MOVIE OF THE DAY: WRESTLEMANIA IV

I actually really dislike "IV."  One-day tournaments can be really fun, but I think there were way too many bad booking decisions that really dragged this one down.  Ricky Steamboat losing to Greg Valentine in the first round was ridiculous, especially considering that "The Dragon" could have faced Randy Savage later on and returned the the favor from the previous year; talk about a lost opportunity.  The Hogan/Andre match was advertised to no end, but it only last five minutes.  In fact, most of the marquee matches were too short, including the finals.  Having 16 bouts (had to look that up) on one card is overkill.  I doubt any fan in attendance was able to keep track of the bracket, especially when non-tournament matches were taking place.  I think the company overcomplicated the biggest night of the year, and that's not a good thing.  The opening "Battle Royal" is fun, though, and Savage and DiBiase put on a good show within the time restrictions given. 

I love Randy Savage as well, but IV is an overbooked mess and boring too. I never liked the Atlantic City Wrestlemania crowds either, they all seemed like they'd rather be gambling.

You're right the celebrities are all fun here though, particularly Ueker who was always seemed to "get it".

My favorite nonsensical Macho Man interview:

Man, Savage, Hogan and Warrior were artists at the bizarre stream of conscious (probably coked up) promo. Watching enough of the creepy and dark Warrior promos will really make you miss the fun energy of a Hogan promo, but Warrior took the whole thing to new bizarre heights. Savage may have seemingly had the most cocaine induced promo hilarity of the group. It was like he was either going to go into a total freakout at any point or give you a hug. It was something.

I think the reason it was so bloated was because of how good 3 was. Vince saw how many people came to see WM and he wanted to put as much in at once as possible.

As an adult, I can see the intelligence of having Savage win, but as a kid? I hated watching Hogan lose to anyone. ever.

Also, Steamboat gets the worst end of that whole ppv stick for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by James May 

Man, Savage, Hogan and Warrior were artists at the bizarre stream of conscious (probably coked up) promo. Watching enough of the creepy and dark Warrior promos will really make you miss the fun energy of a Hogan promo, but Warrior took the whole thing to new bizarre heights. Savage may have seemingly had the most cocaine induced promo hilarity of the group. It was like he was either going to go into a total freakout at any point or give you a hug. It was something.

Nothing - nothing - can ever possibly top this one:

Walls. Filled with beer.

Interesting i've had a hankering to see these again since I haven't seriously watched wrestling in over 15 years now. Looked on Netflix and nada anywhere I can get these outside of VHS land?

They've got some dvd box sets in groups of 5.

http://www.amazon.com/WWE-Wrestlemania-Complete-Anthology-1985-1989/dp/B000BDH6HQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1294977872&sr=1-1

Hi Everyone,

I liked WRESTLEMANIA IV  because for the first time in history, the WWF Title stands vacant. A one night tournament, with 14 participants, is held to crown a new champion. In the tournament are Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, The One Man Gang, Don Muraco, Jim Duggan, Ricky Steamboat, Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo, Jake Roberts, Bam Bam Bigelow, & Rick Rude. Also, WWF Intercontinental Title: The Honky Tonk Man vs. Brutus Beefcake, WWF Tag Team Championship: Strike Force vs. Demolition, The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules, 20 man over the top battle Royal. WrestleMania IV took place on March 27, 1988, at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. The main event was a tournament for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

Regards,

Williams.