Jakoba
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
DAVE
Three cities! Television personalities! Fast Food mascots! Football players! Awful matches! Yup, WrestleMania 2 has all of that. For some reason or another, Vince McMahon decided to broadcast this event from three different arenas in three different time zones. I'm not sure where the event would have originated from had he chosen just one venue, probably Nassau if I were to guess. So we start off from the New York segment at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. Vince broadcasts with scratchy voiced actress Susan St. James, who just happens to be married to Vince's buddy Dick Ebersol. I didn't count how many times she said "Uh Oh!" during these 4 matches but it was at least 22. We start off with Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff vs The Magnificent Don Muraco. This ends in a lame double count out, not a strong kick off to what is supposed to be your mecca event, granted it was only the second incarnation of it. Next we get the Intercontinental Title match between Macho Man Randy Savage and George "The Animal" Steele. About what you'd expect from an Animal Steele match, entertaining to a point, but it doesn't give Savage the chance to show off his true in ring talent (that would have to wait til WrestleMania III). Next is an encounter between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and former football player George Wells. Wells is wearing football pants that he either kept from his CFL days or stole from the Houston Oilers. Jake wins the match with a DDT that flips Wells completely over and then smothers and chokes him with Damian the snake. The final match in NY is a boxing match between Roddy Piper and actor Mr. T. This is not a good match by any means, but you DO get to see Burger King's Herb do a dance prior to the bell. Piper loses by DQ for shoving the ref and body slamming Mr. T. The real life dislike for each other was evident by this point, I wonder if a regular wrestling match would have sufficed better. Oh well, at least Cab Calloway was in attendance right?Now we're shipped to Chicago's portion of the event emulating from The Rosemont Horizon, which Gorilla Monsoon calls a beautiful arena, trust me it's not. He's joined on commentary by actress Cathy Lee Crosby and Mean Gene Okerlund and Big Cat Ernie Ladd during the battle royal only. We start with a women's championship match that lasts about a minute when The Fabulous Moolah pinned Velvet McIntyre in about a minute. Then Corporal Kirchner beats Nikolia Volkoff in a flag match in two minutes. Wow, these matches just keep getting longer. Now we get to the 20 man battle royal which has a mixture of WWF wrestlers as well as NFL football players. Mean Gene announces former Wendy's commercial actress Clara Peller and she has to ask "Now?" twice for her cue. Yes lady NOW! She then waves her microphone like a magic wand and says "Where's the Beef" but no one hears her. The Horizon comes unglued for hometown player (and recent champion) William "Refrigerator" Perry. The match also featured a trio of former world champions in Bruno Sammartino, The Iron Shiek, and Pedro Morales. Andre the Giant and "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey dress the same here, as they both don yellow Hulk Hogan tights and boots. Andre gets the win after last eliminating The Hart Foundation. The final match is for the WWF tag team titles in which The British Bulldogs win the gold from Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. With Ozzy Osbourne and Captain Lou in your corner how could you lose? So far I'd say the battle royal and tag title match are the best of the night giving the edge to Chicago over New York. Let's go to L.A.In L.A., Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira are your broadcast team. Elvira wasn't the quickest thinker when asked questions but she's Elvira and she's sexy so it's ok. Sometimes the audio volume level goes up and down here, 1986 technology was only so good when you're running one show from three cities. First bout here Ricky Steamboat pins Hercules in a decent match, a clash of styles bogs it down a bit. Like Randy Savage, Steambout would have to wait a year to truly show off his talents. Next, Adorable Adrian Adonis defeats Uncle Elmer in an awful match with just a few bumps and flips by Adonis saving it from being completely bottom of the barrel. In a tag match, the Funk Brothers beat Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a decent match saved by some bumps by Terry Funk. Now the main event. Wait, no WrestleMania main event is complete without celebrities. Bring out Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who spits (literally) as he's announcing Ricky Schroeder and Robert Conrad. WWF title on the line in a steel cage, Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy. This is a better main event than the first WrestleMania. Some fans rated this match as mediocre but I found it to be pretty good. Despite some audio trouble, I'd give the edge to L.A. as the best segment of this lackluster event. In conclusion, between celebrity broadcasting, city hopping, bad matches, and low production values turn this one into a bottom 5 WrestleMania.
