31 Manias in 31 Days: Rewriting Wrestlemania II

[LODemolition]

The next in my series of "Rewriting WrestleMania" threads takes us back to 1986 where WrestleMania took place from 3 separate venues. Take a look at the results below and then see my changes.

WrestleMania 2 - April 7, 1986
Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, N.Y.), Rosemont Horizon (Rosemont, Ill.), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles, Calif.)

"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff vs. "Magnificent" Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji went to a double count-out

Intercontinental Championship:

Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth def. George "The Animal" Steele to retain his title

Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. George Wells

Boxing Match:

Mr. T w/ Joe Frazier and the Haiti Kid def. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper w/ Cowboy Bob Orton by disqualification

Women's Championship:

Fabulous Moolah def. Velvet McIntyre to become new champion

Flag Match:

Corporal Kirchner def. Nikolai Volkoff w/ Classy Freddie Blassie

WWF and NFL Battle Royal:

Andre the Giant def. Jimbo Covert (Chicago Bears), Pedro Morales, Tony Atlas, Ted Arcidi, Harvey Martin (Dallas Cowboys), Dan Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, King Tonga, Iron Sheik, Ernie Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers), Big John Studd, B. Brian Blair, Jumpin' Jim Brunzell, Bill Fralic (Atlanta Falcons), Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Russ Francis (San Francisco 49ers), Bruno Sammartino and William "Refrigerator" Perry (Chicago Bears)

World Tag Team Championship:

The British Bulldogs w/ Captain Lou Albano and Ozzy Osbourne def. The Dream Team, Brutus Beefcake & Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, w/ Luscious Johnny Valiant to become new champions

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat def. Hercules

"Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart def. Uncle Elmer

Terry & Hoss Funk w/ Jimmy Hart def. Tito Santana & Junkyard Dog

Main Event: WWF Championship Steel Cage Match

Hulk Hogan def. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan to retain


*Rewriting WrestleMania II

1. Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat by count-out

This could've been a great WrestleMania opener between 2 young up and comers at the time. Roberts gets the win when he hits the DDT on the floor and Steamboat is knocked unconscious. We then see Damien draped around the neck of Jake's opponent for the first of many, many times.

2. The Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart def. The Killer Bees

I believe these 2 teams could've put on a very nice match with eachother rather than being a part of the battle royal. The Hart Foundation prove themselves as a team not to be taken lightly here.

3. George "The Animal" Steele def. The Iron Sheik w/ "Classy" Freddie Blassie by disqualification

In no way, shape, or form did Steele deserve an Intercontinental Title match with Randy Savage. I put him in a lower profile match here, where he gets the win due to Blassie's interference.

4. WWF Tag Team Championship: The British Bulldogs w/ "Captain" Lou Albano and Ozzy Osbourne def. The Dream Team (c) w/ "Luscious" Johnny Valiant

Wouldn't change a thing here.

5. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff def. "Magnificent" Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji

I like the pairing between these 2, I just think there should've been a clear winner. As you can see, I already have 2 matches that didn't finish clean, so I think that's the maximum there should ever be on any ppv card.

6. WWF and NFL Battle Royal:

I certainly wouldn't change anything about who won, just some of the competitors. Andre wins by last eliminating either Nikolai Volkoff or Adrian Adonis.

7. Intercontinental Championship: "Macho Man" Randy Savage (c) w/ Elizabeth def. Tito Santana

Santana gets his rematch here with the man he lost the title to, but comes up short as Savage keeps up his great momentum at the time. This would've made a much better match than Savage and Steele, although Savage could always make anyone look good.

8. Boxing Match: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper w/ "Cowboy" Bob Orton def. Mr. T w/ Joe Frazier and The Haiti Kid

I would've had Piper get the win here (with some shenanigans of course), but that's about the only thing I'd change here.

9. Big John Studd w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan def. Junkyard Dog

I feel this would've been a big improvement in the card, putting a fan favorite like JYD against one of the bigger heels at the time in Studd. Studd gets the win of course, as JYD would be no match.

