WWF WrestleMania VI Review feat. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior

May 22, 2020

Image Source: WWE

Company	WWF/WWE
Event	WrestleMania VI
Series	WrestleMania
Edition	6
Format	Pay-Per-View
Date	Sunday April 1 1990
Venue	Toronto SkyDome
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance	67,678

WWF WrestleMania VI is one of the biggest shows from the much-vaunted Golden Age. And that is because of its main event, as Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior collided in a historic title-for-title clash, one which would change the WWF landscape in a major way. Then you factor in the incredible Toronto SkyDome setting (I was personally fascinated by the jumbo screen when I watched this for the first time as a young ‘un), plus the under-card offering enough to make this more than just a one-match show, and you have a thoroughly enjoyable slice of WWF nostalgia.

WWF WrestleMania VI

Vince McMahon gave us a suitably hammy opening to the show as he discussed the forces in the universe before getting to Hogan and Warrior as being the two strongest, complete with his growl of “IT’S WRESSSSTLEMAAAANNIAAAAAAAAAA!” Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura would commentate their final Mania together as a duo, with The Body giving us this great line: “I’ve been to the Super Bowl, I’ve been to the World Series, I’ve even been to the Rolling Stones, but there’s one event that surpasses them all, and that’s WrestleMania!” Before the bell rang, we had Robert Goulet singing O Canada, complete with slow-motion clips of some Canadian settings (the first time this tactic was used by the WWF/WWE during the National Anthem, I believe).

Koko B. Ware vs. Rick Martel

Kicking us off, we had The Birdman taking on The Model (which also gave us the chance to see the mini-rings return for another WrestleMania during many of the entrances). This served its purpose of providing a basic start to the show, though I can’t help but wonder why the WWF chose not to have Martel battle Tito Santana as a way to cap off their lengthy feud, stemming from Rick dissolving their Strike Force tandem at Mania V. Still, Martel wouldn’t have been complaining too much, as he picked up the win to enhance his status as a credible mid-card heel.

WWF World Tag Team Championship Match
The Colossal Connection (C) vs. Demolition

Next up, we had what was arguably the second-biggest bout of the night, at least when you factor in the title aspect (bear in mind that the main event was for two of the company’s three belts from that era). Andre The Giant and Haku had captured the gold from Ax and Smash a few months earlier, and so this represented a chance for Demolition to regain them on a grand stage. This was a basic and fairly boring bout, but it has significance as I will explain.

Haku did virtually all of the heavy lifting for his side, though his contributions would be all for naught as he inadvertently kicked his own mammoth partner, thus distracting the former Islander enough to take the Demolition Decapitation. The three-count was made, and we had new WWF World Tag Team Champions as Demolition were back on top, and at the peak of their popularity (which makes me wonder why the WWF turned them heel within weeks). But there was more to come.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS TV SHOWS? READ OUR PRE-PPV REVIEWS OF SUPERSTARS & WRESTLING CHALLENGE!

WrestleMania VI Post-Match

After the match, Bobby Heenan berated Andre, blaming him for the loss and poking the bear in the chest. When The Brain slapped The Giant, that was enough to enrage Andre. Indeed, The Eighth Wonder Of The World grabbed Bobby by the shirt and started to slap him (even if the slaps barely connected) and clocked him with a right hand before kicking him out of the ring. Haku tried to catch him with a roundhouse kick, but Andre thwarted him and sent him to the floor. Andre even prevented his now-former tag team partner and his now-former manager from getting on the ring cart, instead taking it for himself as he travelled backstage. Fans in the SkyDome loved this and gave Andre an, erm, huge reception as he left.

Retirement After WrestleMania VI

This would be Andre’s unofficial swansong to round off a legendary career. Though he was advertised to participate in the 1991 Royal Rumble match, that never ended up happening, and aside from a few occasional appearances, we never saw Andre in the company again. He did wrestle some bouts away from the WWF, but in the company, this would be it.

Some have said Andre was shoved out the door (Andre himself apparently held some resentment over the manner in which he was put out to pasture, so to speak), but when you look at his physical condition and general performance here, it’s clear that he had nothing left to give due to his limitations, which had only become worse following back surgery several years prior. There is no way he could have continued, certainly not at a high level; The Undertaker in 2017-2018 looks like Speedy Gonzales compared to Andre in his final days as an in-ring competitor.

