Chris Flackett
WrestleMania VI is largely considered an important WrestleMania and it’s clear why. It’s the home of ‘The Ultimate Challenge’, the battle between the biggest stars the WWF had at the time; both faces; both champions; and both desperate to cling to or finally reach the pinnacle of the WWF. WrestleMania VI is Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior, and it was the battle for supremacy at the top of the WWF food chain.
Hulk Hogan had been the WWF’s top star for six years. He was tired of the burden of the work involved in carrying the company, yet he didn’t want to relinquish his position. Vince McMahon, sensing the shift in Hogan’s attitude and seeing the Ultimate Warrior’s merchandise sales and crowd reactions, wanted to shift the Heavyweight title to the Warrior. Hogan argued against it, claiming (quite rightly) that Warrior couldn’t carry the load. It would prove to be, but Hogan’s concern was not for the WWF’s welfare but his own position. ‘The Ultimate Challenge’ tagline would prove to be true in more than one way.
Taking place on April 1st, 1990, from the Toronto Skydome, let’s get into WrestleMania VI!
The Two Most Powerful Forces in the Universe
The opening video for WrestleMania VI is possibly one of the best for the Hulkamania era-‘Manias. We’re set in space as the constellations make the signs of the Zodiac. Vince gives a suitably portentous voiceover, putting over forces…including the two most powerful forces in the universe, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior—champion vs. champion, title vs. title! The appearance of Hogan and Warrior as constellations before turning into the two actual wrestlers facing off made for an effective opening.
Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura welcome us to The Toronto Skydome, with a live audience of 60,000 (the final figure announced is 67,678 which, considering WrestleMania V only drew 18,946, is a major improvement if correct and certainly helps to give the same gigantic ‘event’-feel as WrestleMania III).
We’re straight to the ring for Robert Goulet (announced to a noticeably mixed reaction) to sing the Canadian National Anthem and then we’re straight into our opening encounter!
Koko B. Ware vs. ‘The Model’ Rick Martel
The little ring carts, last seen at WrestleMania III, are back for the show here and it’s a little touch I’ve always loved. It just adds that little element of specialness to proceedings. ‘The Body’ makes reference to Axl Rose and Gorilla, bless ‘im, hasn’t got a clue who Axl Rose is. It’s alright, Gorilla: I was always more of a Nirvana man, myself…
Martel was great fun as ‘The Model’, but this was a period where the WWF didn’t really know what to do with him after his feud with Tito Santana finished. This was a short opener, a little short of five minutes long, but it has its moments, mainly from Koko, who unleashes a springboard crossbody from the second turnbuckle and a couple of standing dropkicks early on. ‘The Model’ sends Koko to the outside and then works him over, the pace slowing notably. Koko fights the Boston Crab attempt and gets to the ropes. A comeback sees Martel stand up and drop back down without being hit. A second springboard crossbody misses, though, and Martel gets the submission with the Boston Crab.
Decent enough opener for the period, but could have been better with a couple of more minutes and if Martel had been a bit more game.
Winner: ‘The Model’ Rick Martel
Backstage, ‘Mean Gene’ has Bobby Heenan and the tag champs The Colossal Connection with him. Gene refers to the champs as the ‘Colostomy Connection’, which leads ‘The Brain’ into responding with “talking of evacuation…” The look on Andre’s face as he tries not to crack up is hilarious. Meanwhile, Sean Mooney has the challengers, Demolition, with him and they’re full of puns on the words ‘Axe’ and ‘Smash’, with Ax wanting to yell ‘TIMBER!’ while chopping Andre down. Fair enough, but just make sure he doesn’t land on you when he falls…
WWF Tag Team Champions The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant & Haku w/Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan) vs. Demolition
Demolition are over like rover here. Andre was nearing the end of his in-ring career here (this was his last PPV match) and his body just wasn’t up to the job, hence Haku does 95% of the work and doesn’t tag out. Andre does come in a couple of times to interfere with a quick hit or kick, but he clearly couldn’t do much more. Demolition breaks down Haku early on until the future Meng turns the tide with a shot to the throat. The pace slows down as Haku cuts off Ax with some martial arts work and a backbreaker. A nerve hold gives Ax a brief hope spot as he reaches out for Smash. No dice, as Haku brings in Smash for the ref distraction so Andre can choke out Ax with the tag rope.
