It's March 20th, 1994. The American Box Office is laughing at the Naked Gun 331/3, Ace of Base has seen the sign to the top of the Billboard charts and Tonya Harding has pled guilty for the assault of Nancy Kerrigan. In the world of the WWF, it's the biggest event of the year. Not only that, but the tenth installment. Ten Wrestlemanias. Many never saw it getting past the first. And in celebration of the tenth edition, the WWF brings it back where it all began, inside the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Ticket numbers are 18,065, a better number than Wrestlemania IX the previous year. Although the buyrate would be down to 1.68 from last year's 2.0. I guess that has to do with the lack of that Hulk Hogan draw, as well as the decline in energy the product was getting in the mainstream.
We open Raw with a recap of the original Wrestlemania, ending on Hulk Hogan as expected. We can never truly leave Hogan-Senpai Following the intro, it's Shouty Vince in the ring with a choir surrounding the ring. Singing America the Beautiful is Little Richard. Sadly, it's no piano riff wooo Little Richard, but we still get a great rendition from one of the greats.
Although for some reason I did get Bleeding Gums Murphy in Dancing Homer vibes. Thankfully it was far from that long. It's Vince at the announce table tonight, and with him, why look who it is?
It's Jerry "The King" Lawler, fresh off the whole molestation allegations and back in the WWF. I gotta admit, it's good to have the king back. Vince brings up some of the card including the two WWF title matches, and our opening match. It's Bret Hart vs his brother Owen Hart.
----------
For Owen Hart, life was never easy. Being the youngest of Canada's premier wrestling family, Owen always found it hard to get out of the shadow of not only his father, the legendary Stu Hart, but his other brothers, especially Bret. Bret was the big star in Stampede Wrestling, Bret was the Hart that broke out and found fame in the WWF. And even when Owen came in, he wasn't originally brought in as Bret's brother, but under a goofy superhero gimmick known as the Blue Blazer. A character that would be Owen's first, and sadly last gimmick in the company.
Owen started to find a name for himself, teaming with Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart as part of the New Foundation, and followed that up with Koko B. Ware as High Energy. Owen tried his best to break into his own in 1993, but despite his best efforts, it was always Bret who earned the success. It was Bret who won the WWF title, it was Bret who won King of the Ring. It was Bret defending the family honor against Jerry Lawler while Doink splashed Owen and Bruce like a pair of nobodies.
It was always Bret.
Owen's insecurities began to show when on the road to Survivor Series, everyone began to refer to Owen as "The Shadow of the Hart family. " It didn't help matters that during the Family Feud match at Survivor Series, Owen was the only member of the Hart family to be eliminated, due in part to a miscommunication with Bret. This factor caused Owen to be irate, and the seeds of doubt within the family were in full bloom.
All Owen wanted was a match with Bret, but feeling that it would only make things worse, Bret denied giving Owen what he wanted. Instead the brothers devised a different strategy to clear the air. Win the tag team titles from the Quebecers. However, in the match Bret, despite taking a serious beating from the champs, refused to tag Owen. Be it a case of pride, or even Bret's own doubts in Owen being able to earn the victory. It's unclear what, but enough was enough for Owen. He would kick Bret in the leg and finally sever the ties with his brother. Owen was proud of his accomplishments and felt that finally he had the chance to be out of Bret's shadow once and for all.
That would be the case, if Bret wouldn't become a co-winner of the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger. A flip of the coin made this match with Bret and Owen a reality, and despite Bret still wishing for a different way of settling this, he knows that this is truly what has to happen. Owen Hart finally gets his opportunity at facing his brother one on one. For Bret, it's about trying to glue together the torn pieces of a family fallen apart. For Owen, it's about "the shadow" finally getting his chance to shine in the bright lights and prove what he already knows, that he is better than his brother.
----------
We open this match with some nice trolling from the ring announcer. We think it's going to be Bret out first, but it's Owen instead. Huge "Let's Go Bret" as we begin. Bret gets a headscissors on Owen, who quickly nips up. Bret gets a sitout takedown, but Owen grabs the rope. Owen gets a takedown, but Bret manages to regain momentum by throwing Owen through the ropes. Owen retaliates with hard slap to the face of Bret. An exchange of hammerlocks from both men. Owen escapes a hammerlock from Bret and yanks his brother's hair. Bret nips up and works the arm. He gets a roll up in the corner for two. Lawler is in full "Attack Stu and Helen" mode, which I sorely missed.
Some crisscrossing from both brothers until Bret gets a monkey flip and a big clothesline to the outside on Owen. Owen starts to retreat, but Bret throws him right back in the ring. A hard slap from Bret and a roll up for two. Bret gets a crucifix pin for another two count. He continues to work the arm of Owen untile Owen turns it around and gets a big spinning heel kick to the back of the head. He stomps Bret right out of the ring, scoops Bret and rams him back first into the post. He brings Bret in and hits a hard whip in the buckle followed with a back breaker. He locks in a camel clutch.
