After a year and a half of build-up, it's finally come to this, the Mega Powers explode as Randy Savage defends his WWF Championship against Hulk Hogan. "The Macho Man" turned heel during The Main Event II after Hogan left during a tag match against the Twin Towers to attend to Miss Elizabeth, as the two men would brawl backstage. By the way, Hogan still ended up winning that match single-handedly after Savage abandoned him because of course he did. Now, one year on from Savage winning the title with a massive assist from "The Hulkster", the two men collide in the same building as the Boardwalk Hall plays host to one of the most hyped main events in 'Mania history.
- This is the only time in WrestleMania history where the event was hosted in the same building in back to back years, and it does feel a bit redundant. Part of the fun of watching this show is seeing a new venue, a new set, a new presentation but everything about 5 is copied completely from 4. I suppose it does add to the story of the main event, but I'm glad it's not something they ever did again.
- We open the show with Hercules against King Haku, and this match isn't as dull as I was expecting it to be. There is heat here thanks to Bobby Heenan selling Hercules' contract, which does make the match feel more important than just two big guys hitting power moves. Herc wins with a shockingly nice back suplex, a bit of a weak finisher but still executed really well. I thought this match was far better than it had any right to be.
- In what might be the best match of the night, the Twin Towers take on The Rockers. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty are just so good, wowing the crowd with their double team offense and they really put the heels over with some incredible bumps. The biggest highlight of the match comes when Michaels leaps off the top into a damn twisting powerbomb from the Boss Man, easily the best move I've seen on any review thus far. Akeem follows up with his standing splash on Shawn to get the three to end a very entertaining match.
- Ted DiBiase has now crowned himself the "Million Dollar Champion", but he isn't putting his new prize on the line in this next bout against Brutus Beefcake. DiBiase does his best to try and get this match over, but there's shockingly little heat, especially when "The Barber" is in control. Both men brawl to a double count-out after 10 minutes, and I just feel so bad for Ted, who was promised a WWF title run in the "Million Dollar Man" gimmick and is now just stuck in the midcard.
- The Bushwhackers take on the Fabulous Rougeaus up next in what was unfortunately another stinker. I mentioned my liking of Jacques and Raymond at the Rumble, but they're not really good enough to carry this match to become anything respectable. Luke and Butch are extremely limited and the gimmick can get really grating, so I'm happy to just move on.
- There's certainly some promise to be found in the next match, as Mr. Perfect looks to continue his winning streak against the Blue Blazer, Owen Hart. Owen is still a couple years away from his peak and it shows here, as he doesn't quite seem to have developed as the entertaining performer and showman he would become. He's still really crisp in the ring and Hennig is bumping his a** off to try and make this work, but the crowd really isn't into it. The Perfectplex ends proceedings in a match that really failed to live up to my expectations.
- The WWF tag team titles are on the line in a handicap match, as Demolition defend against the Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji. The company really seemed to like getting non-wrestlers to compete at 'Mania, like Danny Davis at 3 and Bobby Heenan last year. Just in general, I really like Fuji as a manager and I thought he did some good work on the apron in the early part of this match, but when he gets tagged in, it's obvious that his wrestling days are long past him. Fuji really can't do much so the main hook of this match is negated, and it really doesn't help that Demolition and the Powers of Pain don't have a lot of chemistry together. Ax and Smash get the win with their finisher, the Demolition Decapitation, which is a cool name in fairness, but this match also wasn't great.
- Dino Bravo takes on Ronnie Garvin in a match that was extremely short, and that is fine by me because there was absolutely no heat here. Bravo picks up an easy win with his side slam, and I'm beginning to get exhausted by all this subpar wrestling.
- Here is certainly a match with plenty of potential, as Strike Force take on the Brain Busters. There is some really good wrestling in this one, as both teams work a lot more holds and the tag psychology is off the charts. Martel turning a body scissors from Arn into a boston crab was spectacular and the double figure four was also a nice spot. Just as this match is starting to hit second gear, though, we get a miscommunication spot, as Santana hits Martel with his flying forearm, leading to Martel dissolving Strike Force by walking to the back. Although the heel turn kind of ruined a good match, that spot did get a lot of heat, as the crowd really let Martel hear it. With a 2 on 1 advantage, the Brain Busters score the easy win with a spike piledriver, a really impactful finisher.
- After months of feuding, it's time for a singles match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Andre the Giant, but this match is probably the worst of the night. Andre is just totally done by this point and has almost nothing to offer, and Jake can't use most of his offense because of the size difference. After about 10 minutes of extremely slow wrestling, we get a very messy finish, as guest referee Big John Studd is choked by Andre, while Ted DiBiase and Virgil cause chaos by kidnapping Damien. Roberts wins by DQ, and I'm happy to just move on because this match was sad to watch.
