Your wrestlemania memories thread

[Guest C-Bacon]

since WrestleMania is TOMORROW NIGHT, i thought i'd start a WrestleMania memories thread. I will be attending Wrestlemania this year, so it makes the event all the more special  let's begin...

 

WrestleMania VI: This is my earliest memory of wrestling although my parents claim i watched WrestleMania V. I was about 7 years old at the time and living in England watching Hogan/Warrior on SKY TV at what must have been 1 or 2 in the morning. I marked out when the warrior came out, then when hogan came out i was torn between who to cheer for. I don't remember if i stayed up to watch the entire match though

 

WrestleMania VII: We moved to Canada this year, and my dad took me to watch it on closed-circuit on a big screen in Maple Leaf Gardens. We left the arena before Slaughter's fireball attack on hogan at the end however

 

WrestleMania VIII: We went to my parents Nicarauguan friends house that day and they were nice enough to order the show. I brought a tape with me to tape it but it ran out half way through the show. I was very upset. I almost cried. Luckily, one of the guy's daughters let me tape over her copy of Pet Cemetary for the rest of the show. Warrior's return was truly a mark out moment as was Bret's win over Piper for the IC title. I was confused when Flair didn't unviel his centerfold of elizabeth during the title match however.

 

WrestleMania IX: The first WrestleMania we ordered from home. For some reason I remember taking a shower during the Crush/Doink match. When I came back down my sister told me of the whole second Doink debacle. I was pissed that Bret lost, but like many of the marks at the time, embraced Hogans win over Yoko.

 

WrestleMania X: Ordered from home again. Nothing really noteworthy i can remember except for the fact my jaw dropped when owen pinned bret. I really enjoyed the ladder matach and all the faces celebrating with Bret after he won the title.

 

WrestleMania XI: Didn't order. My dad said it was too expensive. I tried to watch LT/Bam Bam scrambled. If there was any WrestleMania to miss however, this was it.

 

WrestleMania XII: Ordered on PPV. This was about the time i was introduced to the net and how the business works. I started calling the talkinf yellow pages and they would drop newsbits regarding piper replacing ramon at Mania and Bret taking time off. I was really hoping for Bret to win the Iron Man match as everyone was jumping on Shawn's bandwagon, but of course HBK took the gold and i was still pleased with the match.

 

WrestleMania XIII: Ordered again, but man, what a suckfest. Nothing is remotely memorable save for the Bret/Austin submission match which was pure gold

 

WrestleMania XIV: Nothing noteworty other than we ordered it and the Austin/HBK match was decent

 

WrestleMania XV: ordered again, but i hated the way they billed rock/austin as the biggest match in WWF history. It was a for gone conclusion that Austin was going over. HIAC was a major dissapointment, and Russo's crash style booking and misuse of the titles was terrible.

 

WrestleMania XVI: I was pissed that they stopped using the roman numerals and JR did't even call it "WrestleMania 2000" it was just "WrestleMania". Besides that, i was blwon away by the ladder match and the fact that Triple H, the heel walked away with the title for the first time in WrestleMania history. The match should have been one on one with Rocky however and there were too many #### McMahon's.

 

WrestleMania XVII: Had a whole bunch of friends over last year to watch the show. Superb show from top to bottom. Most of us agreed that the end was a bit anit-climatic with all those chair-shots.

 

WrestleMania X8:

 

I will be there in the nosebleeds this sunday! I can't wait, i never thought i would actually be at a WrestleMania, and will be the biggest event i have ever attended. Even though on paper, it looks to be one of the weakest WrestleMania's im hoping they can pull something memorable off. It hold great sentimental value also as WrestleMania VI from skydome was the the first WM i saw, and i hear i am 12 years later attending the grand-daddy of them all. Whooooo!

[Guest converge241]

Yes! this is what you need to get psyched up for WrestleMania

weekend!!!

WM2- I really started getting into wrestling around this time. when Hogan was attacked by Bundy on Saturday Night Main Event. I knew of it before and watched causally but wanst a fan until then. Didnt order due to no ppv, but saw a tape a little after from a relative

WM3- much like everyone else, this was my first pay-per-view. I knew at that time Savage-Steamboat was the best match ever. Was still a Hogan mark at the time so liked the bodyslam. Loved the way the crowd looked.

