| WrestleMania V | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringRandy Savage andHulk Hogan | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | April 2, 1989 | ||
| City | Atlantic City, New Jersey | ||
| Venue | Atlantic City Convention Hall (Promoted asTrump Plaza) | ||
| Attendance | 18,946 | ||
| Tagline | The Mega Powers Explode | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| WrestleMania chronology | |||
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WrestleMania V was a 1989professional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the fifth annualWrestleMania and took place on April 2, 1989, at theAtlantic City Convention Hall inAtlantic City, New Jersey[Note 1] for a second consecutive year. A total of 14 matches were contested at the event.
Themain event wasHulk Hogan versusRandy Savage for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship, billed "The Mega Powers Explode", which Hogan won after aleg drop, marking the first time that the world championship would change hands at WrestleMania (Savage's victory the previous year to capture the championship was as a result of a tournament to name a new champion following a vacancy).Miss Elizabeth was at ringside in a neutral corner for the first half of the main event before the referee sent her to the locker room area. Theundercard included matches pittingRavishing Rick Rude againstThe Ultimate Warrior for theWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship,The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart) againstGreg Valentine, andThe Honky Tonk Man, andDemolition (Ax andSmash) againstPowers of Pain, andMr. Fuji in ahandicap match for theWWF Tag Team Championship. This event also went head to head withWCW'sClash Of The Champions VI.
Retrospective reviews for WrestleMania V have been mixed. Whilst the main event between Hogan and Savage was positively reviewed, criticism was levelled at the amount of matches, and their general level of quality.
WrestleMania is considered theWorld Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) flagshipprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in1985. It is held annually between mid-March to mid-April.[1] Following the advent ofSurvivor Series in 1987 and thenRoyal Rumble andSummerSlam in 1988—WWF's four original annual pay-per-views—the four would eventually be dubbed the "Big Four".[2] WrestleMania V was scheduled to be held on April 2, 1989, at theBoardwalk Hall inAtlantic City, New Jersey for the second consecutive year. This event, along with the previous year'sWrestleMania IV, was advertised as being held at theTrump Plaza Hotel and Casino, with both events taking place next door at Convention Hall, but sponsored byDonald Trump. The two events were the first time that WrestleMania was held at the same venue for two consecutive years, and would not happen again until 2025, and 2026, whereWrestleMania 41, andWrestleMania 42 took place atAllegiant Stadium inParadise, Nevada in theLas Vegas area.Run-DMC performed a "WrestleMania Rap" for the audience.[3] Other celebrity guests in attendance included Donald Trump, whose Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was the main sponsor of the event, andMorton Downey Jr.[citation needed]
The mainfeud heading into WrestleMania was betweenHulk Hogan, andRandy Savage, who for most of the previous year were a unified team that referred to themselves asThe Mega Powers.
The unit began forming after Savage wrestledThe Honky Tonk Man for hisIntercontinental Heavyweight Championship on the October 3, 1987 airing ofSaturday Night's Main Event. After the match, which Savage won by disqualification, Honky Tonk Man enlisted the help ofBret Hart, andJim Neidhart in attacking Savage. As Honky was ready to strike Savage with his guitar, Savage’s valetMiss Elizabeth came back to ringside accompanied by then-reigningWWF World Heavyweight Champion Hogan, who helped Savage even the odds.
Later, Hogan facedAndre the Giant in a rematch of their championship bout fromWrestleMania III on the premiere episode ofThe Main Event, which was broadcast live on February 5, 1988, in Indianapolis. With help fromTed DiBiase, and acrooked official, Andre dethroned Hogan as champion and immediately surrendered the title to DiBiase as repayment for his assistance. After the contest, Andre’s victory was upheld due to WWF referees’ decisions being regarded as final. Still, the WWF World Heavyweight Championship was declared vacant as Andre was not permitted to surrender the title to another wrestler. Thus, a tournament was conceived forWrestleMania IV for the vacant title. Savage advanced to the finals and, with a little help from Hogan, won the tournament, and the championship by defeating DiBiase in the finals. Hogan celebrated with Savage afterward, cementing their union.[4]
Throughout the rest of 1988, Hogan and Savagefeuded with manyheel tag teams, such as the Mega Bucks team of DiBiase, and Andre and the Twin Towers, consisting ofAkeem, andThe Big Boss Man. While they never actually chased the company’s tag team championships, the Mega Powers stayed together as one of the strongest tag team forces in the company as the year ended.
