Customer Reviews

WWF: WrestleMania IV [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ, in March of 1988, the fourth annual rendition of Wrestlemania took place, as a new WWF World Champion was crowned. Move over, Hulk Hogan -- this event became Randy "Macho Man" Savage's shining moment.

This is a rating scale of 1 to 10 of the event's matches:

1. 20-Man Battle Royal: (mostly grade-B wrestlers): 8.5/10
This one is actually pretty good, as Bret Hart is the last man out after being eliminated by Bad News Brown. It sets up the Hart-Bad News feud with Hart as a new crowd favorite. Also, the Junkyard Dog noticeably fares well against the competition in his final Wrestlemania appearance.

The WWF World Title Tournament (Round 1):

1. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase: 5.5/10
With Andre the Giant and Virgil at ringside for DiBiase, it seems inevitable who will win in this decent brawl between two former UWF mainstays. DiBiase advances, while Duggan becomes embroiled in a feud with Andre.

2. Dino Bravo vs. Don "The Rock" Muraco: 6.5/10
Bravo is DQ'ed for throwing the referee into harm's way. Muraco moves forward to face DiBiase.

3. Rick Steamboat vs. Greg "The Hammer Valentine: 8.5/10
In the night's best singles match, Valentine steals the win after reversing Steamboat's signature high-flying move.

4. Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth vs. Butch Reed w/ Slick: 7/10
Savage survives a pounding to eliminate Reed with his famous flying elbowsmash. Savage will next face Valentine.

5. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. One Man Gang w/ Slick: 2.5/10
The Gang quickly gets a dubious count-out win.

6. Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs. Jake Roberts: 7.5/10
In the only time-limit draw of the event, both of them are eliminated, which means the One Man Gang will get a free ride into Round 3.

Hercules vs. Ultimate Warrior (grudge match): 4/10
The Warrior gets his first big push by knocking off Hercules in a forgettable brawl.

The WWF World Title Tournament(Round 2):

1. Andre the Giant w/ DiBiase & Virgil vs. Hulk Hogan: 3.5/10
Over-hyped and disappointing. Bashing each other over the head with a chair gets them both DQ'ed (and eliminated). Hogan (being Hogan) celebrates, anyway, after disposing of Virgil.

2. Ted DiBiase vs. Don Muraco: 7.5/10
Surprising good! DiBiase bests Muraco to jump into the finals.

3. Randy Savage w/Elizabeth vs. Greg Valentine: 8/10
The "Macho Man" survives a possible upset by pinning the wily "Hammer" with a small package. Savage moves forward to face the One Man Gang.

Brutus Beefcake vs. I-C Champion Honky Tonk Man: 7.5/10
Surprisingly entertaining, despite the cheap finish, as Brutus wins but doesn't really win after Honky Tonk is DQ'ed seemingly for the one millionth time. Meanwhile, after the match, Brutus has some haircutting fun at Jimmy Hart's expense.

Islanders/Heenan vs. The Bulldogs/Koko B. Ware: 7/10
Fairly good, fairly predictable, as Heenan (wearing attack dog handler's garb) gets the pin on Koko B. Ware.

WWF World Title Tournament (Round 3):

1. Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth vs. One Man Gang w/ Slick: 6.5/10
Savage gets a DQ victory after the Gang repeatedly tries whacking him with Slick's cane. The villains also share a fun pratfall, as the Gang inadverently squashes his own manager (courtesy of Savage's help).

Demoltion vs. WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force: 7.5/10
Better than expected, but the lowly Road Warrior knock-off's inevitably overwhelm Martel and Santana to win the titles.

WWF World Title Tournament(Round 4 - The Finals):

1. Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth & Hulk Hogan vs. Ted DiBiase w/ Andre: 8/10
Not a superb match, but very entertaining. Savage finally and deservedly wins the World Title! The show ends with the Megapowers' celebration.