Bret breaks the hold, but before he can regain offense, he's hit with a belly to belly for a two count.Bret whips Owen into the corner, but Owen turns it into a cross body, which Bret reverses into a cover for a two. Owen locks a chinlock, which Bret followed by a body slam, but Bret's gets the weight advantage, covering Owen for two. Bret rolls out of the ring, but Owen tries a suplex back in, Bret slides out, tries to regain advantage, but Owen turns that around into a German suplex for a two count. Owen hits a leg drop for a two. Bret referses a suplex into a small package for a close two. Bret tries a backbreaker, but Owen turns it into a beautiful jumping tombstone piledriver.
Instead of just covering Bret, Owen instead goes to the top rope to attempt a diving headbutt, but Bret gets out of the way in the nick of time. Owen gets up first, but Bret gets an atomic drop and a clothesline for a two count. Side Russian leg sweep gets another two. Backbreaker and his patented second rope elbow only gets a two. Owen manages to get in an enziguri and then tries a sharpshooter, but Bret tries to roll it over to his own, only for Owen to break it. Roll up by Owen only gets a two. Owen leaves the ring only for Bret to dive over the rope, which caused some damage to his knee.
Owen begins to work the weakened knee of Bret with some stomps and pulls. He rams Bret knee first into the buckle three times. He mocks the hobbling Hitman and follows with a leg sweep and more offense on the leg as the crowd chants for Bret. Another leg sweep followed by a figure four leg lock. Bret manages to turn around the hold, only for Owen turns it around. Bret gets the ropes, but Owen lays harder shots to the leg of Bret.
A third sweep is met with an enziguri by Bret. Bret gets a massive whip into the buckle of Owen followed by a leg drop for two. Big bulldog by Bret only gets a two. Piledriver to Owen still just gets a two count. Bret lands a massive suplerplex. He slowly rolls into a cover for two. Some hard forearms to Owen, as Bret lands a sleeper. Owen grabs the rope and gets a low blow. Owen locks in the sharpshooter, but Bret manages to escape and lock his own in, but Owen is too close to the ropes, forcing a break. Owen reverses a whip to the corner. Bret gets a boot and a victory roll, which is reversed by Owen for the three count. Owen Hart defeats his brother Bret at Wrestlemania.
This was one of the greatest Wrestlemania matches ever. A technical masterpiece between two of the absolute best. Tons of back and forth action, plenty of heartstopping moments, and many amazing near falls. Nothing felt botched or sloppy, no holds or moves felt out of place. And for it to end on a reversed victory roll and not a big finisher makes it even better. This is the defining match of Owen Hart's career. Hell, this match alone already makes this show a thousand times better than anything from Wrestlemania IX. A must-watch match for certain.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with Owen, who is so excited that he didn't wipe his face, meaning you see a massive piece of spitle on the side of his mouth. Owen is up on cloud nine, he beat Bret, and he truly is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, and maybe now he'll get the respect he deserves. He even calls Bret a great fighter, but he doesn't think Bret has a hope in hell in his title match tonight.
Up next, it's Sy Sperling, president (And client) of the hair club for men, who has managed to do his best to clean up the chrome dome of Howard Finkel. Up next in action is the mixed tag team match. Bam Bam Bigelow and his main squeeze Luna vs Doink and Dink. Doink squirts his flower at Sy Sperling, but before he can even get take his jacket off, Bam Bam begins with the offense. Some shoulder blocks from Bam Bam followed by a dropkick. Bam Bam misses a senton as Doink rolls away. A hard whip to the buckle followed by a wristlock by Doink. Doink tags in Dink, who is ready for Bam Bam. But due to the rules of hte match, Luna is tagges in. Luna flops around trying to get Dink, who then spanks her. I hate that little clown.
Luna Kicks Dink and follows with a hip drop on his neck off the rope. She tries a second time, but misses. Dink runs around, but gets a boot to the gut. Luna misses an elbow, and gets a shove. Dink goes off the top rope, but Luna dodges, causing the clown to flop around. Hard body slam by Luna who goes off the top rope. She goes for a splash, but Dink dodges. Tag to Doink, who hits a drop toe hold on Bam Bam. However, Bigelow regains the advantage by clotheslining Doink over the top rope. Dink is in the ring. Both Bam Bam and Luna try to splash him, but he escapes. Bigelow tries a back drop, but Doink turns it into a sunset flip, but Bam Bam drops his weight on the sternum of Doink for two.
Doink lands a big DDT to Bam Bam and sets up the whoopee cushion, only to crash and burn. Clotheslines from Bam Bam, who then intentionally knocks Dink off the ropes. Side suplex from Bam Bam gets a two. Bigelow heads to well over halfway across the ring and lands a headbutt off the top for three.
