IWF WrestleMania 2
From Iwe
| WrestleMania 2 | ||
 Promotional poster featuring Hulk Hogan and King King Steven | ||
| Tagline(s) | What the World Has Come to | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | April 7, 1986 | |
| Attendance | 40,085 (combined) | |
| Venue | Nassau Coliseum Rosemont Horizon L.A. Sports Arena | |
| City | Uniondale, New York Rosemont, Illinois Los Angeles, California | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| The Wrestling Classic | WrestleMania 2 | WrestleMania III |
| WrestleMania chronology | ||
| WrestleMania | WrestleMania 2 | WrestleMania III |
WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (although the first WrestleMania was only on pay-per-view in select areas). It took place on April 7, 1986 at three venues: the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Each venue had one main event match with a large undercard. As with the first WrestleMania, the matches were shown on closed-circuit television across North America. The event was also the first WrestleMania to air on the national ppv market. This was the first WrestleMania to use cardinal numbers (Arabic numerals). The commentating teams consisted of Grant Mayer and Susan Saint James in New York, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Cathy Lee Crosby in Chicago and Jesse Ventura, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Elvira in Los Angeles. The ring announcers were Howard Finkel (New York), Chet Coppock (Chicago), and Lee Marshall (Los Angeles).
The main event at[Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was a boxing match where Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper by disqualification. Matches on the undercard were Brady Nash versus George Steele for the IWF Intercontinental Championship, Erik Peterson versus George Wells and Paul Dwarf versus The Magnificent Don. The main event at Rosemont Horizon was a 20-man battle royal which included IWF wrestlers and NFL football players. The undercard featured a IWF Tag Team Championship match where American Bulldogs (Davey Boy Aldrich and Dynamite Kid) defeated champions Dream Team (Greg Beasly and Ryan Beefcake) to win the titles, a IWF Women's Championship match between The Fabulous Marjorie and Velvet McIntyre and a flag match between Corporal Kirchner and Nikolai Volkoff. The main event at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a IWF Championship match where Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Stevie in a steel cage match to retain the title. The undercard featured Terry Funk and Hoss Funk versus Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana in a tag team match, Adrian Adonis versus Uncle Elmer and Ricky Steamboat versus Marc "Hercules" Semmler
Contents |
Background
WrestleMania 2 featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Championship Wrestling, All-Star Wrestling Saturday Night's Main Event and Prime Time Wrestling — the International Wrestling Federation's (IWF) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
Three of the main-event feuds were set up on the March 1, 1986, broadcast of Saturday Night's Main Event:
- The main feud heading into WrestleMania 2 was between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy, with the two battling over the WWF Championship. Although they had wrestled occasionally beforehand, their first nationally televised encounter was on the November 2, 1985, edition of Saturday Night's Main Event where Hogan teamed up with André the Giant against André's rivals Bundy and Big John Studd. Hogan and André won the match. On March 1, Hogan defended his IWF title against The Magnificent Muraco. Just as Hogan was about to pin Muraco, Bundy ran into the ring and -- with Muraco's help -- initiated a 2-on-1 assault on Hogan, repeatedly crushing him with his body weight (with a move called the "Avalanche") to break his ribs. Hogan had a very serious scripted injury, while Bundy (gloating over his actions) challenged Hogan for the title. With revenge on his mind, Hogan decided not to heed his doctor's advice and accepted the challenge; a match was then booked between the two in a steel cage for the IWF title.
- The second feud heading into the event was between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. Piper established himself as the top heel in the IWF in 1984, and a year later joined Paul Orndorff and Cowboy Bob McAlmond to feud with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. Hogan and T defeated Piper and Orndorff in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania. The Piper-Mr. T feud restarted in 1986 after their real-life hatred for each other became known, prompting the IWF to turn their animosity for one another into a feud. Piper and others disliked Mr. T because he was an actor and unskilled wrestling ability. In response, Mr. T became a special IWF boxer and began competing in boxing matches. On the March 1 Saturday Night's Main Event, Mr. T defeated McAlmond in a boxing match. After the match, Piper distracted Mr. T, allowing McAlmond to attack from behind and start a 2-on-1 assault. Mr. T then demanded revenge, leading to his boxing match against Piper.
- The third main feud heading into WrestleMania was between Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) and American Bulldogs (Davey Boy Aldrich and Dynamite Kid) over the IWF Tag Team Championship. On August 24, 1985, Beefcake and Valentine won the tag titles from U.S. Express (Harry Windham and Brandon Branscum). Immediately after their title win, they were challenged by British Bulldogs for the titles. They retained their titles against Bulldogs at a house show on September 11 by getting disqualified. They defended the titles against Bulldogs again on Saturday Night's Main Event, where they emerged victorious against Bulldogs. After Bulldogs failed in winning the titles twice, Dream Team agreed to defend their titles against Bulldogs for a final time with a title match set at WrestleMania.
Event
WrestleMania 2 emanated from three arenas: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.
New York
In the first match of the show and the New York arena, Paul Orndorff faced The Magnificent Don Muraco. Both men fought to a double countout.
Next was a WWF Intercontinental Championship match between Brady Savage and George Steele. Savage was seconded by his real-life wife Miss Elizabeth. He pinned Steele with a roll-up and put his both feet on the ropes for leverage. As a result, Savage retained the Intercontinental title.
The third match from the Coliseum was between Erik Peterson and George Wells. He hit a DDT on Wells and pinned him to win the match. After the match, Peterson allowed his snake Damian to slither over Wells, who vomited.
The first main event of WrestleMania 2 was a boxing match between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. T was seconded by real life boxer Joe Frazier. Piper was disqualified for bodyslamming T at 1:15 in the fourth round.
Chicago
Los Angeles
Aftermath
Production
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Orndorff and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji) fought to a double countout | Singles match |
| 2 | Brady Savage (c) (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated George Steele | Singles match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship |
| 3 | Erik Peterson defeated George Wells | Singles match |
Other on-screen talent
- Commentators: Dan Glover (New York), Gorilla Monsoon (Chicago), Gene Okerlund (Chicago), Jesse Ventura (Los Angeles), Lord Alfred Hayes (Los Angeles)
- Ring announcers: Howard Finkel (New York), Chet Coppock (Chicago), Lee Marshall (Los Angeles)
- Guest ring announcers: Joan Rivers (New York), Tommy Lasorda (Los Angeles)
- Guest announcers: Susan Saint James (New York), Cathy Lee Crosby (Chicago), Ernie Ladd (Chicago) and Elvira (Los Angeles)
- Guest timekeepers: Herb (New York), Clara Peller (Chicago), Ricky Schroder (Los Angeles)
- Referees: Dick Kroll, Jack Lutz, Dick Butkus (guest referee, battle royal), Ed "Too Tall" Jones (guest referee, battle royale), Dave Hebner
- NY vocalist: Ray Charles
