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Steroid abusers collide!
Publisher: Somewhere on the 'net
Thu, 1 January 1970
by: The Gimmick
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WRESTLEMANIA VI
APRIL 1ST, 1990
THE SKY DOME, TORONTO CANADA
Wrestlemania VI was the first Wrestlemania I was unable to see on TV. Network Ten here in Melbourne had lost the rights to show WWF TV by this stage. So I had to wait impatiently for my local video library to get it in. About 3 months after it had been screened in the states I finally got a copy and I couldn’t wait to see it. The main event was WWF Champion Hulk Hogan squaring off against WWF Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a “champion Vs champion” match. It was the first time I had seen a “good guy” vs. good guy” match before anywhere let alone on a Wrestlemania. So I was intrigued to say the least.
MATCH #1- “The Model” Rick Martel Vs Koko.B.Ware W/Frankie:
This was your basic opening match. Not a whole lot to speak of. In the end it was The Model getting the win with the Boston Crab in 3:51. Interesting/Useless fact: Rick Martel is the only heel to get a submission victory in Wrestlemania history. So there you go Koko, even if you never do anything of interest, you’re at least in the record books for something.
MATCH #2- The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku) W/Bobby Heenan Vs Demolition (Ax and Smash) WWF TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
Unfortunately, this was basically a handicap match, as Andre the Giant was at the end of his tenure as an active WWF superstar. But that didn’t stop Demolition who were looking for their 3rd WWF title victory. Demolition gained the early upper hand but it wasn’t going to last. Haku seized control in ring, while Andre caused damage behind the referees back outside the ring (as all good rule breakers do). The champs set Smash up for their finisher. (Andre would hold the opponent upright while Haku would lay in a devastating kick to the opponent’s face) As Haku went for the kick, Smash moved and Haku hit Andre square in the mouth. An impressive feat by any means! This caused The Giant to fall backwards and get caught in the ropes. Seeing that The Giant was down, Demolition seized the moment. Smash set Haku up as Ax climbed the ropes to hit the “Demolition Decapitation”. 1-2-3, the winners and NEW tag team champions, Demolition in 9:30. After the match Bobby “The Brain” Heenan publicly scolded Andre The Giant and blamed him for the loss. Then Heenan, making the biggest mistake since America went into Vietnam and said “This won’t take long” slapped The Giant. This infuriated Andre and he proceeded to beat the hell out of “The Brain”. After beating both Heenan and Haku, Andre left the arena no longer a member of the infamous “Heenan Family.” It would be the lat time we would see Andre The Giant in a WWF ring as an active competitor again.
MATCH #3- Hercules Vs Earthquake W/Jimmy Hart:
There was nothing special in this match. The control shifted between the two men 3 or 4 times during the match. The end came when Hercules showed as much brains as a white man walking through the Middle East with an “I Love Israel” shirt on by trying to hoist the 468 lb Earthquake into his backbreaker. It didn’t work and Earthquake finished Hercules off with his favorite move, “The Earthquake”. The winner of the match, Earthquake in 4:52. For those of you who haven’t seen Earthquake’s finisher, it is a must see. I don’t think anybody should have to see any man from that angle.
MATCH #4 - Mr. Perfect W/The Genius Vs Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake:
This match came about when 3 months earlier Brutus Beefcake cut the hair of Mr. Perfect’s advisor The Genius. After that encounter Mr. Perfect brutally attacked The Barber with a steel chair leading to this match. The match started with Mr. Perfect attacking The Barber before the bell. But Beefcake quickly gained the upper hand and punched Mr. Perfect over the top rope. He pulled Perfect back into the ring and wailed on him some more, then gave him an atomic drop. This again sent Mr. Perfect over the top rope and onto the arena floor. Perfect came back into the ring and again Brutus gained the upper hand working on Mr. Perfect’s back. As Brutus signaled for the sleeper hold, The Genius climbed up onto the apron to bide Mr. Perfect some time. When the referees back was turned The Genius threw his metal scroll into the ring for Mr. P to pick up. While the ref was distracted by The Genius, Brutus turned his attention back to “the perfect one” but was drilled in the head with the scroll. Mr.P proceeded to take Brutus apart, perfectly. But just as things were going well for Mr. Perfect, Brutus scooped his legs and sling shot him onto the top of the ring post. Perfect hit the mat unconscious and Brutus covered him for the 3 count. The winner Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake 7:48. After the match Brutus was looking to cut the hair of Mr. Perfect but The Genius started to take off with The Barbers scissors. Brutus caught up with The Genius and proceeded to cut what was left of his hair.
