WWE
Classic Graded: WrestleMania 2 Final Results and Grades
Every good movie deserves a sequel to continue on the legacy. Vince McMahon thought the same thing, because he made the sequel to his hit wrestling event. What’s better than one WrestleMania? TWO. WrestleMania 2.
History Lesson
WrestleMania 2 is the follow up to the original WrestleMaina. It is so far the only WrestleMania to take place on a Monday, instead of the traditional Sunday. It is also the only WrestleMania to take place in three different cities at one time. Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, The Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California all hosted the second annual WrestleMania. Of course, it is met with great criticism. Each city got their own main event and set of dark matches. But sometimes the live crowds had to sit and wait while the other cities got to see live action. Luckily, WWE hasn’t tried this tactic again.
Don Muraco vs Paul Orndorff ends in a double countout
Final Grade: B-
We start things off in Uniondale, New York.
Great wrestling skill based match. Would’ve gotten a higher grade if it wasn’t for the double count out ending.
WWF Intercontinetal Championship: “Macho Man” Randy Savage def. George “The Animal” Steele to retain
Final Grade: B+
George “The Animal” Steele is one of the best when it comes to keeping character. Watching him, it really seems like he is an uncontrollable animal. He kicks out of one elbow drop, and it takes an illegal levaerage pin from the “Macho Man” to put Steele away.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts def. George Wells
Final Grade: C-
Decent match. I miss the days where a DDT was more than a transitional move.
Boxing Match: Mr. T def. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper via disqualification
Final Grade: D
For a boxing match, it is pretty tame. For a wrestling match, it’s not a wrestling match. Drama added a little to it but not much else can be said.
WWF Women’s Championship: The Fabulous Moolah def. Velvet McIntyre to retain
Final Grade: F
This is the first match to take place in Chicago for the night.
I looked away for two seconds and the match was over. Moolah won with a Crossbody from the turnbuckle.
Flag Match: Corporal Kirchner def. Nikolai Volkoff
Final Grade: C+
Classic USA vs USSR match from the late 80’s. Kirchner, the American, pulls off the feel good win.
WWF vs NFL 20-Man Battle Royale: Andre the Giant prevails
Final Grade: B-
William “The Fridge” Perry is in this match. I had no idea that was the case until I watched this through. Young pups Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart make an appearance. Living legend Bruno Sammartino shows up and makes a few eliminations. But, in the end, one of the best big man wrestlers of all time, Andre the Giant, makes the final elimination and wins.
WWF World Tag Team Championships: The British Bulldogs def. The Dream Team to win the titles
Final Grade: B
Davey Boy and Dynamite Kid are still seen as one of the best tag teams of all time. And it’s hard to argue that notion after watching this match. Technical wrestling before it was cool. Davey Boy hit his Running Powerslam. Ending came when Davey Boy bounced Greg Valentine’s head off of Dynamite Kid’s head and pinned him.
Ricky Steamboat def. Hercules Hernandez
Final Grade: C
WWF switches over to the third and final venue in Los Angeles.
Solid match from both men. Ricky Steamboat is one of the most criminally underrated wrestlers of all time.
Adrian Adonis def. Uncle Elmer
Final Grade: F
Adonis over-sold like he’s an octopus in a washing machine. Don’t know why he did that, but it took away from this match’s quality.
Hoss Funk and Terry Funk def. Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana
Final Grade: D
Funny to see future ECW Champion Terry Funk at WrestleMania. The Funks made a decent effort, but the match seemed to slog on for too long.
Steel Cage Match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan def. King Kong Bundy
Final Grade: B
Hogan shows the people why he’s the best in the world and your WWF World Heavyweight Champion. Two giant men beat each other down inside a steel cage. It looked at times Bundy might’ve actually pulled off a huge upset and dethroned The Hulkster. But Hogan escaped over the wall of the cage to retain his title after a hard fought battle.
Overall WrestleMania 2 Final Grade: C-
Not a bad follow up to the original WrestleMania. It’s very obvious there’s still a lot of growing pains the WWF had to grow through at the original time this aired. Hopefully, the third installment makes up for the areas this show seemed to disappoint.
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