STW #94: Wrestlemania IV
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- On this episode: How do you follow a show like WrestleMania III? Was the pressure on Vince McMahon to outdo himself once again in 1988? How did the company try to capitalize on the success of III, what was thinking behind moving from a dome to casino, what package did Trump offer that "won" Mania for his site, what sucked about the arena, how did the live gate compare to the prior year, ticket pricing strategies, why the crowd was dead, why tickets didn't sell faster, the original idea for the featured match, how closed circuit worked, the business of VHS in 1988, who had the tournament idea, why the bracket on TV wasn't the bracket at the event, the war with Crockett, this show compared to Clash of the Champions, what was happening in Hogan's real life right after this show, how Hogan dealt with the rumors he was leaving for movies, why Savage was chosen, whether or not DiBiase was considered, when the decision was made, how the company spoiled the main event, why the company ended their long relationship with Video One in Baltimore, why Bruno left the company, why Vince prefers America the Beautiful, how the company booked mainstream acts to sing at WrestleMania in this era, why Bret says he was turned baby face, why Bad News was getting a push, how the association with Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous came to be, discussion on Muraco, the relationship between Graham and McMahon, the steroid policy a this time, why Steamboat left, who wanted Steamboat to bring his family to the ring, why Savage-Steamboat didn't happen again, why Butch Reed left, the long rumored story of the Steamboat/Reed/HTM/Savage belt scenario, what Heenan hated about this show, Hogan's crazy promo, Rude and Savage having fun with the Trumps ringside, a story about Hercules getting heat, Sherri's favorite role, how Brutus got heat with the company, details about the iconic Andre-Uecker promo, Demolition being cheered as heels, what Vince thought was the biggest snafu before the main event, the wardrobe changes for Savage & Liz, whether or not moving away from Hogan was a mistake, why this show didn't meet expectations critically or financially, whether or not this is the "worst" WrestleMania of all time, and why Vince never did the tournament at WrestleMania ever again. Don't miss one of our best shows ever and what the world is watching... WRESTLEMANIA IV!
Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard is an audio podcast that discusses topics, events, wrestlers and memorable moments through the lens of former WWE executive Bruce Prichard co-hosted by Conrad Thompson.
The show was launched in August 2016 on MLW Radio. The episodes typically range from 2 hours to 4 hours in length, and include discussions about previous WWE pay-per-views and former WWE wrestlers.
Wake up with the Morning Deuce with Bruce: www.Facebook.com/SomethingToWrestle
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I used to be a huge fan back in 2018 my old job allowed me to listen to this a lot just now getting back into it, looking forward to all the episodes this and cornette have the best podcasts
simply the best wrestling podcast ever. I love listening to this when i go to bed. I used to listen to Howard stern alot but now Bruce and Conrad just made me a mark for this..
See ya, Eric.
Agreed! Excellent
Nnv CV ok X n
Literally went from Howard to wrestling shoots, this one in particular, before bed too. Love it
Stern blows so bad now it’s almost beyond comprehension
12:04
Thank you
dalyn sanders thanks
thank you
I love this format where you do a long, deep setup on the state of the business and back stories before covering the matches, versus the watch-along format. A+ podcast gents.
I was 7 back then. They showed it here in The Netherlands in the middle of the night, my parents taped it on VHS, but because its such a long Mania, the tape was full and so right when Savage is coming out for the finale, the recording ended! Parents told me the next morning they quickly tried to wake me up so I could see the finale live, but I supposedely kept saying just let me sleep, which I can not imagine, couldnt believe they didnt try harder, they said they did but I just can not imagine haha. Took me a while to forgive them. I saw the finale years later
I love this show, look forward to it every Friday. This is another great episode.
Guys, just an excellent show, you're making all of my workdays just fly by. Keep it coming
M
A 4 hour wrestlemania, seems short by today's standards
Renting Wrestlemania 3 and 4 was always tough. Rental store never had them. Except once in a blue moon. Felt like the chosen one when you got it. I miss the video store sometimes.
