At the conclusion of King of the Ring 1993, it seemed like Bret Hart had finally been given the keys to the kingdom as the man to lead the WWF into the future. That glorious reign lasted all of about 3 weeks, as Vince was once again unwilling to let Bret be "the guy". With Hulk Hogan almost out the door, McMahon needed a new All-American superhero, and turned to Lex Luger, who completed a face turn by slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid. The Lex Express followed shortly after, one of the strangest ideas Vince has ever produced and that's saying something, as Luger toured the country in a star spangled bus to try and gain fan support. But the WWF locker room was unwilling to accept Lex as the new figurehead of the company, likely due to the 7 years he spent in the NWA/WCW and the fact that he had just joined the roster earlier in the year. At SummerSlam '93, the plans to put the strap on Lex fell through, as he only won by countout, before celebrating with red, white and blue balloons, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he wasn't actually the champion. Luger stayed in the main event scene for the rest of the year, but after the SummerSlam fiasco, he had lost any aura of a top face, if he ever had it to begin with. Finally, it was time to pull the plug, as Lex's assumed Rumble win instead ended in a draw with Bret, setting the stage for Hart to take back his place atop the card at WrestleMania 10.
- Commentary for tonight is Vince McMahon himself on the play-by-play, joined by Jerry "The King" Lawler, who is making his pay-per-view debut on color commentary. They don't have a lot of chemistry though Lawler is generally very good on this show, not quite on the level of a guy like Bobby Heenan but still very sharp and easy to hate.
- Opening up the show is one of the matches WrestleMania 10 is best known for, as Bret Hart takes on brother Owen in a heated grudge match. Owen had largely just existed as a warm body in the company up until '93, forming multiple tag teams with the likes of Jim Neidhart and Koko B. Ware that failed to really get any momentum going. But at Survivor Series, Owen was finally given something to work with, after being the only man eliminated from the Hart Family's team after being distracted by older brother Bret's injury. That led to Owen famously kicking Bret's leg out of his leg at the Royal Rumble, leading to all Hart affair to open 'Mania, as Owen gets his chance to prove himself as the better wrestler while Bret tries to stay as fresh as possible with a title match later in the night looming. The feud to this point was outstanding, but this match is even better. Both guys are so great when trading holds and big moves, but Owen is really put over as a star. He gets in some devastating offense, including a high angle german suplex and a Tombstone Piledriver, and is just such a prick when he's in control, trash talking Bret constantly, trying to rip his hair out and tearing at his face. You can just tell that Bret is desperate to make Owen look as good as possible and he certainly accomplished. The finish is great, as Bret goes for the victory roll that put Bam Bam away at King of the Ring, only for Owen to counter by planting Bret onto the mat and scoring the three count. Perfect psychology and a good way to give Owen his big win while not taking any shine away from Bret. Way a way to start a show.
- Time to take it way back down, as Doink and Dink, comedy jobbers deluxe, take on the aforementioned Bam Bam Bigelow and his "main squeeze" Luna Vachon. Great verbiage used there by the Fink. This is a pure comedy match, as little man Dink runs circles around the snarling heels, who are made to look quite dumb as a result. They do at least get the win, with Bigelow pinning Doink with the diving headbutt, before Luna gets to splash Dink after the match in what was actually a botch, Dink didn't manage to completely roll out of the way in time. This wasn't as bad as I thought it could be, but isn't anything more than a way to give the crowd a chance to breathe after the opener.
- In a Falls Count Anywhere match, Randy Savage meets the now-heel Crush in another grudge match. Savage and Crush were on-screen allies, with the "Macho Man" stating his belief that Crush could slam Yokozuna multiple times on commentary during King of the Ring. Crush came up short on the Intrepid, before taking a kayfabe injury on Raw from Yoko. After some time off, Crush came back with a new look and aligned himself with Yoko and Mr. Fuji, claiming that Savage had forgotten about him while he was on the shelf. There was a genuine amount of heat to this feud, with Savage delivering a intense promo during the build-up that was fantastic, but the match really fails to deliver thanks to it's confusing rules. This isn't a Falls Count Anywhere match in the way you might think, as one man has to pin the other outside of the ring, then re-enter the ring and if the opponent fails to re-enter in 60 seconds, it's over. Crush almost immediately scores a fall with a simple slighshot across the guardrail, way to make the former two-time world champion look strong, but Savage is able to answer the count. Savage is able to hit the elbow, before rolling Crush to the floor and getting the pin outside. They eventually brawl backstage, where Savage gets another fall by throwing Crush through a door, for f***'s sake, before tying up his legs to a backstage pulley system, keeping him from getting back to the ring in time. What a bizarre way to blow off a blood feud with a match that couldn't keep up any momentum thanks to the strange rules and also saw both men get pinfalls off the simplest of maneuvers. Just to top it all off, the finish was botched, as Crush was only hanging by his feet for a couple seconds at most before flopping to the ground, ruining the potentially cool spot.
- That match may have been a disaster, but it was at least historically significant, as it was Randy Savage's last WWF pay-per-view match. Savage was determined to keep wrestling but Vince thought he was too old to draw, so he packed his bags and left for WCW, debuting down South by the end of '94. There's also the long held rumor of the relationship between him and a young Stephanie McMahon, but that's not really important here. I think Randy Savage was certainly the biggest miss for the WWF/E ever, especially after seeing so many of his biggest moments. There's no doubt in my mind that Savage would've been a far more interesting and stable choice of a company figurehead than Hogan, but he just never had the chance to take that spot. What a shame.
- Hey, women's wrestling is back, as Alundra Blayze successfully defends the Women's Championship against former champion Leilani Kai. The revitalized division is entirely built around Blayze, who is solid enough in the ring, with a good power arsenal. This match is nothing special, Kai can't do much by this point, but I look forward to watching what Blayze is capable of in a much bigger spotlight in the future.