- More tag team action up next, as the Hart Foundation look for revenge against former manager Jimmy Hart, who manages the new team of the Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine. Honky Tonk and "The Hammer" are a very ill-fitting tag team, they have very little chemistry as characters and almost no double team offense. "The Hitman" and "The Anvil" are at least still over as faces and get pops for some of their signature moves, before scoring a dirty win by hitting Honky with Jimmy's megaphone.
- In the first of the two big matches on the night The Ultimate Warrior defends the Intercontinental Championship against Rick Rude in a match set-up by their "posedown" at the Rumble. Warrior tends to really suffer in longer matches, and this one goes around 9-10 minutes, which certainly could've been a problem were he not in there with a pro like Rude. "The Ravishing One" is a true ring general in this match, really putting Warrior's power over with his incredible selling and keeping the pace moving. Warrior does start to get gassed during the closing minutes and there's a scary looking botch when he attempts to do something, I can't tell what, following a backbreaker. But Rude settles things down, and we get a fantastic spot when Warrior breaks out of the Rude Awakening to the astonishment of the crowd. I thought that moment was sold perfectly and really made Warrior look every bit the start Vince was hoping he could be. The finish is a classic, as Heenan holds onto Warrior's leg on an attempted suplex, letting Rude land on the champion's shoulders to steal a three count and the title. Look, this match isn't one of the greatest of all-time or anything, and maybe could've done with being a couple minutes shorter. Still, you had a real future superstar in The Ultimate Warrior and a great heel and stupendous wrestler in Rude in there, so it proved to be a really engaging watch.
- We should probably be just heading into the main event at this point, as this card is already 11 matches deep, but there's still more filler to go. Bad News Brown takes on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, and this one is just a punch-kick affair that goes all of 4 minutes before both men, as is the norm for them, get disqualified. The finish was very confusing as they both have a foreign object, Brown with a chair and Duggan with his 2x4, but they don't hit each other, they just slam the weapons into one another. That's clear self-defense from both guys, apparently the referee was expecting one of them to just stand there and get brained.
- The first real squash match of the night sees the Red Rooster, who is impossible to take seriously with that hair and just in general, take out former manager Bobby Heenan in 31 seconds. Look, Terry Taylor could've been the greatest wrestler in the history of the world but nobody was making the Rooster gimmick work, and shame on the company for making him try. The Brooklyn Brawler was also present, so it's good to know Heenan was recruiting for the J.O.B. Squad 10 years early.
- Main event time, we've finally made it, as Randy Savage takes on Hulk Hogan. I love the physicality in this match, especially from Savage who really embraces the madman heel character. Miss Elizabeth being present was appropriate given the story that they had told leading in, but she gets escorted out about halfway through, which was a good decision to let the in-ring action be the focus. Hogan is cut over his eye, which I believe was a blade but I think I looked away when it happened. The color does add to the intensely personal feel of the match, but isn't really a focus, which makes me think it was an accident. Down the closing stretch, Savage focuses all his offense on the throat of Hogan, sending his throat first into the steel barricade and hanging him on the top rope, always a great spot. The champion sees to have it won with the elbow drop, but Hogan kicks out right on the stroke of two, which was extremely unnecessary and completely devalued all the work Savage had just did. Big boot, leg drop, Hogan wins, and was there any doubt. This was a fitting way to close the show and a solid main event, probably the best in 'Mania history to this point, at least in terms of in-ring action.
- It's been mentioned plenty since, but I do feel like Savage really needed to win this match. It's not entirely personal preference, though I do prefer Randy to Hulk, but I also think the story needed a Savage win, especially considering their feud would continue for most of the rest of the year. Here's the thing, if this had been it for Hogan vs Savage, then Hulk winning in this way would perfectly fine, it's the right way to end the Mega Powers story. However, with still quite a few more matches left between these two, Randy really needed to go over to give Hulk a reason to still want revenge. Based on the story they told, Savage should've been significantly more motivated than Hogan, this was all about him and his jealously and his slow unraveling. Hogan taking a loss here was unlikely to ever happen, but it would've made his eventual triumph feel more earned, and give his character more of a reason to really want it. I don't think the finish ruins the match in any way, but it likely will have a very negative effect on my reviews for the rest of 1989.
4/10
There were a couple of very entertaining tag matches, and the two biggest singles matches(Rude/Warrior and Hogan/Savage) both delivered, so why do I consider this show below average? Well, the 14 match card certainly plays a role. It feels like Vince and co are getting closer to understanding how to book a proper supercard, but there was just way too much filler here. I didn't even get to the incredibly dull Piper's Pit segment with Brother Love and Morton Downey Jr., or the Run DMC performance, which felt incredibly out of place. WrestleMania 5 is at least an upgrade on WrestleMania 4 because it was paced a bit better and the match quality was higher, but it still felt incredibly bloated and difficult to watch at times.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: SummerSlam 1989, as Zeus, the fictional movie character from cinema classic No Holds Barred, teams with Randy Savage to take on Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. Yep. See you for that, I guess.
- Henry
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