buggary. Savage manages a desperation inside cradle but that only gets him a two. Flair keeps on Savage in the corner, yet still finds time to give Liz a WOOOOOO, what a guy! Flair goes to nail Savage but Savage blocks it and gets a roll up, with strategic grabbing of the tights, to get the win and his second WWF Title.
WINNER – RANDY SAVAGE
Match time – 18:10
****1/2 – Crowd pop for that title win was unreal. Just an amazing match and one of the best title matches in Wrestlemania history. Flair forces a kiss on Liz post match, which causes her to slap him. Savage rises to her defence and gets promptly beaten down. This feud would continue for the rest of the year and would be one of the best feuds in either mans career, although I am biased on the subject. Nice to see Savage gets his Wrestlemania moment though.
Meanwhile, Flair and Perfect are angry, as you imagine. Bobby comes in to complain as well. Flair’s diagnosis “One time means NOTHING!†God Flair was awesome back in the day.
Meanwhile part 2, Savage isn’t happy with the result because he only got a piece of Ric Flair and he wants to beat him properly. Now THAT’S a champion! Angry Savage rules all.
Rick Martel Vs Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta-Tanka
Tatanka has his “tribe†in the ring who do a “war dance†in preparation for his match. See, even in 1992 this was stupid. Martel unloads with stuff in the corner to start but has an Irish Whip countered with a hip toss and some body slams. Martel bails as Bobby is cracking up in the commentary booth due to Flair’s loss. Tatanka targets the arm of Martel but Martel comes back with some choking. Martel sends Tatanka over the top to the outside and pounds away back inside. Martel gets a back breaker and heads up top, taking his time, and Tatanka crotches him on the top. Tatanka gets some stiff chops and a back body drop. Tomahawk chop but he puts his head down and gets a kick in the face for his troubles. Martel gets a slam and a clothesline. Martel was really in a funk during this time period in ring. Tatanka ducks another clothesline and gets a cross body block for the win
WINNER – TATANKA
Match time – 04:30
*1/4 –Not much going on in this one. Going to WCW in 1998 did wonders for Martel’s in ring.
Sean Mooney is with Money Inc, who promise to beat The Natural Disasters tonight. Mean Gene is with the challengers who do a lot of shouting and growling and generally promise to beat Money Inc into burger meat.
WWF Tag Team Championship
(C) Money Inc w/ Jimmy Hart Vs The Natural Disasters
Hart turned on The Disasters to set this up. Earthquake and IRS start out but then Dibiase tags in to play mind games. Dibiase tries to match power with Quake and that goes exactly how you’d imagine it would. Dibiase ends up on the wrong side of a clothesline, as does IRS. Typhoon comes in and they reintroduce IRS and Dibiase to each other, VIOLENTLY. Um they did a noggin knocker, I was trying to make it sound dramatic. Typhoon no sells some IRS punches back inside and sends him face first into the turnbuckle ten times.
Typhoon misses a charge in the corner and Dibiase comes in with some chops, which Typhoon fights back from and gets a head butt but misses a charge and goes over the top to the outside. IRS sends Typhoon into the steps on the outside. Double Shoulder Block sends Typhoon down and Money Inc follow that with a double elbow. Quake gets a tag after some heel pounding to little reaction and crushes everyone. Money Inc get whipped into one another and Typhoon splashes IRS but he isn’t legal. Quake goes for the Aftershock but the heels bail for a count out.
WINNERS – THE NATURAL DISASTERS BY COUNT OUT
Match time – 08:42
½* – Very dull match with a lame ending gets no love from me.
Mean Gene is with Brutus Beefcake who’s here to support The Hulkster tonight.
Owen Hart Vs Skinner
Skinner spits some tobacco in Owens face to start and pounds away on Owen with right hands. Scorpion Death Drop gets him a two count but Owen comes back with a roll up for three
WINNER – OWEN HART
Match time – 01:09
No Rating
Mean Gene is with Sid who promises that tonight’s match will be Hogan’s last. I quote “A barnburner it will not be!†I did laugh when he called Gene “a fat, bald headed oafâ€Â
Sid Justice w/ Harvey Whippleman Vs Hulk Hogan
Hogan cost Sid the Royal Rumble and was scheduled to face Flair at this show but Sid turned on him in a tag match so we get this match instead. There was also talk of this being Hogan’s last match too. I’ll wait for you all to come back from your surgery for pulled hernias
Back? Good let’s go!
Sid pounds on Hogan during his entrance but Hogan knocks him out of the ring and keeps him out with an Axe Bomber off the apron. Sid comes back in as the match officially starts. Sid takes over and works Hogan over with his usual stuff, punch, kick, choke etc. Hogan comes back with some right hands and sends Sid outside again. Sid bides his time outside before coming back in and asking for a test of strength. Fans are really pumped for this because they believe it might the last time they see Hogan. HA! Ahem, sorry. Sid starts to win the test of strength but Hogan miraculously powers back up. Wow, never seen that before. How the hell wasn’t Savage/Flair on last?
Sid keeps control with some knees to the gut but has an Irish Whip reversed into a clothesline. Whippleman causes a distraction and Hogan gets Choke Slammed. Sid, instead of doing something smart like pinning Hogan, chooses to mug for the camera. Sid goes after Hogan’s spine with some clubbing to the spine. Out we go where Sid uses the Doctors bag of hideous pain and disfigurement on Hogan’s weak spine. Inside, Sid really spruces things up with the Nerve Pinch. That has to be the stupidest rest hold in history, seriously just look at Sid. If the Camel Clutch was ever tailor made for someone it would be a 6ft 8 300 pound man. It bears to reason that with a guy that heavy sitting on you it would hurt but the nerve pinch? Give that to a weedy small guy who actually needs to use something like that. Hogan fights out but takes a Side Slam and Power Bomb for two. Hogan starts Hulking up and does the usual routine, you know what it is. However, Sid kicks out at two from the Leg Drop and Papa Shango runs in for the DQ
WINNER – HOGAN BY DQ
Match time – 12:27
* – Usual generic Hogan match with a lamer ending than usual. Hogan looks set to be turned into tanned creamed corn by Shango and Sid but Ultimate Warrior makes the surprise run in to a huge pop and save his bacon. Hogan and Warrior pose to end the show.
The Inside Pulse
Well what can I say about this show? Early 1992 was a tremendous time for the WWF in ring as Ric Flair and Randy Savage were carrying everyone and their mother to good matches while Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were starting to really break out as singles stars. This good run of form continued throughout the rest of the year and there wasn’t one bad PPV event all year. While I would probably go with Summer Slam as show of the year, due to personal bias, this show had great matches all over the place and is definitely in the top 10 for Mania’s in my opinion.