WM4-watched this over a friends house with 40 something people watching on 2 tvs. Not universally loved, but i like it. I remember best being so shocked when Hoagn and Andre were both gone.

WM5- one of my least favorites. I couldnt undersatnd why they didnt just have Demolition vs. Powers of Pain without Mr. Fuji. Hogan - Savage was good.

WM6- The anticipation to this main event remains my favorite all time. Hogan and Warrior's rehearsal paid off in the best match for either man. and jakes promo, my god the promo. My favorite ever. really started geting into the rockers here. total bewilderment at the Piper 'black and white cookie" deal.

WM7- Savage getting all those elbowdrops and losing, then the reunion.

WM8- Piper vs Hart, my favorite Piper match easily. his whole time period was one of my favorites as I was a big NWA and Flair fan and loved rubbing it all the WWF marks faces that he had the belt. I was laughed at twice though in the end: first, for not having the Hogan-Flair showdown, and then losing my guarantee of Flair walking out with the title.

WM9- ugh. The best thing I remember this for was my one and only time ever of predicting every finish exactly to the group of friends watching.  didnt predict Hogan coming out , but as soon as I saw him i knew what was going to happen.

WM10- getting that savage-steamboat feeling again, twice!

the hart battle and then the ladder match. The savage - crush match was pretty #### good too. I was fading a little as far as being a hardcore fan, but this reafirmed my affinity.

WM11- and this one killed it off again. Diesel - Shawn was probably the highlight for me, it should have been last

WM12- Austin's first wrestlemania. much like Flair, i was a big Stunning Steve mark and bragged that he was going to be big in the WWF (met by "yeah right"s and "when #### freezes over") on the edge of my seat during Ironman match waiting for the first fall. The backlot brawl was really a percussor to a ton of stuff the two big companies would do. Undertaker - Diesel was both mens best match up until that point

WM13- ther first WM post my discovering of the Torch adn having access to the internet. Really made a lackluster show look even better. Obviously the main highlight was the Bret-Austin match. I played this tape religiously at the comic store I ran and got tons of customers either into or back into wrestling based off of that match.

WM14- My favorite one all around ever. In my home state. Rock - Shamrock was great even with the unclean ending. Michaels taking those bumps with that bad back. A fitting swan song and the beginning of Stone Cold as the top dog officially.

WM15- too "all over the place" for a wrestlemania. xpac - shane was fun and rock-austin was great

WM2000 - hated the lack of one on one matches. hated the heel going over. highlights wer the all day wrestlemania package and TLC and the eurocontinental 3 way

WMX7- TLC was good but it had that feeling of "again?". rock -Austin was good but the heel again? I was waiting for Rock to turn. it would have been much easier. Taker-HHH was great. the crowd really added to it like WM3

 

I may get disapointed some years, but I am always psyched on that weekend and during the event. No matter how bad or good the product is I will make sure I am there in person at Madison Square Garden for XX

[Guest Tony149]

I've seen every WrestleMania. Be it live on PPV (XIV-present) or on home video (1-13). I remember getting excited when Hogan was announced as the guy who was wrestling Flair at WM 8. I was looking forward to seeing Flair win. That didn't happen, but watching Flair vs. Savage was great. The heat was incredible. Can you belive WM X8 is the second WM for Flair?

[Guest converge241]

Can you belive WM X8 is the second WM for Flair?  

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   

 

so weird when you think about it.

sad to think that he will probably be 0-2.

i cant see them ending Undertaker's streak.

[Guest]

I've just seen WM X, and XII-X7, here goes.

 

X: Over rated in my opinion. Bret/Owen was good, but I'm not really a techincal wrestling fan, so I don't praise it like others. Saw this on tape, December 2000.

 

XII: Good show, but again, not a techincal fan, the iron man match bored me. Saw on tape, March 2001.

