I just saw this 2 days ago, didn't look like a good card on paper and after watching it wasn't a good PPV at all. Definitely one of the worst WM's ever. But I'm pretty sure with the talent they had back then and with Hulk Hogan returning, it could've been booked better. So how would you have booked it?
How would you have booked Wrestlemania 9?
- Thread starter Wolf Pac
- Start date
Towers1988
Dark Match Jobber
I don't think this was a particularly awful card myself, but that's my opinion.
The issue with Harvey Wippleman and the Undertaker dated back to the Survivor Series when he put Kamala in a casket and followed by the introduction of his new monster Gonzalez at the Rumble. Good build up so I would have gone with this, just a bad match.
The HBK v Tatanka build up was good with Tatanka scoring 3 wins over Michaels setting up a proper wrestling match for the now degraded IC title. But I think a rematch from Rumble 93 with HBK and Jannetty would have been better due to the personal nature of the feud especially since it was unresolved and instead of having it on a Raw in May.
The Headshrinkers v Steiners match should have been for the Tag Titles with the addition of Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers to make it a four corners perhaps. There were decent tag team matches with these lot even at Rumble 93 with the Steiner's and the Beverly's.
The whole Beefcake with the mask thing was stupid and just a stunt for Hulkamania to "save the day".
I thought the Doink v Crush fiasco was classic and well done.
Razor should have been given a better opponent than Backlund after his decent effort at the Rumble, perhaps Henning to put him over.
I thought the feud between Michaels and Henning in '93 was very good so I think the same backstage segment could have happened with Ramon instead of Luger.
Hogan should have been told to sod off when he came up with the ending for the PPV, that was a piss take.
The World Title match would have been better with the inclusion of Savage somehow will the simple fact that Yokozuna eliminated him last at the Rumble. I don't know if Triple Threat would have been good or managing Bret maybe and getting involved along with Fuji with Vince not high on him wrestling at the time.
Other ideas in my head were continuing the Bigelow v Boss Man feud and having Tatanka v Luger but they would have had to pull off something special to be decent.
I read that Vince didn't do Hogan v Flair at WM VIII because they'd been doing it for while before hand and after a while it didn't draw as well. Maybe this Mania would have been good for the loser retires match they did with Henning and Flair but with these two.
But just ideas and thoughts pal.
The issue with Harvey Wippleman and the Undertaker dated back to the Survivor Series when he put Kamala in a casket and followed by the introduction of his new monster Gonzalez at the Rumble. Good build up so I would have gone with this, just a bad match.
The HBK v Tatanka build up was good with Tatanka scoring 3 wins over Michaels setting up a proper wrestling match for the now degraded IC title. But I think a rematch from Rumble 93 with HBK and Jannetty would have been better due to the personal nature of the feud especially since it was unresolved and instead of having it on a Raw in May.
The Headshrinkers v Steiners match should have been for the Tag Titles with the addition of Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers to make it a four corners perhaps. There were decent tag team matches with these lot even at Rumble 93 with the Steiner's and the Beverly's.
The whole Beefcake with the mask thing was stupid and just a stunt for Hulkamania to "save the day".
I thought the Doink v Crush fiasco was classic and well done.
Razor should have been given a better opponent than Backlund after his decent effort at the Rumble, perhaps Henning to put him over.
I thought the feud between Michaels and Henning in '93 was very good so I think the same backstage segment could have happened with Ramon instead of Luger.
Hogan should have been told to sod off when he came up with the ending for the PPV, that was a piss take.
The World Title match would have been better with the inclusion of Savage somehow will the simple fact that Yokozuna eliminated him last at the Rumble. I don't know if Triple Threat would have been good or managing Bret maybe and getting involved along with Fuji with Vince not high on him wrestling at the time.
Other ideas in my head were continuing the Bigelow v Boss Man feud and having Tatanka v Luger but they would have had to pull off something special to be decent.
