This is the second article in the Wrestlemania I-XXX series. For those who missed the first, let me explain what this is all about:
- The series is a personal adventure. I will be watching every Wrestlemania PPV from I-XXX and making an article for each one. I will highlight moments I liked, disliked, or found indifference to.
- I will only give results for the important matches. I hope to spark curiosity among fans, and urge them to watch past Wrestlemania events so they can comment and share their likes/dislikes.
Wrestlemania II (1986)
“The Premier Sporting Event of the Year!”, “What the World is Coming To””
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (NY)
Rosemont Horizon (Chicago)
Memorial Sports Arena (LA)
Wrestlemania II drew 40,085 fans combined across all three venues.
This bizarre PPV was not only held in three separate venues, it was also the only Wrestlemania to be held on a Monday. Each venue had their own commentators, ring announcers, undercard, main event, and army of celebrities. With that said, I will try to separate each venue, and bring them all together for a final conclusion at the end. Before I move on to the matches, I want to use this space to highlight the army of celebrities at Wrestlemania II.
New York – Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Darryl Dawkins, G. Gordon Liddy, Joan Rivers, Joe Frazier, Lou Duva, Mr. T, Ray Charles, Herb and Susan Saint James.
Chicago – Clara Peller, Dick Butkus, Ed Jones, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Fralic, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin, Jim Covert, Russ Francis, William Perry, and Cathy Lee Crosby
Los Angeles – Ricky Schroder, Robert Conrad, Tommy Lasorda, and Elvira.
Many of the celebrities were used as guest commentators, ring announcers, timekeepers, managers, and as competitors in matches. NFL players competed in the Battle Royal. I only recognized names such as Ray Charles, Joan Rivers, Joe Frazier, Mr. T, Ozzy Osbourne and William Perry.
Wrestlemania II – New York
Vince McMahon made his Wrestlemania début by thanking everyone in attendance. He also welcomed the fans with the classic line “Welcome … to Wrestlemania!!” Ray Charles then gave his rendition of “America The Beautiful”, which was an improvement on the previous Wrestlemania. The commentators for the New York card were Vince McMahon and Susan Saint James. You think current commentary teams are bad? Try listening to Vince and Susan Saint James. Susan was cringing to listen to with some of the comments. It felt like she was a fan who still believed in kayfabe. I was hoping I didn’t need to listen to this duo for the whole show. I felt huge relief when they moved from New York to Chicago, as Gorilla Monsoon took over.
The first match between Paul Orndorff and The Magnificent Muraco was so unbelievably forgettable, I forgot how it ended. And then we were treated to a little dose of “Macho Madness”. The next match was between Randy Savage and George “The Animal” Steele. Miss Elizabeth accompanied Randy Savage to ringside. Randy Savage was the Intercontinental Champion going in. He was playing the heel, and before the match, cut a backstage promo with the belt. Susan Saint James blasted Randy Savage before the match for his treatment of Miss Elizabeth, and she was firmly in the corner of George Steele. She was hoping that Savage would get what was coming to him. Despite George Steele being booked as the babyface, he didn’t receive many cheers from the fans.
It was a relatively short match which saw the momentum go back-and-forth. George Steele became the first man to kick out of Savage’s elbow drop finish. Randy Savage won the match by rolling him up and using the ropes for leverage. It was interesting to see Randy Savage in this light, an upcoming star in the making.
And then a wild Jake “The Snake” Roberts appeared! In his Wrestlemania début he defeated George Wells in a short match with the “dangerous” DDT maneuver. Susan pointed out how vicious Jake was for dropping Wells on his head. Then the snake came out, and Jake put it on his fallen opponent, and … yeah, George Wells vomited. Susan was horrified. The camera tried to move away from the puking. Was it real? I have no idea. If it wasn’t, it was a horrible thing to ask Wells to do. If it was, then all I can do is feel sorry for Wells.
The first main event was a Boxing match between Roddy Piper and Mr. T. It’s been said before that Piper had legit heat with Mr. T as he was booked to lose the match. But you know what? This boxing match was really good! I was blown away by the intensity. It appeared like both men didn’t care for one another, so what was meant to be a kayfabe boxing match, had many stiff blows. Piper was such an incredible heel, some of the best heel work I have ever seen him do. He took his real hatred and translated that into the match. Mr. T just kept working through it. The first knockdown on Mr. T looked really fake though, it seemed all too obvious that he was taking punishment on purpose so he could take the dive.
The first round was scrappy, and ended with both men refusing to back away from one another. After the first couple of rounds, the bout picked up in intensity, as both men hit each other quicker and harder. It was almost like a Rocky film bout, which I’m sure they were trying to recreate. Just as I was beginning to get sucked into this kayfabe boxing match, Piper ended it in typical heel fashion. I won’t spoil who won the match. This was one of the highlights of the show., surprising I know!
Wrestlemania II – Chicago
Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Cathy Lee Crosby commentated this part of the event. Like I said earlier, this was a relief after listening to the team of Vince and Susan. Cathy Lee Crosby expressed how she had “never been to anything like this” in her life on multiple occasions. She appeared out-of-place, but she didn’t talk much compared to Susan. She was more like a first time fan sat at the commentary team, but it was fine as she let Gorilla and Gene call the action.
The first match was a complete squash between the Women’s Champion, The Fabulous Moolah, and her opponent Velvet McIntyre. Moolah had some serious heat, and I think the fans had grown tired of her dominance by this point of her career. The second match between Nikolai Volkoff and Corporal Kirchner was a flag match, and the shortest on the entire card. Just another forgettable match in Chicago.
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