 

XIII: Decent show. Austin/Bret is one of my two top Austin matches ever (Other being against Dude when McMahon was the referee) Saw on tape, December 2000.

 

XIV: My personal favorite WrestleMania, this was a few months after I got into wrestling. Saw on tape, December 1999.

 

XV: This is probably my least favorite, but Rock/Austin is good. Saw on tape days later in March 1999 (Watched on scrambled tv), because I was grounded and couldn't go to my friend's house.

 

XVI: Awesome show, aside from some stinkers. Ladder match, two title triple threat, and main event blew me away. First one I actually saw live, at that friend's house I couldn't go to the previous year.

 

X7: Possibly the best WM ever. I ordered this one.

 

X8: Going to a different friend's house, I see pretty much all the PPV's there nowadays.

[Guest TUS_02]

I remember that my neighbor came over way back when with Wrestlemania III in his hand... that was my first experience of pro wrestling.  Since I didn't know anything, the whole Savage/Steamboat thing went over my head... and so did Hogan/Andre.  But the amount of people in the arena was amazing...

 

My personal favorite is from WM VI.  My dad took my brother, my neighbor and myself down to his office to watch it on a big screen television set.  My neighbor and I were huge Warrior fans with my brother being the lone Hulk-a-maniac... during the match, we were all flipping out through the whole match because we didn't want our guys to lose.  I remember when Warrior kicked out of the Gorilla Press, I turned away and started to cry (I was like in 3rd grade).  I then heard something like "Hogan missed the leg drop" and I look up and see Warrior getting the three-count.  I don't think I could have been anymore happy.  12 years later and it still holds up as my favorite WM moment.  

 

Runners up are HBK/Razor ladder match and Undertaker winning the world title (I was as much a Taker fan during this period as I was a Warrior fan in WM 6)

[Guest goodhelmet]

I'm old so I remember different Manias different.

I saw the First Mania about a week after it happened because a friend of the family had taped it on closed circuit. I was hooked.

 

WM2- I watched it live, still have the original taping of the ppv somewhere. A sentimental favorite. Friggin Ozzy Osbourne!!!!!

 

WM3- When I realized that Ricky Steamboat was the greatest wrestler on Earth.

 

WM4 -I fell asleep 2 or 3 different times when watching live. I bought the Mania boxset and I still fell asleep. Not a good sign.

 

WM5- I remember this show being friggin long and being disgusted with Hogan winning the title. I was pissed!

 

I stopped buying WMs from 6-13. The WWF had lost my interest and didn't regain it until the Hart-Austin feud in '97.

 

I've bought all of the Manias since and have been pleased, even with WM 15. Remember, this is from someone who had purchased Road Wild 98, Fall Brawl 98, and Starrcade 98. Mania was a Godsend compared to those shows.

[Guest Tony149]

I guess I'll give my thoughts on all the WM's....

 

WM 1 - I get kinda bored with this show. Haven't seen it in years, but it's good for historical reasons.

 

WM II (2) - I was young back then, so I thought it was cool having WM at 3 different sites.

 

WM III (3) -  Savage/Steamboat and Hogan/Andre. The crowd looks HUGE.

 

WM IV (4) - It's long, but I like it for some reason. Probably because Hogan didn't win the tournament. Huge Savage mark back then.

 

 

WM V (5) - One of my favorites for some reason. Just like WM 4, it's long, but it's Arn & Tully's only WM appearance.

 

WM VI (6) - Also one of my favorites just for the Hogan/Warrior match. I was marking out when Warrior won. Never was a Hulkamanic.

 

WM VII (7) - I also like this show. Probably for nostalgia. Great Warrior/Savage match.

 

WM VIII (8) - Great Flair/Savage and Hart/Piper matches. Plus, it's Flair's first WM appearance.

 

WM IX (9) - I'm not really high on this WM. It was JR's first WM, but most belive the show SUCKS!

 

WM X - Owen vs. Bret and the HBK/Razor ladder match is good. One of my favorites.

 

WM XI (11) - I don't really like this WM much.

 

WM XII (12) - Okay show. The Iron-Man match SHOULD of had pinfalls. The match seemed to drag on forever.

