Ranking Every Pay-Per-View

[Messiah]

WWE Network is excellent value at $9.99. I have always wanted to do more with it than just watch NXT and live WWE PPVs, though. So I had an idea about a month ago that I mentioned in the chatbox to watch every pay-per-view in WWE history and rank them based off the score I give it, which will be based off the show's match quality, presentation (segments, commentary, etc), memorability, and historical significance. I started working on it shortly after, so I have a good amount of reviews saved up so that I will be able to update this regularly. I'm sort of an insomniac so expect a bulk of the reviews to be put up at night.

A couple of things. There have been 305 Pay-Per-Views. I strongly doubt I have seen more than 50 of them, maybe even less than that. WrestleMania will be the only show I have seen the majority of. So for most of this, I will be a first time viewer. Some of my score's might seem a little strict, and having a low score won't necessarily mean I didn't enjoy the show (as you will see early on) as there are other things to take into account. The same applies for a show with a high score. Some may get a huge boost for their historical significance despite not being all that great of a show itself. The reason is because I don't want to have a bunch of 10/10 scores. I'm going to try to be as unbiased as possible. This won't be a move-by-move review of matches or anything like that. Sort of like my NXT reviews, they will be reviewed as I watch where I make note of what's going on and stuff like that. Also, I apologize in advance if I constantly switch between using WWE and WWF.

Also, I don't want to just limit myself to WWE PPVs. So if anyone has any WCW, ECW, or even TNA recommendations, I will try to get to it when that year it appears it comes around. This is ultimately for my own personal enjoyment, so I want to be able to watch a lot of the PPVs I've never gotten the chance to see.

Here in the original post, I will keep a list of all the PPVs I have reviewed with a hyperlink to them. They will be ranked as I go. This includes the PPVs I watch for our weekly PPV review.

1. WrestleMania III - 8
2. WrestleMania I - 5.4
3. WrestleMania V - 4.7
4. 1999 No Mercy - 2.8
5. 1989 Royal Rumble - 2.4
6. 1988 SummerSlam - 2.3
7. 1987 Survivor Series - 2.1
8. 1988 Survivor Series - 2.1
9. The Wrestling Classic - 1.9
10. WrestleMania IV - 1.2
11. WrestleMania 2 - 1

[Messiah]

I retyped this review because I wanted to change the format of it, which is why if you read it, it'll be a mix of present and past tense.

WrestleMania I
I love going back and watching wrestlers, announcers, authority figures, etc. because it isn't until you do that, that you realize how much the industry has changed. Considering it was 1985, they did a good job presentation wise in trying to present this as a legitimate sporting event. It felt like a formal event. That is one thing I kind of miss, not so much relating to the 80s because I obviously wasn't watching then but how wrestlers would wear suits for their promos and all that jazz. It was something so small yet I really felt it added to Triple H's character back when he was dominating Raw when he would almost always cut his promos wearing a top notch suit. Howard Finkel looks a lot different than the Fink I'm used to seeing. Gene Okerlund, on the other hand, looks like he hasn't aged one bit. By the way, I have a huge issue with Okerlund and I will get to it later.

Tito Santana vs The Executioner

I couldn't tell you why Buddy Rose was in a mask parading around as The Executioner. I think this is my first time ever watching Tito Santana in the ring. I have heard nothing but good things about his wrestling ability. Santana won with the figure-four. This was a short match with the running time of 4:50. It wasn't a bad match, though. It could/should have been longer. Santana looked pretty darn good I thought. As a side note, the ring looks extremely unsafe. The ring ropes looked like they could have broken off at any time. I couldn't imagine them trying to pull off some of the moves wrestlers now pull off without getting hurt.

King Kong Bundy (with Jimmy Hart) vs Special Delivery Jones

The promo before the match was the first time I've heard Bundy speak (I've seen one or two of his matches on Youtube), and it came across well. This wasn't anything more than a squash match. I have no idea who Special Delivery Jones is, not that I really care. I don't know why they kept saying this match was 9 seconds long.

Ricky Steamboat vs Matt Borne

Ricky Steamboat was jacked, man. Steamboat's offense was pretty good in this match, but that was about it. Another short match that I could have done without.

Brutus Beefcake (with Johnny Valiant) vs David Sammartino (with Bruno Sammartino)

I had no idea who Johnny Valiant was going into this match, but his promo made me want to watch more of him. Really good talker. David Sammartino looks like the WWF's version of Maurice Jones-Drew. Anyway, this match was a bore. It ended in a double disqualification due to interference from both Valiant and Sammartino. Sammartino (Bruno) got the biggest pop of the night I thought. Probably should have just had him compete.

