Three cities! Television personalities! Fast Food mascots! Football players! Awful matches! Yup, WrestleMania 2 has all of that. For some reason or another, Vince McMahon decided to broadcast this event from three different arenas in three different time zones. I'm not sure where the event would have originated from had he chosen just one venue, probably Nassau if I were to guess.
So we start off from the New York segment at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. Vince broadcasts with scratchy voiced actress Susan St. James, who just happens to be married to Vince's buddy Dick Ebersol. I didn't count how many times she said "Uh Oh!" during these 4 matches but it was at least 22. We start off with Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff vs The Magnificent Don Muraco. This ends in a lame double count out, not a strong kick off to what is supposed to be your mecca event, granted it was only the second incarnation of it. Next we get the Intercontinental Title match between Macho Man Randy Savage and George "The Animal" Steele. About what you'd expect from an Animal Steele match, entertaining to a point, but it doesn't give Savage the chance to show off his true in ring talent (that would have to wait til WrestleMania III). Next is an encounter between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and former football player George Wells. Wells is wearing football pants that he either kept from his CFL days or stole from the Houston Oilers. Jake wins the match with a DDT that flips Wells completely over and then smothers and chokes him with Damian the snake. The final match in NY is a boxing match between Roddy Piper and actor Mr. T. This is not a good match by any means, but you DO get to see Burger King's Herb do a dance prior to the bell. Piper loses by DQ for shoving the ref and body slamming Mr. T. The real life dislike for each other was evident by this point, I wonder if a regular wrestling match would have sufficed better. Oh well, at least Cab Calloway was in attendance right?
Now we're shipped to Chicago's portion of the event emulating from The Rosemont Horizon, which Gorilla Monsoon calls a beautiful arena, trust me it's not. He's joined on commentary by actress Cathy Lee Crosby and Mean Gene Okerlund and Big Cat Ernie Ladd during the battle royal only. We start with a women's championship match that lasts about a minute when The Fabulous Moolah pinned Velvet McIntyre in about a minute. Then Corporal Kirchner beats Nikolia Volkoff in a flag match in two minutes. Wow, these matches just keep getting longer. Now we get to the 20 man battle royal which has a mixture of WWF wrestlers as well as NFL football players. Mean Gene announces former Wendy's commercial actress Clara Peller and she has to ask "Now?" twice for her cue. Yes lady NOW! She then waves her microphone like a magic wand and says "Where's the Beef" but no one hears her. The Horizon comes unglued for hometown player (and recent champion) William "Refrigerator" Perry. The match also featured a trio of former world champions in Bruno Sammartino, The Iron Shiek, and Pedro Morales. Andre the Giant and "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey dress the same here, as they both don yellow Hulk Hogan tights and boots. Andre gets the win after last eliminating The Hart Foundation. The final match is for the WWF tag team titles in which The British Bulldogs win the gold from Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. With Ozzy Osbourne and Captain Lou in your corner how could you lose? So far I'd say the battle royal and tag title match are the best of the night giving the edge to Chicago over New York. Let's go to L.A.
In L.A., Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira are your broadcast team. Elvira wasn't the quickest thinker when asked questions but she's Elvira and she's sexy so it's ok. Sometimes the audio volume level goes up and down here, 1986 technology was only so good when you're running one show from three cities. First bout here Ricky Steamboat pins Hercules in a decent match, a clash of styles bogs it down a bit. Like Randy Savage, Steambout would have to wait a year to truly show off his talents. Next, Adorable Adrian Adonis defeats Uncle Elmer in an awful match with just a few bumps and flips by Adonis saving it from being completely bottom of the barrel. In a tag match, the Funk Brothers beat Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a decent match saved by some bumps by Terry Funk. Now the main event. Wait, no WrestleMania main event is complete without celebrities. Bring out Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who spits (literally) as he's announcing Ricky Schroeder and Robert Conrad. WWF title on the line in a steel cage, Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy. This is a better main event than the first WrestleMania. Some fans rated this match as mediocre but I found it to be pretty good. Despite some audio trouble, I'd give the edge to L.A. as the best segment of this lackluster event.
