30 Years Of Wrestlemania….What It Means To Me

My first memory of wrestling was when I was 12 years old, flipping through channels on a Saturday morning. I turned on the former WWOR network, in New York. I saw what seemed to be a talk show. I knew who Hulk Hogan was, so I saw him standing there. I also knew who Andre The Giant was, from interviews, and of course he was about to be in the movie “The Princess Bride”. So I knew who the two main people involved were. Hulk Hogan was the then, WWF champion. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan informed Hulk his good friend Andre wants a title shot. Andre confirmed this by ripping off his cross, and walking away.

From that point, I was hooked.

Something about that, and I know now why, it was the two men involved. They carried so much charisma, they held the fans on their fingers. The camera panned, and saw crying kids. It had a big impact, and let’s face it, Wrestlemania 3 was the even that put Wrestlemania on the map.

Don’t get me wrong, without Mr. T, or “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, there would never had been a Wrestlemania I. But Wrestlemania 3 was the real money-maker.

The moment Hogan slammed Andre, with 70,000+ screaming fans in the Pontiac Silverdome, wrestling never looked the same, again. I became a fan. I watched Wrestlemania 3 scrambled….old school. There was no digital cable, so my TV connection had PPVs, I just couldn’t see it, but I heard what was going on. Then when they became available, I rented them at the video store, and watched them in its entirety. My first PPV that I purchased was Summerslam 1988, where it was “Mega-Powers Vs Mega-Bucks”. My first Wrestlemania I purchased was Warrior Vs Hogan, at Wrestlemania 6. Which brings me to this weekend.

The Ultimate Warrior will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hulk Hogan is the host of Wrestlemania. Mr. T is inducted too for his role in Wrestlemania I and II. And, we are going to have an Andre The Giant 30-man Battle Royal.

In other words, this is their legacy.

Now, we can all agree that the buildup to Mania 30 has been poor, at best. However, what I am going to say is it’s still Wrestlemania. You know the men and women will work hard, to entertain us, and keep us on the edge of our seats. I watched the Wrestlemania press conference a few days ago, and it brought back memories.

I am 38 years old, I started to watch wrestling at the age of 12. 27 years, I have been invested in seeing what is going to take place, and where we go from here. Every Monday night, I watch Raw. I remember what it was like not having wrestling on Monday nights. I remember when USA Network had “Primetime Wrestling” with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan as our hosts. I remember the very thought of Monday Night Raw, and when they started, I truly missed Primetime. But now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because without Raw, there wouldn’t have been WCW Nitro, and without the “Monday Night Wars”, there wouldn’t be any “Attitude Era”.

It’s truly amazing we can watch this all on WWE Network. I am re-living these moments, the good, the bad, the in between. And with that, I can watch the Hall of Fame ceremony this weekend, and Wrestlemania 30.

This is not an infomercial, I am not telling you to purchase it, but I did, and now I can watch the very same moments that grew me to wrestling with my family. I can show people certain elements that had me hooked in wrestling.

And no matter how crappy the build is, it’s still Wrestlemania. It will always be special.

What is your Wrestlemania memories? Share with me here.

WWE Monday Night Raw 3/10/14…Hulk Hogan Makes A Big Announcement

We are live in Memphis, Tennessee, home of Jerry “The King” Lawler. Hulk Hogan kicks off Monday Night Raw, for a big announcement.

Hogan welcomes everyone to the show, he is starting to feel the hype of Wrestlemania. He brings up Wrestlemania 3, when he body slammed Andre The Giant, over his head. With Wrestlemania 30 upon us, he wants to announce a big 30-man Over The Top Battle Royal, and the winner will receive an Andre The Giant Memorial Trophy, and we see a video of it. The trophy looks impressive, and this brings us to….

John Cena.

John hypes up Hogan, and says indeed Hulkamania still rules. Cena wants to be the first man to enter that 30 Man Battle Royal, and will be honored to hold up the trophy.

Memphis…we’re here.

Cena is going to face Erick Rowan tonight, but first, the patriarch of The Wyatt Family speaks.

Bray tells us that Hogan and Cena tell us lies, and tells us the legacy of Cena will soon die, yet he doesn’t know it yet. When Cena looks into the eyes of Bray, he will see a God.

Cena now sings some Jimmy Buffett, poking fun at Bray. Not sure if this does Bray any favors here, but when does it ever when Cena talks to a younger wrestler?

