Lil' Bitch 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2004 I've just learned of a comprehensive poll conducted by The Wrestling Observer, the most respected pro wrestling news digest, in which my Wrestlemania XIII match with Stone Cold Steve Austin was voted by both wrestling fans and wrestlers as the best match in the history of Wrestlemania. It was one of my all time favourites, too. And it was also my last Wrestlemania. With Wrestlemania XX only a week away, I thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane until the big show. I'd just gotten to the WWF when they were putting together the first Wrestlemania but my first pay-per-view was Wrestlemania II, in Chicago, at the Rosemont Horizon. I was in a 20-man over-the-top battle royal with such notable names as William (Refrigerator) Perry, who I remember bowling over me and my tag partner, Jim (The Anvil) Neidhart like a couple of bowling pins. It did, in fact, come down to a showdown between me and Andre the Giant and the last thing I could remember was Andre tossing me over the top rope, like a bag of flour, to the ring floor into Anvil's waiting arms. The following year, Wrestlemania III at the Pontiac Silverdome, boasted the largest indoor crowd in history, 93,173. In a triple-tag match, The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis took on two of my brothers-in-law, the British Bulldogs with Tito Santana. I remember the Silverdome was so huge we were driven out to the ring in a little motorized cart and I was absolutely blown away by the magnitude of the crowd. Unfortunately, that was the only part I clearly remember because, before my match started, The Bulldogs jumped the three of us and, just as I rolled to the floor, I looked up to see Davey Boy Smith press slamming Danny Davis over the top rope on top of me. Danny came down like a skittish cat and nearly poked my eye out. The rest of the match was nothing but a teary blur. At Wrestlemania IV, at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, the 20-man battle royal came down to two guys, me and Bad News Brown, better known up here as Bad News Allen Coage. Old Bad News double-crossed me and won the battle royal, which ultimately turned me from a ruthless villain in pink into a rugged babyface. Wrestlemania V was also in Atlantic City and The Hart Foundation manhandled Greg (The Hammer) Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man. At Wrestlemania VI, more than 67,000 fans packed Toronto's SkyDome. The Hart Foundation made wrestling history with the fastest pay-per-view pinfall of all time when we defeated The Bolsheviks in only 17 seconds. Wrestlemania VII, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, turned out to be my final run as two-time WWF tag champ when The Nasty Boys managed to take the Anvil out with a motorcycle helmet to win the belts. This led to the eventual breakup of the original Hart Foundation and launched me into a singles career. Wrestlemania VIII, at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, would be a defining moment of my career. In the co-main event, Rowdy Roddy Piper kicked me with the toe of his boot just above my eye, opening me up, but I rallied back to pull off an amazing upset victory over the never- before-pinned Piper to claim the Intercontinental Title for the second time. By the time I got to Wrestlemania IX, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, I was WWF world heavyweight champion, having climbed to the main event against 600-lb. Yokozuna. What happened that day didn't make any sense then -- and it still doesn't now. After having salt thrown into my eyes by Yoko's manager, Mr. Fuji, Hulk Hogan suddenly appeared at ringside and ended up with the title. It was arguably the phoniest Wrestlemania finish contrived. But little did I know my all-time best Wrestlemania moments were yet to come. Next week, I'll shed some light on my classic world championship bouts with my brother Owen, Bob Backlund, Shawn Michaels and, of course, Stone Cold Steve Austin. See ya next week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted March 7, 2004 Hart/Piper was NOT the Co Main Event of WM VIII. Hart is delusional about a great many things. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Your Olympic Hero Report post Posted March 7, 2004 Hart/Piper was NOT the Co Main Event of WM VIII. Hart is delusional about a great many things. Also Piper wasn't never before pinned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iliketurtles 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2004 And Harts vs. Bolsheviks wasn't the fastest match in PPV history...Rock/Bossman from SS 98 was. Oh well, can't blame the guy I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cbacon 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2004 And Harts vs. Bolsheviks wasn't the fastest match in PPV history...Rock/Bossman from SS 98 was. Oh well, can't blame the guy I guess. At the time it was, i'm sure Bret wasn't keeping tabs on what was happening in the WWF in 1998 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LivingLegendGaryColeman 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2004 well, I wasn't going to cite 1998 WWF. The fastest in Mania history was at Wrestlemania I, with Bundy squashing SD Jones, in I think 11 seconds or less. He smashed him in the corner and pinned him. That was that. I noticed the same co-main event, the Yoko weight (which I think was lower at the time) I can let slip, a la Hogan's stats for his Andre match. He notes the next one will discuss the championship bouts including his brother, which his brother was before the title. Oh well, it's still fun to look back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes Report post Posted March 7, 2004 I'm pretty sure wrestlers don't kep track of their match times. The match WAS the FASTED TAG TEAM MATCH I've ever seen though. So he's partially right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Your Olympic Hero Report post Posted March 7, 2004 well, I wasn't going to cite 1998 WWF. The fastest in Mania history was at Wrestlemania I, with Bundy squashing SD Jones, in I think 11 seconds or less. He smashed him in the corner and pinned him. That was that. That's kayfabe time. Actually 9 seconds is kayface time. Keith's rant says the actual match time, something significantly longer than that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wildpegasus Report post Posted March 7, 2004 Hart/Piper was NOT the Co Main Event of WM VIII. Hart is delusional about a great many things. Also Piper wasn't never before pinned. But it was the 3rd biggest match and the most memorable so it's not too far off. And who pinned Piper in the WWF on TV? I was always interested in this. I don't really know of anyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes Report post Posted March 7, 2004 well, I wasn't going to cite 1998 WWF. The fastest in Mania history was at Wrestlemania I, with Bundy squashing SD Jones, in I think 11 seconds or less. He smashed him in the corner and pinned him. That was that. That's kayfabe time. Actually 9 seconds is kayface time. Keith's rant says the actual match time, something significantly longer than that. The actually time was 0:23. Bundy took 9 seconds alone waiting to do the big splash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2004 well, I wasn't going to cite 1998 WWF. The fastest in Mania history was at Wrestlemania I, with Bundy squashing SD Jones, in I think 11 seconds or less. He smashed him in the corner and pinned him. That was that. SK's rant correctly points out the 9 second SD Jones squash is kayfabed and the real time is clearly 23 seconds. As noted, Im sure Bret meant up until that point it was the fastest PPV pin. (EDIT: seems as I was typing this 2 or 3 posters above me point out the same thing!) As for the "co-main event" comment it's really semantics. At the time the Intercontinental title was treated as a big deal so any title match would rightfully be considered a "main event" match up. Hell, last year's Wresltemania had up to 5 main events depending on how you looked at it. It's all in perception, WCW had a Wall vs. Demon match billed a "special main event" as part of a contract clause Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Your Olympic Hero Report post Posted March 8, 2004 And who pinned Piper in the WWF on TV? I was always interested in this. I don't really know of anyone. Unsure of this, but I know he was pinned either off of TV or in the NWA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Your Olympic Hero Report post Posted March 8, 2004 It's all in perception, WCW had a Wall vs. Demon match billed a "special main event" as part of a contract clause Knowing 21st century WCW, I'm surprised it wasn't the actual main event... or atleast a better match Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