I read that Vince didn't do Hogan v Flair at WM VIII because they'd been doing it for while before hand and after a while it didn't draw as well. Maybe this Mania would have been good for the loser retires match they did with Henning and Flair but with these two.
But just ideas and thoughts pal.
The Hardcore Kid
WHAT?!
I remember in HBK's book he mentions the original plan was to have him face Jannetty at WMIX but a major reason Jannetty fell in and out of WWF prominence was that he couldn't keep his personal life in check. He wasn't available to feud with HBK for WMIX, so the Tatanka feud was just kinda thrown together.
On topic, the MAJOR thing that ruins WMIX for me was the ending. It made literally no sense, and was sort of a disgrace to the whole lore of WM main events. It was definitely high time to get rid of Hogan and his ridiculous ideas.
HBK vs. Tatanka: I would've kept this match regardless of the Jannetty vs. Shawn feud. I wasn't really on the edge of my seat for Jannetty's match with Shawn at Royal Rumble, so I don't think it would've been special here either but Tatanka vs. Shawn was a good opener.
Steiners vs. Money Inc.: Had these two been pit against each other instead of Beefcake & Hogan and Headshrinkers, I think we could've seen a better tag team match.
Undertaker vs. Yokozuna: Originally I was going to say Taker vs. Savage but I don't think him defeating a main eventer & getting a push out of it so quick would've been right at the time.
Beefcake vs. Lex Luger: Filler match, they weren't anything special in the ring, so meh.
Razor Ramon vs. Mr. Perfect: I agree with the poster after me, this would've worked out much better in the angle with Luger and the match itself.
Bob Backlund vs. Jerry Lawler: Another filler match but both were legends so I'm sure people will still have cared.
Doink vs. Crush: Match wasn't great but the ending and the build up to the match was good, so I wouldn't have changed this.
Hulk Hogan vs. Bret Hart: I'm sure something could've been worked out.
Steiners vs. Money Inc.: Had these two been pit against each other instead of Beefcake & Hogan and Headshrinkers, I think we could've seen a better tag team match.
Undertaker vs. Yokozuna: Originally I was going to say Taker vs. Savage but I don't think him defeating a main eventer & getting a push out of it so quick would've been right at the time.
Beefcake vs. Lex Luger: Filler match, they weren't anything special in the ring, so meh.
Razor Ramon vs. Mr. Perfect: I agree with the poster after me, this would've worked out much better in the angle with Luger and the match itself.
Bob Backlund vs. Jerry Lawler: Another filler match but both were legends so I'm sure people will still have cared.
Doink vs. Crush: Match wasn't great but the ending and the build up to the match was good, so I wouldn't have changed this.
Hulk Hogan vs. Bret Hart: I'm sure something could've been worked out.
WrestleMania IX was not that good by mania standards, but I thought the show itself wasn’t as bad as it is made out to be. Considering the major turnover in talent between SummerSlam 92 at WM9 I’d say the WWF did a pretty good job with the event.
At the time there were a few things I would have changed. Like a lot of people I wasn’t completely sold on the main event. After so many years of Hulk Hogan headlining mania in big marquee matches, Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna wasn’t really doing it for me. Hart was the new top guy and was doing ok with the title, but unexpectedly winning it from Ric Flair in an untelevised match didn’t really solidify Hart in that spot. I think Hart would have greatly benefited from a win against an established star at mania to officially take that spot. Randy Savage would have been the perfect opponent for Bret Hart at WM9. Savage was obviously winding down in the WWF but he could still go. These two could have given us a classic match with Hart getting the win over Savage. With 1993 being the first year where the rumble winner would get a mania title shot there was a perfect reason to set up the baby face main event for mania. I would have just put Yokozuna against Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a glorified squash. Several years later I’m not sure how I feel about this. Winning the rumble and main eventing mania obviously put Yoko on the map and led him to his title reign. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice that. At the time I would have gone with Hart vs. Savage. Looking back I’m not so sure even though I’m sure the Savage match would have been a classic and made for a better event.
