Hogan looks young to you? My dude if that guy walked up to you in the street, you would guess early 30s? With that giant bald spot? Alrighty bud. @@richardtheconquerer
Clara "Where's the Beef?" Peller botching the one line she's known for by moving the microphone away from her mouth is a HoF-worthy celebrity guest moment
The "History of Mania" doc has them openly saying they made a mistake underestimating how tough three cities would be and never tried again. Also how they overdid it on the celebrities so scaled back the next year.
Three is too much, but I do wonder now that WrestleMania is two nights if they'll ever try doing one night in one city and the other night in another city rather than two nights in the same city. Their production capabilities have grown by leaps and bounds since 1986, so it could be worth a shot.
@@jeremyhegg9367 I think it's still best to run it all in the same city. Easier for marketing, cheaper because they don't need to set up two lots of equipment, and you can sell ticket bundles at a premium. The venue might also raise a stink if they perceived the other place's card to be better.
Every so often they over do it on the celeb involvement. This a good example of that, but I think the best is the overkill that was WrestleMania 11 and then at 12 there was no celeb involvement.
My favorite Wrestlemania promo ever: "Boop! BOOOOOOP!" This show was a logistics nightmare on a technical sense, and the WWF was extremely lucky that it was not an absolute failure.
There was real heat with Piper towards Mr T as he felt hes taking away a spot from a wrestler performing on that show. The hits he was giving him were stiff
I didn’t mind the boxing match. When you go back & watch the build up in the Piper/Mt. T feud. It made sense. Especially with the Piper/Orton beat down of Mr. T on SNME
Brian neglected to mention that Roddy Piper was a Golden Glove boxer in his youth, so he knew what he was doing. Sloppy as it was it looked like real boxing for the first three rounds. But when Round 4 started and they just stood there taking turns slap punching each other; that was pure wrestling. 🎉
King Kong Bundy said in shoot interviews that Piper had some of the fastest hands he'd ever seen, and that (in his opinion) Piper would have whooped T's ass in a real fight. Brian also only passively mentions the crowd turning on T. If you can find the footage, clear as day you can hear the crowd chanting, "Roddy! Roddy! Roddy!" through most of Rounds 2 and 3. This must have been rather awkward for Vince and his vapid sidekick, Susan. In later years, Piper said that was why he threw the stool at Mr T, because he was trying to be extra "heelish" and get the audience to turn on him. But they were having none of it. He also said that was the beginning of his babyface turn, which he never wanted, but the fans pretty much forced on him. It all worked out, as he was one of the few who could keep the same persona as both a heel and babyface.
Sigh, not a single fan has ever produced evidence that Piper was a Golden Glove boxer, it is insane how you marks keep repeating that lie without evidence
@@1980Triumph .... Piper himself made those claims. Although he may have been making it up his last name isn't Hogan so we don't automatically assume he was lying and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Mr. T would of whooped on Piper if he wanted to. And why was Piper mad at T for BEING BOOKED? Was T supposed to turn down the opportunities out of the kindness of his heart? Or did he expect him to become a mark overnight because he got hired by a wrestling company... It just kind of screams he didn't like he because he was.... What he painted half of his face lets say. Not a Piper fan at all, never will be.
“I’m Captain Lou! I’m talking to you! Screaming like a demon is what I do!” I can’t see Captain Lou and not think of the side character rap. “Billy, Billy, Billy!”
I can't help thinking of Kim Justice's Heroes of Wrestling video. "He doesn't seem bad, helookslikehehasthebrainofadehydratedbbifweputitinapigeonoraparakeethedflybackwards but he's not a bad guy."
*18:08* Bret said this finish was his idea & everyone was shocked since "it was unheard of for anyone to suggest the slightest change to André". Luckily he just smiled and said "Yeah boss, I like that better"
To be fair, good luck to anyone back then that wanted to do something Andre didn't want to do. Dude tipped over a full car with his bare hands, you get a time machine and pull that on Andre.
@@willisgaines6882 I wanted The Dragon to stay with wwf until way after surv series 1991. Then at WM 8 instead of boring Al Matt aDor vs HBK we have perhaps The Dragon vs Shawn Michaels as the opener!
Been telling people for year’s I was at the worst Mania ever because I was unfortunately was at THE coli. We did get screwed! Added to that, the sound didn’t initially work on the feed from Chicago after that. It got fixed after 5 minutes during which the crowd was quite hot lol!
Andre winning a battle royal, I wonder if they'll ever name a battle royal in his honor and put it on the WrestleMania card, then on the pre-show, then on the Smackdown before Mania until it means absolutely nothing. Oh right.
I was aware of pro wrestling because of Hulk Hogan. I watched pro wrestling because of Randy Savage. It all started here for me. I was instantly hooked with the Macho Man character and his relationship with Miss Elizabeth.
16:45 Well I guess technically they got 3 considering Terry Funk was in that Wendy's Commercial. "Terry Funk Voice* "I've changed the rules, I'm a Burger Spokesperson now!" 🍔
Russ Francis was the son of Territory wrestler Sir Edmund Francis, who wrestled I think a lot in the Hawaiian Promotion. When he was announced Okelund said he came in wearing the boots of his father.
I have a soft spot for the battle royal for a few reasons. Bret Hart technically faced Bruno Sammartino at Wrestlemania The Refrigerator had a Wrestlemania match, and Andre won a battle royal on the undercard, then had what WWE treats as their biggest match ever the next year. Really shows you why wrestlers have to be patient.