Death

Sadly, Andre would pass away less than three years after WM VI, on January 27 1993 to be exact. Thus, this moment really did mark the end of an era, and because Andre’s most famous match (vs. Hulk Hogan at WM III) occurred after his prime, it may go over some fan’s heads that he was a truly mega attraction for the company at a time when sports entertainment had yet to go mainstream. Perhaps his situation could have been handled better behind the scenes, but as far as viewers were concerned, this was a good way for this icon to go out; hearing the fans cheer loudly and with the spotlight focused entirely on him in a grand setting on wrestling’s biggest platform.

Hercules vs. Earthquake

Hercules is someone who the WWF tried to push occasionally, but he just didn’t have the charisma or the skill-set (even by 1990 standards) to be a difference-maker. Therefore, his role here was to make someone else look good, that being Earthquake, who had been previously known as The Canadian Earthquake. The behemoth took little time in squashing Herc, and it was only a few weeks before Quake entered into the feud that made him a legend, a conflict with The Hulkster. Results like this help those monster heels ascend the ladder to earn those spots, hence this serving a genuine purpose.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS EDITION? READ OUR WWF WRESTLEMANIA V REVIEW!

Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect

Our fourth match was noteworthy because, while it wasn’t pushed as heavily as it could have been, Perfect had yet to be pinned or submitted on television during his WWF tenure prior to this contest. Having ruffled Beefcake’s feathers by attacking him at Royal Rumble (when Bruti’ was about to cut the hair of Perfect’s manager The Genius), Curt Hennig was hoping to avoid the wrath of The Barber here. But that wasn’t to be the case, as after a fairly good showing by Brutus and a typically strong effort by Perfect, The Beefer pinned Perfect (with a slingshot of all moves) to claim the victory, thus ending his opponent’s perfect win-loss record in the process.

History At WrestleMania VI

Sure, it wasn’t exactly Brock Lesnar snapping The Undertaker’s WM Streak at WM 30, but this was still an important moment, even if Gorilla and Jesse ignored its significance. Nevertheless, Beefcake stood tall, and other than Hogan or Warrior, he was as good a candidate as any to beat Perfect for the first time. Their feud was meant to continue to SummerSlam after Perfect became the Intercontinental Champion, but a horrific parasailing accident put paid to that, and almost finished off Beefcake for good.

Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown

I’ll address the elephant in the room in a moment, but first, let’s look at the match itself. Set up by a wild brawl during the 1990 Rumble bout (which had me super-excited at the time because such an angle was a novelty in those days), these two went at it hell-for-leather in what would be best described as a fist-fight. It was hardly violent, but it was certainly a match that was all about striking and getting in stiff shots on one another.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get a clear-cut finish, presumably because neither was renowned for being open to a clean loss: Piper hardly ever took a defeat, while Brown was oddly protected in almost every PPV appearance that he ever made. Hence, we had a double countout, though they still carried on fighting backstage.

Controversy At WrestleMania VI

Now, we come to the reason why everyone remembers this match: in an attempt to play mind games with BNB, Piper painted his body half-black (even below his trunks and boots), while wearing a white glove to mimic Michael Jackson, who was at his own peak of popularity during this era. To say that it wouldn’t go down well in 2020 is a massive understatement (the MJ connection alone would leave many feeling uneasy): the idea of someone painting themselves half-black as a way to infuriate their black opponent (one of the few black WWF wrestlers at the time, to boot) is incredibly offensive and would get Raw or SmackDown yanked off the air if it happened today.

In 1990, the combination of Piper’s insane character and the less politically-correct climate that the world operated in meant that while this raised eyebrows (more out of confusion than anything), it didn’t lead to anywhere near as many complaints as the Sgt Slaughter Iraqi sympathiser storyline would a year later. On a side note, apparently Andre played a trick on Piper whereby the paint would not come off his skin for weeks afterwards, meaning that Piper had to remain half-black for a lot longer than he was planning to.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS PPV? READ OUR WWF ROYAL RUMBLE 1990 REVIEW!

The Hart Foundation vs. The Bolsheviks

Before this match, we had a pre-taped segment where Steve Allen infuriated Nicholai Volkoff and Boris Zukhov by joking around as he planned to perform the Russian National Anthem. Back in the SkyDome, the Bolsheviks’ night got worse as they lost to Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart in less time than it took me to write this sentence. Just 19 seconds had elapsed when the bell rang for the second time here, essentially killing off any credibility that the Russians might have had (their team would split up anyway later in the year as Nicholai turned babyface). Bret noted that he was incredibly disappointed as he wanted to put on a strong match in his home country, but at least it was essentially a night off for the Harts in terms of taking bumps.