Greg Valentine (c) (with Jimmy Hart) vs Junkyard Dog for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

I have never seen Junkyard Dog compete before, but I have always been a fan of his oddly enough. When I was a kid, I remember my grandfather giving me his action figure that he had in his storage. It was this one:



I didn't think this was a bad match, but time restraints killed it. Valentine used the ropes for leverage to beat JYD, and then Santana came out to explain to the referee what happened and then it turned into a countout victory for JYD. Made very little sense, but the crowd liked it.

The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) (c) (with Lou Albano) vs Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik (with Freddie Blassie) for the WWF Tag Team Championship



The Iron Sheik was such a heat magnet in this gimmick back when it wasn't outdated and fit with what was going on in the world at the time. This was your standard tag team match, which I enjoyed. The crowd was in it; they despised Volkoff/Sheik and were 100% behind the U.S. Express. That helped out a lot. This was the first match of the night I was able to get emotionally invested in. By the way, Sheik's boots were awesome. Sheik and Volkoff score the win and capture the titles are a little help from Blassie's cane. They cut a solid promo after this.

André the Giant vs Big John Studd (with Bobby Heenan)

Okay, about Gene Okerlund. Why does he constantly have to talk over the bad guys when they are cutting a promo? Him talking over Heenan and cutting him off pissed me off to no end. He did this all night. It was obnoxious. The match itself, I would never want to watch again but it was what it was and the fans loved Andre.

Leilani Kai (c) (with The Fabulous Moolah) vs Wendi Ritcher (w/ Cyndi Lauper)

This might have been better than I expected, but only because my expectations for this match were ridiculously low. This was bad.

Hulk Hogan and Mr. T (with Jimmy Snuka) vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff (with Bob Orton) with Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson as special guest referees

This was what it was. Not necessarily a bad match, but more entertaining than anything. Piper was the man back then, and Hogan was the biggest star in the industry.

Conclusion: This was a bad show, but it wasn't a bad show if it makes sense. There were bad matches to go around, but Sammartino/Beefcake is the only one that made me want to turn off my Xbox, mainly because the rest were fairly short in comparison. I wouldn't want to watch this again, but I would recommend any wrestling fan who hasn't seen it before to check it out. Score: 5.4

Next Up... The Wrestling Classic (1985)

[Str8Shooter]

So are you planning to do all the PPV events in order? Or jump around?

[Messiah]

So are you planning to do all the PPV events in order? Or jump around?

It'll all be in order, with the exception of the PPVs for the SquaredCircle of the Week.

Which means I'll have to suffer through 1993-1996 WWF.

[Str8Shooter]

So are you planning to do all the PPV events in order? Or jump around?

It'll all be in order, with the exception of the PPVs for the SquaredCircle of the Week.

Which means I'll have to suffer through 1993-1996 WWF.

Yeah some of these PPV's are going to be stinkers. But at least having not seen a lot of the old ones they should keep your interest at least.

I think we're finally getting the Network here next month. Maybe i'll step into this thread with some thoughts on your latest PPV once in a while. Not that I wanna steal your gimmick or anything.

[Messiah]

The Wrestling Classic
A pay-per-view featuring the entire four rounds of a tournament probably isn't the soundest idea the WWF came up with back then. Taking a peak at the card though, there are a lot of noticeable names on the show. Randy Savage very early in his his WWF career, Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Iron Sheik, The Dynamite Kid, Ricky Steamboat, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Funk, among others. I guess this PPV was actually called WWF Wrestlevision Classic. I like Wrestling Classic better. Cheesy as hell intro, which fit with the 80s back then. Vince McMahon, the Genetic Jackhammer, had a great announcing voice. Alfred Hayes always looks so uncomfortable talking in front of the camera if this and WrestleMania I was any indication. Love the formal wear. Looking at the drawing segment now. Miss Elizabeth was stunning. Savage looked a lot smaller here.

First Round Tournament Match - Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart) vs Corporal Kirchner

I don't know who either of these two are. Who didn't Jimmy Hart manage back then? One of the greatest managers ever. Adonis should probably keep a t-shirt on next time. Hart on the outside with his megaphone is wonderful. I liked that finisher by Adonis, but this was a bad match.

When Okerlund isn't talking endlessly, I really like these backstage interviews. They add a lot and allow the performers to show off their personality and charisma.

First Round Tournament Match - Nikolai Volkoff vs Dynamite Kid

As far as I can recall, this is my first time watching a Dynamite Kid match. I kind of hate that fact because I've heard how great of a wrestler he was (I have heard the stories about how much of a jackass he was as well), but I just never got around to watching him in the ring. Volkoff singing the Soviet Union's national anthem before each of his matches is awesome, haha. So yea, this match going 9 seconds really disappointed me.