Things slowly began to change as 1989 began, however. Hogan had requested that Elizabeth accompany him to the ring for several of his matches in addition to her duties as Savage’s valet. This led to several occasions where Elizabeth was placed in harm’s way, which did not sit well with the Macho Man. Another sign that tensions were beginning to mount came when Savage picked up Boss Man’s nightstick after a match with Akeem and glared at Hogan while he had his back turned, posing as he often did for the crowd.
On the January 7Saturday Night’s Main Event in Tampa, Savage came out and cleared the ring with asteel chair after Hogan was receiving a post-match beating by the Twin Towers, and Akeem and Boss Man began threatening Elizabeth, Boss Man going so far as to grab Elizabeth's wrist. Savage did not bother to check on the injured Hogan, however, and left the ring. Elizabeth assisted Hogan backstage, which again angered Savage. This led to a confrontation between Savage and Elizabeth, but nothing came of it.[5][6] Later in January during theRoyal Rumble match, Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage as he was trying to eliminateBad News Brown.[7]
Finally, on February 2 at the liveThe Main Event II program from Milwaukee, the tensions between Hogan and Savage boiled over. Once again, the Mega Powers and Twin Towers squared off. During a key point in the match, Akeem threw Savage through the ropes, causing him to land on Elizabeth. Hogan, distraught, picked her up and carried her backstage to the trainers’ room where he waited while she regained consciousness. Savage, meanwhile, was forced to take on Boss Man and Akeem alone until Hogan, at the behest of Elizabeth, came back out several minutes later. When Hogan went to tag into the match, Savage slapped him in the face and left the ring. Hogan managed to record the victory for the Mega Powers, but things were not over yet.[8]
Immediately upon the conclusion of the match, Hogan returned to the trainers’ room where an angry Savage was waiting for him. The two got into a loud and physical confrontation, where Savage blamed Hogan for what happened to Elizabeth and accused him of being jealous of his championship reign. He also accused Hogan of only being his partner because he was lusting after Elizabeth. Hogan tried to calm the irate Macho Man down, but Savage had heard enough and struck Hogan with the title belt, knocking him to the floor. After punching the downed Hogan twice, Savage grabbed the belt again as Elizabeth went to check on Hogan. Savage grabbed her and threw her across the room, but before he could strike Hogan a second time,Brutus Beefcake came into the room and grabbed the belt from him. Savage eventually left the room, but not before assaulting Beefcake and the WWF officials who were dispatched to defuse the situation and tend to the injured Hogan.
Hogan then issued the challenge to Savage for what he still considered to be rightfully his, and Savage agreed to defend the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against him at WrestleMania. However, he would do so alone, as Elizabeth declined to be in his corner for the match; instead, she opted to be at ringside but in a neutral corner.
The second main feud heading into WrestleMania was betweenRick Rude andThe Ultimate Warrior over theWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. Rude and Warrior werebooked to face each other in a "SuperPosedown" atRoyal Rumble in January 1989. The winner had to be decided by a fan reaction, where Warrior won the posedown. After the posedown, an angry Rude attacked Warrior.[7] This led to a feud between the two and an Intercontinental Heavyweight Title match at WrestleMania.
