WrestleMania 2

Infobox Wrestling event
name=WrestleMania 2


tagline=What The World Has Come To
promotion=World Wrestling Federation
date=April 7, 1986cite web|url=http://www.pwwew.net/ppv/wwf/march/2.htm|title=WrestleMania 2 review|publisher=pWwew - Everything Wrestling|accessdate=2008-05-25] cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/mania.html#II|title=WrestleMania II results|work=Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments|accessdate=2008-05-25]
venue=Nassau Coliseum
Rosemont Horizon
L.A. Sports Arena
city=Uniondale, New Yorkcite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm2/factsstats/|title=WrestleMania II Facts/Stats|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-25] cite web|url=http://www.gerweck.net/wrestlemania2.htm|title=WrestleMania 2 review|publisher=Gerweck.net|accessdate=2008-05-25]
Rosemont, Illinois
Los Angeles, California
attendance=40,085|lastevent=The Wrestling Classic
nextevent=WrestleMania III
event=WrestleMania
lastevent2=WrestleMania I
nextevent2=WrestleMania III

WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (although the first WrestleMania was only on pay-per-view in select areas). It took place on April 7, 1986 at three venues:

*The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York
*The Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois
*The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California

Each venue had one main event match with a large undercard. As with the first WrestleMania, the matches were shown on closed-circuit television across North America. This was the first WrestleMania to use cardinal numbers (Arabic numerals). The commentating teams consisted of Vince McMahon and Susan Saint James in New York, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Cathy Lee Crosby in Chicago and Jesse Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira in Los Angeles. The ring announcers were Howard Finkel (New York), Chet Coppock (Chicago), and Lee Marshall (Los Angeles).

The main event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was a boxing match where Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper by disqualification. Matches on the undercard were Randy Savage versus George Steele for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, Jake Roberts versus George Wells and Paul Orndorff versus The Magnificent Don Muraco.

The main event at Rosemont Horizon was a 20-man battle royal which included WWF wrestlers and NFL footballers. The undercard featured a WWF Tag Team Championship match where British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) defeated champions Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) to win the titles, a WWF Women's Championship match between The Fabulous Moolah and Velvet McIntyre and a flag match between Corporal Kirschner and Nikolai Volkoff.

The main event at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a WWF Championship match where Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match to retain the title.cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm2/mainevent/|title=King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan Steel Cage WWE Championship Match|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-26] The undercard featured Terry Funk and Hoss Funk versus Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a tag team match, Adrian Adonis versus Uncle Elmer and Ricky Steamboat versus Hercules.

Background

The main feud heading into WrestleMania 2 was between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy, with the two battling over the WWF Championship. They had their first encounter on November 2, 1985 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event" where Hogan teamed up with André the Giant against André's rivals Bundy and Big John Studd. Hogan and André won the match. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/snme/history/1985to1992/nov021985/|title=Saturday Night's Main Event results - November 2, 1985|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-25] On March 1, 1986 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event", Hogan defended his WWF title against The Magnificent Don Muraco. During the match, Bundy interfered and assaulted Hogan. Bundy and Muraco both men assaulted him and broke his ribs.cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/snme/860301.html|title=Saturday Night's Main Event results - March 1, 1986|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|accessdate=2008-05-25] Hogan had a very serious injury and a match was booked between Hogan and Bundy for the WWF title. The doctors warned Hogan not to compete at WrestleMania because of a very serious injury but he didn't listen to the doctors and accepted Bundy's challenge, risking his injury.

The second feud heading into the event was between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. Piper established himself as the top heel in WWF in 1985 and joined Paul Orndorff and Cowboy Bob Orton to feud with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. [cite web|first=John|last=Milner|date=2005-03-22|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/piper.html|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|accessdate=2008-05-26] Hogan and T defeated Piper and Orndorff in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm1/mainevent1/|title="Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff & "Rowdy" Roddy Piper w/ Cowboy Bob Orton vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T w/ "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-26] Mr. T and Piper restarted their feud in early 1986 after Piper and T's real-life hatred for each other. WWF turned it into their feud with each other. Piper and other wrestlers hated T because he was an actor and because of his unskilled wrestling ability. T became a special WWF boxer and began a streak of boxing matches. He defeated Bob Orton on March 1, 1986 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event" in a boxing match. After the match, Piper distracted T allowing Orton to attack T from behind. Piper and Orton began assaulting him, which would culminate in a boxing match at WrestleMania between Piper and T.

