The main event of WM 8 has always intrigued me. The original plan seemed to be Hogan/Flair, but due to a multitude of reasons and other rumors, it didn’t happen. Instead, we got Savage/Flair and Hogan/Sid.
The best, most credible story I’ve read over the years is that Papa Shango was supposed to interfere and therefore cause a DQ finish. Hogan was on his way out, “retiring”, because of a combination of the steroid scandal, him not wanting to share the spotlight with Ric, and him moving on. WM 8, in the fans eyes, could have been the last time they saw Hulk, so it was highly anticipated. In the business sense, it didn’t make sense for him to beat Sid if he was leaving. He also, in typical Hogan fashion, didn’t want to put Sid over. The best Vince could come up with was the DQ.
Now, apparently Godfather “missed his cue”, when he was supposed to come out and break up Hogan’s leg drop, causing a DQ. Hogan hits the leg drop, and on the 2 count, Sid kicks out, then, Harvey Whippleman jumps on the apron and the ref calls for the DQ. Sid knew that Shango was nowhere by and if he had not kicked out, it would have been a clean finish. Then, in an even weirder turn of events, an ultra slimmed down version of the Ultimate Warrior randomly comes back and helps Hulk dispose of Shango and Sid.
So, you have Sid looking out for himself (which was good), and kicking out to prevent a clean Hogan win. Hogan was absolutely incensed and visibly upset on screen that Sid kicked out of his finisher, and caused a scene backstage. The theory that I like is that it wouldn’t be above Hogan to tell Shango to take his time to come out, so that the ref would have no choice but to call a 3 count. But this would require Shango going along with it to this day, which isn’t fully believable. It just makes no sense that he would miss his cue in a Wrestlemania main event match featuring the “retirement” match of Hulk Hogan. Monsoon clearly says on commentary, after pausing for a bit, that “Hulkster victorious by way of a disqualification because of interjection by Papa Shango.” It could have just been that, and nothing really behind it.
Even as a kid, I was always perplexed by this finish and didn’t understand why they would end a Wrestlemania main event on a disqualification. And then the Warrior returning, and rumors being fueled for weeks and months that the “real ultimate warrior” had died and they brought this guy in to keep the character going. And then, as if things weren’t weird e
... keep reading on reddit ➡I am using games like WWE2k19, 2k20, and Fire Pro Wrestling World to simulate and play through the WWF's PPV's and other events. The outcomes will be different thus forcing me to change story lines. Let me know what you think. This issue covers The '91 UK Rampage to Wrestlemania VIII
#WWF UK Rampage '91 - 24 April 1991 - London, England - London Arena
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Rating |
| 1D | Dave Taylor, Steven Regal and Tony St. Clair def. Al Perez, Chic Cullen and Johnny South | Six-man tag team match | 93% |
| 2D | The Brooklyn Brawler def. Steve Casey | Singles match | 83% |
| 3 | Jim Neidhart def. The Barbarian | Singles match | 67% |
| 4 | Kerry Von Erich def. Ted DiBiase | Singles match | 76% |
| 5 | Haku def. Greg Valentine | Singles match | 75% |
| 6 | The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) (w/André The Giant) def. The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) (w/Mr. Fuji) | Tag Team match | 83% |
The crowd roared during every match, and most matches told a hell of a story. The Undertaker showcased himself as a slow moving, inevitable force of destruction against the overconfident Jake the Snake; Roddy Piper decided to go down fighting fair out of respect for Brett Hart instead of cheating to win like the heel he is; Randy Savage got his revenge against the dirtiest player in the game after Flair targeted Miss Elizabeth.
And I've never seen a more magical moment than the beginning of that main event. Hulk Hogan fending off Sid Justice before the match with Real American playing in the background--tearing his shirt in half as the crowd lost their god damn minds in the background--no one sure if they'd ever see Hulk Hogan wrestle again--I absolutely loved it.
After I finished watching it, I googled Meltzer's star ratings. The whole event probably had an average of 2.5, as the highest rated match of the night was 3.5. The main event, a main event where the crowd could be heard two cities over, only received 2 stars. While this doesn't really matter, it's interesting, especially given how much I loved the show.
Anyway, I just watched WrestleMania 8 for the first time. I enjoyed it as much as any current WWE PPV, and more than most.
http://imgur.com/05URZ0V
A local radio station in my town was giving away tickets to Wrestlemania VIII back in 1992. Every hour they ran a call-in special where the tenth caller would win a pair of tickets to the show. 12-year old Taco Smiff spent 24 hours trying be the tenth caller but came up short. I don't think "bummed out" was a strong enough phrase for the way I was feeling.