All of them are underrated compared to the crap today!
I just fired this up but already know this is going to be fantastic...looking forward to this one!
Wrestlemania 4 was great. I cannot believe they say it was a failure.
It was a step down from WM3 and not as good as WM5, so based on what they had done up to that point, you would have said WM4 was better than 1 and 2, but nowhere near as good as 3. I'm always surprised when people say WM6 wasn't good. That show was amazing and fans were into it. Still to this day it has the most epic main event in WM history. The face vs face match up was a huge success. :)
Taekwondo Time
M
It'll always hold a special place with me Bc it was the frost Mania I ever watched, but objectively it was a bag of ass.
Wasn’t a failure… he named a half ass prediction by some unknown source of 20 million. Then said they did 17 million in ticket sales, ppv and closed circuit. I’m sure with video it did 20 mill.. can’t see how a 1.6 mill gate in 88 and almost 600,000 in ppv at that time is a failure.
WM4 was great to me, as a 10yr old at the time, and Randy being my favorite all time Wrestler, even at that time, it was great, watched it like a week ago, was slow, but I’m oldschool, I always enjoy the first 10 WRESTLEMANIAs, but 3 is the greatest of them all, 17, and 19 after that.
Same here i turned 10 the next day, still my favorite
IV is my 2nd all time fav Wrestlemania after X. Shocked by all the negative words about it here. Its the only mania for me that feels almost like an experience more than just a wrestling show. Such an epic ongoing story with Savage throughout, keeps me engaged every time I watch it.
This was the first WWF Wrestling VHS "Coliseum" Video I ever owned,
It was a Double Video-Cassette and when you opened it there was a huge Hulk Hogan Pop Up on the Video. Man in the 1980's for 1 Wrestling VHS Video if you bought it New they started @ $59.99. At one time I had EVERY VHS Video the WWF ever released (Coliseum & Non Series Special's) I had (131) in all then I stopped Collecting/Buying after 1992.
Absolutely loved this one. As somebody who has an interest in the business side of the industry back then (80's) I loved the insight into the decision making process on PPV, VHS distribution etc.
I hope Bruce Prichard & Conrad Thompson record future episodes of this podcast the way this one was recorded, again in the future...
Best Wrestling Podcast. Period.
This Wrestlemania took place on my birthday March 27th. Went to see it at a closed circuit location with my dad as a gift. So badly wanted Savage-Steamboat II and was STUNNED Hogan did not win the WWF Championship that day.
Daniel A I put on Howard Stern sometimes too at night to fall asleep to.
Nice! Saw it also on close circuit at the Garden in N.Y, to me it felt like the action was live due to the crowd being so into it! Was also surprised when steamboat got eliminated, thought Ted was going to win after Hulk got DQ. Until Hulk came out with Liz to stand in Randy's corner to even the odds, fun times.
They were supposed to do Savage-Steamboat II but changed it at the last minute having Steamboat face Valentine in the first round and LOSE. Hindsight being 20/20, that rematch deserved more than a 15-minute time limit. What I would have done was have Savage-Steamboat in the main event instead of Savage-DiBiase which _was_ a good match. I guess everything worked out in the end. Steamboat goes to the NWA and defeats Ric Flair for the world title.
Daniel A I am 3/26 /79 for mine we ordered it the guy from Adelpha cable came and hooked up that silly box for the show my friends came over my parents ordered pizza and wings had a party cake ice cream presents bodyslams great memories
sgtlegacy7 you
Wrestlemania 4 was so underrated. I thought this was a good mania card. People probably in the arena hated the card cause 16 matches in 4 hours. They did what they accomplished with this card, they made Randy Savage a star. If NJPW didn't put on this Wrestlemania card, this card would have been 7 stars, he is in love with New Japan. Wrestlemania 3 was such a huge success that you were expecting a lot for Wrestlemania 4. I was surprised they went back to Trump Plaza cause of the fact that those suits really didn't care about it.
