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WrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the United States. It took place on April 1, 1990, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario with an announced then Skydome attendance record of 67,678.

Aside from its record-breaking attendance, the event is arguably best remembered for "The Ultimate Challenge" – the main event match which saw Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) vs The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Intercontinental Champion), in which both championship titles were on the line. On February 3, 1990, a week after Hogan and Warrior crossed paths in the 1990 Royal Rumble Match, Hogan put forth "The Ultimate Challenge" to the Warrior, and had to know whether Hulkamania or the power of the Warrior was the strongest force in the World Wrestling Federation. On February 10, the match was officially announced as the main event of WrestleMania VI by WWF President Jack Tunney. On February 24, Tunney announced that both the WWF Championship and Intercontinental Championship would be on the line for the first-time ever during the match. At WrestleMania, Warrior won his sole World Championship.

At WrestleMania VI, Brutus Beefcake was the first person to pin Curt Hennig, aka Mr. Perfect in a televised match, thus ending Perfect's lengthy undefeated streak on television. Hennig had actually been beaten on house shows before WrestleMania, as the announcers said nothing about his "perfect record" during the match.

Production

Robert Goulet sang a rendition of O Canada before the show.

This was also the final WrestleMania to feature Jesse Ventura in the broadcast booth.

Celebrities in attendance

WWE Hall of Famer and future multi-time World Champions Edge and Christian were in attendance, as were Lance Storm and Renee Young. A young Stephen Amell, who would later star as Oliver Queen in the TV series Arrow, was also in attendance. Mary Tyler Moore was sitting at ringside, and there was a backstage segment with Steve Allen and The Bolsheviks. Columnist Rona Barrett interviewed Miss Elizabeth at the event.

Aftermath and legacy

Because Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Warrior was stripped of the Intercontinental title, as the rules prohibited any wrestler from holding onto more than one singles belt simultaneously. An eight-man tournament, conducted on the WWF's syndicated Superstars, was held, with Mr. Perfect winning the title by defeating Tito Santana in the finals.

As new WWF World Heavyweight Champion, The Ultimate Warrior would initially be a successful main event draw, with his main rival being "Ravishing" Rick Rude – a wrestler he had fought during much of 1989 over the Intercontinental Championship – during the spring and summer of 1990. Meanwhile, Hogan wrestled several matches in Japan shortly after WrestleMania VI but soon began feuding with the 470-pound Earthquake, with that feud heating up when Earthquake sneak-attacked Hogan on "The Brother Love Show" in May. Announcers explained that Hogan's injuries from the attack and the loss to Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire, and viewers were persuaded to write Hogan to encourage him to return. Hogan would return by SummerSlam 1990 and got revenge on Earthquake, dominating him in matches that continued into early 1991.

Immediately following the Colossal Connection's tag team championship loss to Demolition, manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan began yelling at Andre the Giant in the ring, blaming him for the loss and slapping him in the face. Andre grabbed Heenan and knocked Heenan out of the ring; when Haku attempted to sneak-attack Andre, Andre caught his leg and knocked Haku from the ring, making Andre a face for the first time in three years. Although he toured Japan in April, this would prove to be Andre's last televised match in the WWF as real-life health problems with acromegaly were continuing to take their toll. Andre returned to the WWF late in 1990 for several non-wrestling appearances that continued into 1991; Andre's health would continue to decline, and he died January 27, 1993. Meanwhile, Demolition began a slow heel turn during the late spring and early summer of 1990, adding a third member Crush to the team; this was due to Bill Eadie (who competed as Ax) desiring to take a lesser active role in wrestling, and Crush and Smash would soon become the primary defenders of the belt.

This was Jesse Ventura's last stint as color commentator at a World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event. He continued his role as on-air color commentator for WWF Superstars through August 1990, at which time he left the company.

Hogan vs. Warrior II

At the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view event on October 25, 1998, the WWF's rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) pitted Hogan against Warrior once again in a "disastrous WrestleMania VI rematch". Hogan defeated Warrior with outside assistance, giving each man one victory apiece. The contest has garnered a legacy as one of the worst bouts in history, being vilified by critics, viewers, WCW president Eric Bischoff and announcer Gene Okerlund, as well as both participants. Warrior and industry commentators have alleged that he was hired by WCW merely to give Hogan an opportunity to avenge his WrestleMania VI loss.

Early deaths

By mid 2014, one third of the 36 WrestleMania VI competitors had died; all of these deaths had occurred before the age of 64. In comparison, only one of the 44 starters of Super Bowl XXIV (Denver Broncos defensive end Ron Holmes, who died of diabetic and coronary issues) was dead at that point. Dusty Rhodes and Roddy Piper died the following year, aged 69 and 61 respectively.

Reception

The Hulk Hogan-Ultimate Warrior match was named 1990's "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine readers.

Results

References

1. Copeland, Adam. Adam Copeland On Edge. Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7434-8347-6.
2. Storm, Lance (April 18, 2010). "WrestleMania VI". Commentary. StormWrestling.com. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
3. "Christian". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
4. Amell, Stephen. "Tweet". Twitter.
5. Powers, Kevin (January 22, 2013). "The 20 greatest WCW matches of all time". WWE. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
6. The Ultimate Legend. WWE Network. April 18, 2014.
7. The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. WWE Home Video. 2005
8. Martin, Fin. "The History of the WWWF/WWF/WWE Championship: Part Five". Power Slam. Issue 227/August 2013. p. 26.
9. O'Donnell, Art (July 25, 2013). "Induction: The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior: A Lesson in Professionalism from WWE's Spiteful Owner". WrestleCrap. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
10. The PostGameStaff (April 9, 2014). "Ultimate Warrior: One-Third Of WrestleMania VI Competitors Now Dead". ThePostGame. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
11. "WrestleMania VI". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved October 23, 2009.

External links

• The Official Website of WrestleMania VI
• WrestleMania VI Facts/Stats

• 1990 in Canadian sports
• 1990 in Ontario
• 1990 in professional wrestling
• 20th century in Toronto
• Professional wrestling in Toronto
• WrestleMania