wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF WrestleMania VIII
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Note: Hulk Hogan passed away on July 24, 2005. This review was written a few months ago. I am still dealing with the idea of my childhood hero no longer being with us. 411mania was gracious enough to let any of us write about Hogan. I did so and my article can be found here.
-We come to the show I have been waiting for since I started doing this Retro Review series. My friend, Kent, asked me to do 1989 and when I finished I wanted to jump to 1992 so I could get to this show, but was asked to just roll into 1990 and march my way to the here and now. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, IN
-April 5, 1992
-Attendance: 62,167
-PPV Buys: 390,000
-Reba McEntire sings The National Anthem and obviously, does a great job. Reba was my grandma’s favorite country singer. I bought her a Reba Teddy Bear many years ago and I recently got it from my step-dad after his passing. It sits on the desk I use to write all these reviews. Go watch Reba’s old TV show as well. Van and Cheyenne for ever!
Tito Santana vs. Shawn Michaels (w/ Sensational Sherri)
-Ever the gentleman, Tito bows to Reba and kisses her hand. Heenan takes that as a sign that they are brother and sisters as he keeps calling her “Arriba” McEntire. Heenan covers for the building being a little less than full by noting the people were dumb and screwed up setting their clocks back leading to a traffic jam outside. I still love the way this Mania looks though as The Hoosier Dome has a great look. I like Domes that actually look like Domes. Sherri added so much to Shawn’s presentation after his heel turn. Shawn has given Sherri tons of credit for what she did to help him. Tito starts fast with a right hand and gets a cross-body for a two count. Tito grounds Shawn with a side headlock but is a nice guy and offers a clean break in the ropes. Shawn takes advantage with right hands, but gets caught with a clothesline that sends her over the top to the floor. “You got what you deserved Shawn, “ is yelled by someone from the crowd and then she tells Shawn “to go home.” Back in the ring Shawn floats over in the corner and then tries a second time, but Tito is ready and blasts him with a right hand. TIto back to the side headlock and gets a two count. Shawn rolls him for a two count, but Tito shifts back. They do this a few more times as someone else yells that they want to see Sherri wrestle. Ma’am, you want no part of Sherri! Gorilla talks about how he has never seen anyone pinned with a side headlock and Bobby gives his classic response about having a man give up once during instructions. It’s amazing how much of the commentary from this show I have burned in my memories. Shawn is able to get to his feet and sends Tito flying to the floor. Our fan yells at Sherri to leave Tito alone, and at least for now shoe does and that shocks Gorilla. Back in the ring Shawn fights to get a backbreaker and gets a two count. Now Shawn goes to a reverse chinlock. Tito fights out but gets caught with Sweet Chin Music and that’s not his finisher, so no pin. Sherri yells for him to go for the pin so perhaps Sherri knew it should have been his finisher. Tito blocks a teardrop suplex and hits the Flying Jalapeño that sends Shawn to the floor. Tito gets him back in and hits a sling shot forearm. Cool! Flying Burrito according to Heenan. That’s our Brain! Knee-lift and inverted atomic drop as they are rocking now. El Paso de la Muerte (or extra Pace Picante as called by Heenan) sends Shawn to the floor again. Tito goes for a slam, but Shawn grabs the top rop to throw his balance off and falls back for the pin at 10:37.
Winner: Shawn Michaels via pin at 10:37
-Solid opener that picked up in the last few minutes. It worked well as Tito was a popular older star and was there to put over the young, cocky heel. Tito is a pro’s pro and knew what to do here. **1/2
-Mean Gene brings out The Legion of Doom and they are joined by Paul Ellering, who is making his WWF debut. Wild to think he was part of WrestleMania XL. Again, I have seen this show so many times, I can finish the sentences for Hawk and Animal. I loved Hawk’s “look whose driving the train. Scary, huh,” line. Too bad this didn’t work as well as they probably envisioned and then it led to a dummy being part of the team. I wouldn’t be the one to tell Hawn and Animal not to play with dolls, but someone should have told Vince that.
