Brian Hoops, PW Torch.com Nostalgia Specialist

This week’s look back at wrestling nostalgia takes us back to April 4, 1993 and WWF’s Wrestlemania 9. The show originated from Caeser’s in Las Vegas, Nevada and became the answer to the trivia question of the first outdoor Wrestlemania event. The show drew 15,045 fans and this was the first broadcast of Jim Ross for the WWF as he had just left the WCW. The show was really a transitional show for the WWF as the WWF was transitioning from a period of older stars and replacing them with new stars.

Gorilla Monsoon opens the show and then throws it to the debuting Jim Ross

They put up a graphic designating Howard Finkel as “Finkus Maximus”.

1.Tatanka defeated Shawn Michaels by countout in 18:13. Michaels retained the Intercontinental Title. Luna with Shawn as this is her debut show as well. Sherri Martel comes out with Tatanka. Shawn takes control as he catches Tatanka coming off the top with a drop kick. They then settle into a chin lock before Shawn resumes the offense. Michaels is clearly carrying this thing as Chris Chavis is doing nothing. Tatanka dances up and Shawn bumps for a bunch of chops. Shawn misses a flying body press from the apron to the floor hitting his head on the ring for the count out. After the match, Luna clotheslines and slams Sherri on the floor.

Mean Gene interviews Rick & Scott Steiner

2.Rick and Scott Steiner defeat the Headshrinkers Samu and Fatu in 14:22. These teams worked together a lot in WCW during 1989 and 1990. Fatu is the future Rikishi. A very boring match that ends when Scott hits a Frankensteiner on Samu.

Mean Gene interviews Doink the Clown

3.Doink the Clown (Matt Borne) pinned Crush in 8:28. Crush was doing his Hawaiian gimmick at this point. Boring match until a ref bump and Crush put his double head claw on Doink but suddenly a second Doink shows up (Steve Keirn) and hits Crush with the fake arm. Then he heads under the ring and Crush is pinned.

4.Razor Ramon pinned Bob Backlund in 3:45. Bob Backlund’s comeback was a knockoff of the George Foreman comeback that was occurring at this time in boxing. Backlund was supposed to the be face and Ramon was the heel but Ramon was getting most of the cheers Match was basically a quick squash.

Mean Gene interviews Money Inc.

5.Money Inc defeat Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake by disqualification in 18:27. This match was for the WWF World Tag Team titles, held by Money Inc. and was billed as the co-main event. The story of the match was built around Beefcake’s parasailing accident years before. Money Inc rammed IRS’s briefcase into Beefcake’s face and the Hulkster stepped in to help his friend gain revenge. Hogan has a black eye and the rumor was it happened as the result of a fight with Savage the night before. DiBiase nails Beefcake in the back with the briefcase to allow the heels to gain control. DiBiase takes off Beefcake’s face mask followed by a ref bump. Hogan uses the mask as a weapon and they get visual falls on both men. Jimmy Hart then steals the ref’s shirt and counts the pin? Then he gives the belts to the faces. Another referee comes out and disqualifies Team Hogan. That was one of the worst finishes ever. The referee who ran in was Danny Davis and then Jimmy Hart throws him over the top rope. Hogan poses even though his team lost.

6.Lex Luger pinned Mr. Perfect in 10:56. Luger is beginning his push as the “Narcissist” after debuting his character at the Royal Rumble. This was a bad match that Luger wins with a backslide despite Perfect having both feet on the ropes.

7.Undertaker defeated Giant Gonzales by disqualification in 7:33. Gonzales has Harvey Whippleman with him as a manager, was formerly El Gigante in WCW. Gonzales was so bad that even WCW released him when they couldn’t figure out what to do with him. His WWF push lasted six months at the most before McMahon released this was a failed experiment and Gonzales wasn’t going to ever draw money. Horrible match.

Mean Gene interviews Hulk Hogan.

8.Yokozuna pinned Bret Hart in 8:55 to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title. Yokozuna puts on a nerve hold less than 3 minutes into the match. Hart works out of it and puts on the sharpshooter, but Mr. Fuji throws salt in his eyes allowing Yokozuna to get the win and the title. Hulk Hogan comes out to tell the referee what happened and get the decision reversed. Mr. Fuji grabs the microphone and challenges Hogan for a world title match on Yokozuna’s behalf. Hogan accepts.

9.Hulk Hogan defeated Yokozuna for the WWF World Heavyweight Title in 21 seconds. A quick squash win for Hogan. Hogan had basically demanded the belt and wanted to win it from a large man, not some small like Bret Hart. So they did the quick title change to appease Hogan.

Summary: This was another terrible Wrestlemania None of the wrestling matches were very good and the booking was horrible. You can skip this Wrestlemania.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s look back at wrestling nostalgia. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at bhoops@iw.net.

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