Live from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles...It's Wrestlemania 2!

After the success of the inaugural Wrestlemania in 1985, the WWF (now WWE) decided to try another Wrestlemania. Though the first Wrestlemania was a success; there were doubts about whether a second installment would be as successful. At the time, the WWE was still working on gaining the national exposure it was looking for. The WWE had an idea to make Wrestlemania 2 unique from it’s predecessor. This would be the first gimmick WM. They spread the event over three different locations, in three different time zones. The card totaled 12 matches, divided up among the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, NY, the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, and the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

In an interesting twist, each location had a gimmick match for portion of the card. In NY, it was Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T in a boxing match. Chicago had a 20 man battle royal featuring WWF superstars and NFL players, including William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Los Angeles had the main event cage match for the WWF Heavyweight Title pitting Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy.

With that quick background laid out, it's now time to trek back to April 7, 1986 to take a look at Wrestlemania 2.

The show starts with the NY third of the card. It is hosted by Vince McMahon and Susan St. James. The matches were:

Paul Orndorff vs. Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji
Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. George ‘The Animal” Steele
Jake ‘The Snake” Roberts vs. George Wells
Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T in a boxing match

To sum up this portion of the show, the matches nothing great. A couple of them (Orndorff vs Muracco and Roberts vs. Wells) were decent. The boxing match was terrible, and perhaps the worst match out of the four. Heck, it was the worst on the entire card. Viewers have to sit through nearly four complete rounds of boxing, though the outcome is probably predictable. By the end of the fourth round, Piper, frustrated, body slams Mr. T, hence getting disqualified. A dud of a “boxing match” to end the first third of the show. This portion of the show wasn’t helped by St. James’ uninspired color commentary. She said “Uh Oh” about 500 times. Vince McMahon did his best, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to make this segment even remotely engaging to the home viewer. One interesting note here is both Savage and Roberts make their WM debuts. Hopefully, Chicago would be better.

Chicago did turn out slightly better than the NY portion. The hosts are Gorilla Monsoon, “Mean” Gean Okerlund, and Cathy Lee Crosby. The matches were:

Fabulous Moolah (women’s champ) vs. Velvet MacIntyre
Corporal Kirchner vs. Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match
British Bulldogs vs. Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake
20 man battle royal featuring NFL players and WWF superstars

The ring announcer for this portion was funny. He'd repeat everything, which I found amusing (“The British Bulldogs...British Bulldogs”). The first two matches in Chicago were quick duds. However, the Bulldogs (my favorite tag team as a kid at the time), vs. Valentine and Beefcake put on a great match.

The match was fast paced, and moved with a fluidity that has been lacking in all the other matches to this point. In fact, it was probably the best match of the entire 12 on the Wrestlemania 2 card. The battle royal wasn’t bad, but quick and predictable. Andre The Giant was the last participant who came down to the ring. That pretty much gave away the winner. Andre won the battle royal by taking out both members of the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhardt). Now, let’s see how the action in Los Angeles; the final third portion of the show, stands up.

The action in L.A. was called by Jesse Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira. Los Angeles had the following four matches:

Hercules Hernandez vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Adrian Adonis vs. Uncle Elmer
Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog vs. the Funk brothers
Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy in a cage match for the world championship

This portion of the show wasn’t too bad, with the worst match being Adonis vs. Elmer. Another throw away match in an event filled with them. The Funk brothers vs. Santana and JYD match was an excellent match, and the main event cage match was good, though nothing outstanding. Hulk Hogan came out the winner. The outcome for the match was standard for the time; where the larger than life hero defeats the larger than life villain, a theme that would be replayed out a year later at Wrestlemania 3.

When I first watched this WM, I thought this WM was terrible. However, watching it again, it really wasn't that bad. However, it's not great either. The three location gimmick of this WM didn't work, and felt I was watching three separate events. The production values were non-existent, but we are talking 1986 here. One has to keep that in mind when watching this, and to also understand that WWE was still new to hosting large scale pay-per-view events; as there are a couple of production errors.

