WrestleMania VIII Finish

[Aberle4Life]

I just watched the ending of the Hulk Hogan/Sid Justice match at WrestleMania VIII, and it had been awhile. I forgot how clumsy the whole finish was. Hogan hit Sid with the legdrop, and then Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman jumped onto the apron. Hogan and the ref completely ignored him--Hogan covered Sid and the ref counted, but Sid counted out at two with authority. Then, Wippleman entered the ring and Hogan went to him immediately, picked him up and press-slammed him into Sid. The ref rang the bell as Hogan had Harvey up in the air.

The result was Hogan winning via DQ. After that was when Papa Shango came down to beat on Hogan with Sid, which of course led to the Ultimate Warrior returning and saving Hogan.

The main thing I'm wondering is if anyone knows if the finish--before the run-in's by Shango and Warrior--was supposed to happen that way. It seemed very odd that Sid would kick out of the legdrop there, especially in a match billed as Hogan's farewell at the time. Was the DQ supposed to happen before Hogan covered Sid? Was the ref not supposed to count Sid down after the legdrop and instead turn his attention to Wippleman on the apron? The whole thing just came across as very awkward to me.

Also awkward is the fact that WrestleMania VIII was over twenty years ago. Ouch.

 

[donfryeismyhero]

I don't know for any certainty but I've heard it told 2 ways in terms of how the finish was supposed to go. 1: Sid was supposed to lay down clean for the 3 count but went into business for himself because he was about to be suspended for steroids & because of him kicking out, he was released thereafter. 2: Papa Shango was late hitting the ring as he was supposed to interfere before the ref made a 3 count.

 

[PDepew2181]

This comes from Wikipedia, so take that for it's worth, but this is the generally accepted story I've always heard.

"The finish to the Justice-Hogan match actually did not occur as planned. The original plan was for Hogan to hit the leg drop on Justice and for Papa Shango to do a run in and break up the pin causing a disqualification. However, Papa Shango either missed or misjudged his cue and was late in getting down to the ring. Justice improvised by kicking out of the leg drop. From there, Earl Hebner would disqualify Justice when his manager, Harvey Wippleman, interfered."

And, yea, it is weird to think that was over 20 years ago. I still remember being 11 years old and not fully understanding the concept that Hulk Hogan was going away.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Yep Shango was the one who blew it, but I am sure Sid didn't mind kicking out of the legdrop one bit... It really was just a bad idea from start to finish, all it needed was Sid to get a pin that was "missed" by the shock sight of the Warrior and go batshit crazy causing himself to be DQ'd, Warrior saves Hogan job done...

 

[PsychoBlack]

With Hogan, Sid Justice, and Papa Shango involved in a match did you expect any thing other than a sloppy finish? Either way it wasn't as bad as some of the other ones we've seen over the years. At least sid was smart enough to kick out instead of just having Hogan go over clean again.

 

[FlairFan2003]

This one has been debated a lot over the years... did Hogan address it in his biography ??

Most common story is Shango hit the ring late, screwing up the finish. The "conspiracy" aspect comes from the idea Sid was already on his way out right after Mania. If Sid was set to leave, wouldnt it make more sense for Hogan to win clean in the final match of the night, afterall Hogan was the company's biggest star, and traditionally even today most WM's end on an extremely fan favorable, good guy triumphs, sort of way, send the crowd home happy style. The idea of a screw job DQ in the main event at Mania, a real downer for fans, highighted by Sid easily kicking out of the leg drop, seems almost unthinkable. If Sid wasnt facing suspension however, if their were plans for him going forward either with Ultimate Warrior/Shango or maybe Flair/Savage then having him kick out of the leg drop, a true sign of his strength of character, might have made some sense. Adding more fuel to the fire of conspiracy is Sid's less than stellar rep in the industry and the fact other top stars like Hogan & Piper were being sent away as the Federal Steroids Probe was heating up.

We may never know... I read parts of Hogan's book (including his version of why Hogan-Hart didnt happen in 1993) but I dont remember if he addressed this. Fact is we may never know for sure. One thing, it was one of the worst matches of all time booked in the top slot, not nearly as entertaining as Fair/Savage or even Hart/Piper, both of which were not only great matches but had that "fan friendly" ending WWE likes at it's big shows.

 

[Pedigree1]

In short Papa Shango dropped the ball! Whatever reason happened he was late and Sid had to improvise. Good for him. I can just wonder what Sid was thinking.(Where the Fuck is he at?) But in short its all on Papa Shango

 

[theBusiness]

Man, this was possibly the worst WrestleMania main event of all time. Who knows why it was even the last match on the card. It was Papa Shango's fault, short and simple. He was too busy with the hoe train backstage.

 

[sdelfin]

The common story is that, indeed, Shango was late. Is it really his fault, or an agent backstage? One detail I heard about Shango being late was that either Shango or whoever was responsible for his cue to go to the ring neglected to factor in the considerable length of the aisle. That's certainly plausible.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I'm pretty sure Shango was supposed to hit the ring as Hogan was going for the pin. There's a quote from him on this site: http://www.imetawrestler.com/2012/11/the-godfather-papa-shango.html

"That [Wrestlemania 8 run-in] was not my fault! I was told to go too late and they underestimated the length of the aisle. Even Warrior said later that night that he had to haul serious ass to get there on cue. Watch his run. He used to run to the ring every night, but never like that!"

