I once looked at Wrestlemania as the pinnacle of all wrestling events. The biggest superstars, the biggest matches – the war to end all wars. Then, of course, I grew up.
Despite the extreme hype and glitz, there’s no escaping that some of the Wrestlemanias that I’ve witnessed over the years were just plain sad. Take Wrestlemania 6, for instance. Vince McMahon’s Rock ‘n Wrestling era was fading out around the time that this event took place, and the Attitude era was still a long way off. What lay in between was a period of throwing crap at a wall and hoping it would stick.
Hulk Hogan was still very popular, but Vince knew he couldn’t keep the fans interested forever presenting the same old thing over and over. Enter the Ultimate Warrior, who had risen up through the federation as an underdog and whose popularity was treading awfully close to Hogan’s territory. Vince decided that it was time to pit them against each other in a main event the magnitude of which had not been seen since Wrestlemania 3. Vince thought that maybe it was time for Hogan to pass the torch to the Warrior. Just because his older stars were faltering didn’t mean he couldn’t make new ones, right? Heh.
You’ve got two choices if you go about hunting down this event on video: 1. You can try and attain the original release from WWF’s Coliseum Home Video. A few of the matches are trimmed down a bit on this one, but there’s interviews and backstage segments that you wouldn’t see otherwise. 2. You can go out and easily find it as part of the recently released Wrestlemania Legacy collection. Everything ought to be pretty complete, although you’ll be missing out on those ‘Coliseum Video Exclusives.’ Also, the videos in this collection are recorded in crummy extended play mode, so the picture and sound quality absolutely reek. Either way you cut it, you might not want to bother looking for the video at all after reading this review.
Wrestlemania 6 – April 1, 1990 – Toronto Skydome
The Coliseum Home Video version starts out with a bunch of commercials for WWF action figures. Pretty funny to see overgrown wrestlers shilling toys of themselves. The Coliseum version also has a segment where Dusty Rhodes urges you to send away for a WWF Merchandise Catalog. Especially hilarious when Dusty talks about the ‘Ultimate Warrior Sip Cup’ and all sorts of things you can do with it.
Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura are the evening’s commentators. If I had to choose anybody to help me sit through three trying hours of Wrestlemania 6, it would be these guys. They were never afraid to tell it like it was. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were never a bad team, either, but JR tends to be a bit too company-minded. Anyway…
Match 1 – Koko B. Ware w/Frankie VS Rick ‘The Model’ Martel
Whew, this is no way to try and get a crowd hyped up early on. These guys haven’t got a feud going or anything. The arena is so large that the wrestlers have to be transported to the ring on motorized carts, and everybody’s checking their watches once they’ve made it. Martel attacks Koko before the bell. Koko flusters Martel with some high-flying offense, but gets tossed out of the ring for his trouble. Back inside, Martel locks on the Boston Crab for the win. Short and pointless. Martel, in the early stages of his goofy model gimmick, is only here to be put over.
½ out of 5 stars.
Demolition, in the locker room, try to cut a Road Warriors-style promo to little avail.
Match 2 – Tag Team Champs Colossal Connection w/Bobby Heenan VS Demolition
Haku takes control of Ax and works him over early on, but doesn’t make any tags to Andre. Ax finally tags Smash, who cleans house. Andre enters the ring and holds Smash for Haku to kick him, but Smash ducks and Andre gets kicked into the ropes, which is about the extent of his activity during the match. Demolition with their double-team finisher on Haku for the pin and the belts. Poor Andre is really in bad health and looks terribly winded even after having done nothing. Haku pretty much had to wrestle the match for both of them. Not a total loss, but very awkward.
1 ½ out of 5 stars.
Jimmy Hart and Earthquake are in the back with Mean Gene for an interview. Play this in fast-forward and watch Earthquake bob from side to side rapidly – it’s more entertaining than what he has to say.
Match 3 – Hercules VS Earthquake w/Jimmy Hart
It’s pretty hard to hide the fact that Hercules is just a glorified jobber by this time. Herc spends the whole match trying to get Earthquake off his feet. Earthquake catches him and lays down the Aftershock for the pin. Brief, stupid, and no feud involved. Just an attempt to put Earthquake over as unbeatable so that Hogan or Warrior could plow over him later on down the line.
½ out of 5 stars.
Sappy Miss Elizabeth interview. Fast-forward.