Overall, WM 2 was a decent card for it’s time, but it hasn't aged well. The quality of the matches were standard for the day, and were slightly better than those in the original Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania 2 had two excellent tag matches, and the main event was decent, though typical steel cage match fare. The main claim to fame for this Wrestlemania is it was the first, and only event to spam three different locations. I'd suggest watching this at least one time, especially for the tag team title match. Otherwise, I'd skip this one, and go to WM3.

If you're interested in seeing this event, you can find it still on VHS, or on DVD as part of the Wrestlemania Anthology, Vol. 1.  Overall rating I'd give WM is 2/5.

Wrestlemania: Where it All Began

The stage has been set...

Back in 1985, the WWF (now known as WWE) began to expand itself outside of the northeast U.S., during a time when wrestling was territorial. Vince McMahon had purchased the company from his father several years earlier; and wanted fans from all over the country to watch his product in his quest to redefine how a wrestling promotion put on shows. One idea was an event showcasing the top WWF talent at the time, mixing in celebrities to draw in casual viewers who may not have been fans of professional wrestling. Hence, Wrestlemania was born. It was a big risk at the time, but ultimately proved successful for the company.

The inaugural Wrestlemania comes to us from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The commentators are Gorilla Monsoon, and Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who is wearing a pink tuxedo!

The host is Lord Alfred Hayes, who introduces the matches.

The event starts off with “Mean” Gene Okerlund singing the national anthem. Ventura is already saying the event is living to up to all he expected. Whatever that means, because this first match of this event has yet to begin! Speaking of...on to the first match ever for this iconic event.

Tito Santana vs. The Executioner

The Executioner (who is Buddy Rose, and looking slim here) is announced as having an unknown weight, and hailing from “parts unknown”. Howard Finkel announces the match has a 20 minute time limit (or something like that). Interesting how we don’t hear either things such as "parts unknown" or time limit any more.

The match beings with Tito taking an early advantage with a headlock. He gets off some offensive moves on the Executioner, until the Executioner rolls out of the ring, comes back in, and takes advantage of the out-of-position Santana. So far it’s a back and forth match, and continues to be so. Tito pummels Executioner in the corner, then attempts a pile driver, which Executioner countered into a back body drop followed by a body slam. Tito kicks out of the following pin at 2. Executioner goes for a body slam, but misses the body splash he attempted with Tito on the mat. Tito runs off the ropes and hits him with a flying forearm, following that up with the figure 4 leg lock. Tito wins by submission. A nice match to open the event. Wrestlemania is off to a good start! **1/2

S.D. Jones vs. King Kong Bundy with Jimmy Hart

Jones charges at Bundy, who brings Jones to the corner for an avalanche splash following by a body splash. Bundy wins. No rating for this one. Fink says the match ran 9
seconds. I timed it at 23. Due to the squash nature of this match, no score is provided. An interesting (to me at least) side note is the Fink announces the managers as “seconded by” during this event.

Ricky Steamboat vs. Matt Borne

Interesting seeing Borne here. We'd see him in the WWE several years later as Doink the Clown. Back to the match. It starts with some grappling, followed by some chops by Steamboat, who proceeds to put Borne in a headlock. Borne gets a some offense in before Steamboat returns to knife chops and headlocks. Borne makes a comeback with a belly to belly and vertical suplex. Steamboat returns to the offense and finishes the match with a flying body press off the top rope. Any match involving Steamboat adds value to it, but Borne was no slouch in the ring himself. **1/2

Brutus Beefcake w/ Lucious Johnny Valiant vs. David Sammartino w/ Bruno Sammartino

David received a decent pop coming to the ring, not so much for him, but his father, the legendary Bruno who was at his side. A lot of mat wrestling in this match with arm locks, leg locks, face locks. A slow paced, boring match with a predictable ending. I started dozing off watching this... David gets tossed out of the ring by Beefcake, where Valiant slams him. Bruno comes over, and throws Valiant into ring. All four men battle, resulting in a double DQ. Blah match, and I wonder what happened to David Sammartino...*

Intercontiental Title Match
Greg Valentine (Intercontiental Champion) vs. Junkyard Dog

