From the Bowery: The True Story of WrestleMania (Disc I)

From the Bowery: The True Story of WrestleMania (Disc I)

-I figured I would get this one out of way before I board a plane for Atlanta in a week. As a note I have reviewed all the matches previously and opinion on those matches hasn’t changed. With that said I will just cut and paste each match review from the WrestleMania reviews I did previously.

-The opening is pretty awesome as it shows various WrestleMania moments and then fans sleeping outside in lines to get tickets.

-Edge says WrestleMania is just different and Rey calls it the greatest show in the Universe. Hogan says nothing can compare to WrestleMania and that it blows any other type of entertainment away. There is lots of Hogan here as they keep going back to him putting over WrestleMania.

-Vince brings up the various territories and they show up that map of the US with the territory boundaries. Vince knew he wanted to go National and WrestleMania was the culmination of that.

-Hogan mentions he had his career in the territories and never dreamed he would get to perform on stage in New York and a stage like WrestleMania.

-Cyndi Lauper (why not her in Hall of Fame instead of Drew Carrey) gets brought up and we cover Rock and Wrestling Era. Mr. T joins Hogan, and all of a sudden the WWE and pro-wrestling are a part of pop culture. We get some great footage from MTV and their relationship with the WWE here.

-The cover all the celebrities that showed up and jumped on board with the Rock and Wrestling Era. The other promoters were outraged because the WWE wasn’t wrestling. It was entertainment!

-Vince took a vacation (one of few he actually did) and he had idea floating around about one big event like NFL has with Super Bowl. His idea was to blend celebrities with his wrestlers. Howard Finkel came up with the name WrestleMania as a play on BeatleMania.

-Hogan thought Vince was nuts and that everyone who worked on the WrestleMania card would be blackballed. Hogan mentioned he felt better when he saw how much Vince stacked the deck in his favor with all the celebrities (Ali, Mr. T, Liberace, etc).

-Rumors were that if WrestleMania failed then Vince was going to the poor house. They show some behind the scene footage of Vince telling Gene to enforce the idea that the show won’t be on Free TV, but will be on closed circuit. Vince calls it the biggest roll of the dice he’s ever had.

-The Rock brings up the hype and Hogan mentions Vince Sr. would have rolled over in his grave if he knew what Jr. was doing, but would have been proud of the success.

-We get highlights of the 1st WrestleMania, and Lawler mentions that even if purists were upset, it was great for the business overall. Vince was partying all night as the reviews came back and he realized he had made the right call. He mentions if it had failed, he wouldn’t be here today.

-The success lead to WrestleMania 2 and Vince knew he had to do something more spectacular. His idea was to run a 1 hour show in 3 different venues in 3 different time zones. They cover how the fans in arena paid to see 1 hour of in arena action and then watched the other 2 hours on large screens in the arena.

-Howard mentions that now the celebrities were coming to the WWE instead of the WWE having to reach out to them. Refrigerator Perry puts over how much fun he had at the event, and that leads to discussion of the Battle Royal featuring NFL players.

-Chris Jericho mentions his first WrestleMania was 2 and that he watched it on closed circuit. Apparently the only problem occurred in Pittsburgh (WOO) where the fans didn’t get the show, so the WWE offered them refunds and then showed Mania 2 a few days later on free television to that area.

-Jan 1987 rolls around and there was no site for WrestleMania III yet. Vince and Hogan head to New Orleans and they let Basil DeVito (WWE Sr. Advisor) know that they had decided on the Pontiac Silver Dome. Vince tells him they want to sell the entire building out and break the attendance record.

-The use of celebrities was toned down for WrestleMania III as the focus was on Hogan vs. Andre (as it should have been). They cover the various Piper Pits that led to Andre joining Heenan and ripping Hogan’s crucifix off his neck. The tickets were sold out a week in advance of the event.

-The concern was the fan experience in the arena due to the sheer size of the crowd. To help they put the ring on a platform so that fans on the floor could see the action. For those in the seats away from the ring video screens were brought in so they could see the action.

-Cena says he had over 30 people at his house to watch WrestleMania III. Howard mentions he saw fans tailgating and thought that was something they only did for football. Aretha Franklin rocks the house with her rendition of America the Beautiful.

-Vince gets very emotional as he breaks down because all he could think of when he welcomed everyone was his father and that he could feel his father’s presence as he stood in front of the crowd.

-Cena calls Hogan vs. Andre the greatest moment in all of WWE history. Gene brings up that Andre wasn’t in the greatest condition, and while he still would be around for years this was his swan song.

-Vince brings up the story that Hogan was scared shitless, and Briscoe backs that up. Even Hogan mentions he was sweating like crazy before the match and that he couldn’t function. I won’t give Hogan shit because while I don’t thing Andre would ever shoot, but if he did, what the fuck could you do with a guy that big.

