WWF WrestleMania VIII (Version II)

Original Airdate: April 5, 1992

From Indianapolis, Indiana; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

Opening Match: Shawn Michaels v Tito Santana: Shawn gets cocky right away (shocker, I know), so Tito decks him, and hits a quick bodypress for two, before taking HBK down in a side-headlock. Shawn slugs free, but a criss cross ends in him getting clotheslined over the top, and he regroups out there with Sherri. Santana drags him back in to work another headlock, until Shawn dumps him over the top to escape, and that's enough to turn the tide. Back in, Michaels hits a backbreaker for two before working a chinlock, and man, there are a lot of empty seats in the upper decks here. Still an impressive crowd/venue, but it is certainly noticeable. Santana escapes the hold, so Michaels blasts him with a superkick, but this is still 1992, so it doesn't even warrant a cover. Teardrop Suplex looks to finish, but Santana blocks, and nails Shawn with the jumping forearm - Michaels knocked out of the ring with it! Tito follows for a smash into the steps, and back in with a slingshot shoulderblock. Santana with a kneeling and an inverted atomic drop to setup El Paso, but Shawn ends up on the floor again to avoid getting pinned. Tito tries dragging him back in again, but Shawn ends up toppling him during a slam attempt, and he scores the pinfall at 10:37. This really should have been a lot better than it ended up being, but it wasn't bad. * ¼ (Original rating: *)

Undertaker v Jake Roberts: Jake tries sticking and moving in the early going, but Undertaker no-sells literally all of it, and lands on his feet when Jake tries clotheslining him over the top. He pulls Roberts out after him for a trip into the post, but walks into a kneelift on the way back in. Not that he sells it, mind you. Jake with a cross corner whip, but a second try gets reversed, and Undertaker chokes him in the corner. And on the mat. And on any other surface available. Jumping clothesline hits, and the Tombstone looks to finish, but Roberts counters with the DDT - only for Undertaker to sit-up! Jake responds with a short-clothesline, but Undertaker no-sells that as well, so Roberts drops him with a second DDT! Undertaker doesn't sit up so quickly this time, so Jake decides to go abuse Paul Bearer on the outside in order to steal the urn, but Undertaker wakes up, and drops Roberts on the floor with a Tombstone! Back in, that's the pin at 6:41. Even if you had no knowledge of backstage dealings, you kinda had to know Jake was on the outs after getting his finisher ignored twice, and then having to eat a pinfall where a countout would have sufficed. Nothing match, but it was certainly memorable. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Roddy Piper v Bret Hart: Feeling out process to start, with tensions escalating quickly. Hart is able to use his wrestling ability to fight off Piper's attempts to turn it into a brawl, but Roddy escapes a wristlock, so Hart throws a dropkick. He pretends to get hurt on the landing to sucker Piper into a small package for two, and that just brings out the worst in the Hot Rod - Piper paintbrushing him with a slap! Hart responds with a bodypress that sends both men tumbling over the top, but Piper gets the better of it, so he holds the ropes open for his challenger in a gesture of good faith. That only lasts so long, however, as Roddy takes a cheap shot when Hart is tying his boots, and the Hitman is busted open! I know he snuck it past management, but honestly, the bladejob is very obvious if you know what to look for. Piper capitalizes with a bulldog for two, and a cross corner whip leads to a swinging kneelift for two. Hart fires back with a sunset flip for two, but that just further enrages the champion, and he slugs away on Hart for two. Another slugfest goes Bret's way, however, and he knocks Piper out of the ring with running forearm. Piper is stunned, but heads back in, and they collide for a double-knockout spot. Roddy recovers first and goes up, but Bret pops up before he can leap, and brings him down with a facebuster. Inverted atomic drop and a snap suplex get two, and Hart adds a Russian legsweep for two. Backbreaker sets up the Sharpshooter, but Piper manages to block, so Bret reroutes with a pointed elbowdrop. 2^nd rope flying version follows, but this one is blocked when Roddy lifts his boot, and that leads to a slugfest on their knees. Hart actually gets the better of that one as well, but the referee gets bumped in the process, and they spill to the outside. Piper sends him into the steps out there, and with the referee still down, the Hot Rod brings the ring bell in with him to finish the job! He gets ready to clobber his challenger, but has a change of heart at the last second, and drops it. It's interesting watching the crowd passionately tell him not to do it here, whereas today even the little kids would be openly shouting for him to clobber Hart. Piper instead looks to finish with the Sleeper, but Hart counters by pushing off the top rope into a cradle to win his second Intercontinental Title at 13:50. I thought this came off a bit rushed it some ways, but they made good use of the time allotted, and did a good job telling their story - the drama with the bell especially connecting with the fans. This is also unique as one of the rare clean jobs (or pinfall losses of any kind in high profile matches, clean or not) Piper did in his career. **** (Original rating: ****)

Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Mountie, Repo Man, and The Nasty Boys v Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, Big Boss Man, and Virgil: Family Feud host Ray Combs acts as the guest ring announcer, antagonizing the heels with various insults while doing his introductions. The faces clean house to start, and the dust settles on Jerry Sags and Duggan to start. Sags actually outsmarts the Hacksaw to take control (finally finding the one man dumber than Jerry Sags!), but Jim quickly fights him off with an atomic drop, and both men tag. Slaughter cross corner whips Brian Knobbs to setup a stomachbreaker and a double-stomp, then over to Boss Man to abuse him in the corner. Cross corner charge misses, however, and Repo tags in. He goes to work on Boss Man, but ends up getting crotched, and Virgil tags in with a dropkick. Flying bodypress gets two, but Mountie takes a cheap shot as Virgil gloats, and Repo hits a side suplex. The heels cut the ring in half on Virgil, but Boss Man gets sick of waiting for a tag and spinebusters Mountie - Roseanne Barr the door, we've got a kettle on! Finish comes as the Nasties try a double team on Virgil, but it backfires, and Knobbs eats the pinfall at 6:31. Just a quickie to get a bunch of guys on the card, especially with the shortened runtime of this years show. And, as I noted in the previous review, this would have been a lot better than running two singles matches (likely Mountie/Virgil, and Repo/Boss Man), plus a tag (Nasties/Slaughter and Duggan) like they would have before. ¾* (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Ric Flair v Randy Savage: Kind of odd to think that this was Flair's only WrestleMania appearance before the fall of WCW. Just like it always stuns me that he never wrestled at a SummerSlam at all during the Federation years, despite being a notable part of the '91 and '92 shows. Savage is eager to get started, and chases Flair into the aisle to start, so Mr. Perfect saves. That allows Ric to take the high ground in the ring, and he cracks Macho with chops on the way in, but eats a clothesline! Randy with a high knee and some jabs in the corner to setup a ten-punch, so Flair tries an inverted atomic drop, but eats another clothesline! Macho continues the blitz with a cross corner whip and a backelbow for two, but ends up taking a nice bump when he walks into a backdrop over the top! Flair follows him out with some chops, then in with a hanging vertical suplex for two. Side suplex gets two, and a pair of cross corner whips rattle Savage right into a big chop for two. Kneedrop follows, and Macho ends up falling out of the ring. Flair follows to drop him back-first into the apron out there before bringing him back in with another hanging vertical suplex for two, but Savage manages to fight off some chops with a swinging neckbreaker. Randy tries following up with some fists, but Ric rakes the eyes - only to get slammed down off the top when he goes up! Yeah, I'm shocked too. Savage with a cross corner whip to setup a backdrop, and a hangman's clothesline follows. Another cross corner whip flips Flair onto the apron, and Macho catches him coming down with a clothesline for two. Another clothesline sends the champ over the top, and Randy is on his tail with a flying axehandle out there - knocking the Nature Boy into the guardrail, and drawing blood. While you could spot Hart's too, Flair's bladejob was definitely more obvious. Macho sends him into the post out there before adding a vertical suplex on the floor, then back in for some mounted punches! Flying axehandle gets two, and a bodyslam sets up the Flying Elbowdrop, but Perfect pulls Macho out at two! Randy predictably loses it, but while he's going after Perfect, he fails to notice that Flair has palmed a pair of knux! He wallops Macho with it for a dramatic two count, and here comes Perfect with a chairshot to the knee to teach Randy a lesson for kicking out. That draws Miss Elizabeth out, and she makes a dramatic entrance down the aisle - pushing past protesting officials (including Shane McMahon), as Ric works Randy's knee. Kneebreaker sets up the Figure Four as Elizabeth reaches ringside, but even with Perfect's help for leverage, Savage manages to reverse. Ric quickly escapes and tries a bodyslam, but Macho counters with an inside cradle for two. Flair punishes him for that by pounding the leg, but Savage slugs back, and hooks a schoolboy (with a handful of tights) to win his second WWF Title at 18:01! Flair's offense tended to be a bit repetitive (yeah, but what else is new?), but this was a great match - loaded with drama, and wonderfully booked. Booking is one thing they really used to excel at in the 80s and 90s, and this (along with the IC title match earlier) is a great example. **** ¼ (Original rating: *** ½)