My hopes were raised when a family friend contacted me to say she had been one of those lucky tenth callers and wanted to give me the tickets. I was so excited at the chance to see the likes of Savage, Hart, Hogan, Undertaker, Flair, and Sid from the nosebleed section at the Hoosier Dome!
But reality stepped in when my mom said she wasn't going to drive two hours to and from Indianapolis on a school night. I don't blame my mom since she was a single mom raising two kids on a small income. But I still wish I would have had the chance to see that show in person! These tickets are a reminder of what could have been.
Hi all. This is the eighth part of a series I’m putting together called 30 Matches for 30 'Manias (very loosely inspired by ESPN’s 30 for 30 series). In the lead-up to WrestleMania XXX on April 6, I’ll be reviewing one match from each and every WrestleMania, with my last article highlighting an as-yet-undetermined match from WrestleMania XXX itself. These won’t be typical wrestling reviews, however; you won’t see detailed recaps of the nuts-and-bolts of the bouts, and there won’t be a star rating in sight. Instead, I’d like to do my best to put these matches into a proper historical, cultural, and artistic context from the perspective of someone who has been a fan of pro wrestling and WWE for almost a quarter of a century.
Previous entries in this series can be found here:
30 Matches for 30 ’Manias: Rapture (WrestleMania III: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant)
30 Matches for 30 'Manias: Sex and Violence (WrestleMania V: Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan)
30 Matches for 30 'Manias: A New Era (WrestleMania VI: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior)
30 Matches for 30 'Manias: We Make Movies (WrestleMania VII: Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior)
And now, today’s article:
30 Matches for 30 'Manias: A Lost Art (WrestleMania VIII: Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart)
For me, WrestleMania VIII will always be remembered as the show that Vince McMahon over-thought.
Ever since then-reigning WCW Champion Ric F
... keep reading on reddit ➡I was watching Savage v. Flair from WM VIII last night and I found myself curious and to what the reaction was when the co-main events ended up as Savage/Flair and Hogan/Sid instead of the 'dream match' of Flair/Hogan?
Aren't there some parallels to the current state of the WrestleMania main event?
For anyone following closely in 1992, what was the word?
Welcome to the eighth night of Wreddit Wreplay!
Is your menorah all lit? It should be!
Got the WWE Network? Good! That's all you need to join in!
Tonight's Wrestlemania is Wrestlemania VIII: Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in the Main Event^^s ^^because ^^they ^^had ^^them ^^wrestle ^^anybody ^^other ^^than ^^each ^^other ^^for ^^some ^^idiotic ^^reason
At 8:00 Eastern Time(when this post is roughly an hour old) hit play! Barring buffering, we should all be at the same spot, as much as when we watch the network together for a live Pay Per View event.
My suggestion is to hit play about two minutes beforehand and pause as soon as it starts up so you've got a slight buffer.
In September of 1991, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan appeared on WWE TV holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Shortly after, the man himself, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, would show up.
The behind-the-scenes story leading to the angle has become the stuff of legend. Jim Herd wanted to repackage Ric Flair as Spartacus, a gladiator. Flair, like most people, thought that was stupid, and refused.
Herd fired Flair and stripped him of the WCW Championship.
But not the belt itself.
The NWA(whose championship WCW was using until roughly the timing of this incident) had a policy that the champion would put down a $25,000 deposit with the NWA, who would return it, with interest, upon return of the belt.
Flair held the title often enough that he would just not ask for his deposit back, confident that he would just have to put it back down.
That confidence was not there when he left WCW for WWE. He wanted his money back. With interest. They refused.
To this day, he says he still hasn't gotten his money back.
So he kept the belt and took it with him to WWE. He billed himself as The Real World Champion. When a WCW lawsuit forced them to no longer use The Big Gold Belt on WWE TV, WWE on-screen President Jack Tunney mandated that they blur out the belt, but in real life replaced it with a replica tag belt beneath the blur to be safe.
None of that mattered after Flair won the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble, though.
Hogan and Flair started wrestling at house shows to
... keep reading on reddit ➡Royal Rumble 91
- The Ultimate Warrior defeats Earthquake to retain the WWF title.
- Randy Savage wins the rumble, last eliminating Hulk Hogan and Sgt Slaughter while they're trying to eliminate each other. Final four are Savage, Hogan, Slaughter, and The British Bulldog.
The Main Event V in February
- Hogan and Tugboat still defeat Earthquake and Dino Bravo.
- Warrior defeats Slaughter by disqualification when Savage interferes and shatters his royal scepter over Warrior's head. Hogan makes the save and chases the heels away.