Eventually, Ax counters a charge with a boot and a clothesline and makes the hot tag to Smash, who explodes on Haku with a big backdrop and a clumsy crossbody. Even Andre gets a shot to the chops and a double clothesline for his trouble. Andre grabs hold of Smash, but he moves out of the way and a Haku thrust kick catches Andre, knocking him into a tangle in the ropes. One Demolition Decapitation later, and Demolition are three-time tag team champions! The crowd pop big for that one.
But we’re not done yet. A furious Bobby Heenan shouts and prods Andre but makes the mistake of slapping the Giant. To a massive crowd response, Andre paintbrushes Heenan and punches him to the outside! Haku tries to sneak up with a thrust kick, but Andre catches the foot and lands a headbutt, sending Haku out as well. The pair try to sneak away in the ring cart, but Andre’s having none of it, throwing the pair out and leaving in the cart on his own as the crowd goes wild for him.
The middle portion of the match with Haku in control wasn’t great, but the ending and post-match shenanigans, as well as a hot crowd, more than made up for it.
Winners: Demolition
Backstage, Earthquake tells ‘Mean’ Gene that even the strongest buildings can crumble in an earthquake, and that only Earthquake will be standing in the rubble. I didn’t know Hercules was a building…
Hercules vs. Earthquake (w/Jimmy ‘The Mouth of the South’ Hart)
This was part of the build towards ‘Quake becoming the next major opponent for Hulk Hogan. It would probably have seemed like less of a leap to Hogan if Earthquake had beaten a bigger name than Hercules here, but Herc could take the loss without really suffering. Gorilla says Earthquake has sent 28 guys to the hospital so far, which is a nice touch.
Hercules has the advantage early on with a flurry of punches and sends ‘Quake out to regroup on the floor. A test of strength sees Herc down to one knee but the crowd encourage him back up so ‘Quake clobbers him. The turnbuckles take a pounding with Hecules’s head. Herc tries to come back, but he can only take ‘Quake down to one knee. He foolishly goes for the Torture Rack, with ‘Quake elbowing Hercules to the mat. A further elbow and an Earthquake Splash and the match is over. After the bell, ‘Quake lands another Earthquake Splash, just for giggles, and Jesse refers to it as “an aftershock”.
A quick match, not a lot to it. The crowd were clearly invested in Earthquake, reacting to his ‘tremor’ jumps around the ring. Herc got more offence in than you’d expect, but it did its job.
Winner: Earthquake
We go to a pre-taped segment with Rona Barrett, the well-known celebrity gossip columnist, talking to Miss Elizabeth, who says she has not been as active in the WWF at ringside recently as she has been acting in ‘an advisory capacity’. She doesn’t want to disappoint her fans, but should she return, we will see a more active Miss Elizabeth.
Backstage, Sean Mooney interviews Brutus Beefcake, who says Mr Perfect’s record is impressive, but everyone makes mistakes and after the match, you’ll say Brutus “severed his perfect record at a pretty good clip”. He was cutting the paper in Mooney’s hand as he said that. We got it, Brutus! Honest!
Mr Perfect (w/The Genius) vs. Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake
The set-up for this was that Brutus had cut The Genius’s hair, so Perfect attacked Beefcake in retaliation. Brutus is on fire to start, with Perfect being his usual bump-machine self, going over the top rope and landing on the floor twice within the first two minutes. Some stalling ensues, with Henning eventually taking some big bumps off the turnbuckles and a clothesline. Brutus gestures for the sleeper but The Genius gets on the apron. The ref is distracted and doesn’t see the scroll in the ring. Perfect does, though, and nails Brutus in the face with it, neglecting to go for the cover for whatever reason.