Overall, there aren't any necessarily great matches, but the WWF definitely gives its fans their money's worth for nearly four full hours. If you can find this vhs for a reasonable price, Wrestlemania IV is an excellent investment.

However, beware of the product's cheap EP mode, as the picture quality will not likely hold up over time.

WWF Wrestlemania 4 marked the first time that the WWF Heavyweight Championship was put on the line in a single elimination tournament. In the 14-man tournament, you will see Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ted Dibiase, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, "The Rock" Don Muraco, Dino Bravo, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Butch Reed, Bam Bam Bigelow, One Man Gang, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Ravishing Rick Rude. WWF Intercontinental Champion-the Honky Tonky Man defends against Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. WWF Tag Team Champions-Strike Force defend their belts against Demolition. In a 6-man tag team match, the British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware take on the Islanders and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. In a grudge match, the Ultimate Warrior goes up against the Mighty Hercules. Plus a 20-man invitational Battle Royal!!!!

After a very successsful year the WWF (now WWE) had finally secured the ground beneath their feet and became the top wrestling promotion. PPV's like Wrestlemania III and Survivor Series 1987 had made the WWF simply out rate the NWA and other promotions. However it was now 1988 and Wrestlemania was just around the corner. The WWF had a lot to live up to since the monsterous success of Wrestlemania III. So they decided to make this years event bigger than last years. They held it at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, added a 14 man tournament for the (then vacant) World title, An Intercontinental and a Tag Title match, A 20 man Battle Royale, A six man tag, and a nice little grudge match to even thngs out. It seemed great but bigger doesn't always mean better. Wrestlemania IV was very long and the wrestling was average and somewhat disappointing. Nonetheless it made great WWF history.

-The 20 Man Battle Royale opens the night. A very entertaining match although most of the WWF Superstars were thrown into this cause they weren't Wolrd title material...yet. It comes down to a young heel Bret 'Hitman' Hart against veteran heel Bad News Brown. Bret gets shafted and turns good after the match by smashing Bad News' victory trophy. ***

-'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan vs. 'Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase- Basically you know who's going to win this one. Every time Hacksaw's in the ring it's time to hit fast forward. *

-Don Muraco vs. Dino Bravo- The battle of steroids. Not breathtaking at all, both men past their prime years ago. Muraco takes it. *

-Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat vs. Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine- Finally a good match! Well this one has a disappointing ending though. Don't ask me why The Hammer was chosen to go over The Dragon. **1/2

-Macho Man vs. 'The Natural' Butch Reed- Macho had turned face and was so over that they shoud have just handed him the match. Butch Reed's WWF tenure was a joke anyways. *

-Bam Bam Bigelow vs. One Man Gang- This was the Gang before he found his `african roots' and became that joke Akeem. They two giants had been fueding all year. The match ends in Bigelow being counted out (even though he was on the apron). Anyways this was Bigelow's last WWF ppv until 1993. Not bad for two big guys. *1/2

-Jake `The Snake' Roberts vs. `Ravishing' Rick Rude- These two fueded for a long time and the match seemed pretty even. However this match is very slow and it makes it feel long. Which is probably why both men are eliminated by hte time limit. That was stupid. **
-Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules- This non tournament grudge match was interesting. Warrior was a relative new comer and Herc was a vicious heel at this point in his WWF stint. Warrior wins it. The match isn't fantastic by any means but it's got a neat little ending. * 1/2

-Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant- Second round begins. Both these guys got a bye in the first round. Both being favourites to win the whole thing. This match is nowhere near as great as the WM 3 match. Mainly cause both men are DQ. Awful *

-Don Muraco vs. Million Dollar Man- It's amazing Muraco made it this far. Ted takes it with ease and gets a third round bye into the finals. *

-Macho Man vs. Greg Valentine- This is a pretty well fought match. Macho wins of course but this may have been the best tourny match of the night. **
-(IC Title Match) (Champion) Honky Tonk Man vs. Brutus Beefcake- Pretty bad match. Glad Honky got to retain the title. Brutus never did anything for me. Chaotic ending too. *

