WWF Wrestlemania 17 4/1/2001

WWF Wrestlemania 17 4/1/2001

Note: I originally reviewed this in 2 parts and wanted to put this into one post. My original reviews are here:

Part 1 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-x-seven-review.html

Part 2 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wrestlemania-x-seven-review.html

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Welcome to my review of Wrestlemania X-Seven. Wrestlemania X-Seven is in my opinion the best Wrestlemania of all-time and is by far my absolute favorite. The show was a classic and WWF at its best and I've been looking forward to reviewing this one for a while.

For a fun fact, I actually paid around  $70 for this a few years ago before WWE started heavily getting into selling DVD's. This was rather rare and expensive back in the day and next to Wrestlemania 2000, was one of the more expensive WWE DVD's. 

We are in Houston, Texas. Jim Ross and Paul Heyman are on commentary.

Pre-Show:

Steve Blackman agreed to be Grand Master Sexay's partner on Sunday Night Heat.

Pre-show Match - Grand Master Sexay and Steve Blackman vs X-Factor (X-Pac and Justin Credible)

X-Factor won with double superkicks. The match wasn't bad. X-Pac looked great throwing some nice kicks and Sexay was into it. Even Blackman was kind of fun here.

Wrestlemania 17 Main show:

Intercontinental Title - Chris Jericho vs William Regal

Chris Jericho won with a lionsault. The finish was a little unexpected but the match was very good. They both beat the crap out of each other and brought their best stuff out. I loved Regal's leg counter of the Walls of Jericho into the Regal Stretch and Regal's release german was nasty. Great match here. Rating:***1/2

Shane McMahon arrived in the limousine with the WCW1 license plate.

The Acolytes were in the back playing cards and looking for Tazz. Bradshaw then encouraged them all to get up and get going as its Wrestlemania, after a long speech.

Tazz, Farooq and Bradshaw vs Right to Censor (Val Venis, The Goodfather and Steven Richards)

Steven Richards tried to talk before the match before getting interrupted.

Bradshaw won with a clothesline from hell on The Goodfather. Short and sweet match here. They kept it action packed and did a good job considering some of the talent levels of wrestlers in there. Bradshaw really nailed Venis with the top rope backdrop and whammed Goodfather with the clothesline for the win. Rating:**3/4

Steph asked Linda how good it felt to have one child turn out okay and asked Trish to crack some ice with her hands.

WWF Hardcore Title - Raven vs The Big Show vs Kane

Kane won with a legdrop off the cage. The match was really fun as they put out all the stops. They went through walls, doors, glass and even ran each other over with cars. This was wacky and crazy and I really enjoyed it. Everyone went all out here and this was pretty memorable. Rating:***

Kurt Angle was in the back and was watching footage of Chris Benoit tapping him out. He was trying to rationalize it and say that since it wasn't an official match, it wasn't an official tap out. Edge and Christian tried to cheer him up, but Kurt was focused on Benoit.

We saw Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka at WWF New York.

WWF European Title - Eddie Guerrero vs Test

Eddie Guerrerro won with a belt shot. Good match here but it was loaded with interference. Saturn got involved twice and Malenko got involved during the finish. Test looked good here and I really liked his powerbombs.

Mick Foley said he would call the match right down the line tonight even though Vince McMahon fired him from being the commissioner.

Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

Kurt Angle won with a roll-up and a pull of the tights. Very good match here but I think it could have been better. I didn't like the ref bump, but everything else was good. I would have loved to have seen more suplexes, but what they did was good. I liked them stealing each others finishers and I loved Kurt's moonsault. The technical wrestling to start was also very good. Rating:***1/2

Michael Cole was talking to Regal when Kamala jumped in his office.

Kurt Angle was asked if he now respected Chris Benoit. He said no and Benoit attacked him.

Women's Title - Ivory vs Chyna

Chyna won in a quick squash. Not much else to say about this here, but it was one of Chyna's last WWE matches. She was in really good shape for this.

Vince McMahon told Trish to double Linda's medication and to bring her down when Shane McMahon was totally immobile.

Cole wanted to ask about the shocking development of Shane McMahon signing with WCW and Vince told Cole that if he wanted shocking, he will get it.

Street Fight - Special Ref: Mick Foley - Vince McMahon vs Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon beat Vince McMahon with the coast to coast dropkick with a trashcan. Well, this was all theatrics and drama. Those parts were pretty good with father vs son, turns, violence and Linda recovering. You can't really ask for more than that. The actual match had about 3 moves, with all of them coming from Shane. Shane also sold for a long time inbetween them with him probably laying down after the table bump for an easy 5 minutes. They did a really good job with it though and made this one a big match on the big stage.

Matt Hardy was interviewed about TLC and said none of the teams will be the same after it tonight.

TLC II - WWF World Tag Team Championship - The Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz

Edge and Christian won TLC II when Christian grabbed the belts while on Rhino's shoulders. Obviously, this was a heck of a match. This was the Mankind vs Undertaker Hell in a Cell of TLC matches and was TLC at its peak. This was a stunt show and completely insane. They were extremely creative and went beyond putting it all on the line for the big show. These 6 killed each other and I believe that to this day, they are still feeling remnants from it. There were three big highlights which included Jeff Hardy's swanton off the 16 foot ladder, Edge's spear to Jeff Hardy who was hanging in the air and Bubba and Matt going through 4 tables off of a ladder. It was excellent, exciting and it was well done storyline wise. This was an epic on the biggest stage possible and a truly unforgettable match. Rating:*****

Gimmick Battle Royale

The Iron Shiek got the win here due to being the only person who really couldn't take the bump. The match was quick and short as it should have been and after the match Sarge put the Cobra Clutch on Shiek.

The Undertaker vs Triple H

The Undertaker won with The Last Ride. This was a lot better in memory than in actuality. The match was mostly weapon shots and little else. The big spots here were also kind of goofy. Triple H got backdropped off a camera tower and it appeared to be a good bump. Then they showed it again and it was little more than a crash pad that HHH seemed to bounce nicely off of. The second was the sledgehammer shot near the end. HHH hit Taker in the back with it and somehow this caused Taker to bleed from his forehead. The pacing to the match was good though and it was set-up nicely, just the big spots really didn't deliver. Rating:***1/2

WWF Title - No DQ - The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin 

Stone Cold Steve Austin beat The Rock in 28:07 to win the WWF title. Excellent match. They brawled wonderfully and put everything in it. They used each others moves, they used moves they hadn't used in years and they even referenced Austin being Sharpshootered by Bret at Wrestlemania 13.  They bled and even did submission work. This match had it all. It was a per

fect cap to the Attitude Era and I don't think the announcers knew how true their words were that the WWF would never be the same again after this. This is probably the best match in Wrestlemania history and was a super classic. This is must see. Rating:*****

Overall thoughts: This is one of the best shows of all-time. Every match was good and the show featured two 5-star matches. This is a must see show and the last show of the Attitude Era.  This show had something for everyone and is a Wrestlemania that may never be matched.

WWF Wrestlemania 2000 4/2/2000

WWF Wrestlemania 2000 4/2/2000

Note: I originally reviewed this in 3 parts with gifs. I wanted to get this into one post. Here is the original 3 part review:

Part 1 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-2000-review.html

Part 2 -  https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-2000-review_31.html

Part 3 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-2000-review_9129.html 

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We are in Anaheim, CA.  

Welcome to my review of Wrestlemania 2000. Wrestlemania 2000 aka Wrestlemania 16 was one that I always enjoyed that others didn't. Sure, it wasn't Wrestlemania 17, but that is one of the top 5 shows of all time. It was sure as heck better than Wrestlemania 15 though and there was some good stuff on it.

Like Wrestlemania 17, this was hard to find in the era before video on demand. Unless you knew where to look online or wanted to pay huge prices on ebay, you weren't going to find this one too long after its release date.  I think I dropped about 60 bucks on the DVD version of this but hey, youtube was only a dream at that point in time.

Lillian Garcia sang the national anthem.

Ice T came out with The Godfather and D'Lo Brown. He sang, "Pimpin' Ain't Easy, Man".

The Godfather and D'Lo Brown vs The Big Boss Man and Bull Buchanan

Bull Buchanan won with a top rope legdrop. The match was actually pretty good which surprised me. Bull looked great here. He was so athletic and seemed to be able to do anything and the crowd liked the faces. Fun stuff overall here but it could have been a minute or two shorter. Rating:***

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon bragged a little in the back about Wrestlemania.

They had a meeting for rules about the hardcore battle royale. The match would be 15 minutes long and there could be a million pinfalls or none at all.

WWF Hardcore Title - Hardcore Battle Royale

This goes 15 minutes and anytime someone pins the current champ, they become the champ. Crash started out the champ but Tazz pinned him seconds in to become the champ.

Hardcore Holly won with some type of glass shot on Crash. The ref never counted three but Hardcore Holly won anyway. Awful match here with people getting legit injured and probably more concussions in one match than ever before. This wasn't even remotely interesting but at least some people got WM paydays.

Al Snow was talking to someone in the men's toilet and Steve Blackman told him no shenanigans tonight. Someone flushed, Al made a face and that was it.

Head Cheese (Steve Blackman and Al Snow) vs T&A (Test and Albert)

Test won with a top rope elbow. This one was pretty much a fail. WWF was interested in getting the piece of cheese over and Trish's tits with the match being secondary. The match wasn't bad but this was really Trish's tits vs Chester McCheeserton. They also ran the storyline of Chester McCheeserton making unwanted advances at Trish. Test and Albert made a decent team but the name killed them.

Head Cheese beat up Chester McCheeserton after.

They did the Austin Powers skit with Mae Young grabbing things to cover up the naked Kat.

Devon said the WWF was against them as they had to defend in a ladder match, but they said they would win. Bubba Ray said thou shall not f**k with the Dudleyz.