18:00 seeing The Harts in anything other than Pink and Black is a weird image i mean this looks strange to me its like one of the alternate skins for the CAWs
Lmao the NFL allowing players to be in a Battle Royale this WM would probably be one of the highlights of the show, but I can’t see the NFL ever allowing players to do it and risk any injuries. They don’t call it the “No Fun League” for no reason. That being said, I’m totally down to have Jason Kelce enter the Andre Memorial Battle Royal
Wrestling With Wregret- Seeing as I was born in early-1989 & 'WWF WrestleMania 2' took place in the spring of 1986, I literally didn't see it for myself until sometime in the mid-1990's when I was in elementary school renting it from Blockbuster Video. As a kid, I thought it was awesome seeing 3 different venues hold various portions of 'WWF WrestleMania 2' & was left wondering how, exactly they did it... In fairness, I give the World Wrestling Federation credit for trying something new in the mid-1980's as far as the over-all presentation of 'WWF WrestleMania 2' & the concept of how they presented it, respectively--even though the experiment didn't work.
I have the Coliseum Home Video VHS of this show an Mean Gene says in the first five minutes that "this tape and this show will become a collector's item for the ages!" Lol. Lmao even
A lot of us older-ish fans can thank Botchamania and Art0Donnell for the proliferation of meme material that came from one word and four letters: “Uh-oh.”
( 4:39 & 20:58 ) I don't know about you guys but I've been waiting for Brian Zane to talk about and make fun of Susan St. James' inexperienced and insufferable commentary on this show since his "Top 8 Worst WrestleManias of All-time" video. My birthday was on February 18 so I got my late birthday present. Thanks, Z-man. 😅
It wasn't her fault she wasn't experienced any more than any other guest announcer. Blame the WWF for asking them in the first place. At least she was enthusiastic!
Brian, I am BEGGING you to PLEASE do a series where you just put on random Terry Funk matches and do the silly Funk voice overs "I am interrupting your crisscross with a cheap shot now" . Please dude.
I remember renting these early 'Manias on VHS and just being bewildered on how different it was from what I was currently watching in '90-'91 as a kid.
I started watching in 1989 and I felt the same. The company changed drastically from 1984-1987 production wise and roster wise. I was used to well lit syndicated shows with slick graphics and music. Renting the old Best Of tapes that collected old matches from 84/85 totally blew my mind.
@@davidmreyes77 It's crazy how fast things moved back then. 84 was so different than watching wrestling in 1990. Production wise, roster wise etc...I would rent all the Best of tapes as well. Now, if you compare 2024 to let's say 2014, it looks and feels pretty much exactly the same. Back then even five years made a world of difference. Just look at the WWWF in 80 compared to the WWF in 85. Night and day.
Footnote to the proposed Steamboat vs Hart match: Steamboat vs Hart had a house show match leading up to the Mania show to get some time working together. When the Mania match was canceled, Hart assumed the house show match would be a short squash for Steamboat, but instead Steamboat told Hart "let's go out there are show them what they missed out on" and they had a killer match. The house show match is on the 3 disc Bret Hart compilation WWE put out and it's awesome.
Yeah, just saw a shoot interview with Bret where he also said that William Perry was the best wrestler out of all the football players. He also said Andre wanted to be kept away from the NFL guys, so he and Neidhart did what they could to keep them away from him lol. Plus he said he was originally going to have a match with Ricky Steamboat, since they had two strong house show matches, one televised at the Boston Garden and was told last minute he'd be in the battle royal here, so he came up with how he'd be eliminated and management liked it, although he was a bit nervous during the match because it was a long drop, so was glad Anvil was able to catch him.
26:01 That SNMain event was traumatizing. At 10, I knew it was a shoot but my Sister was 5 and she was crying! And my Dad, tried to keep Kayfabe alive for her, so he's got to be carefull. He tells my Sister, Hogan was alright but my sis was inconsolable! So my Dad, who was a Firefighter and had a C.B. radio,pretended to call L.A. (while my Sister was in the Bathroom) So when she comes out... Dad said he was talking to one of the medics (my father's coworker irl). So she spoke with him and he assured her Hulk was o.k.!! ;) So she calms down and leaves the room and I hear a Fire Alarm go off and my Dad and I quickly turned the C.B. off and said 'The medic had to go talk with Jack Tunney, the kayfabe president of WWF. He said that Hulk was not Hurt, too badly. ! Good, crazy times!! :) Cheers from Montreal Quebec Canada.
WM 2’s biggest issue was it was too ambitious and too much so soon. Really felt like after the success of WM, the WWF decided to bash people over the head with “MORE WRESTLEMANIA” no different than Disney shotgun blasting everyone with “MOAR MARVEL”.
Pros Battle Royal Bulldogs VS Dream Team Hogan VS Bundy Cons The Basic Concept Of A PPV Taking Place In 3 Cities Savage VS Steel Mr. T VS Piper McIntyre VS Moolah Elmer VS Adonis Susan St. James On Commentary
I don't think the Battle Royal was a Pro. Most of the wrestlers were mid-carders, and there weren't many huge name NFL players. The Fridge was an attraction but not an All-Star.
@@Evs78101 I think if they tried that today with two night format it would work. You could do WM Night 1 in Pittsburgh or something and have Night 2 in Seattle etc. Just to shake things up a little.
Funny. When you said you were doing 18 next, I thought. 'He already did Rock and Austin. And as your mentioning the matches and saying good things. I doubted it was the one I went to because over the years, I've heard people say that it was the Manias before, and after, that people ranked Super high... So this should be fun. My crappy memory vs My Crappy seats. Vs an insane snow storm that I wanted to drive back to Montreal through (to buy scalped) tickets for Raw. I Wonder if Sammi and Kevin were there... Anyhow, my Sister and friends didn't want me driving in the crazy snow,. Can't wait for the Next review, as I'm really excited to see how IT has aged Vs. How Me has Changed! ;) Cheers from Montreal Quebec Canada
my dad was at the chicago portion and talks about it a lot- i always get so excited that he got to see young bret hart and he’s always more interested in the fact that he brought a sign that said “king kong bundy wears pink undies” lol
George Wells was a good wrestler from my hometown of Oakland, CA. He now runs a center for people with drug dependence. Great human being I always remembered this WM cause it's the only time I can remember The Hart Foundation wearing blue tights.
