It’s time for another of those weird and wonderful reviews, where I take a look back at a DVD release of a pay-per-view I’ve already reviewed, and this time the honour goes to World Wrestling Entertainment, and the 2009 version of Backlash.

The show that immediately follows Wrestlemania can often be an interesting affair, and this is definitely the case with Backlash, with some new rivalries coming into play, and some old ones continuing, and this year’s version proved to be a very good show.

It began well with former NWA World Champion Christian challenging Jack Swagger for the ECW version of the title. It seems a little strange saying this, but this seemed like a battle of the generations. Christian always puts in a good performance, while Swagger has all the makings of a top-line star. This one is followed by a match which is definitely a battle of the generations, with Chris Jericho taking on the legendary Rick “The Dragon” Steamboat. Steamboat put in a hell of a performance at Wrestlemania, and, if anything, this one was even better, mainly because he didn’t have any partners to rely on or to hold him back. You have to wonder what WWE would do with him if he decided on a full-time return.

Kane versus Money in the Bank winner C.M. Punk is a strangely compelling affair. It’s a very good match, showing that the Big Red Machine doesn’t need to face other monsters all the time to be entertaining. But this one is overshadowed somewhat by the Matt Hardy v Jeff Hardy I Quit match. Many thought that this feud would be over after Wrestlemania. Thankfully they let it play out a bit more. After all, we wouldn’t have had that great ending.

After an awful segment with the Great Khali and Santino Marella in drag, the two main events certainly delivered. The six man tag which saw WWE Champion Triple H defend his title alongside Shane McMahon and Batista, making his first comeback of the year, against the combined forces of Randy Orton, Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes, with a rather unique stipulation, was well played out. But the best was saved for last when old rivals Edge and John Cena fought it out in a Last Man Standing match for Cena’s World title. This was billed as their final encounter, the final part of the feud that dated back three years, and it certainly delivered, with another of those great pay-per-view endings that just had you gasping.

Backlash is definitely one of the best WWE events I’ve seen this year, and it carries over to DVD very well. My only gripe about this release is the distinct lack of extras. While WWE excels itself with the extras on their various collections, they kind of let themselves down with these releases. Here, we only had a segment showing Triple H being carted away in an ambulance. It would have been nice to see a few pre- and post-match interviews as well.

But hey, let’s end this review on a positive note. Should you go and buy this DVD? Yes, yes you should.

Long before Vince McMahon got the idea of holding a certain super show called Wrestlemania, Jim Crockett Promotions and the National Wrestling Alliance came up with a super show of their own, and in November 1983, Starrcade was born, headlined by Harley Race defending the NWA World title against Ric Flair.

A few months ago, the powers-that-be at World Wrestling Entertainment decided to honour the major show of their former rival with a three disc set entitled Starrcade: The Essential Collection.

The collection begins with a fifty minute documentary looking back at the events that lead up to the creation of the show. It makes for interesting viewing to hear from some of the brains behind the event, as well as the lesser lights who made sure the show went off without a hitch.

As the documentary moves on, we also hear about some of the greatest matches. Jim Cornette tells us how he suffered a severe knee injury falling off a scaffold. Magnum TA tells us of the car crash that ended his career.

But while this documentary makes for great viewing, there is one massive surprise. In the segment which discusses the events that lead to JCP moving Starrcade from November to December because of the WWF's Survivor Series and the various threats made to the cable television companies, Vince McMahon is portrayed as the villain of the piece, which is surprising when you consider that this is a WWE production.

Of course, this set isn't just about what went on behind the scenes. If, like me, you're a fan of television list shows, you'll love the countdown of the top 25 matches in Starrcade history;

25) 1996: Roddy Piper versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan. This was at a time when the New World Order were running rampant in WCW, and Roddy Piper came to WCW's aid against his erstwhile foe. While this wasn't a five star classic, this was still one of those matches that had a certain aura about it, and that's what made it entertaining. As expected of these two, there was more brawling than wrestling, with small amounts of interference from Ted Dibiase at ringside, before The Giant came out and tried to choke slam the rowdy one. Piper countered by biting the future Big Show's nose, and after Hogan dealt with an invading fan, Piper locked in a sleeper hold to get the win. He then saw off the attack of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash before escaping from the ring, and although he'd won the match, he hadn't won the title, this being a non-title match.

24) 1989: Sting versus The Great Mute in the Iron Man Singles Tournament. I have fond memories of this one, mainly because Starrcade 1989 was one of the first wrestling videos I ever brought. These two also had a storied rivalry, which only added to the occasion, and even though it's a relatively short match, it's a great example of the chemistry these had. In short, it's a great little wrestling match, with the Stinger getting the win after a superplex from the top rope.

23) 1992: Barry Windham & Brian Pillman versus Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Shane Douglas for the Unified World Tag-Team Championship. Jim Ross described this as an underrated tag-team match, and he was right. Overshadowed by the Battlebowl, this would be considered something of a dream match these days, given the pedigree of those involved. Seeing Pillman against Douglas was great, with the exchanges between Pillman and Steamboat even better. Windham also put in a great performance, better than a heel than he ever was as a baby face. This great match ended when, as Steamboat and Windham brawled on the ramp, Douglas took Pillman down with a belly-to-belly suplex off the ropes to get the title retaining pin for his team.