WWF Tag Team Titles - Triple Threat Ladder Match - The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D'Von Dudley) vs Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy)

Edge and Christian won the match after grabbing the belts. Great match as you would expect. Tons of big and memorable spots here and there was no shortage of action. While this wasn't as great as TLC 2, it was very good. The bumps were so big here that even the smaller bumps were still pretty rough. I thought Jeff getting tossed onto the outside floor from the ring had to be one of the worst of the night along Christian/Matt going off the ladder to the floor. Jeff's swanton also looked brutal as he hit the ground hard. The final bump was really cool as it looked like Matt Hardy walked the plank to his execution. This was a classic and one that you won't forget if you ever see. Rating:****1/2

Mick Foley was interviewed with Linda McMahon. Foley said it was like a fairytale to him to be in the main event and he wanted to make the main event one people talk about for the next 10 years.

Cat Fight - The Kat vs Terri Runnels

Moolah pulled Kat out of the ring so Terri could win. This wasn't really a match and was by and large, stupid. The big story here was Mae Young making out with Val Venis. Mae Young hit a Bronco Buster on Moolah after and Kat stripped Terri. 

Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero were interviewed. Dean said they'd break the legs of Too Cool and Eddie Guerrero was talking about laying the latino heat on Chyna. 

2 Cool and Chyna did a promo. 2 Cool said it was time to kick it.

2 Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty and "Grandmaster Sexay" Brian Christopher) and Chyna vs The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Saturn and Dean Malenko)

Chyna won with a sleeper into a drop. The match was pretty good but Chyna's pants broke at the worst time - the finish. Still, there was a ton of action, the crowd was hot and the storyline was fun. Chyna and 2 Cool were both pretty underrated, well I guess everyone in this match was pretty underrated. Good stuff here though with a great crowd. Rating:***

Big Show said to Shane McMahon that he would unplug the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, retire Foley and make Triple H do a game over.

Bob Backlund apparently came out during Heat and revealed that he made Kurt Angle put both belts on the line. Angle wasn't happy and put him in a chickenwing.

Angle talked to Tommy about being the Euro-Continental Champion (IC title + European title) and asked for extra security tonight as the women and children will be all on him and he wants to celebrate in the crowd.

Before his match, Jericho said he couldn't guarantee victory but he would make sure his opponents would get a beating.

Triple Threat Match - 2/3 Falls - 1st Fall is for the Intercontinental title, 2nd fall is for the European Championship - Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho

Chris Benoit won the IC title with a top rope headbutt and Chris Jericho won the second fall and the European title with a lionsault. There was no third fall for some reason which was confusing since it was supposed to be a 2/3 falls match. That part was confusing but the match was good. Benoit hit lots of stiff chops and did most of the cool stuff here. The match was kind of short though for these three. It only went about 15 minutes or so without intros and could have used more time for nearfalls and stuff. The match felt like a piece of a story, but not the end of it. Rating:***1/2

Vince McMahon was interviewed. Vince hinted at interfering by saying, "I guarantee, I'll get it right". 

Triple H talked to Steph in the back and said he would show the world who the man is tonight and won't allow himself to be beaten.

X-Pac and Road Dogg vs Kane and Rikishi Phatu

Kane got the win with the tombstone. This was all about Rikishi hitting the stinkface in this short match. Once he did that on Tori, Kane hit the tombstone and that was it.

2 Cool came down with The San Diego Chicken and got Rikishi up for a dance. The Chicken turned out be Pete Rose. Kane chokeslammed Pete Rose after the match and Rikishi hit a stinkface on Pete Rose.

The Rock was interviewed. The Rock basically just said he waited a year to return to Wrestlemania and said he would win the title.

WWF Title - Fatal Four Way Elimination Match - Triple H vs The Rock vs The Big Show vs Mick Foley

Triple H won here after Vince hit The Rock with a chair at 36:28.

This match was awful anyway you look at it. First of all, this match with a love letter to The McMahon Family from The McMahon Family. Yeah, there was a match here but most of the focus near the end wasn't on it.

Let's start before the first elimination. The Big Show had Triple H up for a chokeslam to eliminate him and Mick Foley nut shotted Big Show. Why? I have no idea at all. Then it got worse. Triple H interrupted a pin on The Rock later again for no reason at all. Mick Foley then turned on Rock, for no reason at all to JOIN THE MAN WHO RETIRED HIM, TRIPLE H. Triple H then eliminated him of course because he's The Game and Foley came back to hit him with a barbed wire bat. Why? I don't know but the only explanation I can find is that he's a sore loser.

Then, we got to the real crap here with The Rock and Triple H remaining. The McMahon's all get involved. Vince goes after Triple H and throws him in the ring to be pinned...for some odd reason. Vince and Shane have a long fight where they didn't cut to the ring for about 2 minutes. Shane attacks Vince and then Vince comes back later and attacks him. The Rock and Triple H fight around the crowd for no reason at all right before this. Vince then gets a chair later and naturally should try to brain Triple H. Instead he hits The Rock. Why? Again, I don't know. And if that was the plan all along, why did he try to get Triple H eliminated? Triple H then OF COURSE gets the pin, because he ain't doing a job and Vince and Stephanie hug.

The ring work was fine but the match went on forever. 35 minutes, plus intros, felt like a good hour and wasn't far from it. The match would have been a fine 20 minutes or so, but they really stretched it out and did stuff just cause. Foley not getting enough air on his dive hurt the match and caused Triple H to move around awkwardly for a few minutes until he came up with another solution to somehow break the table.

Take away 15 minutes, the McMahon crap and the stupidity and the match would have been in the *** range.

After the match, Steph and Vince hugged and The Rock cleared them plus Shane out to end the show. 

Overall thoughts: The show was pretty good up until the main event. The hardcore battle royal was the worst thing next to the main event. The main stunk though and one bad main event even with the best of undercard matches brings down the show.

The best match was easily the ladder match with probably the threeway for the titles not being far behind. Yes, I know there were tons of multi-man matches here but the roster was so huge at the time that I guess they wanted to get more people on the show. I don't think it hurt anything to be honest and in some cases, it made things better. Steve Austin not being on this show in any way, shape or form kind of hurt the show though. It didn't feel like a Wrestlemania with Steve Austin and I think he should have been the special referee in the main event at worst. I guess it wouldn't have made a huge difference in quality but it at least would have gotten the biggest star in the WWF on the show.

As a whole, I'd recommend checking the show out. It's pretty good minus the main and the battle royal. Kat/Terri wasn't that good but I'd rather watch two girls in thongs have a bad match than two guys in underwear have a bad one. Nothing is really great though minus the ladder match.

WWF Summerslam 1992 8/29/1992

WWF Summerslam 1992 8/29/1992

Pre-show thoughts: The build going into this one was maybe the worst build ever to a major PPV. WWF spent months after Wrestlemania VIII building up Flair/Macho, Warrior/Shango, Bret/Shawn, Tatanka/Martel, Money Inc/Natural Disasters, Legion of Doom/Beverly Brothers, Undertaker/Berzerker, Mountie/Sgt. Slaughter and Nailz/Big Boss Man. Every single last one of these matches was cancelled with about a month to go. We got no payoffs on any of them and some were even still being built up on house shows while Summerslam matches were getting set up which created parallel universes. I've never seen anything like it. It was like a Vince had a sudden spell of amnesia. It made all of the television from Wrestlemania VIII to July 1992 completely pointless.

The promotion also took a major hit star power wise after Wrestlemania VIII. Hulk, Sid, Texas Tornado and Roddy Piper were either gone or taking breaks for various reasons. Their replacements including Papa Shango and Nailz were not on the same level.

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We are in London, England at Wembley Stadium.

Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are our commentators. Bobby puts a crown on and says he's the King of England. Vince says he's a royal pain. Vince wonders whose corner Mr. Perfect will be in tonight.

The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) vs Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase and IRS)

These two were feuding earlier in the year but there was no real build to this one.

IRS gets on the mic beforehand. He says if the British tax cheats paid their fair share, they wouldn't put the burden on the royal family. LOD ride in on motorcycles and have gold shoulderpads. They also have Rocco and Ellering while Inc has Jimmy Hart.

Ted chops Hawk and bangs his head off the buckles. Ted then slides out to avoid a punch. Ted is hit by Animal from behind then lariated over the top. Animal then lariats him on the floor.

IRS hits shots on Animal then is sent hard into the buckles. Animal steps on IRS's tie then gorilla press slams him. Hawk works IRS' arm. IRS eye rakes him then sleepers him. Hawk is nearly out but rams IRS into the corner. He corner lariats him.

Hawk misses a top rope diving clothesline and goes out. Ted slams Hawk on the floor. Hawk's head is banged off of IRS' boot then he is thrown backwards into the buckles. IRS elbow drops Hawk. IRS chinlocks Hawk then Ted puts the chinlock on Hawk. Money Inc then switch for a 2nd time without tagging.

Ted knee drops Hawk. Hawk bangs Ted's head off the buckles. Hawk runs over IRS with a lariat. Ted hits knee drops on Hawk. IRS chokes Hawk with the tag rope. Hawk is double teamed in the corner then IRS and Hawk double clothesline each other.

Animal boots Ted after getting tagged in and flying shoulders him. Animal dropkicks IRS then pounds on Ted. Animal hits a double lariat. IRS is atomic dropped out. Animal corner lariats Ted. Animal electric chairs Ted but IRs dropkicks him. Hawk then drops IRS with a punch.

Ted is thrown into IRS then powerslammed by Animal. Animal then pins him.

Thoughts: I guarantee the finish happened due to Ted and IRS not wanting to take the doomsday device bump. There's no other explanation for it since the powerslam win was a worse ending. The match was fine with the heels working over Hawk, Animal getting and regaining control then the faces won. They say Hawk was really out of it during this match and the only thing I noticed was that he just didn't have a lot of energy out there.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Ric Flair.  Ric says when you talk about the bright lights, the big city and the WWF, you gotta talk about Ric Flair. Ric is asked why he's in his wrestling attire (since he's not on the card) and he says you gotta always be ready for action.

Gene asks about whose corner Mr. Perfect will be in tonight. Ric won't say. He says he's in the dressing room...the dressing room of the winner.

Sean Mooney interviews Virgil. Virg says Nailz handcuffed Boss Man and beat him like a dog. He said he survived the toughest streets in the world and the toughest street tonight is Wembley Stadium. He says he's too legit to quit.

Nailz vs Virgil

Nailz basically came to the WWF to fight The Big Boss Man. Instead of having Boss return here against Nailz, Nailz is fighting Virgil.