Savage will appear on many more pay-per-views than this one, so I'll try to limit my praise for him here. But even going back to early in his WWF career, there was no way you could look at him and not see a star. Arguably the most charismatic superstar in professional wrestling history. I liked this interview. Okerlund put over Putski as a tough challenge for The Macho Man and Savage, as per usual, gave a good promo.

First Round Tournament Match - Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) vs Ivan Putski

Savage played the paranoid, controlling boyfriend role so well. Ventura butchering Putski's name was pretty funny. Savage spitting at Putski... such a heel move. Lmao @ Putski spitting right back at him and Ventura getting outraged and saying he didn't see Savage do it. Savage won the match using the ropes for leverage. Elizabeth running away in a hurry after seeing he cheated, awesome. This was a short but pretty entertaining match if only because of Savage and the commentary.

Volkoff looked like he was going to kill Mr. McMahon when he told him, "maybe you sung the national anthem one time too many."

First Round Tournament Match - Ricky Steamboat vs Davey Boy Smith

Seriously, this was probably about as good of a 3 minute match as you are ever going to see. If this happened at ANY other pay-per-view where they were given about 10 minutes to work, this would have been magic. I'm a huge fan of Bulldog's work from the early 90s; a great mixture of power and speed. The ending to this was poo with Bulldog forfeiting because of an injury. Damn shame it didn't go on longer. They gave us a tease of what could have been and I wanted to see more.

Not a bad promo from Junkyard Dog, but the awkward pause when he didn't finish his sentence after saying "Chicago" was funny. Going to guess he wanted to say the Chicago Bears.

First Round Tournament Match - The Iron Sheik vs Junkyard Dog

Damn you Fink, let Sheik get a hold of that microphone! JYD is Hulking up! Sheik can't sell for ish. The Acco-Camel Clutch! Sheik's version of the Camel Clutch doesn't look painful at all, at least the one he has on JYD. JYD wins after a headbutt. Meh match.

I ask again... who didn't Jimmy Hart manage back then? I really liked Funk's promo here. I didn't even know he was in the WWF around this time. Was that tobacco Funk just spit on the camera?

First Round Tournament Match - Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart) vs Moondog Spot

I'm not sure who he is, but Moondog Spot's beard is AMAZING. Funk offering to settle for a draw is weird, would have been better if he just told Spot to forfeit. Maybe Funk was just trying to trick him, which was the case, nevermind haha. Funk attacked Spot, but Spot kept him out of the ring and Spot won via count-out. I wanted Funk to last longer.

Funk attacked him after the match and Hart blew a gasket.

First Round Tournament Match - Tito Santana vs The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)

Muraco is a big man. This match is punch, punch, kick so far. Santana countering the Irish Whip into an arm bar after flipping him was really cool. Muraco hits the powerslam, Santana had his foot on the ropes, referee restarts match, Santana gets roll up, Santana wins. Bad match, equally as bad of a finish.

Bobby Heenan, the greatest. Putting a $50,000 bounty on Orndorff's head, great heel move.

First Round Tournament Match - Paul Orndorff vs Bob Orton

The two guys who teamed up together in the main event of WrestleMania I. Orton inadvertently nailed Orndorff with the cast in the math. Orndorff has great in-ring energy. Orndorff working on what Monsoon calls a "supposedly" injury forearm. Bob Orton doesn't look anything like his son. Orton had such an old-school ground and pound offense, really similar to his son's methodical approach in the ring today. Orndorff won by disqualification after Orton used his cast. It wasn't a bad match, and the crowd was in it. Just a really anti-climatic finish.

Terry Funk still pissed off.

Give me more of Funk!

Quarter Final Tournament Match - Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart) vs Dynamite Kid

Slingshot into the turnbuckle, one of my favorite moves. Lmao @ Ventura leaving commentary so he can go to talk to the Macho Man. Monsoon doing a good job calling the match himself. Hart is a riot on the outside. Kid sends Adonis into Hart and covers him for the 3. It was what it was.

Lmao @ Adonis crying like a kid afterwards. "Let me tell you something, Mean Gene!" I'm gonna just assume Ventura started it first.

Good promo from Ventura, talking about the advice he gave to Savage. Now get back to commentary!

Quarter Final Tournament Match - Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) vs Ricky Steamboat

Damn that Savage, running behind Elizabeth and using her like a shield. Nicknames were a lot better back in the day. "Very controversial chops to the throat." Savage with the brass knuckles! Obviously they would have a much better much a couple of years later at WrestleMania 3 but like Steamboat/Bulldog, this was about as good of a match you would see given the time restraints. Wish this would have went 10+.

