Wrestlemania IV


release year: 1987
genre: vintage wrestling pay-per-view
viewing setting: home DVD, 9/3/12

synopsis: This fourth annual wrestling mega-event featured an unprecedented 16 matches, including a 14-man tournament for the heavyweight championship.

where it happened: Atlantic City

impressions: As always, I won't go into great detail, but rather mention some highlights. There was a fairly boring 20-Man Battle Royal ending with some random guy winning and then Bret Hart smashing the trophy to pieces, Andre the Giant helping Ted DiBiase win his first tournament match, smirking bodyguard Virgil, Billy Graham on the sidelines, Don Muraco and his gigantic squiggly veiny arms, Ricky Steamboat's final match before leaving for another promotion, Randy Savage fighting four matches this night, two huge fat guys (One Man Gang and Bam Bam Bigelow), Hulk Hogan doing a really crazy promo about using Andre the Giant to open a fault line and dump everyone into the ocean, Rick Rude's abs on display, the Ultimate Warrior winning a match and getting choked by chains and then powering out of it, an evil-looking Andre the Giant saying "the Woe Woe Westling Fedewation", a double-DQ match between Hogan and Andre that involves use of a metal chair on both and a chase/beatdown of bodyguard Virgil, then a post-match posing/music session that goes on forever, Brutus (now "the Barber") Beefcake cutting off Jimmy Hart's hair, Andre the Giant choking Bob Uecker, the British Bulldogs' bulldog attacking Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, a random spontaneous Jesse Ventura posedown, the One Man Gang breaking a cane over Randy Savage, and Savage later beating DiBiase (and his new henchman Andre the Giant) with some help from Hulk Hogan. Celebrities on hand for this one (in addition to any already mentioned above) were Bob Uecker, Vanna White, Gladys Knight, and Robin Leach.

fun quote: Jesse Ventura: "You've gotta get up pretty early in the morning to outsmart the Macho Man."

final word: This one had some new ideas, and like the previous three, is a must-see for fans of this sort of entertainment.

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