Perfect begins to wear down ‘The Barber’ (a slap to the face sees a bunch of fans hold up signs displaying a ’10’ in an amusing moment). A lot of this consists of slaps, punches and trash-talking, not the most exciting offence, but it does draw heat from the crowd. Suddenly, Brutus grabs Perfect’s legs and slingshots Perfect into the ring post. A quick cover and this one is suddenly over?!? I’m not sure if that was the plan all along or if things were cut short, but it was a strange end to a match that, besides Perfect’s bumps, didn’t really achieve anything at all.
Post-match, Beefcake gestures at Perfect’s hair but The Genius attempts to run off with the hedge clippers. Brutus chases and clobbers The Genius, before bringing him back into the ring, locking on the sleeper and giving him another haircut while Perfect scarpers. Who says there’s honour between heels?
Winner: Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake
A video recap sums up the Bad News Brown-Roddy Piper feud, with Piper and Brown eliminating each other at the Royal Rumble, and Brown then making some unsavoury remarks about Piper’s kilt on an episode of Wrestling Challenge. On paper, this could have been quite a decent little feud, but for reasons that will shall become apparent, their feud instead became infamous.
‘Mean’ Gene is talking with Roddy Piper, who is standing strangely sideways on…and that’s because Piper decided to cover once half of his face and body in black bodypaint. I still don’t understand the thinking behind that. Piper seems to refer to a personality split, with his ‘white side’ being Hot Rod and his ‘black side’ being Hot Scot, and Brown doesn’t know which was going to shut his mouth. Ok, fine, but even if it wasn’t meant to be racial, it was always going to be seen as being so.
The fact that this match is removed completely from the Peacock/WWE Network version of WrestleMania VI speaks volumes.
‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown
Bad News looks confused about Piper, and there are notably some boos to my ears as Piper reveals the full half-body job he’s done. This is a scrappy affair, built around the two hating each other so much that they just want to brawl, with the ref continually trying to separate them. That’s a decent idea, but it’s very stop-start and not particularly wild, Brown even laying in a nerve hold at one point. Brown undoes the top turnbuckle, only to be sent into the exposed metal; Piper pulls out a Michael Jackson-type glove and puts it on his painted hand; Brown misses a punch at ringside and hits the steel post; Piper swings with a chair and hits the post also.
The ref counts both men out and they brawl to the back as a squad of refs try to separate the pair. If Piper hadn’t had himself painted, and the match had had the intensity of the ending, this could have been a decent match. As it is, though…
Winner: N/A (Double Count-Out)
Back in the shower room, Steve Allen teases The Bolsheviks with what he says will be the Russian National Anthem before annoying them with jazz renditions. Just as it seems Allen will play ball, a toilet flushes and Allen escapes as the Russians get mad. You can just imagine Vince in hysterics at this, can’t you? Steve Allen seemed game, though.
The Hart Foundation vs. The Bolsheviks
Racial stereotypes in the WWF would continue into the 90s, and this old chestnut (foreign team sings their National Anthem so they must hate America, the b******s!) is only one example. The Hart Foundation attack their opponents from behind, mid-song, drawing a big cheer. Two punches and a Hart Attack on Boris Zhukov end the match in 18 seconds. Nothing to see here. Classic case of getting people on the card for the sake of it.
Winners: The Hart Foundation
There’s a quick video promo for WrestleMania VII, set for the following year in Los Angeles. Jesse talks about how his Hollywood friends will be there, which is funny, as by the time that show rolled around, ‘The Body’ was gone from the promotion.
‘Mean’ Gene talks to Tito Santana, who calls The Barbarian “one of the greatest physical specimens I have ever seen” and Bobby Heenan a “rodent”. He’ll have to keep his eyes on them, but he will survive. Ariba!
The Barbarian (w/Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan) vs. Tito Santana
Talking about getting people on the card for the sake of it, there was no need for this match at WrestleMania VI. There’s been quite a bit of filler to this point, and this match is no exception.
