The two main feuds entering WrestleMania VII were between Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Sgt. Slaughter and The Ultimate Warrior and “Macho King” Randy Savage. While Savage and Warrior stole the show the blindfold match between Jake Roberts and Rick Martel, comes in at a close second as one of the best matches on a pretty forgettable card.
The blind fold match was a smart performance, total crowd pleasing match. Why after all these years why does the this match have replay value? Good suspense. The suspense was over whelming, the match realistically had three or four wrestling moves. The match had great psychology, which Jake is king of, both Roberts and Martel really played to the crowd. I cant think of any other match that had such impact in such a short time. I fact the blind fold match may be both performers greatest contribution to WWE. I do enjoy the feud between Rick Rude and Jake Roberts as well but this type of over is just amazing.
This submission was chosen and written by Khal Bundy.
This is one of those matches that I didn’t watch when it went down (as I wasn’t really watching wrestling at the time), but in my gorging of the years I missed, this one stuck out as being one of those Mania matches that is the definition of “show-stealing.” You know, what Dolph Ziggler always claims he does, whether he truly does steal the show or just puts on a good match (there IS a difference).
Shawn and Jericho had been building a feud, one that has Chris proclaiming his standom of Shawn Michaels, but ending up causing Shawn all kinds of havoc. They are some of the BEST storytellers of the modern era, and they knew how to put on a show in the ring, so there was no way this match was going to be crap. Also, Michaels was at a point where he was establishing WHY he was Mr. Wrestlemania; it’s not about having the biggest marquee match on the bill, but having a solid back-and-forth clinic that could steal the show.
Their feud was already amazing, but this match was on a card that included Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle, The Rock vs. Steve Austin, AND a streetfight between Hogan and McMahon. They had no title on the line, and went on fifth, but they put on the ski masks and threw Mania 19 in their Jansports with a properly laid out bout that told a great story, allowing each other to shine.
Outside of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels for the strap, WrestleMania XIV was straight trash. The second match that sorta really mattered or stuck out to me was Cactus Jack (Terry Funk) & Chainsaw Charlie (Mick Foley) vs. New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Titles in a Dumpster Match.
I’m such a mark for the New Age Outlaws, so anytime something involving the duo is occurs my attention was undivided. The dumpster match was a wrestling match, it was a brawl and very entertaining chairs, ladders, trash cans, backstage action…After plenty of “Hardcore” action (which was becoming a thing), Funk and Foley put the Outlaws into a dumpster located backstage and won the match, but the following night on Raw, the decision was reversed because the champions weren’t put in the right dumpster.
Bret Hart versus Steve Austin in a No Disqualification Submission match. Really is the most, memorable match for me. I cant for the life of me remember the main event championship match. Over all Hart and Austin’s rivalry was well booked. The program started after Austin won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament
The ending was memorable Bret applied a Sharpshooter, Austin who did not submit and tried to resist but passed out from the pain and loss of blood. Hart continued to attack Austin which lead to a double-turn as the fans turned on Hart and began cheering for Austin. The double turn was very well done.
“USA, that’s what they’re saying”, “That’s how bright they are, one guy’s from Canada, the other’s from Japan” – Heenan being brilliant!
Yokozuna was a great superstar for his time with his physical challenges of being large, and really portraying the character he had to. Not many know, he wasn’t Asian… believe it or not, he’s Samoan and is connected somewhere to the Maivia’s (The Rock’s family name) and Uso’s (Rhikishi’s family name). Yokozuna at this point was very far over, and was the super villain of the WWF.
Brett Hart obviously comes from a long line of wrestling greatness and the dungeon training as well as discipline, under the jurisdiction of his late and legendary father Stu Hart. Brett was a favorite at the time, was extremely over as the face, and was the hopeful contender to finally end the reign of Yokozuna. The odd’s were in his favor and the match was set at the grandest stage of them all… Wrestelmania IX at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas Nevada… outdoors nonetheless, how amazing!