-British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware vs. Islanders & Bobby Heenan- A 6 man tag upset here. The match is obviously in the Bulldogs favour but sure enough chaos erupts and in the confusion Heenan scores a pinfall on Koko. Typical upset. *1/2

-One Man Gang vs. Macho Man- The semi final match. Gang had a bye in the third round so he has the advantage. He pummels Mach and ends up with a DQ for trying to hit him with a cane. *

-(Tag Championship Match) Strike Force (Champions) vs. Demolition- Demolition had only been around for a few months and already they were the most feared tag team in the WWF. Although they are supposed to be the heels, the crowd obviously wants them to win. And they do. Good tag match Martel and Santana were talented as were both Demos so this is probably the best match of the night. ***

-WWF (World title match) Macho Man vs. Ted Dibiase- Both men made it to the finals. This is a good match but it ends with Hogan and Andre being involved. Still both men really put on a decent closer to this lengthly Wrestlemania. ***

Overall Wrestlemania IV was too long and not enough good matches to hold the event up. However the WWF proved that they were what the world was watching. Recommended to wrestling fans. Higlhy recommended to fans of WWF in the 80's.

This was truly a disappiontment. Wrestlemania 3 hit the big time in 1987 making the WWF the top company and catapulting HULK HOGAN into superstardom.

After seeing Wrestlemania 3 I thought Wrestle Mania 4 would be just as good. I mean 4 hours! A 14 MAN WORLD TOURNAMENT! A tag championship match with my favourite team! An IC title match and a nice 20 man battle royale! How awesome is that!

However it turned out to be a total bore. The tournament was a snoozer, and the card all around just dragged on through the night. Don't get me wrong though this is far from the worst Wrestlemania ever. I mean the right man won the tournament and both the TAG MATCH and THE BATTLE ROYALE were enterteining and probably the best at the show but in the end I just wanted it to end. Recommended to a WWF fan from the 80's.

Wrestlemania 4 starts out with a 20 man battle royal, with names such as Hillbilly Jim, Junk Yard Dog, and Bret Hart. The main contest is a tournament where the winner recieves the WWF Championship Belt. This tournament had matchups like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant and Ted Dibiase vs. Macho Man. This Wrestlemania is a great one because it takes you back to a time when wrestling was in its prime. The announcing is great and there is a lot of fun inbetween the matches.

This PPV is crazy. I mean having a 14 man tournament,a 20 battle royal,a six man tag team match with Bobby Heenan in it and a messed up rematch Wrestlemania 3 rematch between Hulk Hogan & Andre The Giant all within 3 hours and within the same night? What were you thinking WWE? The Hogan-Andre utterly,totally,royally failed to live up to their WM3 match. Like ECW's first ONS event,the matches only lasted from 6 to 10 minutes with only the Jake Roberts-Rick Rude match lasting 15 minutes and that ended in a time limit draw and there were simply just too many matches in 1 night. While bring the first WM to have a tournament to crown a WWE championship it's still pretty forgettable. I give this PPV a 4 and a half out of 10.

WrestleMania 4 had a good idea but the execution of matches made the event a bomb.

20 Man Battle Royal- It just shows you how much talent WWF use to have in the 80's and early 90's. A decent battle royal with alot of mid-carders and not many big names. Bad News Brown wins after eliminating Bret Hart.

Round One Match Ups

Ted DiBiase VS Hacksaw Jim Duggan: DiBiase comes to the ring with Andre, who is wrestling in round two. This match, like every other first round match expect one, is very short. A decent little match but the ending was stupid as Andre punched Duggan in front of the ref. DiBiase disqualified? Nope, he kneed Duggan in the back and hit a fist drop for the win. The endings would just get worse.

Dino Bravo VS Don Muraco: I never cared for either man. Bravo moves the ref in the way of Muraco's move and gets disqualified.