10. WWF Championship Steel Cage Match: Hulk Hogan (c) def. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

Wouldn't change a thing here. I feel like Bundy was the right challenger for the time and this was a pretty entertaining main event.


Feel free to post your comments and any changes you would make to the WrestleMania II card.

 

[rbv13]

I'm glad you didn't replace the battle royal. I remember watching it as a kid and thinking how cool it was to see wrestlers mixing it up with football stars. It was a larger than life feel. I am a bit disappointed to see you have JYD in a second squash match in as many rewrites.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Santana challenging for the IC title would have also fit perfectly with your similar suggestion for WM1, with the commentators playing up the fact that Santana had won the title the previous year too

 

[Dagger Dias]

The main thing I would change about Wrestlemania 2 is only having 1 location for one super card to take place at instead of 3 separate incomplete cards. I always hated that about this event. While I give WWE credit for trying something different, it was a really stupid idea. This show would have been awesome if all three events aired one after another in the exact same venue. So with that in mind, my Wrestlemania 2 would play out the same as the actual show but with all of it taking place at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. They were the ones who got the WWF Championship match during the actual Wrestlemania 2 event. So that is the venue I pick out of the three. The Nassau Coliseum card goes on first, then the Rosemont Horizon card, and last but not least the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena card. This gives us 12 matches altogether with Paul Orndorff VS The Magnificent Muraco with Mr. Fuji in a singles match as the true opener and Hulk Hogan VS King Kong Bundy (with Bobby Heenan) for the WWF Championship as the true closing match.

 

[Judah's Lion]

Mania 2 was... different. 3 venues and tons of potential. also like Mania 1, it was more about the spectacle and celebrity involvement than the wrestling. I understand why it had to be that way but, as a wrestling fan, sometimes I feel it was extremely so.

from what I've heard, Vince McMahon did the 3 venues thing for 2 reasons: first, because Vince always has to do something bigger and better and especially for Mania, make it something that hasn't been done before. and secondly, because Starrcade had run 2 separate venues for 1 show, Vince of course had to trump them and do 3 venues. Starrcade had more success with the multiple venues because they were still geographically pretty close; like the same city I think. either way, the 3 venues stretching across the entire country just flat out did not work for me. the best idea probably would have been to have the entire show in Chicago as the Bears had just won the Super Bowl and were big time celebrities, even pop-culture icons, in and of themselves.

the best match of the night was easily the Tag Title contest. I loved it from start to finish. and yet, maybe the British Bulldogs vs. the Hart Foundation might have been even better. them all being family could have been brought up in the storyline.

I love the idea of putting Hogan in the Steel Cage for the main event, but it's not like the casual fan knew who Bundy was or were tuning in just to see him. so Bundy really was replaceable in this event. that said, I would do Hogan vs. Jesse the Body Ventura. Ventura still could -- and did -- wrestle from time to time and had a kind of on-air feud with Hogan for years. this would have been a fun match, especially given how much their looks and careers resembled one another to a degree, even with both going to Hollywood eventually.

then I would slide Bundy in the 20-man Battle Royal and have him be the last eliminated by Andre. that'd be more impressive than throwing out the much smaller Bret Hart. this was an easy match to add some celebrity star power as they did with the NFL players, so I'd keep that aspect.

Piper/Mr. T in a boxing match was a great idea. terrible execution. I wish there was something better for Piper but I can't think of anything for him. maybe turn him face and have him face Orton for costing him the Main Event in Mania 1? what about Piper/Superfly? they never had a match that I can remember after Piper smashed his head with a coconut. in fact, that's the match I want here. Mr. T can be the special guest referee for the Superfly/Piper contest.

give Jake the Snake a better debut over a more established face. not necessarily cuz he needed it, but because I'm such a fan of the guy and I always hope the best for him. Jake the Snake vs. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat is my switch. they had a GREAT feud around this time with Steamboat even bringing out like a komodo dragon to the ring to "combat" Damian the python. it was super cool and a lot of fun. easy switch and a much better Mania match for both guys.