The idea here was how Tito was going to deal with The Barbarian’s strength. His speed seemed the obvious answer, with Tito moving at a quick pace and taking The Barbarian down, but the big guy turned the tide with a massive boot and a shoulder breaker. Santana avoided a second-rope elbow drop and unleashed some dropkicks, an axehandle off the turnbuckles and the Flying Forearm Bobby Heenan saved his charge by putting his foot on the ropes. Lucky for him, as The Barbarian clotheslined Tito on the top rope and nailed an impressive-looking clothesline from the top (Tito sold the hell out of it) for the three count. One of the better filler matches on the show.
Winner: The Barbarian
We get a video recap of the Randy Savage/Queen Sherrie-Dusty Rhodes/Sweet Sapphire feud, which all kicked off at the Royal Rumble on The Brother Love Show. Saphire was feisty! She wasn’t afraid to jump on people.
Backstage, Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire tell Sean Mooney that if Savage wants crowning, he and Sapphire can do it, as they have what Savage is missing—the crown jewels. I know Vince did a lot to embarrass Dusty with the polka dots and all that, but credit to Dusty: he really did do his best with what he got, and he never lost the gift of the gab.
‘The Macho King’ Randy Savage & Sensational Sherri vs. ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes & Sweet Sapphire
“He’s The American Dream!” That theme music still bangs. Dusty gets on the mic to announce they have Miss Elizabeth, who promptly makes her entrance in a ring cart to a massive reaction. People forget how over Elizabeth was on her own, never mind with Savage. She enters the ring for Dusty to raise both Elizabeth and Sapphire’s hands as Savage and Sherri are livid.
Rules are men vs. men, women vs. women. Sherri immediately breaks this rule by attacking Dusty, but Sapphire pulls her away, while Dusty sends Savage straight into Sherri. Sapphire tags in and does the same and pushes Sherri into Savage. Dusty grabs Savage and Sapphire gives him a (soft) slap, so Sherri runs in and accidentally clobbers Savage. They’re playing it for laughs here and the crowd is lapping it up.
Eventually, Savage takes over with some big axe handles from the top, with Sapphire getting in the way to prevent a third one. Sapphire and Sherri square off, with Sapphire sending Sherri to the floor, only for Elizabeth to throw Sherri back in. As Sherri jaws off with Elizabeth, the distraction allows Sapphire the chance to roll up Sherri to get the pinfall victory. A livid Savage keeps trying to storm the ring afterwards to confront Elizabeth, with Dusty swinging the sceptre to get rid of him.
This was a decent match, with some fun comedy and some good drama too which furthered the Savage-Elizabeth story. The crowd was majorly into it, and it’s the best match on the show to this point. Good stuff,
Winner: Dusty Rhodes & Sweet Sapphire
Interview Time
Backstage, Bobby Heenan is furious and tells ‘Mean’ Gene that he is the head of his family and that if you don’t listen to him, you’re never heard from again. Meanwhile, Sean Mooney has to tackle a crazed Savage and Sherri, with Savage commenting there is no crown jewel and that Dusty has nailed down the lid of his own coffin.
Not everyone is unhappy, though, as Demolition are ready to celebrate. ‘Mean Gene’ tries to bring up future challengers The Hart Foundation, but Demolition brush the question aside before telling the Harts to come and face them, as the belts are staying with them.
Meanwhile, Ronda tells Gorilla and Jesse that she has done some investigative reporting and found an X-rated tape starring none other than ‘The Body’. Jesse tries to blame Sly Stallone before hurrying the show on when Rhonda reveals she has the footage ready to show. That did make me chuckle, I’ll admit.
After the intermission, Hulk Hogan is interviewed, and he says that when the Ultimate Warrior enters the Skydome, he’ll realise that the energy and power he feels comes from Hogan, which politically at the time was pretty correct. The Warrior, meanwhile, says he wants to take the Hulkamaniacs to places further than where Hogan has ever been able to take them, which seems like a pretty pointed statement in itself.
The Orient Express (w/Mr Fuji) vs. The Rockers
Did The Rockers and The Orient Express ever have a bad match? They just seemed to have really good chemistry, regardless of whoever Tanaka’s partner was, Sato or Kato.
