SlyGuy21
1st Match: The Headbangers vs The New Blackjacks vs The Godwinns vs Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon, 4-Corners Elimination Tag match. The match is an OK start, half the teams get eliminated via countout and DQ, so I don't know why they were in the match. There are some good spots, and it did an OK job of getting the crowd into the show, but it feels overstuffed for a tag match. Rating: 3/52nd Match: The Rock vs The Sultan, WWF Intercontinental Championship. The Sultan is Rikishi, just clearing that up. I'm guessing they put Rock against one of his relatives because it'd be an easier match to work, but it's pretty good. The biggest negative the match has is Honky Tonk Man burying The Rock on commentary. All he does is bury this poor kid because he "knows what makes a good champion" since he held the IC Title longer than anyone. Albeit that reign was awful, but I digress. After the match, Sultan, beats on the Rock which calls for his dad to show up and help him clean house. A good moment, but an alright match. Rating: 3.5/53rd Match: Goldust vs HHH. This is the official debut of Chyna, so that's a thing. The match has some good parts to it, but it's kind of obvious that Hunter would win to make Chyna look like more of a threat. The matches so far have been good, but not really "WrestleMania worthy" to me. Rating: 3/54th Match: Mankind and Vader vs Owen Hart and the British Bulldog, WWF Tag Team Championships. This is the best match of the night so far. All 4 guys get some good spots in, and the crowd's into it. The problem is that the match ends in a draw for some reason. I guess it was to make sure both teams looked strong going forward, but ending a match in a draw at WrestleMania is a cop-out to me. Rating: 4/55th Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart, Submission match. I've been waiting for this match for a long time. Often considered the greatest match in WrestleMania history, this is the match that cemented Austin as a superstar. The match is brutal, it goes all over the place, there are no DQs, and Austin gets cut real bad. The shot of Austin trapped in the Sharpshooter with blood pouring down his face, inches from the ropes that he can't reach is classic. Even though Austin isn't a technical wrestler, he beats on Bret for days here. This isn't a technical match, this is a straight-up fight. No matter what Bret and Austin throw at each other, neither will quit. Austin passes out due to the pain, but he does not give up. Then on top of that, Bret still beats on him, and they pull a double turn on us. Bret gets booed out of the building, and Austin gets a standing ovation for walking out on his own. I'm 99.99% sure this will be my Match of the Year, because it is THAT good. Rating: 5/56th Match: The Nation of Domination vs Ahmed Johnson and The Road Warriors, Chicago Street Fight. So how do you follow-up a brawl that goes all over the place? Put another brawl right after it. 10 minutes of madness, with the Road Warriors winning in their home town. An entertaining brawl, and a good cooldown match. Rating: 4/57th Match: Sid Vicious vs The Undertaker, No DQ match for the WWF Championship. Shawn Michaels is on guest commentary here. Sid's had the belt for like two weeks I think, and Bret's not happy. He comes out and berates everyone, then gets powerbombed by Sid. Don't worry, he'll be back later. The match is alright, but the crowd is so worn out by the last hour of madness, that they're not really into it. Also, Undertaker is bound to win because I know The Streak continues for another 17 years. Both guys are big, and they do the best they can, but you can't follow Austin/Bret that easily. The same thing happened at WrestleMania X8, the main event is overshadowed by the standout match before it. Bret comes out towards the end and screws Sid out of the belt, so Taker is the new champ. Not a bad main event, but they clearly didn't expect Austin/Bret to blow the roof off the place and be impossible to match. Rating: 3.5/5Final Rating: 7 out of 10. This is often considered one of the worst Manias out there, with only Austin/Bret being considered a redeeming factor. However, there are no really bad matches on the card for me. It's not as good as it could've been, or the Mania before it, but I still like it better than X and XI.
callanvass
Live from Chicago, ILAttendance: 18,197Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler & Jim RossFour Way Elimination MatchThe Godwinns Vs The Headbangers Vs Doug Furnas & Phill Lafon Vs The New BlackjacksThe Headbangers win. This was a pretty mediocre opener that the crowd didn't care much about. The only tagteam that was catching on somewhat are The Headbangers.*1/2Intercontinental ChampionshipRocky Maivia (C) Vs The Sultan (W/ The Iron Sheik & Bob Backlund)Rocky retains with a roll-up. The Iron Sheik and The Sultan double team Rocky until Rocky Johnson comes out and saves his son. Well, this match was barely above average. The crowd didn't like Rocky at all and chanted Rocky sucks at him. Rocky Johnson coming in to help his son was kinda cool, though.**1/4Hunter Hearst Helmsley (W/Chyna) Vs Goldust (W/Marlena)Hunter wins with the Pedigree after Goldust is distracted by Chyna stalking Marlena. These two don't have any chemistry at all. This was an average match that featured quite a few dull spots. I wasn't impressed.**Tag Team ChampionshipThe British Bulldog & Owen Hart (C) Vs Vader & Mankind (W/Paul Bearer)The match ends in a double countout after Mankind applies the Mandible Claw outside the ring to The British Bulldog. This was another average match. When Bulldog and Owen were on offense it was OK, but other times it was rather uninteresting. The pair of Mankind and Vader isn't as good as it sounds.**Submission Match"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Vs Bret HartBret Hart wins when Austin passes out from the Sharpshooter. He never quit. Bret Hart attacks Austin's leg some more after the match until Shamrock takes down Bret Hart. The referee tries to help Austin up, but Austin hits the stunner on him and walks out on his own. This match is one of the reasons I love wrestling so much. It's responsible for major changes in the WWF. It's one of the rare times you'll see a double turn. Austin turned into a face and the longtime babyface, Bret Hart turned into a heel. It was excellently executed (Pun intended) . It's filled with amazing storytelling, electric atmosphere, and terrific psychology. Austin was already becoming a burgeoning star, but this is the night he really put it altogether. Austin passing out instead of submitting made Austin look like a hero and a real badass. This is without a doubt one of the greatest matches in history.*****Chicago Street Fight Ahmed Johnson & The Legion of Doom Vs Farooq, Savio Vega & Crush (W/The Nation of Domination)LOD & Ahmed win. This was a basic street fight that featured nothing new or unique about it, You've seen this done a ton of times before and done better at that.*3/4WWF ChampionshipSycho Sid (C) Vs The UndertakerShawn Michaels joins for commentary. Bret Hart calls Shawn Michaels out for "faking" his knee injury. He also tees off on Sid and The Undertaker. Sid ends up powerbombing Bret. The Undertaker wins the title with a tombstone after Bret Hart screws over Sid. This is one of the worst Wrestlemania main events of all time. It consisted of mainly, punching, kicking, and rest holds. They really stunk up the joint here, nonetheless, The Undertaker's title win is a cool moment.*People talk about Wrestlemania 9 and Wrestlemania 11 being bad, this Wrestlemania is pretty bad as well. If it wasn't for the classic submission match, this would probably be the worst Wrestlemania ever.4/10