-Sean Mooney is backstage with Jake Roberts and he shuts down any rumors that he might be bringing a snake to the ring. We flash back to an awesome segment on The Funeral Parlor where Jake traps Taker’s hand in a sealed casket and then DDTs Paul Bearer on the floor. Jake then blasts Take with a chair. They don’t show Taker getting up and dragging the casket while goin after Jake. Basically, Jake is TOAST!
The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
-The crowd is totally on board with Taker as a face and it was a case of them making the change at the right time. Without all the card changes, this likely could have been Savage blowing off his feud with Jake, but Taker destroying him was a good pay-off as well. Heenan mentions he is Indiana’s favorite Bobby, which is a dig at Bobby Knight and he says he could have won that game last night. I assume Indiana was in the Final Four and yep, they lost to Duke the previous night. Duke would win their second Championship the next night against Michigan’s Fab Five. Taker just stalks Jake, who fires off punches and tries to stick and move. He sends Taker over the top, but he lands on his feet and pulls Jake to the floor. Jake gets sent shoulder first into the post and Taker calmly stalks him back into the ring. Jake keeps punching but it’s an uphill battle. Taker chokes away in the corner as Heenan works in a Munster’s reference. More choking from Taker as the ref is too scared to tell him to stop. Heenan tells us Bearer got his urn the old fashioned way: “he earned it.” Again, burned into my memory. The match is all choking at this point so Heenan and Monsoon are my entertainment. Taker drops an elbow and then hits the leaping clothesline, though it was kind of clunky. Jake slips out of a Tombstone attempt and PLANTS Taker with the DDT. Heenan is calling the match over, but Taker sits up to a BIG POP. Jake hits a short clothesline, but Taker sits up again. Jake with a second DDT! Jake goes after Paul Bearer for whatever reason and Taker sits up again. TOMBSTONE ON THE FLOOR! The pin back in the ring is a formality as Taker wins at 6:42.
Winner: The Undertaker via pin at 6:42
-The psychology of the match was solid as Jake had only one real chance and that was the DDT and when it didn’t work he was done. Then Taker got his payback with The Tombstone on the floor and that was it. Some see this match as a passing of the torch moment and Taker should have remembered this match years later when he had a chance to day the same at WrestleMania with Bray Wyatt. *
-Mooney is backstage with Roddy Piper and Bret Hart and Piper wants to have some fun and annoys Bret, who just his Title back. Good stuff!
WWF Intercontinental Championship: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (c) vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart
-The ref gives them instructions after the bells sounds so they take it as a chance to stare each other down. Piper with an arm-drag and Bret seems annoyed. Another go and this time Bret gets the arm-drag. Another lock-up and we get some amateur wrestling before Bret uses his leverage to send Piper to the floor. Piper is pissed as he was made to look a fool, so he charges back in and spits on Bret. Heenan tells us about his days as Champion of his neighborhood when he had the prettiest girl on the block. Test of Strength and Bret turns it into arm control. Piper tries to fight out, Bret maintains. Piper tries running Bret into the corner and fires off with chops, but Bret won’t let go and takes Piper to the mat. He switches into a hammerlock and then back into a standing armbar. Piper finally gets free as he shoves off, but Bret catches him with a dropkick. It seems Bret separated his shoulder but Heenan thinks he is gold bricking which Monsoon can’t believe and sure enough Bret suckers Piper in and gets a small package for two. Man, I hope Heenan didn’t take any heat for ruining a surprise spot there! Piper slaps Bret as again and then both men spill over the top off a cross-body. Piper is back in first and holds the ropes open for Bret. With the way Bret suckered him in, Piper should have kicked him in the balls. Instead, he tells Bret his shoe is untied and punches him in the face. AWESOME! Bret is bleeding now as he famously bladed at a time when it wasn’t allowed and Piper and Bret had