Wrestlemania VIII and IX Reviews

by Alfonso Colasuonno

Wrestlemania VIII -

Overall - The WWE apparently went on a major spending cut as the roster appears to be thinned considerably since WM VII. This is the beginning of the transitionary years as Hogan and Savage are giving way to new stars by the names of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels that would dominate the transition era between Hulkamania and Attitude. Ric Flair was brought in for his first and brief WWF run. Bobby Heenan is still hilarious as the now full-time broadcaster. However, this card is weak compared to the last two Wrestlemanias. A lot of the card is spent on fluff and the match quality hasn't really improved despite there being only 9 matches instead of 14+ like in the last 4 Wrestlemanias. The beginning of the post-WM VII decline starts here.

"El Matador" Tito Santana vs. Shawn Michaels - The slightly repackaged Santana goes up against free from Rockerdom Michaels. Interesting to hear the Sexy Boy theme sung by Sherri instead of the standard Shawn version we're all familiar with.

Legion of Doom Promo - They bring back Paul Ellering. Not really relevant to the card but awesome nonetheless.

Jake the Snake v. The Undertaker - Victim #2 on The Undertaker's streak. Jake puts a good performance up. Months later he'd be fighting Sting at Halloween Havoc 92 in rival WCW.

Intercontinental Title Match - Bret Hart v. Roddy Piper - Weird to see two faces of such startling popularity go up against each other. However, this match was no Hogan-Warrior. Piper almost turned heel in this match again when he thought about striking the Hitman with a bell when the ref was down but thought better of it. I think Piper is one of the few guys who can bring as much personality to a face role as a heel role.

Lex Luger Interview - Fresh off of losing to Sting at Superbrawl II - Luger is introduced to the WWF.

The Mountie, The Repo Man and the Nasty Boys v. Sgt. Slaughter, Big Bossman, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Virgil - Ironically enough, not one of these performers would receive a paycheck for Wrestlemania IX one year later....guess this was their going out of business match. Some hilarious descriptions of the heels by former Family Feud host Ray Combs prior to the match.

World Title Match - Ric Flair v. Randy Savage - A good solid match like all bouts between Flair and Savage. I've never seen two more evenly matched wrestlers than the Flair - Savage bouts.

Tatanka v. Rick Martel - The only Native American superstar of the 90s who had any luck (take that Charlie Norris) takes out The Model in a blah match.

Tag Team Title Match - Money Inc. v. The Natural Disasters - Natural Disasters look good in this match but Money Inc. escape with the belts. I guess Vince McMahon really doesn't like to put over the big boys.

Owen Hart v. Skinner - First off, who the hell is Skinner? Second - this match is a joke - Owen easily beats Skinner. Boring.

Hulk Hogan v. Sid Justice - A solid match with Hogan getting a DQ win over Sid. Not one of Hogan's better main events. Remarkably Sid kicked out of the legdrop. That's about the only thing of note in this match.

WRESTLEMANIA IX -

Overall - Flair is now gone, Savage is in the announce booth, and Hogan is reduced to chasing the tag belts instead of the world title. The end is nigh for the old WWF. However, signs of hope emerge - Shawn Michaels is now the IC champ and Bret Hart is the world champ entering this PPV. The deck has been handed to a new generation. Ultimately, the rest of Hitman and Shawn's colleagues leave a lot to be desired. A pretty weak PPV. Not because of the quality of the matches which is actually pretty good, but because of the lack of superstar talent.

Intercontinental Title - Shawn Michaels v. Tatanka - Tatanka continues his unbeaten streak, but unfortunately he wins by countout. Luna Vachon and Sherri go at it and that looked like it would be an exciting match. This match was a long one and well paced.

The Headshrinkers v. The Steiner Brothers - Scott Steiner gets brutalized by the Samoans for the majority of the match but ends up winning with a frankensteiner. Personally, I wish the LOD didn't leave the fed and the Steiners and LOD met up at a Wrestlemania. Why let Japanese fans have all the fun between the two greatest tag teams ever.

Crush v. Doink the Clown - Doink the Clown is the absolute worst gimmick ever in WWE history. Yes, he surpasses the Red Rooster and the Gobbledy Gooker.

Razor Ramon v. Bob Backlund - The Bad Guy gets an easy win against the post-golden boy Backlund but not yet batshit insane chicken winging presidential candidate Backlund.

Tag Team Title Match - Money Inc. v. Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake - A very good match. Hogan works well in this tag match. Money Inc. try to escape the match by leaving the ring but are forced back on threat of stripping them of the belts. Say what you want about Hogan but I'm always pleased watching his matches. No, he's not a scientific or aerial genius or even that great a brawler but he has star power.

Lex Luger v. Mr. Perfect - A solid match, but I wasn't very interested in it. I think the street fight at the end of the match where Shawn Michaels nailed Perfect was more interesting than the match.

Undertaker v. Giant Gonzalez - The 8 foot beast knocks out the Undertaker with chloroform. Miraculously Taker gets up after being wheeled out on a stretcher and dominates Gonzalez in this DQ win. I never knew Taker had a DQ win at Wrestlemania...I always thought they were pinfalls. What I really wanted to see was El Gigante get tombstoned but that didn't happen. No "You can't wrestle" chants for the Giant either. I really liked this match to see how Undertaker would deal with a giant beast like Gonzalez.

World Championship Match - Yokozuna v. Bret Hart - Amazingly it's Yoko v. Bret and Hulk Hogan ends up with the spotlight and his 5th WWF title run at the end of the night. When Yoko and Bret were going at it it reminded me of some of those good Hogan - Vader matches in WCW. Bret loses the title when Fuji throws some salt in his eyes but Fuji then challenges Hogan and attempts to do the same to him, only to miss and hit Yokozuna's eyes. Bang. Hogan picks up the title, upstaging Bret Hart in what would be his final Wrestlemania until X-8.