WrestleMania 2

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WrestleMania 2

Promotional poster featuring Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy
Tagline(s) "The Premier Sporting Event of the Year!"
Information
Promotion World Wrestling Federation
Date April 7, 1986[1]
Attendance 40,085 (combined)
Venue Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum[1][2]
Rosemont Horizon[1][2]
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena[1][2]
City Uniondale, New York[1][2][3]
Rosemont, Illinois[1][2][3]
Los Angeles, California[1][2][3]
Pay-per-view chronology
The Wrestling Classic[4] WrestleMania 2 The Big Event
WrestleMania chronology
WrestleMania WrestleMania 2 WrestleMania III

WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (although the first WrestleMania was only on pay-per-view in select areas).[2] It took place on April 7, 1986 at three venues: the 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.[1][2][3]

Each venue had one main event match with a large undercard. As with the first WrestleMania, the matches were shown on closed-circuit television across North America.[2] The event was also the first WrestleMania to air on the national pay-per-view market.[5] The commentating teams consisted of Vince McMahon and Susan Saint James in New York, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Cathy Lee Crosby in Chicago and Jesse Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira in Los Angeles. The ring announcers were Howard Finkel (New York), Chet Coppock (Chicago), and Lee Marshall (Los Angeles).[1]

The main event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was a boxing match where Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper by disqualification. Matches on the undercard were Randy Savage versus George Steele for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, Jake Roberts versus George Wells and Paul Orndorff versus The Magnificent Don Muraco.[4] The main event at Rosemont Horizon was a 20-man battle royal which included WWF wrestlers and NFL football players. The undercard featured a WWF Tag Team Championship match where British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) defeated champions Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) to win the titles, a WWF Women's Championship match between The Fabulous Moolah and Velvet McIntyre and a flag match between Corporal Kirchner and Nikolai Volkoff.[1] The main event at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a WWF Championship match where Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match to retain the title.[6] The undercard featured Terry Funk and Hoss Funk versus Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a tag team match, Adrian Adonis versus Uncle Elmer and Ricky Steamboat versus Hercules.[3]

Contents

Background [edit]

Hulk Hogan, who faced King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania

WrestleMania 2 featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Championship Wrestling, All-Star Wrestling Saturday Night's Main Event and Prime Time Wrestling — the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.[7]

Three of the main-event feuds were set up on the March 1, 1986, broadcast of Saturday Night's Main Event:

  • The main feud heading into WrestleMania 2 was between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy, with the two battling over the WWF Championship. Although they had wrestled occasionally beforehand, their first nationally televised encounter was on the November 2, 1985, edition of Saturday Night's Main Event where Hogan teamed up with André the Giant against André's rivals Bundy and Big John Studd. Hogan and André won the match.[8] On March 1, Hogan defended his WWF title against The Magnificent Muraco. Just as Hogan was about to pin Muraco, Bundy ran into the ring and—with Muraco's help—initiated a 2-on-1 assault on Hogan, repeatedly crushing him with his body weight (with a move called the "Avalanche") to break his ribs.[6][9] Hogan had a very serious scripted injury, while Bundy (gloating over his actions) challenged Hogan for the title. With revenge on his mind, Hogan decided not to heed his doctor's advice and accepted the challenge; a match was then booked between the two in a steel cage for the WWF title.[6]
  • The second feud heading into the event was between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. Piper established himself as the top heel in the WWF in 1984, and a year later joined Paul Orndorff and Cowboy Bob Orton to feud with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.[10] Hogan and T defeated Piper and Orndorff in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania.[11] The Piper-Mr. T feud restarted in 1986 after their real-life hatred for each other became known, prompting the WWF to turn their animosity for one another into a feud. Piper and others disliked Mr. T because he was an actor and unskilled wrestling ability. In response, Mr. T became a special WWF boxer and began competing in boxing matches. On the March 1 Saturday Night's Main Event, Mr. T defeated Orton in a boxing match.[9] After the match, Piper distracted Mr. T, allowing Orton to attack from behind and start a 2-on-1 assault. Mr. T then demanded revenge, leading to his boxing match against Piper.
  • The third main feud heading into WrestleMania was between Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) and British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) over the WWF Tag Team Championship. On August 24, 1985, Beefcake and Valentine won the tag titles from U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo).[12] Immediately after their title win, they were challenged by British Bulldogs for the titles. They retained their titles against Bulldogs at a house show on September 11 by getting disqualified.[13] They defended the titles against Bulldogs again on Saturday Night's Main Event, where they emerged victorious against Bulldogs.[9] After Bulldogs failed in winning the titles twice, Dream Team agreed to defend their titles against Bulldogs for a final time with a title match set at WrestleMania.