Rick Steambaot VS Greg Valentine: The best match-up of the first round with Valentine winning, a big surprise even watching it today.

Randy Savage VS Butch Reed: Reed looks like Shelton Benjamin, could have been his dad. Someone at WWE watched a Reed match and thought it would be perfect for Benjamin. Anyway, Reed dominates Savage thru out the entire match. Reed talks to Liz, Savage drapes Reed's throat across the top rope and hits an elbow smash. Huh?

Bam Bam Bigelow VS One Man Gang: A great match but the ending was one of the dumbest finishes in WWF/WWE history.

Rick Rude VS Jake Roberts: After rushing thru the first round comes a draw to the end the disappointing first round.

Ultimate Warrior against Hercules. A bad match with Warrior winning.

Round Two Begins!

Hogan starts the second round by facing Andre The Giant. This match ended in a double DQ, what the hell?

Ted DiBiase VS Don Muraco: A good match with DiBiase winning in the end.

Randy Savage VS Greg Valentine: Anther good match with two men I enjoy watching. Savage wins with a small package to advance. The first round sucked and the second round had two good matches and Hogan-Andre was just dumb.

Brutus Beefcake VS Honky Tonk Man: The IC title is up for grabs in a entertaining match but the end is a DQ.

Islanders/Heenan VS Koko B Ware/British Bulldogs: A decent match but prefered Heenan and Ware left out of this match. Speaking of that, Heenan wins by pinning Ware.

Round 3 begins!

Randy Savage VS One Man Gang: A quick, useless match. Gang gets a DQ for tryung to use a cane, so Savage-DiBiase in the finals!

Demoltion VS Strike Force: This would set up the feud of Strike Force, Martel and Santana. It was a pretty good match overall with Ax and Smash winning the tag titles back.

Round 4

DiBiase VS Savage: A classic match up with Hogan helping Savage win his first world title.

Overall, a pretty forgetable event. The first round of the tournament was a complete bust. Savage winning the world title is the only reason to watch this event.

This event was a mamoth four hours long, even after being edited for home video release. It was the only WWF PAL tape that was released on 2 tapes as part of a box set. It featuered a tournament for the WWF World Heavyweight Title (all tourney matches are in Red). The other matchees weren't bad either, the 'Mania started off with a good battle royal which was a good gimmick opener. This Wrestlemania is fairly good, not as good as it's predecessor, but much better than the first two. This video is now avaliable on DVD as a Tagged Classics, and part of the Wrestlemania DVD Boxset.

1.Invitational Battle Royal
A good battle royal that was just under 10 minutes. Also it was very unpredictable so you had to guess who wins. The battle royal overall was a good match to start off Wrestlemania 4.

2.Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase
An above average match that was 5 minutes long. For a short match it was pretty good except it was obvious who was going to win this match though. An okay match to start off the tournament.

3.Dino Bravo vs Don Muraco
A decent match just under 5 minutes long. Both of the men move pretty quickly for their size, but then again it was only 5 minutes. I think Don Muraco was at his prime here and it shows in this match.

4.Greg Valentine vs Ricky Steamboat
A good match that was a little bit over 9 minutes. I never was a big fan of Greg Valentine but I'm a fan of Steamboat. This match was very technical with a lot of reversals.

5.Butch Reed vs Randy Savage
This was a match that could've been better with Savage because Butch Reed is boring. But that wouldn't make much sence because Butch is bigger and stronger. This match lasted a little over 4 minutes.

6.One Man Gang vs Bam Bam Bigelow
This match was what I expected to be and that's a slow pace match and boring matfch. The match only lasted 3 minutes most likely because these guys can barely wrestle 5 minutes.

7.Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts
A decent match that lasted until a 15 minute draw. This match was a very slow paced match with a lot of rest holds. This match though still was watchable.

8.Hercules vs The Ultimate Warrior
This match was just horrible to watch. This match lasted about 4 minutes and 30 seconds and the most technicla move in this match was a clothesline!!!

