kevinc5680 Reviews

WrestleMania X (1994 TV Special)

Major Improvement to Wrestlemania IX

[7/10 · 10 June 2006]

As my review about Wrestlemania IX, my issue with the Wrestlemania's from 1993-1997 was simply the gimmicks. Take those out and you have a quality event. Unfortunately, that's not possible. But don't be discouraged, Wrestlemania X came through.

All I have to say is thanks to Bret Hart. His two matches on this event were great. The fact that he came out and gave not one, but two excellent matches, proves how great he really was. The opening "Hart" match is excellent. What do you expect from the greatest wrestling family in the world? The mixed tag team match is like most, entertaining, but they get old quick. I enjoyed Macho Man vs. Crush. At the time, falls anywhere was non-existent. Up until a few years ago, the Women's Championship was when I'd go to the bathroom, get a refill on my drink, and get a snack for the next match. Women's matches today are much more entertaining and I think they are just more athletic. I hate to talk bad about the classic Women's matches, but they just weren't that entertaining. Moving on, Luger vs. Yokozuna was decent, but following it would be one of the greatest Wrestlemania matches in history, the Ladder Match with Michaels and Razor Ramon. I remember being in awe when I saw this match in 1994. It's still entertaining to this day and the event is worth it just for this match. Bret Hart follows with another great performance for the WWF Championship.

Wrestlemania X ended up being pretty good aside from a few matches. I guess that's gonna be with any PPV, but this one really shows off the major stars of the WWF at the time.

WrestleMania IX (1993 TV Special)

Gimmicks Have Taken Over

[5/10 · 10 June 2006]

To me, this was the beginning of the end for the WWF in the 1990's. I absolutely love wrestling, but a few more years of this and I was watching something else on my spare time. And that's exactly what happened. It's not a surprise the WCW finally caught up with the WWF after years of putting out these kind of matches. Luckily for Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, there was some life left.

Wrestlemania IX had some good matches, but to me some of the characters killed the mood. For instance, Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka. Credit Tatanka cause he's a good wrestler. But I just couldn't get passed the Indian character and to me, it ruined a good match. Same with Crush vs. Doink the Clown. Doink as a villain was more tolerable than as a baby face, but coming off Wrestlemania VIII, I was hoping for a little bit more classic wrestling matches and not a real life cartoon. Now Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect was good. I did enjoy that match. The Mega Maniacs (Beefcake and Hogan) vs Money Inc (DiBiase and IRS) was good, simply because the spotlight wasn't completely on Hulk Hogan. Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales was the birth of the Undertaker's typical match. Big guy with no skill comes and beats up the Undertaker. Undertaker recovers and challenges/stalks the big guy. Big guy fights at PPV and is never seen again. Until the late 1990's and after 2004, this would be exactly the storyline you got out of the Undertaker. The Undertaker is great, but like Hogan, I got tired of seeing the same type of match. But for the sake of the time, this was one of the first. The Steiner Brothers had a pretty good match with the Headshrinkers. But the biggest disappointment comes in the main event with Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna. When this "finale" happens, even at age 13, I was upset. Those two wrestlers had a pretty good match, only to be wasted by the end. I don't want to give anything away so I won't go into detail.

Wrestlemania IX was okay, but I had a hard time being convinced of much when a clown or an Indian were the point of interest. Fortunately, it gets better years later.

WrestleMania VIII (1992 TV Special)

The Best Wrestlemania Of The 1990's

[8/10 · 10 June 2006]

This Wrestlemania saw the end of an era and beginning of a new one. The transition from the Hulkamania years to what I like to call the Gimmick years left of with one of the best Wrestlemania events in history. Now I would've given this a 10 out of 10, but there are a few matches that weren't up to par.

Now you see a lot of gimmick changes in this Wrestlemania. Tito Santana is now referred to as El Matador. You have characters like Repo Man and The Mountie. Aside from that, you are in for a great event. Shawn Michaels makes his singles debut against Tito Santana and it is a good one. Jake Roberts and the Undertaker square off in one of the better early Undertaker matches. The Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart match is fantastic. Probably one of the best in Wrestlemania history. I could've done without the 8-Man Tag Match and Tatanka vs. Rick Martel. I thought the Tag Team Championship was good and the WWF Championship Match was excellent. Ric Flair's small run in the early 1990's in the WWF was outstanding. His match with Savage was also one of the best in Wrestlemania history. Hogan's match was typical Hogan, with a little twist because at the time, he was going to retire.

I'd say overall, this is the best Wrestlemania of the 1990's. The good matches outweigh the bad one's and all in all, you should be highly entertained.

WrestleMania VII (1991 TV Special)

Not the best Wrestlemania, but not the worst.

[6/10 · 10 June 2006]

If you look at the match listing for Wrestlemania VII, you're probably going to think, "Wow, there are a ton of WWF Superstars on this event. Don't be fooled. Guys like the Texas Tornado, who was an Intercontinental Champion, didn't get much match time. Demolition, a huge draw for years in the WWF, seem boring and not quite the same tag team you would've seen years before.

Now that doesn't mean there aren't quality matches on this event. The Blindfold Match between Jake Roberts and Rick Martel was pretty good, especially if you haven't seen it before. The British Bulldog/Warlord match was worth it. The Rockers/Barbarian & Haku match was a great starter. Of course you have the Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho King Randy Savage. Now I've read mixed reviews about this match. I'd say it's the Ultimate Warrior's greatest match. I think anyone can enjoy this match, but because the Ultimate Warrior didn't have the best ring skills, a lot of people are quick to write off anything he does. All in all, this match is very entertaining and one of the best on this event. The Slaughter/Hogan match wasn't all that, but because it was a patriotic, USA vs Iraq match, it worked for the time. People in 1991 were into it because, we were at war. Overall, it's no classic, but it worked for the time.

Wrestlemania VII isn't the best Wrestlemania, but it's definitely not the worst. I'd say the average wrestling fan can appreciate what comes out of this event.