Wrestlemania IX: Time to do the Thing!

Wrestlemania IX, comes to us from Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, NV. As such, this Wrestlemania had a Roman theme to it, with announcers wearing togas, guards, and black and gold ring ropes. This Wrestlemania was known for a couple things. It was the first Wrestlemania to be held outdoors, it was the announcing debut of Jim Ross, and would be the final one Hulk Hogan would be in for nearly a decade.

The hosts for this Wrestlemania are Jim Ross, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

The show starts with Caesar and Cleopatra welcoming everyone to the event.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Shawn Michaels (champion) w/ Luna Vachon vs. Tatanka

Very solid opening match to get the card started. Sensational Sherri came down to the ring as a neutral party before the match starts. The announcers do a good job pushing the idea that Tatanka has a chance to win the title, as he previously defeated Michaels in a couple of previous non-title matches.

We get some very nice in-ring action here, and an entertaining match. The ending was disappointing, as Michaels gets counted out, giving the hollow victory to Tatanka. Overall though, a good match, and the best one on this card. ***

The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) vs. The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) w. Afa

Ross uses his famous term “slobberknocker” at the beginning of this match. Standard tag match fare here, though it was entertaining. This is the second best match on this card. After the IC title match. Scott wins the match for his team with a Frankensteiner. **3/4

Doink the Clown vs. Crush

I've have to admit, that in hindsight, evil Doink, which he was for this match, was pretty cool. Which cunning trick would he pull out for this match? Comes at the end. The referee was inadvertently hit by Doink. While the ref was down, a second Doink comes down the ring, and hits Crush with an arm cast. This allows Doink to get the pin. Another referee (Bill Alfonso) comes down to the ring to explain to the first ref that there was another Doink. The search under the ring, and the second Doink is gone. Both referees walk to the back. Result stands.

Doink wins. **

Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund

Yawn for this match. Razor, who was a heel at this point, as actually getting “Razor” chants from the crowd. Funny when the face gets no reaction, and the crowd seems to be behind the heel. It was difficult to get behind Backlund because, well, he was boring as a face. Razor wins with a roll-up in a match that seemed it would've been better on free television rather than a pay-per-view. No rating.

Tag Team Championship Match: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and IRS) vs. The Megamaniacs (Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake) with Jimmy Hart

There was more posing by Hogan and Beefcake then wrestling with this match it seems. They dump Money Inc. out of the ring while “Real American” plays, and Hogan poses. Despite some good work by DiBiase (as he seemed to be doing the most work out of all four competitors), this match was a dud. Money Inc. wins by DQ, when the referee spots Hogan using Beefcake's protective facemask, which Money Inc. had removed, to hit DiBiase and IRS. They rough up the referee (some good guys they are), pose MORE after Hart tosses the referee (Danny Davis, ironically enough)! If Hogan didn't need to stroke his ego so much, I'd probably rate this match more favorable, but as it stands no rating.

Mr. Pefect vs. Lex Luger

The women that came down with Luger were...revealing to day the least! Luger was the “Narcissist” at this point, and he had been knocking out wrestlers cold with a running bionic forearm. Watchable match here, but it will never be considered one of Mr. Perfect's finest (not shocking as he was working with Luger). Luger wins with a backslide. Perfect's feet are on the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it, so the ref gives the three count. Another unsatisfying finish. Once Luger is declared victor, he hits Perfect with the bionic forearm. Once Perfect comes to, he goes to the back looking for Luger, where he finds Shawn Michaels, who gives Perfect a beatdown. **

Giant Gonzalez w/ Harvey Whippleman vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

One of the questions us wrestling fans will always ask, but will never get an answer to...what is up with the bodysuit Gonzalez wore? Take a look...

This match was horrible. Gonzalez either couldn't sell, or he was simply to clumsy to sell well. Undertaker did try to make this a workable match. Undertaker did well playing up the fact he wasn't intimidated by the size of Gonzalez.

Not much to write home about here. At the end of the match, Gonzalez grabs a rag doused with chloroform, and smothers the Undertaker with it. 'Taker wins by DQ. Taker is taken to the back on a stretcher, but his music plays, and he comes from the curtain back down to the ring. He takes it to Gonzalez and gets him off his feet with a flying clothesline.

One of the worst matches in the history of Wrestlemania. No rating.

WWF Championship Match: Bret “Hitman” Hart (champion) vs. Yokuzuna w/ Mr. Fuji

The WWF did a very good job telling this story. You have Hart, who was the proverbial underdog. Sure, he was a solid wrestler, but he wasn't the biggest, strongest, or most charismatic guy on the block. On the other side, you have Yokozuna. At a billed weight (at that time) of 505 pounds, he was demolishing the roster, and was an unstoppable force. This set up a true underdog vs. monster main event.

We get a decent match between these two, and it played along with Bret's never give up attitude. He took it to Yokozuna, even getting the big man off his feet a couple of times. Yokozuna had a trump card in Mr. Fuji who just happened to have a bucket of salt with him. Salt gets tossed into Bret's eyes while he had Yoko in the Sharpshooter. Yokozuna took advantage to get the win. Your new champion is Yokozuna. **1/2

If you thought the event was over, you're wrong! Hulk Hogan comes down to the ring, enraged by the injustice Hart suffered. Fuji issues a challenge to Hogan, who plays up whether or not to take it. He does, of course.

Impromptu WWF Championship Match: Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Hulk Hogan

Hogan is held by Yokozuna while Fuji gets the salt bucket. Salt is tossed. Hogan ducks, and the gets in Yokozuna's eyes. Hogan was able to leg drop a downed Yokozuna. This would be Hogan's final Wrestlemania appearance until Wrestlemania X-8 nine years later. No rating.

In conclusion, this is not a great Wrestlemania. The WWF was starting to go into a transition period about this time, and it shows. From a bunch of fresh faces performing, to Ross commentating. There was a changing of the guard for lack of a better cliché. However, that's no excuse to put on a card with a bunch of bad finishes. In addition, if the two opening matches were the best ones on the card, which is supposed to be the biggest one of the year, that's a problem.

The roman theme to this event, and another solid outing of commentary by Heenan save this event from becoming a total borefest. Speaking of commentary, while the chemistry definitely was missing from the Heenan/Monsoon days, this was still a good trio. Heenan has some very good one-liners, and Macho Man is a better wrestler than commentator, but he did have his moments and some good lines such as “tough times don't last, but tough people do”.

Overall, this is better than Wrestlemania 2, but not a strong event. A very weak Wrestlemania that starts promising, then fizzles out real quick. If you have it as part of the Wrestlemania Anthology Collection, feel free to check it out. Otherwise, don't waste your money on this, unless you can get it cheap.

Overall rating: **