Randy Savage vs. Tito Santana for the IC Title is another swap I'd do. Savage won the strap from "Chico" anyway, so it's a natural rematch and easy storytelling. maybe give it a stipulation since it's the rematch and it's Mania, but I can't think of a good stip given that the Main Event is already inside a Steel Cage.

so that's my re-write for Mania 2. keep the Flag Match and the Women's Title Match the same as they worked well for the show. I also like the Funks in a Tag Match, but maybe against the Killer Bees as they were an actual established team. give JYD a spot on the card, either in the Battle Royal or in a Singles Match against a proper villain, but I think the above changes to the main matches all in the single venue of a red-hot Chicago would have made this a much better event all these years later.

 

[MMK]

WRESTLEMANIA 2

First of all, the entire event should have taken place at the Rosemont Horizon in Illinois. The whole 3 arena gimmick didnt work for me. I'd rather see one supercard at one arena then 3 average shows spread out over 3 arenas.

Main Event: WWF Championship Steel Cage Match
Hulk Hogan def. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

Intercontinental Championship
Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth def. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
(I like the beauty and the beast element that was George Steele and Elizabeth but that storyline could have been absorbed into the Savage/Steamboat match at next years Mania. At some point in WWF history, Piper and Savage should have had a feud. Piper was a babyface at Wrestlemania 3, so it's not too much of a stretch to have him turn face a year earlier for this feud with Savage. Or perhaps Savage is the face, which would make Savage vs Steamboat a face vs face at Wrestlemania 3. Either way, this is a feud I would have loved to see. If for no other reason than the insane promos.)

WWF World Tag Team Championship:
The British Bulldogs def. The Dream Team: Beefcake & Valentine

Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
(agree with the OP that this should have taken place at WM2. No question. Great feud in 86. Even though this event was Jake's debut, I would have had Jake make his debut much earlier by attacking Steamboat which leads to a match at Mania.)

Andre The Giant def The Ugandan Giant Kamala

20 Man Battle Royal
Big John Studd, William Perry, Bruno Sammartino, Tito Santana, Don Muraco, Paul Orndorff, Tony Atlas, Pedro Morales, Iron Shiek, Nikolai Volkoff, Cpl.Kirchner, Bob Orton, Ted Arcidi, Dan Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, Uncle Elmer, Adrian Adonis, King Tonga, George Wells, and George The Animal Steele
(Instead of a mixture of NFL and WWF participants in the battle royal, I would have included only one football player, that being William Perry of the hometown Chicago Bears. Perry gets the win by last eliminating Studd. No need to include Andre in this battle royal. Having Andre in a battle royal takes any and all suspense out of the match.)

Chain Match
Hercules Hernandez def Junkyard Dog

The Hart Foundation def Killer Bees

The Rougeau Brothers def The Funk Brothers

 

[roipdh123]

Wrestle Mania II:

1.Opening Bout: Singles Match
Mr. Wonderful "Paul Orndorff" def. "The Rock" Don Muraco.

2.Tag Team Match
The Hart Foundation def. The Killer Bees.

3.Singles Match
Adrian Adonis def. Tito Santana.

4.Tag Team Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship
The British Bulldogs def. The Dream Team {C}.

5. WWF and NFL Battle Royal
Andre The Giant won by last eliminating Big John Studd.

6.Singles Match
The Junkyard Dog def. The Iron Sheik.

7.Tag Team Match
The Rougeau Brothers def. The Funk Brothers

8. Clash Number One: Singles Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
"The Macho Man" Randy Savage {C} def. "The Dragon" Ricky Steamboat.

9.Singles Match with Mr. T as the Special Guest Referee
Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. Roddy "Rowdy" Piper.

10.Singles Match
William "The Refrigerator" Perry def. King Kong Bundy via a Disqualification.

11.Passing Of The Torch: Singles Match for the WWF Championship. If Bruno loses he must retire
Hulk Hogan {C} def. Bruno Sammartino.