Tito Santana vs. The Barbarian

The Powers Of Pain had just been split up, and while The Warlord would have to wait slightly longer to be repackaged as a true solo competitor, Barbarian was already there as evidenced by this win, a convincing win over Santana. Back in this era, you would get several card-filler matches in succession; after all, we’d just seen a 19-second bout, and then we got this thoroughly uneventful battle. Another note: Tito was still rather popular here, so having him in this spot seemed like a waste, even though it was a position he would take up regularly from this point on. If the WWF had moved Koko to take the loss to Barbarian, and as noted earlier if they had instead held the Santana-Martel blow-off, even with The Model coming out on top, it surely would have been better.

Mixed Tag Team Match
Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire vs. Macho King Randy Savage & Sensational Queen Sherri

We had another big match up next, the first mixed tag bout in WWF/WWE history from what I understand. A straight Dusty-Savage battle might have sounded more appealing, but this was the era when WrestleMania was all about delivering showdowns that you would never see anywhere else, so I understand why they went down the mixed tag route instead. In his only ever in-ring appearance at WrestleMania, Dusty introduced Miss Elizabeth as being in his and Sapphire’s corner before the match, which infuriated The Macho King, who had dumped Liz over a year earlier.

The match was forgettable; a rare low moment in Savage’s WrestleMania history, but considering his classics against Ricky Steamboat, Hogan, Warrior and Ric Flair, it’s admittedly a high standard to live up to. The babyfaces scored the win and celebrated with Elizabeth afterwards. Liz would also be the subject of a pre-taped interview with Rona Barrett, which felt like the 1990 equivalent of Oprah interviewing Lance Armstrong or something (no, this wasn’t even remotely a big deal). One final note here: on Savage’s DVD, Dusty’s music was bizarrely dubbed over with the theme tune to the UK version of Wheel Of Fortune. Dubbing over Common Man is one thing, but to do so with that jingle?

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FIRST EDITION? READ OUR WWF WRESTLEMANIA 1 REVIEW!

WrestleMania VI Intermission

During this era, it was standard practice to have an intermission during PPV events. This would be announced to the live crowd, but not to viewers at home, who would instead be occupied by a bundle of backstage promos. Amongst those here was Bobby Heenan showing his anger with Andre by famously saying “You listen to me, you go to the top. You don’t listen to me, you’re never heard from again!” (Andre didn’t wrestle in the WWF after this show, so maybe The Brain was right.)

Mean Gene preceded it by referring to the Berlin Wall (which had come down a few months earlier) and hilariously said “You’re tougher to get along with than a mother-in-law to my house!” There were also speeches from Hogan and Warrior, and while the main event hardly needed to be hyped up any further, their speeches here did a fantastic job of doing just that.

The Rockers vs. The Orient Express

Back from the extended break, we had this tag bout. Although Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty are remembered as being one of the all-time great WWF/WWE tag teams, they were very rarely booked that way. An example of that comes from this contest, which was another bout to fill up the lengthy running time of this supershow. The action was fine, but the fans were less interested than they were in most of the other matches on the PPV, and we had another questionable ending as Mr. Fuji threw salt in Jannetty’s eyes, somehow resulting in him falling into the front row (there’s no truth that Marty was fired for doing this), giving Sato and Pat Tanaka the countout victory. A far better rematch would take place at Royal Rumble, by which point Sato was replaced with Kato.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Dino Bravo

Now, Hacksaw was lucky that this show was held in 1990 rather than 2020, 1997 or even 1993, because he waved the American flag, as was his signature, in bloody Canada. Fans didn’t boo, but they hardly applauded either, and why would they? The match wasn’t particularly noteworthy either, and besides the 19-second affair, it was probably the worst of the whole show. Duggan managed to get disqualified yet again by using his 2×4 (did he never learn), and he was attacked by Earthquake afterwards, which didn’t really go anywhere since, as already mentioned, Quake was about to feud with Hulk Hogan.

Million Dollar Championship Match
Ted DiBiase (C) vs. Jake Roberts

These two had been feuding for almost a year before this match. DiBiase had taken storyline credit for putting The Snake on the injured list, and Jake was returning to get vengeance. In the meantime, Ted had paid to have his own Million Dollar Title created just for him which Jake had stolen, and so the belt was put on the line right here at WrestleMania VI.

Classic WrestleMania VI Promo

Beforehand, Jake cut a classic promo, more so for the delivery and the message behind the words than the verbiage itself. Then again, with lines like “We remember all the times you made people grovel for your money. These were people far less fortunate than you, people who could use your money for essentials … now it’s my turn, I’m going to make you beg”, it’s accurate to say that few wrestlers in history could cut spell-binding yet quiet speeches like this one. Okerlund: “Longfellow couldn’t have said it better!”