Nailz chokes him in the corner to start. Virg hits punches then running lariats him. Virg hits a nice dropkick. Nailz eye rakes him then Virg rolls him up. Nailz then chokes him again. Virg is thrown out. Virg's head is banged off the apron.

Virg double boots him out of the corner and is lariated. Nailz does a choke/chinlock on Virg and Virg is out. Nailz wins.

Thoughts: It was the usual weak Nailz match. His finisher looks awful and illegal and he provided little entertainment value here. It didn't go on too long thankfully.

Nailz grabs his nightstick after and hits Virg in the gut with it. He then chokes him with it.

Lord Alfred Hayes tries to interview Macho Man in his dressing room. He says he's been investigating the whereabouts of Mr. Perfect. He says he can't confirm that Perfect is in there but says he will keep investigating. 

Mean Gene interviews Sensational Sherri and we see clips of how Michaels/Martel came to be. Gene says Sherri is responsible for tonight's stipulations. Sherri says she always gets what she wants. She says both men are handsome and she sees no reason why either should hurt themselves. She says both men agreed not to hit each other in the face. Sherri says she will stand by her man and Shawn tells her to get going.

Rick Martel vs Shawn Michaels 

Shawn was feuding with Bret since after Mania and he seemed destined for an IC Title shot here, but he gets Rick instead.

Rick comes out in tennis attire. Shawn has a mirror with him and Sherri is basically wearing a thong with chaps. Vince says Sherri will leave with the winner.

They lock up and Rick side headlocks him. Rick pulls the hair then cartwheels. SM side headlocks him, slides through the legs and dropkicks him. Rick hits him from behind and stomps on him.

Rick hits knees to the gut and misses a 2nd rope twisting crossbody. SM takes him over by the wrist then they each take each other down by the hair. Rick throws Shawn out to the floor. Sherri tries to revive SM. Rick pulls Sherri away and hugs her. Sherri smiles.

Rick back body drops SM in the ring. SM backrolls him and pulls the tights. They both pull each other's tights and go into the ropes. SM superkicks him in the chest for 2. SM hits shots to the gut.

Rick runs into SM's knee in the corner. SM tries to pin him with his feet on the ropes but is caught. Rick rolls up SM for 2. They yell at each other and shove each other. SM slaps him then Rick slaps him back. Sherri gets on the apron as they shove each other. They go to punch each other and Sherri faints on the apron. Sherri then rolls off the apron to the floor.

Rick tries to do chest compressions to revive Sherri. Shawn and Rick shove each other over Sherri. SM then punches Rick and Rick punches back. They fight in the aisle way and they go to a double countout.

Thoughts: It was an unusual match on paper as it was heel vs heel. The premise was odd as Sherri basically flirted with Rick leading up to this but Shawn didn't care for some reason. The work was good but it would have been nice to get a finish here.

Rick and SM fight up the aisle. Sherri wakes up and looks at them then faints or pretends to faint again. The fight is then broken up. Shawn then carries Sherri out. Rick then nails Shawn as he carries her and drops both. Rick then carries Sherri. Shawn then hits Rick from behind and Sherri and Rick both go down. Shawn tries to carry Sherri again. Rick comes out with a bucket filled with something. He teases throwing it then dumps it on Sherri. Sherri then wakes up as Shawn chases Rick. Sherri eventually wakes up and runs to the back.

Thoughts: This was unusual as well. I don't know what was going on here. 

Sean Mooney interviews The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart. Saggs asks if we saw the mascara running off that dogs face. Knobbs says he thought the wicked witch of the west melted when she got wet. Saggs says Macho/Warrior is a nasty situation and says they beat them. The Nasty's don't know why they don't have a title shot after beating them. They ask Hart if they will get a title shot and he says of course they will.

WWF Tag Titles - The Natural Disasters (Typhoon and Earthquake) vs The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake Beverly)

The ND's recently won the titles off-air at a house show. The Bev's had a decent feud going with The LOD that was dropped for this.

The Genius does a poem before the match.

The Bev's hit The ND's from behind and boot them in the corners. Ty lariats Blake then Quake lariats Beau. Blake takes a sandwich splash as does Beau. The Bev's then get sandwiched splashed together.

Ty back elbows Blake and slams him. Ty then stands on his gut. and misses a legdrop. Blake goes for the slam but Ty drops down on him. Beau breaks it up and gets nailed by Quake. Ty corner splashes Blake then Quake splashes Ty on a failed double team.

Ty is stomped on by The Bev's. Blake pops up Beau into a splash on Ty. Beau is thrown out of the ring on the pin attempt. Heenan says Shawn Michaels has left Wembley Stadium. Blake 2nd rope diving headbutts Ty and legdrops him.

Ty is bridged on the ropes and takes a butt drop to the back. Ty is choked on the 2nd rope by The Bev's. Heenan says you could take Ty to the park and charge people to ride him. Beau top rope double axe handles Ty and pounds on him. Ty's head is banged off Blake's boot. Blake chokes Ty with something.

Blake 2nd rope double axe handles Ty then diving headbutts him for 2. Ty is bridged on the ropes and Beau top rope double axe handles him. Beau chokes Ty with the bottom rope as does Blake. Ty hits a double lariat. Ty holds Blake for a slam but Beau to rope dropkicks them both over. Beau distracts Quake and the ref on the floor. Blake hits Ty with Genius' scroll.

Quake elbow drops Blake. Quake hits shots on Blake then hiptosses him. Quake belly to belly suplexes him. Quake hits corner spears on Beau then hits a double shoulderblock. Quake corner splashes Beau then powerslams him. Quake butt drops Beau and picks up the win.

Thoughts: The work was fine and the match made sense but it was a little long and nothing too special. The Bev's got more in on The ND's than any other team I have seen. There was little reason to think The Bev's were winning here since The ND's just won the titles back.

The Genius is on the apron and gets pulled in by The ND's. The ND's then throw him over the top. 

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews The Bushwhackers. Butch says they are having fun at Summerslam and still don't know who Mr. Perfect will be with. Gene says a dentist in London is trying to see Luke the London Bridge. He says The BW's were also invited to dinner at Buckingham Palace. Butch says he's looking forward to it and says they will have sardines. Butch says they also may get to sit on the royal throne.

Lord Alfred Hayes is at The Ultimate Warrior's locker room. He thinks Mr. Perfect is inside. He says he's going to open the door and surprise them. He opens the door and it is quickly closed in his face. He says it doesn't mean Mr. Perfect is in the locker room but it was a shocking act of rudeness.

Crush vs The Repo Man

Repo was feuding with The British Bulldog prior to this but that got dropped as Davey was going to be in the main.

Repo hits Crush from behind. Crush no sells it then gorilla press slams him. Repo goes out. Crush running lariats jhhim outside. Crush hits shots to the gut and puts Repo on the top rope. He then pounds on him there.

Crush backbreakers him. Repo backdrops him. Crush belly to belly suplexes Repo then backbreakers him. Crush misses a knee drop and fires up as Repo pounds him. Repo bangs Crush's face off the mat. Crush throws him out on the pin attempt. Repo jumps off the top and is caught with a powerslam. Crush does the head squeeze on Repo and submits him to win.

Thoughts: We didn't really need to this one. It wasn't anything too special and was mostly Crush no selling Repo.

Mean Gene Okerlund talks about the Macho/Warrior/Perfect/Flair storyline and he tells us we are going to the main event now.

Vince and Bobby talk. Vince says Bobby knows whose team Perfect is on. Bobby says he doesn't know and they wouldn't tell him. Vince thinks Bobby said Warrior sold out then Bobby brings up Macho.

WWF Title - "Macho Man" Randy Savage (c) vs The Ultimate Warrior

They had an easy storyline with Warrior retiring Macho and Macho trying to prove himself here but instead this became all about whose side Mr. Perfect would be on. They also had an easy Flair/Macho final blow off match that they could have done since they had been feuding all year, but they instead settled for this.

The bell rings with both guys still in their entrance gear and Mr. Perfect nowhere to be found. Macho offers a handshake and Warrior obliges. Warrior is pulled into him, they bump chests and get their entrance gear off. They lock up and Macho clean breakers him. Warrior shoves him off the lock up and pounds his chest. Macho knees him in the gut then running lariats him. He then lariats him from behind for 1. Macho comes off the top and is hit in the gut. Warrior atomic drops him twice. Warrior running lariats him for 2 then shoulders him over.

Warrior misses an elbow drop. Macho pounds on him and knee drops him. Macho sleepers him and Warrior jawbreakers him out. Warrior facebusters Macho for 2. Warrior chops and punches him down in the corner. Warriors boots him in the gut in the corner. Warrior short arm clotheslines him for 2. Macho pulls him into the buckles. Warrior is lariated over the top. Macho gets a 2 count on him. Macho top rope double axe handles him. Warrior runs in place and takes another one. Macho gets a 2 count.

Macho comes off the top and is caught. Warrior backbreakers him for 2. Warrior hits a bad punch then strikes him down. Warrior punches Macho in the corner then bearhugs him. Warrior then lets go of it for 2. Warrior side slams him for 2. Macho cradles him for 2. Macho spinning neckbreakers him. Macho pulls Warrior's throat over the top rope for 2. Macho goes for a suplex but holds his back in pain.

Warror hits him in the lower back. Warrior suplexes him for 2. Warrior runs at him and is pulled over the top rope to the floor. Macho top rope double axe handles him outside. Warrior then falls off the ring platform.

Warrior's head is banged off the steps. Macho sends him into the post for 2. Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect come out. Macho sunset flips him for 2. Warrior lariats him for 2. Warrior slams him. Warrior goes for a splash but Macho gets his knees up. They double clothesline each other and both go down. Perfect trips Macho from the outside. Warrior drops Macho with a punch.

Macho is thrown into the corner and bangs his head off the bottom buckle. Macho is supposed to be thrown into the ref but maybe hits his arm at best. The ref goes down and Warrior slams Macho. Warrior goes up top and top rope double axe handles him but the ref takes a while to count. 

Warrior argues with the ref, Macho knees him from behind and Warrior knocks the ref out of the ring. Macho piledrivers Warrior. Perfect gets in the ring and lifts up Warrior. Ric then punches Warrior in the face with brass knucks. Macho slams Warrior. Macho hits a top rope elbow drop on Warrior but the ref does another delayed count of 2.