The other main match on theundercard wasDemolition (Ax andSmash) versusThe Powers of Pain (The Barbarian andThe Warlord), andMr. Fuji in ahandicap match for theWWF Tag Team Championship. Demolition was a dominantheeltag team since its debut in early 1987. They defeatedStrike Force (Tito Santana andRick Martel) for the titles atWrestleMania IV.[9] They had a successfulfeud withThe Hart Foundation during their early reign.[10][11] In the summer of 1988, a powerhousebabyface tag team The Powers of Pain debuted and feuded with Demolition over the tag titles. AtSurvivor Series, Demolition'smanagerMr. Fujiturned on them after causing them to lose theirSurvivor Series match, culminating in adouble turn as Demolition turned babyfaces and Powers of Pain turned heels.[12] Powers of Pain made Mr. Fuji their manager, leading to their WrestleMania encounter with Demolition for the tag titles in a 3-on-2 handicap match.
Jake Roberts andAndré the Giant began their feud in the fall of 1988 after André interfered in one of Roberts' matches against Rude. When Roberts retrieved his snake, Damien, from his bag, André became distressed, then petrified at the sight of the snake. When it became apparent André was deathly afraid of the snake, Roberts threw the snake onto André, causing him to collapse to the mat and pass out from a (kayfabe) heart attack. André recovered and swore revenge. Meanwhile, Andre's longtime adversary,Big John Studd returned to the WWF in late 1988, rejected a "welcome back" from longtime managerBobby Heenan and, in becoming a face, said he was coming after André. The André-Roberts feud, meanwhile, continued into early 1989, and eventually, Studd agreed to become the special guest referee for their match at WrestleMania.
Shortly afterTerry Taylor joined the WWF in the summer of 1988, he was packaged as "The Red Rooster" and, paired with Heenan as his manager, given a novice wrestler gimmick, someone who could not navigate his way through matches without constant instructions from Heenan. Eventually, the Red Rooster grew tired of Heenan's demeaning style of coaching and turned against him, becoming a face. Shortly thereafter, on an episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, Heenan claimed to want to break off their relationship amicably, but it was a ruse to set Rooster up to be ambushed by Heenan's new protégé, long-time enhancement talentSteve Lombardi, who had just been reinvented as The Brooklyn Brawler.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Gorilla Monsoon |
| Jesse Ventura | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund |
| Tony Schiavone | |
| Sean Mooney | |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Joey Marella |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Dave Hebner | |
| Tim White | |
| Freddie Sparta |
WWF Women's ChampionRockin' Robin opened the show by performing "America the Beautiful".
The first match at WrestleMania V was betweenHercules, andKing Haku. Haku attacked from behind to start, but Hercules used somepower moves to get the advantage before heclotheslined Haku, sending him to the floor. Hesuplexed Haku in the ring, and hit him a series ofelbow drops. After dominating Haku, Hercules focused his attention on Haku's (and his own former)managerBobby Heenan. Haku nailed Hercules from behind, and hit him with twobackbreakers for anear-fall. Hercules avoided adiving splash by Haku and hit him with aknee lift. He hit a series of clotheslines, andpowerslammed Haku for a near-fall. He attempted a top rope maneuver, but when he came down, Haku caught him with asavate kick. Hercules fell in the corner, and Haku tried to open the middle rope as Hercules rolled away. Hercules ducked a clothesline and hit Haku with abridgingback suplex to win the match.
