WrestleMania 2

Legacy Review

WrestleMania 2

April 7, 1986 (which was, strangely enough, a Monday)

The gamble of the original Wrestlemania had paid off big time, immediately making it the center of the WWF calendar. The NWA was having success running Starrcade at two different venues, so Vince looked at that and said "Screw that, we can top that shit, let's do THREE!". Well, I wasn't in the room so I may be paraphrasing a little. WM 2 took place from three different cities. Instead of swapping between matches like Starrcade, the show would run in time zone flow from city to city, with each arena having its own undercard and main event, and every city would have at least one title match. The live crowds could watch the whole show on closed circuit TV in the arena. This show also doubled down on the guest celebrities, with someone famous from the non-wrestling world around seemingly every corner.

From the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY (commentary: Vince McMahon and guest celebrity Susan St. James)

Vince welcomes us to WRESTLEMANIA (that's one word Michael Cole, not WRESTLE..........MANIA) and introduces Ray Charles for America the Beautiful. Charles gives us what could only be called a gross approximation of the lyrics. Totally off script promo. Quick cut to Chicago where Mean Gene says hi and shows the tech side is working fine. Then there's a pretaped Roddy Piper promo where he promises to quit wrestling, tiddlywinks and dating girls if Mr. T knocks him out. Piper also says that he'll never paint himself black. Incidentally, the next Wrestlemania I'll be reviewing after this one will be Wrestlemania 6.

The Magnificent Muraco (w/Mr. Fuji) and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff go to a double countout in 4:10- Orndorff makes a show of taking his robe off. During the opening part of the match the audio of promos for both guys play. That's a bit of a mess. Bodyslam trade off. Orndorff with a backdrop and a drop toe hold and Muraco is in an armbar. Muraco tries to roll out of it but Orndorff keeps it locked in. After forever Muraco finally Samoan Drops out of it. Orndorff no sells some turnbuckle shots. They fight in the corner and slowly flop over the top rope and out (with Orndorff's feet inadvertently getting caught in the ropes). They do some weak brawling on the floor and both guys are counted out. Loud bullshit chant from the crowd. Next. 1/2*

WWF Intercontinental Championship: "Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth) (c) def George "The Animal" Steele in 5:10- Savage arrived in WWF in mid-'85 from Memphis and immediately looked like The Next Big Thing. His groundbreaking aerial style revolutionized WWF's in ring product, while his charisma owned the promo stage. Savage beat Tito Santana for the IC title at the February Boston Gahden house show (with the assist of brass knucks). Unfortunately for his first Wrestlemania match, this is what we get. Steele being openly infatuated with Elizabeth was the driving force for the feud. Savage leaves his sunglasses and headband on at the start. Steele chases him out. Savage bails a second time, grabs a chair and takes a swing at Steele with it. He bails a third time. This time Steele chases. He catches Savage and bites his boot. Savage sells it like he's actually biting his leg. Savage tries to ambush him when he gets back in but Steele grabs him in a choke and lifts him up and throws him across the ring. Steele, mental genius, stops to say hi to Liz. Savage successfully ambushes him this time and Steele gets wrapped up in the ropes. Savage gets a crossbody off the top rope but Steele botches the catch and fall. Savage recovers and gets on top of him and gets a two count. Steele's kickout sends him through the ropes and out again. After being thrown out yet again Savage sneaks underneath the ring and gets Steele from behind again. Steele responds with an arm bite. St James: "I wonder if he's had his shots". She got a good line in! Savage grabs a bunch of flowers from ringside and attacks Steele with them. Another arm bite. Steele grabs the flowers and hits Savage with them and, Savage being Savage, he sells it. Steele does his signature eating of the top turnbuckle, takes the foam out and rubs it in Savage's face. This ref is giving more leeway than Red Shoes. They're outside again. Steele hits on Liz. Savage waffles him with a double ax handle off the top rope to the floor. Body slam, elbow, and thank God it's over. Oh hell it isn't. Steele freaking kicked out of the Savage elbow drop. Steele rams Savage into the corner. Savage manages a double leg takedown, stacks Steele up, gets his feet on the ropes, and gets the 3. There was no good reason not to do the clean finish other than the "heels have to cheat to win" rule. Savage tried his best but there was too much heavy lifting to drag Steele to anything resembling watchable. 3/4*

Jake "The Snake" Roberts def George Wells in 3:15- Wells was a former CFL player that held some minor and tag titles in various territories before being a jobber in WWF for a couple of years. Roberts had jumped over from Mid-South the month before and was still a heel. Fast start with Wells getting a quick advantage. Roberts tries to fight back but Wells does a good job of keeping him off balance and stays in control most of the match. He even whips out a flying headscissors! After a 2 count off a powerslam Roberts teases getting Damien out, plants Wells with the DDT, and gets the 3. Then gets Damien out. I went to Wrestlemania and a Superstars of Wrestling match broke out. The saddest thing is it's the "best" match so far. Short but spunky. Roberts taking a beating and still winning with just the DDT sells it as a move of instant death. *1/2