Macho pounds on Warrior and Warrior hulks up. He shakes the ropes and prances. He nails Macho and hits running lariats. Warrior shakes the ropes again then flying shoulders him. Warrior gorilla press drops Macho. Perfect trips Warrior then Flair chairs Warrior in the back as he runs the ropes. Macho looks at Perfect and Flair and sees that Warrior is knocked out. Macho talks to the ref and knows something happened. Perfect trips Macho and Macho tries to kick him. Macho goes up top for the elbow drop. Macho then dives out onto Flair. Flair hits Macho with the chair in the knee as he comes down. Macho then gets counted out.

Flair and Perfect attack Macho and Flair figure fours him. Warrior tries to get up and rolls out of the ring. Flair grabs the chair and Warrior takes it away. Warrior chases Flair and Perfect up the aisle with the chair. The heels run and Warrior beats his chest.

Warrior goes back in the ring and stands over top of Macho. Warrior helps Macho up and gives him the title. He then holds his arm up and poses with him. Warrior then walks Macho to the back.

Thoughts: The storyline with Mr. Perfect didn't make a lot of sense from the start and ultimately didn't really get us anywhere here. I thought they could have gotten a lot more out of it than they did. Maybe he'd coach Macho for a while then coach Warrior for a bit. Maybe he'd try to throw one of them a weapon, they'd reject it then he'd help the other guy. Then they could have caught onto him, beat him up together and they could have gone with Flair just chairing them and causing a dirty finish. I think that would have been better and would have fit the story better. There was a lot of drama in the match and they figuring out that Perfect/Flair were against both of them was a nice moment as was them walking out together. But a DQ finish at Summerslam is pretty lame and the match was not as good as their Mania match, though just as long. I'd still it was good overall but this had potential to be so much more.

Mean Gene interviews Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair. Gene says there was no deal. Perfect says there was a done deal between him and Flair. He says Plan B is now in charge. Flair says he should have had the shot to begin with. He says he knows Warrior wants him now and he wants him too. He says him and Perfect are the two most perfect gentlemen alive. Flair says that the belt is coming home to him.

The Undertaker vs Kamala

Harvey Wippleman does the intro for Kamala as usual. The Undertaker comes out on the back of a hearse with Paul Bearer leading the way in a cool entrance.

Kam tries to attack Taker from behind but takes uppercuts. Taker chokes him. Kam misses a splash. Taker hits more uppercuts. Taker rope walks, Harvey gets on the apron and Kam pulls Taker down. Kam lariats Taker over the top. Taker grabs Kim chee and Harvey then Kam hits Taker. Kam kicks him in the gut and hits more chops. Taker's head is banged off the steps.

Kam headbutts him. Kam hits chops and Taker chokeslams him. Taker flying clotheslines Kam. Taker goes to slam Kam and Kim chee hits Taker. Kamala is DQ'd.

Taker punches Kim out of the ring. Kam kicks Taker from behind then corner splashes him. Kam slams Taker. Kam hits a splash then a splash off the 2nd rope. Kam goes up top and splashes Taker (they had been teasing him trying to go up top for a few weeks prior to this). Kamala goes to leave and Taker sits up. Taker goes after him and Kamala is shocked and scared. Kamala walks back in fear and trips in a funny moment. Taker then follows Kam to the back.

Thoughts: The match was short and had yet another dirty finish. The match wasn't that much but I liked them finally delivering on the much teased Kamala top rope splash. Kamala acting scared and running from Taker was top notch acting here. 

Sean Mooney interviews The British Bulldog. Davey says they are facing a lot of pressure in the family but he didn't make this, Jack Tunney did. He said he fought hard for 2 years to be the #1 contender for the IC Title. He says Bret is the champ and his brother in law but he says he doesn't know him when they fight. He says he hopes the families re-unite after. Davey says stepping out in front of his countrymen isn't pressure, it's a dream. He says he also dreams he will be the next WWF IC champ.

Bret Hart is interviewed by Mean Gene. 

Bret says he has proven he works well under pressure. He gets mad at Davey saying he never met him when they wrestle. Hart says to take a good look in his face and tell him he doesn't know him. Bret says he introduced Bulldog to Diana in the first place. He says Davey wouldn't be where he is in the WWF without him. He says Davey wanted a shot at the gold and the big fight and he got the big fight. He says Davey's big dream will turn into a nightmare and will think he woke up in the dungeon of Windsor Castle tomorrow. 

We get some bagpipe players and Roddy Piper joins them, making his first appearance in a while.

Sean Mooney interviews Diana Hart. She says it'll be the biggest match in the lives of Bret and Davey. She says she's worried about what they will do to each other. She says she's not concerned about who wins. She says she loves them both and says the bonds they have are more valuable than anything. She says she has the honor of giving support to both Bret and Davey tonight.

WWF Intercontinental Title - Bret Hart (c) vs The British Bulldog

Davey has Lennox Lewis walking him to the ring with the flag. 

They stare down and shove each other. Bret is side headlocked then Davey shoulders him out of the ring. Bret does side headlock takeovers and he grounds Davey. Bret backrolls him and cradles him. He then headlock takeovers him again. Davey hammerlocks him and knees the arm.

Bret wristlocks him. Davey headflips out and armlocks Bret. Bret is catapulted into the buckles. Davey lifts him up by the arm and keeps the armlock on. Davey crucifixes him then armlocks him. Bret knees him in the gut then stomps him in the gut. Bret chinlocks him. Davey runs into a hard back elbow. Bret elbow drops him. Bret atomic drops him.

Davey goes for a crucifix but Bret turns it into a drop on him. Bret then chinlocks him and clearly tells him what to do next. Bret shoulders Davey then Davey flips him with his feet. Davey runs into a boot in the corner. Bret bulldogs him.

Bret goes up top and Davey throws him down. Davey misses a top rope diving headbutt. Davey's face is banged off the mat. Davey tries to push Bret into the ropes but Bret slides under him and Davey goes out. Bret plancha's out and yanks Davey's head down to the floor.

Bret rams Davey's back into the post. Davey is sent hard into the buckles and Bret hits him in the back. Bret russian legsweeps him for 2. Bret hits euros on Davey then dropkicks him.  Bret back body drops him for 2. Bret chinlocks him. Bret suplexes him for 2 then chinlocks him. Davey backslides him. Bret backbreakers him then 2nd rope elbow drops him on the back for 2. Bret yanks on Davey's hair. Bret snapmares him and chinlocks him.

Bret hits punches then sleepers Davey. Davey ropebreaks and Bret stomps him. Bret sleepers him. Davey rams Bret in the corner to escape. Davey tries to gorilla press Bret but drops him and Bret is crotched on the 2nd rope. Davey lariats Bret several times for 2. Davey suplexes him for 2. Bret is sent chest first into the buckles. Davey powerslams Bret for 2. Bret germans him for 2.

Davey superplexes Bret for 2. They double clothesline each other. Bret sharpshooters him from the mat and Davey ropebreaks. Bret sunset flips him but Davey blocks it and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a good match with Bret working the back. There were tons of rest holds here as Davey forgot the match they had planned. Bret was caught multiple times telling Davey what to do and this was a total carry job with Davey not doing all that much here.  They started off doing technical wrestling then Bret got rough about halfway through. The finish wasn't that well built up to here though but I liked the sharpshooter attempt from the mat near the end. The crowd was super hot all throughout here.

Davey offers Bret a hand up after. Diana cries. Bret and Davey shake hands then hug in a nice moment. Diana comes in and hugs them both. They then get sparklers and fireworks as they all pose together.

Overall thoughts: The opener was fine. Nailz's match sucked like usual. Martel/Shawn was going fine, then we went to a countout finish which was disappointing. The tag title match was okay but it went long and wasn't great. Crush/Repo wasn't that good. I thought Macho/Warrior was good overall but not quite as good as their Mania match and I thought there were better ways to get Mr. Perfect involved. I was disappointed with the countout finish. Kamala/Taker was short with a dirty finish. The main was good but Bret did almost all of the work in it and you could see him telling Davey what to do throughout the whole match. I'd give this one a 5 out of 10 total. The two big matches did deliver, but there were a lot of dirty finishes and they didn't have anywhere close to the best show possible. It was an an average show overall.

WWF Wrestlemania VIII 4/5/1992

 WWF Wrestlemania VIII 4/5/1992

We are at The Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon are commentary and welcome us to the show. Heenan is looking around for the giant centerfold of Miss Elizabeth that Mr. Perfect promised. Gorilla tells him not to start.

Reba McIntyre sings the national anthem.

El Matador vs Shawn Michaels

Shawn just turned heel in the last 2 months and picked up Sherri, who was with Ted Dibiase. Shawn has already said he wanted the winner of Hart/Piper and I think it's pretty obvious he will win here.

Shawn pokes him in the chest and is shoved. Tito hits a flying crossbody for 2. They shove each other and Tito side headlocks him. Shawn hits punches then is lariated over the top. Sherri then runs to go check on Shawn.

Shawn hits corner spears and punches him. Shawn goes up and over and hits more punches. Shawn tries it again and is punched. Tito side headlocks him for a while. Tito headlocks him and side headlocks him again. 

Tito is thrown out and Shawn backbreakers him. Tito runs into a superkick from Shawn. Tito hits some punches, hits a flying forearm and sends Shawn out. Shawn's head is banged off the steps.

Tito slingshot shoulderblocks him and hulks up. Tito hits punches then knee lifts him. Tito atomic drops him and hits a flying forearm to the back of the head. Shawn goes out. Tito tries to suplex him in but Shawn holds onto the ropes and ends up pinning him as he falls on him.

Thoughts: This was too slow. The first half of this was all chinlocks and headlocks which wasn't super interesting and wasn't suited for an opening match. The latter part of this got better though. The finish kind of seemed botch as Shawn couldn't keep hold of the ropes on the finish.

Mean Gene interviews The Legion of Doom on the stage. Hawk likely failed a drug test leading to their untelevised tag title loss and they haven't been seen on TV for a while since then. They were almost assuredly going to be on this card had that not happened. The LOD have Paul Ellering with them, who is appearing on WWF TV for the first time.