enough sense to lie and ay it was accidental. Piper gets a bulldog for a two count! Piper bites at the cut which always seemed gross, but today we have AEW to give us even ickier stuff. Bret pulls out a sunset flip for two, but Piper goes right back to throwing right hands to the open wound. Cool! Heenan throws out the idea that Piper should hit Bret with the bell. SPOILERS! Bret sends Piper to the floor, but as he runs back in they clothesline each other. Piper sits up like Taker and goes up top, which is unusual and Bret was playing possum again as he is up and slams Piper face first on the mat. He runs through The Five Moves of Doom with several two counts mixed between them. Sharpshooter but Piper blocks, so Bret drops an elbow on his face. Sweet! Bret off the middle ropes with another elbow, but Piper gets his boot up to block and the crowd is rocking with them. They start trading right hands from their knees as Bret’s blood is staining the canvas. The ref gets bumped as Bret gets knocked to the floor. Piper rams Bret into the steps and fire him back into the ring. Piper grabs the ring bell and I am already laughing thinking of Heenan’s upcoming commentary. The crowd is not happy to see this from Piper as they freak out and want him to reconsider. Take Heenan’s advice: “What the hell, use the bell!” I love it so much! Piper throws the bell away and hooks a sleeper, but we get the famous finish where Bret uses the corner to push off with his feet and gets the pin at 13:52. Awesome! I wonder if Steve Austin was watching this match? Might learn something from it!
Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Bret Hart via pin at 13:52
-Just an amazing match with all kinds of memorable moments. Quite possibly the best match ever from Piper pending your thoughts on the dog collar match with Valentine. Piper did the clean job here to give Bret the rub and it helped get him to that next level. ****1/2
-Bobby has a surprise for us and we go split screen as Lex Luger is the newest member of the WBF. Lex was fresh off losing the WCW World Title to Sting less than two months earlier, and would end up back in the ring when the WBF collapsed. Heenan wants a peak and Lex notes he has been off the Snickers for a few days, but is still ripped. Lex snaps a finger and is handed a glass of milk by a woman wearing a WBF shirt. Again, the WBF didn’t mean anything, but this was memorable and Lex was now in the WWF family.
-We get promos for the men involved in the 8 Man Tag and the one thing to mention is Mountie yelling “tell ‘em champ,” over and over again. Cracked me up as a kid and still funny!
The Nasty Boys, The Repo Man, and The Mountie (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Virgil, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, The Big Boss Man, and Sgt. Slaughter
-Family Feud’s Ray Combs does the introductions and makes jokes at the expense of Team Mountie. I laughed, but I am a dad now, and these jokes are funnier to me. The heels go after Combs, so it’s a brawl with everyone. Four Way clothesline spot sends all the heels to the floor. Virgil with a clothesline on Repo and Duggan gets one as well. Heenan plugs the WWF being on Family Feud for a week against stars of the WBF. Heenan also lets us know that Shawn Michaels has left the building. Duggan fires up the crowd, but Saggs decks him from behind. Gorilla: “One too many ho’s there!” Gorilla knew what he was doing with that one. Slaughter and Knobbs in as Sarge went from Main Event last year to this which is a pretty steep fall. One day I need to do a deep dive on where Mania Main Eventers end up the following year. Boss Man in and he misses a splash in the corner. Repo Man in and he misses a clothesline. Boss Man runs him over, but misses a head butt. Repo jumps on the back, but tries one time too many and ends up taking a just to the balls. Virgil and he comes off the middle ropes with a cross-body for two, but it’s broken up. Repo with a side suplex and it’s just chaos as guys come in and out when they want. Saggs with a pump handle slam for two. Repo in and Boss Man just illegally comes in to catch him and hits a spinebuster. Everyone in the ring and some end up brawling on the floor. Knobbs accidentally decks Saggs with Virgil’s protective mask and that’s enough for Virgil to get the pin at 6:32.