22) 1998: Goldberg versus Kevin Nash for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Goldberg went into this one with his massive winning streak, and he was the hottest thing in WCW at that time. It's a relatively short match, the kind of match that was best to display Goldberg's high intensity game, with tons of power moves from both men, especially Goldberg,  and a somewhat screwy ending, with Bam Bam Bigelow and Disco Inferno running in for failed attacks, before Nash's erstwhile partner Kevin Nash hit Goldberg with a cattle. A jack knife power bomb later, and Nash had stopped the streak and won the World title. A good match, but for me this match was overshadowed by the finger poke of doom a few days later.

21) 1991: Battlebowl Battle Royal. This was one of those crazy concepts that WCW used to come up with. It involved two rings, and a ton of crazy rules, until one man from each ring are left to compete against each other. I'm not going to go through the exact rules. You'll have to look them up on Wikipedia or something. This one involved notable stars such as Ron Simmons, Ricky Steamboat, Steve Austin, Scott Steiner, Lex Luger, Big Van Vader, Dustin Rhodes, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Sting, and Firebreaker Chip. I'm left wondering just how this one made the final 25, because as battle royals go it's not that good, and not that exciting, mainly because of the over complicated rules. The final two men were Luger and Sting. Luger was able to dominate early on, mainly because Rick Rude had taken the Stinger down after he'd been eliminated, but it wasn't long before the face painted one staged a comeback, and not even the attempted interference of Luger's advisor Harley Race stopped Sting from dumping Luger over the top rope to win the Battlebowl. If this was meant to be WCW's answer to the Royal Rumble then they failed miserably.

20) 1993: Dustin Rhodes versus Steve Austin in a best of three falls match for the WCW United States Championship. Long before Goldust and Stone Cold became stars of the Attitude era, Rhodes and Austin battled over WCW's secondary title. A very intense match up saw some great action between these two, with liberal amounts of interference from Austin's manager Colonel Robert Parker. Indeed, it was Parker who caused Rhodes to lost the first fall. As Parker stood on the ring apron complaining, Rhodes took a stunned Austin and threw him over the top rope at Parker, earning himself an immediate disqualification, because throwing someone over the top rope was illegal in WCW at the time. So while Parker was being helped backstage, Rhodes attacked and bloodied Austin during the rest period. There was then a momentary light failure, before Austin countered Rhodes' punches in the corner by rolling Rhodes up and getting the pin with a handful of tights, winning the match 2-0, and the United States title in the process. Nice stuff.

19) 1987: The Road Warriors versus Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard for the NWA World Tag-Team Championship. I've always regarded Anderson and Blanchard as one of the best teams ever, certainly on a par with their opponents, and although the future Brain Busters did a good job of isolating Hawk at one point and working over his leg, the Warriors had the most offence, dominating with their power moves. The ending was somewhat controversial. After the referee took an accidental hit and lay on the floor at ringside, Animal back dropped Anderson over the top rope. They then took Double A down with the Doomsday Device, and a second referee made the count. The Warriors thought they'd won the titles until the first referee came back into the ring and awarded the match to Anderson and Blanchard via disqualification, having seen Anderson go over the top rope. A somewhat surprising outcome, considering this was in the Warrior's home city of Chicago. Good match though.

18) 1996: Rey Mysterio Junior versus Jushin "Thunder" Liger. Did anyone say dream match? This is an exceptional match between two of the best cruiserweights ever, mixing great technical wrestling with great high flying moves. These two were clearly made for each other, and it's just a shame that this match was kind of short, clocking in at ten minutes or so, with the man from the Orient getting the win with a Liger Bomb. Definitely one I could watch over and over again.

17) 1987: The Rock 'N' Roll Express versus The Midnight Express in a scaffold match. This is the Stan Lane/Bobby Eaton combination of the Midnights here, with Big Bubba, the future Big Boss Man, as Jim Cornette's bodyguard. Bubba attacked Ricky Morton before he could climb up the scaffold, leaving Robert Gibson to face Lane and Eaton alone, until Morton recovered, grabbed Cornette's tennis racket, clobbered Bubba, and made his way up top. So, as can be expected, not much actual wrestling on the scaffold, mainly brawling, with Lane, closely followed by Eaton, falling to the ring below to win the match for Morton & Gibson. But that wasn't the end of things, as Cornette ordered Bubba up to the scaffold, but a quick low blow from Morton soon dealt with him. Well, I've never really been a big fan of scaffold matches, but at least it was better than the Elevation X match in TNA a while back.

16) 1988: Ric Flair versus Lex Luger for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. For some reason Lex Luger gets a ton of bad press for his perceived lack of talent, but back in his day he was one of the best around, especially during his first run in the NWA. This is a great example of Luger at his best, a thirty minute plus match in which both champion and challenger take each other to the limit, and then some, in an excellent wrestling match, with a red hot crowd virtually baying for blood, Flair working over Luger's left leg for extended periods, and Luger looking like he was going to win the title when he had Flair in the Torture Rack, only for his injured knee to give way, giving Flair the opportunity to get the title retaining pin. Boy, was this good.

15) 1995: Eddie Guerrero versus Shinjiro Otani. A match from the "World Cup of Wrestling", which saw stars from WCW and New Japan competing against each other. This was one of many WCW pay-per-views I watched on German television channel DSF, because WCW pay-per-views were never broadcast in merry old England. A solid, good old fashioned wrestling match, with both guys putting in a good performance. I haven't seen much of Otani, but the guy impressed the hell out of me, and came out on top, pinning Guerrero with a roll up after reversing his hurricanrana attempt.