10:43 I didn't know Angelo had a basketball playing father. Which, explains why he wears a basketball uniform as his ring gear. Surprised Vince didn't lean into that when he was still there. I'm glad that Meng had his theme song carry over from WCW.
Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat March 8th 1986 at the Boston Garden which is also on TH-cam is one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling. I had heard it was originally supposed to be at Wrestlemania 2 which was scrapped. It would have stole the show.
I still remember that video you did about the worst Wrestlemanias and that whole compilation of Susan St. James going Uh Oh or On no for like 30 seconds straight.
Retro gaming hippie approves! Love the work Zane man! Great insight and knowledge. WWF was certainly working on their production at this time. Real heavy with the 80’s “stars” as well. As an old Portland wrestling fan, Russ Francis was a favorite of mine.
2-3 cities could work in 2024... with Raw Smackdown and Maybe a NXT Takeover, how you layer... but Mania being 2 nights... could be 2 shows separated if two locations were selected.
So a couple of things... "Were music rights FREE back then? Well, not exactly, but back in the early/mid-'80s, the use of existing music was a lot more liberal than it is now. I vaguely remember that there was a ruling that limited the use of music, but I'm not 100% sure and could be totally off-base on this. But I remember that the WWF stopped using pre-existing music in their shows and as theme music. (On a totally random note, if you've never seen Hulk Hogan enter the ring to "Eye of the Tiger," you're missing out.) Also, I grew up on Long Island, where the New York portion of WrestleMania 2 originated. I remember being pissed that I had to settle for watching the PPV because it was during a school night (either a Monday or Tuesday, I think). Boy oh boy, even back then was I glad. I had really only wanted to see two matches anyway: the main event and Bulldogs vs. the Dream Team. I also believe that that WrestleMania III was the first WrestleMania that was actually WRESTLEMANIA. It was the first one that had that Super Bowl-like feel. "...lifting weights with Hillbilly Jim." Are you talking about Hillbilly Jim? Now he was a real man of the people...
Yeah, this is one of the reasons why VKM went in house with his music, right? So that he didn't have to pay royalties. The only times I remember the WWF using pop music on TV was Animotion's "Obsession" on SNME. And they eventually went away from that.
@@ra0929 On the weekend syndicated shows, they frequently used pre-existing music for bumpers. I particularly remember them using Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as the intro for one of them.
@@cdoggpdt6210 He AND Wahoo, really cared about the fans! I miss the good old days when it was Adrian Adonis, Lou Albano, Andre The Giant, Bob Backlund, Blue Meanie, Berzerker, Bam Bam Bigelow, Junkyard Dog, Conquistador, Spike Dudley, Dory Funk, Flash Funk, Hoss Funk, Terry Funk, Hillbilly Jim, Kabuki, Jerry The King Lawler, Mantaur, Manu, Lanny Poffo... good times.
Why does WWE never want Bret to win a battle royal? Here and at Mania 4 he ends up as the last eliminated. And flash forward several years he ties Lex Lugar as the Royal Rumble winner. Poor Bret Hart. Always getting screwed. 😆
Velvet was an amazing worker and I remember being pissed that Wendy Richter was not there. I was 11 and not in the know yet. Glad that Velvet got a. Just a Wrestlemania moment and I did not know that she became champion for a week. Zane is always bringing his A game and at 45, I'm still learning things I should have known but when it comes to the, off the continent, musical belt swaps, they were not told or mentioned, on t.v. Hard to be up to date back then!
Savage and Steele was pretty much a TV feud only. On the house show circuit in '86, Savage was mainly wrestling Tito Santana, Hulk Hogan, and Steamboat.
@@1980Triumph Hogan was quoted as saying it. he said he partied with John Belushi after Wrestlemania 2 and they partied so hard that John had to leave early because he couldn’t keep up. again Hogan may have meant Jim but it didn’t stop him from letting people he made a mistake and meant Jim
Do you think Cyndi Lauper will ever go into the Hall Of Fame? At this point, I have to imagine she was asked at some point and she turned it down years ago. I definitely don't imagine her saying yes to show up this year.
My cousin went to the New York portion of the show, he told me he wasn't aware of the 3 locations and had to watch the rest of the show on the projector screen which in the 80s were NOT great. Very interesting and humbling time for the WWF well before WrestleMania hit it's apex and was a "global phenomenon"
20:45 Totally agree. I already like Sheik and Nikolai but this was the coming out party, for the bull dogs. If you had a dog around that time, you were playing and dressing up like the Bulldogs. Overall, this was a good time, for tag teams
I remember as a kid renting the first 6 or 7 Wrestlemanias from the video store in order. All I remember from this one was thinking "wow boxing is really awkward and boring," and the Macho Man/George Steele match. Mania 3 was my favorite. The entrances, Hogan/Andre, and the spectacle of the fully packed Silverdome.
18:36 Brian, I'd LOVE to see that happen, maybe call it the Kevin Greene Battle Royal, but alas, there's the Kevin Greene clause 😂 After his match at Slamboree 97 (which people should watch for a masterclass in crowd work), the NFLPA basically forbade players unter their thumb from taking part in pro wrestling in an official match capacity.