 

WM XIII (13) - Not a great WM. The WWF was getting their asses kicked by WCW. Many call WM 13 the birth-place of WWF Attitude.

 

WM XIV (14) - The show that turned the WWF around. This is probably my all-time favorite WM.

 

WM XV (15) - A lot of people hate this show, but I liked it. ####, I liked all of the 1999 WWF.

 

WM 2000 (16) - The show had lots of filler matches, but the Tag team Ladder match is very good.

 

WM X-7 (17) - My second favorite WM. Good stuff here.

 

WM X8 (18) - The show doesn't look great on paper, but who knows what could happen.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Wrestlemania I - Not a big fan of it.  Its just a glorified Saturday Night's Main Event.

 

Wrestlemania II - Underrated.

 

Wrestlemania III - Wow!

 

Wrestlemania IV - The first Wrestlemania I ever saw.  It remains a sentimental favourite to this day.  I liked it when these things were four hours long.

 

Wrestlemania V - The first Wrestlemania I ever saw Live.  Fantastic card.  Tito got what was coming to him.

 

Wrestlemania VI - I used to like this as a kid, not so much now.  Good main event, but a lot of crap.  The atmosphere is second only to the Silverdome.

 

Wrestlemania VII - I was in one of my peak periods of interest in wrestling in 1991 (others would occur in 1993, 1998 (WCW) & 2000), so I loved this show.  Savage/Warrior is classic, and Hogan/Slaughter isn't that bad.

 

Wrestlemania VIII - Two great matches and nothing else.

 

Wrestlemania IX - The last two matches are awful.  The rest of the card is mediocre.  Still not the worst Mania ever.

 

Wrestlemania X - Two spectacular matches and nothing else.

 

Wrestlemania XI - Not one of my favourites.  Very boring show.

 

Wrestlemania XII - I really liked this show.  Austin/Savio is very good, the Iron Man is very good, Taker/Diesel is ok, and watching HHH get squashed is pretty funny.

 

Wrestlemania XIII - One spectacular match, one good match, and nothing else.  The show that launched the Attitude Era.

 

Wrestlemania XIV - Nothing is horrible (other than the battle royal), but nothing stands out as being great.  It is just kind of there.  HHH/Owen is the best match.

 

Wrestlemania XV - Horrible.  Three negative star matches (HIAC, Sable/Tori, Butterbean/Gunn), and only two that break DUD (Austin/Rock, Shane/X-Pac), and neither of those two is that great.  Worst Mania ever, and one of the worst PPVs of all time.

 

Wrestlemania XVI - Good show.  The four draw matches (IC, Hardcore, Tag & World Title matches) are good-to-great, and are spread out well on the card.

 

Wrestlemania XVII - Best Wrestlemania ever.  Great atmosphere.  And the best main event in Wrestlemania history to end it, followed by one of my biggest mark out moments ever when Austin turned.  I loved Austin in 1996/1997, but hated his water-downed face character that started in 1998.

[Guest wrestlemaniac16]

WM 1 I don't remember this show much I was just a baby.

WM 2 My first wrestlrmania the battle royal is one of the few things I remember

WM 3 Hogan slammed Andre! I was marking out big time

WM 4 Suprised that Savage had won

WM 5 My two favorite wrestlers at the time fighting Savage vs Hogan had a lot of intensity

WM 6 I recently rented the video, and I still enjoy the ppv, I remember crying when Hogan lost( I was 6 at the time, if that makes up for anything)

WM 7 Not one of my favorite WM's, not a bad show though

WM 8 Ric Flair's first WM is etched in my mind, Hart and Piper were really good

WM 9 When I was a kid, I liked this show, I was confused as #### when Hogan won the belt, Taker vs Giant Gonzales was ugly.

WM X A couple of good matches

WM 12 The Iron Man match, I was mad that Bret had lost

WM 13 I was marking out when Austin was getting out of the sharpshooter

WM 14 One of my favorites, the hype was great, Michaels lat WM, Austin winning the title was very big

WM 15 Not one of my favorites seemed like a very good Raw

WM 16 Seemed like the year before it

WM 17 The best WM of all time, had the Hogan- Warrior type feel to it, the crowd was hot, Austin and Rock put on a #### of a match.