14) 1988: Dusty Rhodes & Sting versus The Road Warriors for the NWA World Tag-Team Championship. Another example of why Hawk and Animal were so damn good. They may not have been the most technical of wrestlers, but they were the best they were at what they did, and this match against the veteran Rhodes and the up-and-comer Sting was great. A far more even match-up than the Warriors/Horseman contest, Sting and Rhodes looked like they were going to get the win after the Stinger took Animal down with a body block off the top rope, only for Paul Ellering to stop the count by pulling the referee out of the ring, earning his team an immediate disqualification. Rhodes and Sting managed to get a bit of payback afterwards though, ending this tremendous bout.

13) 1992: Sting versus Big Van Vader in the King of Cable tournament final. The rivalry between these two was awesome, certainly on a par with Sting's other great feuds. The chemistry these two had was second to none, which resulted in numerous great battles, and although this one wasn't for the World title, this certainly ranked among their best. Despite being outweighed by nearly two hundred pounds, the Stinger was able to match power with the big man, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, despite outweighing Sting by nearly two hundred pounds, Vader was able to match speed and agility with the Stinger, and after over fifteen minutes of hard hitting action, Vader went to the well once too often. Having taken Sting down with a big splash off the second rope, instead of going for a pin Vader decided to go for another splash, this time off the top, and as he came down Sting caught him in a power slam, getting the pin immediately afterwards. This is certainly one match you can watch over and over again.

12) 1983: The Brisco Brothers versus Youngblood and Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Tag-Team Championship. Younger wrestling fans may only remember Gerry Brisco as Vince McMahon's stooge, but he was actually a very good wrestler as well, certainly as good as his former World Champion brother Jack. It's another good old fashioned match here. Steamboat and Youngblood looked tremendous, while the Briscos were more than able to keep up with their younger counterparts. The challengers emerged victorious in this one, with Steamboat press slamming Youngblood onto Jack Brisco for the winning pin. Enraged by their loss, the Briscos then attacked special referee Angelo Mosca, and the new champions, before Steamboat and Youngblood recovered enough to clean house. A very entertaining match, and another great example of tag-team wrestling.

11) 1985: Dusty Rhodes versus Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In the same year that Hulk Hogan and Mr. T were headlining the very first Wrestlemania, The American Dream and The Nature Boy were headlining the third Starrcade with a good old fashioned 80's style wrestling match. The rivalry between these two was quite storied, with Flair's buddies Arn & Ole Anderson having attacked Rhodes prior to this event, injuring his left leg. Rhodes dominated for the most part, working over Flair's right leg before busting him open. Flair came back in the last few minutes, taking advantage of a Rhodes mistake by working over his injured wheel, but not even the vaunted figure four could put the challenger away. Rhodes made a brief comeback, but as the referee took a snooze at ringside, the Andersons came running into the ring for the assist. Arn was sent packing, but Ole took Rhodes down. This didn't stop the Dream for long though, because after a second referee came into the ring, Rhodes got the roll-up for the title winning pin.

10) 1997: Eddie Guerrero versus Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. On the same show that Sting made his return to take on Hulk Hogan, the future Radicals partners put on a show stealer that once again proved just why WCW's cruiserweight division was the hottest thing in the company at the time, even hotter than the New World Order. These two had such great chemistry, and it showed here as they matched each other hold for hold and move for move, making for great viewing. Guerrero was brutal at times, and at his heelish best as he worked over Malenko's leg. The man of a thousand holds did well to come back, but the victory went to Guerrero, coming off the top rope with a frog splash to get the pin that saw him keep the title.

9) 1989: The Road Warriors versus The Steiner Brothers in the Iron Man Tag-Team Tournament. While the four top singles stars were battling it out in the singles tournament, the top four teams were battling it out as well. Of course, this was back when Scott Steiner wasn't a lumbering hulk, and could actually move quite freely around the ring. This was by far the best match of the tag-team tournament, and it's a shame that it was kind of short because of the tournament restrictions. So after nearly ten minutes of hard hitting action, Animal lifted Scott up as if he was about to back suplex him, while Hawk came off the top rope with a clothesline. Animal kept hold of Scott, and as the referee made his three count, Scott raised his shoulder at the last moment, while Animal's remained on the mat, giving the victory to the brothers.

8) 2000: 3 Count versus Jamie Knoble & Evan Karagias versus The Jung Dragons in a ladder match for a contract for a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match. I never liked 3 Count. I always thought that their best work came when Tank Abbott was their comedy groupie. But I have to admit that the action in this one was pretty damn good, equally ranking alongside the WWF ladder matches of the time. There's no stand-out performances here, as they're all as good as each other, with some inventive use of the various ladders, and some crazy bumps, with both Shane Helms and Shannon Moore grabbing the contract at the same time to get the title shot.

7) 1989: Sting versus Ric Flair in the Iron Man Singles Tournament. This was the final match in the singles tournament, and pitted Horseman against Horseman, with both men needing a win to clinch the tournament. It's another example of how two wrestlers can have such great chemistry. These two would go on to have such a great rivalry over the years with some classic matches, but for me this one ranks as one of the best, with Flair doing all he can to put the young star away, and getting more and more frustrated when he's unable to do so. As the time limit neared, Flair looked to lock in a second figure four, only for Sting to counter with a roll-up to get the pin, winning the tournament in the process, ending a great match.

6) 1983: Greg Valentine versus Roddy Piper in a dog collar match. I've heard so much about this match over the past twenty years, I'm glad that I've finally got the chance to see it. No fancy dan technical stuff here. This is nothing more than a fight, a brutal, bloody battle between two men going all out to maim each other, and it certainly lived up to all the hype. Given the way that these two were going at it, you got the impression that these two really couldn't stand each other, and after what seemed like an eternity of brutality, Piper got the pin after once again using the chain as a weapon. Valentine was none too pleased though, attacking Piper after the bell, using the chain to choke the rowdy one over the ropes.