Cena withdraws his name from the Battle Royal, and challenges Bray to a match, at Wrestlemania.

Bray doesn’t answer, but he calls for The Wyatts to go after Cena and Hogan.

Cena Vs Rowan, after the break.

Cena rolls up Rowan and picks up the win, with Hogan in his corner.

Bray calls the troops to go in the ring, but when Hogan and Cena are ready to fight, he calls the troops back, and laughs.

When we come back, we see HHH pedigree Daniel Bryan.

The Authority make their way to the ring, with Stephanie showing us she wears the pants in the family, by doing all of the talking.

Daniel “viciously” attacked HHH, and for that, he should be fired. But they will be the better people, because even though Daniel isn’t the caliber of athlete as Randy Orton, Batista, or HHH, he still has his “niche” of fans. So he will always be a B+ player, and will never be in the league of HHH. But he needs to do the right thing, and apologize.

Later tonight, Daniel Bryan and Big Show will face Randy Orton and Batista.

The New Age Outlaws are coming to the commentary for the next match, next.

The Uso’s Vs Ryback and Curtis Axel, now.

The Uso’s win the match with a Top Rope Splash. The Outlaws still are “sick” it seems. They will get their Tag Team rematch soon.

Kane is with The Shield.

He reminds them that The Wyatts beat them again, last week on Raw. So there seems to be some dissention with The Shield. It all started, when Rollins and Reigns lost the Tag Team Titles to The Rhodes Brothers, and therefore, tonight, they must face their demons, and beat them to see if they can be worthy again.

Rollins is cool with that, but he reminded Kane that he lost to Daniel Bryan last week, at Main Event….Ambrose said again, and of course this past week on Smackdown, Big Show knocked out Kane, and Daniel pinned Kane….again.

Reigns tells him to always believe in The Shield.

Big E. against Jack Swagger, again.

Big E. wins with a rollup, shocking an angry Swagger, with a laughing Cesaro.

Swagger and Cesaro are at each other’s faces now, with Zeb demanding they shake hands, blaming both men for this loss.

They do it, but Cesaro squeezes on Swagger’s hand.

The Undertaker will speak, next.

We can vote on what kind of match Christian and Sheamus will have tonight, how about Christian winning?

The Undertaker is coming out.

Before Taker could speak, Paul Heyman is at the top of the ramp.

His name is Paul Heyman, and he is an advocate to his opponent, Brock Lesnar. Taker preserves the greatest streak in sports, the greatest streak in sports entertainment. We casually throw a 21-0 record, like it’s not a big deal. But allow him to put this in perspective. Shawn Michaels couldn’t win 2 Wrestlemania matches in a row. HHH was able to win 2, but could never get to 3. Hulk Hogan won 3, but could never get 4. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin won 4, but could never get 5, same as Cena. But Taker has 21 consecutive wins at Wrestlemania. That is when a man becomes a myth, a myth becomes a legend, a legend becomes a biblical history. And he wants Taker to not wrestle Lesnar, because he truly respects the man. He witness last year when Taker almost lost, but didn’t. Brock Lesnar can end that streak, despite walking into an unknown, Brock lives for that moment, and Taker with his streak, will be conquered by Brock Lesnar.

Taker wants Heyman to bring this up to Brock. The fear of death is far greater than the death. But to live in fear is the greatest death of all.

But if Lesnar shows up at Wrestlemania 30, he will rest in peace.

Still to come tonight, Daniel Bryan and Big Show will face Batista and Randy Orton.

Next, The Rhodes Brothers will face Reigns and Rollins.

Tomorrow night on The Main Event, United States Title is on the line, with Dean Ambrose facing Mark Henry. And AJ Lee will put her Divas Title against Natalya.

The Rhodes Brothers Vs The Shield is now.

The Shield wins when Rollins pins Cody with a Curb Stomp, picking up a big victory.

Falls Count Anywhere, 2 out of 3 Falls Match, or a Memphis Street Fight, you can vote now on WWE App for Sheamus Vs Christian.

AJ Lee and Tamina are facing The Bellas, with Natalya doing commentary.

The Bellas win, with a Back Rack, pinning AJ Lee, again. The Bellas are holding up the Divas Title, like they are champions, and Natalya takes an exception to that. Tomorrow night, Natalya will get her opportunity.

Now we see NCIS: Los Angeles clip.

LL Cool J and Chris O’ Donnell are in the house. Renee Young interviews them both.