Paul says he's the bad apple who put The LOD together. He says ability made them the greatest tag team of all time and says honor formed their bond. He says revenge unites them. He says this is the beginning of the end. He says he has not come to get rich but to get even.

Animal says they looked adversity in the face and beat everyone. Animal says Jimmy Hart cheated their own team in The Natural Disasters. Animal says they will get revenge on them and stop at nothing. Animal asks how Money Inc will feel when the crowd is chanting LOD at them.

Hawk says they have been a runaway train with no one driving it. Hawk says that's scary but it's scarier now as we see who is driving the train. Hawk says the missing piece of the puzzle is complete and the last link of the chain makes them whole again. Hawk says their hearts lay with the fans. Paul says every team asks if the going up is worth the going down. Paul says they earn their money by beating people for it. Paul says when his boys are very good, but when they are bad, they are very bad. Paul says he's the procurator of destruction. He says he is the small detail the separates the good from the great and says the small details will take them back to the tag titles that belong to them. Animal says they don't care who are the champs, they won't let anyone down. 

Thoughts: The LOD is back after being out for a few weeks. The LOD don't really need Paul as they can both talk good enough but I guess it makes sense that they grabbed him since they are on the comeback trail.

Sean Mooney interviews Jake Roberts. Sean asks if Jake plans to bring a snake to the ring. Jake brings up that Jack Tunney recently banned snakes from being brought to the ring. We see clips of Jake trapping Taker's hand in a casket at The Funeral Parlor. He says he was just having fun. He says the biggest and strongest man doesn't always win, but the smartest and coldest man does. He says he set the trap for Taker and got a helpless Taker. We then see Jake hitting Taker with a ddt. He asks what Taker will do when he ddt's him. Jake says he will drive Taker's head through the mat and put the final nail in his coffin.

The Undertaker vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Taker basically just turned face against Jake after being his buddy for months. Taker is 1-0 at Mania.

Taker misses lunges at Jake then Jake punches him. Jake hits punches but gets nowhere. Jake punches Taker over the top but Taker lands on his feet. Taker punches Jake outside and sends him into the post. Jake hits more punches. Taker chokes him in the corner.

Taker chokes Jake again right in front of the ref. Heenan rightfully calls out the ref not doing anything about it. Taker elbow drops Jake. Taker hits a flying clothesline. Jake ddt's Taker and Taker sits right up. Taker grabs Jake by the throat and Jake knees him in the gut. Jake short arm clotheslines Taker and Taker sits up.

Jake hits another ddt. Jake stupidly goes after Paul while Taker is down. Taker then gets up. Jake punches Paul then Taker tombstones Jake on the floor. Taker then pins Jake inside.

Thoughts: It was an unusual match. They definitely tried to put Taker over as a force here with him getting up from ddt's. The crowd wasn't good for this and didn't really know what to make of it as Taker had recently turned face but clearly isn't your typical babyface. I just thought it was so so but it did put over that Taker is a freak of nature. 

Mean Gene interviews Roddy Piper and Bret Hart together.  Piper says he loves Bret's family and knew him since he was baby. He talks about Bret's potty training and says he remembers his mom making sandwiches. Piper pinches Bret's cheek and Bret stops him. Piper gets mad, saying he's trying to put him at ease and Bret is trying to be a hot shot. Bret says he only cares about the IC Title and he hits it. Piper gets mad and shoves him. Bret says they can do this right here and Piper says he wants to see a million people rip his head off. They go to punch each other but Piper has his belt wrapped around his fist and Bret backs off.

Thoughts: This was a good segment here that set the stage for what's to come with two friends coming to blows.

WWF Intercontinental Title - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (c) vs Bret "The Hitman" Hart

This had a weird run-up to it. Bret lost his title out of nowhere to The Mountie on a house show. Mountie immediately lost the title to Piper and then they set this up. The rumor was that Bret was going to WCW with the title and the WWF tried to stop it. They did do a good job of getting the story over though and already established that Shawn Michaels is likely fighting the winner.

They stare down then lock up. Piper armdrags Bret then Bret armdrags him. Bret throws Piper out then Piper gets in and they shove each other. They trade wristlocks. Bret hits shots to the arm. Piper hits chops then Bret pulls him down by the arm.

Bret running dropkicks him and Bret holds his shoulder. Piper stops looking and Bret tries to cradle him. Piper slaps him for it. Bret shoves him. Bret crossbodies him over the top though they get stuck some.

Piper holds the ropes open for Bret. They stare down. Piper tells Bret to check his shoe then he punches him in the face. Piper stomps on Bret and hits punches. Bret's head is banged off the buckles. Piper bulldogs him.

Piper bites Bret and Bret gets busted open. Piper knee lifts Bret for 2. Bret sunset flips him for 2 then Piper hits punches to the face. They trade shots and Bret running forearms him out of the ring. Piper gets back in and they double clothesline each other down. 

Piper goes up top, gets hit and is crotched. Bret grabs him by the hair and bangs his face into the mat. Bret atomic drops him and suplexes him for 2. Bret russian legsweeps him for 2. Bret hits a backbreaker then elbow drops him.

Piper gets his knees up on Bret's 2nd rope elbow drop. They trade shots on their knees. Bret headbutts him then gets pushed into the ref. Piper lariats Bret out and bangs his head off the steps.

Piper grabs the ring bell and teases hitting Bret with it. Piper can't go it though and throws the bell away. Piper sleepers Bret and Bret uses the ropes to rebound backwards, rolls on top of him and pins him to win.

Thoughts: It was a good match with them pushing the story of two friends going at it and getting heated with each other. They both used some cheap tactics against each other and Piper opted not to totally cheat against Bret by using the belt which cost him in the end. I thought Bret got some good stuff out of Piper here, though I wish the crowd would have been a bit better.

We then go to a split screen interview with Lex Luger, who is at home. Lex says it's Bobby's pleasure and everyone's pleasure worldwide. Bret says Bobby's performance so far is unparallel but he can't say the same thing about the fat guy next to him. Bret says he knows what a thrill this must be. Bret talks about the upcoming WBF show.

Lex says he has the best body on earth and says he's the most perfect human being. Lex says he's head and shoulders above the rest. Bobby asks for a peek at Lex's body. Lex wears a tanktop and puts himself over. Lex then has a woman bring him milk to drink and he chugs it. He says he will see us June 13th.

Thoughts: This was not Lex's first appearance in the WWF as he had already appeared on WBF Bodystars commercials prior to this. He was very heelish here and obsessed with his body.

We go to the locker room with The Mountie and The Nasty Boys. Mountie says he talked to a policeman and says there's no better place to serve heard time than here. Mountie says Virgil will serve hard time. The Repo Man slips in and says it'll be the biggest repossession. Saggs puts over his team and says Mountie will electrify them and Repo will tow away the carcasses.

We then hear from The Big Boss Man, Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan. Sarge says to be ready to be slaughterized. Sarge tells Repo if he wants anything of theirs to come and get it. Boss says judgment day is here and they are are about to serve hard time. Virgil says his nose is protected but who will protect Mountie's nose? Jim says it'll be a fight and their strategy is to attack, attack, attack.

Ray Combs of Family Feud is in the ring talks for the next match. He says he knows a lot about feuds. He says there's no survey here. He said he asked 100 people for a survey of words to describe these people. He says Mountie doesn't know the meaning of the word fear, but there's lots of words he doesn't know the meaning of. He says Mountie does the work of 3 men - Curly, Larry and Moe. Ray says no one can call Repo two faced as he should be wearing the other now. Ray then says his parents were disappointed when they first saw him as they hoped for a boy. He says The Nasty Boys are 2 men sharing one brain. He says the only word you can describe their success with is lucky.

Repo Man, The Mountie & The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) vs. Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, The Big Boss Man & Virgil

The Nasty's go after Ray and the faces attack the heels. The faces all hit back elbows then do a 4 person lariat on 3 of them. Virg lariats Repo then Sarge and Jim lariat Repo. Bobby says Shawn Michaels has left the building and it's a shame he didn't take gorilla with him.

Jim poses and is hit from behind by Saggs. Jim's head is banged off the buckles then he hits lariats on Saggs. Jim atomic drops Saggs. Boss totally misses a punch on Saggs. Knobbs hits punches on Sarge then lariats him. Sarge gutbusters Knobbs then double stomps his gut.

Sarge back elbows Knobbs in the gut. Boss facekicks Knobbs. Boss misses a corner charge hard. Repo gets in and hits punches on Boss. Boss shoulders Repo over then misses a splash. Repo butt drops Boss' back. Repo tries it again and rams his crotch into Boss' punch. Boss punches down Repo. 

Virg dropkicks Repo then top rope crossbodies him for 2.  Mountie lariats Virg from behind then Repo backdrops Virg. Saggs knees Virg in the gut then pumphandle slams him. Mountie is caught off the buckles by Boss then spinebustered.

The faces hit punches on the heels and things break down. Mountie sends Sarge into the post. Saggs punches Knobbs on accident then Virg pins Knobbs to win.

Thoughts: It wasn't that good. There were too many people involved which made it hard to get any flow going and they didn't have that much time.

Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair are interviewed by Sean Mooney. Perfect has a centerfold of Miss Elizabeth that we can't see. Flair says it's the real deal. Flair says it's Macho's attempt to capture the evidence of his lady and capture the title. Flair says Perfect will show the centerfold of Liz after it ends and says Liz will have one last shot at space mountain after.

Mean Gene is outside of Macho Man's dressing room. He says Macho isn't granting interviews.

WWF Title - Ric Flair (c) vs "Macho Man" Randy Savage 

The road to this was unusual. Macho hadn't wrestled for most of the year until Jake Roberts ruined his wedding. Flair won The 1992 Rumble. Hulk was announced as Flair's opponent for Mania but Tunney took away his shot and gave it to Macho. Hulk didn't seem to mind as he wanted to fight Sid. Flair then showed doctored photos that made him look like an ex lover of Miss Elizabeth and that made up the feud.