Quarter Final Tournament Match - Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot

Squash. JYD won after counting the pinfall himself. Sucked.

All these matches are beginning to drain on me. This is a 2 hour show that feels like it has been going on for 10.

Quarter Final Tournament Match - Tito Santana vs Paul Orndorff

Mat-based match so far. Issue with this is the show's time restraints aren't allowing any of these guys to tell much of a story in the ring. Why was this given more time than Steamboat/Savage and Steamboat/Bulldog? Kind of boring so far. Ventura celebrating because Orndorff is acting heelish is great. Double count-out. Whatever.

Is Alfred Hayes a creep or what?

Hulk Hogan (c) vs Roddy Piper for the WWF Championship

Hulk Hogan's promos were so over-the-top, that they were actually good. It sucks that Piper never won the WWF Championship. Grade A heel. I like Hogan's all-white look. First match I'm really emotionally involved in so far; this match-up at the time would main event nearly any PPV. Straight up brawl to begin with, crowd is in it 100%. I haven't watched too many of Piper's matches; just his promos, which are top notch. I know the tournament was the focus of this PPV but this should have been the main event, the crowd is going crazy. I miss the eye poke/rake, nobody does it anymore. Sleeper Hold! Ventura is about to lose his mind, until Hogan hulks up! Love Piper running away rather than continuing to punch Hogan. Hogan gets sent in he referee and Piper nails him with a chair. Orton came and KO'd Hogan with the cast when Hogan put the sleeper on Piper, which led to Orndorff coming out and making the save. I liked this match, but I wish it was a clean finish considering the amount of DQ and count-out finishes we saw on this show.

Lmao @ Jimmy Hart ranting at JYD and then telling Okerlund to get in between them, as if he was going to do anything anyway.

Semi-Final Tournament Match - Dynamite Kid vs Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth)

I could watch Savage wrestler 10 matches a night. "The name's Macho Man, Monsoon, Macho Man. I don't call you Orangutan, do I?" Kid just ran over Savage. Kid hit a huge superplex but Savage cradled him after the fact and won. Another match that was good but way too short.

Some dumb stuff happens after the match, I don't even know how to describe it. Hogan gave a good promo telling Piper it isn't over between them. Hogan should have went for the bounty here!

Tournament Finals Match - Junkyard Dog vs Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth)

Savage comes out with an awesome tie-dye shirt. Miss Elizabeth is giving him a massage, playing up to the fact he has had 3 grueling matches while JYD faced Moondog Spot, Sheik, and had a bye. The match wasn't good and ended with a count-out. Terrible finish.

Conclusion: In many ways, this was a better show than WrestleMania I. Unfortunately, a couple of things hurt it. First off, there were way too many matches. By the time the opening round finished, I was out of it. Hogan/Piper is the only thing that got me the little bit of excited afterwards. Second, the best matches were robbed due to time restraints. If they wanted to keep the tournament format, fine. But this show could have been one of the all-time greats had they just cut it down to 8 wrestlers with Dynamite Kid, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk, Junkyard Dog, Davey Boy Smith, Paul Orndorff, and Tito Santana dueling it out and leave Hogan/Piper as the main event. As it was, we got a bunch of 3 minute matches, some great (Bulldog/Steamboat, Savage/Kid, Steamboat/Savage) and others, not so much and all ended up being insignificant and unmemorable. Third, there were too many bad finishes. 6 matches ended in either a forfeit, count-out, or DQ. The main event of a PPV should not be a DQ. WWF really missed what could have been a truly great show here because the talent was there. On the bright side, the promos were good and the commentary was excellent. Score: 1.9

Next Up... WrestleMania 2

[Messiah]

WrestleMania 2
This WrestleMania would take place from three different locations. Really bad idea. This was the first WrestleMania appearance by Vince McMahon and he opened with his iconic, "Welcome to WrestleMania!" quote. Just noticed this was a three hour show. If you took a quick glance at the card, you would understand why that is a problem. Ray Charles with his rendition of "America the Beautiful." Can't hate on Ray Charles, man. Piper had the voice of a douchebag, which made him that much better. Piper puts his career on the line - if Mr. T beats him, he will retire. Piper throws in a quick racist joke before leaving. Excellent promo aside from that. I don't care what era we're talking about. It was never acceptable.

Paul Orndorff vs The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)

So the match is going on but they are playing the interviews from these guys beforehand. Odd. The ring looks better than it did in the first WrestleMania, but the lighting is terrible. Also, who the heck is Susan and why is she on commentary with McMahon? I like Orndorff, not a bad wrestler from what I've seen of him so far. Nice transition into the Samoan drop. Why is the lighting so bad? You can barely see anything. The match ends in a double-count and the tame crowds of the 80s chant bullshit. Rightfully so, too.

