Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania II (2015 Redo): Do It Again
Wrestlemania II
Date: April 7, 1986
Locations: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York City, New York/Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois/Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,585 (New York), 9,000 (Chicago), 14,500 (Los Angeles), 40,085 (Total)
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Susan St. James (New York), Gene Okerlund, Gorilla Monsoon, Cathy Lee Crosby (Chicago), Lord Alfred Hayes, Jesse Ventura, Elvira (Los Angeles)
Vince McMahon is in New York to welcome us to the show and introduce Ray Charles to sing America the Beautiful. As would become the custom, various images of American landscapes, military and run of the mill citizens are superimposed over the performance. Charles does an amazing rendition of the song and the fans give him the ovation he deserves.
Gene Okerlund is in Chicago to talk about the battle royal. By talk about I mean he mentions it and then throws it to the next interview.
The Magnificent Muraco vs. Paul Orndorff
Paul cranks on the arm and my goodness Muraco is sweating quite a bit. We hit a wristlock, which St. James calls an ancient Chinese technique. At least she sounds happy to be here so I can excuse some of here bad lines. Muraco gets in a right hand and they brawl to the floor for a double countout at 4:10. The fans loudly swear at the result.
Intercontinental Title: Randy Savage vs. George Steele
Rating: D-. What the heck was that? I know Steele had been feuding with Savage for a long time but this was the best they could do for a major match? Total disaster here with the comedy not working and Savage just coming back and grabbing a win at the end. Savage winning was the right idea, but you could have cut a lot of the goofiness out of this to make for a better, or at least less bad match.
George eats another turnbuckle and chases the referee off.
Big John Studd and NFL player Bill Fralic talk trash before the WWF vs. NFL battle royal in Chicago. The announcement of Savage retaining in New York drowns out the yelling.
McMahon and St. James talk about the next match.
George Wells vs. Jake Roberts
Jake wraps the snake around Wells post match, making Wells foam at the mouth.
Mr. T. vs. Roddy Piper
Round two begins with Mr. T. claiming that Piper has a bunch of grease on his face. Mr. T. gets him into the corner and hammers away as these are clearly fake punches since both guys would be dead otherwise. Piper gets in some heavy rights in the corner and actually knocks him down to a big cheer from the crowd. Even more bombs have Mr. T. in trouble as the round ends.
Off to Chicago. The ring looks much smaller here.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Corporal Kirchner
Battle Royal
WWF: Pedro Morales, Tony Atlas, Ted Arcidi, Dan Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, King Tonga, Iron Sheik, B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, John Studd, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant
NFL: Jimbo Covert, Harvey Martin, Ernie Holmes, Bill Fralic, Russ Francis, William Perry
Rating: D+. Not much to see here and they made no secret of the fact that Andre was the obvious winner. The football players were really just a novelty so you could have a battle royal without looking like it was an easy way to get people on the card. They kept this short and to the point which helps things out quite a bit. Perry got the crowd going and Andre winning was the right call so no one is hurt here.
Back in New York, Piper says Mr. T. and William Perry are both cheaters. Piper denies cheating by shoving the referee.
Covert says he got cheated when someone jumped him from behind.
Iron Sheik says he proved wrestling is tougher than football.
We recap the end of the battle royal.
Tag Team Titles: British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team
Rating: B. Match of the night by far here with Dynamite taking one heck of a bump to end the match. The Bulldogs were a great team and they definitely deserved the titles and they did it in a tag match that went completely against the common tag team formula. Unfortunately it felt like it was much more about a way to get Osbourne on screen, which is only going to get worse.
Vince and Susan talk about the title change and preview the main event.
The Los Angeles announcers (Jesse Ventura, Elvira, Lord Alfred Hayes) preview their section of the card.
Hercules Hernandez vs. Ricky Steamboat
Uncle Elmer vs. Adrian Adonis
Hogan is ready to step inside a cage with King Kong Bundy after Bundy damaged his ribs a few months ago. All Hogan wants is for Bobby Heenan to try to get involved.
Funk Brothers vs. Junkyard Dog/Tito Santana
The announcers have an awkward chat as the cage is assembled.
In New York, Susan St. James picks Hogan.
WWF World Title: Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy
Hogan beats up Heenan and poses to end the show as Vince wraps it up from New York.
Ratings Comparison
Paul Orndorff vs. Don Muraco
Original: D+
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
George Steele vs. Randy Savage
Original: C-
2013 Redo: C-
2015 Redo: D-
Jake Roberts vs. George Wells
Original: F
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D+
Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T.
Original: F
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D+
Velvet McIntyre vs. Fabulous Moolah
Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
Corporal Kirschner vs. Nikolai Volkoff
Original: D-
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
Battle Royal
Original: B
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D+
British Bulldog vs. Dream Team
Original: B
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: B
Rick Steamboat vs. Hercules Hernandez
Original: C-
2013 Redo: C-
2015 Redo: D+
Uncle Elmer vs. Adrian Adonis
Original: N/A
2013 Redo: D-
2015 Redo: F
Tito Santana/Junkyard Dog vs. Terry Funk/Hoss Funk
Original: B-
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: B-
Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy
Original: B-
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D+
Overall Rating
Original: D+
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
Wrestlemania II is….weird. Like, really weird.
Here’s the original review if you’re interested:
And the 2013 Redo:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/11/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-ii-three-times-the-suck/
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