WrestleMania IX is universally considered to be not just one of the worst WrestleManias ever, but also to be one of the worst PPVs produced by WWF. While it was actually bad, there are a few matches worth watching from the show. Let’s take a look at all the matches from the show.
9. Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna (WWF Championship)
Well, what can I say about this? Truly one of the worst PPV endings ever in wrestling history. Hulk Hogan had absolutely no business winning the belt here. I usually don’t rate matches so short, but this deserves a DUD for the horrendous booking. (DUD)
8. The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez
From one DUD to another. Easily Undertaker’s worst WrestleMania match and in fact, this match is a strong contender to be the worst WrestleMania match of all time. The finish made matters worse and god knows why they continued the feud even after this shit show. (DUD)
7. Money Inc. vs. The Mega Maniacs (WWF Tag Team Championships)
I would have been happier if the match actually ended in a count-out. This went for way too long and was extremely boring and I had absolutely no interest in this match at any point. The finish also made little sense and those 18 minutes of boredom weren’t enough for Hogan and crew because they just had to celebrate post match even though they didn’t win the belts which ended up making them look quite stupid. Total waste of time. (1/2*)
6. Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund
Not much to say here. It was Razor Ramon’s WrestleMania debut and he won the match quickly in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. It was fine for the time it lasted and didn’t feel boring. (3/4*)
5. Doink vs. Crush
This feud was quite stupid and I didn’t care about this match at all and wanted it to end as fast as possible. The match itself ended up being bad and I so much want to give this a DUD because of the retarded finishing angle. (*)
4. Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect
On paper the match sounds solid but it didn’t end up delivering here. The match had no flow or structure and Luger said in an interview that Mr. Perfect told him he forgot the match, if that was really the case then it’s understandable why it ended up being like this. Overall the action wasn’t particularly bad but it was very dull and boring. (*3/4)
3. Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna (WWF Championship)
Ignoring all the post match BS, I enjoyed this contest. It’s obviously not a classic or anything but it didn’t have to be. I loved the pace in which it operated and Bret’s tactics against the big man Yokozuna were really fun to watch. The match could have gone longer but I was not disappointed at all with what we got here. Yokozuna winning also made sense, but obviously the moment was ruined after the match. (***)
2. Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
A very solid opener which I really enjoyed. Both men worked very hard here and it’s probably Tatanka’s best match at least to this point. The finish was bad and hurts the match a little though. I think they could have given the title to Tatanka as he was really over with the crowd and they were clearly high on him. Another concern I had was that while the first half of the match was centered around Shawn’s injured shoulder, it was pretty much ignored in the second half and played no role in the finish whatsoever. All in all it was a great opener which gets the crowd going. (***1/2)
1. The Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers
I loved both the tag teams and had high hopes for this match and they delivered. Very fun tag match and I was especially in awe at Rick Steiner’s reversal of the doomsday device into the powerslam. I would say both tag teams’ styles meshed well and at the end I was begging for more. (***1/2)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next part of this series where we will take a look at King of the Ring. Have a nice day!