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LATEST EDITION? READ OUR WWE WRESTLEMANIA 36 REVIEW!

Despite the hype, this major attraction was a bit of a let-down. The action was fine and, when Jake was on offence, the crowd were into it, but when DiBiase (one of the best heels ever, mind you) had Roberts trapped in a chinlock, the huge audience instead decided to launch a Mexican Wave (which I don’t believe we had ever seen at a wrestling show, since it only came to life during the 1986 World Cup in – yes! – Mexico).

The match descended to the floor, where a timely distraction by Virgil allowed DiBiase to seal the win by countout to unofficially regain his belt. Post-match, Jake DDT’s Ted and started giving out his money to people at ringside, including special guest Mary Tyler Moore. Jake very rarely won his rivalries, but damn if they weren’t compelling stories preceded by awesome promos, even if the matches themselves didn’t always meet expectations.

Big Boss Man vs. Akeem

DiBiase stayed at ringside long enough to attack Big Boss Man, stemming from a failed attempt to cash in on his services. It was actually DiBiase who was central to The Twin Towers tag team splitting up on The Brother Love Show and Boss Man turning babyface, hence this match. The initial beatdown gave the former One Man Gang an early advantage, but it made little difference as Boss Man pinned Akeem within two minutes. Boss Man and DiBiase’s feud played out in the months that followed, though both had moved on by the time that the next PPV, SummerSlam, came around.

Rhythm & Blues

Before the next match, we had a performance of Hunka Hunka Hunka Honky Love, by Rhythm & Blues a.k.a. The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine, accompanied by Jimmy Hart. They would drive a pink Cadillac into the SkyDome. And it’s wrestling law for me to point out the identity of the driver. That would be future WCW Champion and WWE Hall Of Famer Diamond Dallas Page. DDP weirdly had his only WrestleMania bout in the same building 12 years later. Jesse let out a genuine laugh when Gorilla described their female associates as “The Honkettes”.

Jimmy Hart held up a gold record for their new song. Once they finally reached the squared circle, fans understandably booed the heels. Then, we would see The Bushwhackers, who smashed up R&B’s guitars. In an oddly compelling way, this was one of the highlights of the night. Monsoon: “If you hung The Hammer for being a singer, you’ll have hung an innocent person!”

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING PPV? READ OUR WWF SUMMERSLAM 1990 REVIEW!

Ravishing Rick Rude vs. Superfly Jimmy Snuka

The last filler bout gave Rick Rude a chance to add another win to his record over the well-established Superfly. This was Snuka’s first Mania match, having appeared but not wrestled at both WM 1 and WM 5. That it came in these circumstances was probably unsatisfying to the Superfly, though it gave Rude a boost ahead of what would be an attempt to break into the headline scene over the summer. Rude scored the win with Rude Awakening, as fans braced themselves for the real reason that they were here.

WWF Championship vs. Intercontinental Championship Match
Hulk Hogan (C) vs. The Ultimate Warrior (C)

Finally, we come to the biggest WrestleMania match since WM III. Hulk Hogan had ruled the WWF with an iron fist as the top babyface for more than six years. Hogan had conquered everyone from The Iron Sheik to Rowdy Roddy Piper, and from Andre The Giant to Randy Savage. He even had time to bring his No Holds Barred enemy Zeus into the fray. Here, though, he faced an opponent unlike anyone he had battled before. That’s because he was battling another babyface whose popularity rivalled Hulk’s in The Ultimate Warrior. Warrior had rapidly climbed up the WWF ranks from SummerSlam 1988 onwards. By this stage, he was a two-time IC Champ, having regained the gold at SummerSlam 1989.

During the Royal Rumble match, these two had a brief showdown. From there, the tension continued building towards this rare title-for-title contest, billed as being The Ultimate Challenge. Aside from those already covered, the promos are still fondly remembered, despite their occasionally ludicrous content. Warrior even vowed to bring down Hogan’s plane; I can’t imagine we will see this again anytime soon on WWE TV.

Popularity

Though the WWF seemed to be poising themselves for a 50/50 split, it’s more accurate to say that many fans in Toronto were cheering for both men, because they loved the over-the-top nature of both characters. Warrior made his usual running entrance to almost put himself out of energy before the match even began; Hulk, meanwhile, sensibly took a slow walk down that long aisle, conversing his stamina for what was to come.

WrestleMania VI Main Event

And we would get a classic match. Personally, I feel these two have delivered more great bouts than they receive credit for. And this was truly one of their best. It was basic but logical, slow but captivating. And it played upon their equal popularity as each man occasionally bent the rules in their own favour.

