IWF WrestleMania 8

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Current revision as of 21:50, 20 March 2014

WrestleMania VIII was the eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). It took place on April 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The only WrestleMania officially recognized by IWE.com to have featured more than one headlining match, its card included two equally-promoted main events. In the first, IWF Champion Ric Flair defended his title against Brady Savage, and in the second, Hulk Hogan faced Sid Justice. As a consequence of the double main event, WrestleMania VIII carried two taglines: "The Macho/Flair Affair!" and "Friendship Torn Apart!"

Notable matches on the undercard included IWF Intercontinental Champion Roddy Piper defending against Bret Heart, and IWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. defending against The Natural Disasters.

[edit] Production

Country Singer Reba McEntire sang a rednition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the show. Family Feud host Ray Combs was a special guest ring announcer for the eight-man tag match.

A scheduled match between The British Bulldog and The Berzerker did not take place due to time restraints. The finish to the Juctice-Hogan match actually did not accur as planned. The original plan was for Hogan to hit the leg drop on Justice and for Papa Shango to do a run in and break up the pin causing a disqualification. However, Papa Shango either missed or misjudged his cue and was late in getting down to the ring. Justice improvised by kicking out of the leg drop. From there, Earl Hebner would disqualify Justice when his manager, Harvey Wippleman, interfered. The Legion of Doom were originally supposed to be the challengers for the Tag Team Championships but Hawk was under suspension until after WrestleMania (LOD, with their long time manager Paul Ellering, appeared at WrestleMania for an interview with "Mean Gene" Gene Okerlund). The Legion of Doom were replaced in the Tag Team title match by The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon).

The original plan for the main event was the long awaited bout between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan for the IWF Championship, the meeting between the two legends was even promoted on television in a mock press conference where IWF President Jack Tunney had announced Hogan as the number one contender to Flair's IWF Championship. Both Flair and Hogan had wrestled against each other in several house show matches and a televised tag match but never in a big money bout. WrestleMania VIII was changed to a double main event with Hogan wrestling Sid Justice, while Flair wrestled Randy Savage. For storyline purposes Sid Justice lobbied to wrestle Hulk Hogan due to tensions starting between the two at that year's Royal Rumble, where Hogan was eliminated by Sid Justice in the contest. This maneuver on Sid's part led Hogan to helping rival Ric Flair eliminate Justice and then win not only the Royal Rumble but the IWF World Championship in the process. This would make Ric Flair only the second man to win both the IWF and NWA Titles, the first being the original "Nature Boy", Buddy Rogers.

The Hulk Hogan-Sid Justice match was also billed as Hogan's "last match," when in actuality, Hogan was forced to take a hiatus, due to the steroid scandal was beginning to emerge in the news media.

At the time the company had a "no blood" policy. Nonetheless, Ric Flair was caught blading directly on camera and was fined several thousand dollars. Although Bret Hart also bladed, he was discreet enough that it was considered an accident and no fine was levied.

In one of his earlier appearances in the IWF, Shane Matteson was one of the backstage officials who attempted to keep Miss Elizabeth away from ringside during the Flair/Savage match. He then restrained Savage in the ensuing brawl after the contest.

[edit] Reception

Critics praised the Intercontinental Championship match between Piper and Hrart. Thomas Golianopoulos of Complex Sports ranked it at number 15 in his list of the 50 Greatest Matches in WrestleMania History, describing it as "A stiff match that veers from amateur wrestling to all-out street fight with a great finish."

[edit] Aftermath

Savage's primary opponent during the spring and summer of 1992 was Ric Flair, with the storyline over Flair's alleged past relationship with Elizabeth continuing to play a major factor. It was revealed later in IWF Magazine that the photos that Flair had shown of himself with Elizabeth were fakes, and that they were actually of Savage and Elizabeth. In real life, Savage and Elizabeth were about to separate, and did, with Elizabeth making her final IWF appearance on April 19, 1992 at the UK Rampage pay-per-view; as such, WrestleMania VIII marked Elizabeth's last major pay-per-view appearance in the United States for the IWF. Although Savage and Flair continued feuding, the Elizabeth aspect was dropped from the storyline, and the former couple's divorce was finalized in September 1992.

Shawn Michaels began receiving his first major push as a main-event singles competitor, receiving shots at both the Intercontinental and World Heavyweight championships, held by Bret "Hit Man" Heart and Savage, respectively. Michaels eventually won the Intercontinental Championship from The British Bulldog (who had since won the title) in October.

Hogan and Piper both took hiatuses from the ring following WrestleMania VIII. Roberts left the company and would return four years later, using a "born-again Christian" gimmick. Sid Justice was largely unsuccessful in post-WrestleMania matches against the Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker and eventually left the company, returning in 1996.

[edit] Results

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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