I expected much worse in this match, and even for the cringeworthy comedy styling of Doink and Dink, they didn't do too bad, I even found the stuff between Luna and Dink entertaining for the most part. In the end, the right guy went over, so I can call it a win.
Post-match, Luna and Bam Bam try to pick on Dink. Luna slams him and both go for headbutts and splashes, but miss. Well, Bam Bam misses, Luna lands right on Dink. Doink and Dink are back up as Bam Bam and Luna leave.
We cut to the crowd as we see the worst Bill Clinton impersonator ever (Though i was stupid enough to fall for it when I was younger, so what do I know?), sitting with Jack Tunney, with IRS behind him.
----------
July 12th, 1993, Kona Crush faced Yokozuna in a one on one match. However, the Hawaiian was unable to bring down the mighty WWF Champion, and instead, would suffer the fate of multiple Banzai drops off the top rope. Despite being at ringside to prevent this, Macho Man is unable to save Crush, who ends up out of action for the remainder of the Summer. Following Summerslam, we would hear from Crush himself that he was ready to come back. However, he was distancing himself more and more from the Macho Man.
On the October 18th edition of Raw, Crush and Savage would have a debate in the ring to settle matters. And despite it looking like things were finally at peace, Crush would cheap shot Savage and pledge his allegiance to Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna. Yes, Crush trusted the men who took him out of action more than the man who did little to prevent it. The two would brawl for the majority of the next few months, involving themselves in brawls at Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble. It seems that the ring itself wasn't going to be enough to keep these two contained. And so we have a falls count anywhere match here at Wrestlemania X. And Macho Man is more than ready to get his hands on Crush after a recent interference during Savage's WWF title match against Yokozuna on the February 28th edition of Raw. It's Randy Savage in what would be his final Wrestlemania appearance taking on Crush, and it's our next match.
----------
It's time for our falls count anywhere matchup between Crush and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Now, as previously stated, the rules for a falls count anywhere match in this point and time are different than what they usually are nowadays. When someone is pinned outside, the one with the losing fall needs to get back in the ring within 60 seconds, or be declared the loser. Asinine rules, I know.
Savage doesn't even wait for Crush to come down the aisle and goes right in for the attack. Crush hits a rough spinebuster to the outside and follows with a backbreaker. He follows up with a gorilla press slam throat first into the guard rail. Crush gets the three count and returns to the ring. Savage needs to get back up into the ring after 60 seconds. Savage holds his throat and slowly tries to get back in. But Fuji gets in a cheap shot with the flag. As Fink counts the final ten seconds, Savage gets in at the last second.
Crush continues his offense by tying up Savage in a tree of woe and executing more strikes. Crush gets handed some salt from Mr. Fuji, but takes way too long, as Savage throws the salt in the eyes of Crush. Hard jabs and a running elbow from Savage. He follows up with a big double axe handle and a body slam. Savage hits the big elbow to the heart of Crush, but doesn't go for the cover. Instead, Savage takes him outside for the three.
Crush is laid out for almost an entire minute before Fuji pours a whole jug of water to wake Crush up, helping him get in at the last minute. Savage gets back dropped all the way over the top rope to the outside. He tries to ram Savage into the ring post, but Savage reverses. Savage clotheslines Crush over the railing. Crush attempts a piledriver but gets back dropped on the concrete. They brawl to the back as Savage gets the pin on Crush. Savage then wraps Crush's feet onto a steel structure and hangs him up like a fine country hog. Savage wanders back to the ring and gets a strike in to Fuji as Crush is counted out.
Overall, a sloppy match and the whole sixty second ruling really killed a lot of the energy involved. But it was short, and the ending was pretty creative. It may not have been one of Savage's best showings at Wrestlemania, but for a conclusion to this feud, it worked fine.
Todd Pettengill is with phony Clinton. Clinton says he's a big fan. IRS, who's in the box, thanks fake Clinton for raising the taxes. Todd Shills Fan Fest, a very early prototype version of what would eventually become Wrestlemania Axxess.
Up next, it's the WWF Women's title on the line. Leilani Kai vs champion Alundra Blayze. Remember her? The woman who hasn't even appeared on Raw once? Kai starts off with a strike off a whip. Blayze counters a move in the corner with a roll up for two. She gets in a second sunset flip for two. Kai follows up with a choke hold. Body slam and a two from Kai. Blayse gets in a hurricanrana for two. Lai gets a few hair pull throws and a nice underhook suplex for two. Kai goes for a whip, but Blayze lands a clothesline. She follows with a spinning heel kick and a snap suplex for two. Some hairpulls from Blayze for two. Blayze hits a german suplex with a bridge for three. Overall, a short match, but a solid showing for champion Alundra Blayze.