It's cuz even then trump n vince were best buds.
4 was the very first WrestleMania I ever watched. My parents let me rent it from blockbuster. It was a 2 tape vhs. I absolutely fell in love with it. Being from Memphis I already was watching uswa and going Monday nights to the coliseum. But this was my first introduction to wwf. Been a fan till the late 2000s. Sorry this new stuff is horrible. I have the network. And I’m so glad they are keeping this alive. Best podcast ever!!
Macho man was my favorite as a kid, so this was my favorite Wrestlemania!
My 1st ppv i watched live was wrestlemania 9. I went to my cousins house and did a bunch of chores for it. I just had to see that yoko vs bret match and for some reason mr perfect vs Lex Luger.
My 1st wrestling memory was Papa Shango making Worrior puke his guts out on SuperStars or wrestling Challenge.
WM4 was amazing for me. As a nine year old Randy Savage fan…it was a showcase of him!
Saw WM4 on Closed Circuit w. my Grandpa at GM Place in Vancouver!
Dr. Kayfabe Vancouver should host a wrestlemania looks like a beautiful city and they have the venues
Like many here, I don't care what they say, WrestleMania IV was a damn good WrestleMania, and still one of my favorites. And it's definitely far better than WrestleMania 2, I can't believe Bruce or Conrad actually suggested otherwise!
Love this show. Amazing insight. I've sold films on VOD and always wondered how the early days of PPV and how that worked in comparison to 10 years ago and even now. Job well done guys.
conrad's memory of renting the tapes is one of my clear early memories. my brother and i would be soooo stoked every friday to go to the franklin video and rent wrestling tapes...streaming access is great and i don't want to go back of course but the anticipation is something kids will miss out on
hogan ALWAYS used heel tactics when he was hulkamania. Back scratching, chairs spots (weak as they were), biting the face, eye gouges. he'd even run down heel managers. all things baby faces rarely did but hogan did on a regular basis throughout his run as WWF champ
I forgot how great these old episodes were. New ones just don’t have the same feel.
I absolutely love Wrestlemania IV. Yeah it's long, some of the matches are trash, but damn, it's just insanely watchable to me.
Facts
Hell yeah. That super long entrance ramp was so epic. I had the double VHS as a kid (still do), I've watched it so many times. I think it's my favorite one.
Wrestlemania 4 is actutally my favorite mania of all time. Macho Man has always been my favorite so getting to see him fight multiple times in one night, what's not to love.
Conrad looks like Earthquake with more hair. I had the same double videotape too buddy. I bought mine at a video store with a rubber band around it for $2. It was probably onion skin thin from all the times I watched it. I had forgotten all about that until you told your story. Thanks, Greg.
Greg Welsh
;
And Bruce looks like the caretaker from scary movie 2 with the strong hand
Watched this WM for the show. Can't wait to hear Conrad and Art Dodger.
my local video store carried the Colosseum Video/WWF vhs tapes back in the day and I was the biggest wrestling fan that I knew of who rented those tapes repeatedly. since the tapes were expensive to purchase for home video rental, they didn't always have all of them so there would be gaps in the chronology of the "big 4" ppv's. St B Video didn't have Wrestlemania IV which irked me but I was in luck when my dad took me to his buddy Lloyd's place one time who just so happened to be into satellite tv and had a copy of Wrestlemania IV! they put it on to keep me occupied and damn it worked like a charm! I watched totally spellbound the entire time watching my heroes perform at one of the greatest events of all time
4 was highly underrated
If you watch the DVD of WrestleMania 4 the only time you saw Trump smile is when Bobby The Brain Heenan got the pin against Koko B Ware in the 6 man tag match.