I thought it was a good match only. Mr. Perfect interfered multiple times in front of the ref yet the ref did nothing, then Miss Elizabeth walked down and a bunch of officials tried to stop her while not telling the ref about Flair and Perfect cheating. Macho mostly stuck to his brawling in the first half and Flair bumped big. Flair worked the leg in the 2nd half after a Perfect knucks shot to Macho's knee. Macho then took some shots and rolled up Flair by the tights. Flair only worked the knee in the second half after somewhat working the lower back in the first half. The finish was very weak here and had no great build to it. Flair bled here. We also never got to see what the centerfold looked like which sucked as it could have added another piece to this story as could have maybe Flair doing something to Liz. I really thought this was a classic when I first saw it and was surprised it didn't live up to my memories.

Flair and Perfect attack Macho after. Flair kisses Liz then Macho goes after him as officials break it up and actually hold Macho down for Flair. Macho celebrates his win with Liz.

Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair are interviewed after. Perfect is mad but Flair essentially says they will get on track, regroup and get the title back. Heenan also comes in during this and throws a fit.

Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth are interviewed. He says he got a piece of Flair as he knows him not having the title makes him tick. He says Flair hasn't been beaten up properly and says he wants the whole Flair package. They strongly hinted at a rematch here.

We see Tatanka's tribe do a dance in the ring. Rick Martel does a promo while he does this and says they have poor fashion sense and are of low class. 

"The Model" Rick Martel vs Tatanka

This match had no real build to it. Tatanka just debuted about 2 months prior and didn't have any big matches. Rick was gone for most of the year.

Rick did some nice bumping here but it wasn't much. Tatanka didn't get that great of offense in and ended up winning with a crossbody without much of a finishing stretch. I thought this was so-so.

Money Inc is interviewed after. Jimmy Hart says he knows The Natural Disasters weaknesses. Ted says you don't write checks you don't have the funds to cover. IRS says its time for The Disasters to pay up. He says they won't take them lightly but will take them.

The Natural Disasters do a promo after. Ty says he has a surprise for Hart. Quake says the time for talking is done and says they will get what is rightfully theirs.

WWF Tag Titles - Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase and IRS) (c) vs The Natural Disasters (Typhoon and Earthquake)

As I explained earlier, Money Inc. won the titles before even really forming on TV. The story was that Jimmy Hart sold The Natural Disasters' title shot to Money Inc and Money Inc ended up winning the titles on a house show that we never got to see. This ended up turning The Disasters face as they wanted a piece of Jimmy Hart.

The match wasn't that good with a very lame finish as Money Inc simply just walked out and got counted out. Money Inc worked over the faces some and then left the match when it looked like The Disasters were on the verge of winning. I was very disappointed we didn't get a clean finish or more of match here since it was Mania. I love The Disasters but the problem is both are big and really shouldn't be bumping much which makes these matches harder to do.

Mean Gene interviews Brutus Beefcake. He says him and Hulk have been to the top and bottom and never saw Hulk drop his head. He says he's here to make sure Hulk knows we are all behind him. Brutus says he's the #1 Hulkamaniac and says Hulkamania will live forever.

Owen Hart vs Skinner

There wasn't any real build to this one. Owen was in The New Foundation with Jim Neidhart but they quietly split a month or two ago. Skinner kind of got a more serious push when he debuted in the second half of last year but it has cooled off.

Owen flips into the ring and Skinner spits in his face. Skin slams him and shoulderbreakers him. Skin then pounds on him. Skin knees Owen in the back then boots him in the gut. Skin reverse ddt's Owen for 2.

Skin hits headbutts and throws Owen out. Owen skins the cat then backrolls him to win.

Thoughts: It was a short time filler match that wasn't much of note. Owen didn't even really get to fly here.

Owen dropkicks Skin out of the ring after.

Mean Gene interviews Sid Justice and Harvey Wippleman. Sid tells Gene to shut up. He says this will be Hulk's last match and he will see to that. Sid tells Hulk to remember that he is the master and Hulk is the learner. Sid promises this will be Hulk's last match.

We see clips of Hulk's interview with Vince from March to Wrestlemania VIII about this maybe being Hulk's last match. We return to the promo and Sid says he doesn't care about the memories of Hulk Hogan. He says the only thing Hulk will remember is that he's the man who ended Hulkamania. Sid says he curses Hulk and all the Hulkamaniac's because he rules the world.

Harvey Wippleman does the intro for Sid just as he has been doing. Sid's music hits and his mic gets cut for a few seconds.

Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice

This really started at the 1992 Royal Rumble where Sid threw Hulk out (as Hulk had done to his buddy Tugboat previously) and then Hulk pulled Sid out after being eliminated. Sid got mad that he wasn't given the title shot at Mania at the press conference. Sid pretended to make up with Hulk then turned on him in a tag match. He then picked up Wippleman as his manager. They then started talking about Hulk maybe retiring. The match technically kind of was a dream match at the time, but it replaced the dream match of Hulk vs Flair.

Hulk gets in and Sid pounds on him. Hulk hits punches on Sid and knocks him out of the ring. Hulk hits Sid on the apron as his music continues to play then Hulk rips his own shirt off. The music then cuts out and Sid walks up the steps to get back in.

Sid and Hulk test strength. Hulk fights out of it. Sid knees Hulk in the gut then Hulk corner lariats him. Hulk goes after Harvey then takes a chokeslam from Sid. Sid then poses. Sid talks to the camera and says do unto the man as he would do unto you, but do it first. Heenan calls Sid "Psycho Sid" here as Sid clubs on Hulk.

Sid hits Hulk with Harvey's bag outside. Sid does a traphezus hold to Hulk. Sid side slams Hulk then hits a big powerbomb for 2. Hulk hulks up then hits punches. Sid's head is banged off the buckles and Hulk hits a big boot. Hulk motions for a slam and slams Sid. Hulk legdrops Sid and only gets 2. Wippleman gets in the ring and the ref rings the bell. Hulk throws Wippleman at Sid who catches him.

Papa Shango then comes out late in an infamous moment. Hulk and Sid fight then Papa nails Hulk from behind despite them not interacting on TV prior. Hulk is tied up in the ropes. The Ultimate Warrior's music then hits. Warrior has shorter hair and runs down and lariats Papa over the top. Sid chairs Warrior but Warrior shakes the ropes. Sid then leaves as Hulk and Warrior pose together with sparklers

Thoughts: The match was nothing. It made sense with Sid working on Hulk, getting too cocky and Hulk doing his comeback, but the DQ finish was totally lame and someone totally botched it as Papa Shango (who had no involvement with Hulk at this point) came down after the match ended. There's just no excusing a DQ finish in the main of the biggest show of the year. One would think Warrior would have wanted to get his hands on Jake and Taker earlier in the show after they got him bitten by a snake earlier in the year and buried him.

Overall thoughts: It was a disappointing Mania. The main event was botched with Papa Shango not coming down at the right time and it ended in a DQ. The tag title match was nothing. We had a bunch of time wasters like Tatanka/Martel, Skinner/Owen and the 8-man tag. The LOD returned after being off TV for a month but only did an interview. Bret/Piper was easily the match of the night. Flair/Savage was okay to good but not the classic I had remembered and we never got to see Perfect's centerfold of Liz. Jake/Taker wasn't much and oddly Tito/Shawn was somewhat boring. We also never got The British Bulldog vs The Berzerker as promised. I thought the crowd was either bad or poorly mic'd up all night too which hurt a lot of the matches. Sadly, I'd say this show represented what the WWF was all about at the time with the booking and planning taking a backseat to other things going on in Vince's life. This was also the last true Wrestlemania of the Hulkamania era as the company would look completely different by Wrestlemania IX. I'd give this one a 4 out of 10 and would really only recommend seeing Piper/Bret.

WWF Royal Rumble 1992 1/19/1992

WWF Royal Rumble 1992 1/19/1992

We are in Albany, New York at the Knickerbocker Arena.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are on commentary. Heenan says he's banking everything on Flair becoming champ. The Mountie shockingly won the IC Title yesterday at a house show, beating Bret Hart. 

The New Foundation (Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart) vs The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka)

The New Foundation had just debuted a few weeks prior. Kato and Tanaka were already being phased out and Kato had been on jobber duty recently.

Heenan says The Foundation just got up as they are wearing pajama's. Owen and Kato trade wristlocks. Owen armdrags Kato and armlocks him. Owen boots Kato's arm into the mat. Owen jumps up top, seated springboards, flips and armdrags Kato. Owen then hurricanrana's him and armdrags him.

Jim hiptosses Kato then throws him down backwards. Tanaka charges at Jim and gets knocked down. Tanaka takes a spinebuster then a 2nd rope elbow drop from Owen for 2. Owen headbutts Tanaka and Tanaka hits some shots back. Owen flips over him in the corner then back body drops him. Owen step up enzugiri's him.

Jim is whipped into a corner spear on Tanaka. Jim hits a double clothesline. Owen hits a top rope double crossbody on his opponents for 2. Owen spinning heel kicks Kato for 2. Owen suplexes Kato then chinlocks him.

Tanaka knees Owen in the back from the apron then Mr. Fuji hits Owen with the cane. Owen takes a double superkick then a flying back elbow from Kato for 2. Owen takes a double team and is thrown into the buckles chest first for 2.

Tanaka superkicks Owen out of the corner for 2. Kato chinlocks Owen. Owen crucifixes Kato for 2. Tanaka superkicks Owen then headbutt drops him in the crotch. Tanaka flying forearms Owen for 2. Owen facebusters him.

Owen makes the tag but the ref doesn't see it. Owen is thrown into Fuji's cane in the buckles and breaks the cane. Tanaka headbutt drops Owen's arm then hammerlocks him. Tanaka shoulders Owen over then takes a belly to belly suplex for 2. Owen takes a double clothesline for 2.

Tanaka superkicks Owen. Owen is bridged on the ropes and Tanaka jumps on him. Owen hits a double dropkick. Jim is tagged in and hits a slingshot double shoulderblock. He slams his opponents and back body drops Tanaka. He is then whipped into a shoulder on Kato. Owen is then whipped into a tope on Kato. Jim rocket launches Owen onto Tanaka and Owen pins him.