JYD was one of my first favorite wrestlers as a kid, as I began start watching wrestling around this time. In hindsight, JYD was not too good in the ring. His charisma was definitely what got him over. The match starts with some grappling. Valentine gets the early advantage until he misses a forearm smash. JYD gives a series of headbutts that looked harmless, yet Valentine sells them like a pro. Valentine eventually regains advantage, attacks the leg, and attempts the figure four leg lock. JYD blocks it, and sells the injured leg. Blows are exchanged between the two. Jimmy Hart distracts JYD. Valentine tries a sneak attack, but JYD gets out of the way. Valentine and JYD exchange blows again, until Valentine grabs JYD’s legs, sending him to the mat. Valentine pins JYD with his feet on the ropes to get the initial three count. Tito Santana runs down the ring to tell the ref what happened, who the declares the match to continue. Valentine walks away from the ring, losing by count-out. *

Tag Team Championship Match
Barry Windham and Mike Rutundo (Champions) w/ Lou Albano vs. Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff w/ Freddie Blassie

Here's a history lesson to those of you born after 1990. Back in 1985, the cold war, between the United States and the USSR was still going on. McMahon exploited this, in addition to the tensions with Iran several years earlier to put together the team of Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Shiek. They got major heat coming down to the ring. Volkoff sings the Soviet nation anthem while fans throw trash into the ring.

Rutundo, who’ll be known several years later as IRS, spent most of the match being beaten down by Volkoff and the Shiek. He is able to tag in Windham, who regains a short lived advantage over the Shiek and Volkoff. The referee gets distracted, as Iron Shiek takes Blassie’s cane, and nails Windham on the back with it. Volkoff and the Shiek get the win; and championship, in the type of ending that never gets old. A decent tag team match. **1/2

$15,000 Body Slam Challenge
Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Lord Alfred Hayes gives a quick history into this match. Mene Gene interviews Studd and Heenan before a match in a good interview. Heenan never fails to cut a good promo. Andre comes to the ring receiving an excellent ovation.

This match was slow paced, with a lot of resting between both competitors. Boring actually. Andre slams Studd to win the $15,000. Let's face it; this outcome was predictable. Andre begins to toss the money out to the fans, when Heenan comes into the ring and runs off with the duffel bag containing the money. Probably the best part of the match. DUD

Women’s Championship Match
Lalani Kai (champion) w/ Fabulous Moolah vs. Wendy Richter w/ Cyndi Lauper

Wendy comes out with Lauper and her manager. Ventura and Monsoon make a comment
about the long hair on Lauper’s manager. Ventura makes funny comment about his own hair, or lack thereof, “can’t grow grass on a busy street”, which is something I can relate to! Anyway, onto the match.

Just like the previous matches, it’s a back and forth match. It works. It's not too dull or boring. Eventually, Moolah and Lauper get involved. Kai goes to top rope for flying body press. Richter does a sloppy roll over to pin Kai. New women’s champ is Richter. Solid match, and it was even booked before the main event, which meant this match was important. In addition, Lauper had a hit single with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, so this was a match that probably gave non-fans reason to watch to see what would happen. **

Main Event
Hulk Hogan and Mr. T w/ Jimmy Snuka vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff w/ Bob Orton

(Special guest referee: Muhammad Ali)

Ali comes down to the ring, and Ventura comments how he looks like he can go a few rounds. This was Ali before he came down with Parkinsons, and he did look in good shape. Hogan and co. come down to the ring. The crowd goes nuts, loudest pop of the night. It looked like almost everyone in MSG had a Hogan foam finger waving around. Piper comes down to a whole bag pipe and drum corp playing, which was awesome. Liberace, one of the guest hosts, rings a dainty crystal bell to signal the start of the match. The match itself begins with Piper and T going at it. Mr. T gets pushed in Piper’s corner, where Piper and Orndorff double team him. Hogan runs into the ring to help. A brawl between the men ensues. Hogan and T clean house, until Hogan gets tossed out of the ring by Orndorff. Piper takes a chair outside the ring and hits Hogan on the back with it. Orndorff beats up on Hogan, until he misses a knee drop from the top rope. Hogan tags T, who promptly gets double teamed by Orndorff and Piper. Hogan gets tagged back in, and gives a double noggin knocker. Bob Orton climbs the top rope (wearing a cast on his forearm). Orndorff gets Hogan in a full nelson, and sets him up for Orton. Hogan gets out of the way, and Orton hits Orndorff, with his cast on. Hogan pins for the win. A good match to end the inaugural Wrestlemania. This match was the one that most people wanted to see I'd assume. Hogan, of course, was the top face, and Piper...well lets just say he made a great heel. ***