Match 4 – Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake VS Mr. Perfect w/The Genius
Beefcake is cuttin’ and struttin’, or vice versa. Perfect gets tossed around the ring early on. Beefcake gets nailed with the Genius’ scroll while the ref is distracted. Perfect wears Beefcake out. Beefcake catches Perfect in a slingshot and Perfect hits his head on the metal ringpost. Beefcake surprisingly gets the pin. Lame finish, but decent match for Beefcake. Perfect has to lose every once and a while, but did it have to be to him? The Genius gets a lousy haircut afterwards.
2 out of 5 stars.
Match 5 – ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper VS ‘Bad News’ Brown
Piper comes to the ring painted half-black to help him equally offend everyone. A very, very sloppy brawl. Piper pulls a glove out of his tights and starts hitting Brown with it. Both men fall out of the ring for a double count-out. Horrendous match that doesn’t solve anything.
0 out of 5 stars – DUD.
Celebrity guest Steve Allen and his piano are in the locker room with the Bolsheviks to rehearse the Russian national anthem. Hey, wasn’t the Cold War over by this time? I guess there’ll always be a Red Threat in Vince McMahon’s eyes.
Match 6 – The Hart Foundation VS The Bolsheviks
Nikolai and Boris try to sing the Russian national anthem, but Bret and Jim attack them from behind. Bret and Jim nail the Hart Attack within seconds for the pin. A total squash – definitely not something that was needed after all the other short matches so far. Then again, would a Bolsheviks match really be worth seeing, anyway?
0 out of 5 stars – DUD.
Two duds in a row? Thing aren’t looking good so far.
Match 7 – Tito Santana VS The Barbarian w/Bobby Heenan
Tito unleashes a string of offense, but Barbarian no-sells just about everything. Tito hits the Flying Jalapeno and goes for the pin, but Heenan puts Barbarian’s foot on the ropes. Barbarian gains control and takes the match with a flying clothesline. Another short, shoddy match with no feud behind it. And I haven’t a clue why they’d want to put Barbarian over – Tito had been busting his butt for the company for too long to be treated like this.
½ out of 5 stars.
Sean Mooney is in the back with Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire. Whoopee.
Match 8 – Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire VS ‘Macho King’ Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri – Mixed Tag Match
Gorilla boasts how this is the first inter-gender tag match ever at a Wrestlemania. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last. A sad day for Savage, who main evented the two previous years. Dusty brings out Miss Elizabeth, Savage’s old flame, and only makes things worse. Savage and Sherri are embarrassingly manhandled early on. Sapphire’s offense consists mainly of hitting Sherri with her hips. Savage gets the upper hand for a while, but things get mixed up in a ridiculous melee. Elizabeth interferes and Sapphire gets the pin on Sherri. Afterwards, Dusty, Sapphire, and Elizabeth dance in the ring. Ugh. This one is hard to look at, especially Sapphire’s repeatedly botched spots. Sherri had actual experience as a wrestler, but was forced to do nothing but look weak as a heel. This would’ve been much better off as just Savage VS Rhodes, who both did an okay job.
½ out of 5 stars.
Sean Mooney talks about the Wrestlemania 6 Fan Festival. I fast-forward.
Mean Gene is in the back with Hulk Hogan, who puts himself over in typical fashion. Cut to the Ultimate Warrior, who shoos off Sean Mooney because he’s “just a normal” and “not fit to breath the same air as me and Hogan.” Speaking of breathing, Warrior does it heavily as he gives a long, philosophical speech. Scary stuff.
Match 9 – The Rockers VS The Orient Express w/Mr. Fuji
It’s funny to see Shawn Michaels with his bleached blonde hair and eighties punk rocker getup. The Rockers are hyped for their match, despite realizing that winning would get them nowhere in this time of underskilled big men. Both teams take turns using double-team maneuvers, but the Orient Express takes it further with their underhanded tactics. Marty Jannetty gets ticked with Mr. Fuji and tries to attack him, but Sato tosses power in his eyes, causing a count-out victory. This match had the potential to be the sleeper match of the evening had it not ended in such a manner. The skill was definitely there, though.
2 out of 5 stars.
Match 10 – ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan VS Dino Bravo w/Jimmy Hart and Earthquake
Duggan stomps around and clears the ring early on with his 2x4. Dino gains control and works on Duggan with power moves. Both guys are just plodding along. Jimmy Hart tosses the 2x4 to Bravo as the ref is distracted, but Duggan intercepts and uses it himself for the pin. Bravo was past his prime here, and Duggan was never any good in the first place.
