WrestleMania X

When I first watched this event back in 1994 I had mixed feelings throughout. It was the first WrestleMania which wasn't going to feature WWF icon Hulk Hogan. Throughout the entire event I kept wishing Hogan would make an appearance even if it was only a non-wrestling one. By the time WrestleMania X drew to a close I felt unfulfilled at not seeing my favourite wrestler of all time.

However, if I was to be objective I would have to say that WrestleMania X was remarkable with solid matches throughout. Bret Hart faced the late Owen Hart in a classic match which must rate as one of the top matches of the 1990's. Also, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon entertained me-and the other fans-with a brilliant ladder match. Lex Luger took on the late Yokosuna in a decent match. And Bret Hart battled Yokosuna in the main event in a super match.

There were many other great matches as well. The Macho Man fought Crush in a Falls Count Anywhere match which was quite brutal at times. And Doink and Dink battled Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon in an interesting match.

WrestleMania X exceeded my expectations despite the fact that Hulk Hogan didn't show. But who cares? It was a great event and Hogan did eventually return to the WWF early in 2002.

Vince McMahon knew he had to deliver at this Wrestlemania and did he ever. After watching the previous Wrestlemania (9) which is the worst one ever, I felt like we were watching something memorable and we were.

To kick things off Owen Hart and Bret Hart had a classic match but what made this doubly memorable was when Owen won the match fair and square, fans were shocked by the outcome.

It also featured a good falls count anywhere match between 'Macho Man' Randy Savage and Crush, a superb ladder match between Scott 'Razor Ramon' Hall and Shawn Michaels and a very entertaining main event between Bret 'hitman' Hart and the massive Yokozuna. When Hart defeated Yoko for the title fans POPPED big time and in a great moment wrestlers such as Razor Ramon, Lex Luger, Tatanka, Macho Man and the 123 Kid (Sean Waltman) came out to congratulate Hart for the win.

WWE presented a very unusual but fascinating storyline in this Wrestlemania. Here's the story, Hart and Luger both won the Royal Rumble the previous January when referees' Earl Hebner and the late Joey Marella couldn't decide who touched the mat first. At this stage WWF president Jack Tunney came out and announced that Hart and Luger had won the match together. This meant Luger would wrestle Yoko for the title at this Wrestlemania and have special referee the late great Curt Hennig officiate the match, the winner would be in the main event to face the champion. Fans were miffed when Hennig turned heel on Luger because he attacked Mr Fuji and Jim Cornette (for good reason I might add because they done nothing but interfere during the match). Luger and Hennig had an argument after the match. Luger was disqualified during this match and that meant Yoko would meet Hart later on in the main event.

There's some lame matches on the card though, for reasons unknown Ludvig Burga was set to meet Adam Bomb on the card but Earthquake (John Tenta) replaced Burga and completely squashed Bomb in a short match. And Alundra Blaze defeated Leilani Kai in a forgettable match.

Results from the show: Owen Hart defeated brother, Bret Hart in a thrilling contest.... 'Macho Man' Randy Savage downed Crush in a good falls count anywhere match.... Men on a Mission (Mo and Mabel) defeated The Qeubecers (Pierre and Jacques) via count out.... Yokozuna beat Lex Luger via DQ thus retaining the World Heavyweight Championship.... Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon downed Doink and Dink in a fairly entertaining comedy match.... Alundra Blaze defeated Leilani Kai in a match which fans didn't care about.... Razor Ramon beat Shawn Michaels in a classic ladder match to become the undisputed Intercontinetal Champion.... Earthquake downed Adam Bomb in a squash match.... Bret Hart pinned Yokozuna to become the Heavyweight Champion ('Rowdy' Roddy pier was the special guest referee).

Overall Grade - A-

As my review about Wrestlemania IX, my issue with the Wrestlemania's from 1993-1997 was simply the gimmicks. Take those out and you have a quality event. Unfortunately, that's not possible. But don't be discouraged, Wrestlemania X came through.

All I have to say is thanks to Bret Hart. His two matches on this event were great. The fact that he came out and gave not one, but two excellent matches, proves how great he really was. The opening "Hart" match is excellent. What do you expect from the greatest wrestling family in the world? The mixed tag team match is like most, entertaining, but they get old quick. I enjoyed Macho Man vs. Crush. At the time, falls anywhere was non-existent. Up until a few years ago, the Women's Championship was when I'd go to the bathroom, get a refill on my drink, and get a snack for the next match. Women's matches today are much more entertaining and I think they are just more athletic. I hate to talk bad about the classic Women's matches, but they just weren't that entertaining. Moving on, Luger vs. Yokozuna was decent, but following it would be one of the greatest Wrestlemania matches in history, the Ladder Match with Michaels and Razor Ramon. I remember being in awe when I saw this match in 1994. It's still entertaining to this day and the event is worth it just for this match. Bret Hart follows with another great performance for the WWF Championship.

Wrestlemania X ended up being pretty good aside from a few matches. I guess that's gonna be with any PPV, but this one really shows off the major stars of the WWF at the time.

Anyone who loves technical wrestling, and has not seen Bret Hart take on his brother Owen Hart at Wrestlemania X, cannot truly call themselves a wrestling fan. The Hart Brothers put on the very first match of Wrestlemania X, and it is the single best wrestling math I've seen in my entire life. I won't even try to describe the match. It's one of those that you have to see to understand. Bret and Owen are arguably the best all-around WRESTLERS of this generation. So it's like a fans dream to see the brothers going at it for 20 minutes straight! Reversal after reversal, pin attempt after pin attempt, some of the most original maneuvers ever captured on film. Just thinking about it makes me want to shut off this computer and put on my tape! Hands down: BEST match ever.

And if that's not enough, Wrestlemania X has the second-best match I've ever seen. That would be the Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon Ladder Match. If you've seen the recent Hardy Boyz/Christian & Edge Ladder Matches, and enjoyed them, you have to see Michaels and Razor start it all. This was the first time a Ladder Match had ever appeared on a pay per view, and almost every wrestling expert regards it as still being the best. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon (aka Scott Hall) are two of the most successful wrestlers ever, but in all the years since, neither has put on a show to top the Ladder Match. There's also a brief appearance by Kevin Nash (aka Diesel) early in the match. This was early in his career, and it's cool to see putting the boots to his real life best friend, Scott Hall.

Oh yeah, this event also had two World Title matches in one night. Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger, and later Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart. Normally I'd go on writing about those matches all night, but compared to Bret/Owen and the Ladder Match, they look amateur. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the matches on Wrestlemania X were spectacular, but the real reason to see it is for The Hart Brothers and the Ladder Match.

Perfect 10!

This was the greatest WrestleMania ever... TWO matches tied for tops with them both being *****!. Both were Bret/Owen and Michaels/Ramon. Michaels/Ramon was a ladder match for the Intercontinetal belt! Because the ladder match went on too long, a ten man tag match was cancelled.

EASY RECOMMENDATION!