Winners: The Big Boss Man, Virgil, Jim Duggan, and Sgt. Slaughter via pin at 6:32
-This worked as buffer between The IC and WWF Title Match because it had guys the crowd loved cheering for on one side and booing on the other. The match was nothing of note and was just a way to get these men on the card. All 8 likely would have been in the ARMBAR if it was 2025. *
-Mooney is backstage with Ric Flair and Perfect and they have a centerfold that was never shown. Perfect wants to tag along to Space Mountain this time. I didn’t realize how dirty that comment was back then.
-Gene is outside Savage’s dressing room and he’s not talking because he is so pissed.
WWF Championship: Ric Flair (c) (w/ Mr. Perfect) vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-Spolier: This match is ***** all day and I am just going to enjoy every second of it as I review it. One of my favorite matches of all time and Heenan and Monsoon kill it again. I am ready for this! The crowd goes crazy for Savage as he runs to the ring. Wonder why they didn’t bring the ring carts back for this show? Savage would have ran anyway as he wants Flair! Savage chases Flair up the aisle and decks him from behind. Perfect pulls Savage off by the hair and probably should be a DQ, but the ref knows better. Savage goes after Perfect but decides to go into the ring. Flair lands a chop, but misses a second one and Savage hits a clothesline. Knee to the back followed by right hands and Savage goes to the eyes. Mounted punches in the corner. Flair tries an inverted atomic drop, but Savage counters and hits a clothesline as Heenan’s voice is already cracking. Back elbow gets a two count! Savage back to the eyes and nose and he walks the ref back, but Flair catches him with a backdrop that sends him to the floor. Nice! Chops from Flair and Savage’s sell of them is always great. Flair runs Savage back first into the apron and then puts the boots to him back in the ring. More chops in the corner followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two. Nice belly-to-back suplex gets two! Heenan wants to see the pictures, and tells us Liz’s hear still pounds for Flair. Back to the floor where Flair runs Savage back first into the apron. Suplex back into the ring as Flair shows off some power again. That gets two! Flair is getting annoyed with the ref’s count. Hard whip to the corner as the crowd is begging Savage to get back into this one. Savage shows life as he fires off right hands in response to chops from Flair. Savage counters a back drop attempt with a reverse neckbreaker as Heenan’s voice cracks again. Funny! Savage with more jabs and Flair goes to the eyes to stop him. Flair heads up and gets slammed off because that’s what happens. Nice touch with Savage climbing up the bottom rope to get more height on the slam. Flair begs off, but Savage sends him into the corner and gets a backdrop. Clothesline and then a hooking clothesline. Flair begs off some more and Savage spits on him. Fair! Flair Flip in the corner and he runs the apron and comes off the top, but Savage catches him with a clothesline on the way down for two. The crowd bought that one and they are pissed! Clothesline sends Flair to the floor and Savage follows out with a double axe. That sends Flair into the railing and now he is BLEEDING! They didn’t have the sense to lie and Vince was not happy with Flair blading. Savage sends him into the post and Heenan is crying as Monsoon notes that Flair is bleeding. I love this so much! Suplex on the floor as Flair starts screaming for God. Heenan wants the match stopped but this isn’t the NWA in Baltimore! Savage heads up as Flair is staggering around the ring and a double ax gets another close two. Again, the crowd is pissed! Slam from Savage and he heads up again. Flying Elbow, but Perfect pulls Savage off the cover in an all time great DICK move. Did I mention, how much I love this match? Savage goes after Perfect, who throws something to Flair. He blasts Savage in the face and slips the object back to Perfect, but Savage is out at two. Flair is angered now and goes crazy with right hands and a choke as we get a loud “Macho” chant. Remember how I said Perfect was a dick, well, he goes a step above and runs a chair into Savage’s knee. Hey, here’s Elizabeth storming down to the ring because this is GREAT and I love it all. Hey, there’s a young Shane McMahon among the officials trying to convince Liz to head back. She is staying though and Ric is destroying the knee know. Knee-breaker followed by The Figure-Four! Perfect is there to add leverage because he is a DICK! Savage nearly gets counted down, but is up as Heenan screams for the pictures. Oh, Liz looks great as well! Flair has a crimson mask as Heenan claims Liz just winked at Flair. Haha! The ref kicks Perfect’s hand away as Savage is able to reverse the hold. Small package from Savage gets two, but his leg is shot. Flair tells Liz this is for her and fires off some chops in the corner. Another knee-breaker and Flair gives one Woo too many as Savage gets a roll-up with a handful of tights for the pin at 18:02. Amazing!