WM2 is actually a great childhood memory for me. I was six years old and it was the first live wrestling show I ever attended. (I was at the Rosemont) I feel lucky getting to see Andre the Giant in person. In his last big match as a baby face before his major heel turn the next year. It was also great seeing the Bulldogs winning the tag team titles.
I saw in some documentary on WM2 that apparently there exists a complete and uncut version from that night with all the fuckups and issues that were then cleaned up for future VHS releases
Hogan was only 33 years old here. The man looks like he was in his 50s his whole life.
im 4 in Hogan years
Actually, he was 32 (born August 11, 1953).
He looks young as hell to me. What about him looks old to you?
@@richardtheconquerer His hairline
Hogan looks young to you? My dude if that guy walked up to you in the street, you would guess early 30s? With that giant bald spot? Alrighty bud. @@richardtheconquerer
“I am interrupting your criss-cross with a cheap shot now.” May the Funker Voice live forever. Forever. Forever! FOREVER! FOREVER! FOREVER!
I get way too excited now every time I see Terry Funk in a Wregret review.
He sucks at doing the impression. Funk is rolling around in his grave at the disrespect.
It's mah last match! It's mah last match!
So technically speaking Beefcake main evented a Wrestlemania and a Starcade
Snap into a Beefcake, brother!
And Summerslam, too.
Beefcakes Wrestle Mania 9 tag match was advertised as a main event.
This combined with him never winning a (EDIT: Singles) title for a mainstream wrestling company paradoxically makes him both overrated and underrated.
He was one half of the tag champs with Greg Valentine.@BlackLaGoonies
Clara "Where's the Beef?" Peller botching the one line she's known for by moving the microphone away from her mouth is a HoF-worthy celebrity guest moment
Was it completely a botch or also a technical glitch? Because even if her mike was moving around you would hear SOMETHING!
She'd be OVER like mad right now if she were still alive considering how MEAT obsessed fans are today (I'm guilty too)
@@LexysHereAfterShe would be exploited by one political campaign or the other. Walter Mondale sort of did it in 1984.
@@LexysHereAfterWhat do you mean by "meat obsessed"?
@@joshuacoleman8000don't act like you don't know
At the time, could anyone have possibly guessed that Ozzy would outlive both Bulldogs?!
Outlived 3 Bulldogs.
Matilda gone, too 😂
I sit here living in 2024 and I remain surprised by this fact.
Both Winston and Matilda?
@@MyNameIsUnavailableyou must be adopted 😂
Ozzy could survive a nuclear apocalypse.
Terry bumps on the table, match did NOT just end.
He's changed the rules.
It's a Texas Deathmatch now!
That’s where it became an I Quit match
3:40
Technically, Roddy only did half of one of those things.
The "History of Mania" doc has them openly saying they made a mistake underestimating how tough three cities would be and never tried again. Also how they overdid it on the celebrities so scaled back the next year.
Three is too much, but I do wonder now that WrestleMania is two nights if they'll ever try doing one night in one city and the other night in another city rather than two nights in the same city. Their production capabilities have grown by leaps and bounds since 1986, so it could be worth a shot.
@@jeremyhegg9367 I think it's still best to run it all in the same city. Easier for marketing, cheaper because they don't need to set up two lots of equipment, and you can sell ticket bundles at a premium. The venue might also raise a stink if they perceived the other place's card to be better.
Every so often they over do it on the celeb involvement. This a good example of that, but I think the best is the overkill that was WrestleMania 11 and then at 12 there was no celeb involvement.
@@jeremyhegg9367I think if they ever do a London Mania then it would be Night 1 in the UK and Night 2 in the US.
Icarus flying too close to the sun.
My favorite Wrestlemania promo ever: "Boop! BOOOOOOP!"
This show was a logistics nightmare on a technical sense, and the WWF was extremely lucky that it was not an absolute failure.
A worked boxing match at WRESTLEmania.
Piper deserved so much more.
There was real heat with Piper towards Mr T as he felt hes taking away a spot from a wrestler performing on that show. The hits he was giving him were stiff
I didn’t mind the boxing match. When you go back & watch the build up in the Piper/Mt. T feud. It made sense. Especially with the Piper/Orton beat down of Mr. T on SNME
They should have just let them have a boxing match, Brawl for All style, but hey, at least it was a Main Event.
@lavalley2018 I agree. I think piper wanted it but T didn't
facts!! Roddy vs Hogan should have been for the title
Mr T was a Chicago guy and I never understood why he wasn't booked there since he was the babyface.
Brian neglected to mention that Roddy Piper was a Golden Glove boxer in his youth, so he knew what he was doing. Sloppy as it was it looked like real boxing for the first three rounds. But when Round 4 started and they just stood there taking turns slap punching each other; that was pure wrestling. 🎉
King Kong Bundy said in shoot interviews that Piper had some of the fastest hands he'd ever seen, and that (in his opinion) Piper would have whooped T's ass in a real fight.
Brian also only passively mentions the crowd turning on T. If you can find the footage, clear as day you can hear the crowd chanting, "Roddy! Roddy! Roddy!" through most of Rounds 2 and 3. This must have been rather awkward for Vince and his vapid sidekick, Susan. In later years, Piper said that was why he threw the stool at Mr T, because he was trying to be extra "heelish" and get the audience to turn on him. But they were having none of it. He also said that was the beginning of his babyface turn, which he never wanted, but the fans pretty much forced on him. It all worked out, as he was one of the few who could keep the same persona as both a heel and babyface.
Sigh, not a single fan has ever produced evidence that Piper was a Golden Glove boxer, it is insane how you marks keep repeating that lie without evidence
@@legionarybooks13 Piper was not beating up Mr T
@@1980Triumph .... Piper himself made those claims. Although he may have been making it up his last name isn't Hogan so we don't automatically assume he was lying and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Mr. T would of whooped on Piper if he wanted to. And why was Piper mad at T for BEING BOOKED? Was T supposed to turn down the opportunities out of the kindness of his heart? Or did he expect him to become a mark overnight because he got hired by a wrestling company... It just kind of screams he didn't like he because he was.... What he painted half of his face lets say. Not a Piper fan at all, never will be.