It was also incredibly even throughout, which is part of why this was so appealing. Not only was this a clash of two titans, but it was so tough to call a potential winner. On the one hand, Hogan was a sure thing in a straight title defence. Indeed, his only previous title loss was due to the twin referee scandal of 1988. But on the other hand, Warrior was almost invincible and virtually incapable of losing. Something had to give, which is the way that all WrestleMania main events should be.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING EDITION? READ OUR WWF WRESTLEMANIA VII REVIEW!

Finishing Sequence

With the crowd thoroughly mesmerised (including one fan who held up a large Hogan banner that would be brought back to SkyDome when Hogan fought The Rock at WrestleMania X8, which was just awesome), each man worked towards attempting to finish off their opponent, as well as having dodgy moments, like Hogan seemingly suffering a knee injury and with Warrior trying to capitalise on it, morals be damned. Eventually, Warrior lifted Hogan up for his Gorilla Press Slam and dropped him, followed by a big splash.

However, Hogan kicked out (a first from Warrior’s one-two finisher combo) and would Hulk Up. Three big punches, a Big Boot and … a miss? Yes, Warrior dodged the Legdrop at the final split-second. (The camera work was great here as you only noticed once Hogan had hit the canvas.) Another big splash followed, and Warrior secured the three-count to shock the world and become WWF Champion! Hogan did kick out immediately afterwards, which looks bad at first, but makes sense when you think about it.

Post-Match

The fans reacted very positively, not because Hogan had lost but because Warrior had won. He was now a double-champion, albeit not for long as he would vacate the IC crown within weeks. The show wasn’t over yet, though. Indeed, Hogan would present Warrior with his belt and endorse him as the new face of the WWF. The WWF would describe this as a passing of the torch moment. Gorilla: “The Hulkster has just taken one giant step towards immortality!” Even Jesse, a longtime Hogan hater, said “I do believe Hulkamania will live forever!”

Still, it was The Warrior’s night, and he celebrated with fireworks and other pyrotechnics. (I believe this moment marked the first use of pyro on a WWF/WWE broadcast.) Hogan looked like a truly beaten man as he watched on the ring cart that took him backstage. As it turned out, though, Warrior’s main event run was not a major success. And at WrestleMania VII, though Warrior was still a big deal, Hogan would become a three-time WWF Champion.

Impact Of WrestleMania VI

Nevertheless, I still view this as the end of an era. After all, Hogan never lost, especially cleanly. Here, he took the clean-as-a-sheet pinfall defeat. (In his autobiography, Bret Hart suggested that Vince McMahon basically dared him to lose clean.) And due to his Hollywood ambitions, it felt like Hogan’s time on top was over. Even when he regained the WWF Championship, it felt like he had passed his peak. I’m not saying this result damaged his aura, but the heyday of Hulkamania was over. This may partly explain why the WWF’s popularity would begin to slowly slide from the summer of 1990 onwards.

End Of An Era After WrestleMania VI

The glory days of Hogan in the WWF were 1984-1990. And this outcome brought an end to a glorious golden period. Yes, he remained a massive attraction for a very long time to come. But during the years that followed, fans considered him an old-timer with a career on an egg timer. Sure, the latter may have been false, but the perception would seem like a reality. This, to me, is the equivalent of when Taker lost to Brock Lesnar at WM XXX. That’s because things were never quite the same again. At least it came in a great match, one that surpassed expectations and ended Mania VI with a bang.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING TV SHOWS? READ OUR POST-PPV REVIEWS OF SUPERSTARS & WRESTLING CHALLENGE!

WrestleMania VI Summary

Personally, I absolutely loved WWF WrestleMania VI. As a wrestling event, it’s a slight notch below Mania V. But look at what we got here. A superb setting in the form of Toronto SkyDome. The swansong for Andre The Giant. A Tag Team Title change. The end of Mr. Perfect’s undefeated run. A surprise appearance for Elizabeth. Some classic promos. A few celebrities. Several enjoyable under-card bouts. And a legendary main event that is my go-to match when recalling the Golden Age. Sure, there are plenty of boring filler contests and more than a few dodgy finishes. Not to mention the whole Roddy Piper controversy. But for the WWF of 1990, this was an absolute home-run. The in-ring product may have greatly progressed over the past 30 years. But stick me in front of WrestleMania VI any day and I’ll be very happy.

WATCH WWF WRESTLEMANIA VI RIGHT NOW!

So, those are our thoughts on WWF WrestleMania VI! But what do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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WWF WrestleMania VI Review feat. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior