WWF Wrestlemania VI

WWF Wrestlemania VI
Toronto, Ontario
Skydome
April 1, 1990

Wrestlemania returns to a stadium in front of a packed, red hot Canadian crowd after two stagnant years in Trump Plaza. The atmosphere in the brand new SkyDome was electric for the first Wrestlemania of the 90s, making this show one of the premiere Wrestlemanias of the golden Federation era. The sheer size of SkyDome and the huge crowd makes everything feel spectacular, along with all the added touches like the ring carts, big screens, and spectacular lighting. The entire presentation felt huge!

Much like previous years, Wrestlemania VI is all about the main event, with a few big feud matches scattered in between quick mid-card battles. And what a main event it was! To WWF kids like me, there was no bigger match than Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. It’s truly the 80s vs the 90s, as the WWF felt that this would be the transition into a new decade, a new era that would run as hot as Hulkamania. They had done a super job of building up the Warrior over time and by 1990 his popular seemed to be about equal with the Hulkster. Could he defeat Hogan and supersede Hulkamania like many were anticipating?

As a tried and true Hulkamaniac, my allegiance was firmly with the Hulkster, and I felt the Ultimate Warrior was acting too much like a bad guy leading up to Wrestlemania. There was more on the line that just the titles for us kids! I didn’t buy into the Warrior. I thought he was awesome in destroying hated heels like the Honky Tonk Man and Ravishing Rick Rude, but I never saw the Warrior as being better than Hogan. Don’t get me wrong, I was beyond excited for the match, but I wanted Hulk Hogan to defeat the Warrior and have him go back to mowing through baddies. As his lacklustre title run would later prove, I wasn’t the only kid feeling this way.

I remember Wrestlemania VI being a big deal here in Canada, as it was one of the first major global events in the new SkyDome. There was so much hype around the SkyDome in general, and it was a huge deal for both baseball and the CFL. As an avid TSN viewer, it felt like there was so much SkyDome coverage and the sports world was nuts for this exciting new stadium. Wrestlemania being in Canada and in the new SkyDome lead to a lot of increased media coverage and I remember my mom clipping articles out of the newspaper for me.

The sports section of the Winnipeg Free Press featured a big photo and coverage of the show the day after, and it broke my little Hulkamaniac heart that the Ultimate Warrior had won the title. The Free Press often published WWF pay-per-view results, but I would never trust it until I heard and saw it myself on Superstars. Sure enough, it was true, the Ultimate Warrior was the new WWF champion. My interest in the WWF tanked thereafter and was I was only a sporadic fan throughout 1990. I still definitely rented Wrestlemania VI as a new release and loved the show, but it was never my favorite Wrestlemania. There was a lot I loved about the show, but the main event made me so upset.

Over the years I came around to loving this Wrestlemania, and really came around to the main event. By the mid 90s, I was super nostalgic for this era and fully appreciated just how awesome Hogan-Warrior really was, and it has become one of my absolute favorite Wrestlemania matches. Even watching it for the hundredth time now, I marked the fuck out at the Warrior’s win. It also helped that this was one of Matt’s favorite Wrestlemanias and he would talk endlessly about how great a show it was. It’s slowly become one of my favorites too, for atmosphere and spectacle alone, this is one of the all-time greats.

As mentioned, the SkyDome looks fucking incredible! The camera shots from way up are absolutely iconic. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse the Body Ventura are on the call for their last Wrestlemania together. It’s the end of an era, after calling the first six Manias together and adding so much to the overall presentation, with their analysis, humor, and inside baseball references.

Instead of America the Beautiful, Canadian icon Robert Goulet opens the show with a great version of Oh Canada. I never cared much about this stuff as a kid, fast forwarding right to the matches, but now I’m so invested in these presentation details. The WWF always did so much to make these shows feel so big and special back in the day and Goulet did an incredible job.