Russ Francis was a trained wrestler. His dad was Ed Francis who founded 50th State Big Time Wrestling in Hawaii and sold it to Peter Maivia
@@Phyrre56 of course they knew he was trained and many of these guys worked for his Dad
Yeah now i think about it was really why didnt he quit football and started do some pro wrestling the guy was a natural
@@ericmonaco4509 he played 13 years, he retired after he got hurt
„I am interrupting your crisscross with a cheapchot now“ I love your Funk impression 😂😂😂
I highly advise against doing a drinking game for every time Susan St. James going "Uh oh!" or "Oh no!"
Goodbye liver
I tried that once a few years ago. I’m still hungover.
"How much does this guy weigh?"
A young Renee Young takes notes
@rallycapandstanding Susan Saint James was WM 2's "ART DONOVAN of KOTR 1994" lol....
“I’m Captain Lou! I’m talking to you! Screaming like a demon is what I do!” I can’t see Captain Lou and not think of the side character rap. “Billy, Billy, Billy!”
I can't help thinking of Kim Justice's Heroes of Wrestling video.
"He doesn't seem bad, helookslikehehasthebrainofadehydratedbbifweputitinapigeonoraparakeethedflybackwards but he's not a bad guy."
@CthulhuGaming83 It's something he says a lot
“Uh Oh!” - Susan St. James on just about every move. 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑
🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻
Also Susan St. James:
*ALLRIGHT GEORGE, EAT HIS LEG!*
It might make one heck of a drinking game
Its uh oh
Better than Rene Young who was trained, on tv every week and only could do "OH!" as her call 10 times per match
*18:08* Bret said this finish was his idea & everyone was shocked since "it was unheard of for anyone to suggest the slightest change to André". Luckily he just smiled and said "Yeah boss, I like that better"
We almost had “The Dragon” vs. “The Hitman” at a WrestleMania?!
🤬.
To be fair, good luck to anyone back then that wanted to do something Andre didn't want to do. Dude tipped over a full car with his bare hands, you get a time machine and pull that on Andre.
@@stfi7566That could’ve went down as one of the best matches of all time like Steamboat Savage a year later. What a travesty!
@@willisgaines6882 I wanted The Dragon to stay with wwf until way after surv series 1991. Then at WM 8 instead of boring Al Matt aDor vs HBK we have perhaps The Dragon vs Shawn Michaels as the opener!
@@OikPoinFive Santana was a good wrestler but probably past his prime by then plus that el matador gimmick sucked
Even before Vinny Jr. took over wwf, my grandfather had a framed poster of George Steele eating a turnbuckle in his basement bar.
“Architect of Watergate, G Gordon Liddy.” Got a genuine laugh out of me there, Brian. Haha
Been telling people for year’s I was at the worst Mania ever because I was unfortunately was at THE coli. We did get screwed! Added to that, the sound didn’t initially work on the feed from Chicago after that. It got fixed after 5 minutes during which the crowd was quite hot lol!
Andre winning a battle royal, I wonder if they'll ever name a battle royal in his honor and put it on the WrestleMania card, then on the pre-show, then on the Smackdown before Mania until it means absolutely nothing. Oh right.
People in 1985: Whats a smackdown?
And make a big chocolate statue for the winner!
(Wait...did they actually do this?)
Love how your "bulldogs forever" lined up perfectly with Ozzie's lips moving...don't know if you planed that but it got a pop outta me lol
20:29 Brian’s impression of Captain Lou going “Billy, Billy, Billy” get me every time 😂😂😂
I was aware of pro wrestling because of Hulk Hogan.
I watched pro wrestling because of Randy Savage.
It all started here for me. I was instantly hooked with the Macho Man character and his relationship with Miss Elizabeth.
Gotta love the Macho fans who identify with a man walking and talking insane and being abusively over protective. It says a lot about you guys
16:45 Well I guess technically they got 3 considering Terry Funk was in that Wendy's Commercial.
"Terry Funk Voice* "I've changed the rules, I'm a Burger Spokesperson now!" 🍔
22:47 I laughed my guts off at the yes video no audio, and then yes audio no video, then cut off part. You gotta love it.
Captain Lou and Ozzy at the after-party caused a shortage of illicit substances throughout the midwest for the next six months
Russ Francis was the son of Territory wrestler Sir Edmund Francis, who wrestled I think a lot in the Hawaiian Promotion. When he was announced Okelund said he came in wearing the boots of his father.
22:45 I'm dying of laughter from Jesse Ventura saying "Now...Go Now" and the boop sounds during the Hogan promo. Hilarious stuff
I have a soft spot for the battle royal for a few reasons.
Bret Hart technically faced Bruno Sammartino at Wrestlemania
The Refrigerator had a Wrestlemania match, and
Andre won a battle royal on the undercard, then had what WWE treats as their biggest match ever the next year. Really shows you why wrestlers have to be patient.
18:00 seeing The Harts in anything other than Pink and Black is a weird image i mean this looks strange to me its like one of the alternate skins for the CAWs
“Over to Jesse Ventura: ‘Now? Go now?’ Let’s go to an interview with Lord Alfred Hayes and Hulk Hogan: ‘BOOP. BOOOOP.’” 🤣
Lmao the NFL allowing players to be in a Battle Royale this WM would probably be one of the highlights of the show, but I can’t see the NFL ever allowing players to do it and risk any injuries. They don’t call it the “No Fun League” for no reason.