This particular event for Emilio and I, was the first time, Good Ol’ JR started to show face as a regular on the broadcast team. Heenan, JR, and Savage called a great card, however we witnessed shortly thereafter, Heenan and Savage slowly slipping into the spotlight of WCW.
This match, was overall, a decent fight between Brett and Yoko. No one expected or really cared to see the “surprise” ending… and I use the term loosely, because why would a handful of salt, put Brett Hart who wrestled with a broken sternum and still won a match against Dino Bravo, at a house show years prior to this, out of commission? It didn’t make sense.
Hart truly was the excellence of execution, and even impressed many with putting Yoko into the sharpshooter… but when Mr. Fuji (Yokozuna’s manager) interfered and threw salt into the eyes of the Hitman, the match took an unexpected turn. WWF always tried to show the world’s conflict through feuds and matches, BUT WE WEREN’T FEUDING OR INVOLVED WITH ANY CONFLICTS BETWEEN USA, JAPAN, OR CANDA… so this ending made no sense.
Hogan was very dormant and stale at this point between Wrestlemania VII through IX, and shortly after IX he picked up and left. Hogan shows up at the end to save the day as Brett signals for him to enter the ring and finish the match. In his cheesy yellow cowboy boots and red leggings, using a cliche leg drop and yellow t-shirt rip, with his bandana on and all his product placement clearly visible, Hogan performed his entire repertoire in 90 seconds, which goes to show, the other superstars made him look good. He wins the belt, does the hand to the ear pose and all that jazz, and is the hero with music and pyro at the end, to close “the granddaddy of them all.”
Fast forward to June where he looses the belt to Yokozuna (after refusing to loose it to Brett), he ups and leaves. I chose this as a memorable match because it shows how simple WWF once was, compared to the now complex Wrestlemania moments that are so much better. But we still respect the classics!
Enjoy, and look forward to this magnificent event of tomorrow.
This was where my fandom for Cena started, WrestleMania XX. The Mania that made me a fan again. My absence started WrestleMania XIV, shocking I know. It was a dark period in your boys life. Funny story I was dating the crazy bitch at the time and decided to end it the very Sunday of the PPV. Besides being bat-shit loony the last straw was purposely getting us lost in Jersey, causing me to miss the entire live PPV.
I was newly single,and watched the replay alone, feeling like the weight of the world lifted. I was amazed that Cena was that dude, the throwback jerseys, the “freestlyes”, a face using chicanery to win his matches.
Show kicks out on the first FU, Cena hits Show with knucks behind the ref’s to win the title. I think this was the last time MSG would unanimously cheer John Cena.
This would be Cena’s first title with the WWE. The following year he would win his first WWF Heavyweight Championship.
How can you not love the television NXT has been producing. WWE really has a great crop of new talent that can really develop and carry over on to RAW and Smackdown.
By now all who read this website and follow me on twitter know, Kassius Ohno is like my brother, so anything I blog, in reference to his work, may come off as one sided. I say fuck off!!!!! Kassius is an amazing performer and is a wrestlers, wrestler. Over all just a great a person.
Regal is another class act who can still wrestle. I like the role Regal has taken. Developing talent and teaching the next crop of guy the old school style. I giggle every time Regal, said Kassius in his English accent. It was so proper like Kassy Us…… Anyway this is shaping up to be a nice program and I like Kassius as a heel.
I always enjoyed his matches with Benoit and Regal. Finlay and Angle had some incredible matches as well, they both come from amateur backgrounds. Finlay is from old school Collar and elbow/British style of wrestling.
You should know Finlay is widely credited for working with the WWE Divas who could actually wrestle, Trish Stratus, Lita, Mickie James. Even Batista has said that Finlay was instrumental in his growth and career. Along with William Regal Finlay should have been a World Champion.
