Chris Cooley Presents The WWE Vintage Collection: WrestleMania Road Trip Continues - The Hitman vs. The Heartbreak Kid, Yokozuna vs. Luger, Doink vs. Crush, and More

Chris Cooley Presents The WWE Vintage Collection: WrestleMania Road Trip Continues - The Hitman vs. The Heartbreak Kid, Yokozuna vs. Luger, Doink vs. Crush, and More

Welcome to the Vintage Collection, and thank you for joining us on our WrestleMania Road Trip. Let’s continue with a match, from WrestleMania IX.

Episode#92

MATCH#1: Doink The Clown vs. Crush
DATE OF MATCH: April 2, 1993

Crush looks to have total control of the matchup, until a second Doink gets involved and nails Crush with a prosthetic arm. The real Doink then uses the arm as a weapon, does some mime with his clown buddy, and then gets the pinfall victory.

Let’s keep this Road Trip chugging along, as we head to WrestleMania X.

A piece shows recapping the Bret/Owen match, that started off the tenth anniversary of WrestleMania, before our next match.

MATCH#2: WWF CHAMPIONSHIP
Yokozuna (c) w/Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette vs. Lex Luger
DATE OF MATCH: March 20, 1994

This was the first of two WWF Championship matches at the event, with the winner of this match, to face Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart in the Main Event. Hart lost the opening bout of the card, being defeated by his brother, Owen.

Both Luger and the Hitman won the 1994 Royal Rumble, and became the first co-winners of the event.

Mr. Perfect was the Special Referee for this Championship bout, and ended up disqualifying Lex, after the challenger grabbed him, due to a pinfall that the referee didn’t see, because Hennig was getting Yokozuna’s managers out of the ring. This led to Luger confronting Perfect backstage after the match.

Let’s head back to WrestleMania IX, for an Intercontinental Title bout.

MATCH#3: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Shawn Michaels (c) w/Luna Vachon vs. Tatanka w/Sensational Sherri
DATE OF MATCH: April 2, 1993

WrestleMania IX took place at Caesar’s Palace, and was the first WM which took place outdoors.

Tatanka came into this match, being undefeated in the WWF.

Even though Tatanka had Michaels’ former valet, it wasn’t enough to gain the title, as Shawn sent the referee out of the ring, due to him not being able to make it back inside the ring by a count of ten, giving a countout victory to Tatanka. However, the title cannot change hands in a countout, so whilst Tatanka won the match, he did not receive the match. To make matters worse for the native American, Luna attacked Sherri post-match.

It’s Main Event time, and we return to WrestleMania X, for our second WWF Championship match of the event.

MAIN EVENT: WWF CHAMPIONSHIP
Yokozuna (c) w/Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette vs. Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart
DATE OF MATCH: March 20, 1994

‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper is the Guest Referee for the match.

Both Bret and Yoko had wrestled earlier in the night.

Yokozuna looks for his patented Banzai Drop, but lost his balance and fell, allowing the Hitman to get the roll up for the victory, and avenging his defeat to Yokozuna the previous year at WrestleMania IX.

Roddy Piper, and Lex Luger congratulate, and then celebrate with the new champion, as the episode ends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFALcvBmeds

Episode #93

A recap of WrestleMania XI, which featured Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow as its Main Event, as well as a WWF Championship match between Diesel and Shawn Michaels is played, before we move onto WrestleMania XII, and our one and only match on the episode.

MAIN EVENT: WWF CHAMPIONSHIP
60-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH
Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels w/Jose Lothario
DATE OF MATCH: March 31, 1996

This match was the first ever Iron Man match in WWF history, and was voted the greatest match in WrestleMania history in 2004, by the WWE superstars themselves.

An Iron Man match is a match wrestled to a time-limit, and the person with the most falls at the end of the limit, is the winner of the match.

Shawn Michaels, after winning back-to-back Royal Rumble victories, entered the match looking for his ‘Boyhood Dream’. A dream of becoming World Wrestling Federation Champion for the first time. Whereas the Hitman was looking to cement his place in history, by winning the Iron Man match, and becoming one of the greatest WWF Champions of all time.

Michaels can also lay claim to one of the greatest entrances in the history of WrestleMania, after he sailed down from the top of the arena on a flying fox, all the way down to the arena floor, landing in the crowd, before making his way to the ring.

After sixty gruelling minutes of back and forth action, neither Hart nor Michaels was able to gain a fall on the other, and sudden death extra time was called for. In OT, it was Shawn Michaels, who was able to hit Sweet Chin Music, and become WWF Champion for the first time.

Personally, this is the greatest match I have ever seen. There have been Iron Man matches following this one, but none will ever live up to the spectacle that this match lived up to. Both Hart and Michaels never really tired during the contest, which allowed for action throughout the sixty-plus minutes. For those who haven’t seen this match, then I strongly recommend finding a copy, and watching it in its entirety, as it is a spectacle, and a contest, that you will never forget. That I will guarantee.

That’s it for this edition of the Vintage Collection, as the WrestleMania Road trip, takes a pitstop. Be sure to stay tuned, as the next edition concludes our Road Trip, getting you ready for WrestleMania XXVI.