1) Rick Martel defeated Koko B. Ware via submission with the Boston Crab at 5:30

What an opening! Burned forever in my brain! The sounds of Bird Bird Bird and the Birdman himself flapping his wings on the cart on his way down to the ring. They should have had Koko B Ware open every PPV during these years because of all the energy he brings. Everyone and their grandma knew he was going to lose, but they still were all up dancing and clapping along with Koko. This is a perfect opening match for the time as fans really wanted to see Martel get pummeled, and they were buying all of Koko’s quick dropkicks and offence. The Model looked good as always and was an incredible heel who was so damn good and underappreciated in the ring. The finish is a classic, as Martel dodges the flying bodypress and traps Ware in the Boston Crab for the quick submission win. I’ve always wondered why they didn’t book Tito – Martel and Koko – Barbarian to a least get one more long running feud settled on this show. Both match results could have been the same, but it would have finally closed the book on the Model-Santana rivalry. One thing I noticed watching this time is what a heel heavy show this was, with mainly baddies going over in all of these mid-card matches. In hindsight it makes sense with a definite good guy world champion coming out of this show, but the problem is they didn’t cash in on any of them. Why not feed Martel and the Barbarian to the Warrior as fresh challengers? I’ll never understand why they cut the Warrior’s title reign off at the legs.

The interviews between the matches are extra great here at Wrestlemania VI. Everyone was on their game and you could feel the intensity from the likes of Demolition as they promised victory and destruction.

2) Demolition defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Andre the Giant & Haku (w/ Bobby Heenan) to win the titles at 9:15 when Ax pinned Haku following the Decapitation after Andre’s arms became entangled in the ring ropes; after the match, Heenan berated Andre for the loss and slapped him before Andre grabbed Heenan by the jacket, slapped, and punched Heenan out of the ring; moments later, Haku attempted to attack Andre but Andre assaulted him and cleared Haku from the ring, with Andre then stealing the team’s motorized cart to leave ringside alone

What an incredible tag team title match! The fans were off the charts for Demolition as they went right at it with Haku and Andre. This had a big time feel and the atmosphere was incredible. We didn’t know that this would be Andre’s last televised WWF match and it ended up being a memorable conclusion to the Giant’s historic in-ring career. Haku works the majority of the match, and what I loved about the team with Andre is that even on the apron he was a menacing presence. Despite his limited mobility in the ring, he was always a threat and could squash anyone if he got his giant hands on them. Ax and Smash were two huge dudes and they just looked regular sized against Andre. The Giant maintained that aura to the bitter end. The wrestling was basic stuff, but it was all done well, feeling like a fight, with Demolition trying their damnedest to isolate Haku and keep the Giant on the outside. Things explode in legendary fashion, as Andre holds Smash and Haku goes for the thrust kick, but Smash moves and Andre eats foot, ending up tied in the ropes. Demolition finishes off Haku to win the tag team titles and Skydome EXPLODES in one of the loudest pops in Mania history. Demolition celebrate with the tag team titles, while Bobby Heenan completely loses his temper, making the fatal mistake of slapping Andre across the face. Andre tossing aside Haku and paintbrushing Heenan is simple stuff, but so effective! The fans immediately cheer the Giant, who even tosses them from the ring cart and rides off solo in an iconic moment. Truly legendary stuff here!

3) Earthquake (w/ Jimmy Hart) pinned Hercules with an elbow drop and the sit-down splash at 4:54; after the match, Earthquake hit a second sit-down splash

As a kid, I never really paid attention to just how strongly they were putting over Earthquake at Wrestlemania VI, but he gets a major push, destroying two popular upper mid-card babyfaces and looking like a true monster. He was already embroiled with Hogan and the Warrior before the show, but here they really set him up as a killer. Hercules was completely floundering by this point, but was still a credible power challenger. This match was very simple, with Hercules trying his best to wrestle Quake, but the massive superbeast just steamrolled right through him. Almost all of the matches at these early Wrestlemanias were very basic, but you can see why they were booking them and what the purpose of them was. I’m really enjoying watching these events from this lens, looking at the overall picture, rather than focusing entirely on the matches. Earthquake dismantles Hercules with relative ease, then finishes him off with the earthquake splash for the win. Post match, Earthquake crushes Hercules a couple more times, looking totally unstoppable. I love the added touch of Hercules refusing the referee’s help after the match and really selling the devastation of the attack.

Up next Rona Barrett is conducting a special interview with Miss Elizabeth. I had no clue who Rona was or why she was at Wrestlemania, up until I finally googled it while watching the show now. Turns out she was a celebrity gossip interviewer, but why was she involved with Wrestlemania? I lost interest before finding the answer. Her segment here is with the lovely Elizabeth, who was rarely seen on TV following Wrestlemania V. This interview sets up her surprise return later on the show.