No, he also smiled when Bret destroyed Bad News's trophy
Conrad kills me when he says Brutus "The Fkn Barber" Beefcake
In Australia where I live and grew up, we only ever got WWF on television (sporadically) and it was only the hard core wrestling fans who got the magazines at newsagents who even knew who the Road Warriors / Legion of Doom even were. If you were lucky (I was) there might also be a video rental store near you that had some NWA/WCW video's, but most of their content was from Coliseum Video, the WWF. To the general public who only watched whatever WWF on television we got, we knew about Demolition, we didn't know about the Road Warriors. But then, to be fair we were so far behind the times as far as what was going on in wrestling (we had to wait until at least July to get that years Wrestlemania on VHS) that even Ric Flair was virtually unknown down under until he went to the WWF in 1991.
This was the first-ever wrestling event I've ever seen and I fell in love with it ever since great podcasts lots of stuff I did not know
I actually liked the tournament. I liked Savages performance in every match.
I went and saw Wrestlemania III, on CC TV at Maple Leafs Gardens. It was awesome.
I was half way through this before I realized the faces of Andre and Hulk had been changed to Conrad and Bruce. 🙄
THEY DO IT ON EVERY VIDEO....
WrestleMania 4 is one of the best Wrestlemanias. Definitely one of my favorites.
I read George Steele hurt his knee the night before or whenever and couldn’t compete in the ring.
This was my favorite WM as a kid. I was such a macho man fan
The finish was atrocious to the Bam Bam-Gang match. And they did give Bam Bam a huge push coming in Fall of 87. Gave him a prime spot in the Survivor Series, he was on a couple SNME cards but suddenly he just seems to go away post Mania IV
The funny thing about casino block buying of tickets for events being held on their premises is that sometimes those block buys can account for the entire audience at the event.
That"s what happened with the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Caesars Palace both years they hosted Formula One there in 1981/82, both races only drew about 30.000 spectators and almost all of those seats were comped by the casino and they lost a fortune on it
What were Conrad Thompson & Bruce Prichard talking about, again involving Hulk Hogan around 29:01-30:43?...
I saw Demolition and Powers of Pain before I saw old school Road Warriors. However, PoP are carbon copy of Hawk & Animal. Demolition looked similar but they looked different enough.
Please get on with doing a full in depth review of Survivor Series 1991, I wanna know the real reasons why Hogan actually decided to keep his shoulders down fully for the three count and drop the belt to a heal (Undertaker) which for him was unknown in those days,....and then for Undertaker just to drop it back only 6 days later,...what was the point except for the huge shock pinfall over Hogan at that time as Hogan usually hulks up and always beats the bad guys (in those days),....I was personally dancing around the room when Taker hit that pinfall!
Zeusdaz - The Unemulated Retro Game Channel me too
Zeusdaz - The Unemulated Retro Game Channel yo Hogan bitched and lied about the tombstone taker gave hime saying he botched it...if you watch it Taker hit it perfectly
yea Hogan never even touched the chair. Hogan is a piece of shit
To test the market for cheaper weeknight PPV, likely that simple
hello . first sorry my eng is poor , hogan said in an interview with the voice and in his book that it wasn't undertakers fault . and he also said that taker Did not drop his head on the chair . he said For some reason his Neck was not strong after all these years in the WWF . and If you all have noticed , after that Match To this day he never ever take the piledriver from anyone Which means that the injury was real . so get over it
1:47:30 Don Muraco's babyface turn was actually some time earlier when he fell out with Orton and Fuji after a six man tag. It cleared the way for Demolition to be Fuji's only tag team.
Yes and no. The Orton/Muraco tag team break up was maybe July/August 87 and it did seem the fans sided w Muraco and also Orton did more heelish shit to Don to get heat but it wasn't like a 100% cemented faceturn. They had a 2/3 month house show run of grudge matches but I don't think Muraco was a full fledged good guy till he helped out Superstar Graham Fall 87 from the beatdown of Reed/One Man Gang and then started wearing the baby blue trunks and smiling/shaking hands coming out to Superstars Jesus Christ Superstar theme w Billy as his Manager.