WM 18 Kind of weird that it's here already, it seems like a great show though, lookin forward to Hogan and Rock, and Austin vs Hall, plus RVD vs Regal, I'm looking forward to seeing HHH taking on Jericho.

[Guest lowavenue]

WM I - Only seen this recently and most of it sucks, but I'm sure at the time my opinion would have been different.

WM II - Great tag team title match, but again most of it sucks.

WM III - Great crowd. Steamboat/Savage. Need I say more?

WM IV - Total borefest, most of the matches are awful.

WM V - Really entertaining WM. Great main event. Very underrated.

WM VI - Great crowd. Literally all of it sucked, epic main event though. Talk about a 1 match card.

WM VII - Again, pretty entertaining throughout. Nothing that awful. Ultimate Savage markout moment with Liz.

WM VIII - IC Title and WWF Title matches rule. Rest sucks.

WM IX - Total shit from top to bottom. Wretched stuff.

WM X - Two of the best WWF matches I've ever seen, filled in the middle with crap.

WM XI - IC Title and WWF Title matches are good, the rest is just awful. Felt like a normal house show.

WM XII - Poor main event (no falls in 60 mins, give me a break!), but the rest was pretty solid.

WM XIII - Like WM VI, a total 1 match show, but what a match it was. Again had a house show feel.

WM XIV - Fantastic WM from top to bottom.

WM XV - Main event is pretty good, although predictable, but the rest sucks.

WM XVI - Boring main event, no crowd heat, crap card. Tag Title and IC Title matches are excellent though.

WM XVII - Best WM of the lot. Nuff said. Everything ruled.

WM XVIII - Not keen on the last minute build-up, but I think it'll be cool.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Wrestlemania I - I liked the main event as a googly-eyed little kid.  Mistah T~!

 

Wrestlemania II - Feh.  No memories here.

 

Wrestlemania III - An awesome show - obviously Savage/Steamboat, Hogan/Andre, but I also really liked Roberts/HTM and the Bulldogs/Hart Foundation match.  Just a great show.

 

Wrestlemania IV - I'm a goofy Savage mark, so I liked his matches on the card.  Bad News turning on Bret in the Battle Royale was pretty cool too.

 

Wrestlemania V - Like somebody else earlier, this is also the first one I saw live - excellent card and I've still got my original tape of the event somewhere.

 

Wrestlemania VI - I marked out like a fool for Hogan / Warrior and Jake's match with Dibiase, but after that...eeeesh.

 

Wrestlemania VII - Strange as it was, I dug the Blindfold match when I was younger...haven't watched this card since, though.  I totally marked for Savage/Warrior and, to a lesser extent, Bossman's match with Perfect.  As an act of god, though, I missed the Hogan/Slaughter match due to a problem with our provider and I've never been privileged enough to see the match.

 

Wrestlemania VIII - Probably was the peak of my looooove for wrestling, as both WWF and WCW were kicking ass in 1992.  This one was /kinda/ disappointing though, with not a lot to offer other than Piper losing the IC belt, Savage/Flair (halfway down the card?! ) and the Ultimate one's big return.

 

Wrestlemania IX - First post-internet Wrestlemania, and gawd, what a card to choose.  Best part of the show for me was Savage being brought out like he invented the term "pimp" to his commentary seat.  Otherwise, a total atrocity.  One of many exhibits for a case for 1993 being one of the worst years in wrestling.

 

Wrestlemania X - Home to one of my favorite matches ever in the Ladder Match.  All of the matches in the World Title bracket were great and it was nice to see the WWF take this idea and use it for Vengeance.  These matches kind of weigh my view of the card, but regardless, it's still one of my favorites.

 

Wrestlemania XI - Total blah card.  LT/Bigelow was kind of surprising, but the rest was pretty icky.  Very reminiscent of the feeling I get coming into WM X-8.