We see the likes of Captain Lou Albano, Mae Young, Classy Freddie Blassie, Nikolai Volkoff again just showing up, and of course the Fabulous Moolah watching on from the crowd.
Up next, it's the WWF Tag Team titles on the line. The Quebecers take on Men on a Mission, but enough about that, it's Rhonda Shear, host of Up All Night back stage. Shawn Michaels tries to get a photo with Rhonda, only to be interrupted by a far greater man than even the Heart Break Kid, Burt Friggin' Reynolds.
Jacques and Pierre start the match by getting cheap shots in on Mabel and Mo. They eliminate Mo fast and work to double team Mabel, but eat a double clothesline from the big man. Mo starts with Pierre. Mo ducks a clothesline and lands a cross body for a two. Tag to mabel as M.O.M her a nice drop toe hold and leg drop combo. Back in is Mo as both men land a double elbow. Jacques attacks Mo and the ref being lax, never notices any tag. Pierre chokes Mo with the tag rope wile the ref is distracted. Slam to Mo by Jacques, who tags Pierre. Double team back drop by the Quebecers for two.
They follow with the same spot on the outside to Mo. Cover only gets a two. They follow with a double stun gun to Mo. Cover by Jacques only gets a two as a "Let's Go Mo" chant breaks out. Mo ducks a clotheline and hits some sort of weird rolling move. He tries to tag Mabel, but gets stopped beforehand. More double tearming by the Quebecers. Pierre misses a leg drop off the top rope, giving Mo the chance to tag Mabel. He takes out both Quebecers quick with back body drops and STOs. Mabel misses a splash in the corner. Both Quebecers try to suplex Mabel, but are unable.
They try again and land it. They go for their slingshot splash and only get a two count. Both Pierre and Mabel slug it out, but Mabel gets in offense. Both Quebecers try to double team, but fail. Big spinning wheel kick by Mabel on Pierre. Mabel tag in Mo and they hit their big splash, but Johnny Polo interferes. Oscar gets rid of him as both Quebecers have a miscommunication. They take out Pierre while Johnny Polo pulls out Jacques. Men on a Mission win via count out. Overall, a decent tag match from both men, but the ending was sloppy as hell. I continue to be impressed by the Quebecers as they work together beautifully.
----------
Lex Luger came into the WWF with plans to not be a professional wrestler. After a successful career in the likes of the NWA and WCW, Luger would arrive in the company to be a member of the World Bodybuilding Federation. But That would ultimately not be what would befall Mr. Luger as a motorcycle accident left him on the shelf while the WBF quickly folded. He would eventually step into the squared circle as The Narcissist. While he was staring at mirrors and laying people out with his loaded metal forearm, Yokozuna, who had arrived in the WWF just a few months prior began to tear up the scene quickly. He would win the Royal Rumble, and then the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania IX. He didn't end the show as champ, but my point is still valid. At King of the Ring 1993, Yokozuna would dethrone Hulk Hogan to become WWF Champion once again.
Cut to July 4th and a body slam challenge aboard the USS Interpid. No man, wrestler or sportsman alive could body slam the mighty Yokozuna. Until descended from the heavens in a helicopter arrived Lex Luger, who would slam Yokozuna, defending the honor of the United States. Despite his momentous moment, he was denied a WWF title match. Luger would petition across the U.S on a buss called the Lex Express and eventually earned himself a title match at Summerslam.
And he just let Yoko get counted out after a forearm to the outside. He didn't win the title like, you know, the plan was, but hey, a moral victory is a moral victory.
Luger would come face to face with the champ on multiple occasions, but still be unable to get another title match. In fact, it took another petitioning to get Luger into the Royal Rumble. But, in the end, Luger and Bret Hart would end up co-winning the event. Thanks to a coin toss, Luger would be the man to get first dibs at the gold at Wrestlemania. Can Luger finally capture the title he's sought after, or will Yokozuna survive and lay to rest the American dreams of Lex Luger once and for all?
----------
Mr. Perfect! We last saw Mr. Perfect in November right before the Survivor Series, and due to nagging back issues, Perfect had to take time off.
Luger comes out to his new theme music, which I've always liked more than "Stars and Stripes Forever". Lex gets a decent pop, but certainly not as strong as back at Summerslam last year. After some jaw jacking, it's Luger out of the gate with some strong strikes. He hits one clothesline that doesn't take out Yoko, but a clothesline from Yoko takes down Luger. Yokozuna misses an elbow drop, giving Luger the chance to hit him with a forearm to the face, sending the champ tumbling out of the ring. This already feels like Summerslam all over again.