Winner and Once Again WWF Champion: Randy Savage via pin at 18:02
-I made it clear how I feel about this match. Everything about it is perfect to me and I will never say anything negative about it. It’s one of my favorite matches ever and just makes me so happy watching it. Everything just hits so well including the commentary and the post match brawl. *****
-Flair kisses Liz after the match and she slaps the piss out of him and then Savage tackles him. Officials try to pull them apart, but Perfect helps Flair and Savage gets the beat down again. The poor man is being held down by officials as Perfect and Flair stomp him. The crowd chants for Hogan, but not this time as Savage deserves his moment. Even if he has to get the crapped kicked out of him before getting it. Fink gives us one of his greatest announcements of a winner of all time and Savage gets to celebrate with Liz with pyro going off. Just classic stuff and it brings a smile to my face. Also, the way it paid off what happened with Savage and Liz the previous year is amazing. I think the kids today call it CINEMA! The Macho Man arc through these Manias is just fantastic and the man was Mr. WrestleMania before Shawn Michaels.
-Oh, we aren’t done yet as Mooney is backstage with an angered Perfect and Flair. They are pissed about Savage using a hand full of tights while ignoring all their cheating and it’s so great. Heenan rushes in and is nearly in tears. Flair cuts an all time great promo with blood on his face. He isn’t sweating this one as he is going to reassemble the team and wants to see Savage do it again as one time means nothing to his career. One time means nothing as far as divorces to him either! They show Savage using the tights and again, the way they ignore what Perfect did out there is fantastic. Flair promises to kiss Liz one more time as Heenan takes his frustrations out on a payphone.
-Over to Gene with our new WWF Champion, Randy Savage, and he wants more of Flair as this was just a piece. “You haven’t been beat up properly.” I love it! These two were made to feud and wrestle each other. Gene wants to talk to Liz, but Savage hands her the belt, tells her it belongs to her and has her leave. He rips his shirt and tells Flair he can have all of him next time. One more “Oh Yeah,” off camera as Gene throws us to intermission. I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but I LOVE THIS MATCH AND FEUD!
-Recap of Sid/Hogan though they leave out Hogan illegally eliminating Sid at The Royal Rumble. Sid walked out on Hogan at Saturday Night’s Main Event and my review of that is here! We get the famous angle where Sid destroyed the barber shop and had shaving cream explode on his face, which only made Sid look scarier and crazier. Like the man had rabies or something! Somewhere Marty Jannetty was cheering on Sid as he destroyed that window. It can’t hurt you anymore Marty!
”The Model” Rick Martel vs. Tatanka
-Heenan is back and has a statement on behalf of Ric Flair. He is relatively calms as he notes Savage held the tights. They aren’t going to gripe and they are going to get the Championship back. Monsoon is right there to needle him and notes Perfect was in the ring as much as Flair. He then keeps calling Heenan a liar and Brian loses it and starts rambling. Gorilla: “Don’t jump. It’s a long way down.” Heenan: “Put ‘em up!” I love these two! Oh the match, Martel misses a charge in the corner and goes shoulder first into the post. Martel does hit an early version of a choke slam as Heenan makes a joke about Indians living in Cleveland. Man, there is a generation coming up that won’t get that joke. Martel lays the boots to Tatanka as Heenan continues with Indian jokes. Backbreaker from Martel and he heads up top, but takes his time. Tatanka shakes the ropes and Martel lands on his models. Backdrop from Tatanka and he fires off chops. Big chop to the head, but Martel lands a kick to the chest to block another backdrop. Slam from Martel followed by a clothesline as Gorilla keeps calling Martel, Flair which annoys Heenan. Tatanka ducks a clothesline and gets a cross-body for the pin at 4:30.
