Rebook a Wrestlemania

[Terry Gyimah]

WrestleMania III (1987)

1- (Opening contest)- Can-Am Connection vs The Fabolous Rougeau Brothers (Tag Team Match)- Winners: The Can-Am Connection

2- (Hair vs Hair Match)- Brutus Beefcake vs Adrian Adonis w/Jimmy Hart- Winner: Brutus Beefcake; Adrian Adonis has his head shaved bald

* I would have Beefcake turn babyface in the build-up but also this match would lead to him becoming the Barber changing gimmicks

3- Haiti Kid & Little Beaver vs Lord Littlebrook & Little Tokyo (Tag Team Match)- Winners: Haiti Kid & Little Beaver

4- Harley Race, Hercules & King Kong Bundy vs Billy Jack Haynes, Hillbilly Jim and Andre the Giant (6 Man Tag Team Match)- Winners: Harley Race, Hercules & King Kong Bundy

* Since Andre was starting to wear down as a singles guy in his last few years so I feel he would be best suited in a tag match so I would have just kept him babyface and have him continue his feud with The Heenan Family

5- The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana vs The New Dream Team & Danny Davis (6 Man Tag Team Match)- Winners: The British Bulldogs & Tito
Santana

6- The Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart vs The Junkyard Dog- Winner: The Honky Tonk Man

7- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Bret "The Hitman" Hart w/Jimmy Hart- Winner: Draw (neither man wins)

* This match would go to a 15 minute time limit draw and be the work rate match of the night.

8- The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & "The Natural" Butch Reed w/Slick vs The Killer Bees & Hacksaw Jim Duggan- Winners: The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & The Natural Butch Reed

* Instead of this ending in a DQ due to Duggan, I would just put him in the match and put Reed with Sheik & Volkoff. Also this could be a call back to Reed and Duggan’s feud in Mid-South

9- (Title vs Career)- WWE Intercontinental Championship- Macho Man Randy Savage w/Elizabeth (c) vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper- Winner: Still WWF Intercontinental Champion Macho Man Randy Savage; Piper loses and retires

* I wouldn’t say anything about Piper leaving. I can just imagine the promos between the two leading into the match.


10- (Main Event)- WWF Championship- Hulk Hogan (c) vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts- Winner: Still WWF Champion Hulk Hogan

* I wouldn’t have Roberts turn face and continue being the diabolical villain that he was. I would have him actually DDT Hogan on the floor like he did Steamboat and injure Hogan’s neck and have the announcers play up whether Hogan will be able to retain his championship at WrestleMania against Jake with his neck being messed up.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

WrestleMania III (1987)

1- (Opening contest)- Can-Am Connection vs The Fabolous Rougeau Brothers (Tag Team Match)- Winners: The Can-Am Connection

2- (Hair vs Hair Match)- Brutus Beefcake vs Adrian Adonis w/Jimmy Hart- Winner: Brutus Beefcake; Adrian Adonis has his head shaved bald

* I would have Beefcake turn babyface in the build-up but also this match would lead to him becoming the Barber changing gimmicks

3- Haiti Kid & Little Beaver vs Lord Littlebrook & Little Tokyo (Tag Team Match)- Winners: Haiti Kid & Little Beaver

4- Harley Race, Hercules & King Kong Bundy vs Billy Jack Haynes, Hillbilly Jim and Andre the Giant (6 Man Tag Team Match)- Winners: Harley Race, Hercules & King Kong Bundy

* Since Andre was starting to wear down as a singles guy in his last few years so I feel he would be best suited in a tag match so I would have just kept him babyface and have him continue his feud with The Heenan Family

5- The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana vs The New Dream Team & Danny Davis (6 Man Tag Team Match)- Winners: The British Bulldogs & Tito
Santana

6- The Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart vs The Junkyard Dog- Winner: The Honky Tonk Man

7- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Bret "The Hitman" Hart w/Jimmy Hart- Winner: Draw (neither man wins)

* This match would go to a 15 minute time limit draw and be the work rate match of the night.

8- The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & "The Natural" Butch Reed w/Slick vs The Killer Bees & Hacksaw Jim Duggan- Winners: The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & The Natural Butch Reed

* Instead of this ending in a DQ due to Duggan, I would just put him in the match and put Reed with Sheik & Volkoff. Also this could be a call back to Reed and Duggan’s feud in Mid-South

9- (Title vs Career)- WWE Intercontinental Championship- Macho Man Randy Savage w/Elizabeth (c) vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper- Winner: Still WWF Intercontinental Champion Macho Man Randy Savage; Piper loses and retires

* I wouldn’t say anything about Piper leaving. I can just imagine the promos between the two leading into the match.


