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Anyone who has ever heard any member of the WWE brain trust talk about Vince McMahon and WrestleMania knows full well, the former Chairman never rested on his laurels. No matter how successful any WrestleMania was, McMahon was immediately looking towards the next Showcase Of The Immortals. So, after the resounding success of the inaugural WrestleMania, the marbles that would form WrestleMania 2 were at least beginning to rattle around McMahon’s head.
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There were a lot of firsts that would happen at WrestleMania 2. It was the first (and so far only) WrestleMania to happen on a Monday. In was the first (and so far only) WrestleMania to emanate from three locations; which would be a technical marvel now let alone in 1986. It was the first WrestleMania with a battle royal, a boxing match, a steel cage match, and all four important WWE titles being defended on the same show. It certainly had all the makings of being an epic WrestleMania, but it’s barely spoken about. Not mentioned in the list of good ones or bad ones, just largely forgotten. WWE claimed it was “What The World Has Come To,” but what actually happened to WrestleMania 2?
WrestleMania 2 Was Held In Three Arenas
Rightfully so, the first WrestleMania took place from WWE’s home base of Madison Square Garden. In planning for the next event, instead of just one arena to attempt to contain the electricity, WWE went for the arduous task of having WrestleMania from three separate arenas. Just like explorers kept heading west, WrestleMania 2 kept doing the same thing throughout the evening.
The first third of the evening would be held from the most magical place in the world - Long Island, New York’s Nassau Coliseum and would be headlined by “Ten Rounds Of Boxing between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T. From Chicago’s Rosement Horizon. The middle of the show was main evented by the NFL and WWE Battle Royal. Lastly, the LA Sports Arena would house the only “Blue Bar” Steel Cage match in WrestleMania history, Hulk Hogan defending the richest prize against King Kong Bundy. Each arena was peppered with celebrities and marquee matches. Massive screens would lower for the fans in attendance at one arena to watch the other two.
Why WrestleMania 2 Is Forgotten
What got lost in the execution then? Ask yourself this, how often does WrestleMania 2 get listed on the best or worst Mania lists? Are there any matches from this event that get placed on best or worst Mania matches lists? Even the celebrities involved, do they get much love in WrestleMania recaps and specials? Perhaps a few reasons can be cited for why this is the most humdrum WrestleMania of all time. It’s the second WrestleMania, so the format was certainly played with to try and tweak it for the better.
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The matches weren’t terribly “WrestleMania-worthy,” but that’s more of a hindsight issue. However, perhaps if the roster wasn’t spread across three cities, there might have been the opportunity for better matches. Other than the three main events, along with The IC title (Randy Savage Vs. George Steele) and the Tag Titles (The British Bulldogs with Ozzy Osbourne Vs. The Dream Team) there weren’t a lot of matches to write home about it, unless you want to see George Wells froth at the mouth from Jake’s snake assault. Even the celebrities, aside from Ozzy, Ray Charles, and perhaps Scream Queen Elvira, they didn’t have much of a cultural impact past their time in the eighties.
WrestleMania 2 Had Too Much Going On
Or perhaps the idea was far too lofty then, now, and forever. While putting on a three arena show and broadcasting in the arenas, on Closed Circuit, and on PPV was certainly a technological feat, but with the company working very hard on the production and making sure everything flew seamlessly throughout the entire show, the focus might not have been where it should have been, and we wound up with a less than stellar outing.
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Thankfully, as always regardless of how an event goes, Vince McMahon and his lieutenants were always looking forward. So by the time WrestleMania 2 was in the record books, the germinations that would become WrestleMania 3 started percolating in the former boss’ brain.
Regardless of how it was received then, a re-watch of the show is always fun during WrestleMania season, if not for any other reason but showing what WWE once was and where the company was looking to go in terms of heights.