The third main feud heading into WrestleMania was between Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) and British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) over the WWF Tag Team Championship. On August 24, 1985, they won the tag titles from U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo). [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldtagteam/3044541321232|title=Dream Team's first World Tag Team Championship reign|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-26] Immediately after their title win, they were challenged by British Bulldogs for the titles. They retained their titles against Bulldogs at a house show on September 11 by getting disqualified. [cite web|url=http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/85.htm|title=WWF Show Results 1985|work=Angelfire|accessdate=2008-05-26] They defended the titles against Bulldogs again on March 1, 1986 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event", where they emerged victorious against Bulldogs. After Bulldogs failed in winning the titles twice, Dream Team agreed to defend their titles against Bulldogs for a final time with a title match set on WrestleMania.

Event

WrestleMania 2 emanated from three arenas. The show began at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. In the first match of the show and the arena, Paul Orndorff faced The Magnificient Don Muarco. Both men fought to a double countout. Next was a WWF Intercontinental Championship match between Randy Savage and George Steele. Savage was seconded by his real-life wife Miss Elizabeth. He pinned Steele with a roll-up and put his both feet on the ropes for leverage. As a result, Savage retained the Intercontinental title. The third match from the Coliseum was between Jake Roberts and George Wells. He hit a DDT on Wells and pinned him to win the match. After the match, Roberts allowed his snake Damian to slither over Wells. The first main event of WrestleMania 2 was a boxing match between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. T was seconded by real life boxer Joe Frazier. Piper was disqualified for bodyslamming T at 1:15 in the 4th round.cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm2/results/|title=WrestleMania 2 official results|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-26]

WrestleMania 2 next took place from Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. The first match was a WWF Women's Championship match between The Fabulous Moolah and Velvet McIntyre. McIntyre hit a splash on Moolah but Moolah sidestepped and McIntyre missed the move. Moolah took advantage and pinned McIntyre to retain her title. The second match was a flag match between Corporal Kirschner and Nikolai Volkoff. Volkoff was seconded by Classy Freddie Blassie. Blassie threw his cane on Volkoff but Kirschner caught it and hit Volkoff with it and then successfully pinned Volkoff for the victory. The third match was a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) versus National Football League (NFL) battle royal. It featured 20 men including the WWF wrestlers and NFL superstars. In the end of the match, André the Giant and Hart Foundation (Jim Neidhart and Bret Hart) were the final participants. André first eliminated Neidhart and then Hart to win the battle royal. The second main event of WrestleMania was a WWF Tag Team Championship match between British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) and Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake). Bulldogs were seconded by Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne and Captain Lou Albano. Smith pushed Valentine into the corner where Valentine knocked heads with Dynamite Kid. Kid fell to the floor while Smith pinned Valentine to win the tag titles and end Dream Team's seven month reign.

The third arena was Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. Ricky Steamboat faced Hercules in the first match from Los Angeles. Hercules tried to hit a flying bodypress but missed it. Steamboat followed by hitting a flying bodypress of his own for a successful pinfall victory. Adrian Adonis, seconded by Jimmy Hart defeated Uncle Elmer after a diving headbutt. Terry and Hoss Funk faced Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a tag team match. Funk brothers were seconded by Jimmy Hart. The referee was distracted by Hoss. Hart took advantage and gave his microphone to Terry who hit it on JYD and then pinned him to get the win. Next was a WWF Championship steel cage match which was the third and final main event of WrestleMania 2. It was the only steel cage in WrestleMania history. Hulk Hogan defended his title against King Kong Bundy. Hogan's ribs were heavily taped due to an assault by Bundy on March 1, 1986 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event". Bundy was seconded by Bobby Heenan. In the beginning, Bundy removed the tape from Hogan's ribs. However, Hogan fought back and rammed Bundy's head into the steel cage. He tried to hit a scoop slam on Bundy but missed it. Bundy hit an avalanche and a big splash on Hogan. However, Hogan did his "hulk up" no sell and hit a scoop slam on Bundy followed by a leg drop. He climbed the steel cage but Bundy caught his legs. Hogan kicked Bundy and climbed over the top of the steel cage and climbed on the floor to win the match and retain the title.cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/wweppv/wrestlemania2.html|title=WrestleMania 2 results|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|accessdate=2008-05-26]

