A few weeks ago I won a fairly large chunk of change on a lottery ticket, so what did I do with it? Well, the old me would have fun out and bought a bunch of junk, wasting it all in a week or so. But, the new mature me paid off a few bills, saved some for Christmas, and then had a couple hundred bucks left over. So I figured I should buy something for myself that I normally wouldn’t, being the cheap bastard I usually am.
Off to Best Buy I went, and picked up the most expensive DVD box set I’ve ever invested in. The Wrestlemania Anthology set. I wanted this badly, but $200+ is not money I usually have lying around for wrestling merchandise. But for a guy who only has 2 Manias on DVD and 1 on tape, this was something I could certainly use for sure. Not to mention the box looks quite pretty, and I like it too. For DVD collectors such as me, this is a good investment I think.
At first I wanted to pull out Wrestlemania 17 and watch it again, but then I got to thinking how long it’s been since I’ve seen some of the older ones. So I popped in Wrestlemania I and decided to go from there. I’ve seen all of them in the past (except for one) so it was quite interesting to watch them as the obsessed wrestling fan I am today and see how differently I view things. And that’s where the idea for this column came in. Join me as I watch each and every Wrestlemania, start to finish and compare my thoughts back when I first saw it to what I think today!
Now obviously the older ones are a bit more of an extreme comparison that stuff like Wrestlemania 20, but it should still be interesting how differently I view things just a couple years later. I won’t bother doing 21 in this series since it was less than a year ago, and quite frankly my views don’t change that much in 9 months or so. And I’ll divide this series into 4 parts, each covering 5 Manias. So enough with the jibba jabba, let’s get to Wrestlemania!!
Wrestlemania- The Original!
You know, in all honesty I really don’t think I’ve actually seen this show before this viewing. I’m pretty sure this is the only one too. So this could be an interesting first viewing. Since it’s my first time ever watching this one, I’ll go through match by match.
First thing I notice with this though is the quality. Most of the old Wrestlemanias I rented on VHS and the quality was for the most part kind of crappy from the tapes being work out too. But this DVD quality stuff makes it look like it could have been filmed last week even. Really cool. To the matches:
Tito Santana vs. The Executioner
Was the Executioner someone big? The voice sounds strangely familiar, but I can’t place it, and I’m too lazy to research I guess. Anyways, decent opener, but I noticed the old school ring bell and the super loose old school WWF ring ropes. Almost looks like you could fall outside the ring running the ropes back then. I remember loving Tito as a kid, but now it’s just a meh sort of relationship.
SD Jones vs. King Kong Bundy
Wow, SD Jones!! Ok, I don’t know much about him. See, even back in the day a hoss had to squash some smaller guys. Some things always stay the same!
Matt Borne vs. Ricky Steamboat
Man I love Steamboat. Always have too, he was just such a good face. Nothing too special in this one.
David Sammartino vs. Brutus Beefcake
I loved Beefcake as a kid, but I saw like 99.9% of him as “The Barber”. Kind of interesting seeing him as a heel for one of the first times, and David obviously turned out to be nothing like his dad was. Kind of cool seeing Bruno before he was so anti-WWE.
Greg Valentine vs. JYD (IC Title)
Match showed one thing to me, just how the fans have really changed. Something like a DQ these days and people get pissed off, especially in a Wrestlemania title match. But back then, well, they went nuts for JYD winning even if it was just a DQ. Kind of interesting I thought.
Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff vs. Windham and Rotundo
I’ve gained a lot of love for Windham lately seeing some old NWA stuff, and seeing Rotundo in WWF before the IRS days was pretty neat. Honestly I think Volkoff was one of the first heels I liked as a kid too, I don’t even know why. I think I found his singing funny back then.
Studd/Andre Bodyslam Match
Basically all the Andre stuff I can remember was as a heel, so again this was pretty fresh and new to me. Good to see Heenan being the good old Weasel he always was though!