There are a couple other minor changes. I would have put Tito Santana on that card. I would have either put him against Razor Ramon or Doink. I think Santana would have been a better opponent than Backlund for Razor. At the time fans were more familiar with Santana and he was in the first eight manias. The fans weren’t really buying into Backlund’s comeback and didn’t seem to care about him. I know it’s minor but I think it would have been better. I have no problem with Crush opposing Doink, but I don’t think it needed to be Crush. That feud could have easily gone to Santana. The only reason I would change this is to free Crush for a match against Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow was originally supposed to wrestle Kamala but I didn’t really care for that match. I think Crush would have been a much better matchup for Bigelow and I think Bigelow deserved to be on the show.
The other matches should have stayed as they were. HBK vs. Tatanka was an intriguing IC match and helped Tatanka move up the card. Good match too. Steiners vs. Headshrinkers was a good match between two good teams. I thought Hogan teaming with Beefcake against Money Inc. was a good way to bring Hogan back to mania while keeping him out of the main event. If only he stayed out of the main event. Perfect vs. Luger was a natural feud. Despite what people think of Giant Gonzalez now there is no doubt he was the right opponent for Taker at the time.
Before you’re too hard on WM9 just keep in mind that half the guys on the card were new to the WWF since SummerSlam 92 and a lot of top talent had left the company since then. It’s hard to produce a classic many with so many unfamiliar faces.
At the time there were a few things I would have changed. Like a lot of people I wasn’t completely sold on the main event. After so many years of Hulk Hogan headlining mania in big marquee matches, Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna wasn’t really doing it for me. Hart was the new top guy and was doing ok with the title, but unexpectedly winning it from Ric Flair in an untelevised match didn’t really solidify Hart in that spot. I think Hart would have greatly benefited from a win against an established star at mania to officially take that spot. Randy Savage would have been the perfect opponent for Bret Hart at WM9. Savage was obviously winding down in the WWF but he could still go. These two could have given us a classic match with Hart getting the win over Savage. With 1993 being the first year where the rumble winner would get a mania title shot there was a perfect reason to set up the baby face main event for mania. I would have just put Yokozuna against Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a glorified squash. Several years later I’m not sure how I feel about this. Winning the rumble and main eventing mania obviously put Yoko on the map and led him to his title reign. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice that. At the time I would have gone with Hart vs. Savage. Looking back I’m not so sure even though I’m sure the Savage match would have been a classic and made for a better event.
There are a couple other minor changes. I would have put Tito Santana on that card. I would have either put him against Razor Ramon or Doink. I think Santana would have been a better opponent than Backlund for Razor. At the time fans were more familiar with Santana and he was in the first eight manias. The fans weren’t really buying into Backlund’s comeback and didn’t seem to care about him. I know it’s minor but I think it would have been better. I have no problem with Crush opposing Doink, but I don’t think it needed to be Crush. That feud could have easily gone to Santana. The only reason I would change this is to free Crush for a match against Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow was originally supposed to wrestle Kamala but I didn’t really care for that match. I think Crush would have been a much better matchup for Bigelow and I think Bigelow deserved to be on the show.
The other matches should have stayed as they were. HBK vs. Tatanka was an intriguing IC match and helped Tatanka move up the card. Good match too. Steiners vs. Headshrinkers was a good match between two good teams. I thought Hogan teaming with Beefcake against Money Inc. was a good way to bring Hogan back to mania while keeping him out of the main event. If only he stayed out of the main event. Perfect vs. Luger was a natural feud. Despite what people think of Giant Gonzalez now there is no doubt he was the right opponent for Taker at the time.
Before you’re too hard on WM9 just keep in mind that half the guys on the card were new to the WWF since SummerSlam 92 and a lot of top talent had left the company since then. It’s hard to produce a classic many with so many unfamiliar faces.