MATCH #5 - Bad News Brown Vs “Rowdy” Roddy Piper:
This match was nothing but a brawl from bell to bell. But what could you expect from these two. I thought the comment made by Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who was commentating with the late great Gorilla Monsoon, before the match was pretty funny. He said “I don’t think I can be impartial in this one. That’s my tag team partner out there”. He was talking about Piper and their TV series Tag Team. The funny thing was that they finished the pilot and it was going to be picked up by a cable network but for some reason at the last second it never happened. It’s a shame cos I was able to see the pilot some years later and it was pretty good. Anyway, Piper came to ring painted black on one side of his body only, from head to toe and dancing. Bad News looked visibly upset and the two went at it. The ref kept separating them to make it a wrestling match,
but it wasn’t gonna happen. Bad News gained control and went to work getting 2 near falls in the process. Bad News hit Hot Rod in the eye and, while the ref was attending Piper, Bad News took off the top turnbuckle pad. He whipped Piper into it but Roddy reversed it and Bad News Hit it instead. Piper then pulled out a white fingerless golfing type glove from his tights and put it on. He started beating Bad News with right hands until he was knocked out of the ring. Bad News pulled Piper outside the ring and they were counted out. The verdict was a double count out in 6:48. The two then battled it out all the way back to the dressing room area.
MATCH #6- The Hart Foundation (Bret “Hit Man” Hart & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart Vs The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov):
Blink and you’ll miss this one. As Nikolai Volkoff was singing the Russian National Anthem. The Hart Foundation attacked them both from behind knocking Volkoff to the outside. Leaving Boris Zhukov inside to fend for himself. The Harts showed no mercy and hit Boris with the Hart Attack clothesline. I-2-3 and the winners, The Hart Foundation 0:19. Russian supremacy never looked so bad.
MATCH #7- The Barbarian W/Bobby Heenan Vs Tito Santana:
As far as I remember this would have been one of The Barbarians first singles matches since being split up with his long time partner The Warlord about one month earlier. Now managed by Bobby Heenan, The Barbarian looked pretty much the same except he now had a full head of hair instead of his trademark mohawk. Tito was making his 6th straight Wrestlemania in a row and looking to win only his 2nd. The control of this encounter swapped between the two throughout the match with The Barbarian hitting a devastating boot on Santana. The Barbarian almost beat himself when he missed an elbow from the second rope and then a charge in the corner. Tito was able to hit his patented Flying Forearm and almost got the 3 count but Bobby Heenan moved The Barbarians foot onto the bottom rope to break up the count. From there Tito went for a roll up off the ropes but The Barbarian ducked and Tito clothes lined himself on the top rope. The Barbarian scaled the top rope and hit an awesome clothesline. Covered Tito and got the win in 4:33.
MATCH #8- “Macho King” Randy Savage & Queen Sherri Vs Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire W/Miss Elizabeth:
This was the first time a mixed tag team match was put on PPV, and it was a battle known as Royalty against The Common Folk. Before the match Dusty got on the mic and said he and Sapphire knew what Savage and Sherri were missing. They were missing “The Crown Jewel”. He then introduced “The Crown Jewel” Miss Elizabeth to a thunderous ovation. It’s easy to forget how popular she was back in 1990. The match itself was basically Savage and Sherri bumping their asses off for Dusty and especially Sapphire. Sherri was particularly good at making Sapphire look almost decent. Just more proof of the value of excellent heels in professional wrestling. Not much of a wrestling match, more of a spectacle. The end came, thankfully, when Sherri became distracted by Elizabeth outside of the ring allowing Sapphire to roll her up for the win in 7:52. After the match the 3 winners began dancing in the ring. Elizabeth was definitely the rose between two BIG thorns.