5) 1986: The Road Warriors versus The Midnight Express in a scaffold match. This is the Dennis Condrey/Bobby Eaton version of the Midnights in this one. This one took a while to get going, mainly because Condrey and Eaton were so reluctant to climb up to the scaffold. Eventually they made it to the top, and used the old powder in the eyes trick to get the upper hand, before the Warriors came back and bloodied both of the Midnights. Eventually both teams moved to underneath the scaffold, with the Warriors knocking them both down for the win. Bump of the match goes to Jim Cornette, who seriously injured his right knee falling off the scaffold. Ouch!

4) 1997: Sting versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. This had the best build-up to any match in WCW history. Sting, who hadn't wrestled for eighteen months, was regarded as WCW's last hope against the tyranny of Hogan and the New World Order. The multi-coloured, blonde haired, sun tanned, howling, smiling Sting had gone, to be replaced by the plain black-clad version with the white face paint, the man who stood up in the rafters looking down. This is perhaps Hogan's best match during his WCW career, even better than his early encounters with Ric Flair. As for Sting, he looked tremendous, as if he'd never been away, and all of these ingredients made for a great match. You also had a controversial ending. After Hogan had taken Sting out with the leg drop of doom, and the referee had made the count, special referee Bret Hart ordered a re-start after clobbering, and despite the attempts of some of Hogan's NWO cronies, Sting soon locked in the Scorpion Death lock to get the submission win.

3) 1993: Ric Flair versus Harley Race in a steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The main event of the very first Starrcade was dubbed "A Flair for the Gold"' and was a good old fashioned grudge match. Race had put a bounty on Flair's head in an attempt to stop him from getting another title match, which was the reason this was held inside a steel cage. The action is hard hitting and brutal at times, as both men used the cage to bust the other open. It was old school action at it's very best, lasting nearly thirty minutes, with Flair getting the title winning pin with a body block off the top rope. Awesome stuff.

2) 1985: Magnum TA versus Tully Blanchard in a steel cage I quit match for the NWA United States Championship. This is another one of those matches that has attained legendary status over the years. This was another of those matches were it seemed as if those involved actually hated each other. It began as a normal wrestling match, but as soon as they started using the cage as a weapon things got dirty, and it wasn't long before both men were busted open, Magnum from the head, Blanchard from the head and left shoulder. This was just as brutal as the chain match two years before, and even the referee took a few hits. In the end, Magnum used a piece of a wooden chair that Blanchard had brought into the ring, gouging it into his head, and as the blood poured down his face, he said the words that everyone wanted to hear. You know, you just don't get drama like that these days.

1) 1993: Ric Flair versus Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, with Flair's career on the line as well. It seems more than apt that a Ric Flair match made it to the top of this list, because while Hulk Hogan may have been considered Mr. Wrestlemania, then Flair could certainly be considered Mr. Starrcade. Vader is at his brutal best, pounding on the Nature Boy with such power it's scary, as well as showing the agility of a man half his size. Flair is great at playing the underdog, mounting numerous comebacks, but always falling to Vader's superior size and strength. Eventually Flair was able to sustain an attack long enough to take the big man off his feet, and it wasn't long before Flair locked on the figure four leg lock. Vader managed to get to the ropes. The big man soon mounted a comeback, and after interference from Vader's manager Harley Race backfired, Vader still looked like he was going to win, until Flair grabbed one of his huge legs, took him down and got the pin to win the title. This match, without a doubt, deserved it's number one spot.

In conclusion -  well, it took me a while, but I finally made it to the end, and it was worth the effort. This is a tremendous collection, a fitting tribute to professional wrestling's first super show, and to the wrestlers and the matches that made it great. We may remember WCW for all the wrong reasons these days, but this collection gives us plenty of good memories as well. If you haven't got this already, then go out and buy it ASAP. You won't be disappointed.

With Wrestlemania 25 only a couple of weeks or so away, it’s time for me to resurrect my tradition of reviewing a past “big four” pay-per-view, and this time it’s a big one, a one night tournament held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey to crown a new WWF Champion. Yep, we’re going back to 1988, and Wrestlemania IV, with the legendary team of Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon handling commentary duties.

The show begins with a battle royal, featuring the Hart Foundation, the Young Stallions, Sika, “Dangerous” Danny Davis, the Killer Bees, Bad News Brown, Sam Houston, the Rougeau Brothers, Ken Patera, “Outlaw” Ron Bass, the Junkyard Dog, the Bolsheviks, Hillbilly Jim, King Harley Race, and George “The Animal” Steele, with a big ass trophy up for grabs. It’s the usual kind of battle royal fare here, entertaining in it’s own way but a bit hard to follow when it begins, with all of those arms and legs flailing away. The final four were Paul Roma, Bret Hart, Junkyard Dog and Bad News Brown. News and the Hitman formed a brief alliance to take out the Dog, and after he was eliminated both men stood in the middle of the ring to celebrate, before Brown took Hart down with his ghetto blaster kick, dishing out more punishment before eventually throwing him over the top rope for the victory. This didn’t sit too well with the Hitman though, who got back into the ring and attacked Brown from behind, before taking out his frustrations on the massive trophy. Nothing like a good old fashioned double cross!

Then it’s on to the first round of the WWF title tournament. First up, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan against “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase, who is not only accompanied by his bodyguard Virgil, but by Andre the Giant as well. It’s you classic brawler v technician battle here. Duggan uses his fists to do the talking, while Dibiase counters with his superior technical skill. It’s a reminder to this particular writer just how good these guys were. Interference from Andre cost Duggan the match here, as the Giant grabbed Duggan’s leg just as he was about to deliver his football tackle. A big punch later and a knee from behind, and Dibiase got the pin to take him into the second round.