Womens Match
Pretty cool seeing a womens match way up on the card like this, but it was obviously all the publicity it got with Cyndi Lauper that helped out too. Decent match, kept short and nothing too special though.
Hogan and Mr. T vs. Piper and Orndorff
Well, talk about adding as many celebrities as possible to a match! But for an event like Wrestlemania trying to get off the ground, I can totally understand why. Really cool to see Cowboy Bob, who I didn’t know at all as a kid but I love now as Randy’s manager.
Overall:
Really lackluster as far as match quality goes and such, but really it’s the feeling of the event that makes this one special. Just knowing what it started and seeing it in MSG was a really cool thing. Oh, and Lord Alfred Hayes? I liked him growing up but good GOD was he awful here. Must have been just beginning, he was so obviously reading cards and messing up every time he did it too.
Wrestlemania 2
Ok, this was one of the first wrestling events I ever saw. I was like 5 when it happened, but I remember my dad renting this to watch himself and I watched it with him. And I rented it a few years later to watch again from the video store by my house.
THEN: I really didn’t remember much about the 3 arenas thing, I always fast forwarded through the talking stuff to get to the wrestling. I remember loving George The Animal as a kid (I always wanted a “Mine” doll of my own) so his match against Savage is a classic for me. I thought the boxing match was pretty stupid (never a boxing fan as a kid I guess) and I remember always wondering why there were so many USA guys like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sergeant Slaughter and now Corporal Kirschner in this one. I remember wanting one of the NFL guys to win the battle royal since my dad was a big football fan, mainly cheering for The Fridge. I always loved the British Bulldogs so their win was pretty damn sweet, and I had no idea who Terry and Hoss Funk were so I cheered for Tito and JYD of course. And the big blue steel cage, I really wondered if Hulk could do it with his injured back and stuff. But he pulled through like the hero he was and the show ended happily ever after.
NOW: Well, not quite as good as I remember it. It’s been a hell of a long time since I watched it as a kid, and I really didn’t miss out I guess. The commentary was AWFUL from the ladies they brought in at each city. I understand why, having the usual commentary team across the country and all, but they just weren’t good at all. I’d almost take Todd Grisham over them. Almost. I loved Jake Roberts growing up, but didn’t see much of his heel work, so I loved his little promo here. Man was he good back here. Boxing match is still kind of silly, as was Corporal Kirschner. Battle Royal was pretty fun as they usually are, but I really marked out seeing The Hart Foundation back in the blue and black tights. Now that’s old school! One thing that’s pretty noticeable is where they edit out the old music on the DVDs, and the first case I’ve noticed it is Uncle Elmer’s theme. I have no clue what it used to be, but having this new music really loud and clear makes it pretty obvious his old stuff was edited. I liked the idea of the back injury going into Hogan/Bundy, it was some good psychology going into a match that wasn’t going to be close to a classic obviously. But most of all I really miss the big blue cage. Honestly any time I thought of this Mania I thought of the big blue.
Wrestlemania III
Ok, this one I remember as clear as day back then. I rented it way more than any other old school Wrestlemania, and even now I still remember it as the best of the beginning shows.
THEN: I was always in awe of the “93 000” people there for the show, and I remembered it as a show of some awesome matches and some matches of guys I didn’t know at all. So I usually fast forwarded through who I didn’t know. I remember wondering how King Kong Bundy could go from fighting Hulk Hogan one year to midgets the next year. And I remember thinking how sad it was that Roddy Piper was leaving when people were finally cheering for him, and I felt sorry for him for that. I remember liking “Dangerous” Danny Davis mainly since I liked the Hart Foundation (yes, even back then) and he was just so good at looking like a wimp. Heck, even back then I knew Savage/Steamboat was a classic match, I must have watched it a dozen times. They were both just so quick in the ring. The build to Roberts/Honky was one of the first things I remember watching on TV with my dad too, so I liked this match. But as a kid maybe my favorite match ever was Hogan/Andre. When he bodyslammed Andre I was just in shock, and couldn’t believe it. Just an amazing moment in wrestling history.