-Big Show mentions that as a large kid he was rooting for Andre and he was crushed when Hogan slammed Andre. He really thought Andre was going to win, and was blown away when he was defeated. Vince says up until his death, Andre was thrilled with the match and was happy with how things went down. HHH says it was Hogan’s moment, but it was just as much as Andre’s moment as well.

-Jericho says Hogan vs. Andre was the selling point, but Savage and Steamboat stole the show. Others back up this feeling, and Jericho tells the story of wrestling the match move for move with his friend in his basement. Steamboat recalls the sound of 93,000 people popping at the finish and that sound has stuck with him. Stu Saks (publisher PWI) mentions that the match remained Top WrestleMania match for 16 years running, and that was clearly the match of the year. By now most should know I consider the match Greatest Match Ever and thus is my favorite Match Ever.

-Twenty years later WrestleMania returns to Michigan and puts another 80,000 people in the stadium. The Battle of the Billionaires is discussed. Trump says Vince came to him with the idea and he jumped at the chance. Vince says he always admired Trump and admits is a close race as to who has the bigger ego. He jokes that his ego is bigger, and really I can’t argue with that. Trump gives all the credit to Vince, and Briscoe mentions everyone backstage was laughing their asses off when McMahon had his head shaved.

-We head back to 1988 when Vince and Donald first went into business with each other. Boxing was always big for Trump as he always got Tyson to Atlantic City and now he wanted a piece of WrestleMania. The WWE was worried the casino crowd wasn’t the right fight, but Trump said they would be events and festivals the week off to get more people into town. That was a forefather to what we have now with WrestleMania Week and Fan Axxess.

-WrestleMania featured the Single Elimination Tournament for the Vacated WWF Title. The night ends with Savage winning his first WWF Title. This was the first WrestleMania to be exclusively on PPV and thus made more money than WrestleMania III.

-Things went so well in Atlantic City that Trump wanted it back the following year. It was good for the symmetry of the Hogan/Savage storyline, and night ended with Hogan regaining the WWF Title.

-WWE decides to head north of the border for WrestleMania VI, and Edge knew he had to be there. He puts over the build to Hogan/Warrior and was amazed at the fan reaction. We get a shot of Edge in the crowd as a fan, and that is a pretty cool moment. Patterson mentions that Warrior was crying his eyes out after the match

-Twelve years later they return to Toronto and once again Hogan steals the show again. Lawler calls Hogan vs. Warrior his favorite match that he has ever called. HHH mentions he didn’t want to go on last because he knew would be hard to follow Rock/Hogan. Umm, I know Jericho has always had that position, but I swear HHH once mentioned on a DVD release that the title match should always end the show.

-Vince puts over that Hogan was WrestleMania, and Jericho mentions that he built WrestleMania. Everyone including HHH put over Hogan here, and it’s nice to see considering where he’s working at now. Hogan mentions that Vince once told him that they could wheel Hogan out in a wheelchair and the fans would go nuts. Saks mentions there is no WrestleMania without Hogan and no WrestleMania without Vince McMahon.

-Slaughter says that Vince told him that Hogan handpicked him for WrestleMania VII. They needed a villain and they turn Slaughter as an Iraqi sympathizer. They discuss the death threats and bomb threats that were made to Slaughter, his family, and McMahon himself.

-The original plan was to have the event at the LA Coliseum to break the record set at WrestleMania III. The actually show newspaper headline that calls Vince on exploiting the war. They finally admit to the fact that it wasn’t due to a bomb threat, but due to the fact that only 17,000 tickets had been sold. They do however say they gave official reason as a concern about security. In hind sight they were happy with the smaller arena, and knew was a blessing when it was a rainy, stormy night in LA.

-Flair heads to the WWE in 1991 and immediately everyone wants Hogan vs. Flair at WrestleMania VIII in the dream match. They seeds were sewn for the match, and for some reason it just never happened. I love Flair vs. Savage, but part of me is still pissed we never got Flair vs. Hogan headlining WrestleMania. Briscoe says reason was that there was an ego difference, and that the house show matches were never what they expected. He also says Flair wasn’t accepted into the WWE like they had hoped. Everyone dumps on the show for reasons I can’t understand. From what I can tell just about everyone enjoyed WrestleMania VIII and it’s looked back on as one of the good shows.

-WrestleMania IX heads to Vegas and outdoor. We get some awesome footage of Vince and crew making last minute decisions and last minute testing before WrestleMania IX. In a fantastic moment Vince stands in the ring and poses in front of Luger’s pyro mirrors. They catch Bret asking where all the girls are, and that would be funnier if I didn’t read his book. Heenan on the camel is still absolutely hilarious, and everyone calls it a fun show.