½ out of 5 stars.
Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts gives an awesome interview. All those drugs can to funny things for your mic skills.
Match 11 – Million Dollar Champion ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted Dibiase w/Virgil VS Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts w/Damien
The two have a nice technical exchange in the beginning. Dibiase beats Jake within an inch of his life and locks on the Million Dollar Dream, but Jake makes it to the ropes. Jake gets a second wind and runs down his list of signature moves. He signals for the DDT, but Virgil pulls him out of the ring. Dibiase attacks Jake on the outside. Dibiase reenters the ring and Jake is counted out. After the match, Jake assaults Dibiase as Virgil runs off with the Million Dollar belt. Jake hits the DDT on Dibiase and gives his money to people in the front row. Not a bad match, but a disappointing finish. I’ve seen better between these two guys before.
2 ½ out of 5 stars.
The Big Bossman is in the back with Mean Gene. Bossman makes fun of Akeem, Slick, and Dibiase. He walks away growling.
Match 12 – The Big Bossman VS Akeem w/Slick
Dibiase, who was either hiding under the ring or still selling the DDT, pops out of nowhere and jumps Bossman before the match. Akeem capitalizes and beats on Bossman for a minute. Bossman regains control before too long and hits the Bubba Slam for the pin. Big man VS big man, so I wasn’t hoping for too much. I did think it might have lasted longer than this, however. I’ll get over it.
½ out of 5 stars.
Rhythm ‘n Blues drive out to the ring in a pink Cadillac to debut their new song, Hunka Hunka Hunka Honky Love. Jimmy Hart is waving a gold record even though the album hasn’t been released yet. The Honky Tonk Man doesn’t seem to have rehearsed too much. Greg Valentine has what looks to be an ordinary guitar, yet it can do electric guitar riffs and be heard throughout the entire arena without being hooked to any amps. Hey, it can do piano solos, too! It must be a magic guitar! After the song, the Bushwhackers are outside the ring dressed as merchandise vendors. So that’s how they got their money’s worth out of those guys. The Bushwhackers chase off Rhythm ‘n Blues and destroy their guitars.
Match 13 – ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka VS ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan Another match with no feud involved. Rude doesn’t even bother telling off the crowd beforehand. Steve Allen joins the commentators for this one. Rude attacks Snuka before the bell, but his offense is short-lived. Snuka mocks Rude’s hip gyrations. Allen makes all sorts of off-color jokes about Snuka. Snuka misses a flying headbutt and Rude executes the Rude Awakening for a clean win. Snuka isn’t as good as he used to be. Rude is still great, but didn’t get to show it much. Another short one, but the best of all the short, feudless matches for the evening.
1 ½ out of 5 stars.
Match 14 – World Champion Hulk Hogan VS Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior
Are we finally about done? Gee whiz. Big crowd reaction for both of these guys. They start off with a shoving match. Warrior raises his hand and the two lock up in a test of strength that lasts for no less than three excruciating minutes. Warrior gets the match moving and clothesline Hogan out of the ring. Hogan starts limping on his left knee. He sells it for a few minutes and then apparently forgets about the whole thing. Hogan gains the upper hand and resorts to weardown holds. Warrior fights his way out and tosses Hogan into the ropes, causing the two to collide. The ref starts counting. Snore. Warrior gets up first and starts weardown holds on Hogan. The ref takes a bump and both men get frustrated with no one there to count. Warrior pulls off the gorilla press and big splash, but Hogan no-sells it. Hogan nails Warrior with the big boot but misses the big legdrop. Big, big, everything’s big. Warrior comes back with a big splash for the 3-count and the World Title. Hogan plays good loser and hands over the belt. Amusingly, Hogan would have the belt back at Wrestlemania just a year later. A well-paced match, and probably the best you’ll ever see from these two muscleheads. Nice of Hogan to put somebody else over for once, too.
4 out of 5 stars.
Well? This card…it ain’t pretty. There were tons of matches, but as I said before, too many without proper storylines to help them out. And they were short. I would’ve definitely settled for fewer, longer matches. Nothing all that outstanding here aside from Hogan VS Warrior, which was really only a good match in terms of their abilities.
Despite Vince trying to bring in some fresh faces, all the old guys are still here, being stale and stinking up more than a few matches. If you really want to see a decent Wrestlemania with roughly the same cast, try 3, 4, or even 5. They’re all much better cards with more solid action. I honestly can’t recommend sitting through this card for any reason.
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