 

Wrestlemania XII - Not as bad as everybody thinks - I felt this one was pretty good, with Austin's first WM appearance and the controversial Iron Man match.

 

Wrestlemania XIII - Hart/Austin is it.  The rest sucked and it pretty much convinced me never to get Wrestlemania live again.

 

Wrestlemania XIV - I caught the tape and essentially fast-forwarded to the main event.  I've seen the rest of it since, but I don't regret forwarding through the undercard - Austin beating Michaels was the most memorable thing about this one and this one's WAY overrated.

 

Wrestlemania XV - Total shit.  Didn't see it live and I didn't see the tape for the event until last year, and I wasn't missing much.  Rock/Austin was all right, but Russo pretty much ruined this one.  Doesn't beat out 9 because of Rock/Austin, but that's the ONLY reason.

 

Wrestlemania XVI - Show just felt kind of blah, and, like WM11, it had the very same "ugh" feeling leading up to it that WMX-8 has working for it.  Pretty much was the spark for my now seething hatred of having McMahons on my television, Mick Foley or not. The Tag Team ladder match is good, though.

 

Wrestlemania X-Seven - Finally, one that made me want to see it live and man, did I not regret it.  Other than Jericho/Regal, I enjoyed every single match on some level or another and Rock/Austin may be one of the best matches of the last couple of years.  History, psychology, and one of the most killer beatings with a chair I've seen in a PPV main event.  Screw the "pass the blade" stigma and the Austin heel turn, this match and this card was amazing.

 

And that's about it.  Once again, I'm not seeing this one live and I'm not really regretting it.  

My Favorite Wrestlemanias?  3-5, 10, 12, and X-Seven.

[Guest mastermind]

My fellow Torontonian. I will be there live as well although I didn't pay full price. Can't get into my politics on that*hehe*.

Anyways, I think it's really starting to feel like Mania with all the stuff going on. Too bad people out of town don't get the same hype.

 

Anyways,

WM 18 memories so far:

Last night on FLOW 93.5 FM hearing the deejays giving a shout out to Chris Jericho and calling him the world champion. The deejay also giving shout outs to Booker T and Tommy Dreamer in the club.

 

JR and King on Breakfast Television. I saw a replay on CP 24 later in the day. The Toronto Sun newspaper hype has been good(I should post the Mcmahon interview from yesterday). Fan Axxess coverage. I sure aint wasting money to get ripped into buying more merchandise.

 

WM 17

Well, the #### inside laughter I had when Austin turned heel and my sister and friends were shocked and some angry. I love keeping my "smart" stuff to myself. Brings joy to see casual fans reactions to things. For some reason this show doesn't seem all that great as it did last year to me. Still good show though.

 

WM 16

Again, it had to do with the main event. I know some won't believe me, but I had predicted Triple H winning simply because Rock winning was just too #### predictable. I also didn't think Foley going out with the title made any sense since he lost to Triple H the last two matches. How JR and King also kept saying it's not who you want to win, but who will win or something. The faces of friends and family members was again shock. I was a bit surprised the wwf had the balls to have Triple H win.

 

WM 15

To be honest I didn't even care about this to watch it live. I went out with my girlfriend. I watched the replay and the card is pretty forgettable. Austin/Rock was okay, but the rematch at Backlash was much better.

 

WM 14

Now this thing had everyone talking because of Mike Tyson. I really believed the wwf had to deliver or else it would probably be stuck as #2 for good. I was happy with the show and thought the wwf was on its way back. I remember rumoured matches for the card was on the net for months way in advance.

 

WM 13

This was sad, just sad. Luckily Hart/Austin was something to talk about with the street fight with LOD was fun to watch. This Mania was horrible.

 

WM 12

I really believed Hart and Michaels were going to have the greatest match of all-time. I was a bit disappointed to be honest, but the match was okay. Something different for WrestleMania. I did like seeing Warrior return. Too bad it led to no where land.

 

WM 11

My gosh no one cared about this card I knew. It got a lot of hype with LT, but the card didn't feel like Mania at all. I say this was worse than 13 in terms of relevance at least that Mania had Austin/Hart.