That being said, I’m totally down to have Jason Kelce enter the Andre Memorial Battle Royal
George Kittle
@@claymathewselevator8121 good call
Gronk would be perfect
Wrestling With Wregret- Seeing as I was born in early-1989 & 'WWF WrestleMania 2' took place in the spring of 1986, I literally didn't see it for myself until sometime in the mid-1990's when I was in elementary school renting it from Blockbuster Video.
As a kid, I thought it was awesome seeing 3 different venues hold various portions of 'WWF WrestleMania 2' & was left wondering how, exactly they did it...
In fairness, I give the World Wrestling Federation credit for trying something new in the mid-1980's as far as the over-all presentation of 'WWF WrestleMania 2' & the concept of how they presented it, respectively--even though the experiment didn't work.
First match, and the crowd starts chanting bullshit. What a way to start the show...
I have the Coliseum Home Video VHS of this show an Mean Gene says in the first five minutes that "this tape and this show will become a collector's item for the ages!" Lol. Lmao even
Fun fact: Russ Francis's father was professional wrestler Gentleman Ed. Russ wrestled some as well in addition to his career with the 49ers.
Props to Bobby Heenan for taking those cage bumps with a bad neck.
A lot of us older-ish fans can thank Botchamania and Art0Donnell for the proliferation of meme material that came from one word and four letters: “Uh-oh.”
How much do you weigh, guy?
Jeff Harvey, bithycle, JEEZUS... That opening is a barrage of classics.
I appreciate we're still calling him art o donnell instead of art donovan
We're in trouble.
Something's come along and it's burst our bubble.
(yeah yeah)
@@feature.of.jarjar24Art0Donnell is a writer for the WrestleCrap blog
( 4:39 & 20:58 ) I don't know about you guys but I've been waiting for Brian Zane to talk about and make fun of Susan St. James' inexperienced and insufferable commentary on this show since his "Top 8 Worst WrestleManias of All-time" video.
My birthday was on February 18 so I got my late birthday present. Thanks, Z-man. 😅
How tf did you comment 8 hours ago
It wasn't her fault she wasn't experienced any more than any other guest announcer. Blame the WWF for asking them in the first place. At least she was enthusiastic!
@@Capt._Cheese_BallsPatreon?
@@BBoy4040 Ah.
you can really see the cocaine in Ozzy Osbourne's eyes
He poured it on his eyes?
Brian, I am BEGGING you to PLEASE do a series where you just put on random Terry Funk matches and do the silly Funk voice overs "I am interrupting your crisscross with a cheap shot now" . Please dude.
Brian's Terry Funk impersonation is one of my favorite things in the world!
I remember renting these early 'Manias on VHS and just being bewildered on how different it was from what I was currently watching in '90-'91 as a kid.
I started watching in 1989 and I felt the same. The company changed drastically from 1984-1987 production wise and roster wise. I was used to well lit syndicated shows with slick graphics and music. Renting the old Best Of tapes that collected old matches from 84/85 totally blew my mind.
For sure. Even seeing the older WWF championship belt was weird!
@@davidmreyes77
It's crazy how fast things moved back then. 84 was so different than watching wrestling in 1990. Production wise, roster wise etc...I would rent all the Best of tapes as well. Now, if you compare 2024 to let's say 2014, it looks and feels pretty much exactly the same. Back then even five years made a world of difference. Just look at the WWWF in 80 compared to the WWF in 85. Night and day.
"The true symbol of our great nation Hulk Hogan" lmao
Glad someone else thought this was great too
Footnote to the proposed Steamboat vs Hart match: Steamboat vs Hart had a house show match leading up to the Mania show to get some time working together. When the Mania match was canceled, Hart assumed the house show match would be a short squash for Steamboat, but instead Steamboat told Hart "let's go out there are show them what they missed out on" and they had a killer match. The house show match is on the 3 disc Bret Hart compilation WWE put out and it's awesome.
Yeah, just saw a shoot interview with Bret where he also said that William Perry was the best wrestler out of all the football players. He also said Andre wanted to be kept away from the NFL guys, so he and Neidhart did what they could to keep them away from him lol. Plus he said he was originally going to have a match with Ricky Steamboat, since they had two strong house show matches, one televised at the Boston Garden and was told last minute he'd be in the battle royal here, so he came up with how he'd be eliminated and management liked it, although he was a bit nervous during the match because it was a long drop, so was glad Anvil was able to catch him.
I'm still gutted, close to 40 years later, because Herb and "Where's the Beef?" Lady didn't have an in-ring confrontation at WM2. 😢
You know what they say, sequels are always worse! Good choice of review, Brian!
Godfather, Star Wars: New Hope, Terminator, Alien, Batman Begins: Excuse Me?
Who says that? It's demonstrably untrue.
Scream 2 and Hi there Randy Meeks
Imagine if they'd just added another venue every year. WM40, coming to you from every baseball and football stadium in the US!
suggest it to WWE Wrestlemania 42 at 3 locations, Met Life Stadium, Soldier Field, and SoFi Stadium
17:26 😂😂 YES!!!
Edit: Yes Wrestlemania 18 next time. I have an interesting connection to mania. I'll put it on that video when it comes out.
26:01
That SNMain event was traumatizing. At 10, I knew it was a shoot but my Sister was 5 and she was crying! And my Dad, tried to keep Kayfabe alive for her, so he's got to be carefull. He tells my Sister, Hogan was alright but my sis was inconsolable!
So my Dad, who was a Firefighter and had a C.B. radio,pretended to call L.A. (while my Sister was in the Bathroom) So when she comes out...