In conclusion, between celebrity broadcasting, city hopping, bad matches, and low production values turn this one into a bottom 5 WrestleMania.
So we start off from the New York segment at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. Vince broadcasts with scratchy voiced actress Susan St. James, who just happens to be married to Vince's buddy Dick Ebersol. I didn't count how many times she said "Uh Oh!" during these 4 matches but it was at least 22. We start off with Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff vs The Magnificent Don Muraco. This ends in a lame double count out, not a strong kick off to what is supposed to be your mecca event, granted it was only the second incarnation of it. Next we get the Intercontinental Title match between Macho Man Randy Savage and George "The Animal" Steele. About what you'd expect from an Animal Steele match, entertaining to a point, but it doesn't give Savage the chance to show off his true in ring talent (that would have to wait til WrestleMania III). Next is an encounter between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and former football player George Wells. Wells is wearing football pants that he either kept from his CFL days or stole from the Houston Oilers. Jake wins the match with a DDT that flips Wells completely over and then smothers and chokes him with Damian the snake. The final match in NY is a boxing match between Roddy Piper and actor Mr. T. This is not a good match by any means, but you DO get to see Burger King's Herb do a dance prior to the bell. Piper loses by DQ for shoving the ref and body slamming Mr. T. The real life dislike for each other was evident by this point, I wonder if a regular wrestling match would have sufficed better. Oh well, at least Cab Calloway was in attendance right?
Now we're shipped to Chicago's portion of the event emulating from The Rosemont Horizon, which Gorilla Monsoon calls a beautiful arena, trust me it's not. He's joined on commentary by actress Cathy Lee Crosby and Mean Gene Okerlund and Big Cat Ernie Ladd during the battle royal only. We start with a women's championship match that lasts about a minute when The Fabulous Moolah pinned Velvet McIntyre in about a minute. Then Corporal Kirchner beats Nikolia Volkoff in a flag match in two minutes. Wow, these matches just keep getting longer. Now we get to the 20 man battle royal which has a mixture of WWF wrestlers as well as NFL football players. Mean Gene announces former Wendy's commercial actress Clara Peller and she has to ask "Now?" twice for her cue. Yes lady NOW! She then waves her microphone like a magic wand and says "Where's the Beef" but no one hears her. The Horizon comes unglued for hometown player (and recent champion) William "Refrigerator" Perry. The match also featured a trio of former world champions in Bruno Sammartino, The Iron Shiek, and Pedro Morales. Andre the Giant and "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey dress the same here, as they both don yellow Hulk Hogan tights and boots. Andre gets the win after last eliminating The Hart Foundation. The final match is for the WWF tag team titles in which The British Bulldogs win the gold from Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. With Ozzy Osbourne and Captain Lou in your corner how could you lose? So far I'd say the battle royal and tag title match are the best of the night giving the edge to Chicago over New York. Let's go to L.A.
In L.A., Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira are your broadcast team. Elvira wasn't the quickest thinker when asked questions but she's Elvira and she's sexy so it's ok. Sometimes the audio volume level goes up and down here, 1986 technology was only so good when you're running one show from three cities. First bout here Ricky Steamboat pins Hercules in a decent match, a clash of styles bogs it down a bit. Like Randy Savage, Steambout would have to wait a year to truly show off his talents. Next, Adorable Adrian Adonis defeats Uncle Elmer in an awful match with just a few bumps and flips by Adonis saving it from being completely bottom of the barrel. In a tag match, the Funk Brothers beat Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a decent match saved by some bumps by Terry Funk. Now the main event. Wait, no WrestleMania main event is complete without celebrities. Bring out Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who spits (literally) as he's announcing Ricky Schroeder and Robert Conrad. WWF title on the line in a steel cage, Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy. This is a better main event than the first WrestleMania. Some fans rated this match as mediocre but I found it to be pretty good. Despite some audio trouble, I'd give the edge to L.A. as the best segment of this lackluster event.
In conclusion, between celebrity broadcasting, city hopping, bad matches, and low production values turn this one into a bottom 5 WrestleMania.