BobbyUK
Here are the matches...Nassau Colloseum Paul Orndorff v Don Muraco: A relatively fast-paced match (which features a tasteless slanted eye gesture made by Orndorff against Mr Fuji) that ends with an unsatisfying double count-out. A shame because this could have been the sleeper of the night. I am sure I could hear the fans shout 'bullsh*t' after the match... 3/10 George 'The Animal' Steele v 'Machoman' Randy Savage for the Intercontinental title: This was an oddity and mainly a match of entertainment and hijinks than wrestling in itself. On a rare occasion, 'Machoman' messes up a flying body-cross and Steele actually kicks out of the flying elbow. It ended with 'Machoman' getting the cheap pin with feet on the ropes manoeuvre. 4/10 George Wells v Jake 'The Snake' Roberts: Jake gets dominated by 'jobber to the stars' Wells until he lands the DDT. Jake drops the snake over Wells (rather unconvincingly) but Wells sells the idea well by frothing at the mouth. 2/10 How many times does Susan Saint James say 'C'maaaan George' during the night? Lol.Mr T v 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper boxing match: This boxing match didn't go anywhere near the distance. Both combatants knocked each other out during rounds 2 and 3 and Piper got disqualified in round 4 for executing a body-slam. A waste of time really and the only real factor of this match was it started a face turn for Piper as the crowd realised he was more interesting than Mr T. 3/10 Rosemont Horizon Velvet McEntyre v Fabulous Moolah for the women's title: A blink and you'll miss it squash match which devalues the women's title. Moolah pinned McEntyre after a failed body-press within 2 minutes. I've read recently that McEntyre's match was cut short because she had a wardrobe malfunction. You can see McEntyre doing her best to protect her modesty during and after the match. 1/10Corporal Kirschner v Nikolai Volkoff - flag match: A mercifully short two minute spectacle giving enough time for Kirschner to catch Blassie's cane in the air meant for Volkoff and whack him with it to gain the pin. Kirschner still manages to bust his head open in the process. I can only guess this was the WWF's way of dealing with 'The Cold War'. 2/10 WWF/NFL battle royal: A decent 20 man event but not much time was devoted to it. If you notice hard enough you will find Bruno Sammartino barely does anything in the ring but wander around and 'Hillbilly' Jim tries too hard to get himself eliminated while John Studd falls for a rookie mistake. Andre the Giant won the match defeating both members of the Hart Foundation (sporting blue tights). 6/10 British Bulldogs v Dream Team for the WWF tag titles: This is definitely match of the night. Well fought though the majority of it sees Greg Valentine getting a beating. Ozzie Osbourne joins The Bulldogs (probably WWF still attempting the Rock 'n' Wrestling connection) and Gene Okerlund refers to Osbourne coming from Manchester when he actually comes from Birmingham. Anyhow, that aside, a good match which finishes when a dazed Hammer clashes with the Dynamite Kid and gets pinned. 6/10 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Ricky Steamboat v Hercules Hernandez: A match notable for Hercules's ring costume at the start, portraying a Greek soldier and looking like the late 'Bruiser' Brody. Steamboat carries Hercules to a reasonable match (Hercules actually attempts the top-rope at one point) but the conclusion was never left in any doubt when Steamboat flying body-presses for the pin. 5/10 Uncle Elmer v Adrian Adonis: Adonis comes to the ring in a dress and wearing gaudy make-up. Before Wrestlemania 2 Adonis 'came out' as a homosexual (even though he was a happily married man in real life) so I can only presume the WWF equated homosexuality with transvestitism. I laughed at Elmer falling over after delivering a blow to Adonis and Adonis entertained with his bumping before he got the quick pin over Elmer after a flying head-butt. A favourite of mine but not a good match by any means. 3/10 JYD and Tito Santana v Terry and Dory 'Hoss' Funk Jnr: It's nice to see Terry Funk looking more healthier than he does these days. A pretty good match with Terry doing some nice bumping (he gets slammed on to a table at one point). The action was marred by a cheap foreign object ending as Terry pinned JYD after hitting him with Jimmy Hart's megaphone. 6/10 Hulk Hogan v King Kong Bundy steel cage match for the WWF world title: One of those rare cage matches that featured during the 80s where blue steel replaced the usual meshed cage. The match was predictable in it's outcome but a pretty tough outing for the two. At one stage Bundy removes the bandage from Hogan's injured ribs and proceeds to choke him with it and Bundy leaves the match with blood on his face. Hogan goes over the top of the cage to win the match. 6/10A lot of people really dislike this Wrestlemania and often rate it as their worst but it does have a few decent matches. I guess most of the criticism levelled at Wrestlemania II was the PPV structure set in 3 arenas and how much the show has dated because of it's comparatively limited production values and minor celebrity overload. Advert moguls Wendy's 'Where's the beef?' Clara Peller yells into the air while Burger King's Herb dances like a pillock when they get introduced. The pecularities in certain matches (George 'The Animal' Steele vs 'Machoman' Randy Savage and Uncle Elmer vs 'Adorable' Adonis) are interesting too showing the idiosyncrasies and attitudes in wrestling haven't really changed much over the years.
Spawn Devil
Match 1: Paul Orndorff and Don Muraco wrestled to a double-countout Match 2: Randy "Macho Man" Savage defeated George " the Animal" Steele Match 3: Jake "the Snake" Roberts defeated George Wells via pinfall Match 4: Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper by DQ in a boxing match Match 5: Women's Champion Fabulous Moolah defeated Velvet McIntyre Match 6: Cpl. Kirschner defeated Nikolai Volkoff via pinfall Match 7: Andre the Giant won a 20 man battle royal Match 8: British Bulldogs defeated Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake for the Tag Team Championship Match 9: Ricky Steamboat defeated Hercules via pinfall Match 10: Adrian Adonis defeated Uncle Elmer via pinfall Match 11: Hoss & Terry Funk defeated Junk Yard Dog and Tito Santana Match 12: WWE Champion Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy in a cage match
Overall Mark: B+
Jonas-4
This was the worst Wrestlemania in history. The only good matches were Ricky Steamboat vs. Hercules Hernandez, and the tag title match between the British Bulldogs and the Dream Team (this one bordered on classic). Everything else was either poor or awful. The idea of having three host cities was unnecessary, confusing and messed up the fluidity of the show. The celebrity guests were terrible on commentary, especially Susan Saint James.If you're interested in the mid 80's WWF, you're better renting or buying Wrestlemania 3, or just about any other PPV for that matter.
