WrestleMania VI

I was at Wrestlemania VI in Toronto as a 10 year old, and the event I saw then was pretty different from what I saw on the Wrestlemania Collection DVD I just watched. I don't understand how the wwE doesn't have the rights to some of the old music, since most of those songs were created by the WWF they shouldn't have to worry about the licensing and royalty fees that prevent shows like SNL from releasing season sets. Its pretty stupid to whine about, but for me hearing Demolition come out to their theme music at a Wrestlemania in person was a memory that I never forgot, and it didn't exist on this DVD. What is the point of them even owning the rights to this huge library of video if they have to edit it so drastically to use it?

This event wasn't even held in the United States,it was in Toronto,Canada. Also, the "93,000" people figure is from Wrestlemania III in Pontiac,MI. Just for those unaware,the 93,000 figure is a fake number produced by the always truthful world of pro wrestling. The real number is closer to 80,000.

Aside from the main event,which was a BIG deal back in 1990,the under card was absolutely forgettable. Be on the lookout for a pre-Master of the Diamond Cutter,Diamond Dallas Page as he drives Honky Tonk & Greg Valentine to the ring for their match in his car.

For pure nostalgia,this is worth another watch. If you take yourself back to that time and watch this with the thought of not knowing who was going to win between Hogan & Warrior...it has a special feel.

This event defined an era of wrestling entertainment that, I believe, is not equaled today. The colorful characters - in their stereotypical garb - brought a certain charm to the show that has since been raped by society and overexposed. Wrestling had a bit of an innocence back then. A kid could watch it without watching an episode of Jerry Springer.

Looking back now (I was 5 at the time), although I loved both Warrior and Hogan, I think I enjoyed Warrior more because of his mystique. Hogan was the branded hero who weilded an impressive public image. The Ultimate Warrior, on the other hand, was a masked man of few words - an out-of-the-limelight hero for a different audience.

This rivalry was so exciting as a kid because of this duality in me duking it out for each combatant. I had a place for both of them. Because there was bloodshed too in this long, heavy battle, the stakes were high - at least to me as a kid. On a similar note, because of Hogan's defeat, this made him more human - I remember feeling kind of sorry for him.

All of these emotions at play in the juvenile boy's soap opera made Wrestlemania VI such a great time to witness this game.

Usually, the main event of any major wrestling event was "babyface" (good guy) vs. "heel" (bad guy). Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant would be a big example of such a main event. With Wrestlemania VI, however, two incredibly popular wrestlers at the time in Hogan & the Ultimate Warrior put their respective belts on the line in a main event that split the crowd in half in terms of cheering support. Good guy vs good guy!

Of course, an event is not made by its main event alone, and this is a great wrestling card that earns its 5-star rating. I won't go into detail on every match here, but here are some of the highlights:

-Mr. Perfect continuing his great brand of wrestling against Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. -The Hart Foundation taking on The Bolsheviks with some hilarious pre-match comedy featuring Steve Allen. -An interesting semi-heel turn from newly-branded "Macho King" Randy Savage by pairing up with Sensational Sherri instead of the traditional Elizabeth. -Any Big Boss Man match (this time vs. Akeem) is usually pretty entertaining because he is such a great character.

There are no terrible matches in this entire event. They are all entertaining in some facet or another. The commentary from Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse "The Body" Ventura helps set the perfect tone once again.

Then, "Hulk vs. Warrior" blows the lid off! This was one of the most anticipated battles of all- time, and it pretty much lives up to the billing. Neither big man is a particularly talented wrestler, but the hype is just so big and each man plays his part perfectly.

This is the best Wrestlemania in the series so far, just ahead of the tournament from W4.

This was a very good PPV, but like Wrestlemania XX some 14 years later, the WWE crammed so many matches on it, some of the matches were useless. I'm not going to go through every match on the card because it would take forever to do.

However major highlights included the HUGE pop for Demolition winning the tag team belts from Haku and Andre the Giant, The first ever mixed tag match featuring Randy Savage and Sensational Queen Sherri vs Dusty Rhodes and the late Sapphire and the first ever clash between The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan.

Some matches were a complete waste of time. Like The Bolsheviks vs The Hart Foundation was only about 40 seconds long, Koko B Ware vs Rick Martel was short and Big Bossman vs Akeem was too short.

Mr Perfect vs Brutus Beefcake and Ted DiBiase vs Jake 'the snake' Roberts were very good indeed.

Overall Grade - B