NCIS: Los Angeles airs on USA Network.

Still to come tonight, Big Show and Daniel Bryan will face Batista and Randy Orton. Will DB apologize to The Authority tonight?

Earlier tonight, we hear from Hulk Hogan making the announcement for Andre The Giant 30 Man Battle Royal match, at Wrestlemania.

Daniel Bryan heads to the ring, and said the Yes Movement is alive and well in Memphis. Earlier tonight, Stephanie McMahon came out and apologized. Does anyone believe that? No, he doesn’t either.

The Authority want him to stand in line, and do as they say, but he will do what he should have done a long time ago, which is kick HHH in the face.

If HHH wants to wear a suit, and tie, that is fine. But he should never put his hands on him.

But tonight, HHH will have to listen to us, because The Yes Movement is in full force, as they re-occupy Raw.

Daniel will not leave this ring, until he gets what he wants, which is a match with HHH at Wrestlemania.

Now many other people may say that, but tonight, he is not alone. He will fill this ring with the Yes Movement, right now.

We come back from a break, and see many, many fans in the ring, and outside of the ring. They are all chanting yes.

Here come The Authority.

HHH orders these men and women 30 seconds to get out of the ring, before they are escorted by security.

The fans chant no.

He orders security to come out, but Daniel wants the fans to go outside, get their own ring, and Hunter will have an empty arena for Raw.

Security comes out, all two of them. Now Daniel mocks them, and they leave too.

Stephanie orders them to do their job, but how would that start?

Stephanie tells the fans they are being brainwashed by Daniel. But this is false power, not real power. You think Daniel is worth it?

The fans all boo her, and Daniel tells The Authority that they are disillusioned, because last week, they told us they own the ring. But The Authority does not own the ring, the fans own the ring.

HHH orders a match to get started, now. Damien Sandow is the unlucky servant.

Daniel Bryan wants Sandow to join The Yes Movement. Sandow refuses to set foot in the ring, and Stephanie screams that she owns WWE. It’s her birth right, and Daniel brings up the fans will leave, if HHH gives him what they all want.

The truth is HHH actually likes Daniel, so he decided to protect him, because he knows he would be run out of the company. The reason he didn’t fight him at Mania is because he wanted to protect him, from ending Daniel’s career.

That’s what he does, so you really want a match with HHH? Be careful what you wish for, because he has the match.

Okay, that is not what Daniel wants. They want to see Daniel fight HHH, but they also want the WWE Title.

So here is what we really want….if DB beats HHH, then he will be added to the main event at Wrestlemania, for the WWE Title. Randy Orton Vs Batista Vs Daniel Bryan.

HHH starts to go after Daniel, and DB wants to know why Hunter is so angry?

HHH will give Daniel what he wants, he will end his career, at Wrestlemania.

the Yes Movement is on.

Tonight, DB and Big Show will face Orton and Batista.

We come back, and hear from King. The next match is Christian Vs Sheamus, and we will get a Memphis Street Fight.

Sheamus wins the match with a Brogue Kick through a bass drum Christian tried to use.

Cole is showing us how to order The WWE Network.

Brad Maddox showing us he still has a job is trying to say to Orton and Batista The Authority has already left the building, but wants the two A+ Players to settle their differences, and beat Bryan and Show.

For The Authority, Orton is willing to do that, and Batista just grins, and walks away.

We are live in Memphis, Tennessee, and we see Lana introducing us to Alexander Rusev.

Earlier tonight, we see Hulk Hogan make the big Wrestlemania match announcement of a 30 man Battle Royal, but The Wyatt Family interrupt the tape.

Beware John, of the reaper.

Bray tells us that he is not a man of this world, and it seemed like he was looking at Cena’s future when he saw him standing in the ring with Hogan. Bray accepts the challenge against Cena, at Wrestlemania. His time is up, because time….is on his side.

Rowan warns us to run.

Our main event….Big Show and Daniel Bryan Vs Batista and Orton is next.

DB and Big Show beat Orton and Batista with Daniel rolling up, and pinning Orton, ending the show with Daniel celebrating.

The Yes Movement is alive, and well.

Kevin’s Thoughts:

Wrestlemania is slowly, and I do mean slowly shaping up, but at least it’s coming together.

The Yes Movement is alive and well. Daniel Bryan will more than likely pull a doubleheader in this night, facing HHH, and possibly being put in the main event.