The second match was atag team match between The Twin Towers (Akeem andBig Boss Man) andThe Rockers (Shawn Michaels andMarty Jannetty). Bossman slapped Michaels in the corner and turned around to look at Jannetty, but when he turned back, Michaels hit him with amissile dropkick. He hit Akeem and Boss Man withflying forearm smashes before Bossman tagged in Akeem. The Rockers worked on Akeem's arm before he powered out and tagged Bossman. Jannetty tagged in and was hit with aleapfrog. Twin Towers took turns and beat Jannetty. He avoided abig splash by Akeem and tagged Michaels. Rockers hit Akeem withDouble Flying Fists and Michaels tried a near-fall on Akeem. Akeem hit Michaels alariat. Boss Man tagged in and tried to hit acorner body splash on Michaels, but he sidestepped, getting a near-fall. They hit Akeem with adouble dropkick and they hit Boss Man with adouble missile dropkick. Akeem tagged in and dumped Jannetty. Michaels came off the top on Akeem, but Boss Manpowerbombed him. Akeem took advantage and hit Michaels with anAir Africa and pinned him to win the match.[13][14][15]
The third match was a non-title match betweenBrutus Beefcake and"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, the self-proclaimedMillion Dollar Champion. It was the first time DiBiase's Million Dollar Championship belt had appeared on pay-per-view. Before the match, DiBiase was glad-handed with event sponsorDonald Trump, who was in attendance in the front row. Beefcake knocked DiBiase out on the floor before getting back into the ring. He pounded on DiBiase, butVirgil caught Beefcake's foot. DiBiase hit him aclothesline and applied achokehold on Beefcake, and followed it up with aMillion Dollar Drop for a near-fall. He hit amiddle rope diving back elbow drop on Beefcake for another near-fall. DiBiase hit him anIrish whip and had aninside cradle pinfall attempt on Beefcake. He tried to hit avertical suplex on Beefcake, but Beefcake countered it into ahanging suplex. DiBiase applied aMillion Dollar Dream on Beefcake, who grabbed the ropes. He slammed DiBiase's face in the corner and applied aBarber's Chair (Sleeper) on DiBiase. Virgil hopped up on the apron, distracting Beefcake. Beefcake released DiBiase from the hold and went after Virgil. DiBiase nailed Beefcake from behind to the floor. Thereferee was busy with DiBiase while Virgil pounded on Beefcake, but Beefcakeno-sold and chased Virgil. DiBiase came from behind and nailed Beefcake. The two brawled outside the ring and were counted out, resulting in a no contest. They continued to beat each other.
The fourth match was atag team match betweenThe Bushwhackers (Bushwhacker Luke andBushwhacker Butch) andThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau andRaymond Rougeau). The Bushwhackers grabbed Rougeaus'managerJimmy Hart's jacket, but Rougeaus caught them and went on the attack. Luke and Raymond began the match and Luke missed afist drop on Raymond, but Luke and Butch hit him abattering ram. Luke made the cover, but Jacques came in, and accidentally hit aknee drop on Raymond as he was going to hit Luke, but Luke sidestepped. Rougeaus double-teamed Luke for a while as the referee was busy with Butch. They kicked Luke in the gut and then celebrated. They celebrated too much that Bushwhackers hit Raymond with a battering ram and arib breaker. Luke then pinned Raymond to win the match.
The fifth match was betweenMr. Perfect andThe Blue Blazer. Perfect beat on Blazer until Blazer flipped out of ahip toss. Blazer hit some moves on Perfect and went for asplit-legged moonsault on Perfect, who hit Blazer with his knees. He applied achinlock on Blazer, but Blazer escaped and hit Perfect with aboot to the head. He followed it up with apowerslam and abelly to belly suplex for near-falls. He busted out of acrucifix and got another near-fall and then he began arguing with the referee. This helped Perfect to connect with aforearm club and aPerfectplex pinfall for the victory.[13][14][15]
The sixth match was aWWF Tag Team Championshiphandicap match betweenDemolition (Ax andSmash) andThe Powers of Pain (The Warlord andThe Barbarian) and their managerMr. Fuji (himself a former WWF Tag Team Champion). In the beginning, Ax and Smash pounded on Warlord until Warlord backed Smash into their corner and tagged Barbarian. Smash fought back and tagged in Ax, who locked in ahammerlock on Barbarian. Fuji tagged in and hit achop on Ax followed by adiving headbuttto the groin. He tagged in Warlord, who increased Ax's damage. Fuji tagged in and missed aFuji Drop. Warlord cut Ax's tag with Smash but was hit with aforearm club by Ax. Ax tagged in Smash. Ax dumped Barbarian while Smash beat up on Warlord. Mr. Fuji tried to throw salt previously hidden in his tights into Smash's eyes, but Smash ducked and Fiji accidentally threw salt into Warlord's eyes. Demolition then grabbed Fuji and hit him with theDemolition Decapitation and Ax pinned Fuji to win the match and retain the titles.