MATCH #9- The Orient Express (Akio Sato & Pat Tanaka) W/Mr. Fuji Vs The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty):
This was the first time I had seen The Orient Express in action so I was unsure of them. But The Rockers were a proven tag team so I had high hopes for this one. And I don’t think I walked away disappointed. The Rockers gained the early advantage and sent the Express out of the ring. When they got back in, The Express were able to get control with a bit of outside interference. The commentators said it was Mr. Fuji. I thought it was Sato. Whoever it was, they pulled the top rope down as Jannetty hit the ropes and he went tumbling onto the concrete floor. Fuji took advantage of this and hit him with his cane. Then Sato threw Marty into the ring post then back into the ring. Tanaka went for a back body drop but Jannetty landed on his feet and made the tag to the future HBK. They both hit Tanaka with duel super kicks which sent Tanaka into his corner. He made the tag and we started all over again. But Shawn Michaels was relentlessly beaten by both Sato & Tanaka early on for a few minutes at least. Shawn was able to make the tag to Jannetty and he let loose on both members of The Orient Express. Shawn came back in and they were both about to do some high flying double teaming on Tanaka till Mr. Fuji distracted Jannetty. Mart headed out after Fuji but was attacked from behind by Sato who threw salt in the eyes of Marty Jannetty. Marty was blinded and couldn’t make the 10 count back in. The Orient Express win in 7:38.
MATCH #10- Dino Bravo W/Jimmy Hart & Earthquake Vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan:
This was a quick match with Bravo having most of the control. Duggan fired back in the end with a series of clotheslines on Bravo and was setting him up for his 3 point stance. But Earthquake was near Duggan and grabbed his leg preventing him from hitting it on Bravo. Duggan then tried to drag Earthquake into the ring and with that they distracted the ref. Jimmy Hart seeing this threw Duggan’s trusty 2x4 into the ring for Bravo to use. Duggan spun around quickly, grabbed the 2x4 and walloped Bravo with it before the ref could see any of it. 1-2-3 and the winner, Hacksaw Jim Duggan in 4:15. After the match The Earthquake attacked Duggan and left him laying after a number of Earthquakes.
MATCH #11- “Million $$ Man” Ted Dibiase W/Virgil Vs Jake “The Snake” Roberts MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
This match was the culmination of one of the best feuds in wrestling history. A year long war that was to be settled at Wrestlemania VI and it was for Dibiase’s “Million Dollar Belt”. Jake started early and went for the DDT but Dibiase slipped out and went onto the floor. When they both went back into the ring Dibiase hit Jake with an elbow. Jake tried to fire back with a huge knee lift but missed and his momentum carried him up, and he hit the canvas hard. Dibiase followed up with a pile driver but hesitated with the cover. When he did he got a 2 count before Jake reversed it into a sunset flip, but also only for a 2 count. Dibiase applied his “Million Dollar Dream” and when it looked like Jake was gonna go down, he fell and his leg landed on the bottom rope. Dibiase covered him a couple of times and could only get a 2 on both counts. Dibiase then went to the middle rope but got caught in mid air. Jake then went on the offensive and when he hit his trademark short arm clothesline, it looked ominous for the Million $$ Man. Just as Jake was about the lock in the DDT, Virgil pulled Jake outside but Virgil was immediately met with a hard body slam on the outside. Dibiase then slapped on his Million Dollar Dream on the outside but Jake got out of it by ramming Dibiases shoulder into the ring post. With the referee still counting both men out, Virgil rolled The Million Dollar Man back in the ring. He beat the count and retained his Million Dollar Belt in 11:50. As both Dibiase and Virgil were celebrating in the ring, Jake re entered to break up the party. Virgil high tailed it back to the dressing room with the belt but Dibiase was hit with a devastating DDT, knocking him out cold. Jake then took Dibiase’s money and started handing it out to the fans at ringside. That’s the easiest way I’ve heard of making $100 without going to Thailand and doing an intensive apprenticeship.
MATCH #12- Akeem W/Slick Vs Big Boss Man:
The battle of the former partners and one of the matches I was looking forward to. Unfortunately it was way too quick for my liking. Before the match started, Ted Dibiase was still outside the ring from the previous match and attacked the Big Boss Man. This attack was due to the Boss Man not doing what Dibiase had paid him to do a few months earlier. With the Boss Man in trouble, he was easy pickings for the 458 lb behemoth, Akeem. And he used his weight to his advantage until out of nowhere Boss Man gained control. And in the blink of an eye he hit the “Boss Man Slam” on the African Dream, Akeem. 1-2-3 and it’s all over in 1:49. After the match Boss Man decked his former manager Slick for good measure. What is it with law enforcement officers beating on black guys in the U.S?