Boxing Match: Mr. T (w/Haiti Kid and Joe Frazier) def "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (w/Bob Orton and Lou Duva) by DQ in 13:14- Piper and T renewed hostilities after T had a boxing match with Orton on a previous SNME. They've gone so far as to put on boxing style turnbuckle covers on over the regular ones in the corners. This is scheduled 10 rounds. Round one, T lays in with body shots. They get wrapped up in the ropes but won't let go. The ref yells at them to "break when I say to break". Piper tries for cheap shots during breaks, the ref tells him off. Lots of dodging and spot picking from T. Piper keeps going for cheap shots. They keep fighting after the bell and have to be broken up. Round 2, T complains about grease on Piper's forehead and the ref makes him wipe it off. Piper gets some shots in and T gets a no break warning from the ref. Piper gets on a roll and T goes down. Piper gets a hard cheap shot in on the back of T's head after the bell. Between rounds Piper throws the water from his bucket across the ring. Round 3, Piper is confident. T traps Piper in the corner and slowly beats him down. Another hard left sends Piper down and out of the ring. His seconds help him recover. Round 4, Piper picks up his stool and throws it at T. They both lay in with straight unguarded punches, semi New Japan style. T's mouthguard comes out. Piper knocks the ref down and bodyslams T, drawing a DQ. EVERYONE starts brawling and have to be slowly separated. It was boxing, not my thing. It had intensity, which I appreciate. Though he would make some sporadic appearances after this was T's last actual match. It was also Piper's last major appearance as a heel. He'd take a short hiatus then come back as a face later in the year. **1/4

From the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, IL (commentary: Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund and guest celebrity Cathy Lee Crosby) 

WWF Women's Championship: The Fabulous Moolah (c) def Velvet McIntyre in 1:25- Moolah hides behind the ref to Suzuki-Gun McIntyre and flips her around by the hair. McIntyre comes back with a weak leapfrog and one foot dropkicks. She's fighting her tights to keep from flashing the audience. Not the show they're looking for. Might pop the Youtube views though. Oh. McIntyre misses a splash off the top. Moolah covers her and the ref counts 3 even though McIntyre's foot is on the ropes. Well that was pointless. This was the last women's match at a Wrestlemania until WM 15. DUD

Flag Match: Corporal Kirchner def Nikolai Volkoff (w/Freddie Blassie) in 2:05- Kirchner was a legitimate veteran, serving as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. Volkoff is slightly unpopular. The ring is littered with trash during his intro and traditional Soviet National Anthem signing. The "flag match" rule in this case only means the winner can wave his flag. Well, they were probably going to do that anyway. It's all Volkoff early. Kirchner gets posted and is slightly bleeding. Everyone that worked in Mid-Atlantic at the time is laughing at the amount of blood. It breaks down to a brawl in the ring. The ref gets knocked down. Blassie throws his cane in but Kirchner intercepts, nails Volkoff with it, and gets the 3. Back to back trash matches as the Chicago portion of the show is not off to a great start. DUD

Even though it's not the last match at the arena the next match is called the Chicago portion of the main event. Mean Gene does the ring announcing. It's billed as "WWF vs NFL" but it's really just your standard battle royale. The match roster is for the WWF: Ted Arcidi, Andre the Giant, Hillbilly Jim, The Iron Sheik, King Tonga (Haku), Tony Atlas, Big John Studd, Dan Spivey, Pedro Morales, Bruno Sammartino, The Killer Bees and The Hart Foundation; and for the NFL: Jimbo Covert (T, Bears), Bill Fralic (G, Falcons), Russ Francis (TE, 49ers), Ernie Holmes (retired DT, Steelers), Harvey Martin (retired DE, Cowboys) and the hugely over William "The Refrigerator" Perry from the defending Super Bowl champ Chicago Bears.