Love the Stu impression.
The rhino. Big bastard!
Tremendous production. Great format.
Wrestle Mania 4..is the greatest of all time
1:48:41 made me laugh audibly.
The buildup gives context and makes it funny though.
I remember this episode when it aired. I’m glad this podcast became as big as it did. I always think the topic is gonna bore me and I listen to the whole episode . I love that Conrad never lets Bruce off the hook.
This WM had so many guys that had such impact that the matches did take a backseat. It was far from perfect, but I think WWE would love to have a show nowadays that had this hot of storylines. If you look back one year and forward one year from WM 4 it might not be as good, but WWF was running on all cylinders back then and the moments were iconic. This was Macho Man’s 1st of 2 WM Main Events and to me that puts him on a similar level as Hogan as a guy WWF can build the show around.
Good to listen to when IV got a bad hangover
Checking out WrestleMania 4 on the WWE Network Jive Soul bro is playing on there
I remember Gorilla screwed up on the battle royal, jumping the gun on Bad News Brown's "double cross."
I don't care what YOU, or anyone else says, Wrestlemania IV was the GREATEST Wrestlemania of ALL TIME! 2nd was Wrestlemania VIII!!!!!!!
Bruce's rendition of Volkoff Russian Anthem LOL!!!
Jessie: there aint no friends when there's money on the line, Ueck!
Bob Uecker: You'd know all about that, huh big boy?
Jessie: DEFINITELY!!!
LMMFAO
Don't know why so much hate and this wasn't good. It's 1 of my favorite WM and Macho's 1st time winning the belt. Watching it now Fucking nostalgic
We needed that ricky steamboat vs Randy savage rematch at wrestlemania 4
I was 13 when I watched Wrestlemania 3, which is honestly one of my greatest childhood memories. After WM3, I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was with Wrestlemania 4.
Most of the matches on Clash of the Champions were far better than WM4
I’m a bit late. But I used to watch World of Sport on ITV in the uk so watching big daddy wrestling when I was 4. When we got satellite my cousin was saying watch. Wwf, and how amazing Hogan was. I didn’t like hogan but loved Hart Foundation and Jake the Snake Roberts. My first wrestlemania (6) I marked when warrior won
As I always say Bruce and Conrad are the highlight of my Friday afternoon and whw on Monday's too wondering what the third show might be? Much love!
Asim Brooks 3rd show is totally Bischoff.
Speaking of WM3, my father a vague/minor wrestling fan said "Wrestling is NOT that popular to draw that much (90k), their there to see the celebrities". I should have said to him you would not see the celebrities unless you watch the ppv. He wouldnt hear wrestling could draw that much attention.
Vince: Bret, you're getting more fan mail than Hogan
Hogan: Bret, that's what you THOUGHT you heard
Vince: Well that's what I said PAL
Hogan: Well that doesn't work for me brother
Round 26 min they're talking about the crowd and their lack of enthusiasm, I watched it on ppv, and was so consumed by the matches outside of Hulk n Andre. The tournament was incredible and perfectly done! I like the whole thing happening in 1 night...
I saw Wrestlemaina 3 at the Spectrum in Philly on the big Jumbo tron that has 4 sides like a cube so you could see from all sides and it was EPIC! I was 11 years old!
We used to go ALL THE TIME! I have pics somewhere of me out front in Srgt Slaughters Camo Limo he rode in! ive seen Hulk and sitting on my dads neck i still had trouble reaching eye level with him when he was right next to us going in!
at that time they still entered right through the open parking lot with all the fans to where ever they went in!
Once i saw a kid run behind Kamala in the lot on his way in and jump up behind him and pull the cover he had on his head!