But Luger is wise to go out and brawl to the outside with Yoko, and even wiser to actually roll the champ back in the ring this time. Luger hits a cross body off the top rope for a two. Luger drops a jumping elbow with some great elevation for a two count. Luger tries a body slam, but Yoko puts his weight on Luger getting a two count. Yoko removes the padding off a turnbuckle, but soons runs into some shots by Luger. Yoko regains the offense with a chop to the chest. A "USA" chant breaks out while Jim Cornette tries to quiet them down.
Yokozuna applies a long nerve hold, and by long i mean it had to have been at least three minutes in the same hold. Luger eventually starts to fire up and breaks our of the hold. Luger ducks two clotheslines, but runs right into Yokozuna. Yoko argues with Mr. Perfect before landing multiple clubbing blows, going right back into the nerve hold for another couple minutes. Luger tries to fire up, but gets thrown out of the ring, to a waiting cheap shot by Mr. Fuji.
Yoko places Luger right back into the nerve hold, until Luger regains some more momentum and gets some strikes, only to be taken down and right back into a nerve hold. Perfect does the arm drop spot, and Luger for the fourth time fires up and breaks out. Luger ducks two clotheslines only to get hit with a belly to belly. Yoko tries to ram Luger into the exposed buckle, but Luger turns it around, sending Yoko face first. Luger is gassed as he hits three clotheslines with finally take Yoko off his feet. He hits the body slam and follows with the forearm. Corhette interferes but gets struck by Luger. Fuji follows suit. Luger covers, but Perfect attends to Cornett instead. Perfect goes for Fuji as Luger gets frustrated. Luger shoves Perfect, who disqualifies Lex.
This was a boring match. Started strong with lots of energy from both Lex and Yoko. But almost 70% were nerve holds and similar spots. It's safe to say that both men got gassed quick. And considering Yoko still has to wrestle later, this is gonna be a helluva night for him.
Pettengill is backstage with Mr. Perfect, who feels justified in his disqualification. An irate Luger tries to get a good reason from Perfect, who says that it's Luger's fault for throwing managers into the ring and shoving officials. And thus ends the loftiest heights of Lex Luger in the WWF, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with a wet fart.
Harvey Whippleman mocks Finkel's new hairdo, and tears at his tux. Fink gives Harvey a shove. Adam Bomb grabs Fink, but Earthquake arrives to make the save. The bell rings as Earthquake lands a belly to belly, a powerslam and the aftershock drop for the three in a quick as hell squash.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with Jim Cornette, who is happy about hte officiating in the title match, and that it's just as much Luger's fault for agreeing to Perfect as the special referee as anyone else's. As for Bret Hart, he must have the humilation of losing to his own Brother in his mind, and with his bad leg, it's going to be enough to keep Yokozuna champion. Yokozuna's the shark, the ring is the ocean, and Bret is going to be the blood in the water to tick the feeding frenzy.
----------
It's time for the ladder match for the Intercontinental championship. Both belts are hung above the arena as this will finally settle the issues between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. Michaels comes out with Diesel and opts not to walk under the ladder positioned on the entrance way. The bad guy however, decides that he has enough bad luck already and walks right underneath the ladder. Razor gives his gold to Tony Chimel and we are off to the races.
As Vince is confused who Stan Lane is talking to on the hotline, we see both men counter each other until Razor hits a chokeslam on Michaels. Michaels ducks some clotheslines and hits a nice neckbreaker. Razor regains offense with a shoulder block, but is quickly tossed through the ropes. Diesel gets in a clothesline ot Razor on the outside. Diesel is then thrown out of the arena, despite this match having no rules, so interference is more than fair.
Razor regains offense with a clothesline that sends Michaels out of the ring. He pulls the ring mats to expose the concrete, but Shawn throws him back in. Razor reverses a whip and gets a hard strike to the face. He sets up a razor's edge to the outside, but Shawn sends Razor over the ropes to the concrete. Shawn goes to grab the ladder while Razor recovers. Before he can even get the ladder into the ring, he gets a punch in the face for his efforts. Razor gabs the ladder, but Shawn baseball slides it right into the sternum.
Michaels uses the ladder and strikes it into the gut of Razor twice followed by a couple hard throws of it onto the back. Shawn sets up the ladder to climb up to grab the gold, Razor gabs the ankle, and damn near pulls Shawn's tights all the way down. A bare assed Shawn Michaels hits an elbow drop on to Razor. Shawn sets up the ladder in the corner, climbs up, and hits a damn near perfect splash off the ladder.
Michaels climbs back up, but Razor pushes the ladder sending Michaels face first into the ropes. Both men end up colliding into each other, knocking both out. Michaels recovers firs and props the ladder into the corner. He whips Razor, but Razor reverses it sending Michaels colliding into the ladder and flopping out of the ring. Razor takes he ladder outside and sandwiches Michaels between the ladder and the ring post twice. He props it up by the apron and follows with a slingshot that sends Michaels carreening into the ladder.