The seventh match was between "The World's Strongest Man"Dino Bravo, and"Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. Bravo hit a series offorearm smashes in Garvin's back and applied abearhug. Bravo threw him in the corner and hit him with a series ofshoulder blocks. Garvin smashed Bravo's head in the turnbuckles a few times for a near-fall. He followed it up with asleeper hold on Bravo, but Bravo grabbed the ropes. Garvin tried to hit apiledriver. Bravo went for aback body drop, but Garvin held on for asunset flip pin for a near-fall. Garvin took him to the corner and went for ten-count-cornerpunches. Bravo countered with aninverted atomic drop and asidewalk slam, followed by a pinfall victory. After the match, Bravo'smanagerFrenchy Martin attacked Garvin but received aGarvin Stomp for his troubles.
The eighth match was atag team match between theBrain Busters (Arn Anderson andTully Blanchard), with Bobby Heenan in their corner, andStrike Force (Tito Santana andRick Martel). Martel and Blanchard fought out before Anderson hit Martel with his knee in the back. Brain Busters tried to double-team him, but he fought out of their corner. Strike Force hit Brain Busters withdropkicks, sending them to the floor. Back in the ring, Anderson was hit with anIrish whip and then he received arolling spinebuster for anear-fall. Anderson went for abody scissors on Martel, but Martel turned it into aBoston crab. Blanchard interfered and hit Martel with aneye rake. Blanchard tagged in while Santana grabbed Martel receiving a blind tag. He hit Blanchard with abulldog and then slapped in afigure four leglock. Martel also applied the figure four leglock on Anderson. Santana got a near-fall with aback slide on Blanchard. He went to the top rope and hit aflying forearm smash on Blanchard. Blanchard ducked and Santana accidentally hit Martel. Brain Busters took advantage and double-teamed Santana. He fought out and crawled to tag Martel, but he refused and walked away,turningheel. Anderson and Blanchard hit Santana with aspike piledriver. Anderson got a pin on Santana, getting the victory, and breaking up Strike Force.[13][14][15]
Next was aPiper's Pit segment withMorton Downey Jr. as the guest. BeforeRowdy Roddy Piper could interview Morton,Brother Love came out dressed as Piper and impersonated him. The real Piper then came out and got rid of Brother Love by ripping Brother Love's kilt off. After Morton blew constant smoke from hiscigarette into Piper's face during the interview (despite Piper's repeated requests not to), finally, Piper put out the cigarette and Morton with a fire extinguisher.
The ninth match was betweenJake "The Snake" Roberts andAndré the Giant (with Bobby Heenan), withBig John Studd as theSpecial Guest Referee. Studd and André were longtime enemies and spent a great deal of time jawing back and forth at each other. As Roberts was making his way down to the ring, behind Studd's back, André had discretely removed one of the top turnbuckle pads exposing the steel ring underneath. André started the match by grabbing Roberts as he rolled into the ring and ran his head into the exposed steel turnbuckle. He then pounded on Roberts until Roberts fought back and went on the attack. André got tied up in the ropes and Roberts took full advantage and got his snake Damien (in the storyline, André was deathly afraid of snakes though in reality he had some snakes as pets on his ranch) and attempted to throw him on a struggling and terrified André, but Studd stopped Roberts. André took advantage to break free of the ropes and applied achokehold on Roberts. He went for ashoulder block on Roberts in the corner, but accidentally hit aheadbutt on the turnbuckle pad. Roberts hit André with aknee lift and drove him into the exposed turnbuckle. Andréchopped Roberts on the floor and knocked him on the apron before having a confrontation with Studd.Ted DiBiase andVirgil came out and attempted to steal Damien, but Roberts got Damien back. In the ring, André hit Studd with a cheap shot from behind and began to choke Studd with the strap of his tights, thus gettingdisqualified. Despite having won the match, Roberts tossed Damien in the ring to save Studd from André, who hightailed it out of the ring to get away from the snake.