Thoughts: The New Foundation had just debuted and the crowd had no idea who they were. The crowd was totally dead for this one and completely the destroyed the match because of it. It went a little longer than it needed to as well. The work was fine but this just had no chance. They also totally messed up the cane spot here as the camera's and commentator's didn't really catch it.

We see clips of The Mountie beating Bret Hart for the Intercontinetal Title.

Jimmy Hart and The Mountie are interviewed by Sean Mooney. Hart mocks Bret being sick. He says Bret isn't sick from the flu, he's sick from losing. Mountie asks how Piper got the IC Title shot and says he should win this one by forfeit. Mountie says he will take Piper's skirt and manhood from him.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Roddy Piper. Piper calls Mountie one of The Village People. Piper says he has no integrity. He says Mountie wants his manhood. Piper says he's here to fight and doesn't know what Mountie is here to do. He says Mountie has been dreaming and he thinks it has been all wet too.

Thoughts: Yeah, this was a Piper promo. You never know what you are going to get with him and this was not one of his better ones.

WWF Intercontinental Title - The Mountie (c) vs Roddy Piper

Monsoon talks about Piper having integrity after Piper said he doesn't have any. Piper puts his kilt in Mountie's face and starts pounding on him. Mountie goes out to avoid Piper and is nailed from behind. Mountie pushes Hart into Piper and hits shots on him.

Mountie drops down for a move and takes a first drop. Mountie's head is banged off the buckles then Piper bulldogs him. Piper eye pokes him and Heenan wants to go back and check on Flair's Royal Rumble number. Mountie and Piper trade shots.

Piper misses a dropkick. Mountie bangs Piper's head off the buckles then bites him. Mountie flying back elbows Piper and throws him out. Piper slingshot sunset flips Mountie for 2. 

Piper bites Mountie and pounds him after stopping himself from behind thrown out. Piper back body drops him. Piper tries to atomic drop Mountie out but Mountie skins the cat. Mountie misses a shot on Piper and nails Jimmy Hart on the apron. The Mountie out and Piper wins.

Thoughts: Like I said with his promo, this is Roddy Piper and you never really know what you are getting. He is just too crazy. This didn't really have much of a format or a pace to it and there wasn't a lot of heat behind this one because it was essentially a random match. The finish wasn't good with Mountie getting put to sleep with no real excitement behind it. I liked Piper's intensity and fighting spirit here but this didn't work.

Jimmy Hart goes after Piper with the shock stick after and misses. Hart is sent out. Piper gets the shock stick. Piper then shocks Mountie with the shock stick but unlike taped Superstars episodes, there was no electricity sound here so it didn't come off so well.

Lord Alfred Hayes is outside of Hulk Hogan's dressing room. He goes in and interviews him. Hulk says he's lucky he's a friend as he won't have friends later in The Rumble. Hulk says he's gonna throw everyone out tonight and says Hayes better get out as he's getting ready.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews The Bushwhackers and Jamison. Luke says he's never been so excited and says it's final fling of The Beverly Sisters. He says they have a surprise for The Genius. Butch says when they are finished with The Sisters, they will beat them all. Jamison says he will smash Genius if he gets one minute with him. 

The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake Beverly) vs The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch)

This is the first match on the show that has some real build to it, but there's really nothing appealing about this one. The Bev's attacked Jamison at ringside and The BW's came to Jamison's aid. The two teams were also feuding through promos anyway prior to that. The Genius and Jamison are with their teams and The Genius does a poem before the match.

They take forever to get this one going. Beau and Luke go at it and Beau stomps him. Luke bites Beau in the butt then The Bev's are thrown into each other. The BW's then hit running shots on them to send them out.

Jamison throws part of a hotdog at Genius outside. Blake stomps on Butch. Butch knees Blake in the gut then bulldogs him. The Bev's are thrown into each other then tripped. The BW's double clothesline Blake over the top. The Bev's try to sneak up on The BW's. Luke chases Blake out and Butch nails Blake with a double shot. 

Luke is bridged on the ropes and takes a double axe handle to the back. Blake butt drops Luke's back then backbreakers him. Luke is bridged on the ropes and takes a butt drop. Beau running knee drops Luke. Blake elbow drops Luke then drops him throat first on the ropes. Blake running lariats Luke. Beau tries to pose on Luke but is rolled up. Luke is thrown out.

Then Genius grabs Jamison outside and slams him. Beau throws Luke hard into the buckles and sends him down. Beau 2nd rope double axe handles Luke. Blake neckbreakers and legdrops Luke. Luke's head is banged off the buckles but he lariats Beau over.

Butch and Blake get in. Butch hits punches and running lariats The Bev's. Butch battering rams Blake into Beau then flying forearms him for 2. Luke pushes Beau over the top. Blake trips Beau from outside. Beau elbow drops Butch. Beau 2nd rope double axe handles Butch and Blake grabs the pin.

Thoughts: This was long and awful. I never understood Jamison. He's not like Urkel who was respectable but was nerdy. He dresses like a bum and everything he does is disgusting, so him being the focus here didn't do anything for me. The match went long, there wasn't much structure and the work wasn't good as typical with The BW's. I didn't expect this to be any good and it wasn't. 

The BW's attack The Bev's from behind after then hit stereo back elbows and battering rams. They throw The Genius in. Jamison hits horrible shin kicks as The BW's hold Genius. Jamison then puts Genius' hat on after.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews The Legion of Doom. Animal says they will face all challengers and got the biggest team in WWF history tonight. Animal says they are the champs and won't start losing now. Hawk says The Disasters make them sick. Hawk says they want to throw their weight around and The LOD want to throw their weight around too. Hawk says their tongues will be sticking out like dead deers when they are done with them.

WWF World Tag Team Title Match - The Legion Of Doom (Animal & Hawk) (c) vs. The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)

These two teams have been feuding for a while so there are no problems with the build on this one. I am concerned about the match though as I don't see The ND's bumping around and The LOD needs opponents who bump big.

Ty and Hawk start us off. Hawk flying forearms him then top rope diving lariats him for 2. The four stand off in the ring. Hawk standing dropkicks Quake and Quake no sells it. Quake misses a standing dropkick and Hawk fist drops him in the back of the head.

Quake and Animal trade. They double clothesline each other down. Animal tries to lift Quake for a slam but Quake falls down on him. Ty corner splashes Animal. Animal boots him out of the corner and lariats him. 

Hawk clubs Ty off the buckles and hits punches. Ty and Hawk lariat each other then Ty backbreakers Hawk. Hawk is thrown into the buckles and goes down hard. Quake elbow drops Hawk's back for 2. Ty butt drops Hawk's back on the ropes. Quake works Hawk's back and corner splashes him. Quake bearhugs Hawk. Quake misses a corner splash and Hawk 2nd rope elbow Quake in the head.

Animal gets in and flying shoulders Quake. Animal flips out of a double back body drop and hits a double lariat. Hawk flying lariats Ty off the apron. Quake slams Animal on the floor and the ref says The ND's win by countout.

Thoughts: Booooooo. This show really needed something good and this countout finish wasn't it. There was some logic here with Hawk's back being worked on and Animal making a comeback, but then the countout happened after. It had the issues I expected it to have with The LOD not really wanting to sell that much for The ND's and The ND's instead having to do the selling. This was just average and not that interesting.

Hawk chairs The ND's from behind after then Quake is whipped into a chair from Animal.

Sean Mooney interviews Jimmy Hart and The Natural Disasters in the back. Hart says he's disgusted and they should be the tag champs. The ND's come in fuming mad. Ty says they are the champs and Quake says they beat them fair and square. Hart says they were awarded the match and should be champs. Quake says they will be champs if they fight again.

Thoughts: This was interesting as they moved the camera up too high and you could see that the locker room was just a set.

Heenan and Monoon talk about the last match.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Roddy Piper. Piper says only in America can a skinny 15 year old kid become champ then have a chance at the world title. He says he will have the 30 guys falling down like President Bush. He says he has a dream and has his eyes on the prize.

Sean Mooney is in ther locker room and interviews Shawn Michaels, who is now in his traditional HBK gear. We see clips from The Barber Shop of Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty and sending him through the barber shop window. Sean calls it one of the most henious act he has seen. Shawn says he saved Marty 29 beatings. He says there's no doubt he will walk out with the title. He says everyone will find out he's the hottest thing the WWF has ever laid eyes on.

Lord Alfred Hayes interviews Ric Flair. Ric says he drew #3. He says he needs to beat 29 other men tonight. He says he will be in there close to an hour and become champ against all odds.

Mean Gene talks The Rumble. We hear thoughts from various wrestlers on The Rumble. Macho says only one man can win the belt tonight. He says he's been to the top of the mountain and is going back. He says he wants his hands on Jake and says he wants to be champ again. Sid says the man who is standing last will be the champ. He says to open your eyes as we are looking at the man who is superior to all and the next WWF champ.

The Repo Man says one of the biggest thrills in his life is to take something and he gets to take the biggest prize ever from 29 others tonight. He says it would be great to have the title around his waist. He says what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine too. The British Bulldog talks about winning a battle royal at Royal Albert Hall. He says it will be a thrill to dispose of 29 other opponents and get the title around his waist.

Jake Roberts says you can't get what you always what but he got what he needed. Jake says tonight will be a disappointment for 29 other men. He says he will be waiting for Macho.

Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair talk. Ric says we find out who's the fairest of them all tonight. Ric say 30 stars gather to find out who is the man tonight. Ric says there's no backdoor. He says he has lived with the idea that to be the man, you have to beat the man.

Paul Bearer and The Undertaker talk. Paul says 29 hearses are prepared for 29 bodies and caskets. Taker says he will be crowned champ once more.

Hulk Hogan talks. He talks about the prestige of The Rumble and says it means more with the WWF Title on the line. He says this is his cup of tea and will prove Hulkamania reigns supreme tonight. He says he has a special battle plan for tonight.

Howard Finkel talks about the rules of The Royal Rumble. Jack Tunney comes in with the title belt. He says the winner has the prestige of winning but will always be WWF champ. He says may the best man win.

The 1992 Royal Rumble

The British Bulldog draws #1 and Ted Dibiase draws #2. Davey hits shots on him and Ted back elbows him out of the corner. Davey's head is banged off the buckles and he gets chopped. Ted lariats him and stomps him. Ted suplexes him and fist drops him. Ted hits another suplex. Ted tries to throw Davey out and celebrates but Davey stays in. Davey then lariats him over the top for the elimination.