Razor takes both the ladder and Michaels into the ring and smashes Michaels face first with the ladder sending Michaels falling out of the ring again. Razor sets up the ladder and climbs up. Michaels gets up and climbs the buckle, diving on to Razor, knocking him off. But the ladder still falls on Michaels. Both men start the crawl up the ladder, which definitely looks damaged. Both trade fists on the ladder, but Razor gets a suplex off the ladder as the ladder collapses underneath him. He climbs back up and grabs the gold, but Michaels dropkicks the ladder, knocking him off.
Razor ducks some clotheslines but gets hit with a picture perfect Sweet Chin Music by Michaels. Michaels mocks Razor by setting up the Razor's Edge, but instead goes for a piledriver. He goes into the corner with the ladder and splashes him and the ladder on to Razor. He sets up the ladder once more over the body of Razor as he climbs up. Razor shakes hte ladder and shoulder blocks Shawn groin first off the ladder into the rope, which gets his foot tied in the rope. Razor climbs the ladder, and takes down the belts to become the undisputed Intercontinental champion.
An amazing match. You often have people review this match as simply "Shawn wrestles a ladder for 20 minutes and Razor is there too", but that takes a lot away from Razor who took some hard bumps and gave some tough offense on to Shawn. But let's be honest, this was the breakout match of Shawn's career more than anything. So many classic moments like the splash off the ladder make it easy to see why the man would eventually earn the moniker "Mr. Wrestlemania". And for such a different match style in this era of wrestling it just felt so fresh and amazing to watch. It's definitely a match that laid the building blocks to matches that would make stars out of the likes of Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz.
The heels argue backstage over who should be captain of the ten man tag match, which is now cancelled, due mainly to the ladder match going way too long. Back at the presidential box, Ted Dibiase has come to meet phony Clinton. Everyone's got a price for the Million Dollar Man, but not Clinton apparently.
Shawn Michaels made his name known in the wrestling business as a member of the Rockers tag team with Marty Jannetty. But a great weight was lifted as he literally threw the dead weight of Janetty out the window and broke into his own. The Heartbreak Kid would win his first intercontinental title from the British Bulldog. He would lose it to said dead weight on the May 17th edition of Raw only to regain it weeks later thanks to his new bodyguard Diesel.
However, Michaels would be suspended for not making appointed appearances, and his championship would be vacated. On the September 27th edition of Raw, Razor Ramon would defeat Rick Martel to become the new Intercontinental champion. However, Michaels would soon return, and unable to accept his championship loss would parade around with his intercontinental championship and claim to be the real champ. This would lead to many cheap shots by Michaels to Razor over the course of the next few months. There would only be one way to settle this issue once and all. Both championships, the real and the fake would be raised above the ring, and the only way to retrieve them would be to climb a ladder. Who will climb the ladder to immortality?
----------
It's time for the ladder match for the Intercontinental championship. Both belts are hung above the arena as this will finally settle the issues between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. Michaels comes out with Diesel and opts not to walk under the ladder positioned on the entrance way. The bad guy however, decides that he has enough bad luck already and walks right underneath the ladder. Razor gives his gold to Tony Chimel and we are off to the races.
As Vince is confused who Stan Lane is talking to on the hotline, we see both men counter each other until Razor hits a chokeslam on Michaels. Michaels ducks some clotheslines and hits a nice neckbreaker. Razor regains offense with a shoulder block, but is quickly tossed through the ropes. Diesel gets in a clothesline ot Razor on the outside. Diesel is then thrown out of the arena, despite this match having no rules, so interference is more than fair.
Razor regains offense with a clothesline that sends Michaels out of the ring. He pulls the ring mats to expose the concrete, but Shawn throws him back in. Razor reverses a whip and gets a hard strike to the face. He sets up a razor's edge to the outside, but Shawn sends Razor over the ropes to the concrete. Shawn goes to grab the ladder while Razor recovers. Before he can even get the ladder into the ring, he gets a punch in the face for his efforts. Razor gabs the ladder, but Shawn baseball slides it right into the sternum.
Michaels uses the ladder and strikes it into the gut of Razor twice followed by a couple hard throws of it onto the back. Shawn sets up the ladder to climb up to grab the gold, Razor gabs the ankle, and damn near pulls Shawn's tights all the way down. A bare assed Shawn Michaels hits an elbow drop on to Razor. Shawn sets up the ladder in the corner, climbs up, and hits a damn near perfect splash off the ladder.
Michaels climbs back up, but Razor pushes the ladder sending Michaels face first into the ropes. Both men end up colliding into each other, knocking both out. Michaels recovers firs and props the ladder into the corner. He whips Razor, but Razor reverses it sending Michaels colliding into the ladder and flopping out of the ring. Razor takes he ladder outside and sandwiches Michaels between the ladder and the ring post twice. He props it up by the apron and follows with a slingshot that sends Michaels carreening into the ladder.