Howard Finkel was pornstache before pornstache. The midget with Mr. T reminded me of that segment I saw with Piper when he shaved his (the midget's) hair. It was really uncomfortable to watch.

Randy Savage (c) (w/ with Miss Elizabeth) vs George Steele for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Miss Elizabeth, damn. They show Savage's promo before the match, which was really good as per usual from him. Savage is bigger than a match with George Steele at WrestleMania. This was probably about as bad of a match as you will ever see involving Savage. Savage won after Steele ate the turnbuckle (seriously) and Savage tripped him up and used the ropes as leverage to get the 3. He ate another turnbuckle after.

Okerlund interviews some NFL player and John Studd. It wasn't good.

Jake Roberts vs George Wells

Jake Roberts deserves better than a throwaway match. Actually, Wells is getting in some offense. Jake ends up with the quick W after a DDT. Roberts dumps Damien on him after the match as Susan does a terrible job pretending to be scared on commentary. Also, I don't care. If they told me they were going to have someone put a python on me after the match, I would say no and walk out of the building. I'm scared shitless of snakes.

They recap the Mr. T and Roddy Piper feud. They do some stupid and overly long introductions for the judges.

Boxing Match - Mr. T (with Joe Frazier and Haiti Kid) vs Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton and Lou Duva)

I don't have any problem with celebrity involvement at WrestleMania, but a boxing match in professional wrestling, I have no interest in seeing. It just doesn't work. First round was brutal to watch and Susan's terrible commentary doesn't help. The match ends in 4 rounds after Piper body slams Mr. T. There is a huge brawl after 20 or so of the most brutal minutes of professional wrestling I have ever watched.

So we go to the Chicago portion of the pay-per-view and now the commentator with Monsoon is a woman named Cathy. WTH?

The Fabulous Moolah (c) vs Velvet McIntyre for the WWF Women's Championship

Moolah wins with a... splash? in what was nothing more than a squash and not even a fun one. The lighting is a lot better in this arena.

Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie) vs Corporate Kirchner

Damn that Kirchner for interrupting Volkoff's national anthem! The winner of this match gets to wave their flag after the match. Interesting stipulation. Kirchner got busted or bladed really quick, then caught Blassie's cane and won the match in like a minute.

WWF vs NFL 20-man Battle Royal

After enduring one of the worst stretches of professional wrestling I can remember watching, I have never been more grateful for a battle royal. No way a battle royal can be bad, right? Oh shit, Dick Butkus is a guest referee! And Too Tall Jones! The only NFL names I know of in the battle royal is William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Bruno Sammartino, John Studd, Jim Neidhart, Bret Hart, Iron Sheik, Tony Atlas, Pedro Morales, and Andre the Giant are in this as well. Perry got one hell of a pop! Ernie Ladd doing commentary now with Monsoon and Cathy. Perry just steamrolled Studd, but then Studd eliminated Perry. Perry tricked him into a handshake and eliminated him. Andre, some guy named Francis, and Hart Foundation left. HF eliminates Francis. Giant big boots Neidhart out and then throws Bret out. It was enjoyable.

Piper cuts a promo with McMahon, which was fucking amazing.

The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (c) (with Johnny Valiant) vs The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) (with Ozzy Osbourne and Lou Albano)

Really looking forward to this match. Interested in seeing The British Bulldogs (moreso Dynamite Kid since I'm familiar with Davey Boy). I can tell Benoit based a lot of his in-ring style off of Dynamite's. The commentary for this match isn't good. The Bulldogs won after they rammed Valentine's head into Dynamite's boot. It was a solid match, best of the night by far so far. Just didn't like the finish.

Hyper promo from Lou Albano after the match. Time to go to California! Looks like Ventura will be on commentary with Alfred Hayes (sigh) and some lady named Elvira (double sigh), who is wearing clothing that is exposing by even today's standards.

Ricky Steamboat vs Hercules Hernandez

Not much to say about this one. Steamboat won with a diving cross body. Watchable match if only because of The Dragon.

Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart) vs Uncle Elmer

WWF must have cut something out because the screen flashed black then did an odd transition into this match. Adonis is wearing a dress while Elmer has a hillbilly gimmick. So that should tell you how this match went.

Unlike the first WrestleMania, this doesn't feel like a huge event at all. The main reason is because of the three locations idea they ran with. The Wrestling Classic felt more prestigious than this. Good promo from Hogan. Like Cena, he was really hit or miss, but he had a lot of charisma and talking ability.