Wrestlemania VII
- The Nasty Boys still defeat The Hart Foundation to win the tag team title.
- Hogan still defeats Slaughter.
- Warrior still defeats Savage (with Queen Sherri) in a retirement match, but it's the main event. Savage turns face and reunites with Miss Elizabeth to end the show.
WWF Superstars in April
- Undertaker still attacks Warrior during the Funeral Parlor and locks him in an air-tight casket.
Saturday Night's Main Event in April
- Warrior still beats Sgt Slaughter by disqualification when General Adnan and Colonel Mustafa attack Warrior from behind while he's distracted by the Undertaker at ringside. Hogan makes the save and chases Slaughter, Adnan, and Mustafa to the back with a chair. In the ring Warrior hits Taker with a couple of clothelines which have no effect. Then he hits him with a flying shoulder tackle which sends Taker over the top rope, but he lands on his feet. They are then kept apart by referees and Paul Bearer.
WWF Superstars in July and August.
- Jake Roberts still appears as a guest on the Funeral Parlor. He says he will share with Warrior the secrets of the darkside and The Undertaker to help him prepare for his upcoming match. Over the following weeks Jake locks Warrior in the same casket Taker locked him in and has Warrior dig a grave and then buries him up to his head. Jake then makes Warrior enter a room full of snakes. He tells him to open the box in the center of the room. It contains a cobra which bites Warrior in the face. When Warrior breaks through the door and collapses out of the room, Taker and Paul Bearer appear, revealing it was a set-up with Jake all along.
- Undertaker defeats Warrior in a casket match to win the WWF title. During the match Warrior grabs the urn from Paul Bearer and knocks Taker out with it. When he leans through the ropes and opens the lid of the casket, Jake pops up holding a snake. Warrior stumbles back, hesitant to ap
Wrestlemania VI
- Mr. Perfect beats Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake to remain perfect.
- Ultimate Warrior still beats Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Championship.
Saturday Night's Main Event later that month
- Warrior still beats Haku.
Superstars of Wrestling in May
- Rick "The Model" Martel beats Tito Santana in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant IC title.
Saturday Night's Main Event in July
- Perfect beats Hogan by disqualification when Hogan hits Perfect and The Genius with The Genius' metal scroll after The Genius tried to sneak attack Hogan with it.
- Warrior beats Ravishing Rick Rude in a steel cage match.
Summerslam 90
- Rick Rude beats Tito Santana
- The Texas Tornado beats The Warlord who is subbing for Rick Martel who still misses the show because he was participating in a modeling competition in Paris.
- Hogan and Big Boss Man beat Earthquake and Dino Bravo in a tag match when Hogan pins Bravo.
- Warrior pins Mr. Perfect in the main event, ending his undefeated streak.
Saturday Night's Main Event in September
- Warrior still teams with Legion of Doom to beat Demolition (Ax, Smash, and Crush).
- The Texas Tornado beats Rick Martel for the IC title.
Survivor Series 90
- Warrior still teams with Texas Tornado and LOD against Mr. Perfect and Demolition (Ax, Smash, and Crush). Warrior is the sole survivor and goes on to win the grand finale alongside Hogan.
The Main Event IV in November
- Warrior still beats The Million Dollar Man by disqualification when The Macho King interferes and beats him down.
Royal Rumble 91
- Mr Perfect beats Texas Tornado for the IC title.
- Savage wins the rumble, last eliminating Hogan and Sgt Slaughter while they're trying to eliminate each other.
- In the main event, Warrior pins Earthquake.
The Main Event V in February
- Hogan and Tugboat still defeat Earthquake and Dino Bravo
- Warrior beats Slaughter by disqualification when Savage interferes and shatters his royal scepter over Warrior's head. Hogan makes the save and chases the heels away.
Wrestlemania VII
- Hogan still beats Slaughter.
- Warrior still beats Savage in a retirement match, but it's in the main event. Savage turns face and reunites with Miss Elizabeth to end the show.
Saturday Night's Main Event in April
- Warrior still beats Slaughter by disqualification when The Undertaker interferes.
Summerslam 91
- Bret Hart still beats Perfect for the IC title.
- Hogan and W
This Tuesday in Texas
- Randy Savage defeats Jake Roberts by disqualification when Jake hits him with a chair. Jake then delivers a DDT and slaps Miss Elizabeth.
Royal Rumble 92
- The Natural Disasters defeat The Legion of Doom to win the tag team title.
- Rowdy Roddy Piper still defeats The Mountie to win the IC title.