Event [edit]

WrestleMania 2 emanated from three arenas: 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.[2]

New York [edit]

Randy Savage vs. George Steele for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

In the first match of the show and the New York arena, Paul Orndorff faced The Magnificent Don Muraco. Both men fought to a double countout.

Next was a WWF Intercontinental Championship match between Randy Savage and George Steele. Savage was seconded by his real-life wife Miss Elizabeth. He pinned Steele with a roll-up and put his both feet on the ropes for leverage. As a result, Savage retained the Intercontinental title. Late in the match Steele became the first man to ever kick out of Savage's patented elbow from the top turnbuckle.

The third match from the Coliseum was between Jake Roberts and George Wells. He hit a DDT on Wells and pinned him to win the match. After the match, Roberts allowed his snake Damian to slither over Wells, who vomited.

The first main event of WrestleMania 2 was a boxing match between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. T was seconded by real life boxer Joe Frazier while Piper was seconded by real life boxing trainer Lou Duva. Piper was disqualified for bodyslamming T at 1:15 in the fourth round.[14]

Chicago [edit]

The first match from the Chicago portion of WrestleMania 2 was a WWF Women's Championship match between The Fabulous Moolah and Velvet McIntyre. McIntyre attempted a splash on Moolah from the second turnbuckle, but Moolah sidestepped and McIntyre missed the move. Moolah took advantage and pinned McIntyre to retain her title.

The second match was a flag match between Corporal Kirchner and Nikolai Volkoff. Volkoff was seconded by "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Blassie threw his cane on Volkoff but Kirchner caught it and hit Volkoff with it and then successfully pinned Volkoff for the victory.

The third match was a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) versus National Football League (NFL) battle royal. It featured 20 men including the WWF wrestlers and NFL superstars; NFL stars included Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, Russ Francis, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin and William "The Refrigerator" Perry, while WWF stars included André the Giant, Ted Arcidi, Tony Atlas, The Hart Foundation (Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart), The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell), Hillbilly Jim, The Iron Sheik, King Tonga, Pedro Morales, Bruno Sammartino, Danny Spivey and Big John Studd. In the end of the match, André the Giant and both members of the Hart Foundation were the final participants. André first eliminated Neidhart and then Hart to win the battle royal.

The second main event of WrestleMania was a WWF Tag Team Championship match between British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) and Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake). Bulldogs were seconded by Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne and Captain Lou Albano. Smith pushed Valentine into the corner where Valentine knocked heads with Dynamite Kid. Kid fell to the floor while Smith pinned Valentine to win the tag titles and end Dream Team's seven month reign.[14]

Los Angeles [edit]

Ricky Steamboat faced Hercules in the first match from Los Angeles. Hercules tried to hit a flying bodypress but missed it. Steamboat followed by hitting a flying bodypress of his own for a successful pinfall victory.

Adrian Adonis, seconded by Jimmy Hart defeated Uncle Elmer after a diving headbutt.

Terry and Hoss Funk faced Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a tag team match. Funk brothers were seconded by Jimmy Hart. The referee was distracted by Hoss. Hart took advantage and gave his megaphone to Terry who hit it on JYD and then pinned him to get the win.

Next was a WWF Championship steel cage match which was the third and final main event of WrestleMania 2. It was the only steel cage in WrestleMania history, and the very first appearance of the "big blue" style steel cage. Hulk Hogan defended his title against King Kong Bundy. Hogan's ribs were heavily taped due to an assault by Bundy on March 1, 1986 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. Bundy was seconded by Bobby Heenan. In the beginning, Bundy removed the tape from Hogan's ribs. However, Hogan fought back and rammed Bundy's head into the steel cage. He tried to hit a scoop slam on Bundy but missed it. Bundy hit an avalanche and a big splash on Hogan. However, Hogan "Hulked up" and hit a scoop slam on Bundy followed by a leg drop. He climbed the steel cage but Bundy caught his legs. Hogan kicked Bundy and climbed over the top of the steel cage and climbed on the floor to win the match and retain the title.[6][14][15] After the match, Hogan caught Heenan inside the cage; as Bundy was reeling from the match, Hogan rammed Heenan's head into the cage before atomic dropping him outside.

