WWF WrestleMania XI Countdown Show (April 2, 1995)

 

Original Airdate: April 2, 1995

Your Host is Todd Pettengill from inside the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford Connecticut 

Todd kicks things off up in the cheap seats, where the crowd is still filing in

Gorilla Monsoon is outside of Lawrence Taylor’s dressing room, where LT is getting ready

Stephanie Wiand is in the lobby, getting mobbed by fans

Stan Lane is at the Superstar Line station, where nothing is happening right now, but supposedly will later. If you say so, Stan Lane

Barry Didinsky is at one of the merchandise stands, and he promises that we’ll be allowed to buy all the stuff on sale here from home

We flashback to renditions of America the Beautiful over the years, with WrestleMania III, WrestleMania X, WrestleMania IV, WrestleMania 2, and WrestleMania VII all highlighted. They should have just shown Aretha, and let that stand

Bam Bam Bigelow/Lawrence Taylor feud review video

Gorilla is still outside the dressing room, where there’s a ruckus going on behind the closed door

Earlier today on Action Zone, Jim Ross caught up with Taylor’s All-Pro Team

Salt ‘n’ Pepa are in the studio, getting ready to play LT to the ring

Nicholas Turturro has been interrogating various WWF wrestlers, ahead of the big show. For reasons that were never really made clear

Diesel/Shawn Michaels feud review video. We’re halfway through this show, and this is the first time they’ve even mentioned the WWF Champion

Backstage, Shawn Michaels is trying to convince Pamela Anderson that she’s having the time of her life with him

Wiand is in the lobby, where people are chanting for Diesel. How many free t-shirts did Barry Didinsky have to bribe them with?

Didinsky is at the merch stand, showing off the official WrestleMania XI t-shirt and program

We get a montage of all the celebrities from over the years at WrestleMania

Todd gets a word with the French, Spanish, and German announce teams

Lane is at the Superstar Line station, and now we can call in, but there’s still no one actually there other than Stan. I’m sure this was a real money maker

Backstage, Wiand catches up with Michaels, who isn’t nervous, but simply ready

On Friday, Taylor appeared on Regis & Kathie Lee to talk WrestleMania

Todd gives a final push, and signs off

BUExperience: This wasn’t the best of these, but it hit the right notes. I’m kind of shocked that they literally only mentioned two matches for the show, and didn’t even give a glance to the rest of the card. The main event(s) always get the most screen time, but they're usually better at giving the rest of the card some due as well.