WWF vs NFL Battle Royale- A fired up Perry comes off the top rope on his entrance and Okerlund sells it like an earthquake. There's no bell, they just get the cue and start brawling. Studd and Andre immediately pair off. Not much of note to recap here, it's just a bunch of weak battle royale brawling with the wrestlers trying to walk the non-wrestlers through it. Haku wraps up Covert and tries to teach him some wrestling lessons. Both tumble over the top and out. Probably smart to get Haku out early. Andre tries to work with Francis. A group dumps Brunzell out. Perry eliminates Atlas to a huge pop. He goes after Studd next. Morales and I think Martin eliminate each other. A group of big guys toss Arcidi out, then Spivey. Sheik flips both Blair and Jim out. There goes Fralic, who was cutting heel promos in the leadup to this. Bruno dumps Sheiky Baby. Studd takes out Bruno. The Harts double team Perry. They've done a good job of working together as a team the whole match. Perry throws them both off, both Harts go over the top but land on the apron. Perry tackles Studd. Studd taunts Perry for one more, counters with a back elbow and dumps him out. Perry offers a handshake, but IT'S A RUSE! He pulls Studd out! The final four are both Harts, Andre and Francis. The wrestlers gang up on Francis until the Harts double dropkick Andre. Andre ties himself up in the ropes. The Harts dump Francis out. 2 on 1? They're just where Andre wants them. The Harts successfully double team him for a bit but Andre soon comes back. Anvil eats a big boot in the middle of the ring and sells it all the way over and out. Bret for some reason goes to the top rope. Andre press slams him into Anvil and it's over. Andre wins his 4,783rd battle royale. I'm approximating. Well, I suppose it's an improvement on the previous two matches. Doesn't say much. 1/2*

WWF Tag Team Championship: The British Bulldogs (w/Capt. Lou Albano and Ozzy Osborne) def The Dream Team (c) (w/Freddie Blassie) in 13:03- These guys are here to save the show. Monsoon's dream comes true as there's two refs working the match. DBS and Valentine start. DBS's power game quickly takes over. Dynamite runs Valentine over with a shoulderblock at 100 MPH. Dynamite was really something special at his peak. Multiple suplexes on Valentine, who begs off and regroups. For some reason he doesn't tag out, but he does manage to get the upper hand on DBS so I guess he knew what he was doing. Now Beefcake tags in. DBS gives him a press slam. Dynamite tries for a couple of quick pins. He's almost visibly slowing himself down so everyone else can keep up. Beefcake manages to get to the corner and Valentine waffles DBS off the top rope. While in a lockup DBS gets a backhand tag. Dynamite and Valentine have about a .5 NJPW forearm exchange. After a couple more Bulldog near falls Valentine calls for Beefcake to come in. The ref gets him out and Valentine tries to take advantage of the distraction but nothing doing. A Dynamite sunset flip gets two. Beefcake breaks up a pin attempt after a backbreaker. A stiff Valentine forearm takes Dynamite down. Valentine hooks him up for a piledriver but falls forward instead of backward, tombstone style. That gets a long 2 count that the crowd really bit on. Valentine tries to go off the top but gets thrown off. Donnybrook! Beefcake is thrown out. Valentine dodges the Bulldogs' finisher by rolling out. After things settle down DBS powerslams Valentine but only gets 2. Valentine reverses a whip and DBS's shoulder is posted. He goes mild face in peril as the heels work the shoulder. Valentine goes for a pin but pulls DBS back up when it looked like he could get the 3. Bad move. DBS recovers, pushes Valentine into his corner where Dynamite is up on the ropes, Valentine's head smashes into Dynamite's, and DBS covers him for the 3 and the titles! Really good match, especially after the crap that came before it. I don't know if Beefcake was nursing an injury or something, but for whatever reason Valentine carried 90% of the match for the heel team, which quality wise is a big plus. This is easily not only the best match at this WM, but the best one at WM period until Savage and Steamboat reset the bar at WM 3. ***1/2

Promos with the champs and seconds after the match. Dynamite might have had his bell legitimately rung. He looks almost as dazed as Brock did after his botched shooting star press at WM 19. He can't even stand for the promo.

From the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, CA (commentary: Jesse Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes and guest celebrity Elvira) 

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat def Hercules Hernandez in 7:27- This is Herc's first major WWF match. He blindsides Steamboat with a high knee before the bell. Steamboat slides between his legs a couple of times, gets a two handed chop, and the DEEP armdrags. Herc grabs Steamboat wrong before a flip and has to stop and reset himself. Subtle but noticeable. More speed game from Steamboat ends with a back elbow in Herc's mush. Herc counters with a turnbuckle shot and a big clothesline. A hot shot on Steamboat gets 2. Steamboat goes for a slam but Herc falls on top of him for 2. Steamboat tries to come back with chops but Herc kills his momentum with another clothesline. Herc of all people tries to come off the top rope but Steamboat gets the knees up. Steamboat goes up top, hits the crossbody, and we're done. Watchable. **