Going to have agree with The Brain on a lot of points here. [surprised?]
I for one have always really liked Wrestlemania IX, of course I was 7 when the show aired. A few points..
I love the ending of Crush and Doink. It could've easily been someone else besides Crush. Looking back it was probably not as much a way to build up a big guy like Crush, but instead build up Doink. But I think the "two Doinks moment" stands, if only at the bottom, of the list of Wrestlemania moments. Just for the sake of arguing and not to seem like I am constantly praising The Brain [which I almost always agree with him/he always seems to post before I do.] I think Crush was a much more suitable opponent than Tito could've been. With all the pranks that Doink pulled on Crush prior to their 'Mania match even to go as far as costing Crush a chance to participate in the Royal Rumble, I just can't see myself picturing Doink feuding with Tito. I'm pretty sure Tito was in the middle of the El Matador gimmick at this point which was... as most of us know... awful [for Tito's standards] it would be too boring to go against someone like evil Doink. I liked Crush in this feud simply because he was so much bigger and more powerful and Doink got the better of him. Sorry for that huge side note..
Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales. Not the greatest match but it was ideal on paper. At the Royal Rumble, Whippleman brought in Gonzales and he absolutely destroyed The Undertaker like no one ever had. This was something that absolutely should've culminated at Wrestlemania. My only beef was the ending. I still think The Undertaker should have won in a more decided fashion.
Hulkamaniacs vs. Money Inc. was a good match and as Brain said, a good way to include Hogan without him being in the main event.
Tatanka vs. HBK is something I would leave alone. Someone mentioned they would've rather had Marty Jannetty facing Shawn in this which would be a no-brainer except if I'm not mistaken Marty was fired prior to 'Mania that year.
Mr. Perfect vs. Lex Luger was also a good match and a pretty obvious choice for Luger's first feud as The Narcissist. I would've liked to have seen more mileage from this, but HBK vs. Perfect was a good feud as well.
The Steiners vs. The Headhsrinkers. Would've preferred this to be for the Tag titles but it was still a good match that's probably considered more of a #1 contenders match. I'm pretty sure The Steiners had just come in at this point so Vince was probably looking for a credible team to throw them against and it worked more or less. I loved this match if nothing else than for JR's commentary, he was so pumped during The Steiner's offense.
Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund. Here is where I'd make probably the biggest change. The Backlund come-back just wasn't working and I'm not really sure why they seemingly just threw this together. Having Backlund squashed doesn't seem like a good way to build a come-back. Personally, I think Tito Santana would've been a better fit for Razor and Papa Shango could've squashed Backlund with some magic voodoo or something.
Bret vs. Yokozuna was a decent main event to me despite what I hear others say. I would've rather seen Bret just win his first title at this 'Mania against the monster Yokozuna who could've won the title at an earlier point. if you HAVE to keep Hogan in there, just have him cost Yoko the belt and have their feud continue at King of The Ring as it did.. Of course who was Vince to tell Hulkster what to do?
I for one have always really liked Wrestlemania IX, of course I was 7 when the show aired. A few points..
I love the ending of Crush and Doink. It could've easily been someone else besides Crush. Looking back it was probably not as much a way to build up a big guy like Crush, but instead build up Doink. But I think the "two Doinks moment" stands, if only at the bottom, of the list of Wrestlemania moments. Just for the sake of arguing and not to seem like I am constantly praising The Brain [which I almost always agree with him/he always seems to post before I do.] I think Crush was a much more suitable opponent than Tito could've been. With all the pranks that Doink pulled on Crush prior to their 'Mania match even to go as far as costing Crush a chance to participate in the Royal Rumble, I just can't see myself picturing Doink feuding with Tito. I'm pretty sure Tito was in the middle of the El Matador gimmick at this point which was... as most of us know... awful [for Tito's standards] it would be too boring to go against someone like evil Doink. I liked Crush in this feud simply because he was so much bigger and more powerful and Doink got the better of him. Sorry for that huge side note..
Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales. Not the greatest match but it was ideal on paper. At the Royal Rumble, Whippleman brought in Gonzales and he absolutely destroyed The Undertaker like no one ever had. This was something that absolutely should've culminated at Wrestlemania. My only beef was the ending. I still think The Undertaker should have won in a more decided fashion.
Hulkamaniacs vs. Money Inc. was a good match and as Brain said, a good way to include Hogan without him being in the main event.
Tatanka vs. HBK is something I would leave alone. Someone mentioned they would've rather had Marty Jannetty facing Shawn in this which would be a no-brainer except if I'm not mistaken Marty was fired prior to 'Mania that year.
Mr. Perfect vs. Lex Luger was also a good match and a pretty obvious choice for Luger's first feud as The Narcissist. I would've liked to have seen more mileage from this, but HBK vs. Perfect was a good feud as well.
The Steiners vs. The Headhsrinkers. Would've preferred this to be for the Tag titles but it was still a good match that's probably considered more of a #1 contenders match. I'm pretty sure The Steiners had just come in at this point so Vince was probably looking for a credible team to throw them against and it worked more or less. I loved this match if nothing else than for JR's commentary, he was so pumped during The Steiner's offense.
Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund. Here is where I'd make probably the biggest change. The Backlund come-back just wasn't working and I'm not really sure why they seemingly just threw this together. Having Backlund squashed doesn't seem like a good way to build a come-back. Personally, I think Tito Santana would've been a better fit for Razor and Papa Shango could've squashed Backlund with some magic voodoo or something.
Bret vs. Yokozuna was a decent main event to me despite what I hear others say. I would've rather seen Bret just win his first title at this 'Mania against the monster Yokozuna who could've won the title at an earlier point. if you HAVE to keep Hogan in there, just have him cost Yoko the belt and have their feud continue at King of The Ring as it did.. Of course who was Vince to tell Hulkster what to do?
It's easy to look back and make changes...but it's obvious McMahon thought Yokozuna was going to be a great heel. Unfortunately he was wrong.
Yoko could have had a great feud with the Undertaker and would have been an excellent match, instead of Taker facing Giant Gonzalez...one of the worst wrestlers to ever step foot in a ring.
Main event should have been a face vs face match for the WWF title. Hogan vs Bret..in which Hogan would do the RIGHT thing and drop the title to Bret. Anyways...here's my card for Wrestlemania 9:
MAIN EVENT
Hulk Hogan vs Bret Hart (WWF Championship)
Lex Luger vs Razor Ramon
Undertaker vs Yokozuna
Mr. Perfect vs Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental title)
Steiner Brothers vs Money Inc (Tag team titles)
Tatanka vs Crush (Recently turned heel)
Tito Santana vs Bob Backlund
This would be a 7 match card with plenty of time given to each match to make for some classics. Also, Doink the Clown would have been fired...reason why he's not on the card. So there ya go.
Yoko could have had a great feud with the Undertaker and would have been an excellent match, instead of Taker facing Giant Gonzalez...one of the worst wrestlers to ever step foot in a ring.
Main event should have been a face vs face match for the WWF title. Hogan vs Bret..in which Hogan would do the RIGHT thing and drop the title to Bret. Anyways...here's my card for Wrestlemania 9:
MAIN EVENT
Hulk Hogan vs Bret Hart (WWF Championship)
Lex Luger vs Razor Ramon
Undertaker vs Yokozuna
Mr. Perfect vs Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental title)
Steiner Brothers vs Money Inc (Tag team titles)
Tatanka vs Crush (Recently turned heel)
Tito Santana vs Bob Backlund
This would be a 7 match card with plenty of time given to each match to make for some classics. Also, Doink the Clown would have been fired...reason why he's not on the card. So there ya go.