The tenth match was atag team match betweenThe Hart Foundation (Bret "Hitman" Hart" andJim "The Anvil" Neidhart) andGreg "The Hammer" Valentine, andThe Honky Tonk Man (with manager Jimmy Hart). Neidhart hit Valentine with aslingshotshoulder block for a near-fall. Honky tagged in but got nailed by Neidhart. Hart tagged in and connected with abackbreaker on Honky, but missed adouble axe handlemiddle rope elbow drop. Honky had the match won as he hit Hart with aShake, Rattle N' Roll, but he tagged in Valentine instead of pinning Hart. Valentine slapped in thefigure four leglock on Hart. Hart crawled out of it, but then he received aGutbuster by Honky. Hart managed to hit aflying crossbody on Honky. Valentine tagged in and blocked aroll-up by Hart. Hart rolled out and tagged Neidhart. Neidhartdropkicked both Valentine and Honky and then hit Valentine with a shoulder block and made a cover. Honky made the save. Alariat on Valentine got another near-fall for Neidhart. Hart and Honky tagged in. Valentine ran in and nailed Neidhart on the apron. Thereferee was busy taking out Valentine. Neidhart took advantage and handed Bret Hart, Jimmy Hart'smegaphone. Hart knocked Honky with it and pinned him to win the matchup.[13][14][15]
The eleventh match was aWWF Intercontinental Championship match between defending championThe Ultimate Warrior and"Ravishing" Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan in his corner. As the Warrior was doing his usual running entrance, Rude tried to jump-start the match by attempting a knee to the Warrior's stomach, only to find that the Warrior was still wearing the Intercontinental belt and hurt his knee with no effect on the champion. Warrior then shoved Rude into the corner 3 times from mid-ring before slapping on abearhug. Rude hit amissile dropkick on Warrior and went for a cover, but Warriorno-sold and grabbed a second bearhug on Rude. Rude bit him, but Warrior hit him with aback body drop. He went for aWarrior Splash but Rude hit his knees on Warrior. Rude followed with aback to belly piledriver, and got a near-fall on the champion. Rude hit ajawbreaker on Warrior andclotheslined him for a near-fall. He hit Warrior with aRussian legsweep and got another near-fall. Rude hooked on asurfboard, but Warrior grabbed the ropes. He powered out; hitting Rude with arunning shoulder block. He delivered Rude abackbreaker and tried to lift him, but dropped him clumsily in the ropes. Warrior hit Rude a series ofIrish whips in every corner. He missed a Warrior Splash. Rude went for aRude Awakening, but Warrior powered out and clotheslined Rude to the apron. He tried tosuplex him back into the ring, but just before he completed the move, Bobby Heenan pulled Warrior's leg out from under him, which caused Rude to fall on top of the champion, and held onto it so the weakened Warrior could not escape as Rude pinned him. Rude won the match and became the new WWF Intercontinental Champion in what was Warrior's first pinfall loss in the WWF. Following the match, an enraged Warrior chased Heenan around and into the ring and hit him with agorilla press drop.
The twelfth match was between"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan andBad News Brown. The powerhouse Brown dominated Duggan in the early goings but missed a charge in the corner. Duggan hit him with a series ofpunches. Brown hit Duggan with anIrish whip and smashed his head into the turnbuckles, but Dugganno-sold. Duggan hit Brown with a series ofshoulder blocks before getting slugged. They went to the floor where Duggan was whipped shoulder-first into the ring post. Brown hit Duggan aGhetto Blaster, but Duggan avoided it and instead hit histhree-point stance clothesline. Brown fell to the floor and tossed a chair into the ring. Meanwhile, Duggan got his2x4. They both hit each other withforeign objects, ending the match in a double disqualification.