- The tag team titles are on the line in the 5th bout of the night, as Men on a Mission(Mabel and Mo) challenge the Quebecers(Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Carl Ouellet). The champions do have some impactful double team offense at their disposal, which mostly just consists of throwing each other at their opponents. They also have Johnny Polo in their corner, the future Raven in a generally forgotten role. Mabel and Mo are somewhat over but terrible in the ring, as neither can really move or wrestle in any way. Their gimmick is also incredibly goofy in retrospect, I know the rap scene was different in the early 90s but this is way too corny to be taken seriously. The challengers win by countout in a complete filler match.
- In the first WWF Championship match of the night, Lex Luger gets another shot at dethroning Yokozuna, with Mr. Perfect as the special guest referee. As mentioned previously, Lex's run as a top face was essentially over by this point, and this match is really only a formality, a way to even the playing field for Bret in the main event. Yoko is almost completely blown up just minutes into this match, a really bad sign for the rest of the night, and there's no way that Lex Luger is going to be able to do anything to save this. It just devolves into rest holds, and even gets some faint boring chants from the MSG crowd, a rarity in this era of wrestling. After Lex goes after both Mr. Fuji and Yoko's English-speaking manager, the endlessly sweat drenched Jim Cornette, Perfect refuses to count for the challenger and checks on the managers instead. Lex is rightfully pissed and shoves Perfect, who calls for a DQ. This finish is very underwhelming, and could've been smart if they had at least brought up both men's encounter the previous year at 'Mania 9, but Lex's heel past has apparently been lost to history. Luger and Perfect square off backstage to setup a potential feud that would never come to pass, as Hennig's injuries were stacking up at this point and he would leave the company soon after.
- Harvey Wippleman is out to insult Howard Finkel and his new toupee, given to him by Sy Sperling of the Hair Club for Men earlier in the night. Adam Bomb, one of Wippleman's new clients, is out with him, leading to Earthquake intervening and an impromptu match is made. Bomb lasts all of 35 seconds before quickly falling to a big splash in a pointless squash match.
- In the second legendary match of the night, Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels each put their version of the Intercontinental Championship on the line in a ladder match. Michaels had been stripped of the title following a suspension for testing positive for steroids, leading to Razor winning the vacated belt and setting up a champion versus champion match. You don't need me to tell you that this one is a classic, one of the greatest ladder matches of all-time that established both men as legitimate stars in their own right, being awarded 5 stars from Dave Meltzer. While I have seen plenty of ladder matches in my time as a wrestling fan, I've intentionally not watched any modern versions of the stipulation since beginning these reviews to try and make the experience as fresh as possible. I think the best term for this match is creative chaos, with Michaels in particular taking full advantage of all the potential offered by this new weapon. There's some great spots to be found here, from Shawn's legendary splash off the ladder, Razor suplexing Shawn off the ladder which is a highly underrated spot and then my favorite, Shawn jumping off the top rope with the ladder to drive it into Razor. Everything looks like it hurts and both men sell the brutality so well that even knowing what was to come for hardcore wrestling, this still feels like a war. The finish is truly fantastic, as Shawn is pushed off the ladder and ties his foot up in the ropes, and when he gets free too early, he then manages to smoothly trap his arm in the ropes as well, what a pro. Razor retrieves the belts and we get an iconic image, as he stands atop the ladder, both titles held high, a truly career defining moment. This match is an all-time classic from start to finish, from the creativity shown with the ladder to the way both men sold the punishment they received, to even the stellar camera angles from high in MSG when both men are sprawled on the canvas, looking like a damn crime scene. Brilliant work all around.
- There was intended to be a 10 man tag team match as the penultimate contest of the night involving many midcarders, but it was cut for time thanks to Shawn and Razor going long. It is a bit selfish to deny those guys a 'Mania paycheck, but on the other hand, that ladder match needed to go about as long as it did, it would've been much worse had 5 or 6 minutes been chopped off.
- Main event time, as Bret Hart, now the challenger, faces Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in a WrestleMania 9 rematch. No Hulk Hogan to be found this time, though his old 80s rival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is the guest referee. There's a bit of a strange air to this match as you can't really shake the feeling that both of these men have technically lost once already on this card. There's also the fact that Yoko is not in a good way, totally out of gas and sucking wind. Unfortunately, this match is just a complete flop for me, I want to be happy for Bret but it's just 10 minutes of nothing. Bret isn't made to look too tough here, mostly just selling his leg injury from earlier in the night with Owen and not even scoring a decisive win, as Yoko falls off the middle rope attempting the Banzai drop and Bret gets the three count. Another lame WrestleMania main event with a very weak finish.
- Even if the way he got there wasn't great, at least Bret gets a big post-match celebration. Lex Luger shakes his hand, Roddy Piper gets to hand over the title and Randy Savage really puts Bret over, raising his arm and scaling the turnbuckle to point him out. Man, Savage was just so great, I'm really going to miss him. Then Owen Hart emerges, staring down his brother, somehow still in Bret's shadow despite pinning him clean. They staredown and I'm so ready for their cage match.
8/10
I wish I could've scored WrestleMania 10 higher, but there's just so much bad on this card, especially in the two world title matches. Yokozuna should never have been asked to wrestle for over 25 minutes, that one's on Vince. On the plus side, Bret-Owen and Shawn-Razor are two of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time, so this show was always going to be well remembered.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: I've basically already given it away, but my next review will be from slightly later in the year, SummerSlam 1994, featuring the rematch between Bret and Owen, this time for the title and inside of a steel cage. See you soon.
- Henry
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