9.Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan
A watchable match that lasted almost 5 minutes and 30 seconds. This match was very short for how much hyupe was into it. This match was decent but this match was very slow.

10.Don Muraco vs Ted DiBiase
A dud match that lasted a little bit over 5 minutes and 30 seconds. This was so slow and boring it felt like it lasted 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

11.Greg Valentine vs Randy Savage
A decent match that lasted around 6 minutes. Valentine controlled most of the match which made me not like it as much because Savage has a intresting offence.

12.Honky Tonk Man vs Brutus Beefcake for the Intercontinental Title
A decent match that lasted about 9 minutes and 20 seconds. Both of the guys know how to wrestle and they put on a decent but confusing match.

13.The Islanders and Bobby Heenan vs The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware
A watchable match that lasted about 7 minutes and 30 seconds. This match was good at first with the Bulldog team controlling, but it then got worst with the Islanders.

14.One Man Gang vs Randy Savage
A better than expected match that lasted about 4 minutes long. Surprisingly enough, Savage was in control most of the match, which made it better.

15.Demolition vs Strike Force for the Tag Team Titles
A good match that lasted about 8 minutes long. Both of these tag teams no how to tag team wrestle and when they're put together, they can make a good match.

16.Ted DiBiase vs Randy Savage for the WWE Title
A average match that lasted about 9 minutes long. DiBiase controlled most of this match so it was slow paced, but Savage came back and won what he deserved for a long time for the first time.

Overall=3 and a half stars out of 5

WM 4 isn't quite at the bottom of the worst WM list but it leaves with sort of a sour taste in your mouth. The show contains a championship tournament which sounds cool to have on a wrestlemania, but with a few worthy names and not enough good action, the show ends up just dragging on and not necessiarily putting you on the edge of your seat. However, it was better than the Survivor Series 98 tournament in my opinion. Here's the card and my ratings.

1. 20 man battle royal
- this was just a match to give those wrestlers who weren't championship material something to do. The match was important b/c it helped start Bret's career and turned him and the Jim Neidhart into good guys. Match had greats like Harley Race, JYD, George Steele, and Hillbilly Jim. After Bret and Bad News Brown eliminated JYD, they celebrate until BNB cheapshoted Bret with the ghetto blaster and eliminated him for the win. Bret got mad and smashed the trophy. I don't like to rate battle royals b/c their not real matches but this was pretty entertaining. I guess I'll give it a **

2. Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Ted Dibiase
- the first round of the tourney. With the push Dibiase was getting, it was obivious who would win this one. Dibiase looked good but it was overlooked by Duggan's poor wrestling ability. Luckily, it ended quickly when Andre attacked Duggan long enough for Dibiase to knee him in the back and hit a fist drop for the win.

Rating: 1/2

3. Don Muraco vs (late) Dino Bravo
- Match at the beginning had potential to be good but they missed up some of the moves, bravo selling was poor and had a poor ending when Muraco went to nail Bravo with a forearm only for bravo to pull the referee into him for the DQ.

Rating: 3/4

4. Ricky Steamboat vs Greg Valentine
- Finally something good to see in the tourney. The match wasn't as good as some of steamboat's other matches but both guys worked well. Match moved at a good pace with good wrestling. I just love watching Valentine sell moves b/c sometimes he goes overboard with it. I wished we would've had a Steamboat/Savage II but instead Valentine gets the pin and moves on.

Rating: *** 1/4

5. Randy Savage vs Butch Reed
- Nothing really worthing mentioning. Reed dominates the match until he gets distracted by Elizabeth long enough for Savage to throw him off the top rope and hit his trademark elbow drop for the win.

Rating: 1/4

6. Bam Bam Bigelow vs One Man Gang
- this is just sad to watch. Bam Bam was getting a good push up until the last few months before he left and came back five years later. The match was too short, the action was horrible, and it ended in one of the most stupidest and embarassing ways possible. Bam Bam got counted out despite being on the apron and the Gang would not let him back in.