The thirteenth match and the final match on theundercard was betweenThe Red Rooster and his former manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in a rare in-ring appearance as a wrestler. Accompanying Heenan to the ring was theBrooklyn Brawler. As the match began, Heenan (still favoring his ribs due to his prior run-in with The Warrior), immediately covered on Rooster but failed. Rooster tried to hit Heenan with anIrish whip, but Heenan reversed it into his own. He missed a charge on Rooster and ran shoulder-first into the ring post. Rooster pinned him and won the match in justthirty-one seconds.[16] After the match, Rooster was attacked by the Brawler, but this had little effect on the Rooster, who soon got the upper hand and chased the Brawler from the ring.[13][14][15]
Themain event was for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship between defending champion"Macho Man" Randy Savage andHulk Hogan with their managerMiss Elizabeth in a neutral corner. The match was billed as "The Mega Powers Explode". Hogan hit Savage with ashoulder block to send him out to the floor. Savage returned to the ring and applied a headlock on Hogan before pounding him in the face. Hogan shoved Savage again, but Savage grabbed him and went to the floor. Hogan chased Savage around the ringside before Savage hid behind Miss Elizabeth. Savage went back into the ring and began taunting Hogan. Hogan applied a headlock and hit Savage with adrop toe hold. He slapped afront facelock on Savage, which Savage countered into aback suplex. The champion hit adouble axe handle from the top rope on Hogan for a near-fall. Savage applied anarmbar on Hogan until Hogan yanked Savage out to the floor. Hogan threw Savage back in the ring and smashed him in the turnbuckle and followed with arunning clothesline, a series ofelbow drops and abig boot. He received anIrish whip and a clothesline by Savage. Savage got a near-fall. Savage hooked on achinlock on Hogan until Hogan hit his elbow and hit Savage with anatomic drop, but missed an elbow drop. Savage took advantage and hit Hogan with a knee in the corner. Savage hit him with Irish whips in every corner before he began posing. Hogan hit Savage with a series ofpunches and acorner clothesline, sending him out. Elizabeth checked on Savage, but he pushed her away. Hogan lifted Savage in the shoulder and tried to ram him in the ring post, but Elizabeth prevented Hogan from doing this. Savage took advantage slipped off and rammed Hogan into the ring post. TherefereeDave Hebner then sent Elizabeth backstage. As Hogan was getting up, Savage hit him with a diving double axe handle. Savage hit Hogan with ahotshot. He drove his elbow into Hogan's throat on the apron, damaging Hogan's throat. Savage hit aknee drop on Hogan, getting a near-fall. He went to the top rope and hit aSavage Elbow. He made a pinfall attempt on Hogan, but Hoganhulked up, and hit Savage with punches, a big boot, and aleg drop for the victory and his second WWF World Heavyweight Championship.[17][13][14][15]
WrestleMania V has retrospectively garnered mixed reviews. Whilst the Hogan-Savage main event has been remembered fondly, many reviewers referred to the event as a 'one-match show', bemoaning the amount of short, low-quality matches throughout the event with few exceptions. Kevin Pantoja, writing for411Mania, ranked it in the middle of the first five Wrestlemanias, describing it as "better in the ring than most", though failing to wow him in most other departments. Whilst positive towards the main event, particularly praising Savage as "firing on all cylinders", he described a significant amount of the card as "really bad stuff".[18]
Writing forTJRWrestling, John Canton had similar thoughts, with high praise towards the main event, noting it's "epic feel", stating Hogan did a great job at selling and "making Savage look credible". Conversely, he generally panned a significant amount of the card. Especially, he noted the Rooster/Heenan and Andre/Roberts bouts as "DUDS", stating for the former "At least it was short", and for the latter bemoaned the decision to place Andre in "a singles match that went nearly 10 minutes... he was obviously done at this point." He did, however, state that the tag match between the Hart Foundation and Honky Tonk Man/Valentine was "pretty good" and "carried by the great Bret Hart", and also giving kudos towards the Intercontinental match as being "a better match then I remembered." Overall, he gave the show a score of 4 out of 10, stating that the main event was "the only thing worth remembering", closing his review with underlining Wrestlemania V as "a bad show".[19]