Up next, Dino Bravo, accompanied by Frenchy Martin, against “The Rock” Don Muraco, accompanied by “Superstar” Billy Graham. Muraco, of course, replaced Graham in the tournament, because the former champion was unable to compete because of injury. An interesting power v power battle here, which has a couple of dodgy moments at the beginning, sees the two big guys basically beating the hell out of each other, and with a somewhat controversial ending. After Bravo pulled the referee so he took a hit from Muraco, Bravo took his man out with his side slam finisher. But when the ref came to, he didn’t count the pin, he disqualified Bravo. Not a bad match here, but it was let down by the mistakes at the beginning.

The battle of the strongmen was followed by the battle of the technical wizards, with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, accompanied by Jimmy Hart, facing Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. A really good little match here between two of the top wrestlers of the time, with Valentine and Steamboat matching each other move for move. Countless false finishes throughout, before Valentine reversed Steamboat’s top rope body block, grabbed a handful of tights and got the winning pin. A very good match here, which many at the time would have considered something of an upset.

The action continued with “The Natural” Butch Reed, accompanied by his manager Slick, taking on “Macho Man” Randy Savage, accompanied, of course, by Elizabeth. It’s a battle of power against speed here, with the future Doom member controlling the match early on with his superior strength. Savage has a couple of moments, but it’s all Reed until he goes up to the top rope, momentarily distracted by Elizabeth. This gave Savage the time he needed to recover as he threw Reed off the top rope, then went upstairs himself to deliver his patented flying elbow. Not bad I suppose.

It’s the battle of the big men next, with the One Man Gang, Slick’s second man in the tournament, facing Bam Bam Bigelow, accompanied by his manager Oliver Humperdink. If you’re looking for an outstanding technical contest, then this isn’t the match for you. It’s two big guys with a combined weight of nearly eight hundred pounds beating away on each other, and it’s damn entertaining to watch, and a reminder of how good the late Bam Bam was back then. However, another controversial ending. As Bigelow was about to take the Gang out, Slick pulled down the top rope, with Bam Bam crashing down to the ringside area. The Gang then stopped him from getting back in, which lead to the referee counting him out. As I said before, entertaining, even if the ending was a little disappointing.

The final match of the first round saw  “Ravishing” Rick Rude, accompanied by his manager, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, going up against Jake “The Snake” Roberts. This was by far the best match of the first round, with two well matched guys at the top of their game. This match had everything, great psychology, great moves, and two of the greatest personalities in wrestling history. Sadly, the one thing this match didn’t have was a winner. After tons of great action, Rude looked like he was about to get the pin with his feet on the ropes, but just as the referee was making his three count, the bell rang. The announcement was then made that the time limit had expired. I don’t really need to go on again about how good this match was. It’s just a shame there wasn’t a winner!

So with the first round over, it’s on to non-tournament action, with Hercules, accompanied by Bobby Heenan, against the Ultimate Warrior, making his first Wrestlemania appearance. No hammerlocks here in this one folks, it’s just two big guys beating on each other. If you like brawls, then this is the match for you. It’s not pretty, but it’s effective, giving you the impression that these guys really hate each other. The old double pin was used at the end of this one. As Hercules tried to apply the full nelson, the Warrior pushed his feet off the ropes, and as both men went down to the mat, Hercules bridged, thinking that he could get the pin. However, he failed to notice the Warrior raising his shoulder as the referee counted to three. Herc wasn’t happy, and brought his chain into the ring, only for the Warrior to grab it off him, sending the Heenan family member running for cover.

Then it’s on to the quarter-finals of the tournament, with Andre the Giant, accompanied by Ted Dibiase and Virgil, taking on Hulk Hogan. The crowd went absolutely wild for this one, and although this one had been done at lengthy by this time, it still made for a good match, although it wasn’t nearly as good as their match at the previous Wrestlemania. Good action between the two men to begin with, but interference from Dibiase and Virgil saw a steel chair brought into the equation, with Hogan and Andre using it on each other. As Hogan chased Dibiase out of the arena, he then suplexed Virgil on the arena floor, before returning to ring to slam the Giant. However, by then it didn’t mean a thing, as the referee announced that both men had been disqualified and eliminated from the tournament.

The second quarter-final saw Don Muraco against Ted Dibiase, who came to the ring on his own this time. This didn’t sit too well with Dibiase, and Muraco took advantage early on, controlling Dibiase with some crisp looking power moves, but in the end Dibiase’s cunning came through, and after taking Muraco down with a stun gun-like move onto the top rope, Dibiase got the winning pin, earning himself a bye right through to the final.

With the One Man Gang having earned a bye to the semi-finals, it was on to the final quarter-final, Greg Valentine against Randy Savage. This match was almost all Valentine, as he took Savage apart from the outset. The Macho Man had a couple of brief flurries, but Valentine was soon able to gain control, thanks to a little distraction from Jimmy Hart. However, despite his dominance, Savage got the pin to take him through to the semi-finals, countering Valentine’s figure four attempt into a small package to earn a semi-final match against the Gang.