-The cover the double title switch and mention politics may have come into play, but it made for an unpredictable night. We get a sweet picture of Vince laughing with Bret while Hogan stands between the two. That’s fucking brilliant!

-WrestleMania X heads back home to Madison Square Garden, and everyone says it was only place for the show. They put over MSG and how if you could Main Event there, you could Main Event anywhere.

-WrestleMania XX heads back to MSG, as I am shocked they didn’t drool over the Shawn/Razor ladder match. This should be interesting considering they have to skip over the Main Event of the show. They do match sure to cover Austin stunning Goldberg and Lesnar out of the WWE ring. Jericho says WrestleMania XXX should be in MSG. I think that’s pretty much a no brainer.

-Fan Fest happens for the first time at WrestleMania X, and it’s every wrestling fan’s wet dream. I know I felt like a kid again when I was at my first Fan Axxess at WrestleMania XXV. The evolution of Axxess is discussed, and Jericho mentions WrestleMania is basically a holiday now.

-The Hall of Fame is brought back for WrestleMania XX and has become a WrestleMania weekend staple. This was a brilliant decision by the WWE, and is definitely a high point each year. You can joke all you want about who is in and who isn’t, but it’s always been a great night. I am still pissed though I couldn’t get my hands on any of the cash that was dropped from the ceiling after Dibiase’s speech.

-Lawrence Taylor has a run-in with Bigelow at The Rumble and that gives us LT going to WrestleMania. Vince admits it was risky, but he knew LT was enough of an athlete. He gives all credit to Bigelow for making that match as good as it was. They mention Taylor took the match seriously and that also helped the situation. It was a rather good match considering it involved a non wrestler.

-The Monday Night Wars crank up, and WWE decides to show off its 2 biggest stars at WrestleMania XII in an Iron Man Match. Patterson says he cried after the match because they delivered the match that he expected from the two.

-WrestleMania XIII heads to Chicago and landscape had changed as WCW was now dominating. Enter Steve Austin, and on this night things started to change. Bret vs. Austin is covered, and Briscoe mentions it made Steve Austin a star. The match had everything for everyone. Sadly we get black and white footage whenever they show Austin bleeding. Boo!

-Austin leads the WWE to a new popularity and that ascent culminated at WrestleMania XIV when he won the WWF Title from Michaels. HHH mentions Austin took over from Hogan, and Jericho says that while Hogan made WrestleMania, Austin saved WrestleMania.

-The investment in Mike Tyson was enormous, and Vince says Tyson was eager to do anything they wanted. Basil felt it was too much money and was worried they wouldn’t get the money back. Vine told him cost didn’t matter and that it would work. That is why Vince McMahon is a genius.

-The media attention was immense due to Tyson’s involvement, and that was needed at the time. Tyson brought new eyes and Austin was able to keep them locked on the WWE. The match kick started the Attitude Era and the Austin Era which got WWE back on top of the wrestling world.

-The celebrities at WrestleMania are discussed, and Ventura mentions it bring a certain elegance to the show. He compares it to celebrities being courtside at a Laker’s game. Snoop Dog in a Steeler’s jersey puts over his WrestleMania experience. Mayweather also says he was blessed to be part of WrestleMania. Lawler says the multiple appearance by Pete Rose were always his favorites. I always give credit to Pete for getting drilled by Kane’s tombstone and taking a stinkface.

-WrestleMania XV is next and that means Rock/Austin I. Since the show sucked balls that’s all they cover.

-WrestleMania 2000 introduces the Triangle Ladder Match, and Edge mentions they decided to take every risk possible to get noticed. He does admit they raised the bar way too high, but it was all because they wanted to steal the show.

-In 2001 ECW closes its door and then Vince buys WCW. WrestleMania X-Seven happens shortly afterwards, and it was the end of the Attitude Era. Sheamus puts over Rock/Austin II, but things Taker/HHH gets looked over.

-They blow over X-8 since they already covered Hogan/Rock and skip to Austin’s last match at WrestleMania XIX. He knew it would be his last match, and he was at peace with that decision once he walked back through the curtain.

-Shawn makes his return at the same show, and they mention he was a more mature Shawn Michaels. Jericho says he wanted to steal the show and that’s what he did with Shawn. That’s still a matter of preference because that show was just stacked. Case in point, that match isn’t even included in the extras on this set (Lesnar vs. Angle is).

-Shawn is given moniker of Mr. WrestleMania, and now we cover the Ladder Match with Razor. He touches on winning the title at WrestleMania XII, and now it makes sense why they weren’t covered as heavily earlier. HHH mentions that Shawn always stole the show no matter where he was on the card. Cena knows he isn’t #1 on Shawn’s list, but he hopes he doesn’t forget that he was one of the few who got to work with him at a WrestleMania.