Next there was a special event. The debut single of WWF tag team Rhythm N Blues. (Honky Tonk Man & Greg “The Hammer” Valentine) “Hunka, Hunka, Hunka Honky Love” was the title but it sounded more like a “Chunka, Chunka, Chunka Shit”. At least it was better than Avril Lavine’s rendition of…anything. Anyway the mini concert was broken up by The Bushwhackers but the highlight of it was Gorilla Monsoon’s comment “If you hang The Hammer for being a good singer, you’re hanging an innocent person”. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
MATCH #13- “Ravishing” Rick Rude W/Bobby Heenan Vs Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka:
This was another match that was way too short considering the caliber of athletes involved. Again the control in this one shifted back and forth until The Superfly went up to hit a second rope head butt but got nothing but canvas. The Ravishing one picked up Snuka and hit his “Rude Awakening” neck breaker and scored the win in 3:39.
MATCH #14- The Ultimate Warrior Vs Hulk Hogan
CHAMPION Vs CHAMPION MAIN EVENT:
It was Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior Vs Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan. It was also steroid abuser Vs steroid abuser. The winner would get both titles; a scenario not seen since the late 70’s early 80’s. Considering how bad a worker The Warrior was and Hogan being Hogan, this was a really good match. The crowd was jacked and that helped immensely. The match started slow with both men testing their strength on each other for the first five minutes or so until Hogan got caught with a clothesline which sent him to the outside. The fall caused Hogan to land awkwardly and injure his knee. The Warrior at first seemed to step back but eventually went to work on the injured knee. He rolled Hogan back in the ring and again went to work on his knee. This enraged Hogan, and just as quickly as his knee was injured it came good again as he went on the attack. He backed The Warrior into the corner and whaled on him. Then soon after he synched in an inside cradle for a 2 count. I can’t remember any other time, off the top of my head, he did this. Hogan then slapped on a reverse chin lock and tried to wear out The Warrior. Hogan kept this on and off for the next 5 or so minutes with a few lateral press attempts in between. The Warrior forced his way out of it, hit the ropes, as did Hogan, and they clotheslined each other. As the Ref counted them down, The Warrior was the first to get up and began to, ironically, “Hulk up”. The tide shifted as The Warrior hit Hogan with a number of running clotheslines and irish whips into the buckles dropping the WWF champ. It was now The Warriors turn to slow things down with a huge bear hug. Hogan eventually punched his way out and The Warrior hit the ropes and knocking down the ref in the process. The Warrior then climbed the ropes and hit The Hulkster with 2 double axe handles. Then hit the ropes again and tried for his shoulder tackle but Hogan moved and forced The Warrior to the mat. Hogan covered him for the 3 count but unfortunately the ref was still down. As Hogan attended to the ref, The Warrior got up, back suplexed Hagan and covered him. Again the ref was down initially but edged his way over to make the count. 1-2 kick out! Hogan got up and rolled The Warrior up and the ref was again out of position. He counted 2 and The Warrior kicked out. Hogan threw him out of the ring and they battled outside. As they both rolled back in The Warrior went for kill. He hit Hogan with the patented Gorilla Slam and then the Big Splash. 1-2 kickout! And Hogan is Hulking up! Hogan gets the upper hand and gives The Warrior the big boot. Drops the big leg and MISSES! The Warrior hits the Big Splash and covers him 1-2-3 in 22:51. The winner and NEW WWF Heavy Weight Champion The Ultimate Warrior. After the match they both embrace and The Ultimate Warrior celebrates his new title.
I didn’t put in any of the interviews in this review because I was going by the home video release and not the live version. I’m not sure whether they’re different or not, so I’m just being safe, but there are number of interviews throughout the show. This was the WWF’s first international PPV and with a record crowd of 67,678 fans, they must have done something right. I still think this was/is a great show. I don’t know whether that’s because I was so into it back in 1990 or not. But as far as I’m concerned it still rocks.
As with all WWF videos, availability is very short indeed. But if you want to get it, it’s bound to be somewhere on the internet. Or you can get them from traders. If you ask around you’ll find them.
“NEVER TRUST A MIDGET OR ANYONE WITH TWO FIRST NAMES!”
by: The Gimmick
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