Bret Hart just seems bitter and always a Debbie downer when it comes to wrestlers outside his friend zone. Bret lives in “mark” for him self Hitman world. Bret speaks with animosity, and its always directed towards Vince, Hunter and Shawn Michaels.
As much as I respect The Hitman, I cant help but shake my head in disbelief over certain statements. I was never a huge Hunter fan but Hunter was that guy for some time in the company. I really enjoyed the Evolution days and thought the McMahon-Helmsley Era was entertaining.
For years people have talked shit about HHH. How he abuses his power backstage, constantly going over on people that were much more over with the fans then him, (Shawn Michaels, RVD, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Randy Orton). Whether you agree with Bret or want to believe what you hear about back stage politics, HHH’s contributions to WWE and wrestling should be respected. HHH was always a decent mic skills and can wrestle. Some of my twitter followers say not as technically sound as HBK, but HBK is in another atmosphere.
I think Bret saying Hunter never had a great match, is foolish. Triple H in 2000/2001 was headlining almost all the pay-per-views. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 20, Stone cold 3 stages of hell, Shawn Michaels 2 out of 3 falls, John Cena at night of champions, are just some that come to mind.
Triple H vs Taker at Wrestlemania 28, wasn’t about wrestling. I was more of a brawl. There was nothing fancy about the match, personally I didn’t want a catch can between these two. I wanted brawl and that’s what I got. I enjoyed everything intertwined with the hell in a cell gimmick, the streak, near falls, and HBK’s dramatic emotion made the match that much more.
Triple H vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania 27, NOW that was an overrated match, but the end of an era match was far from mediocre
With Royal Rumble an hour away I wanted to share my favorite/best booked Rumbles of all time. We will never see another Royal Rumble like this ever again. We all know the winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania, but in 1992, things were a bit different. The winner would be crowned champion. The WWF Title was held up and vacant due to controversy from the 1991 Survivor Series between Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.
In my opinion this is the greatest Royal Rumble of all time. For one the roster for this rumble was Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sid Justice, Randy Savage, Sgt.Slaughter, Roddy Pipper, Rick Martel and Kerry Von Eric just to name a few. Heenan and Monsoon were amazing on this commentary, they did a fantastic job putting Flair over. The back and fourth between Gorilla and Bobby was high energy and extremely entertaining for over an hour. The unfair to Flair still makes giggle.
Flair’s performance was remarkable, as he entered the match at number three of thirty and wrestled for an hour. Slick Ric always referred to himself as the 60 minute man. Ric Flair winning the Rumble at number three really says a lot. Flair was the first non-Vince guy to win the WWF championship. How can somebody say this isnt the greatest rumble of all time?
The ending was always awkward but worked. The final four were Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sid Justice and Randy Savage. Epic I know. Savage gets eliminated first. Hogan gets Flair over the top rope but Sid sneaks up and ELIMINATES Hogan! ShockingSid eliminates Hulk Hogan the cheers when Hogan got dumped out, makes me pop every time, fans finally got tired of his gimmick and tyrannical ”win-everything” behavior. Anyway Flair eliminates Sid Justice with outside assist from Hogan who for being the baby face looked like a sore loser. Bobby Heenan’s head explodes with joy and runs to the back to celebrate with Flair.
After the match a bunch of referees separate Hogan and Sid setting up the very boring main event for WrestleMania VIII. I didn’t like how Hogan spoiled Flairs moment, Flair never had the opportunity to celebrate in the ring. I had Flair as a guest on my radio show and asked about this. Flair said he never really thought about it because he was so over joyed being the WWF champion.
In the back WWF President Jack Tunney presents the WWF title to Ric Flair “Mean” Gene starts the interview and Flair is nothing but magic calling WWF Championship the only title in the world. Theres shit load of WOOOOO’s, Bobby Heenan and Mr. Perfect are money. I never understood why Mean Gene yells out put the cigarette out and has a disgusted look on his face.
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