Let’s face it, Daniel Bryan is a very special wrestler, he has a connection with the fans that very few have. My big thing is this, if D-Bry has his Wrestlemania Moment, and I think he will, where does WWE go from there?

If Bryan wins, he must have some formidable opponents lining up, to challenge Bryan. But I am thinking ahead here.

I truly liked seeing that we will have a 30-man Battle Royal match, because this puts mostly everyone on the main card. Here is my pick to win the match….Alexander Rusev. The guy has done nothing so far, he needs to wrestle on TV. Just like last year, with Fandango debuting on the grand stage, and win, I think Rusev does the same thing.

Cena Vs Wyatt is taking place, but I just see Cena winning.

I liked tonight’s show, mostly because of the Occupy Raw segment, but there were also some good matches, and to see Cena in the very same ring as Hogan was cool to see.

What were your thoughts on the show, and send me predictions for Wrestlemania 30.

Wrestlemania….The Showcase Of The Immortals

This is always my favorite part of the season…spring training means Baseball season is right around the corner, and it also means Wrestlemania.  Through the years, WWE ends their big seasons on this date.  This is where feuds ended, and new ones began, or at least it did back in the day.  Let’s go through time.

My first memory of Wrestlemania was tuning in to the old WOR-TV network in New York.  I was 11 years old, looking for something to watch on a Saturday morning, when I tuned into this channel, and saw this massive man confront Hulk Hogan.  That massive man was his good friend Andre The Giant, on an episode of “Piper’s Pit”.  Andre wanted a title shot, and to make his statement, ripped the cross necklace The Hulkster was wearing.  That little segment intrigued for me some reason.  Perhaps it was due to Andre’s size, who for an 11-year old at the time, he was gigantic.  It could be because Bobby “The Brain” Heenan set the entire thing up, or it could be Hogan’s reaction, it was if Andre ripped his own soul out and threw it on the ground.  So the match was set at the Pontiac Silverdome, in Detroit, Michigan.  Wrestlemania 3 was a very successful show, and it truly put WWE on the map.

Now, we did have the first 2 Wrestlemanias, and they were successful, but this wasn’t the storyline that Wrestlemania 3 had.  Many people bought the event for Hogan-Andre, but the match that stood out the most was Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Vs Randy “Macho Man” savage.  Savage was the Intercontinental Champion, Ricky was defending his good friend George “The Animal” Steele, and the rest they say is history, Ricky defeated Randy, and a star was born.  The fans started to root for Randy even before this incident, and WWE decided to turn him babyface in the summer time, and this led to…..

Wrestlemania 4.  This time, in the Trump Plaza, we had a big WWE Championship Tournament, because “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase and Andre The Giant bought the WWE Title, literally.  Using a twin referee to count the pin.  When it was revealed that was the case, then WWE “President” Jack Tunney stripped Dibiase the title, and held it vacant, turning the even into a 14 man single elimination tournament.  Enter “Macho Man” Randy Savage.  He went through 4 vigorous matches, even defeating Ted Dibiase in the process to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.  This conveniently started the plans for Wrestlemania 5.

This is the event where The Mega Powers exploded, the battle between Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Hulk Hogan started at Wrestlemania 4.  Savage would later accuse Hogan of being jealous of the WWE Champion, when he won the title that night.  Throughout the summer, the two men tag together with the likes of The Big Bossman and Akeem, and even main evented the very first Summerslam PPV where they faced Andre and Dibiase.

But the trouble first erupted at the Survivor Series, after being survivors of their match, Hulkster put the lovely Elizabeth on his shoulders, and even touched her bottom, and Randy sees this, or so the storyline tells us.  Then in February, on an episode of “The Main Event”, Randy “Macho Man” Savage turned his back on Hulk Hogan, and the fans.  The match was set for Wrestlemania 5.  Randy carried Hogan to a very good, and fun match but eventually, Hogan won the match, and the WWE Title.

Even though they feuded throughout the rest of the year, a new feud was brewing up later in that year.  Hulk Hogan Vs The Ultimate Warrior.