Ric Flair comes in at #3. Davey pushes Flair over. Davey gorilla press slams him. Davey running lariats him twice. Saggs comes in at #4. Davey hits corner punches and Saggs nails Davey from behind. Saggs fires on him. Davey is double teamed. Davey hits a double clothesline. Saggs avoids elimination but talks trash on the apron and is dropkicked out by Davey for the elimination.

Davey backs up Flair in the corner and is chopped and punched. Davey powerslams Flair. Haku comes in at #5.  Haku hits headbutts and stomps on Davey. Flair drops Davey with a punch. Haku and Flair then go at it. Flair slides out under the ropes to avoid Haku. Haku piledrivers Davey then is eye raked by Flair.

Flair knee drops Haku. Haku hits shots on Flair in the corner. Davey randomly dumps Haku out for the elimination. Shawn Michaels is in at #6 and is hit with something as he runs down.

Shawn and Flair trade. Shawn back body drops him and superkicks him. Davey gorilla press slams Shawn then hits running lariats. Davey lariats Shawn onto the apron, Shawn gets back in and superkicks him. Flair tries to dump Shawn over the top and is eye raked.

Shawn is thrown into the buckles chest first then ends up crotched on the ropes. Davey pulls the ropes up and down into his crotch. El Matador is next in. He tries to dump Flair over the top. Flair backdrops Tito then he low blows Davey. Tito bangs Shawn's head off the buckles. Tito flying forearms Flair.

The Barbarian is next in. Shawn holds Tito for chops from Flair. Barb tries to thrown Davey over the top and Flair helps out. Davey hits punches on Barb. Tito gets Shawn on the apron but shawl rolls back in. The Texas Tornado is next in. Kerry fires on Flair and hits a discus punch on him. Kerry discus punches Shawn and Shawn flops around for it. Shawn is catapulted into the buckles. 

Flair atomic drops Kerry. Barb works on Tito and Tito stomps on Flair. The Repo Man is next in and slithers into the ring. Flair tries to throw Davey over the top. Tito flying crossbodies Barb. Flair chops Kerry while Barb holds Kerry. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine is next in. He hits shots on Repo. Greg and Flair trade chops Greg elbows him and Flair goes down. Davey holds Ric for chops from Greg. 

Davey tries to thrown Shawn out. Flair eye rakes Greg. Nikolai Volkoff is next in, making his return to TV after basically a year off. Volkoff headbutts Repo. Flair and Greg fight and Greg figure fours him. Repo back body drops Volkoff over the top for the elimination.

The Big Boss Man is next in. He hits shots on everyone. Repo throws Greg out for the elimination. Boss then throws Repo out. Flair back body drops Davey over the top for the elimination. Flair then back body drops Kerry over the top for the elimination. Tito and Shawn throw each other over and both are eliminated.

Hercules is next in wearing his Power and Glory gear even though the team is done. Flair backs off from Barb and is gorilla press slammed. Barb goes to throw Flair over the top but Hercules throws Barb over the top during it. Barbarian is eliminated. Boss then eliminates Hercules over the top.

Boss and Flair go at it. Boss running lariats him then drops him with a big punch. Boss flies at Flair and misses then goes over the top for the elimination. Flair then flops. Roddy Piper comes in and goes wild on Flair as they have been feuding. Piper back body drops him and knee lifts him. Piper lariats Flair outside.

Flair pulls Piper's throat down over the top rope. Piper hits corner punches on Flair then Flair atomic drops him. Piper lariats him then airplane spins him. Piper sleepers Flair.

Jake Roberts is next in. He sits in the corner then nails Piper from behind. Flair is out in the middle of the ring. Jake hits punches on Piper then foot chokes him. Jake helps Flair up then short arm clotheslines him.Jake goes for the ddt on Flair and Piper lariats Jake. Flair figure fours Jake and Piper breaks it up. The three trade. Jim Duggan is next in. He pounds on Flair then lariats him. Piper and Jim trade. Piper eye pokes Flair.

Jake atomic drops Jim. IRS is next in. Jim grabs him by the tie and punches him. IRS bangs Jim's head off the buckles.

Jimmy Snuka is next in. He hits headbutts on Flair. Snuka double chops him. Jim hits shots on Jake and lamost throws him over. Piper chops up Flair and tries to toss him. The Undertaker is next in. Taker walks out slow as usual.

Snuka jumping headbutts Flair then Taker lariats Snuka over the top. Snuka is eliminated. Taker chokes Flair. IRS holds Jim for shots from Taker. Piper tries to throw Jake over the top. Macho Man is next in and runs in. He looks for Jake but Jake is hiding outside. Taker and IRS nail Macho from behind.

Macho pounds on Jake when he finally gets him. Macho 2nd rope double axe handles him. Macho flying knees Jake from behind and eliminates him. Macho then jumps over the top like a moron and chokes Jake outside. Taker shockingly comes to Jake's aid, though they have been cohorts for the last few months.

Macho goes for Jake then Taker drops Macho with a shot. Piper flurries on Flair. Piper hits shots on Taker. Flair pounds on Macho even though Macho is eliminated. Flair low blows Taker. Taker kind of sells it. The Berzerker is next in. IRS has his foot tied up in the ropes. Flair tries to suplex Macho out but Macho suplexes Flair. Virgil is next in.

Virgil is choked by Taker. Flair tries to throw Jim over the top. Taker chokes Flair and Berz big boots Virgil. Col. Mustafa is next in. He chokes Jim on the ropes. Macho double axe handles Taker from behind.

Piper hits corner punches on Flair and Taker hits him from behind. Rick Martel is next in, who is the current record holder for the longest time in The Rumble at 52:34. Martel and Flair each get shots in. Taker chokes Macho.

Hulk Hogan is next in. He bangs Flair and Taker's heads together. He hits shots on Flair then is grouped up on by the heels. Hulk lariats Taker over the top for the elimination. Hulk then back body drops The Berzerker over the top. Virgil crossbodies Jim Duggan, Jim tries to dump him over the top and both get eliminated.

Skinner is next in. Hulk shoulders over Flair. Hulk goes to throw Flair over but IRS hits Hulk. Hulk puts a shirt around IRS' neck and throws him. Skinner chokes Hulk with his own shirt. Hulk lariats Flair.

Sgt. Slaughter is in next. Skinner goes to eliminate Piper but Martel throws Skinner over the top. Hulk tries to dump Martel over the top. Sid Justice is next in. He hits shots on IRS. Sid hits a big shot on Martel. Flair hits punches on Hulk. Sid chokes Flair.

Sarge elbows hulk in the head. Sid kips up and lariats Flair. Flair eye pokes him. The Warlord is #30 and the last person in. Flair sides out, Hulk goes with him and they fight out there. Hulk suplexes Flair on the floor. Martel 2nd rope double axe handles Piper. Sid throws Sarge into the corner and Sarge goes over the top to the floor.

Hulk big boots Flair. Flair eye pokes Hulk. Piper grabs IRS by the tie on the ropes and eliminates him. Sid and Hulk throw Warlord over the top for the elimination.

Sid eliminates Piper and Martel at the same time as they fight near the ropes. Piper, Sid, Flair and somehow Macho (despite self-eliminating himself) are the last four. Ric flying knees Sid from behind as Sid has Macho on the ropes. Macho goes over the top and is eliminated for the 2nd time.

Hulk and Flair fight. Flair goes on the apron and Sid throws Hulk over the top from behind. Hulk complains despite years of him eliminating his friends. Hulk tries to pull Sid over the top by the arm then Flair helps. Hulk helps pull Sid over the top and Sid is eliminated. Flair wins.

Thoughts: The first part of this is about as good as it gets Rumble wise and becomes The Ric Flair Show. Ric got 1v1 segments with all of his old rivals which was great as we got to see his various matchups again. Heenan was fantastic during that and throughout the whole thing as he cheered on Flair. The second half slowed down a lot and the final few eliminations weren't very dramatic at all. I liked that Macho went after Jake here (and that Taker helped out Jake), but I didn't like Macho's self-elimination not being counted. There's just no explaining that one. Hulk was a terrible face as usual in this one. He had no problem eliminating friends in past Rumbles yet was a sore loser here as he helped pull Sid over the top. That's a big problem because this was basically the beginning of Sid's heel turn yet I don't think anyone could try say Sid did something bad here. It was one of the better early Rumbles and definitely one of the best overall, but there was some room for improvement. 

Flair celebrates some in the ring and Hulk chases him off because he's a poor face. Sid Justice then shoves Hulk from behind. They yell at each other and officials comes out to stop them. Sid then is the bigger man and walks off.

Mean Gene and Tunney are with Flair, Heenan and Perfect in the back to present him the title. Tunney congratulates Flair. Flair brings up his title being shown in distortion. Flair says this is the greatest moment of his life. He says he tells everyone he's #1 and says you have to show it in situations like this. He says this title is the only one that makes you #1. He says when you are the king of the WWF, you rule the world. Heenan and Perfect go "woo". Heenan says it was the most impressive thing he has ever seen in his life and calls him the real world's champion. Perfect says they aren't the kind of guys to say "we told you so, but we told you so". Gene then yells at someone to put their cigarette out. Flair says for all the Piper's and The Snake's, it's Ric Flair and you all pay homage to him.

Thoughts: I didn't like Flair saying the WWF Title was the real title here. He went around for months carrying his world title and basically just made it seem worthless which was dumb. Flair and Heenan were great here though and despite its issues, I'd still say it's one of the Top 10 most memorable promos of all time.

Overall thoughts: It was mostly a one match show. The opener had some good stuff in it but the crowd didn't care and brought it down.  The other non-Rumble matches weren't that good. The Rumble ended up being one of the best Rumble's ever with great commentary and Flair putting on a show. The final eliminations could have been better though, Macho's self elimination should have been recognized and Sid and Hulk's issues could have been done a lot better as Sid came off as the face during his heel turn. I'd really only give this show a 5 out of 10 as The Rumble was the only thing that really delivered on here. The Rumble is the only thing you need to see on this one.