Dad said he was talking to one of the medics (my father's coworker irl). So she spoke with him and he assured her Hulk was o.k.!! ;) So she calms down and leaves the room and I hear a Fire Alarm go off and my Dad and I quickly turned the C.B. off and said 'The medic had to go talk with Jack Tunney, the kayfabe president of WWF. He said that Hulk was not Hurt, too badly. !
Good, crazy times!! :)
Cheers from Montreal Quebec Canada.
WM 2’s biggest issue was it was too ambitious and too much so soon.
Really felt like after the success of WM, the WWF decided to bash people over the head with “MORE WRESTLEMANIA” no different than Disney shotgun blasting everyone with “MOAR MARVEL”.
Pros
Battle Royal
Bulldogs VS Dream Team
Hogan VS Bundy
Cons
The Basic Concept Of A PPV Taking Place In 3 Cities
Savage VS Steel
Mr. T VS Piper
McIntyre VS Moolah
Elmer VS Adonis
Susan St. James On Commentary
I don't think the Battle Royal was a Pro.
Most of the wrestlers were mid-carders, and there weren't many huge name NFL players. The Fridge was an attraction but not an All-Star.
@@TheSBleeder Well I liked it
They seemed to try to stretch mania into 3 cities with like 3 decent matches… crazy
@@Evs78101 I think if they tried that today with two night format it would work. You could do WM Night 1 in Pittsburgh or something and have Night 2 in Seattle etc. Just to shake things up a little.
@@Evs78101 Yup
George Wells was actually an all-star in the Canadian Football League, solid journeyman wrestler who was a prominent mid-carder winning some titles.
Funny. When you said you were doing 18 next, I thought. 'He already did Rock and Austin. And as your mentioning the matches and saying good things. I doubted it was the one I went to because over the years, I've heard people say that it was the Manias before, and after, that people ranked Super high...
So this should be fun. My crappy memory vs My Crappy seats. Vs an insane snow storm that I wanted to drive back to Montreal through (to buy scalped) tickets for Raw.
I Wonder if Sammi and Kevin were there... Anyhow, my Sister and friends didn't want me driving in the crazy snow,.
Can't wait for the Next review, as I'm really excited to see how IT has aged Vs. How Me has Changed! ;)
Cheers from Montreal Quebec Canada
That was funny as hell when Macho Man and George Steele struck each other in their faces with that bouquet of flowers. 😃😂🤣😭
my dad was at the chicago portion and talks about it a lot- i always get so excited that he got to see young bret hart and he’s always more interested in the fact that he brought a sign that said “king kong bundy wears pink undies” lol
Wrestlemania Deuce!
It sure was
Trivia: Before Brian Pillman was Yellow Dog, Barry Windham was Yellow Dog in Florida in like 1982.
George Wells was a good wrestler from my hometown of Oakland, CA. He now runs a center for people with drug dependence. Great human being
I always remembered this WM cause it's the only time I can remember The Hart Foundation wearing blue tights.
10:43 I didn't know Angelo had a basketball playing father. Which, explains why he wears a basketball uniform as his ring gear. Surprised Vince didn't lean into that when he was still there.
I'm glad that Meng had his theme song carry over from WCW.
Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat March 8th 1986 at the Boston Garden which is also on TH-cam is one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling. I had heard it was originally supposed to be at Wrestlemania 2 which was scrapped. It would have stole the show.
and neither ever drew a dime
I still remember that video you did about the worst Wrestlemanias and that whole compilation of Susan St. James going Uh Oh or On no for like 30 seconds straight.
4:05 Roddy Piper didn’t paint himself black Brian…he only painted himself half black.
After party? I don't think Ozzy waited for the after party
Retro gaming hippie approves! Love the work Zane man! Great insight and knowledge.
WWF was certainly working on their production at this time. Real heavy with the 80’s “stars” as well.
As an old Portland wrestling fan, Russ Francis was a favorite of mine.
RIP Piper, Gene Okerlund, Bundy, Savage, Eliizbeth and Both British Bulldogs! JYD.
George The Animal Steele
@@claymathewselevator8121 knew i'd forget a couple.
Vince McMahons career
@@nicklazzaro5055 who cares, the family is so rich.
Hulk hogan is going to win this match for America….against New Jersey’s own King Kong bundy.
2-3 cities could work in 2024... with Raw Smackdown and Maybe a NXT Takeover, how you layer... but Mania being 2 nights... could be 2 shows separated if two locations were selected.
So a couple of things...
"Were music rights FREE back then?
Well, not exactly, but back in the early/mid-'80s, the use of existing music was a lot more liberal than it is now. I vaguely remember that there was a ruling that limited the use of music, but I'm not 100% sure and could be totally off-base on this. But I remember that the WWF stopped using pre-existing music in their shows and as theme music. (On a totally random note, if you've never seen Hulk Hogan enter the ring to "Eye of the Tiger," you're missing out.)
Also, I grew up on Long Island, where the New York portion of WrestleMania 2 originated. I remember being pissed that I had to settle for watching the PPV because it was during a school night (either a Monday or Tuesday, I think). Boy oh boy, even back then was I glad. I had really only wanted to see two matches anyway: the main event and Bulldogs vs. the Dream Team.
I also believe that that WrestleMania III was the first WrestleMania that was actually WRESTLEMANIA. It was the first one that had that Super Bowl-like feel.
"...lifting weights with Hillbilly Jim."
Are you talking about Hillbilly Jim? Now he was a real man of the people...
Yeah, this is one of the reasons why VKM went in house with his music, right? So that he didn't have to pay royalties.
The only times I remember the WWF using pop music on TV was Animotion's "Obsession" on SNME. And they eventually went away from that.
You hear about what Chief Jay Strongbow did in the bathroom?