Razor takes both the ladder and Michaels into the ring and smashes Michaels face first with the ladder sending Michaels falling out of the ring again. Razor sets up the ladder and climbs up. Michaels gets up and climbs the buckle, diving on to Razor, knocking him off. But the ladder still falls on Michaels. Both men start the crawl up the ladder, which definitely looks damaged. Both trade fists on the ladder, but Razor gets a suplex off the ladder as the ladder collapses underneath him. He climbs back up and grabs the gold, but Michaels dropkicks the ladder, knocking him off.
Razor ducks some clotheslines but gets hit with a picture perfect Sweet Chin Music by Michaels. Michaels mocks Razor by setting up the Razor's Edge, but instead goes for a piledriver. He goes into the corner with the ladder and splashes him and the ladder on to Razor. He sets up the ladder once more over the body of Razor as he climbs up. Razor shakes hte ladder and shoulder blocks Shawn groin first off the ladder into the rope, which gets his foot tied in the rope. Razor climbs the ladder, and takes down the belts to become the undisputed Intercontinental champion.
An amazing match. You often have people review this match as simply "Shawn wrestles a ladder for 20 minutes and Razor is there too", but that takes a lot away from Razor who took some hard bumps and gave some tough offense on to Shawn. But let's be honest, this was the breakout match of Shawn's career more than anything. So many classic moments like the splash off the ladder make it easy to see why the man would eventually earn the moniker "Mr. Wrestlemania". And for such a different match style in this era of wrestling it just felt so fresh and amazing to watch. It's definitely a match that laid the building blocks to matches that would make stars out of the likes of Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz.
The heels argue backstage over who should be captain of the ten man tag match, which is now cancelled, due mainly to the ladder match going way too long. Back at the presidential box, Ted Dibiase has come to meet phony Clinton. Everyone's got a price for the Million Dollar Man, but not Clinton apparently.
----------
April 4th, 1993. Wrestlemania IX. Bret Hart, riding in on a wave of momentum as WWF Champion would see his championship glory derailed at the hands of Yokozuna, who would win the title from the Hitman... Then Hulk Hogan would win it two minutes later, but let's not rub salt in old wounds. Fuji threw enough of that already. Hart would leave Wrestlemania a loser. But he would choose instead of letting it get at him, that he would improve himself over the remainder of the 1993.
When you look at it, both Yokozuna and Bret Hart had rollercoaster 1993s. Yokozuna would win the WWF Title and exile Hulk Hogan on the same night that Bret Hart won the King of the Ring. Bret Hart would get himself disqualified defending his family's honor against Jerry Lawler the same night Yokozuna was humiliated by Lex Luger. While Yokozuna was unable to lead his foreign fanatics to victory at Survivor Series, Bret's family was imploding on the same night. And on the same night that Yokozuna retained (by the help of many heels) his title against the Undertaker, Bret Hart would co-win the Royal Rumble.
Now we reach this point, a year later. Wrestlemania X. Madison Square Garden. And already it's been a night for both men. Bret would battle a grueling match against his brother Owen to a losing effort, while later in the night, Yokozuna essentially survived losing his title to Luger thanks to the shady actions of referee Mr. Perfect. Bret is in a bad way with an injured leg, and looks to be backed in the corner. But if there's one thing we know about Bret Hart if you've read this blog, it's that he's at his fiercest when the odds are completely against him.
----------
It is now time for our main event. Bret Hart vs Yokozuna for the WWF Championship. Our special guests are Jenny Garth as timekeeper and the one and only Burt Reynolds, complete with cast over his hand. Our special referee for this match is...
ROWDY RODDY PIPER, kilt and all. Piper had been gone from the WWF since his last appearance at Summerslam '92 where he played the bagpipes. It's always good to see the Hot Rod, and damn do I miss the man now.
Bret hobbles his way into the ring as Yokozuna gets in a cheap shot. Bret fights back out of the corner, but Yoko regains momentum. Hard body slam by Yoko. Bret gets in some punches and a dropkick, but it doesn't fase Yokozuna, who avoids a second dropkick. Yoko bites the nose of Bret which raises the ire of Roddy. He chokes Bret in the corner while Cornette tries a cheap shot, only to be stopped by Roddy. Yoko misses a big splash. Bret gets in more rights, but the champ is unable to go down. But eventually, Yoko collapses on his ass.
Yoko rakes the eyes of Bret which angers Piper even more. Bret fights out of the corner with more strikes. eventually taking Yoko down.Cover by Bret, but Cornette pulls Piper out of the ring. Hot Rod responds with a punch to the mouth of Cornette. Yokozuna regains advantage with some choke holds on Bret. Roddy gets in the face of Yokozuna, but Yoko still lands a leg drop on Bret.