 

Observations of this event. First was the production values, which can be summed best in the form of the question of “what production values?”. If you're a more recent fan, you'd be shocked by the visuals, and the entrance music, or lack of. I got MSG channel on our cable lineup (still do), and would watch house shows as a kid when they aired them. Basically, from a production standpoint, Wrestlemania I appeared as a glorified MSG house show.

Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura made a great announcing duo. They called the matches in this event fairly, and are much better to listen to than what's currently going on with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler, who are just pushing storylines. Lord Alfred Hayes (R.I.P) didn't do that great as a host. He seemed awkward, messed up a few times, and his eyes appeared to wander away from the camera in search of cue cards when he'd introduce the matches.

Before every match there were backstage interview segments. These were funny, because as soon as one competitor spoke, the other would walk right up to the microphone. I didn't pay attention to this the first couple times I watched this on VHS, but it's funny none-the-less.

For fans who grew up on hardcore wrestling, WWF's attitude era, or simply prefer an emphasis on high spots; the wrestling on the first Wrestlemania could be slow, boring, and tedious. There were a few solid matches on this card, which were good for their time, but don't compare well to what performers can do today.

On a scale of 1-5 (1 being worst and 5 the best), I'd give Wrestlemania a 2.5. This version of 'mania does not hold up well at all, but the historical significance of this event can't be denied. Besides, it is interesting to watch it, compare it to the WWE now, and see just how far the company has come. It's worth at least a viewing.

You can scour the internet for a video version of this, or you can see it on DVD as part of the Wrestlemania anthology collection (volume 1).

Upcoming Reviews of...Wrestlemania!

As the month of February winds down, and March is on the horizon, that means one thing in the world of sports entertainment...Wrestlemania is around the corner!  I'm going to try my best to review all 26 Wrestlemanias to date before the 27th installment of it.  Whether or not I'll be able to do it remains to be seen. 

The first Wrestlemania took place in 1985 at NYC's famed Madison Square Garden.  While Wrestlemania has changed and grown over the years, one thing remains the same.  WM is THE showcase event for the WWE. The company hypes it up as much, and pull out all the stops to make it so. As such, there's no better event to start this blog on than reviewing 'mania.

The first review will be of the original Wrestlemania.  Put on your mullet or big hair wigs, play some music on a Sony Walkman cassette player, and take a journey with me back to 1985!

An Introduction

Hello all and welcome!  As the blog title infers, I'll be reviewing WWE DVDs from my collection; offering opinions, whether or not said DVD/video is recommended, and insights.  There are two disclaimers I'm going to make.  First, professional wrestling, the WWE in particular, played a vital role in my childhood entertainment.  As such, a good percentage of reviews will be based on events I'm nostalgic for. The second is practically all the DVDs are event specific, as my collection is admittedly short of DVDs for individual stars.

For a quick background, I've been watching professional wrestling/sports entertainment since 1985.  My earliest memories are of watching Hulk Hogan feud or Roddy Piper, the Rock and Wrestling cartoon, Junkyard Dog, and the fact the British Bulldogs were my favorite tag team.  The height of my fandom was between the years of 1988-1991. After that, my interest waned (though I still watched), until it was piqued again with the NWO invasion angle.  Around 2000 my interest really dipped for various reasons. However, by then, I felt I had watched the WWE/WCW product for so long I'd figure to at least keep following it.

Grab some popcorn, a soda (or adult beverage if you prefer), sit back, and relax as I queue up the DVD player!