The story here is that The Rockers are that little bit quicker and are able to overwhelm with double team moves, so the Express have to bend the rules to get an advantage, whether pulling Janetty over the top rope and hitting him with Fuji’s umbrella, or Tanaka kicking Michaels in the back from the apron when Shawn was running the ropes. Shawn eventually makes the hot tag to Marty, and some smooth double-team moves seem to have The Orient Express beat.
Unfortunately for Jannetty, Fuji hits him in the leg with the umbrella while Marty is on the top turnbuckle. Marty pursues him but Sato throws salt in his eyes, causing him to fall over the guard rail and into the crowd, resulting in a countout.
The ending was a little bit of a downer on an otherwise decent match, but what we got here was good, and the two teams went on to have a killer match at the 1991 Royal Rumble.
Winners: The Orient Express
Steve Allen interviews Rhythm ‘n’ Blues backstage, and he is not impressed. “We’re heading for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”, says Greg Valentine. “I’ll call ahead and warn them you’re coming”, replies Allen. Take that, Valentine!
Dino Bravo (w/ Jimmy Hart & Earthquake) vs. ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan
It’s interesting to hear boos from the crowd as Duggan makes his entrance waving the Stars and Stripes. Duggan actually tries to start a “U-S-A” chant, which doesn’t really get a reaction. The “Hooo” chants fare better, but the boos are really noticeable for Duggan.
Duggan assaults Bravo with his usual power style until Bravo avoids a charge and Duggan bashes face-first into the turnbuckles. Bravo works him over, but Duggan fights back, to no avail as Bravo kicks him when he drops his head. Duggan manages to counter a charge with a knee and sets up for the three-point stance but Earthquake grabs his ankle. Jimmy Hart throws the 2×4 into Bravo but Duggan grabs it and, while the ref deals with Earthquake, ‘Hacksaw’ cracks Bravo with the wood and makes the cover for the win.
Fuming, Earthquake enters the ring and makes a far more effective point than he did earlier against Hercules, crushing Duggan with two Earthquake splashes. Maybe they should have just had Duggan and ‘Quake fight instead—that would have perhaps been more effective.
Winner: ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan
A video recap for the Jake Roberts-Ted Dibiase feud shows the Dollar Man putting Jake to sleep with the Million Dollar Dream before later (on the mic before a match with enhancement talent) challenging Roberts to try and take the Million Dollar Title off him, Jake attacking DiBiase after that match.
Jake Roberts tells ‘Mean’ Gene that everything DiBiase stands for is on the line in this match, that DiBiase humiliated those in need and now he’s going to humiliate DiBiase. Roberts was such a great promo back in the day, and this one was no exception
‘Million Dollar Champion’ Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil) vs. Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts
Jake starts quickly, trying to hit the DDT 3 times in quick succession, with Ted slipping out of the hold and the ring quickly. Jake works the arm instead before sending DiBiase to the floor through the ropes. A running knee attempt failed, though, and saw Jake go flying through the air and into the turnbuckles before hitting the mat hard.
DiBiase slows things down too much with a front face lock, leading to a conversation between Jesse and Gorilla about a Mexican wave going around the arena. The conversation gets so involved that the camera even takes a shot of the upper echelons of the Skydome with arms in the air.
Fortunately, DiBiase perks things up by ramming Roberts into the ring post and nailing a piledriver but a blasé cover sees Jake counter into a roll-up for a near-fall. The Million Dollar Dream is slapped on but Jaker manages to get a foot on the ropes. DiBiase goes up top but gets a shot to the gut for his trouble. Clotheslines follow (with the crowd chanting “DDT”) as does a big backdrop and the short-arm clothesline, but Jake delays hitting the DDT. This allows Virgil to pull Roberts out of the ring, with Jake then bodyslamming Virgil onto the floor. DiBiase slaps the Dream on again at ringside. Roberts tries to post DiBiase but seems to post himself instead, so Virgil rolls the Dollar Man back into the ring for the win by countout.
