NWK Reviews Wrestlemania 10

[NWK2000]

Boing into the PPV, my thoughts

Everyone knows a lot of what happened at WMX. Bret vs Yoko and Owen earlier, Yoko vs Luger, Ramon vs Micheals, but to be truthful with you, I've never seen any of these things myself, so let's get going.

Can I just say that WM10's opening package may be my favorite ever? You get footage of the first Wrestlemania (and ONLY the first Wrestlemania for some reason) Because Hogan was with a different company, one of the things that was pushed as one of the "big moments" of WM1 was Andre slamming Studd, which literally never gets any atttention. Then the image melts away, and you get the uber famous Wrestlemania instrumental. Luger and Hart are both staring off into the distance of their own individual pictures, and then they just pan to Yoko's picture, which, looks hilariously like a headshot for a modeling agency in which Yoko which completely disinterested
Ohhhh it was because this Mania was at MSG.

Little Richard does "America the Beautiful" which is only worth mentioning because the choir that's backing him up is surrounding the ring, so it looks look like the most rinky-dink operation of time. I love it when the singer encourages people to clap along, and then they do a crowd shot in which only 3 people are clapping along.

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

-Vince McMahon says "Oh! I thought it was going to be Bret" as Owen comes out, what an idiot.
-Owen has a cool lighting effect to symbolize "stepping out of the shadow
-Owen locks up, and stops to cheer it, God bless Owen"
-Man, Owen is a fantastic shitlord
- Bret recovered way too soon from Owen's Tombstone
-Bret's Russian Leg Sweep could've been a finisher, looks sick
-Huh, it took Owen a while to actually wprk over something, glad it got the time.
-Man, that finish, I'm glad Owen got the win
8.75/10
Owen promo: Short but great

Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vashon vs Doink and Dink

-Bam Bam misses a senton and sells his neck, huh.
-Luna's just being made to look like an idiot
-WOW, he missed a foot stop and did a flip bump
-"It appears Luna is overpowering Dink, and Dink is a powerhouse in his own right" god damn it McMahon
-Now Bam Bam joins the "Made to look like an idiot by Dink" club.
2/10 hated this
Suddenly, Bill Clinton!

Falls Count anywhere, after the fall you have a minute to return to the ring
Macho Man Randy Savage vs Crush w/Mr Fuji

-Apron headbutt, huh
--Crush gets his salt turned on him. You'd think Fuji would've learned after last year.
-Savage doing the smart thing, which is, get Crush as far away from the ring as possible.
-He ties Crush's feet to a pulley and hangs him upside down
-Instead of going back to help his guy. Fuji starts shit in the ring with Randy, we see a pproximately 3 seconds of this.
6/10, fun match, wish it had gotten more time.

Bill Clinton puts over Mania and says he's a wrestling fan. Irwin R Shyster is sitting behind the presidential box. Irwin, as a heel puts over Bill Clinton, and puts over his tax raising.

Lelani Kai vs Alundra Blayze for the WWF Women's Championship.

-They actually did a weight for Blayze? Huh.
-Alundra's nameplate changes randomly to Owen Hart's and I laughed
-Jerry Lawler calls Bill Clinton the Burger King
-Okay, quick pin
4/10

Men ona Mission vs The Qyebecker w/ Johnny Polos

-Men on a Mission come out, and we cut back to the star of "Up All Night" Something Sheer, who I have to say, is gorgeous. She does a FANTASTIC job of swooning over Shawn Micheals, and the pose for a picture, but the photographer is knocked out by BURT REYNOLDS. Sheer swoons over Burt now, in a truly entertaining segment. Unfortunately, we miss the Quebecers entrance

-Man, the Quebeckers really impress here.
-Mo was pretty awesome too
-Crappy countout finish, other than that great stuff
6.5/10

Yokozuna w/ Mr.Fuji and Jim Cornette vs Lex Luger for the WWF Championship w/ Mr.Perfect as the Ref
-Great underdog stuff with Luger
-Luger gets dqed for shoving Mr.Perfect when he refuses to count the pin
6/10
Post match stuff: Luger and Mr.Perfect get into a verbal argument and has to be pulled aparts by agents.

Harvey Whuppleman n the ring with Howard Finkkel, Howard cuts a promo on Howard Finkel. Howard shoves Harvey down. Atom Bomb comes out to defend Harvey. Earthquake runs down and jumps Atom Bomb and hits his Splash thing for the three, great segment

Jim Cornette promo- Great, puts over the Luger match, runs down Hitman.

Ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship Shawn Micheals vs Razor Ramon

-One thing I never understood about dual belts above the rings is, isn't there a chance one could pull down one belt, and the other could pull down the second belt?
- HBK not wanting bad luck and going around the ladder, and Ramon inviting it was great.
-If there's no rules, why does "Diesel have to vacate the premises"
-Some generally brutal ladder spots, and not anything too spotty
-Man, from a straight man to another, HBK has a toned ass.
-Some of these spots are lookin botched, but it looks more real that way, like HBK hitting Ramon with the forearm while Hall was on the ladder
-I like HBK laying around in defeat here (where I normally hate it on other ladder matches) because he legit looked like he knocked himself up with that last blow.
7/10

Bret Hart vs Yokozuna w/Jim Cornette and and Mr.Fuji with Roddy Piper as the guest ref for the WWE Championship

-Props to the announcers for questioning Piper's alleginaces
-Well paced match

6.5/10

Final thoughts

I think this PPV is must watch, and great in terms of quality as well. Only the inherent comedy match disappointed.

[Big Red Machine]

Only 8.75 for Bret vs. Owen?
And only 7 for the ladder match?

[NWK2000]

Only 8.75 for Bret vs. Owen?
And only 7 for the ladder match?

As I said, the ladder match was full of botched looking spots, some of which I liked, because it made it look less scripted. The referee also had an ever changing definition of what a "no rules" match entailed, with Diesel being banned from ringside. It also didn't seem like the match itself was very well thought out, like, "What happens if the ladder breaks" which it did. I should've mentioned this in my review, that some of the spots seemed to exist for the sake of spots. I like it when the ladder is only brought into play with spots that result from someone trying to get the title.


As far as Bret/Owen, one thing that absolutely bugged me about it was the pacing. I felt like it couldn't decide whether it was catch-as-catch can or a brawl. Maybe there was a deeper narrative there that I didn't get, but that's what stood out to me.

[Big Red Machine]

Only 8.75 for Bret vs. Owen?
And only 7 for the ladder match?

As I said, the ladder match was full of botched looking spots, some of which I liked, because it made it look less scripted. The referee also had an ever changing definition of what a "no rules" match entailed, with Diesel being banned from ringside. It also didn't seem like the match itself was very well thought out, like, "What happens if the ladder breaks" which it did. I should've mentioned this in my review, that some of the spots seemed to exist for the sake of spots. I like it when the ladder is only brought into play with spots that result from someone trying to get the title.

Huh. I don't remember any this. I'll have to rewatch it.