4) Brutus Beefcake pinned Mr. Perfect (w/ the Genius) at 7:47 after a catapult into the ringpost; after the match, the Genius attempted to steal Beefcake’s hedge clippers and sneak backstage but Beefcake caught him on the floor, rolled him back in the ring, put him in the sleeper, and then cut the Genius’ hair

I loved this match as a kid and still think it’s great now. Brutus the Barber Beefcake had vastly improved over the past year and was up at the tippy top of the babyface ranks following his main event run with Hulk Hogan during the second half of 1989. I loved his feud with Mr. Perfect and went completely bonkers when he was the first to officially pin Perfect here at Wrestlemania (well, first televised pin anyway). Breaking the Perfect record was almost better than a title! Watching it now, I still greatly enjoyed the match and Mr. Perfect was on all-time roll in 1990 – definitely his best year in the company. Beefcake’s moves and selling are completely outrageous, but the crowd is just eating it up. He was such a great babyface, with his stupid bug-eyed expression and exaggerated mannerisms, very much like Hulk Hogan. You can definitely see how months of teaming and working with the Hulkster helped him improve so much. Beefcake pinning Perfect after slingshotting him off the ringpost was great and didn’t make him look weak in defeat. Genius tries to steal the hedge clippers, but gets captured by Bruteye who gives him a trim to the further elation of the crowd. It wouldn’t be long before Mr. Perfect switches managers to Bobby Heenan, completing the package.

5) Roddy Piper fought Bad News Brown to a double count-out at 6:47 when both men began brawling on the floor and Piper attempted to hit News with a steel chair

Oh man, the 80s and early 90s were a different time. Piper’s promo before the match is something else, as is his whole half black getup. The thing is, it’s completely unnecessary and adds nothing at all to the match, as Piper was already over huge, especially in Canada. I’ve always been a huge fan of Piper during this run and his batshit crazy matches. There’s no quality to speak of here, as it’s all just craziness, punching, eye gouging and general brawling. But as a fight it’s actually not very good, as Bad News seemed to have completely slowed down by 1990, definitely showing his age. A Piper-Brown match should have been off-the-charts nuts, but this is pretty mild and ends in a beyond lame double count out. They couldn’t have just put over Piper for change? It’s not like they needed to protect Brown. Piper and Bad News brawl down the aisle, but I don’t think this feud is ever mentioned again.

Next is one of my all-time favorite Wrestlemania celebrity moments. Steve Allen is in the bathroom with his piano and the Bolsheviks, ready to play the Soviet national anthem. Holy fuck, to this day this still makes me bust a gut laughing. When I was younger, I’d rewind this over and over, and I found myself doing the same thing now. Just laugh out loud hilarity! I get no kicks from Ukraine!

6) Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov when Bret pinned Zhukov following the Hart Attack at the 18-second mark

Where in the hell did they dig up the Bolsheviks from?! I have no memory of them even teaming in 1989, and Boris was in endless singles jobs. Did Nikolai return from an injury in early 1990? I’m baffled why the team even exists at this point, let alone makes it to PPVs. They do the old tired gag of Volkoff singing the national anthem, a leftover from fucking Wrestlemania 1, only for the Harts to attack and destroy them in seconds with the Hart Attack to a HUGE pop from the home fans. Total squash, but the finish was a forgone conclusion anyway, with the Hart Foundation challenging the winners of the tag match before Mania.

I’ll take a moment to mention that I was watching a complete version of Wrestlemania VI, featuring advertising and ticket information for Wrestlemania VII…. Which is totally coming to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of the largest Wrestlemania audience yet! Yeah… about that…

7) The Barbarian (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Tito Santana with a clothesline off the top at 4:33

Hey look at that! Another 4 minute heel victory! The official split of the Powers of Pain happened just weeks before Mania, as Fuji sold the Barbarian to Bobby Heenan and the Warlord to Slick. And Tito Santana would job to both on PPV in 1990 lol. Barbarian was still in his Powers of Pain attire and they were clearly setting him up for a big push by having him defeat Tito clean here. But that push never really materialized for whatever reason and the Barbarian never goes on to do much of anything. They should have just had Tito go over since he gets a big run in the upcoming IC title tournament. For a sub five minute match, this has pretty good action, as Tito always works hard to have a competitive match. The Barbarian’s flying clothesline finisher looked impressive and drew a nice reaction from the crowd. It’s so interesting how this is the third match of the night putting a heel over an established face so far.

8) Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Randy Savage & Sensational Sherri at 7:31 when Sapphire pinned Sherri with a roll up after Elizabeth shoved Sherri as Sherri grabbed at her on the floor; prior to the bout, Rhodes introduced Elizabeth to be in his and Sapphire’s corner

Before the match can begin, Dusty Rhodes has a big surprise for the Macho King… the return of Miss Elizabeth! I love the huge pop for Liz, and Macho and Sherri sell it perfectly. For years I’d always fast-forward this match and complain about how stupid it was, but you know what, this is actually pretty fucking awesome! I can’t believe just how damn good this match is and how much I appreciated the work of Rhodes, Savage, and Sherri in making this as entertaining as possible. After two years of dead crowds in Trump Plaza, the psyched fans in the Skydome add so much more to the show and make all these matches feel that much more exciting. Rhdoes and Sapphire are incredibly over and the fans eat up all the action. Adding to all this is Jesse and Gorilla’s commentary, which is laugh out loud hilarious, especially as Jesse buries Sapphire and Rhodes. I’ve always thought Sapphire sucked, but she’s over big and Sherri bounces off that beach ball to the absolute delight of the fans. The match never slows down and goes at a fast pace. Macho King is incredible in this one too, threatening Elizabeth on the floor and taking every cheap shot he can at Dusty. It fucking kills me to say it, but this is one of the best matches on the show, and the finish is truly amazing as Elizabeth shoves Sherri over Sapphire, leading to the pin and another enormous pop! The fans are electric for the win, and Rhodes, Sapphire, and Elizabeth dance to the always outstanding American Dream theme song to close this out. Some truly fantastic pro wrestling goodness. I almost feel ashamed at hating this match for so many years and being such a snob about it. This is some seriously outstanding pro wrestling greatness!

It’s intermission in the SkyDome, meaning we get a whole line up of interviews. Wrestlemania VI is a show full of surprises and turns and we get a recap of a lot of it here. Bobby Heenan cuts a great promo, incensed at that ingrate Andre the Giant, while Demolition are celebrating with their newly won tag team titles and address the challenge of the Hart Foundation. Hard to believe it was all downhill for the Demos after this. Rona Barrett shows up live and reveals that she has some kind of x-rated footage of Jesse Ventura in a gag that goes nowhere. And we get classic promos from Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior (gearing up to fight “Ho Kogan”) really building the anticipation for the main event. This is such an exciting and complete Mania, during the first half, but things take a dip in quality from here until the main event.

9) The Orient Express (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty via count-out at 7:36 after Jannetty had salt thrown into his eyes while on the floor

What a disappointing match to kick off the second half of the show. What should have been an exciting and fast paced classic was a disconnected slog. Even Monsoon and Ventura were wondering why the Rockers were so damn sluggish and couldn’t get out of first gear. This match never gets going and is one of the biggest disappointments of the night. This version of the Orient Express was always terrible, but Tanaka himself is more than capable of a great match, so no idea why this was so weak. It’s given a good amount of time, more than the majority of the mid-card matches, but doesn’t amount to anything. The finish is beyond stupid, as Jannetty gets salt thrown in his eyes and the Rockers lose by fucking countout. Terrible finish to quiet the crowd.

More Steve Allen hilarity follows as he’s with Rhythm & Blues. Steve brings the jokes, but even funnier is Greg Valentine’s awful, wooden delivery. This team was purely the shits.

10) Jim Duggan pinned Dino Bravo (w/ Jimmy Hart) at 4:15 after hitting him with the 2×4; after the bout, Earthquake attacked Duggan and hit two sit-down splashes

Duggan and Bravo seem to have been feuding on and off for over a year at this point and really didn’t need to wrestle each other again. I’ve really come around to liking and appreciating Hacksaw, but this was no good. It was all basic kicking and punching and the crowd wasn’t feeling it, but this was really about the post match angle anyway. The crowd wakes up and goes nuts for Duggan blatantly cheating and hitting Bravo with the 2×4 behind the ref’s back to score the win. Earthquake rumbles down to the ring and lays the hurt on Hacksaw. He squashes him with a couple big splashes to further establish himself as an unstoppable monster. They were clearly using Wrestlemania VI to set up Earthquake for his huge post Mania angle, and squashing another top established good guy like Duggan was a great way to do it.

11) Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) defeated Jake Roberts via count-out at 11:53 as Roberts was distracted by Virgil on the floor; after the match, Virgil returned backstage with the Million $ belt while Roberts hit the DDT on Dibiase and passed his money to fans around ringside

Prior to the match we get a recap of this year-long feud and one Jake the Snake’s greatest PPV promos of all-time. Everything about this match felt huge and epic and the fans in SkyDome were psyched for Roberts. The match itself is very good. It’s slow paced and methodical, with Ted Dibiase doing everything he can to outsmart Jake, and Roberts doing everything he can to lure Dibiase in for the DDT. I always loved this match as a kid and still really enjoyed it now. It’s one of the longest matches of the night, and for such a long running feud, I’m happy it was given a good amount of time. Everything is really good up until the truly horrible and stupid finish as Ted Dibiase wins by COUNTOUT. Seriously?! What the fuck! For something like the Rockers and Orient Express it really doesn’t matter, but come on, Jake the Snake needed to beat Dibiase clean and settle the score. It definitely takes away from my enjoyment of the match. Ted Dibiase reclaims the Million $ Belt and celebrates, but Jake gets back in the ring and DDTs Dibiase to a humongous pop, then stuffing money in his mouth and throwing it out to the fans. Roberts chases Virgil backstage for the further moral victory, but fuck, what a wasted opportunity for a classic good guy victory.

12) The Big Bossman pinned Akeem (w/ Slick) at around 1:50 with the sidewalk slam despite interference from Ted Dibiase before the match

The Twin Towers EXPLODE! Ehhh…. Maybe not the best word choice. After taking the beating from Roberts, Dibiase is still at ringside and sneak attacks the Big Bossman in a nice bit of revenge, then throws him in the ring for Akeem to finish him off. The plan doesn’t work as the newly face Big Bossman is too fired up and easily fights back, quickly finishing off Akeem with the hard time slam. Was this match cut for time? Not that it needed to go that much longer mind you. The Big Bossman was immediately so over and so awesome as good guy that it made you forget what a nasty heel he was before this. Absolutely nothing to this match, as the Bossman is now after Dibiase in another feud that’s never actually concluded.

Sean Mooney interviews Mary Tyler Moore at ringside and she seems to have no idea on what to make of all of this. I laughed so hard at this now, as I wondered what was even the point of having some of these celebrities be involved at Wrestlemania. Moore was shown a few times throughout the night, but added absolutely nothing to the show other than her presence.

In one of the truly dirt-worst Wrestlemania segments, we get Rhythm and Blues driven to the ring in their pink Cadillac to live debut their new song Hunka Hunka Hunka Honky Love, which is truly truly truly fucking awful. Again, the only funny thing about this is Greg Valentine being so completely terrible in his role. This of course leads to the Bushwhackers being disguised as merch sellers on the outside, only to be called out by the Honky Tonk Man. Luke and Butch chase them away and smash their guitars. As fucking awful as all this was, I suppose it was far better than having to sit through a Bushwhackers-R&B match!

13) Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Jimmy Snuka at 3:51 with the Rude Awakening

One of the most easily forgettable matches of the night, buried right here before the main event. Steve Allen returns for the last time and is on commentary with Gorilla and Jesse. Allen seems to be on the Art Donovan scale, irritating Gorilla with his dumb quips and observations, like joking that Snuka’s tights look like his wife’s underwear. The match itself is a simple squash for Rude, as Snuka was riding on fumes and the last of his credibility. With wins at Wrestlemania, Earthquake, Rick Martel, the Barbarian, and Rick Rude could all be considered contenders for the title, but strangely, only Rude would receive any title shots against the Warrior. Did anyone think the fan favorites even stood a chance in these matches? Very quick and easy win for the Ravishing one, as the audience was more than ready for the main event!

14) WWF IC Champion the Ultimate Warrior pinned WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan to win the title at 22:50 with a splash after Hogan missed the legdrop; after the match, Hogan presented Warrior with the world title belt; both championships were on the line in the contest

One of the most iconic and historic Wrestlemania main events of all time seems to get even better with age. This match was a masterclass in spectacle and heavyweight wrestling. It was booked like a battle of the gods, with Hogan and Warrior matched equally in strength, speed and ability. I fucking LOVE this match and I can’t ever bring myself to skip it. The SkyDome is truly electric throughout, with cheers for both Hogan and the Warrior. It’s a battle like no other and has one of the greatest finishes of the WWF’s golden era. Ultimate Warrior defeating the Hulkster after such an epic clash of the titans is one of the most iconic moments and SHOULD have ushered in a new era, but instead things take a much different turn and arguably the WWF is never the same again. I almost love the post-match drama more than the match, as Hulk Hogan reluctantly hands over title, then raises the Warrior’s arm before riding off into the sunset. The wall of fireworks for the Warrior looks incredible. All of this is just so perfectly awesome and well done.