The first change I would make is that Doink VS Crush would not even be on the show. That match never happened. I wish I could go as far as to say Doink the character itself never happened. Next, I'd have a few guys trade places. Here's how the card would look and the results I'd book:
1. Tito Santana VS Papa Shango
This would open the show instead of being a dark match. Tito wins.
2. Tatanka VS Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship
Michaels retains.
3. The Steiner Brothers VS The Headshrinkers
Steiners win.
4. Razor Ramon VS Undertaker
Undertaker wins.
5. Money Inc VS Giant Gonzales & Yokozuna (Tag Team Championship)
Dibiase and Schyster win, retaining the WWE Tag Team Championship.
6. Lex Luger VS Mr. Perfect
Luger wins.
7. Bob Backlund VS Brutus Beefcake
Backlund wins.
8. Bret Hart VS Hulk Hogan (WWF Championship)
Bret retains. No interference from Fuji, no unfair win for Yokozuna, and no random title win for Hogan.
That would be a MUCH better show than what we got, using the exact same lineup of available wrestlers. All they had to do was switch a few names around, get rid of Doink, and let Bret retain, and we would have gotten a rather enjoyable Wrestlemania because it wouldn't have as many bad matches and the ridiculous ending from the real Wrestlemania 9 wouldn't happen that way either.
1. Tito Santana VS Papa Shango
This would open the show instead of being a dark match. Tito wins.
2. Tatanka VS Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship
Michaels retains.
3. The Steiner Brothers VS The Headshrinkers
Steiners win.
4. Razor Ramon VS Undertaker
Undertaker wins.
5. Money Inc VS Giant Gonzales & Yokozuna (Tag Team Championship)
Dibiase and Schyster win, retaining the WWE Tag Team Championship.
6. Lex Luger VS Mr. Perfect
Luger wins.
7. Bob Backlund VS Brutus Beefcake
Backlund wins.
8. Bret Hart VS Hulk Hogan (WWF Championship)
Bret retains. No interference from Fuji, no unfair win for Yokozuna, and no random title win for Hogan.
That would be a MUCH better show than what we got, using the exact same lineup of available wrestlers. All they had to do was switch a few names around, get rid of Doink, and let Bret retain, and we would have gotten a rather enjoyable Wrestlemania because it wouldn't have as many bad matches and the ridiculous ending from the real Wrestlemania 9 wouldn't happen that way either.
I will be ignoring all backstage politics in this answer, and assume that Vince is insisting that everyone who was on the card stays on the card. Kamala and Bam Bam Bigalow were scheduled to wrestle, so I'm going to also take Bam Bam Bigalow as being a valid competitor. Kamala won't feature as a) he was obviously deemed to be expendable and b) He's shit.
If you consider what they were doing with Yokozuna, and presumably what they planned for Bret, they should have had Yokozuna win the title here off someone else, and hold it until the following WrestleMania for Bret to win. The obvious choices would have been Savage or Backlund. For the sake of argument, lets say Savage beats him at the Royal Rumble instead of Hart beating Razor Ramon in a throwaway. There'd be no shame in Hart losing to a legend like Savage, and at the same time Savage could have been decimated by Yokozuna at WrestleMania to build him. Yoko should then have beaten Hogan a few months later. Because Mania then always ended happily, I would shift this away from the Main Event, as happened the previous year.
They should have tried everything to keep Flair on, but having failed that, the Perfect vs Luger match made sense. If we assume Savage fights in the world title, then Backlund should have faced Bret Hart. Hart, having lost to an old timer in Savage at the Royal Rumble, could have restored a little face by beating Backlund here.
The tag matches were alright, but I would have had the title on the Steiners going into the event. That way the Mega Maniacs could have won for the feelgood factor, without putting the titles on a team that will never defend them. Given that nobody was buying Razor Ramon as a heel, I would have put him in a title match against Michaels and have him lose in a way that turned him face.
