The Importance of…2.27.09: Wrestlemania IV

Posted by Mike Chin on 02.27.2009

A look back at Wrestlemania IV: the tournament year. Plus, thoughts from Raw.

-How good was the Punk-Miz-Morrison triple threat on Monday night? Excellent match, from the Morrisonized doomsday device, to the innovative finish. Good psychology all around. I've been a bit critical of Money in the Bank for the last couple years because I feel like too many guys just get thrown in the match, when they could have more meaningful matches outside of it. Nonetheless, I like the idea of Punk returning to the contest, and I'm hoping this loss means that Miz and Morrison will perform at 'Mania as a team--maybe some sort of specialty match, or final showdown with the Colons?

Regardless of what it might mean for the losers, this was just the right sort of match to help build the buzz toward Mania, and I wholeheartedly approve.

-I'm making a prediction for the HBK-Kozlov match next Monday. Michaels somehow eeks out the win, then Kozlov proceeds to destroy him afterward until The Great khali makes the save.

Khali-Kozlov at Mania? Sure, it'll be ugly as hell, but the big guy slugfest is a bit of a staple for Mania, and as long as they keep it short, it could be an entertaining spectacle.

-During the Chris Jericho-Ricky Steamboat confrontation on Monday, I couldn't help thinking how fantastic a match between these guys would have been when the two of them were in their primes. Stow that away in the fantasy booking, dream matches vault.

On to our regular column...

Some Wrestlemanias are great. Others have great ideas behind them, benefit from great builds, and yet fall short in execution. Wrestlemania IV stands out as this latter sort of Wrestlemania—one of the best built shows of the eighties, but one of the poorer Wrestlemanias from an in-ring perspective.

The set up for Wrestlemania IV was intriguing to say the least. After years of dominating the world title scene, Hulk Hogan lost the world title to Andre the Giant. But did he really? There was a screwy finish to Andre's title win, and it would soon become apparent that an evil twin referee was to blame. What's more, rather than keep the title for himself, Andre opted to sell the gold off to a relatively new villain in one Ted Dibiase. WWF President Jack Tunney could not stand for this injustice, recognizing that the top prize in wrestling could not be bought and sold, but rather needed to be won in the squared circle. Hence, he declared the title vacant. And so, the stage was set for Wrestlemania IV, featuring a four round tournament to declare a new world champion.

Tournaments were not anything new to wrestling, but it was unusual for one to be featured so prominently and to occur in a period of one night. What's more, it was virtually unheard of for a tournament to bear this much importance, with the biggest prize in the business at stake.

Hogan and Andre's places in the title controversy made it only logical that they would square off again at Wrestlemania IV. Rather than a contrived meeting within the brackets, though, Tunney set up a relatively logical match between the two, giving each a bye to the second round of the tournament, and putting them against one another to arrive at a conclusive victor before either man progressed in the chase for the title. After having, arguably, the most famous match in wrestling history one year before, this was brilliant booking, igniting the WWF fanbase with the promise of another showdown.

Adding to the drama was the aforementioned appearance of Ted Dibiase. The Million Dollar Man was a relative newcomer, but had already turned heads with his attempts to buy off the gold. What's more, he was a darn fine technician in the ring, making him a legitimate threat in the tournament.

On to the actual show—it wasn't great. The bookers tried to cram 16 matches into one show. It was like the 1980s WWF equivalent of today's TNA Impact shows—sure, you get every guy in the roster on the card, but no one got any time, a disproportionate number of matches ended in DQs, and it was difficult for anyone to get over. While wrestling companies have continued to struggle with this issue over the years, this was, at the least, an important lesson for WWF in booking Wrestlemanias, as none would feature this sheer number of matches again.

Despite the lack of quality matches, Wrestlemania IV did have its bright spots, specifically surrounding young Randy Savage. The event was a bit of a coming out party for The Macho Man. While Dibiase, his finals opponent, got a bye into the finals, Savage had to fight his way through three full matches before he arrived in the finals. It was a Cinderella story that went a long way toward getting Savage over as a viable champion.

Perhaps more important than Savage's stellar, iron man performance were his interactions with Hogan. The Hulkster all but handed Savage the title, cracking Dibiase over the back with a steel chair to set up Savage's big win. That and the post match celebration helped cement Savage as a legitimate main event player and a new champion who it was OK for the fans to get behind. This led to several months of stories with the two fending off all of the WWF's villains together.

What's more, in forming a friendship, The Mach Man and Hulkster also planted the seeds for an eventual split. In helping him win, Hogan helped elevate Savage, and it was not entirely difficult to foresee that he was elevating an eventual rival. With the world title and Miss Elizabeth lying between them, it made perfect sense for these larger than life stars to eventually go to war. And so, the end of Wrestlemania IV was the perfect set up for Wrestlemania V, demonstrating a level of fore-booking that we just don't see today.

In closing, Wrestlemania IV was not a great show from an in-ring perspective. It was, however, built in such a way to maximize drama and capture the imagination of an audience that did not know what matches it would see, or who would walk away champion. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that the show closed with Savage winning the title—a great moment in itself, but more importantly, already starting a fine build toward Wrestlemania V.

That's all for this column. Next week, The Importance of… continues its road to Wrestlemania. We take a look at the importance of Wrestlemania X. See you in seven.