The first title match of the evening follows, with Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake challenging the Honkytonk Man for the Intercontinental title. Old Honky is accompanied to the ring here by Jimmy Hart and Peggy Sue, who is looking quite sensational here, if you know what I mean. You know, I used to really hate the Honkytonk Man back in the day. But then again, as he was a heel I suppose this means that he was just doing his job, and doing it well. Enjoyable stuff this, especially if, like me, you were a massive mark for the Barber all those years ago. Sadly, the Barber didn’t quite get the job done here. Having taken Honky out with his trademark sleeper hold (known as a rear naked choke these days), little Jimmy Hart clobbered the referee with his megaphone, knocking the poor guy out. All this did was infuriate the Barber. The Colonel, despite grabbing hold of Beefcake’s bag, got a haircut for his troubles. It didn’t get him the title though, although it got him a disqualification victory. Nothing like a good old fashioned haircut now, is there?

Then it’s on to tag-team action, with the Islanders and their manager, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, taking on the British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware. Heenan, petrified by a certain mutt called Matilda, is wearing a dog protection suit thing here. Although not the best remembered match in their history, this was another example of how great Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid where as a team. The Islanders weren’t too bad either, but performance of the match must go to the Brain for his hilarious dog attack suit. Victory went to the bad guys in this one. After a brief multi-man brawl, a stunned Heenan was slammed onto Koko by Tama and Haku, earning his team the pinfall victory. The Brain was soon running for his life though, as the Bulldogs unleashed Matilda onto him as he ran up the aisle.

With Ted Dibiase having earned a bye to the tournament final, the only semi-final saw the One Man Gang face Randy Savage. The proverbial David v Goliath battle sees the Gang handle the Macho Man like a small child, before Savage used some neat hit and run tactics to take the big man down momentarily. However, the Gang’s use of Slick’s cane only served to earn him a disqualification, giving the Macho Man the place in the final against Dibiase. More nice stuff from Savage here. Boy was this guy good when he was in his prime.

The second title match of the evening follows, with Demolition, accompanied by their manager Mr. Fuji, challenging Strike Force for the Tag-Team Championship. This was one of those matches I was really looking forward to seeing again, mainly because I was a massive Demolition mark back in the day. Okay, they weren’t exactly a great technical team, but they had a great gimmick, and their style suited that gimmick. This match reminded me of how just poor the tag-team division in the WWE is these days. This is another great example of tag-team wrestling, between two teams well suited to each other. Tito Santana once again sold his heart out, which seemed to be his speciality back then in tag-team matches, with Rick Martel the perfect foil for his skills. However, the power of Ax and Smash, as well as Fuji’s cane, proved too much for the champions. As Martel applied the Boston Crab to Smash, and as the referee tried to stop Santana from clobbering Fuji, Ax came into the ring and clobbered Martel with his manager’s cane, before draping his stunned partner onto Martel for the title winning victory. A very good match was had by all in what was the beginning of the end for the Martel/Santana team.

Main event time, the WWF Championship tournament final, with Ted Dibiase, accompanied to the ring by Andre the Giant, taking on Randy Savage, accompanied by Miss Elizabeth. As the old saying goes, they saved the best for last, and this was, by far, the best match of the tournament. For the first time in the show, Savage seemed to be on an equal footing against an opponent, even though Andre interfered on Dibiase’s behalf a few times. Andre’s threat saw Savage sending Elizabeth to the back, where she returned to get some back-up of her own in the form of Hulk Hogan. The plan worked, as the Hulkster took care of the Giant when he tried to interfere, and clobbered Dibiase with a steel chair as he applied the Million Dollar Dream as the referee was distracted by Andre. A top rope elbow and a three count later, and Savage was the new WWF Champion in what was not only the best match of the tournament but the best match on the show.

In conclusion - although this show is now twenty-one years old, it still stands the test of time. The tournament, despite a few blown spots early on, was played out to perfection, with Randy Savage a worthy winner, although, looking back, it was pretty obvious that Hulk Hogan would have a part to play in the final outcome, despite the fact that he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round. As for the non-tournament matches, they were okay, but they clearly played second fiddle to the tournament. So in all, this is a very enjoyable show, and one I’d recommend to the old school fans who want to relive some classic Wrestlemania moments before the big twenty-fifth show in a couple of weeks.

With this year’s edition of WWE’s Royal Rumble just around the corner, I’m going to keep up my tradition of reviewing past editions of the “big four” pay-per-views by taking a look back at the 1990 version of the Royal Rumble, an event that saw the beginning of the build-up to one of the greatest matches in wrestling history.

But first, a little history lesson. This was actually the first WWF pay-per-view to air live here in Britain, although we didn’t have to pay for it as it aired on Sky One, which meant that we had to put up with awkward cuts for commercial breaks. It also meant that British viewers finally caught up with their American counterparts as far as the weekly television programmes went, having been over two months behind at one point the previous year. It also meant that, with a few exceptions, all the WWF pay-per-views aired live here in Britain, up until the introduction of the In Your House shows.

But enough of the history lesson, onto the show itself, with Tony Schiavone and Jesse “The Body” Ventura handling commentary. The Body is looking resplendent in his Mickey Mouse t-shirt and hat.

The show began with tag-team action, with the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, accompanied by their manager Jimmy Hart, taking on New Zealand’s finest, the Bushwhackers. I remember when this match was first announced I thought “what again?”, mainly because these two had previously faced each other at Wrestlemania V a few months earlier. It’s your basic comedy-style match here, with Luke and Butch pulling all the usual moves, infuriating the All-American boys, their manager, and the referee as well. The brothers looked good when they got their licks in, making me realise, once again, just how much Jacques and Raymond were as a team. But after Luke was doubled-up on for a while, the big break came when he countered Jacques big splash attempt by raising his knees. The mass brawl followed, with Jimmy Hart getting involved, before the cousins took both brothers out with their trademark battering ram, with Butch getting the winning pin on Jacques. This wasn’t that bad a match, certainly better than their Wrestlemania effort, and a good example of the Bushwhackers’ work, one of my favourite teams from the early 90’s.

