Considered by many to be among the worst WrestleManias ever, I opted to re-watch this one just because I don't think I'd seen it more than maybe once or twice over the years...
A 20-Battle Royale kicks off the show. The sole memorable part of this is the finish, which sees Bret Hart (who was a heel at the time) and Bad News Brown momentarily team up only for Brown to screw the Hitman over. Brown and Hart were both "Stampede guys" but unless I missed it, nobody brings that up on commentary. The Hart Foundation would be a much, much bigger in the years to come, but this still feels like a bit of a spotlight for Bret as it almost would've made sense for the reverse to happen (Bret screws Bad News and then Brown destroys the trophy). A battle royal that lasts less than 10 minutes is obviously not a great one...(1.5/5)
The WWE Championship tournament begins "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase taking on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. These two had history dating back to the territories so they have good chemistry, plus they keep it short and "sprinty" with Duggan doing lots of moving and DiBiase bumping big. The finish comes due to interference caused by Andre the Giant, who was aligned with Dibiase. If I'd had the pen, I would've had Andre's interference lead to DiBiase applying the Million Dollar Dream instead of winning with a fist drop, but whatever. (2.5/5)
After some words from Brutus Beefcake, Don "The Rock" Muraco takes on Dino Bravo in another tournament match. This is the sort of match that makes this show feel like more of a glorified house show than a WrestleMania. Then again, maybe that's because I'm watching this in 2022 and neither Muraco or Bravo were big stars when I started watching in 91'. Anyway, they get roughly the same amount of time as DiBiase and Duggan did, but because neither work a particularly interesting style or build a very interesting story, this feels like it could've been half as long and still be dull. The finish is also a cop out as Muraco doesn't even get the clean W, which would've at least given him credibility in the second round and maybe made it feel like he actually stood a chance to win the thing. (0.5/5)
Bob Uecker interviews The Honky Tonk Man and continues his search for Vanna White (which is just about as 80s as an 80s sentence can get) before the tournament continues with Ricky Steamboat taking on Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. I'm not sure what Steamboat's situation was at this point, but he would be back in the NWA by 89' and, according to wikipedia, left the company shortly after this show. Valentine and Steamboat have good chemistry (I'm guessing they worked together in the NWA) and, as always, Steamboat was just so good that even a rather forgettable 10-minute match like this stands out even more when its surrounded by mediocre matches. Also, credit to Steamboat for making Valentine look like a killer at times (even if the finish isn't 100% clean). (3/5)
After another backstage interview segment with the British Bulldogs (and Matilda), we're back to the ring for Randy Savage vs. Butch Reed. As we'd see over the course of the evening, most of Savage's matches are ones in which the heel almost completely dominates him until he gets in a flurry of offense and somehow hits his elbow drop. This is exactly that. I can understand not wanting Savage to have to go through a bunch of long-winded matches to keep the audience hot for him over the course of a 4-hour show, but if that's the intention, why not let him start off the night with a nice quick win that actually showcases him as a guy who can outsmart any opponent at any time? Like Steamboat, Reed would be out of the company soon after this so I doubt they had some big storyline they needed to protect him for anyway. (1.5/5)
One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam Bigelow is up next. One Man Gang gets the countout victory in under 3 minutes. Again, I understand the booking to keep Bigelow strong, but One Man Gang getting a definitive victory would've made him seem like a bigger deal as the tournament went on as the heavy favorites were likely Hogan and Andre. (1/5)
Hogan cuts a wild promo before the next bout. Its a pretty classic one, maybe even one of the more memorable moments from this entire show.