The crowd did not like that result. They do, however, enjoy Jake coming back in and DDT’ing the Dollar Man as Virgil scarpers with the belt. ‘The Snake’ gives some of DiBiase’s money to the front row, including to Mary Tyler Moore, but Virgil manages to come back and pull DiBiase out of the ring before Jake can unleash Damian on him.
The match took a little time to get interesting, and the ending was a questionable booking decision, but once this kicked into gear it was very entertaining, as was the post-match activity. The best match on the show to this point.
Winner: Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts
Backstage, Akeem and Slick are happy to have been paid by Ted DiBiase to be the Big Boss Man’s executioner, while the Big Boss Man is proud not to have taken any dirty money from ‘scum’ and to represent the law.
Akeem (w/Slick) vs. Big Boss Man
Akeem and the Boss Man had been tag partners under the name ‘The Twin Towers’ until the WWF turned Boss Man face. Boss Man looks pumped as he enters but is immediately attacked by Ted DiBiase, who seems to have snuck back down to ringside. The attack is probably the best bit of the match, with DiBiase bodyslamming Boss Man on the floor and sending him into the ring post.
In the ring, Akeem lays in the punches and corner charges, but the Boss Man fumbles what looks like an atomic drop, nails a couple of shots and hits the Sidewalk Slam for the pin. Just a complete nothing match. Boss Man nails Slick to end things.
Winner: Big Boss Man
Sean Mooney is in the crowd, which he numbers at 65,000, and interviews a couple of children, one of whom thinks Rhythm ‘n’ Blues “can’t do anything”, before he moves on to Mary Tyler Moore, who seems absolutely baffled by Mooney’s questions (“how about Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine?” “How about him”) but does put over the show as “the best of athletics and theatre”, which was very kind of her.
‘The Fink’ makes the announcement and here come ‘Rhythm ‘n’ Blues in a pink Cadillac with the Honkettes jiving in the front seats. Jimmy Hart holds up in a gold album, as Jesse and Gorilla argue the authenticity of said disc. The crowd is dead for this. Honky gets on the mic and tells the back to turn the music on. Needless to say, ‘Hunka Hunka Honky Love’ is not a classic. Or a good song. It’s barely a song, really. I’m not sure whether Honky not singing in time makes things better or worse. I do know that Greg Valentine should never be allowed to mime guitar playing again.
Thankfully, two magazine vendors turn out to be The Bushwhackers in disguise and they clear the ring, to the crowd’s delight, and smash the guitars. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see The Bushwhackers!
‘The Fink’ announces the attendance figure as 67,678, the largest attendance at the Skydome to that date. I’ve never heard this figure disputed, so I assume it’s reasonably correct. If so, that’s a hell of a figure!
‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude (w/Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan) vs. ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka
I don’t know if they were running long, but Rude doesn’t get his usual disrobing announcement. This would, of course, be Rude’s last year with the WWF until 1997, although he did get to main event the next PPV, SummerSlam 1990.
Rude bumps like crazy for Snuka, missing a dropkick and then taking two big backdrops and a dropkick over the top rope to the floor. Snuka seems to enjoy mocking Rude’s pelvic wiggle, but I’m not sure who enjoyed watching it. Rude takes control by countering a backdrop attempt into a suplex. A nice criss-cross segment sees Snuka hit a jumping headbutt. Snuka misses one top rope opportunity when Rude charges and Snuka leaps over him. A second splash attempt sees Rude move and one Rude Awakening later, Rude gets the 1-2-3.
Not a bad little match for what it was.
Winner: ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude
WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior does his usual 3000-miles-per-hour entrance down the aisle to a good reaction, but Hogan’s entrance seems that little more calmer than usual, and to my ears he gets the louder pop of the two men. However, the crowd does become electric with mixed ‘Hogan-Warrior’ chants as the pair face off for a staredown. Matches between a promotion’s top two babyfaces were extremely rare at the time and the crowd were invested in the idea here, their reaction giving the match a big fight feel before the bell had even rung.