This was the first time a Wrestlemania went out of the country, and became a true global phenomenon.  Wrestlemania 6 was set in Toronto, Canada, and this was truly the first Wrestlemania I had to purchase live.  The Warrior was the hottest Wrestler over the last year, at the previous Wrestlemania, The Warrior faced “Ravishing” Rick Rude, losing the Intercontinental Title, only to win it back at Summerslam.  The Warrior was on a quest for the WWE Title, and for the first time, we had a babyface Vs babyface match.  The fans nearly were split on who to pull for.  Me?  I was a Hogan fan, but I sure wanted to see something change, and I was rooting for The Ultimate Warrior, hands down.  The match itself was the best Warrior had looked.  Hogan deserves some of that credit too, a man who wasn’t known for putting 5 star matches.  But at the end of the day, the young upstart The Ultimate Warrior became the new WWE Champion, and Hogan passed the torch.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last very long.  The very next Wrestlemania, Warrior was not the champion, and Hogan became the new WWE champion by defeating an Iraqi Sympathizer, Sgt. Slaughter.

The next few years were a bit gloomy.  Wrestlemanias lost their true meaning, although big things did happen in those events.  Ric Flair defended the WWE Title and faced Randy “Macho Man” savage at Wrestlemania 8.  Jim Ross made his WWE debut for Wrestlemania 9.  Bret “The Hitman” Hart wrestled 2 times, lost to his brother Owen, and then defeated Yokozuna for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 10 at Madison Sqaure Garden.  Shawn Michaels main evented his very first Wrestlemania, even in a loss to Diesel at Wrestlemania 11.  Shawn and Bret faced each other in an Ironman Match at Wrestlemania 12, where a “Boyhood dream came true” and Shawn became the WWE champion for the first time.  Wrestlemania 13, Bret “The Hitman” Hart defeated “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in what became an instant classic, and truly Steve began his run here.

And that brings me to Wrestlemania 14.  “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Vs Shawn Michaels for the WWE Title.  “The Austin Era” has truly begun when Austin defeated Shawn.  The story of this match however was “Iron” Mike Tyson serving as a special guest enforcer for the match.  The night after Royal Rumble, Austin and Tyson got into it with a big brawl in the ring, that truly changed the Wrestling landscape as we know it.  This was the night the ratings between WWE and then WCW changed.  14 years later, WCW is no longer in business, and WWE is still going strong.

Wrestlemania 14 was also the place where The Rock became a star.  He had wrestled a year before, at Wrestlemania 13, but as Rocky Maivia, not The Rock.  Here, he was the Intercontinental Champion, he would face Ken Shamrock, and although the match was okay, the end result became…..

Wrestlemania 15.

This was the very first The Rock Vs “Stone Cold” Steve Austin encounter, in fact the two men would face each other at Wrestlemania 2 more times, so 3 times in a 5 year span.  The Rock was the WWE Champion, and Austin won with a Stunner, and became WWE Champion, again.

Less than 2 months later, WWE turned The Rock into a babyface, and 2 years later….at Wrestlemania 17.

Austin turned heel, after defeating The Rock again for the WWE Title.  The significance of this match however, was seeing Austin align himself with Vince McMahon.

One year later, at Wrestlemania 18, we see the return of the ICON, Hulk Hogan.  His opponent?  The Rock, in so many ways that is similar to this current Wrestlemania main event, Hogan was the star who was coming back, The Rock was the current star, a new breed of Wrestlers.  These two had magic together, in the ring.  I was there one night in Cleveland, watching these two in the ring together, doing a promo was incredible.  And the match delivered, to boot, with the younger man, The Rock, defeating Hogan, and at the end of the match, the fans turned Hogan into a babyface, and what was telling in this show too was hearing the fans boo The Rock, just like they will boo Cena at Wrestlemania this year.

And speaking of Cena, Wrestlemania 21 was a coming out party for the man from West Newbury, Massachusetts.  The slogan was called “Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood” being in Los Angeles.  John Cena and Dave Batista was in position to become the new faces of WWE.  John would win his first WWE Title reign, over JBL, and Batista would win the World Heavyweight Title over HHH.  It’s only been 7 years, but Cena is still the face of the company, while Batista has to be seen as a disappointment in some of the eyes of the company.  Very telling on where they are now.

Last year’s Wrestlemania, we saw the return of The Rock, a man himself who hadn’t been in WWE for 6 long years, he came back, and hosted Wrestlemania.  The main event was John Cena Vs The Miz, and essentially putting the match in motion for Wrestlemania.

Wrestlemania 28, The Rock Vs John Cena.  What will take place?  We won’t know, until April 1st, the site is Miami, Florida, home of The Rock.  Will the fans boo Cena?  Yes, but will Cena defeat The Rock?  We will find out, but one thing is for sure, I can’t wait.