Adrian Adonis (w/Jimmy Hart) def Uncle Elmer in 3:01- Elmer is a fatter, beardier and possibly hicker version of Hillbilly Jim (whom he was related to in WWF kayfabe). Hart tires to spray some of Adonis' perfume on Elmer before the bell. Elmer chases them both off. Adonis tries to jump Elmer as he gets back in but doesn't get far. Flair flip in the corner from Adonis, but he doesn't get all the way over and falls in the ring. Elmer falls down swinging a punch. Adonis' shoulder is posted. Hart helps him recover outside. Elmer runs him off, rips off Adonis' "dress" and flips him back in. Elvira: "Can he put the dress back on?". Hah! Adonis gets tied up in the ropes. A couple of punches gets Elmer down to his knees but no more. Elmer with an avalanche. He goes for a legdrop but Adonis dodges, goes up top, hits a big splash, and gets the 3. Elvira: "Never trust a man that wears pink leg warmers". Words to live by. The match was as ugly as the wrestlers. 1/4*

The Funk Brothers (w/Jimmy Hart) def Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog in 11:42- Dory Funk is going by Hoss for some reason. JYD and Terry had been feuding. Hoss got involved because they're brothers. Santana got involved for.....reasons? Hoss and JYD start. Terry tries to get involved and immediately regrets it, but it's obvious right from the off that he's in overdrive mode. He's all over the place like a crazed man. Bodyslam party! The Funks regroup outside. Terry gets some stiff chops on Santana before Santana clotheslines him over and out. JYD gives Hoss some straight rights and about a million buckle shots. Terry pulls JYD off a pin attempt before going over the top and out again. Uppercuts from Hoss. Santana counters with the flying chorizo but Terry breaks up the pin. During a criss cross Terry nails Santana with a knee in the back putting Santana face in peril. He gets thrown out and Hart gets some shots in until JYD runs him off. Santana reverses a suplex and has a midring collision with Terry but the Funks manage to keep him from tagging. A Terry legdrop gets a long 2. He goes for another, but Santana dodges. Santana ducks and jukes and finally outmaneuvers Terry to get the hot tag to JYD. Double noggin knocker! Terry wraps a chain around JYD's throat to choke him but JYD no sells it. Terry charges and JYD backdrops him over the top and all the way to the floor! That's a crazy spot for 1986. JYD follows up by slamming Terry on the timekeeper's table. Hoss breaks up a small package attempts and it goes mini-donnybrook. Santana puts Hoss in the figure four but neither of them are legal. Hart uses the distraction to get the megaphone to Terry, who waffles JYD with it and gets the pin. That was a very pleasant surprise. Terry Funk being crazy Terry Funk alone made it fun, but everyone did their bits well. ***

Pause for the cage setup. This, if memory serves me correctly, is the debut of the classic blue bar steel cage. It's said to be "reinforced" for Bundy's massive bulk.

Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) def King Kong Bundy (w/Bobby Heenan) in 10:15- Bundy attacked Hogan on Saturday Night's Main Event and injured his ribs to set this up. Hogan is wrestling "against doctor's orders" and has his ribs taped up. In traditional WWF style this is escape rules only, no pins or submissions or even a ref in the ring. Fast fisticuffs start with an early Hogan edge. One advantage of the classic blue bar cage is the cameras fit in between the bars for less obstructed views. While blocking a cage shot Bundy punches Hogan in the hurt ribs. Bundy goes for the door but Hogan cuts him off. Bundy picks Hogan up and rams his back into the cage. He goes for the door again but gets stopped again. Heenan: "Damn it!". Bundy rips the tape off Hogan and chokes him with it. Bundy uses the tape to try to tie Hogan to the rope and goes for the door again, but Hogan gets out in time to stop him. Somewhere, Yano is shaking his head. Hogan punches get him the momentum back. Cage shot for Bundy! While lying face down on the mat he very sloooooooowly blades with Heenan covering for him. Hogan rams him into the cage on every side and he's bleeding pretty decent. Not NWA levels but decent for '80s WWF. Hogan starts to climb but just chokes Bundy over the top rope and comes back down again. Hogan goes for a slam but can't get Bundy up and falls down. He recovers and chokes Bundy out with the tape. Bundy goes to the eye rake. Avalanche! Big splash! Spasm selling from Hogan. Bundy goes for the door but Hogan grabs his foot. Hogan starts to hulk up and no sells an avalanche. Bodyslam! Hogan legdrop! Hogan starts climbing. Heenan and Bundy try to stop him. Bundy takes a bump from the top rope down to the mat and Hogan climbs out to win. Afterward Heenan takes his mandatory bumps. This match might be just a tick better than its reputation, but it's still not a Wrestlemania worthy main event. SNME maybe, but not Wrestlemania. **1/4

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- It's a bit of a drag. It does have the first two WM matches to hit 3+ stars, but also has a lot of dead weight to drag around and unlike other shows of this era doesn't have the "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" quality bump. More the opposite really. The three arenas experiment came off fine on a technical level in that there were no broadcast issues, but it also made the show flow extremely disjointed and produced weird crowd reactions. Definitely a bottom tier WM.
OVERALL SHOW GRADE: D