It’s well known that Hulk Hogan was no ring general, and The Warrior was less so even than Hogan. That the pair of them managed to put on a match that was credible and watchable, that didn’t come over as a standard ‘Hogan fights monster’ match, and even had some drama, is a credit to both men. It was not a trick they would not be able to repeat in their WCW rematch, but I would argue this is Hogan’s second-best ‘Mania main event to this point (the first coming the year before against Savage).
This match is all about power; in the larger context, the power of being the figurehead of the WWF and the most popular performer; and from an in-ring perspective, determining who is the stronger of these muscular behemoths. It’s a case of the irresistible force versus the immovable object and a case of who would give first. Rather than the typical Hogan match, where he would dominate first, take a long stretch of being beaten down, then hulk up and win, The Warrior and Hogan trade the advantage regularly throughout the match, as if to show that both men were equal.
It starts with quick switches of advantage, both men having more energy at the start and trading the advantage on a test of strength and consecutive criss-cross spots. As the match progresses and both men tire, they each take turns dominating the advantage for increasingly longer periods, the point being that both men, although worn down, are still a match for each other. The crowd are on the edge of their seats: who will give first?
As much as Hogan didn’t want to lose, he does so in a way that still made him look good. ‘The Hulkster’ kicks out of Warrior’s initial Gorilla Press and splash before hulking up in the usual way and hitting the big boot. That should be all she wrote, but the Warrior has just that little bit extra. He moves and Hogan misses the legdrop, finding nothing but canvas (nobody moved out of the way of the legdrop in those days). That was shock enough in itself, but one more big splash and The Warrior was the first man to beat Hulk Hogan cleanly for his Heavyweight Championship! (Hogan has spoken about how he made sure to kick out just after the three so as to not look weak. He must have been insecure because the finish didn’t make him look weak; it’s just no one was used to him losing cleanly, so it seemed a major turning point, just as it was supposed to).
A strong match by both men’s standards at the time, and a solid encounter by any standard, this is one of the iconic WrestleMania main events and for good reason.
Winner: The Ultimate Warrior
Post-match, Hogan hands the Warrior the title belt and hugs him before leaving slowly on the ring cart (Hogan has stated in his book that the ref was supposed to hand the belt over, but Hogan beat him to it so that all eyes would be on him as he left the ring. I’m not sure; it looks quite planned out when you watch it). The Warrior takes to the buckles to hold up his new title belt and celebrate, and pyro goes off everywhere (the first time on a WWF PPV?) to create an iconic WrestleMania moment.
Final Thoughts
WrestleMania VI is a strange show. It has a genuinely big main event, one of the better ones of the Hulkamania era, and it feels like a big show with the size of the Skydome and the crowd attendance. So why doesn’t it feel like a good show?
Well, there’s the amount of filler involved. 15 matches is a hell of a lot for any PPV, and WrestleMania VI is no different. Yes, all matches bar the main event are short, but that also means nothing gets the chance to breathe. Some of the matches wouldn’t have improved, even with more time. Earthquake-Hercules, Koko-Martel, Hart Foundation-Bolsheviks, Barbarian-Santana and Rude-Snuka had no reason or need to exist on the card. That only three of those matches were decent, and nothing more than that, means they could easily have been cut to the detriment of no one (but the wrestlers’ paydays, of course).
Of the other matches, Perfect-Beefcake was dull, as was Akeem-Boss Man. The less said about Piper-Brown the better. Bravo-Duggan was nothing until Earthquake got involved at the end. Only Demolition-Colossal Connection, The Rockers-Orient Express, the mixed tag and Roberts-DiBiase had any merit on the undercard. That’s not a great ratio. Not only that but the celebrity appearances and usage feel a lot more small-scale than at previous shows. That might be good or bad, depending on your view, but it’s certainly notable.
This, ultimately (pun intended), is a one-match show. The main event makes WrestleMania VI well worth watching, but you might want to skip straight to the end. There are worse WrestleManias (II, IX and XI come to mind), but WrestleMania VI cannot claim to be in the top tier of the event’s history either. ‘The Ultimate Challenge’? It’s certainly a challenging watch.
