Wrestlemania 2 and 3 Reviews

by Alfonso Colasuonno

WRESTLEMANIA II -

Overall - A major improvement over the first Wrestlemania and almost an hour longer. This is where the WWE starts coming into its own. It still has its established stars in Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan and adds Randy Savage to the established cast of stars in a great undercard match.

Don Muraco v. Paul Orndorff - Weird match, in the fact that Paul Orndorff is a face for practically the only time in his career. Ends in a double countout.

George the Animal Steele v. Randy Savage - A real thrill of a match. Definitely steals the show. The Animal's unorthodox style and overwhelming fur gave quite the challenge to Randy Savage. I definitely think George the Animal Steele looked like an interesting wrestler. Wish I saw more of his matches.

Jake the Snake v. George Welles - Jake the Snake as a heel against a no-namer. Boring.

Rowdy Roddy Piper v. Mr. T in a boxing match - I actually liked this one a great deal, too. Didn't have a clean ending with Piper getting DQ'd. Still, a lot of action from two men unfamiliar with boxing. They still put on a good show.

Velvet McIntyre v. Fabulous Moolah - a squash match for Moolah. I guess this is when the WWE began under a minute diva matches...

Nikolai Volkoff v. Corporal Kirschner - Who's Corporal Kirschner? He seems like the sire of later luminaries like Cobra of the feud with Sgt. Craig Pittman fame. Anyway he trounces the Russian in a flag match.

20-Man Battle Royal with NFL players - Refrigerator Perry looked good, but is anyone really going to beat Andre the Giant in a battle royal? Very fun match that came down to Andre v. the Hart Foundation.

Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake v. The British Bulldogs - The British Bulldogs in their first PPV match on Wrestlemania. A solid but unspectacular match.

Hercules Hernandez v. Ricky Steamboat - You can't really go wrong with a Ricky Steamboat match. Solid.

Adorable Adrian Adonis v. Uncle Elmer - Triple A has got to be the most grotesque wrestler ever. Wearing a dress to the ring on his fat body. Gross.

Terry Funk & Hoss Funk v. Tito Santana & The Junkyard Dog - Believe it or not, Terry Funk put on a match that wasn't that great. Put the man in a hardcore match or don't let him wrestle at all. I'd rather watch him vs. Dangerous Devon Storm in Starrcade 2000 when he looked like a corpse but damn if he didn't use hardcore items.

Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship - Hulk Hogan v. King Kong Bundy - Bundy proved to be a good challenge for Hogan. I liked the cage match a lot. Hogan once again dominated a big man (Andre, Vader, Earthquake, Big Show, etc.)

WRESTLEMANIA III -

Overall - A little bit of a drop off from Wrestlemania II. Here we see Randy Savage in a classic against Steamboat, Piper as a face, and Andre squaring off with Hogan. Unfortunately, there's a lot more filler on the card than on Wrestlemania 2.

Can-Am Connection v. Magnificent Muraco and Cowboy Bob Orton - Quick. If you can tell Tom Zenk and Rick Martel apart I'll give you 5 dollars. No cheating by checking Google Images.

Billy Jack Haynes v. Hercules in a Full Nelson Challenge - A pretty good match, but unfortunately it ends in a double countout, like all matches when unsure of who to give a push to.

King Kong Bundy, Lord Littlebrook, and Little Tokyo v. Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver, and the Haiti Kid - It's clear King Kong suffered a major fall after losing to Hogan as he's relegated to a match with midgets. Nice to see Little Beaver get destroyed by King Kong.

Junkyard Dog v. Harley Race - Harley Race is a master wrestler and he puts on a good show against the JYD.

Rougeau Brothers v. Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine - The face turn for Beefcake in an otherwise uneventful match.

Loser Gets His Head Shaved Match - Roddy Piper v. Adrian Adonis - Piper shaves Adonis head partways and he looks even worse than before. Why are they using Piper in this fashion against a loser like Adonis?

The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis v. The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana - Good action. Nice to see two of the star tag teams of the 80s square off. Danny Davis - apparently a former ref turned bad (Nick Patrick - I wonder where that angle came from?) - only took advantage at the most opportune times.

Natural Butch Reed v. Koko B. Ware - Why is Koko B. Ware a Hall of Famer? Filler.

Ricky Steamboat v. Macho Man Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Title - A classic. Great wrestling from two guys in their prime. Two stars are born.

Jake the Snake v. Honky Tonk Man - Solid match. Could have been a lot better, though. I think it's funny how they originally (not in this match) planned to have Honky as a face but he was routinely booed.

Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff v. Killer Bees - Though I'm always up for ethnic heel action, this match was a bore.

Hulk Hogan v. Andre the Giant for the World Championship - A great match, albeit slow paced (as any match with Andre is). I'm sure it really put Hulkamania over to beat a guy who hadn't lost in his entire 15 year career.

More to come soon!!! Wrestlemania IV is next!