Terry Funk and Hoss Funk (with Jimmy Hart) vs Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana

Quick Google search tells me Hoss = Dory, who I've only heard of but never seen in action. Terry is a crazy son of a gun. Hart getting the quick kicks in and running away! I love chicken shit heels. The hot tag for JYD was great, this is more fast-paced than most of the matches from around then it seems. Funk slammed onto the table! JYD gets Hart and knocks him out. Figure four by Tito on Dory. Terry has megaphone and clocks JYD while ref is distracted! FUNK WINS! Really good match, Terry Funk was the star.

Steel Cage Match - Hulk Hogan (c) vs King Kong Bundy (with Bobby Heenan) for the WWF Championship

They show a clip building up this match. Bundy broke Hogan's ribs leading up to this. Bundy is a good talker, but his attire makes me think of Bull Dempsey. I think the length of the time it took to go from the last match to this match was longer than any match on the card. Ventura is pretty much commentating by himself. I hate escape only cage matches. Bundy manhandling Hogan early on. Bundy choking Hogan with the wrap that Hogan used for his ribs and then tied him to the ropes with it. But Hogan used his super strength to break free and bring him back in. Bundy with one of the most obvious blade jobs I have ever seen. I actually did not know they were allowed to blade back in the 80s. Maybe I'm mistaking it with the early 90s? I remember hearing Flair got in trouble for it in his short time there. Hogan tries to slam Bundy but couldn't. Bundy smashes Hogan with a running splash in the corner and then splashes him on the ground. Bundy tries to leave but Hogan HULKS UP and stops him from escaping through the door. Bundy with the Avalanche again and Hogan no sells it and slams him. Leg drop. Hogan tries to escape but Heenan stops him and Bundy chases after. Hogan kicks Bundy off the cage and escapes. This really wasn't a bad match. It was your standard Hogan vs Big Man match. It just wasn't a good WrestleMania main event. It didn't feel special at all. Hogan slams Heenan into the cage after the match.

Conclusion: This show isn't all that much different than the first WrestleMania and probably did feature superior in-ring action, mainly because of the two tag team matches. The issue is this show doesn't hold the significance the first WrestleMania had. I don't know why they thought going to three different venues would be a good idea. The commentary was piss poor. The show didn't feel like it was of any importance. The show was downright terrible until the Bulldogs tag team match with The Dream Team. I wouldn't recommend this to anybody. Score: 1

Next Up... WrestleMania III

[Daz]

Oh god, some of these early shows are gonna be murder on you sir. I commend your spirit.

[VaderBomb]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

[VaderBomb]

Also Messiah, your grandfather is the bee's knees for owning a JYD LGN.

[SortaCreative]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

Prolly stick Mania 11 up there too. That's the one with Bam Bam in the main event? Shawn vs. Diesel?

[VaderBomb]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

Prolly stick Mania 11 up there too. That's the one with Bam Bam in the main event? Shawn vs. Diesel?

Yup, that's a shit event as well. Bret vs Backlund should have twice as long and three times as exciting.

[Str8Shooter]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

Prolly stick Mania 11 up there too. That's the one with Bam Bam in the main event? Shawn vs. Diesel?

Yup, that's a shit event as well. Bret vs Backlund should have twice as long and three times as exciting.

Didn't Bret say himself that that was his worst match he ever had?

[Messiah]

Oh god, some of these early shows are gonna be murder on you sir. I commend your spirit.

Yea, I'm beginning to realize that.

Although it isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The only all-out brutal one I've seen so far is WrestleMania 2. That made me want to give up. Wrestling Classic sucked, but the matches were short and the performers involved were great so it wasn't painful.

Also Messiah, your grandfather is the bee's knees for owning a JYD LGN.

He had a shit ton of them in his storage because he used to collect a lot of stuff. It was partially how I got into wrestling in the first place. The JYD one is the one I remember the most. Here is the Hulk Hogan one:



Also King Kong Bundy:

[Messiah]

WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III, considered by many to be the peak of 1980s professional wrestling. I don't know if the WWE is being honest with their attendance count, but the crowd is pretty damn large. The look of this WrestleMania far exceeds the first two - the lightening, for example, is way better. For some reason, I thought this was an outdoor show at first. Aretha Franklin with a good rendition of "America The Beautiful." Please don't tell me they are going to do guest commentary for another WrestleMania! Just give me Ventura and Monsoon, dammit! Aaaand looks like it will just be Ventura and Monsoon, thank you wrestling Gods.

The Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) vs Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)

Where is Orton's cast?! Muraco looks a little muscular than the last couple of times I've seen him and Monsoon makes note of it. Man, the atmosphere for this WrestleMania is amazing. It is hard to explain in words, you have to see it for yourself. I would say this is the first modern-looking (at the time) PPV the WWF put on. I'm not familiar with Martel so it is hard for him to tell him apart from Zenk. They showed a shot of Ventura and Monsoon being all the way up in the booth, really neat I thought. Fast-paced tag team match so far, the crowd is hot. The Can-Am Connection wins after a cross body. Solid opening match!

Bobby Heenan's jacket is fire. Hercules with veins for days.

Hercules (with Bobby Heenan) vs Billy Jack Haynes

This was like if Mason Ryan wrestled Scott Steiner (the too roided up to move version of him). It was a clumsy, slow paced fight where the two just went through the motions. Haynes slaps in the full nelson on the outside of the ring and it ends in a double count-out. What was it with the WWF and count-outs back in the day? Hercules busted Haynes open pretty bad with a chain after the match.

Hillbilly Jim, Haiti Kid, and Little Beaver vs King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo, and Lord Littlebrook

This was King Kong Bundy teaming up with 2 midgets vs Hillbilly Jim teaming up with 2 midgets. It sucked and ended with Bundy's team getting DQ'd. Also, guest commentary. Boo.

Miss Elizabeth looks better and better. Savage interrupts her being interviewed, and Savage is ticked that the interviewer would rather interview her than him. Damn, Savage was the man.

Loser Must Bow - Harley Race (with Bobby Heenan and The Fabulous Moolah) vs Junkyard Dog

Ooh, Lawler's theme was once Harley Race's. I liked the cart or whatever you would call it taking every wrestler to the ring. Race was in his 40's here and JYD wasn't exactly young himself and it showed. This was a poor match. Heenan's antics made this semi-entertaining. JYD attacked Race after the match, Ventura's reaction was hilarious. "I have never in my life seen such a cheap shot."

Hogan must have took some coke before his promos. I enjoyed it. "I think he's too hyped up." You think, Ventura?

The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) vs The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (with Johnny Valiant and Dino Bravo)

Valiant is the fucking man. HEENAN ON COMMENTARY, YESSSS. Heenan bullshitting his way to explain how he is 2-0 so far tonight. Rougeau Brothers had the match won but Bravo interfered and The Dream Team wound up winning. OK match. Odd post-match with Beefcake being ditched by his team for some reason.

Hair vs Hair - Roddy Piper vs Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart)

Maybe this match ends up being good, I don't know, but surely there was something better for Piper to do? According to Ventura, this is Piper's retirement match. Obviously that didn't turn out to be the case, but at the time, this was a big deal I would imagine. Which makes it even odder that he's in this match with overweight Adonis. Adonis is busted. Nice selling from Piper. Beefcake comes in and "brings Piper back to life" after Adonis had him in the sleeper. Piper slaps the Sleeper on Adonis and gets the win. Match wasn't bad but the horrific finish killed it. Beefcake cut off Adonis' hair after the match, I guess turning babyface.

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and Danny Davis (with Jimmy Hart) vs The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) and Tito Santana

Bret Hart makes an awkward bad guy here. He just nods his head and smiles a lot, in the pre-match promo at least. Why did Ventura have to leave commentary for this match? They have some lady replacing him, its dreadful. I feel bad for Monsoon right now. "We're going to have to rename Dynamite, Firecracker right now if he doesn't shape up." Sigh. I wish they would have just made this match The Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs. Crowd was excited to see Santana beat the hell out of Danny Davis, though. Tombstone by Davey Boy! Bulldog hits a huge powerslam but The Anvil breaks up the count. Davis sneaks in the pin after chaos ensues and gets the win for his team! This wasn't a bad match, I enjoyed it. The Bulldogs and Hart Foundation looked great and Santana and Danny did what they were supposed to do. Commentary did its best to try and ruin it, though.

Mean Gene with Andre and Heenan. Heenan changed his jacket, either that or this was pre-taped from somewhere else. Heenan hypes up Andre, telling everyone how he hasn't lost a match in his 15 year career.

Koko B. Ware vs Butch Reed (with Slick)

Slick, da man! Ware has a catchy theme. Ventura is back! This was a nothing man, and Reed won after rolling up Ware following a crossbody from the latter and pulling the tights. Santana came out and attacked Slick afterwards.

They recap the build-up to Savage and Steamboat. Savage attacked Steamboat at an event and injured his larynx. Steele kidnapped Elizabeth during a match between Savage and Steamboat. Savage gave a promo saying he is going to embarrass Steamboat, and calls himself the Lord and Master of the ring. "History beckons the Macho Man, yeah!" Steamboat is giving a solid promo until they play some Rocky Balboa like music through it, which happens to be his theme music. Makes sense.