Winner: Tatanka via pin at 4:30
-Not much to this one, but it was a way to get Tatanka a win over someone in the mid-card that had a name. The commentary was fun though. *1/2
-Mooney is backstage with Money Inc and they have Jimmy Hart with them after he double crossed The Natural Disasters. They aren’t taking The Disasters lightly, but they are taking them.
-Gene is with The Natural Disasters and they are rather pissed!
WWF Tag Team Championship: Money Inc (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. The Natural Disasters
-Heenan is in a really foul mood as he calls someone in the crowd a bimbo, who should be home doing the dishes. IRS starts with Quake but then decides to bring Dibiase back in as they are playing mind games with The Disasters. Lockup and that goes badly for Ted as he gets shoved back into the corner. He tries again and gets sent flying backwards. And again! Heenan even notes that Ted should be smarter than that. Guess not, as he tries an overhead wirstlock and Quake throws him down. Clothesline from Quake and IRS comes in and gets one as well. Everyone in the ring and Money Inc get rammed into each other. They head to the floor to regroup with Hart. IRS tries with Quake and yeah, doesn’t go well for him either. Typhoon in and IRS gets a knee to the gut, but Typhoon back with a hip-toss. Heavy whip to the corner as this is a slaughter at this point. IRS gets run into the top buckle as Heenan and Gorilla continue to annoy each other. Splash in the corner misses and Dibiase is in to lay in some chops. Typhoon reverses a whip and and no clue what happened next as it look like Typhoon wanted a clothesline, but Ted hung onto the ropes to get to the next spot. Typhoon screwed that one up I think. He charges at Ted and messes up going over the top to the floor but gets there. IRS sends him into the steps as Heenan tells us it should be in The Constitution that if you have a lot of money, you can do whatever you want. Make your own political jokes. Ted and Typhoon clothesline each other for a double down. IRS gets the tag first, but Quake is in as well. IRS backs off and gets destroyed in the corner. Clothesline for IRS. One for Ted! Everyone back in the ring and Money Inc get run into each other. Clothesline sends Ted over the top. Splash to IRS from Typhoon. Quake starts jumping and preps for The Quake Splash, but Hart and Ted putt IRS out and they take a walk for the count-out at 8:37.
Winners: The Natural Disasters via count-out at 8:37
-Awful ending to a boring match. IRS and Ted were outmatched in this one and I guess they have to find a way to get them out of there with The Tag Titles. DUD
Owen Hart vs. Skinner
-Skinner spits his tobacco in Owen’s face as he flips into the ring before the bell. Shoulder breaker from Skinner and he pounds away on the mat. Scorpion Death Drop only gets two! Head-butts from Skinner and he sends Owen over the top, but he skins the cat back in and gets a roll-up for the pin at 1:10.
WInner: Owen Hart via pin at 1:10
-Well, this was a WrestleMania match. 1/2*
-Gene is backstage with Sid, who calls Gene a fat, bald-headed, little oaf. This won’t be a barn burner and will be Hogan’s last match.
-We flashback to March to WrestleMania where Vince had a sit-down interview with Hulk Hogan and asks him about retiring. Hogan says the idea of his last match being at Mania chills him to the bone. He won’t know until he comes out of the ring if it is his last match. Vince then thanks Hogan and shakes his hands. LEAVE THE MEMORIES ALONE!
-Back to Sid, who tells Gene to shut up again, and it makes me laugh every time. Sid curses Hogan and every Hulk-a-maniac, because he rules the world.