Rating: DUD

7. Jake "Snake" Roberts vs (late) Rashving Rick Rude
- This looked like it had potential to be another good match up to watch but it wasn't the case. The problem I had with this match is that they repeat moves over and over again! Rude would use 2 moves then go to a chinlock and repeat this process for about 7 minutes. At the beginning they kept taking turns bodyslamming each other and Jake would constantly use the armbar. By the time the match started getting interesting, the time limit expired and both men were eliminated to give the OMG a bye. God helps us!

Rating: *

8. Ulimate Warrior vs (late) Hercules
- this was a non tournament grudge that saw Warrior just starting out his career. Match was nothing spectular both it did have a few cool parts to it. I loved the part where it took Hercules 3 clotheslines to knock the warrior down and how warrior countered Herc's full nelson for the win. Other than that, this would've been another DUD

Rating: 1/4

- well the second round of the tourney is about to begin and only one good match. NOT LOOKING GOOD.

9. Hulk Hogan vs (late) Andre The Giant
- all I can say is if you thought their wm 3 fight and others before this one was bad, wait till you see this. Match lasted 5 minutes with barely any action. Both men were DQed for using a steel chair. Hogan posing was longer than the match.

Rating: DUD

10. Don Muraco vs Ted Dibiase
- On paper, it looked like it was going to suck but this was shockingly a decent matchup. Muraco looked way better here than in his previous bout. It's a shame it couldn't of lasted longer but it's still worth seeing. Dibiase wins with a hotshot (catching a guy and dropping his neck on the top rope)to get a bye and be in the finals.

Rating: **

11. Randy Savage vs Greg Valentine
- another rushed match that barely got started. However, Savage's quickness vs Valentine agressive techinical wrestling make this watchable. Savage used a small package to counter the figure four to meet the Gang. Would it have killed them to have him face either Jake or Rude?

Rating: ** 1/4

12. IC title Brutus Beefcake vs Honky Tonk Man
- I won't waste time talking about this garbage. Beefcake dominated the match and had it won with a sleeperhold but Jimmy Hart ambushed the ref with the megaphone for the DQ finish. Only entertaining part was when Beefcake gives Hart a haircut.

Rating: 1/2

13. Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware vs Islanders and Bobby Heenan
- the story behind this was Islanders stole Matilda the Bulldog's mascot. Koko and Bobby were thrown into the mix somehow. Match wasn't that bad although it did look like a remake of the Bulldogs and Santana vs Harts and Danny Davis b/c Heenan got the pin over Koko. Still a fun match.

Rating: ** 1/2

14. Randy Savage vs OMG
- All you need to know is that the Gang got DQed for trying to hit Savage with a cane.

Rating: 1/2

15. Strike Force vs Demolition for the tag titles
- Demolition were the newest dominating force in the tag team divison. The fans were behind them despite being heels. Santana and Martel worked arem the arms of the challengers for a few minutes. Demolition would work over Santana for a few minutes and then Martel would clean house and put Smash in the boston crab but Axe would hit Martel in the back of the neck with Fuji's cane and score the pin and we have new champs.
Match had a good beginning and ending but the middle was a bit too boring.

Rating: ** 1/4

16. Randy Savage vs Ted Dibiase
- Finally at the end. Dibiase and Savage put on a great performance despite a bit of interference by Andre and Hogan. Dibiase had the million dollar dream slapped on but Hogan hit him with a chair and Savage would capitalize on it with a flying elbow for the win and the new champion.

Rating: *** 1/2

Overall, WM 4 was too long and didn't have that much good action. A few good non tournament bouts and a few good tournament matches but that was it. I think if they would've gotten rid of the 1st round of the tourney, that would've provided more time in making longer and better matches. The show wasn't bad, but it isn't highly recommended.