Randy Savage (c) (with Miss Elizabeth) vs Ricky Steamboat (with George Steele) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Savage runs out of the ring to pull Elizabeth away from Steele. Awesome sequence between Savage and Steamboat with Steamboat hitting a lot of shoulder blocks before Savage finally countered it. Savage tries to use the bell but gets it taken away from him by Steele and Steamboat ends up winning with a small package. This was a good match, great match even. Just from watching the first two WrestleMania's and the rest of this card, you can tell how innovative it was to WWF fans at the time. It was a 10+ minute fast-paced, crisp battle between two of the best they had at the time. However, I don't agree with the GOAT-match billing it tends to get. Not that I'm going to take away from how much it meant at the time, it was huge and it is a great match. I just think some overrate it.

Jake Roberts (with Alice Cooper) vs Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart)

I love Honky Tonk Man, solid promo from him beforehand. I wish they didn't make it dark as hell inside. It makes the arena look worse. Jake goes for the DDT, but Hart interferes and Honky rolls him up for the win. It was an alright match. After the match, Snake attacked Honky who ran away which left Jimmy alone with Jake, Alice, and Damien. Awesome moment, Jimmy looked genuinely scared.

The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (with Slick) vs The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell)

Slick managing Sheik and Volkoff is... odd. But the awesomeness of Sheik and Volkoff make it work. Volkoff singing the Soviet Union National Anthem will never get old. The crowd threw trash at Volkoff! Hacksaw Jim Duggan came out and stopped Volkoff before he could finish singing. Duggan says he will never get the chance to sing it again. This was a respectable match but the DQ ending sucked. Some of these matches feel like they were booked by a PG version of Vince Russo.

Hulk Hogan (c) vs André the Giant (with Bobby Heenan)

This is arguably the biggest match in professional wrestling history. The in-ring action was far from great, it was closer to bad than good but it goes beyond that. The commentary was on point. "The irresistible force meeting the immovable object" is one of the most replayed quotes ever. The atmosphere is superb. The slam is one of the greatest moments ever. The crowd went nuts for it. Nearly 30 years later and you can still tell how important this match was at the time.

Conclusion: This is the first WrestleMania that really felt like WrestleMania. It featured possibly the biggest match-up in WWE history with Hogan and Andre. It has one of the most remembered matches ever before Steamboat and Savage, which was nothing short of innovative at the time in regards to the WWF product and what their fans were used to. A couple of things hurt this show. There were still a good amount of duds. A lot of crap finishes. The guest commentary for the Harts/Bulldogs match turned me off bad. Overall though, it was an enjoyable show that Steamboat/Savage and Hogan/Andre helped turn into one of the most memorable events. Score: 8

Up Next... Survivor Series (1987)

[flock u]

Your WM 2 score is too generous lol

[Hanley!]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

Prolly stick Mania 11 up there too. That's the one with Bam Bam in the main event? Shawn vs. Diesel?

Wrestlemania 4 is pretty rough too. That's another show with just far too many matches and it becomes completely draining after a while. It's cool that Savage wins the title (though Hogan is there trying to suck up the spotlight at the same time), but the pay per view is done pretty badly.

[Daz]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

Prolly stick Mania 11 up there too. That's the one with Bam Bam in the main event? Shawn vs. Diesel?

Wrestlemania 4 is pretty rough too. That's another show with just far too many matches and it becomes completely draining after a while. It's cool that Savage wins the title (though Hogan is there trying to suck up the spotlight at the same time), but the pay per view is done pretty badly.

IV is god awful. It tends to get a pass cause Savage gets the belt.

A lot of the early Mania's are just terrible cause they try to do 11-12 matches and the shows just drag on and on. Plus, everyone is so jacked at a certain point, they can barely bloody move.

[Hanley!]

^^ Yeah, I only saw it recently and was going in with the impression it was supposed to be good. Jesus, was I disappointed.

[SortaCreative]

Oh man, great idea! I would love to do this myself, but if I did I'd have to re watch the shittiest of the shit. I believe that I've seen about 95% of the WWF PPVs from 1985-2001, and there are some that I assumed would never watch again.

WrestleMania II is the worst Mania along with 9 and 27, and before I even clicked on this thread I was assuming that you'd hate it.

Prolly stick Mania 11 up there too. That's the one with Bam Bam in the main event? Shawn vs. Diesel?

Wrestlemania 4 is pretty rough too. That's another show with just far too many matches and it becomes completely draining after a while. It's cool that Savage wins the title (though Hogan is there trying to suck up the spotlight at the same time), but the pay per view is done pretty badly.

Grandstanding

4 is prolly known for the finals. I agree it's pretty rough to watch otherwise.