10- (Main Event)- WWF Championship- Hulk Hogan (c) vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts- Winner: Still WWF Champion Hulk Hogan

* I wouldn’t have Roberts turn face and continue being the diabolical villain that he was. I would have him actually DDT Hogan on the floor like he did Steamboat and injure Hogan’s neck and have the announcers play up whether Hogan will be able to retain his championship at WrestleMania against Jake with his neck being messed up.

Right off the bat, I want to say that this is my most cherished WreslteMania from my childhood. There are some fine changes here…and some other doozies…

First thing I notice is that Muraco, Orton, Fuji, Neidhart and Koko are left off of your card. I would be fine with Orton being omitted and Koko was new enough that you could get away with this. The others seem like big omissions for 1987. Granted, Muraco was in the opener for the second year in a row, but he was still a star in the WWF at this time.

The opening face vs. face tag match could work I suppose. A huge crowd amped up for action doesn’t necessarily need a villain to root against at this point. The athleticism of both teams could have served the purpose that the actual opener (Can-Ams vs. Muraco/Orton) accomplished.

Beefcake and Adonis is fine. Beefcake didn’t have the personality to keep the actual match as entertaining as Piper did; but, a quick grudge match followed by a haircut, setting up the Barber gimmick, would be fine…especially since Adonis had already cut Beefcake’s hair prior to the event.

I enjoyed the original midget match with the double rowboat, Beaver taunting Bundy the whole time and Bundy squashing him. Taking Bundy and Hillbilly out of the match, to me, defeats the purpose of having the midgets there. I would have Koko vs. Muraco w/Fuji here instead.

While I also enjoyed the Battle of the Full Nelson, I don’t really mind your 6-man idea. It can still end with Hercules busting Haynes open. The only thing I hate about this is Andre being included, but more on that later. I would have Orndorff here instead of Andre.

Honky vs. JYD is ok. The idea was to get Honky a cheating win over a popular face. Ignoring the original Snake Pit setup, JYD could serve the purpose that Jake actually did, in this regard.

Adding Reed and Duggan to the popcorn tag match is fine also.

Considering how much I love this PPV, I have made some concessions here. Now, I have to fight back a little. Haha!

I CANNOT change Savage/Steamboat and Hogan/Andre. Those matches are way too important and classic. (Now, if this is your fantasy card, that is fine. If this is a suggestion to make it better, that is different)

Bret vs. Steamboat was a couple of years away from being ready for the stage revisionist history likes to try to set up. 1987 Bret vs. 1987 Dragon would in no way have been anywhere near as good as people, including Bret, think it would have been. Plus…

What in the world does the New Dream Team have to do with Danny Davis? The Harts and Bulldogs need to go at it and Davis being involved gave this match a lot of extra heat. Honestly, the whole Santana being screwed by Davis angle was a stretch back then. He was the ref when Macho hit Tito with a foreign object and stole the IC belt…but Davis wasn’t “in on it” like he was with the Harts taking the tag titles from the Bulldogs. This was just a way to get Tito in to even the teams.

If you want promos to fuel the fire for Piper’s last match, throw him in with Jake.

Then, of course, Hogan and Andre closes the show.

Again, if this is your fantasy WrestleMania III card, you can have Andre vs. Moolah and no one should say anything. But, if you are looking to improve the card, I think messing with the main events of the night—and matches that are still acclaimed to this day, either for in-ring action or for legendary status, is a mistake. Glad to see this Mania be mentioned though!

 

[Terry Gyimah]

WrestleMania IV (1988)

1- (Opening contest)- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Hulk Hogan vs Nikolai Volkoff- Winner: Hogan (Hogan goes to the next round)

2- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Harley Race vs Bam Bam Bigelow- Winner: Harley Race (Race goes to the next round)

3- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs "The Hammer" Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart- Winner: Draw

4- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase vs Virgil- Winner: DiBiase; Virgil basically hands DiBiase the win by laying down for him allowing DiBiase to pin him

5- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- "Ravishing" Rick Rude w/Bobby The Brain Heenan vs Junkyard Dog- Winner: Ravishing Ruck Rude

6- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Macho Man Randy Savage w/Elizabeth vs Bad News Brown- Winner: Macho Man Randy Savage

7- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- One Man Gang vs The Ultimate Warrior- Winner: One Man Gang

* Basically a swap of sorts with managers with Heenan aligning himself with One Man Gang; Heenan also did have a feud with Warrior at the time so it only makes sense and Heenan being involved in the finish by holding down Warrior's legs while One Man Gang pins Warrior it isn't a clean win but it continues the feud

8- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Andre the Giant vs "The Natural" Butch Reed- Winner: Andre The Giant

* Andre the Giant is still a face heading into WrestleMania IV. The turn at III never happened.