Kamala swung around soooo fast with a back hand swing had it not been a kid who fell back on his ass and was sitting there had that backhand connected THAT KID STILL WOULD NOT HAVE LANDED TO THIS DAY AND WOULD BE IN ORBIT CIRCLING THE EARTH IN 2022 ALMOST 37 YEARS LATER! KAMALAS MANAGER SNACHED IT FROM THE KIDS HAND AND TOLD HIM DONT EVER DO THAT STUPID SHIT AGAIN OR YOU REGRET IT!
LMFAO
IM TELLING YOU KAMALA WAS BIG AND BAREFOOT BUT THAT MOTHER FUCKER WAS FAST AND POWERFUL AS FUCK!
I WAS 10 FEET AWAY AND ILL NEVER FORGET IT!
NONE OF IT REALLY!
When i close my eyes whenever the song another one biites the dust comes on no matter where i am i can still hear the sound of 25 thousand people erupt and see the Junkyard Dog come into the ring on his chain down on all 4s Barking and Howling at us all from the ring!
AGAIN..... EPIC!
As a kid renting the vhs, I loved this show. In hindsight other than Savage winning the championship nothing else stands out the same.
31:07-31:40.; Imagine having to go through all of those steps in order to watch something on Pay-Per-View, today...
I'm watching these chronologicky lol
This is a good one
These two are a great team. Play off each other so well.
Why was Craig DeGeorge fired? I thought he was pretty over!
Wrestling Historian he went back to sports reporting
Pritchard said clearly that he fired him. There had to have been a reason for that.
OMG LMFAO Vince's dog wasn't working dog that's classic I absolutely love that story I can't stop laughing about it
4 gets a bad wrap. It’s just that it was in Atlantic City and most weren’t wrestling fans so it came across as dull
What was Bruce Prichard saying at 1:29:30-1:29:40?
2:06:48 It's funny because I instantly remembered this and I always interpreted it as "I will deliver that belt, the World Wide Wrestling Federation and I will hunt your head, Hogan!"
I just went back and listened to it again, though, and I think Conrad has it right :-p
Flair helped make Sting a megastar. Sting was already over huge. You couldn't just put anyone in that slot. It had to be someone the fans were behind. Otherwise, why didn't they just use Mighty Wilbur?
This was the 1st mania I ever saw as it happened on ppv. I remember it made me a huge fan of macho! His performance was incredible! The Andre Hulk match was terrible and should never have happened, bless Andre for trying, but damn.... Million $ Man was incredible too.
Urban Legend? whether or not HTM is just tooting is own horn confirms "what about him" by Hogan.
Bruce, chat me up.
I always loved Vince choosing America The Beautiful. When it came out Proud To Be An American would have been a dope choice too.
I appreciate that Prichard, at least, answers, "I don't know" when he doesn't have adequate situational awareness on a topic. On the flip side, pathetic sloths such as, Meltzer and Cornette have always had an answer, even when they weren't possibly present in a historical situation. But the IWC still loves the Metzers and Cornettes even though we've seen their subjective views.
Conrad needs to learn how to run a board and basic mic technique. His audio levels are all over the place, had to keep turning the volume up and down. Bruce is a pro.
That was one of the first wrestling tapes I ever had that and wrestlenania 1
Summerslam 91 would be great. I have a soft spot for that show. Lots to talk about. Would be interested in hearing about Flair coming over and the belt stuff etc...
Summerslam 91 was my first pay per view
Decent first PPV. Had a bit of everything. The IC Title match is one of my all time faves.
Worst Wrestlemania ever? Hell no! 3rd best ever behind III and V.
X was best ever. XIII was also better than the 2 you mentioned
I remember the satellite from the 80s fucker was the size of a full trampoline you had to have a 12 foot square area to install it
I was glad Hulk was gone I was a Savage fan!!
Very excited for WM4 been waiting for this
And this years wrestlemania is rumored to have 16 matches on it. Its gonna he a chore to sit through
R.I.P Robin Leach
They had a bracket in the program I saw this one on closed circuit and bought an official program that day I would assume it was the same one sold to the live crowd in Trump plaza and casino
Good podcast
jerran sperarman great amazing comment