Bryan Rose, writing forVoices of Wrestling, specifically criticized the crowd, alongside the location as the reason he was unsure "what this crowd was here to see besides Hulk Hogan." Like others, he generally praised the main event as a "great, dramatic match" where "every move meant something". He also gave props to the Brainbusters vs. Strike Force encounter, highlighting Strike Force's performances and calling the match "pretty good". However, he heavily panned the rest of the card, especially The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers vs. The Bushwackers, which he scored minus two stars. He bemoaned the performances of the wrestlers, especially the Bushwackers, ultimately declaring "terrible doesn't do this match justice" and joking describing it as "the worst Wrestlemania match ever award up until this point".[20]
Hulk Hogan continued hisfeud withRandy Savage. WWF financed a movie in 1989 titledNo Holds Barred, which starred Hogan as the lead character Rip, andTom Lister, Jr. acted as the villain Zeus. In the movie, Rip defeats Zeus. This movie led to a feud between Hogan and Zeus in the WWF because Zeus wanted to take revenge on Hogan of the movie inreal-life. He was billed in the WWF as Zeus and he allied with Savage. Hogan's best friendBrutus Beefcake joined him in the war. This led to atag teammain event atSummerSlam, where Hogan and Beefcake defeated Zeus and Savage.[21] The rivalry continued until theNo Holds Barred pay-per-view, where Hogan and Beefcake beat Zeus and Savage in asteel cage match, thus ending the rivalry with Zeus.[22] After the No Holds Barred cage match, Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan would meet one last time in a WrestleMania V rematch for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship onThe Main Event III.[23] The pinfall was counted by new heavyweight boxing championBuster Douglas, who then punched Savage out post-match after Savage slapped Douglas in the face.
Savage, meanwhile, found a new manager. After the WrestleMania broadcast went off the air,Gene Okerlund attempted to interview Miss Elizabeth.Sensational Sherri interrupted the interview along with Savage, which caused Hogan to get involved and fall victim to a steel chair shot from the dethroned champion. From then on untilWrestleMania VII, Sherri served as Savage's manager, and after Savage defeatedHacksaw Jim Duggan to becomeKing of the World Wrestling Federation in September 1989, she became known as Sensational Queen Sherri.[24]
Rick Martelturnedheel and eventually transformed into "The Model", breaking upStrike Force andfeuded with now former partnerTito Santana. Martel and fellowFrench CanadiansThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau andRaymond Rougeau) defeated Santana andThe Rockers (Marty Jannetty andShawn Michaels) atSummerSlam.[25]
Rick Rude defended his Intercontinental Championship primarily against The Ultimate Warrior, but also against other faces such as Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Jimmy Snuka. Later in the summer of 1989, Rude began badmouthing Roddy Piper, and Piper would play a key role in Rude's ultimate title loss back to The Ultimate Warrior.
With a successful Tag Team Championship defense, Demolition moved on to new feuds with The Twin Towers (Akeem and Big Boss Man) and the Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard). Demolition would eventually lose the titles to Anderson and Blanchard onSaturday Night's Main Event XXII (taped July 18, 1989), following interference from André the Giant; Demolition's reign was 478 days, which remains the longest uninterrupted reign in the history of the classicWWF World Tag Team Championship, which was decommissioned in 2010. (The previous 370-day record ofThe Valiant Brothers was eclipsed on the actual day of Wrestlemania V.) It was also the longest reign withany tag team championship in WWWF/WWF/WWE history until the record was broken in 2016 byWWE Raw Tag Team ChampionsThe New Day. Meanwhile, the Powers of Pain would lose their push and eventually settle into mid-card matches, feuding with teams such asThe Bushwhackers andThe Rockers until they were eventually split up in early 1990.
... WWE's flagship event lights up MetLife Stadium ... WrestleMania
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