Aftermath

Randy Savage and George Steele continued their feud with each other, leading to a rematch for the WWF Intercontinental Championship on January 3, 1987 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event" where Steele ended up losing. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/snme/history/1985to1992/jan031987|title=Saturday Night's Main Event results - January 3, 1987|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-27] The new WWF Tag Team Champions British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) prepared to face challenger tag teams. On October 4, 1986 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event", they defeated former champions Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) in a two out of three falls match to retain the titles. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/snme/history/1985to1992/nov291986|title=Saturday Night's Main Event results - November 29, 1986|publisher=WWE|accessdate=2008-05-27] Hulk Hogan continued and increased his WWF Championship reign taking down challengers such as Paul Orndorff, André the Giant, Hercules Hernandez and Sika Anoa'i before he was defeated by André for the title on February 5, 1988 edition of "The Main Event", ending his four year reign and the third longest in the title's entire history. [cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/snme/880205.html|title=Saturday Night's Main Event results - February 5, 1988|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|accessdate=2008-05-27]

Results

Other on-screen talent

*Commentators: Vince McMahon (New York), Gorilla Monsoon (Chicago), Gene Okerlund (Chicago), Jesse Ventura (Los Angeles), Lord Alfred Hayes (Los Angeles)
*Ring announcers: Howard Finkel (New York), Chet Coppock (Chicago), Lee Marshall (Los Angeles)
*Guest ring announcers: Joan Rivers (New York), Tommy Lasorda (Los Angeles)
*Guest announcers: Susan Saint James (New York), Cathy Lee Crosby (Chicago), Ernie Ladd (Chicago) and Elvira (Los Angeles)
*Guest timekeepers: Herb (New York), Clara Peller (Chicago), Ricky Schroder (Los Angeles)
*Referees: Dick Kroll, Jack Lutz, Dick Butkus (guest referee, battle royal), Ed "Too Tall" Jones (guest referee, battle royale), Dave Hebner
*NY vocalist: Ray Charles

Notes

*Ray Charles sang a rendition of "America the Beautiful" before the show.

*According to [http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm2/factsstats/ WWE.com] , this was indeed the first WrestleMania to be shown on pay-per-view.

*Celebrity guests in attendance for the New York portion of WrestleMania 2 included Cab Calloway, Darryl Dawkins, G. Gordon Liddy, Joan Rivers, Joe Frazier, Lou Duva, Mr. T, Ray Charles, Where's Herb? and Susan Saint James [ [http://www.wrestlecrap.com/oldinductions.html WrestleMania 2: Horrible crap eminating from three - count 'em THREE - venues! Plus more Susan St. James than you can shake an "UH OH" at!] ] .

*Celebrity guests in attendance for the Chicago portion of WrestleMania 2 included Clara Peller, Dick Butkus, Ed Jones, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Fralic, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin, Jim Covert, Russ Francis, William Perry, and Cathy Lee Crosby.

*Celebrity guests in attendance for the Los Angeles portion of WrestleMania 2 included Ricky Schroder, Robert Conrad, Tommy Lasorda, and Elvira.

*WrestleMania XX, WrestleMania 21, and WrestleMania 22 all took place from the three locations that hosted WrestleMania 2 (WrestleMania XX from New York, WrestleMania 21 from Los Angeles, and WrestleMania 22 from Chicago).

*WrestleMania 2 is the first and only WrestleMania to have taken place on a Monday.

*This was the only WrestleMania to feature a traditional "Cage Match." At Wrestlemania XV, The Undertaker defeated The Big Bossman in a "Hell in a Cell" match.

References

External links

* [http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm2/ The Official Website of WrestleMania 2]
* [http://www.dawrestlingsite.com/wrestling/flashback_reviews/wrestlemania2.php Recap and Analysis at DWS]