Aftermath [edit]

Randy Savage and George Steele continued their feud with each other, leading to a rematch for the WWF Intercontinental Championship on the January 3, 1987 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event where Steele ended up losing.[16] The new WWF Tag Team Champions British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) prepared to face challenger tag teams. On the October 4, 1986 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, they defeated former champions Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) in a two out of three falls match to retain the titles.[17] Hulk Hogan continued and increased his WWF Championship reign taking down challengers such as Paul Orndorff, André the Giant, Hercules Hernandez and Sika Anoa'i before he was defeated by André for the title on February 5, 1988 edition of The Main Event, ending his four year reign and the third longest in the title's entire history.[18]

Notes [edit]

  • To date, this is the only WrestleMania to be held on a Monday.

Results [edit]

No. Results from the Nassau Coliseum[1][3][14][15] Stipulations Times
1 Paul Orndorff and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji) fought to a double countout Singles match 04:34
2 Randy Savage (c) (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated George Steele Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship 07:08
3 Jake Roberts defeated George Wells Singles match 03:06
4 Mr. T (with Joe Frazier and The Haiti Kid) defeated Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton and Lou Duva) by disqualification Boxing match 13:23
No. Results from the Rosemont Horizon[1][3][14][15] Stipulations Times
5 The Fabulous Moolah (c) defeated Velvet McIntyre Singles match for the WWF Women's Championship 00:59
6 Corporal Kirchner defeated Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie) Flag match 01:36
7 Andre the Giant defeated 19 other participants by last eliminating Bret Hart[Note 1] Twenty-man battle royal 09:13
8 The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) (with Ozzy Osbourne and Lou Albano) defeated The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (c) (with Johnny Valiant) Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship 12:04
No. Results from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena[1][3][14][15] Stipulations Times
9 Ricky Steamboat defeated Hercules Hernandez Singles match 07:35
10 Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Uncle Elmer Singles match 03:07
11 Terry Funk and Hoss Funk (with Jimmy Hart) defeated the Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana Tag team match 11:44
12 Hulk Hogan (c) defeated King Kong Bundy (with Bobby Heenan)[6] Steel cage match for the WWF Championship 10:15
(c) – refers to the champion heading into the match
  1. ^ The other participants were: Jimbo Covert (NFL player – Chicago Bears), Pedro Morales, Tony Atlas, Ted Arcidi, Harvey Martin (Former NFL player – Dallas Cowboys), Danny Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, King Tonga, The Iron Sheik, Ernie Holmes (Former NFL player – Pittsburgh Steelers), B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Big John Studd, Bill Fralic (NFL player – Atlanta Falcons), Jim Neidhart, Russ Francis (NFL player – San Francisco 49ers), Bruno Sammartino, and William Perry (NFL player – Chicago Bears).

Other on-screen talent [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "WrestleMania II results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "WrestleMania II Facts/Stats". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "WrestleMania 2 review". Gerweck.net. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  4. ^ a b "WrestleMania 2 review". pWwew – Everything Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-25. [unreliable source]
  5. ^ http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm2/factsstats/
  6. ^ a b c d e "King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan Steel Cage WWE Championship Match". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  7. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment of World Wrestling Entertainment". WWE. Retrieved 2009-10-25. 
  8. ^ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – November 2, 1985". WWE. Retrieved May 10, 2012. 
  9. ^ a b c "Saturday Night's Main Event results – March 1, 1986". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  10. ^ Milner, John (2005-03-22). "Piper's bio". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  11. ^ ""Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff & "Rowdy" Roddy Piper w/ Cowboy Bob Orton vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T w/ "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  12. ^ "Dream Team's first World Tag Team Championship reign". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  13. ^ "WWF Show Results 1985". Angelfire. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  14. ^ a b c d e f "WrestleMania 2 official results". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  15. ^ a b c d "WrestleMania 2 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  16. ^ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – January 3, 1987". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  17. ^ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – November 29, 1986". WWE. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  18. ^ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – February 5, 1988". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  19. ^ "WrestleMania II facts". WWE. Retrieved 2009-02-26. 
  20. ^ WrestleMania 2: Horrible crap emanating from three – count 'em THREE – venues! Plus more Susan St. James than you can shake an "UH OH" at!

External links [edit]

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