 

WM 10

Third and last Mania that I purchased before my magical "cable" came through and I can't say I was too disappointed. Classic Mania although I think the net over rates it. The ladder match was talked about the most at school. Actually, I think the hype for this show was tremondous with Mcmahon walking through NYC and going over the matches. On another show Monsoon did the preview on Wrestling Challenge. Old school hype I love it.

 

WM 9

Okay, this card sucked plain and simple although I liked Taker's entrance, Perfect/Luger, and Bret/Ykoko/Hart. Yep, I liked the surprise of Hogan winning the belt although I remember telling my cousion about Hogan winning and he said what kind of crap is that?The newspaper I remember had Bret picked as the winner. It also talked about the "Michael Jordan of wrestling returning".

 

WM 8

First Mania I ever saw in the comfort of my home. Get this I was disappointed to a point. As you said I wanted to see the centrefold with Elizabeth. I liked the match and wanted Flair to win just because he was new. I remember the Toronto Sun preview predicting a Flair victory as well. The papers didn't give this show too much praise either saying everything went according to script and nothing special besides Warrior's return.

 

WM 7

I saw this at an arcade. For some reason the show turned out better than I thought, but I really hated Slaughter with a passion and not because of the Gulf War angle. I just thought this match was WAY TOO predictable. I remember watching the Warrior/Savage match and people predicting Warrior winning after the elbow drops and saying this stuff is so predictable. Couldn't really disagree. Savage/Liz was nice, but I remember telling my father about the outcome and he said I'm gonna stop watching this soap opera crap. Now they aren't even trying to make it seem like a sport. The undercard matches also felt interesting such as Bulldog/Warlord and Rockers/Barbarian&Haku.

 

WM 6

The last time WrestleMania really felt like the greatest thing on earth to me. I watched Hogan getting interviewed on sports channels. I still have video tape footage. A lot of the media had Hogan winning. They actually thought Warrior was a bad guy. Only one sports announcer actually had the sense to know Warrior was hot on Hogan's trail of popularity and Hogan said people were putthing horse before the carriage and thought Warrior would beat him for his Warriors.

 

I also remember seeing the press conference before the actual storyline was played on tv. It just came out of no where that Hogan and Warrior were going to fight at Mania, but they didn't know which title would be on the line. When Warrior won it shocked the media. This was WrestleMania at its hypest to me because of the coverage it got in papers and on news stations. The papers had also predicted Hogan winning. There was one kid who was interviewed from home in a wwf shrine who predicted the WHOLE card. I taped these stuff just for memories and I want to see the aftermath of WM 18 compared to WM 6. The wwf never got this type of media exposure again until WM 14 with Mike Tyson. Even then our media never picked up on it like WM 6. I still remember the cover of the newspapers with Ultimate Warrior holding both titles.

 

WM 5

I never seen it live, but boy did everyone talk about the Mega-Powers match. The match outcome was on the news broadcasts. Who would get Elizabeth? I have to say the early years with Hulkamania really did sell the show regardless of the net "experts" ripping Hogan. I have the news footage and fans were into it. Of course around this time the sports world was also talking about Vince breaking kayfabe as well saying wrestling was "more performance than a bona fide athletic contest".

 

WM 4

For some reason I think Jack Tunney leaked out the script because I remember the Toronto papers had Dibase predicted as the tourney winner. When Macho won it was all over the news the night.

 

WM 3

Classic. Hogan slamming Andre was seen all over the news. I remember A LOT of people wanted to see this match. I can remember telling people it would be at Chuck E. Cheese just because I thought the big screen was going to show it and a whole lot of people showing up disappointed. These were the days. I don't think WM has ever been as big as this one.

 

WM 2

I saw this on CBC for some reason.

 

WM 1

Saw on tape a year later.

[Guest TheHulkster]

wm1: the first time i seen this was when it came out on video back in the day. I was all about jyd, the hulkster, and piper

 

wm2: As a young mark, i wanted to see bundy dead, but on the flipside, i wanted mr t to get his ass handed to him by piper, so i wasnt all about the faces.