-WrestleMania 21 was held at the Staples Center because they wanted to retrace their footsteps (New York, LA, and Chicago). After WrestleMania 21 they made the decision that after they get through WrestleMania 22, every Mania will be held in a stadium.

-Cena prefers the smaller buildings because the fan reaction comes across better. He says crowd was 10 times louder to him in Chicago than it was a year later at Ford Field. HHH mentions that a lot of guys who first perform in a stadium feel they may have had a bad match because they can’t hear the crowd as well. Edge mentions that at WrestleMania 2000 they got a great reaction and knew they topped themselves at X-7, yet didn’t get the same reaction live. They went back and watched the match and realized they crowd was going nuts, but sound just went up.

-WrestleMania 21 introduces the ladder match, and Jericho admits that it really was his idea. The match was an instant success, and now it has its own PPV. Jericho mentions that you would think you get more time at Mania, but as a reward they try to get as many guys on the show as possible.

-Everyone discusses living out their dreams by appearing at a WrestleMania and what it was like their first time. Orton puts over the fact that his first Mania was in MSG where his father also had his first WrestleMania. Edge still can’t believe he won Tag Titles in his first WrestleMania match with his best friend, Christian. Rey is amazed that he got to Main Event and win a World Title at WrestleMania.

-Rey makes a bold statement and Edge backs it that Cena is following in Hogan’s place. HHH says the chain does go Hogan to Austin to Cena. The match with Shawn is discussed and Edge says that put Cena on a new level.

-They cover the singing of America the Beautiful and Vince says it as a conscience decision to use that song instead of the National Anthem. They wanted to be a little different than regular sporting events, and to him that song is more majestic than the National Anthem. Boyz II Men mention: Hell Yeah!

-Starting with Cyndi Lauper to today, music has always played a big part in WrestleMania. HHH says there is nothing like having a live band play you to the ring. Stacy Keibler dancing to Saliva: FUCK YES! All the various acts that have performed put over how great it was to be part of WrestleMania. Fred Durst mentions he always wanted to be part of WrestleMania somehow and he got his chance.

-The original plan was for WrestleMania XXIV was to have the show in Orlando at the Amway Arena, but they knew that would be too small. They didn’t want to leave Orlando though because of how well they were treated by the mayor and the city. They decided to run the Citrus Bowl, and that created new problems since building was so old. Jericho mentions the build was a dive, and when he saw place at WrestleMania he was amazed at how it was transformed. The WWE spent millions of dollars to transform the stadium and while it may have cost more than they hoped it was worth it in the end.

-The jump back on the pro sports athlete trend as they bring in Floyd Mayweather to do battle with The Big Show.

-WrestleMania XXV is next and everyone says that things pick up at the Rumble because you know Mania is around the corner. We get a lot of footage of the stadiums the night before the show and then see guys warming up before the show starts. Jericho says it never seems real until you step through the curtain.

-Undertaker and Shawn steal the show at WrestleMania XXV and Edge is still shocked they didn’t close the show. He knew they couldn’t follow the show, and Orton admits he and HHH couldn’t follow the match either. Jericho calls Taker vs. Shawn I the greatest match in history by far, and Swagger basically agrees. I am proud to say I was there live for the match.

-WrestleMania has become Taker’s show, and nothing will ever touch his streak. Jericho, Edge, and Sheamus all claim Taker’s streak is more important at Mania than either of the Title Matches. HHH says the streak should never be broken (well, XXVII should be a foregone conclusion now), and Vince says he doesn’t know if it will.

-Undertaker/Shawn deliver once again at WrestleMania XXVI, and that closes the door on Shawn’s career. WrestleMania XXVI also had the 1 millionth fan walk through the doors, and since I was there I will just assume that I was that fan.

-Now cities bid to see who can host WrestleMania just like they do for the Olympics, Super Bowl, and NCAA Final Four. Vince says he doesn’t look back, and always thinks about what he can do to top the previous year. They joke that Vince may try to put the show on the moon one day, and really would you doubt that he would try to find a way to do it?

-The closing video package has everyone putting over what WrestleMania means to them, and Jericho mentions it is your chance to live forever. WrestleMania: The Showcase of the Immortals.

The 411: The documentary clocks in at just over 2 hours, and was rather well done. They kind of started breezing through the later WrestleManias which was kind of annoying. The early WrestleManias were covered well, and I loved some of the behind the scenes footage. It was also nice to see that politics didn't play a part in this as Hogan was given the credit he deserves for the success of the event. Next we hit the 2 discs of matches.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]