Match two saw singles action, with Mr. Perfect’s advisor The Genius taking on Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. I was a massive mark for the Barber back then, so this was one match I was really looking forward to. This was an interesting match because, at the time, the former Leaping Lanny didn’t seem to wrestle that often on television, which was a shame considering his heritage and credentials. From the outset the Genius played the part of the heel to perfection, his prancing around the ring drawing from the likes of the great Gorgeous George and Adrian Street, and for me this is what made this match. Beefcake had his moments, but the Genius dominated for the most part, and when the referee took an accidental hit, the brainy one tried to go to work, but soon found himself in Beefcake’s sleeper hold. Moments later the Barber began to cut the Genius’ hair, until Mr. Perfect came charging down the aisle to save his buddy, eventually clobbering Beefcake with a chair until the referee brigade came running down to stop the fight. As for the match result, both men were disqualified. This, of course, led to the Perfect/Beefcake match-up at Wrestlemania VI.

Then came the match of the night, with “Rugged” Ronnie Garvin facing Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, accompanied by his manager Jimmy Hart, in a submission match. These two had quite a storied rivalry. Valentine had put Garvin out in a retirement match. Garvin became a referee, which eventually led to an altercation between the two after Garvin referred one of Valentine’s matches. The Hammer then lobbied for Garvin’s re-instatement, and when he returned, Garvin began to wear a leg brace similar to the one worn by Valentine, which the Hammer used to inflict more damage when he applied the figure four leg lock.

This was a great example of the perfect grudge match. From start to finish this was perfectly executed. Both wrestlers went for several pins, having to be reminded by the referee that they could only win by submission. The best moment came when Valentine applied the figure four, only for Garvin’s leg brace to protect him. The look on Garvin’s face as he taunted the Hammer spoke volumes. Moments later Jimmy Hart would remove Garvin’s leg brace after a clash of heads, giving Valentine the chance to apply a second figure four. That attempt ultimately failed, and eventually Garvin would take Valentine’s leg brace and use it himself, clobbering the Hammer with it before applying what the announcers called a reverse figure four, but what we know today as the sharp shooter. Seconds later Valentine was submitting, giving the victory to Garvin, and ending a tremendous match, possibly one of the most under-rated matches in wrestling history.

Chat show time next, with Brother Love, perhaps the most annoying man in WWE history, hosting a segment with Sensational Queen Sherri, manager of “Macho King” Randy Savage, and Dusty Rhodes’ manager, Sapphire. This was basically the set-up to their mixed tag match at Wrestlemania. Basically, Sherri bad mouthed Sapphire, Sapphire clobbered Sherri, before both Rhodes and Savage came to sort things out. After security separated them, Brother Love insulted the American Dream, which was enough for Rhodes to take out his frustrations on the red faced one.

The final singles match followed, with the Big Boss Man, accompanied by his manager Slick, owner of one of the greatest entrance themes ever, taking on “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. These two had met in a six man match at Summerslam a few months before, Duggan teaming with Demolition while the Boss Man was with his Twin Towers partner Akeem and Andre the Giant. This would prove to be one of the Boss Man’s last matches as a heel during his first WWF run, as he turned face shortly afterwards after refusing to take a bribe from “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase.

This was basically a brawl between the two big men. Duggan was, as always, Duggan, while the Boss Man looked to be in the best shape of his career, having recently dropped a ton of weight. It won’t go down as a classic, but it will go down as entertaining. While the Boss Man threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Duggan, old Hacksaw wouldn’t stay down, his brawling tactics proving to be effective. Eventually the weapons came into play. Boss Man’s use of the nightstick earned him a disqualification, giving the victory to Duggan. Duggan then grabbed his trusty two-by-four, and clobbering the Boss Man from behind, The enraged law enforcer retaliated by throwing a chair into the ring, only for Duggan to sit in the chair and let out his trademark chant. This certainly won’t be one for the purists, but it was damn entertaining nonetheless.

Main event time, the Royal Rumble match itself. With Jim Duggan having already competed, and “Big” John Studd having left the company, it meant that a new winner would be crowned. The first two men in the match were Ted Dibiase, who bribed his way to get the number thirty spot the previous year, and Koko B. Ware. Old money bags quickly took care of the Birdman, as well as number three, Marty Janetty, but got the surprise of his life when his long-time nemesis, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, entered at number five. When “Macho King” Randy Savage came in at number six, that was when the action really began. The likes of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, The Warlord, Bret “Hitman” Hart, Bad News Brown and Dusty Rhodes soon followed as the action came thick and fast, with eliminations following at regular intervals. There were even disagreements at ringside between the managers, with Bobby Heenan and Mr. Fuji almost going at it after Andre the Giant eliminated the Warlord. Controversy soon followed though. After Piper eliminated Bad News, Brown got back onto the ring apron and pulled Piper out of the ring. This lead to a wild brawl all the way backstage, and also lead to their match at Wrestlemania VI.

But while the action was great, things got really interesting with the arrival of the Ultimate Warrior at number twenty-one, and Hulk Hogan at twenty-five. Upon the Hulkster’s arrival, both superstars quickly eliminated the rest of competition. And that’s when it happened. With the crowd going crazy, the two biggest stars in the WWF at the time squared off for the first time. It was great to watch back then, especially as we had no idea what this would ultimately lead to. Things were spoiled a little though when the Barbarian, and later Rick Rude, came down to the ring. A few moments later, Hogan eliminated the Warrior.