@@cdoggpdt6210 I’m going to have to throw the van on you…
@@ra0929 On the weekend syndicated shows, they frequently used pre-existing music for bumpers. I particularly remember them using Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as the intro for one of them.
@@cdoggpdt6210 He AND Wahoo, really cared about the fans! I miss the good old days when it was Adrian Adonis, Lou Albano, Andre The Giant, Bob Backlund, Blue Meanie, Berzerker, Bam Bam Bigelow, Junkyard Dog, Conquistador, Spike Dudley, Dory Funk, Flash Funk, Hoss Funk, Terry Funk, Hillbilly Jim, Kabuki, Jerry The King Lawler, Mantaur, Manu, Lanny Poffo... good times.
13:05 How was that not a DQ? Piper said he threw it as hard as he could lol.
I love it when you drop old Hulkamania eps. The OSW shows from this era are almost unlistenable.
A lot of "sugar" from Colombia must have been in the celebration of tag championships Especially for Ozzy 😂😂
Why does WWE never want Bret to win a battle royal? Here and at Mania 4 he ends up as the last eliminated. And flash forward several years he ties Lex Lugar as the Royal Rumble winner. Poor Bret Hart. Always getting screwed. 😆
Bret screwed Bret.
@@TravJam317 Vince screwed Vince.😆
@@barkboingfloom No doubt.
Velvet was an amazing worker and I remember being pissed that Wendy
Richter was not there. I was 11 and not in the know yet. Glad that Velvet got a. Just a Wrestlemania moment and I did not know that she became champion for a week.
Zane is always bringing his A game and at 45, I'm still learning things I should have known but when it comes to the, off the continent, musical belt swaps, they were not told or mentioned, on t.v.
Hard to be up to date back then!
That Norm clip was perfectly placed 😂
Savage and Steele was pretty much a TV feud only. On the house show circuit in '86, Savage was mainly wrestling Tito Santana, Hulk Hogan, and Steamboat.
ahhhh yes the Wrestlemania where Hulk Hogan hung out with John Belushi after the event
It was Jim Belushi - Hogan had met him a year prior at SNL
@@1980Triumph Hulk may have meant Jim but he said John. 🤣
@@markjackson6431 did you actually read or hear that or are you repeating what you heard someone else say that he said that?
@@1980Triumph Hogan was quoted as saying it. he said he partied with John Belushi after Wrestlemania 2 and they partied so hard that John had to leave early because he couldn’t keep up. again Hogan may have meant Jim but it didn’t stop him from letting people he made a mistake and meant Jim
@@markjackson6431 again where is the actual proof of this outside of the comments? I've never seen a single affirmed quote
17:26 That got a pop outta me. Definitely caught me off guard with the name since I'm so used to hearing you say Meng in your classic NWA/WCW reviews.
Do you think Cyndi Lauper will ever go into the Hall Of Fame? At this point, I have to imagine she was asked at some point and she turned it down years ago. I definitely don't imagine her saying yes to show up this year.
unlikely after the Vince stuff for sure
My cousin went to the New York portion of the show, he told me he wasn't aware of the 3 locations and had to watch the rest of the show on the projector screen which in the 80s were NOT great. Very interesting and humbling time for the WWF well before WrestleMania hit it's apex and was a "global phenomenon"
WWE WrestleMania 2 is a snoozefest compared to NWA Starrcade 1985 months earlier.
20:45
Totally agree. I already like Sheik and Nikolai but this was the coming out party, for the bull dogs.
If you had a dog around that time, you were playing and dressing up like the Bulldogs.
Overall, this was a good time, for tag teams
Remember when Roddy Piper feuded with Rampage Jackson when new A Team cast guest hosted Raw 😂
I remember as a kid renting the first 6 or 7 Wrestlemanias from the video store in order. All I remember from this one was thinking "wow boxing is really awkward and boring," and the Macho Man/George Steele match.
Mania 3 was my favorite. The entrances, Hogan/Andre, and the spectacle of the fully packed Silverdome.
Wrestlemania 2: Electric Boogaloo.
😂😂
HE'S THE MAN CALLED MENG!😂😂😂😂
Even Piper didn't turn babyface until somewhere later in the year but IMO, this was the start for that.
Wrestlemania 2: The Gatherings
G. Gordon Liddy being a judge for a boxing match between Roddy Piper and Mr. T sounds like something I'd type into ChatGPT as a joke.
X-8 is coming!!
-Broken ribs
-Puts tape around his stomach
Huh...? Ok I guess...
We need that WrestleMania 22 review.
we really do
18:36 Brian, I'd LOVE to see that happen, maybe call it the Kevin Greene Battle Royal, but alas, there's the Kevin Greene clause 😂 After his match at Slamboree 97 (which people should watch for a masterclass in crowd work), the NFLPA basically forbade players unter their thumb from taking part in pro wrestling in an official match capacity.
Roddy Piper is The Scottish Hitmonchan 😂
Man, I’m _so_ glad Velvet McIntyre gave up an overseas wrestling event to be squashed by Moolah in 90 seconds. 🙄
th-cam.com/users/shortse58rq1lcB3k?si=VPLeKcg_zat1v2lT
WM2 is actually a great childhood memory for me. I was six years old and it was the first live wrestling show I ever attended. (I was at the Rosemont) I feel lucky getting to see Andre the Giant in person. In his last big match as a baby face before his major heel turn the next year. It was also great seeing the Bulldogs winning the tag team titles.
I saw in some documentary on WM2 that apparently there exists a complete and uncut version from that night with all the fuckups and issues that were then cleaned up for future VHS releases
That doc is on Wrestling Bios.
@@ferox965 ahhh yes that's right, thanks for the reminder! I do remember he threw a link up for it but I could never open it