Yoko tosses Bret out of the ring. Bret gets back in at nine. Yoko keeps the advantage in the corner with chops and stomps. He whips Bret into the buckle but misses a big hip drop in the corner. Bret lands a huge bulldog for a two count. Bret drops the elbow off the second rope for another two count. Big clothesline takes he champ off his feet. Cover still only gets a two count. Bret jumps off the top, but gets caught with a belly to belly. Yoko signals for the Banzai Drop, gets up... and then slips off the buckle. Bret covers and gets the three. Bret Hart is the new WWF Champion.
A much better match than Luger vs Yoko (mainly due to far less stalling), but that ending was just lame. Yoko's nearly year long title reign ends with a big whoopsy off the top rope? Yikes. Still, a solid match, though far from a top tier Wrestlemania main event.
Yokozuna chases Piper out of the arena, as Bret finally gets up and celebrates with his new gold. Lex Luger enters the ring and both men stare down each other. But Luger being the better man shakes the hand and raises the hand of the champ. All the faces arrive to raise Bret up in victory. Even Burt Reynolds shakes hands with Bret.
And in the entrance way, there's Owen Hart, who even in his biggest night, his biggest moment, he's still in the shadow of his big brother bret. And if that's not a perfect way to end Wrestlemania X, I don't know what is.
ROWDY RODDY PIPER, kilt and all. Piper had been gone from the WWF since his last appearance at Summerslam '92 where he played the bagpipes. It's always good to see the Hot Rod, and damn do I miss the man now.
Bret hobbles his way into the ring as Yokozuna gets in a cheap shot. Bret fights back out of the corner, but Yoko regains momentum. Hard body slam by Yoko. Bret gets in some punches and a dropkick, but it doesn't fase Yokozuna, who avoids a second dropkick. Yoko bites the nose of Bret which raises the ire of Roddy. He chokes Bret in the corner while Cornette tries a cheap shot, only to be stopped by Roddy. Yoko misses a big splash. Bret gets in more rights, but the champ is unable to go down. But eventually, Yoko collapses on his ass.
Yoko rakes the eyes of Bret which angers Piper even more. Bret fights out of the corner with more strikes. eventually taking Yoko down.Cover by Bret, but Cornette pulls Piper out of the ring. Hot Rod responds with a punch to the mouth of Cornette. Yokozuna regains advantage with some choke holds on Bret. Roddy gets in the face of Yokozuna, but Yoko still lands a leg drop on Bret.
Yoko tosses Bret out of the ring. Bret gets back in at nine. Yoko keeps the advantage in the corner with chops and stomps. He whips Bret into the buckle but misses a big hip drop in the corner. Bret lands a huge bulldog for a two count. Bret drops the elbow off the second rope for another two count. Big clothesline takes he champ off his feet. Cover still only gets a two count. Bret jumps off the top, but gets caught with a belly to belly. Yoko signals for the Banzai Drop, gets up... and then slips off the buckle. Bret covers and gets the three. Bret Hart is the new WWF Champion.
A much better match than Luger vs Yoko (mainly due to far less stalling), but that ending was just lame. Yoko's nearly year long title reign ends with a big whoopsy off the top rope? Yikes. Still, a solid match, though far from a top tier Wrestlemania main event.
Yokozuna chases Piper out of the arena, as Bret finally gets up and celebrates with his new gold. Lex Luger enters the ring and both men stare down each other. But Luger being the better man shakes the hand and raises the hand of the champ. All the faces arrive to raise Bret up in victory. Even Burt Reynolds shakes hands with Bret.
And in the entrance way, there's Owen Hart, who even in his biggest night, his biggest moment, he's still in the shadow of his big brother bret. And if that's not a perfect way to end Wrestlemania X, I don't know what is.
It's amazing how much difference a year can make. Last year, I called Wrestlemania IX one of the worst events, and I come out of Wrestlemania X the complete opposite. From top to bottom this was one of the best events the WWF ever put on. A heavier focus on the new blood in the company, fresh and innovative match types, two matches that would go on to inspire future wrestlers and no Hogan in sight. Just a magical night. This was the night that cemented so many big names, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and most importantly Bret Hart, who finally regained the gold he was screwed out of nearly one year prior. Wrestlemania X is one of my favorite Wrestlemanias of all time and rewatching it for this blog was an absolute treat. If there were any flaws, I'd say Luger and Yoko was the weakest match of the night, I thought Men on a Mission vs the Quebecers got sloppy by the end with an awful finish, and how Yokozuna loses the title on a slip off the turnbuckle felt lame. Those gripes aside, this is an absolute must-watch event. Final rating is an A.
But now we enter a new era with the flag bearer of the new generation back on top. But his brother seeks to catch up to the glory of the hitman. It' the road to King of the Ring 1994 up next, and I hope you all will join me on the ride.