It would be interesting to get stories from Hogan, Sid, and Warrior and see how everyone's retelling of the situation lines up with each others.

My guess though, is that Hogan was supposed to hit the leg drop, and as he was about to go for the cover, Wippleman is supposed to distract the ref, and as that is happening Shango comes out to help take out Hogan and give Sid time to come back, but just as Shango starts to interfere, Warrior makes his shocking return to the ring. Ref rings the bell to stop the chaos, and ultimately we get the ending we did anyway with Hogan and Warrior having a fireworks posedown in the ring.

 

[Aberle4Life]

Thanks for the response, everyone! I figured it was on Harvey, the ref, or that Sid went in business for himself as someone else said. I thought Papa Shango was supposed to just come in after the match, as Warrior did--but perhaps Shango did get to the ring too late.

As others have said, I agree this was a weak finish to a WrestleMania and that other matches should have closed the show. However, it was supposed to be Hogan's last match (hehe) so I understand why they would have it last. Hulk had finished every other 'Mania (even IV as he was involved in the Savage/DiBiase match) to that point, so it was his show to close.

 

[AJ1981]

My favourite bit was the crowd not intially reacting to Warrior because he'd lost so much muscle mass they didn't recognise him

 

[ProWrestlingFan84]

Ah yeah, Mania 8 with the oddest and probably dumbest main event match. I'm pretty sure it went on last because well Hogan is a power trip. The ending was just awful. I mean even from a booking stand point just why would they do that? It does make me wonder though how people would react in today's age if something like that would happen, imagine the backlash. Not even sure how that would work. *ponders*

 

[Moneyinc]

Very interesting stuff here. I loved Wrestlemania VIII. Macho Man Vs Flair is one of the more entertaining matches ever in my opinion. I love when Hogan comes to the ring at the start of his match vs Sid and then pounds him while Hulks music is still blasting. I watched this a couple weeks ago and definitely noticed the weird ending, but never thought that it was botched.

 

[HBsam31]

One of the most screwy finishes in Mania history. I always thought Sid went into business for himself and kicked out of the leg drop. I remember as a kid being crushed that this was Hogan last match lol. If only I knew then what I knew now. It kinda clears things up for me now knowing it was Papa Shango that missed his cue. Great thread.

 

[EastCoastFan]

I heard the "Sid went into business for himself" story years ago, and is somewhat understandable as it was Sid's last night and he had nothing to lose, so why not kick out of the biggest star in wrestling history's finisher (prior to that, I can't think of anyone who kicked out of Hulk Hogan's legdrop in the WWF). Vince didn't own the business like he does now, so even if he got blackballed by the WWF, Sid could still go to WCW or Japan or somewhere else.

It wasn't until this past year that I heard the "Papa Shango missed his cue/was late getting to the ring" story. I always thought that was unusual. As someone pointed out, WM always ended with the face winning clean in the main event, to send people home happy. Why have a messy finish like that, unless Sid balked at putting Hogan over clean.

Of course, the original plan for WrestleMania 8 was that the main event was to be Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair for the WWF title. This one also has two stories. The most common one is that Hogan announced his retirement, which put Vince in a bind: If Flair wins, it means JCP/WCW had the better man all along. If Hogan wins, he goes out as champion and it taints anyone who comes after him because they didn't beat "the biggest star in wrestling history" to become champ.

The other version, which I heard in the last year or two, was that the WWF didn't think there was enough "buzz" from the fans to go through with it, that too much time had passed. I find this one a little hard to believe.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I'm pretty sure Shango was supposed to hit the ring as Hogan was going for the pin. There's a quote from him on this site: http://www.imetawrestler.com/2012/11/the-godfather-papa-shango.html



It would be interesting to get stories from Hogan, Sid, and Warrior and see how everyone's retelling of the situation lines up with each others.

My guess though, is that Hogan was supposed to hit the leg drop, and as he was about to go for the cover, Wippleman is supposed to distract the ref, and as that is happening Shango comes out to help take out Hogan and give Sid time to come back, but just as Shango starts to interfere, Warrior makes his shocking return to the ring. Ref rings the bell to stop the chaos, and ultimately we get the ending we did anyway with Hogan and Warrior having a fireworks posedown in the ring.

I don't know if I buy this. When Shango FINALLY comes out.. it is WAYYYYY later... like long after the kickout and after Wippleman gets involves. Not only that... if he came out on time but the aisle was too long, why does he come out so damn slow and even stop part way through? When he finally comes out he's basically walking to the ring.

I don't know if buy the Sid going into business for himself story either. But Hogan does CONVINCINGLY kick out of Sid's powerbomb finisher. So either way, I'm sure Sid enjoyed it.

 

[justtxyank]

FWIW, I'm pretty sure Sid has sworn in shoots over the years that he was supposed to kick out. The drug test he failed was the next day according to Sid and had nothing to do with what happened that night. Of course he also claims that Vince knew he was using other people's urine to pass tests previously.

 

[Just Do It]

Considering what happened is public knowledge told by those who were part of it (Sid, Shango, Harvey) why the hell is there a two page debate as to what happened?

Shango was late getting to the ring - Sid had to kick out.

End of debate. Go home people, nothing else to see here.