Rick Martel v Tatanka: This is very early into Tatanka's run, and he hadn't even into his more familiar ring gear yet. Martel tries hammering him to start, but walks into a hiptoss, and a pair of bodyslams send the Model bailing to the outside. He uses a knee on the way back in, but Tatanka blocks a turnbuckle smash, so Martel chokeslams him, and tosses Tatanka over the top. Back in, Rick puts the boots to him before hitting a backbreaker, but a trip to the top rope ends badly, and Tatanka starts mounting his comeback. Backdrop and a bunch of chops hit, but he telegraphs a second backdrop, and eats boot. Martel turns the tide with a bodyslam and a clothesline, but runs into a bodypress during a criss cross at 4:31. This felt like a TV match. * (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Money Inc v The Natural Disasters: After some debate, Ted DiBiase starts with Earthquake, and quickly gets overpowered by his large challenger. Ted is probably missing the days when he had Andre the Giant as a tag partner right about now. Earthquake continues knocking him around at will, so Irwin R. Schyster comes in to try and lend a hand, but Typhoon cuts him off, and the challengers clean house. The dust settles on IRS and Earthquake, and 'Quake dominates that encounter as well. Over to Typhoon for a hiptoss and some turnbuckle smashes, so Irwin tags out, but Ted can't get anything going on the big Typhoon. Maybe try putting a helmet on his head? Typhoon ends up taking a sloppy bump over the top after missing a charge, however, as once again gravity proves to be Fred Ottman's greatest foil. Inside, Money Inc cut the ring in half, but a miscommunication allows the hot tag to Earthquake, and Roseanne Barr the door! The challengers corner IRS and look to finish with the Earthquake Splash, but Jimmy Hart pulls his man out of harms way, and the champs willingly take a countout to save the title at 8:36. As surprising a stat as Flair's WrestleMania history is, the fact that Money Inc successfully defended their tag titles at two WrestleManias is equally odd. Lack of restholds and not overstaying its welcome are pretty much the only things keeping this one out of negative stars, but it's damn close. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Skinner v Owen Hart: Skinner spits in his eyes during the entrances, and goes right to work with a corner whip and a shoulderbreaker. Gatorbreaker looks to finish early, but Hart kicks out at two, so Skinner tosses him over the top - only for Owen to skin the cat, and roll Skinner up at 1:10. The show was running long by this point. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

Main Event: Hulk Hogan v Sid Justice: Sid attacks as Hulk climbs into the ring, but Hogan fights off the blitz, and knocks Justice to the outside. Sid stalls before coming back in and hammering Hogan, but Hulk fights him off again - knocking him to the outside a second time. More stalling, until Sid comes back in calling for a test-of-strength, and we play that game for a while. Sid with a chokeslam, and he goes to work on the back in dull fashion. Sidewalk slam sets up the Powerbomb, as fans are actively walking out on this bullshit in the background. I feel bad for them given what's coming, but also can't blame them. Hulk no-sells the Powerbomb, of course, and makes his usual comeback. Big boot, bodyslam, Legdrop - you know the drill. However, unlike every other time, Sid kicks out at two! That brings out Papa Shango to attack Hogan for the DQ at 12:26, and they do a beat down until Ultimate Warrior (looking a lot smaller than he used to) makes his surprise return to make the save! Terrible match, but the post-match surprise did a good job of washing the bad taste out of everyone’s mouths, as today it's pretty much mostly remembered for that, and not how horrible the actual wrestling was. -** (Original rating: DUD)

BUExperience: This one is kind of the Full Metal Jacket of WrestleManias, in that the first half is much better and more memorable than the second. While the show kind of falls apart after the WWF Title match, the good still outweighs the bad here. It still has two legit four-star level matches on it, it still has absolutely brilliant commentary from start to finish, it still has a great atmosphere, and – unlike some of the previous (and modern) WrestleManias – it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

***