"Ravishing" Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts is next. This was before they had an extended feud involving Jake Roberts' wife which is a bit odd because this match isn't really that great and maybe should've been a warning that while the promos and storyline was going to draw heat, the matches themselves might be pretty underwhelming. Rude would really shine in 89' and 90' working with Warrior as he was such an expressive bumper, but Roberts' offense didn't really allow him to do that. Rude tries to build suspense (I think?) by constantly going back to a chinlock, but it really just drags this match into tediousness. As could be expected, whenever Jake Roberts teased a DDT, the crowd got excited, but there just weren't enough of those moments to outweigh all the stalling. Of all the matches on this show that should've gone 15 minutes, this wasn't the one I'd have gone with. The crowd is not into this, letting the wrestlers hear it with audible "boring' chants at one point. (1/5)
The Ultimate Warrior makes his WrestleMania debut against Hercules next. This is a much more even match than I thought it'd be as Hercules is basically presented as an equal to the Warrior. Warrior had debuted in the fall of 87' and wasn't nearly as over as he'd become. I'm curious what it was that eventually got him so hot, but I'm willing to guess that it was the addition of more color to his look, his bonkers promos, and, of course, his trademark entrance. A match that is more historically important (?) than actually good and certainly not worth seeking out. Just a few months later, Warrior would win the Intercontinental Championship but you really wouldn't think that based on this. (1/5)
A long hype video sets the stage for Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant in the opening match of the tournament's 2nd round. Because Hogan and Andre were the previous World Champions, they had a bye in the first round, but instead of having them face off at the end of the second round, they actually start it (which still seems weird to me as a viewer). I'm guessing Vince thought it was better to have Hogan and Andre on the show earlier than later as, after this, the show does deflate a bit. Andre does not look great here and, a year later, would be used almost entirely in tag matches. Hogan has a ton of fire, his selling is passionate, and he plays to the crowd as well as ever...but this is just an absolute "nothing" match that seems designed primarily to cool down both guys so that Savage/DiBiase can get the spotlight. Its a wise booking decision, for sure, but it also means purposefully nose-diving a show and not delivering a true rematch to WrestleMania III's main event. (1/5)
Don Muraco vs. Ted DiBiase is next. I like the finish here as DiBiase gets the clean win in a little under 6 minutes. If Muraco had come into this match booked stronger, I think this match would've had more heat, but alas, it was fairly predictable that DiBiase was going to get the W. Inoffensive but forgettable. (1.5/5)
Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage follows and, like Savage's first match, he basically just eats a ton of offense until he miraculously makes a comeback. The good thing about that is that Savage was a great seller and Valentine's elbows and strikes are nasty. I wouldn't call this a Match of the Night nominee, but it is easily the best in-ring action since, well, Valentine's last match. Maybe I've got to admit that Greg Valentine was more dependable and solid in-ring than I initially thought... (2/5)
The Intercontinental Championship is on the line next as Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake challenges The Honky Tonk Man. Beefcake would challenge for the Intercontinental Championship a whole bunch of times over the next few months and then again in 89' (against Rick Rude) and in 90' (when Mr. Perfect held the title), but never actually win the thing - which is remarkable just because I can't really think of another guy, in any era, who perennially challenged for a major title on multiple big shows and never actually got his moment. Anyway...neither of these guys is a particularly great worker, though they were both over and their larger-than-life characters was enough for this to be in the average range. They didn't go too long and Jimmy Hart got involved (and lost a bit of hair) too. (2.5/5)
Backstage, Andre the Giant nearly pops Bob Uecker's head off his shoulders in a memorable segment.
The Islanders and Bobby Heenan squared off against The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware in the next contest. I'm guessing the Islanders and the Bulldogs could've torn the house down if they'd been wrestling a straight-up physical battle (and if Dynamite Kid were still the worker he'd been a few years earlier), but for whatever reason, this was not that kind of match and really underwhelmed. Bobby Heenan is wearing a goofy dog catcher suit, but we don't even get a pay-off of having Matilda chase him around. Even the should-be feel-good ending doesn't happen and Koko has to take the L, which seems like an odd booking decision considering the Islanders went on to do absolutely nothing (and The Tonga Kid left the company a short time after this show) and there was no reason to protect Heenan. (1.5/5)
The tournament continues as Randy Savage takes on the One Man Gang. This match doesn't even go 5 minutes and is pretty one-sided with One Man Gang on offense for most of it. Savage has flurries here and there, but the only purpose this match serves is to further emphasize just how much damage Savage has already suffered going into the finals (which he manages to get to when the Gang inexplicably opts to try to cheat to win even though he was in control for most of the match). I would've liked to see Savage and Gang actually have a real match as One Man Gang wasn't too bad of a big man and Savage was great at ping-ponging around for bigger guys at this point in his career. (1/5)
Demolition challenge Strike Force for the World Tag Team Championships next. Not much struck out at me watching this aside from Martel being the best worker and Demolition Smash being much bigger than he would appear in later years as Repo Man and even later as the Blacktop Bully. As was typical for this era, the heels have to cheat to win. Nothing worth seeking out here unless you're a Demolition obsessive. (1.5/5)
Main event time - Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase for the vacant WWE Championship. With Savage having already wrestled 3 matches, it would've made some sense for him to come into this looking really bruised and battered...but he doesn't. It also would've made sense for DiBiase, who is well rested, to control early without needing help from Andre the Giant on the outside, but that doesn't happen either. Instead, this match is really all about Andre's interference and the eventual return of Hulk Hogan to "even the odds" and essentially cheat on the Macho Man's behalf. Macho Man's victory gets a big reaction from the audience and the crowd was more engaged here then at any other time, but this was barely suspenseful as it was very clear, even to the in-person audience at the time, that Hogan was going to be involved. I would've preferred seeing Hogan and Andre brawl in the aisle and for maybe Liz to be the one to help secure the gold for Savage by thwarting interference by Virgil or something. One of the weakest Mania main events ever. (2.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 1.59-out-of-5, WrestleMania IV is not a show that even the biggest 80s wrestling fan would find themselves watching more than once. Despite the show being built around Andre, Savage, Hogan, and DiBiase, none of them have "career nights" here. The rest of the card is a bit of a blur with very short, unremarkable matches. Roberts/Rude is a real disappointment as is Hogan/Andre and Savage/One Man Gang, but the potential for a fun battle of power wrestlers in Warrior/Hercules also doesn't come to fruition the way it may have a year or so later when Warrior was more over.
FINAL RATING - DUDleyville
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