WrestleMania V

After the explosion of an event that was Wrestlemania IV, this fifth installment would have been hard-pressed to live up to expectations. It doesn't, of course, but still manages to turn in a decent showing.

Some of the highlights of Wrestlemania V include:

-A great tag match featuring Demolition vs. The Warlords (what a power display!) -The Hart Foundation finally getting a big "babyface" response instead of being "heels". -Jake "The Snake Roberts" pulling out Damien on Andre The Giant (I've never seen the big guy move so fast). -Seeing Bobby "The Brain" Heenan getting bounced around the ring a little bit (!). -The debut of Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig, as well as the Ultimate Warrior finally becoming a huge force in the industry.

Of course, the Hulk Hogan vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage main event is the most entertaining match of the night. Savage was always such a great wrestling personality and showman that his big build-up matches always seem to really "pop".

Overall, though, Wrestlemania V to me was just a little bland coming off the big tournament a year before. 3.5 stars would be my exact rating. Some matches really entertained me, while others were snoozers. If you really enjoy tag-team action then you'll probably think more highly of it than me, as for some reason the WWF at this time had a huge "tag" push going on in the industry.

This next installment of the wrestlemania series I thought was entertaining, but just lacked the momentum like the previous ones. This main event seemed like something we would see on a Saturday Night Main Event. The storyline was very predictable as well as its outcome. Hogan came back after filming and since the WWF saw a drop in ticket sales at their house shows with Savage as champion they needed Hogan as champion again. As talented as Randy Savage was and how great he was on the mic, he just could not generate the excitement the bigger than life Hulk Hogan was able to do, thus Savage went back to being a heel instead of a baby face fan favorite. The whole event did not have any really outstanding moments and seemed to be poorly scripted. The lack of any celebrity presence also spoke to the equality of this event. Seemed they were trying to keep costs down and produced this on a shoe string budget. Then again Wrestlemania 7 holds the distinct honor of being one of the worse Wrestlemanias ever, so V was still better than that one. In summation Wrestlemania V was average getting 3 out 10 stars from most wrestling reviewers.

Wrestlemania V (1989) was the biggest P.P.V. the W.W.F. had. Many wanted to see Hulk Hogan and another one of his former friend's fight for the undisputed W.W.F. World heavyweight title. This time Hogan's ego and the Macho Man's jealousy and paranoia over his valet/manager Miss Elizabeth caused the greatest face tag team to explode. Hogan looked naked without the gold and wanted it badly and Macho Man was none to pleased with the way Hogan and Miss Elizabeth were becoming too chummy with each other.

This one took place in the same building as the bloated and boring Wrestlemania IV. Trump smelled money and made a small fortune off of this one. The Macho Man carried Hogan through a watchable match. But one of the best things about this event was the Piper's Pit with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Brother Love and Morton Downey Jr. Classic stuff and I highly recommend the main event match (that's how you end a feud) and the Piper's Pit segment.

B+

Not the best WrestleMania, but the card did have its high points. Doesn't seem to outshine I, III, or IV, but probably II. Shawn Michaels makes his WrestleMania debut here, and it's hard to believe he'd be in the main event 6 years later, but then again, everyone starts somewhere. Worth the view.

You could ignore all the other matches and this show would still he a 10. The Mega Powers colliding was the greatest story ever told. Down to the most minor detail. Everything done was done for a reason. Absolute genius booking by Mcmahon & Patterson. And hats off to Hogan, Savage, and Miss Elizabeth for pulling it off.