NOW: Some things don’t change much I guess. Although I do know who Harley Race is now, and feel quite bad seeing him just be another gimmick in WWF knowing what he accomplished in his career. And Piper’s retirement match? HA! He was just on Smackdown like a month ago, almost 20 years later. I do still like Danny Davis, he was a good chicken shit ref heel. I did always cheer for the faces as a kid, but I never liked Koko B. Ware. Still don’t, other than the Blue Blazer thing. Savage/Steamboat is still a classic, so I must say I had pretty good taste as a kid! And hate on Hogan all you want, that moment with the slam on Andre is still just huge in wrestling history. Match was far from a ***** classic, but this one was all about the moment involved. Match might not be my favorite ever anymore, but the magnitude of Hogan slamming Andre is always going to be huge.
Wrestlemania IV
Ah yes, time for the big title tournament. I don’t remember this one as much as some of the others, but some matches still stick out.
THEN: Really, I think I fast forwarded through a lot of the matches since I didn’t care for the guys in them that match. Mainly Don Muraco. One of the guys I just didn’t care for a single bit growing up. But I did hate Ted DiBiase with a huge passion though. He was just so mean to everyone, and his laugh made he want to see him lose badly. I always wondered why he didn’t fight Hogan too, I thought Hogan would shut him up for good! One team I did love in this show was Strike Force. I didn’t know who Rick Martel was, but he was Canadian so that was good enough to cheer for him. And I liked Tito too. I loved seeing Savage win the belt, but overall I hated this Wrestlemania.
NOW: Ok, here’s one I’ve really changed my mind about a ton. I hated it back then, and I love it now. The whole idea behind the tournament was great I though. Hogan was at a point he probably shouldn’t lose, so having the belt change not so cleanly then having the tournament was just an awesome idea. Seeing DiBiase and Duggan in a match is just a huge markout moment now that it wasn’t before, knowing the full history behind them now. The Hogan/Andre DQ was perfect to get them both out of the tourney, since realistically they should have been the final since they were both untouchable at the time. And I love DiBiase now a ton, he’s one of my all-time favorites. Too bad he never did get that title reign he deserved, but Savage did deserve it too.
Wrestlemania V
The Mega-Powers EXPLODE! Maybe the best built main event of Wrestlemania history.
THEN: I really loved Hercules making a face turn, and I didn’t even know why I liked him. He just looked tough I guess. One thing I never knew until I was much older was that Akeem was also the One Man Gang. Had no clue. I actually though Akeem was like albino or something, I did think he was black but had really really white skin. Ok, maybe I was a dumb kid. I’ll shut up about that now. One thing I’ll always remember about this show is Strike Force breaking up, I was so upset when it happened. One of the most shocking things I remember happening in wrestling back then. And I loathed Rick Martel for it too. But the main event, just wow, The story going into it was huge and had me pulling for Hulk to whole way. Savage needed to get beat and beat badly for being such an ass!
NOW: Ok, nothing more about Akeem, but seeing The Rockers now I could appreciate more than I did as a kid. I liked them as a kid, but now seeing them is a bigger deal. Blazer/Perfect was a lot of fun too, something I definitely overlooked since I didn’t care much about the Blazer when I first saw him. I am very sad to hear Demolition’s music gone though. Very very sad. They had one of the coolest themes ever, and now it’s replaced with generic rock music. I still do love the whole breakup of Strike Force story, but man, Martel oversold that forearm so much it was hilarious. Sold an accidental forearm like death for several minutes. And the Mega-Powers match was still great, and the build up is still perhaps my favorite build ever. What a story they told.
Ok, well that’s the first 5. I shall return with Wrestlemania’s 6-10 in the next couple weeks. It’s been a blast watching this old stuff, and I hope you had some fun reading along as I watch them again.
Email: mikesawaryn@hotmail.com