- Jake Roberts wins the rumble last eliminating Sid. The final four are Jake, Sid, Hogan, and Flair. Jake also eliminates Savage during the rumble.
Saturday Night's Main Event in February
- Bret Hart defeats The Mountie in a number one contender match for the IC title.
- Hogan (with Brutus Beefcake) defeats Flair by disqualification when Sid interferes and attacks Hogan. Beefcake tries to intervene, but the heels beat him down too.
- Savage and Piper defeat Jake and The Undertaker when Savage pins Jake. Undertaker still turns face after the match when he prevents Jake from hitting Miss Elizabeth with a chair when she and Savage step backstage.
Wrestlemania VIII
- Bret still defeats Piper for the IC title.
- Natural Disasters defeat The Bushwhackers to retain the tag team title. The Disasters are still heels and still managed by Jimmy Hart.
- Undertaker defeats Ted Dibiase. Money Inc hasn't formed yet.
- Savage defeats Jake to win the WWF title.
- Hogan and his mystery partner The Ultimate Warrior defeat Sid and Flair. The match is originally billed as Hogan and Beefcake vs Sid and Flair. At the beginning of the show the commentators say there are rumors that Beefcake is still injured from Sid and Flair's attack and Hogan had to find a new partner for their match.
My previous two rebookings are here if you need to catch up: https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasybooking/comments/glupin/summerslam_survivor_series_1991_rebooked/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Tuesday In Texas Hulk Hogan d. The Undertaker (c) w/ Paul Bearer (Same funny business as real life.)
LOD (c) d. The Beverly Brothers w/ The Genius
Bret Hart (c) d. Ricky Steamboat (Kept Ricky around a little longer.)
Ted Dibiase w/ Sherri d. Virgil (c) (IRS helped Dibiase reclaim his “stolen property”, thus signifying the beginning of their partnership.)
Ric Flair d. Roddy Piper
Jake Roberts d. Randy Savage by DQ (All of the after match shenanigans occur but Savage goes psycho on Jake & gets disqualified. Jake eventually gains the upper hand.)
Royal Rumble 1992 LOD (c) d. Sgt. Slaughter & Jim Duggan (After the match Slaughter attacked Duggan and wouldn’t release him from the Camel Clutch.)
Roddy Piper d. The Mountie (c) w/ Jimmy Hart (Same situation as real life.)
The Natural Disasters w/ Jimmy Hart d. The Nasty Boys (Having Jimmy dump the Nastys early.)
The New Foundation d. The Beverly Brothers w/ The Genius
Royal Rumble for the vacant WWF Championship
- Ricky Steamboat
- Shawn Michaels
- Ric Flair
- The British Bulldog
- Haku
- Ted DiBiase
- The Barbarian
- Tito Santana
- The Texas Tornado
- Repo Man
- Greg Valentine
- Nikolai Volkoff
- Big Boss Man
- Hercules
- Roddy Piper
- Jake Roberts
- Tatanka
- IRS
- Jimmy Snuka
- The Undertaker
- Randy Savage
- The Berzerker
- Virgil
- Col. Mustafa
- Rick Martel
- Hulk Hogan
- Skinner
- Sid Justice
- Sgt. Slaughter
(Changed the opening five around, added Ricky Steamboat & Tatanka instead of Sags & Duggan who is selling injuries from earlier; Savage & Roberts take each other out; Flair wins & the same ending happened but with places switched- Hogan gets pulled out by Sid Justice.)
In between these shows, The Undertaker saved Savage from Roberts. Sid Justice is pissed off because Hulk Hogan is challenging Ric Flair at Wrestlemania VIII instead of facing him. Sid goes on his tirade, including destroying Virgil, & makes Harvey Wippleman his manager.)
Saturday Night’s Main Event Ric Flair (c) w/ Mr. Perfect d. Ricky Steamboat (Steamboat can go to WCW now. Lol)
Earthquake w/ Jimmy Hart d. Hawk (c)
Roddy Piper (c) d. Owen Hart
Hulk Hogan d. Sid Justice w/ Harvey Wippleman by DQ (Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect
... keep reading on reddit ➡Given we've had 31 WrestleManias before this year and March is 31 days long, I thought it would be fun to set up "31 For 31," a daily discussion thread where we can watch and talk about individual WrestleManias. If you're into the idea, feel free to upvote; if you're not, I'm sure I'll lose interest around day six or so and you'll never have to see these again.