 

Wm3: I remember being in awe of this show. The crowd, the hype, all of it got me pumped to see the best show ever at that point, but my douchebag neighbors decided to "see how we were doing". Fucking leeches. I was pretty bummed about piper's retirement, but in pro wrestling, retirements mean nothing.

 

Wm4: As a young mark, i was really pissed that hogan lost, but this show did the trick in making me a fan of savage at the time. THe Fucking leech neighbors returned a took some of the fun out of the show.

 

Wm5: This was the last wwf show i seen for 2 years as i was getting sick of the product. Oddly enough, i became a hardcore World Class/USWA fan, and traded in my red and yellow tear-away shirt to become a hardcore Eric Embry mark.

 

Even thought i became a wwf fan again in 91, my fucking cable company stopped providing wwf ppv after Royal Rumble 92. Fuck you gateway cable!

 

Wm10: TCI cable takes over and brings back the wwf ppvs, the first one being RR94. My sister was a hardcore bret mark, so i rooted for Owen out of spite, but on this night, Owen became my personal favorite wrestler. The ladder match blew me away. I was a hardcore razor ramon mark at the time anyway, so i was really pumped for the match. I thought it was fucking stupid that Donnie Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds came out to celebrate with bret like they give a shit about wrestling. Little Richard rocked the house too.

 

Wm11: I didnt like the whole Lawrence Taylor-Bam Bam feud and i thought the match sucked. I was still a pretty big mark at the time, and thought the allied powers were the greatest team in the world, Mr Bob Backlund was on at the time too, and i was pumped to see who owen's mystery partner was. Otherwise a pretty blah show.

 

Wm12: The whole year of 95 turned me into more of a wcw fan, but i still ordered the wwf ppvs till the nwo came,then i pretty much stopped ordering wwf ppv altogether. This show is one of my favorite wrestlemanias because i was pretty happy to see the warrior back and i really liked the iron man match. I remember being so happy seeing it go to a draw because it meant bret kept the gold. I hated shawn michaels whole babyface act. When he won, i was pretty pissed.

 

Wm14: The Tyson hype and the wwf's improved product drew me back in. I was happy to see austin finally get the gold because i still fucking hated HBK. THe Rock-Shamrock finish kind of pissed me off though.

 

Wm15: I remember really liking this show when i watched it live. I didnt see the triple h turn coming at all and was pretty shocked. It was a great ending to a pretty good Xpac-Shane match. The main event had me on the edge of my seat two.

 

Wm2000: I got the Wrestlemania All Day long Deal, so i turned it on at 12 and watched it straight till 8pm. I was so pumped up for wm2000 after watching the all day long special, but on the whole, it came no where near living up to its hype and was constructed like it was nothing more than a No mercy or Judgement day style 2nd rate show. Especially the ending to the main event. I mean come on? The rock loses and hits the people's elbow on stephanie? Thats more like a Raw ending than a wrestlemania ending. Not to mention the fact that it had 3 or 4 tag matches thrown together with no buildup.

 

WM17: Got the same goosebumps i got for wrestlemania 3. Fucking leech friends crash the party, not regular,cool,"Hey ill buy a case and we can watch some mania" friends, but "hey i was just in the neighborhood and my car broke down" friends. Even that did not take away from how amazing this show was.

The main event is in my opinion, the best mania main event of all time. The rock and austin had me on the edge of my seat yet again.

 

Sorry for being a bit on the long side, but those are my wrestlemania memories.

[Guest mastermind]

Oh yeah, more about WM 6 I have to say I had a friend tell me 3 years later that he saw Hogan practicing with Warrior with Hogan actually pinning Warrior during a session at the skydome like the monday before the Mania showdown. I don't know how true it was, but the net did report the two practiced the match. He said since he was an usher in training he saw it from a skybox area that didn't cover the whole dome to prevent anyone from seeing them wrestle. As a side note yesterday's papers said that the set is going to be the biggest set ever produced even for rock concerts. The cost will be above last year's $800,000 figure. To show my markism of the day(1990 I was starting to become "smart" I felt bad for Hogan losing). Hey, I was in grade 8 at the time.