Eventually, it got down to the final two - Hogan and Mr. Perfect, who had drawn, as he put it, “the perfect number”. Hogan and Perfect feuding at the time, although they never had that big television or pay-per-view match. After Hogan had eliminated Rick Rude, Perfect battered Hogan before taking him down with the perfect-plex, which Hogan inevitably kicked out from. After hulking up, Hogan cleaned house, eliminating Perfect to add the Royal Rumble to his list of achievements, and to end what was a very good match. What really made it for me back then was seeing tag-team specialists take on singles stars, at a time when the WWF kept those two divisions separate. It was also good to see heels against heels, and baby faces against baby faces. Then, of course, there was that confrontation.

In conclusion - while watching this it dawned on me - all of this took place nineteen years ago. I was just eighteen years old when I first saw this show, and I’ve only seen it a couple of times since then. This was the first Royal Rumble I ever saw, and will always be special to me. The matches were great, and it was good to see some of the great talent that the wrestling world had to offer back then. If, like me, you’re a sucker for wrestling history, then I would highly recommend the 1990 version of the Rumble. As the old saying goes, you won’t be disappointed.

With this year’s Survivor Series just a few days away, I’m going to carry on with the tradition I stared a while back by reviewing a past big four show, by going back in time twenty-one years to the very first Survivor Series, held on Thanksgiving Day in 1987. The legendary team of Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura are behind the microphone for this one.

The show begins with the Honkytonk Man’s team, featuring “King” Harley Race, Hercules, “Dangerous” Danny Davis, and “Outlaw” Ron Bass, against “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s team of Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Even though I’ve never seen this show before, this match immediately brought back fond memories of some of the stars I watched and enjoyed all those years ago. The action here was top notch from start to finish, and even though there were some cuts, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment. In the end it came down to three-on-one, Savage, Roberts and Steamboat against Honkytonk, and after the Intercontinental Champion took a ton of punishment, he bolted for the door, getting counted out in the process and giving the victory to Savage’s team.

Match two saw the women in action, with The Glamour Girls, Dawn Marie, Donna Christianello and Sensational Sherri taking on Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin, The Jumping Bomb Angels and Fabulous Moolah. It made for a refreshing change to hear two commentators that didn’t constantly refer to the women’s vital statistics. Comparing the women’s action here to that of the current Divas division would be, as the old Bobby Heenan saying goes, like comparing ice cream to horse manure. The action here was terrific, with Sherri the standout in this match. My one criticism of this match would be about messrs Monsoon and Ventura, who didn’t do their research this well, especially as they didn’t seem to know the individual names of the Jumping Bomb Angels, which was particularly vexing as they were the second best thing in this match. Eventually it got down to the two tag-teams, the Angels against the Glamour Girls, with the Japanese team taking out Judy Martin and Leilani Kai in quick succession. Two good matches in a row here guys!

Then it’s on to the tag-team Survivor Series match, with Demolition, The New Dream Team, The Islanders, The Hart Foundation, and The Bolsheviks against The British Bulldogs, The Young Stallions, The Rougeaus, The Killer Bees, and Strike Force. The rules for this match were slightly different - if one member of a team got eliminated, then their partner had to go as well. Now, this is another example of how different the WWE of today is, and mainly because the WWE tag-team division of today is so damn poor. There’s ten great teams in this match, going all out in a great display to achieve victory, and it was a joy to behold, although it was hard to see what was going on at times because there were so many men involved in this one (which is why they used a camera crane for the same match the following year). There’s no real standout performances here, because each and every performance here is great. Two teams came out on top on this one, as B. Brian Blair, doing the old switcheroo with the mask on, pinned Tama of the Islanders to win the match, leaving the Killer Bees and the Stallions as the survivors.

Main event time, with Andre the Giant’s team, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, King Kong Bundy, “The Natural” Butch Reed, and the One Man Gang, against Hulk Hogan’s team, Bam Bam Bigelow, Ken Patera, “The Rock” Don Muraco, and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. The crowd went absolutely wild during this one, which wasn’t surprising because this was at the height of Hulkamania. As with the previous matches, this one was filled with great action from start to finish, with the main focus being on the return of the Giant after Hogan defeated him at Wrestlemania III. It was kind of awe aspiring to see Andre, the Gang and Bundy on the same team, three of the best big men professional wrestling has ever seen. There were some really good performances in this one, particularly from Bigelow, although Andre, whose health problems were starting to take their toll on him by this stage of his career, spent a great deal of the match on the ring apron. Surprisingly, Hogan wasn’t the sole survivor here, as he was counted out while brawling with Bundy and the Gang, leaving Bigelow against the three evil behemoths. Bam Bam managed to take out Bundy after a slingshot splash over the top rope, and the Gang after the big man missed a top rope splash, but he couldn’t defeat Andre, who took Bigelow out after a double under hook suplex. Things didn’t end there though, as Hogan returned to the ring to clobber the Giant and chase him away. Well, I suppose you couldn’t end a WWF pay-per-view in those days without a Hogan pose down, could you?

In conclusion - this is actually the first time I’ve seen this show, and I wasn’t disappointed. Although some would consider these particular matches to be somewhat overlong, I enjoyed them immensely, and from start to finish, I wasn’t disappointed. The action was good, and it was also good to see some of the greats of wrestling’s past in action again, and as this is available as a tagged classic here (along with the 1988 Survivor Series, which I’ll review next year) in Britain (and probably via a torrent somewhere), I recommend that you try and see this show for yourselves, because, if, like me, you’re an old school kind of guy, you won’t be disappointed.