WATCH: WWE Network // Dailymotion
HEAR: Dave Meltzer reflects on WrestleMania VIII
DATE: April 5, 1992
LOCATION: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, IN
ATTENDANCE: 62,167
THE CARD
- Shawn Michaels (with Sensational Sherri) defeated El Matador
- The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Jake Roberts
- Bret Hart defeated Roddy Piper (c) (WWF Intercontinental Championship match)
- Big Boss Man, Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags), Repo Man and The Mountie (with Jimmy Hart) (8-man tag match)
- Randy Savage defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Mr. Perfect) (WWF World Heavyweight Championship match)
- Tatanka defeated Rick Martel
- The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) (c) (with Jimmy Hart) by countout (WWF Tag Team Championship match)
- Owen Hart defeated Skinner
- Hulk Hogan defeated Sid Justice (with Harvey Wippleman) by disqualification
TRIVIA!
- WrestleMania VIII was the Mania debut of Shawn Michaels as a singles competitor, featuring his original "Sexy Boy" theme sung by none other than Sensational Sherri.
- WrestleMania VIII was also the Mania debut for Ric Flair, Sid Justice, Tatanka and Skinner, as well as the first Mania appearances of the Repo Man, Natural Disasters and Money Inc. gimmicks.
- WrestleMania VIII marked the only Mania appearance of Skinner—sort of. (Steve Keirn, who played Skinner, dressed up as fake Doink to interfere in WrestleMania IX.)
- WrestleMania VIII's original main event was supposed to be Hogan vs. Flair, but was changed due to backstage politics.
- WrestleMania VIII was the only WrestleMania to feature Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan on commentary for the entire event, and was Monsoon's final WrestleMania on commentary.
QUESTIONS!
- What are your memories of the eighth WrestleMania? Did you see it live, catch it later on VHS or not see it for
It's WrestleMania Season! In just twenty-two days, we'll be watching the Showcase of the Immortals, the Granddaddy of them All, the one and only WrestleMania. And continuing in the theme of By the Numbers, I'll be examining each WrestleMania over the next thirty days. Without further ado.
###WrestleMania VIII
| WrestleMania | VIII |
|---|---|
| Date | April 5, 1992 |
| Location | Hoosier Dome (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| Billed As | Friendship Torn Apart! / The Macho/Flair Affair! |
| Commentary | Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan |
| Others | Interviewer: Gene Okerlund; Announcer: Howard Finkel |
| Watch | On the WWE Network |
Oh, WrestleMania VIII. You are the middle child of WrestleManias. You're not quite a classic, Hulkamania Era event, but you don't really count as a New Generation 'Mania either. Still, WrestleMania VIII was a good show with at least one classic.
Match One: Shawn Michaels (w/ Sensational Sherri) defeated El Matador
The first singles match for Michaels in WrestleMania history. A decent bout with Tito Santana.
Dave Meltzer Rating: **
Match Two: The Undertaker (2-0) (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Next victim! A somewhat poor showing for both of these men.
Dave Meltzer Rating: ^^3/4 *
Match Three: Intercontinental Championship Match: Bret Hart defeated "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (c)
A great match, one of the best in WreslteMania history to this point. Would've stolen the show if not for another match on the card.
Dave Meltzer Rating: *** ^^1/2
Match Four: The Big Boss Man, Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan defeated The Nasty Boys, Repo Man and The Mountie (w/ Jimmy Hart)
Never let it be said that they only just throw together random matches nowadays. They did it way back when too. Pass.
Dave Meltzer Rating: ^^1/2 *
Match Five: WWF Championship Match: Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Ric Flair (c) (w/ Mr. Perfect)
An all time classic match. Two men at the top of the industry battling out for (at the time) one of the top belts in the world. One of the best in WWE history.
Dave Meltzer Rating: **** ^^1/4
Match Six: Tatanka defeated Rick "The Model" Martel
Ehh. Not a horrible match, but following the previous match is tough.
Dave Meltzer Rating: * ^^1/4
Match Seven: Tag Team Championship Match: The Natural Disasters defeated Money Inc. (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart)
... keep reading on reddit ➡Length: 18 m 4 s
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Where to watch:
smh *1992
*Considered to be one of the bloodiest matches of all time
Length: 13:51
Location: April 5, 1992
Where to watch:
Original post
r/sc366
We're getting to my absolute favorite era of professional wrestling, and these are the cards which made them great! My fan-vote-driven WWF rebooking project has hit 1992!
I started this project by focusing on how things would progress if Randy Savage defeated Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V, and now we're at another milestone involving Randy Savage, and this time I'm not sure he's the best one for the task!
The Royal Rumble results are ready, so check out how that card built up, how the results played out, and then check out the bookings for WrestleMania VIII and vote for who should win! https://armchairbookings.wordpress.com/wmv-re-envisioned/royal-rumble-92-re-envisioned/