As weird as it would be, and while big part of me is saying that it would be complete arse on a plate, I think I would have liked to see Doink take on The Undertaker. Both characters were completely bizarre and I think a bit of creative storylining through Raw could have made this work. Of the original card, that leaves Tatanka, Crush, Giant Gonzalez, Bigalow and the dark match.
As I have removed the bullshit at the end, I'm replacing it with another match which would be Giant Gonzalez squashing Tito Santana. I wouldn't want to see that, but if we assume Gonzalez has to be on the card, this is a much better option. I'd then put Tatanka against Bam Bam Bigalow as a decent opener, leaving Crush to face Papa Shango in a dark match.
Full Card:
Dark Match - Crush v. Papa Shango - Crush wins by Pinfall
1. Tatanka vs Bam Bam Bigalow - Double count out
2. Giant Gonzalez vs. Tito Santana - Gonzalez wins by knockout
3. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental Championship) - Ramon wins by disqualification
4. Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers - Steiners win by pinfall
5. Undertaker vs. Doink the Clown - Undertaker wins by pinfall
6. Lex Luger vs Mr Perfect - Lex Luger wins by pinfall
7. Yokozuna vs Randy Savage (WWF Championship) - Yokozuna wins by pinfall
8. Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - Bret Hart wins by submission
9. The Mega Maniacs vs. Money Inc. - Mega Maniacs win by pinfall
If you consider what they were doing with Yokozuna, and presumably what they planned for Bret, they should have had Yokozuna win the title here off someone else, and hold it until the following WrestleMania for Bret to win. The obvious choices would have been Savage or Backlund. For the sake of argument, lets say Savage beats him at the Royal Rumble instead of Hart beating Razor Ramon in a throwaway. There'd be no shame in Hart losing to a legend like Savage, and at the same time Savage could have been decimated by Yokozuna at WrestleMania to build him. Yoko should then have beaten Hogan a few months later. Because Mania then always ended happily, I would shift this away from the Main Event, as happened the previous year.
They should have tried everything to keep Flair on, but having failed that, the Perfect vs Luger match made sense. If we assume Savage fights in the world title, then Backlund should have faced Bret Hart. Hart, having lost to an old timer in Savage at the Royal Rumble, could have restored a little face by beating Backlund here.
The tag matches were alright, but I would have had the title on the Steiners going into the event. That way the Mega Maniacs could have won for the feelgood factor, without putting the titles on a team that will never defend them. Given that nobody was buying Razor Ramon as a heel, I would have put him in a title match against Michaels and have him lose in a way that turned him face.
As weird as it would be, and while big part of me is saying that it would be complete arse on a plate, I think I would have liked to see Doink take on The Undertaker. Both characters were completely bizarre and I think a bit of creative storylining through Raw could have made this work. Of the original card, that leaves Tatanka, Crush, Giant Gonzalez, Bigalow and the dark match.
As I have removed the bullshit at the end, I'm replacing it with another match which would be Giant Gonzalez squashing Tito Santana. I wouldn't want to see that, but if we assume Gonzalez has to be on the card, this is a much better option. I'd then put Tatanka against Bam Bam Bigalow as a decent opener, leaving Crush to face Papa Shango in a dark match.
Full Card:
Dark Match - Crush v. Papa Shango - Crush wins by Pinfall
1. Tatanka vs Bam Bam Bigalow - Double count out
2. Giant Gonzalez vs. Tito Santana - Gonzalez wins by knockout
3. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental Championship) - Ramon wins by disqualification
4. Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers - Steiners win by pinfall
5. Undertaker vs. Doink the Clown - Undertaker wins by pinfall
6. Lex Luger vs Mr Perfect - Lex Luger wins by pinfall
7. Yokozuna vs Randy Savage (WWF Championship) - Yokozuna wins by pinfall
8. Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - Bret Hart wins by submission
9. The Mega Maniacs vs. Money Inc. - Mega Maniacs win by pinfall