9- (WWF Championship Tournament Match) Hulk Hogan vs Harley Race- Winner: Hulk Hogan

* DiBiase receives a bye into the semi-final (ie. buys his way into the semi-final bye)

10- (WWF Championship Tournament Match) Macho Man Randy Savage w/Elizabeth vs Ravishing Rick Rude w/Heenan- Winner: Macho Man Randy Savage

11- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Andre The Giant vs One Man Gang w/Heenan- Winner: Andre the Giant

12- (WWF Women's Tag Team Championships)- The Jumping Bomb Angels (c) vs Judy Martin & Leilani Kai- Winners: Still WWF Women's Tag Team Champions The Jumping Bomb Angels

13- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase w/Virgil vs Hulk Hogan- Winner: Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase

* Virgil would distract the referee and Hogan which would allow DiBiase to either hit Hogan with the ring bell or with a steel chair to pick up the win; dirty win controversial by no means but getting the job done heel style

14- (WWF Championship Tournament Match)- Macho Man Randy Savage w/Elizabeth vs Andre The Giant- Winner: Macho Man Randy Savage

* Virgil and DiBiase distract Andre long enough for Macho Man to capitalize off of that distraction to get the win; Andre then chases DiBiase and Virgil post-match

15- (WWF Tag Team Championships)- Strike Force (c) vs The Hart Foundation- Winners: New WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation

16- (WWF Championship Tournament Final)- Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase vs Macho Man Randy Savage w/Elizabeth- Winner: New WWF Champion The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase

* During the match, Virgil attempts to interfere, but is chased to the back by Hulk Hogan. Andre the Giant then appears and turns heel shocking everyone aligning himself with DiBiase by choking Savage unconscious while the referee is down. Andre leaves which then allows DiBiase to afterwards lock in the Million Dollar Dream with the referee being revived with Savage being out of it. DiBiase wins the title to a chorus of boos; DiBiase deserved at least 1 reign as champion in the WWF

 

[Terry Gyimah]

WrestleMania VI (1990)

1- (Opening contest)- Koko B Ware vs Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/Jimmy Hart- Winner: Greg The Hammer Valentine

2- (WWF Tag Team Championships)- The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant & Haku) (c) vs The Rockers- Winners: New WWF Tag Team Champions The Rockers

* Put Shawn and Marty in this spot because not only did they have a great house show match with Haku & Andre but also because at this time The Rockers in 1990 were white hot in terms of momentum

3- (Grudge Match)- Tito Santana vs Rick "The Model" Martel- Winner: Tito Santana

* Former tag team partners former friends now turned bitter enemies going at it...it writes itself

4- (WWF Intercontinental Championship)- The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs Earthquake- Winner: New WWF Intercontinental Champion Earthquake

* Quake debuted by squashing Warrior. Might as well continue this here. You can have Bravo interfere if you really want to keep Warrior strong, but that is up to you.

5- Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs "Bad News" Brown (Grudge Match)- Winner: Jake The Snake Roberts

* Instead of them going at it later in the year at SummerSlam...it would make more sense for these 2 to feud here

6- The Barbarian vs The Red Rooster- Winner: The Barbarian

7- (Grudge Match)- Dusty Rhodes w/Sapphire vs Macho King Randy Savage w/Sensational Queen Sherri- Winner: Dusty Rhodes

8- (Tag Team Match)- The Orient Express vs The Young Stallions- Winners: The Orient Express

9- (Grudge Match)- Big Boss Man vs The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase w/Virgil- Winner: Big Boss Man

10- (Grudge Match)- Ronnie Garvin vs Akeem w/Slick- Winner: Ronnie Garvin

11- (Steel Cage Match)- Ravishing Rick Rude w/Heenan vs Rowdy Roddy Piper- Winner: Rowdy Roddy Piper

12- (Main Event)- WWF Championship- Hulk Hogan (c) vs Mr. Perfect- Winner: New WWF Champion Mr. Perfect