Sid Justice (w/ Harvey Wippleman) vs. Hulk Hogan
-Sid attacks Hogan before the bell and the Real American is still playing so this is so totally like New Jack in ECW! Hogan fires back with right hands and Sid gets knocked to the floor. He rushes back in and Hogan keeps firing away. Clothesline knocks Sid off the apron and Hogan tears the shirt off as the music keeps playing and the crowd is going crazy. This is actually the best part of the match and I guess doesn’t count as we didn’t have a bell. They start proper with a stare down and Sid lands a kick to the gut and starts throwing forearms to the back. The crowd is into this one I will say that. Sid drops down on a whip, but Hogan puts on the brakes and we get more right hands that sends Sid to the floor. Sid wants a test of strength and Hogan makes sure to check with the crowd to keep them going even though there isn’t much action happening. That’s called working a crowd! Sid wins the initial battle as he breaks Hogan down to his knees. The crowd fires up Hogan, but he can only get one knee off the canvas and Sid breaks him down again. Hogan fires up again as the crowd loses it, but Sid maintains control and then sends Hogan into the corner for some knees to the ribs. Hogan reverses a whip and gets the corner clothesline. Hogan goes after Harvey and Sid hits a chokeslam and Heenan is calling this one over. Sid mugs for the camera and waxes poetic with “do it to the man as the man would do it to you, but do it first.” I quoted that a lot as a kid! Sid kicks Hogan to the floor and then beats on him with Harvey’s loaded medical bag. Sid tells the camera, “I love every second of this.” It’s not a weekend softball tournament, but Sid seems to be having fun out there. Nerve hold from Sid as this one is starting to lose steam as I think it’s one wear down move too many, but it’s working as the crowd is trying to rally Hogan again. Hogan is nearly out as he starts quivering. The ref checks the arm and it drops once, twice, but not thrice as Hogan starts to rally much to the joy of the crowd. Hogan elbows his way out but Sid lands one shot and hits a sidewalk slam. This match is better than people give it credit. POWERBOMB, a safe one, gets two as it’s Hulk-Up Time! Three punches and Sid gets run into the buckle and then again. Big Boot, but Sid is still up so Hogan hits the slam to a huge pop. Leg Drop, but Sid kicks out and Harvey is in for the DQ at 12:25. Papa Shango heads down as the rumor is he was supposed to be there to break up the leg drop and other’s have said it went the way it was supposed to. Shango and Sid trap Hogan in the ropes and start beating on him when THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR’S MUSIC HITS AND HE COMES RUNNING TO THE RING. Clothesline to Shango to send him packing. Sid hits Warrior with a chair, but Hogan pulls it away and Sid bails. The crowd is going batshit crazy at this point.
Winner: Hulk Hogan via DQ at 12:25
-This match was fine as it was Hogan selling for the monster and then doing the usual in front of a joyous crowd. The ending sucked, but they didn’t want Sid to lose and they didn’t want Hogan losing in his “last” match. I would watch this match over some others that have closed the show at WrestleMania. This isn’t even Sid’s worst WrestleMania Main Event Match. *3/4
-We get pyro to close as Hogan and Warrior celebrate to give the fans an epic ending. Poor Macho though as he is finally WWF Champion outside Hogan’s shadow and they bring Warrior back to fill the Hogan void. Spoiler: It didn’t work here, just like it didn’t work in 1990.
-Thanks for reading!
More Trending Stories
- Bret Hart Says WCW Should Have Been Sued For Putting Him In Ring With Goldberg
- Backstage Report on Bronson Reed Status Following WWE Crown Jewel Injury
- Jeff Cobb Reveals Other Ring Names WWE Pitched To Him, Ideas Included ‘JONAH’ & ‘Jafar Smash’
- Dave Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez Speculate Over Gunther’s ‘Unusual’ Dark Match Loss to Trick Williams at WWE Raw
