Hercules vs. King Haku

Original Wrestlemania Match: Hercules vs. King Haku

Booking: The show kicks off with exactly the same match that opened Wrestlemania V. This match made perfect sense, it was the beginning of Hercules’ face run and Haku was a good opponent for him on the night.

Result: Hercules wins by pinfall.

The Twin Towers (The Big Boss Man & Akeem) vs. Strike Force (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)

Original Wrestlemania Matches: The Twin Towers vs. The Rockers, Strike Force vs. The Brain Busters.

Booking: Tag team wrestling was hot at this point in time but I have rearranged the tag matches on this show. The Twin Towers needed a big win on this show to establish themselves as a dominant team. This match sees the end of Strike Force as Rick Martel turns heel on Tito Santana, leaving him to get squashed by Boss Man and Akeem.

Result: The Twin Towers win by pinfall.

Brutus Beefcake vs. Virgil

Original Wrestlemania Match: Brutus Beefcake vs. Ted DiBiase

Booking: I don’t think Brutus Beefcake would appreciate this demotion but it does give him a victory on the grandest stage of them all in what would be a squash match. I think this would be a fun match with Beefcake having a bit of fun at the expense of Virgil. Sadly no hair for The Barber to trim after the match.

Result: Brutus Beefcake winds by pinfall.

Demolition (Ax & Smash) (c) vs. The Powers Of Pain (The Warlord & The Barbarian) & Mr Fuji – Handicap match for the WWF Tag Team Championships

Original Wrestlemania Match: This is the same match that occured at Wrestlemania.

Booking: Demolition would win this match at Wrestlemania, getting their revenge on former manager Mr Fuji. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Result: Demolition win by pinfall.

The Blue Blazer vs. Mr Perfect

Original Wrestlemania Match: The Blue Blazer vs. Mr Perfect

Booking: It would be too easy to book these guys as main eventers, giving them the spots that they would earn in future Wrestlemania cards but at this point in time they are two men with bucketloads of talent with the potential to steal the show. So I keep this match exactly the same.

Result: Mr Perfect wins by pinfall.

The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch) vs. Rhythm & Blues (The Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine)

Original Wrestlemania Matches: The Bushwhackers vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus, Rhythm & Blues vs. The Hart Foundation

Booking: I felt like this could be a really fun match between two comedy tag teams. Like the Beefcake/Virgil match, this could be a lot of fun and make for some memorable Wrestlemania moments.

Result: Rhythm & Blues win with a little bit of cheating.

Ronnie Garvin vs. Dino Bravo

Original Wrestlemania Match: Ronnie Garvin vs. Dino Bravo

Booking: This has a real technical, old school style to it and it isn’t a classic but it remains on the card. Ronnie Garvin is coming off the back of an NWA World Heavyweight Title reign and a Starrcade main event against Ric Flair so he does have some drawing value. It’s for that reason that I change the winner.

Result: Ronnie Garvin wins by pinfall.

The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard) vs. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)

Original Wrestlemania Matches: The Brain Busters vs. Strike Force, The Rockers vs. The Twin Towers.

Booking: I changed this from the original matches because I felt that these two teams had a lot of chemistry despite their different styles. It was a rivalry that took place on the house shows, especially during the back end of 1988 but I feel like it has a place at Wrestlemania. The Brain Busters were hot at this point and would go on to win the tag team titles from Demolition. They pick up the victory tonight too.

Result: The Brain Busters win by pinfall.

Jake Roberts vs. Andre The Giant

Original Wrestlemania Matches: Jake Roberts vs. Andre The Giant

Booking: I wasn’t a fan of this match, I think Andre was pretty far past it at this point and should’ve been tagging already. But he was the number two heel on the roster and Jake Roberts was arguably the number 2 babyface so the match makes a lot of sense. Plus the build was good and deserved a payoff at Wrestlemania.

Result: Jake Roberts wins by disqualification.

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond)

Original Wrestlemania Matches: The Hart Foundation vs. Rhythm & Blues, The Fabulous Rougeaus vs. The Bushwhackers.

Booking: I booked this match thinking that both teams deserved better opponents at Wrestlemania. You’ve got two Canadian tag teams here which would make for a good story and I think you’d get a really good quality match here.

Result: The Hart Foundation win by pinfall.

The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Rick Rude – Intercontinental Championship match

Original Wrestlemania Matches: This match remains the same.

Booking: I couldn’t change this match, it was one that made both men. A true Wrestlemania Intercontinental classic with that finish of Bobby Heenan holding Warrior’s feet. It would be criminal to change this one. I would leave it exactly as it is. One of the best matches ever wrestled by either man.

Result: Rick Rude wins the Intercontinental Championship by pinfall.

Jim Duggan vs. Bad News Brown

Original Wrestlemania Matches: This one stays the same.

Booking: I did look at changing this match but in the end I kept it as it is. Two brawlers with a bit of chemistry. It’s a forgettable match but when you go back and watch the show it’s a decent brawl between the two. The result stays the same.

Result: Double disqualification.

Big John Studd vs. Ted DiBiase

Original Wrestlemania Matches: Ted DiBiase vs. Big John Studd

Booking: I decided to take Big John Studd away from refereeing the Andre/Jake Roberts match and give him a spotlight against Ted DiBiase. Studd won the Royal Rumble earlier in the year so deserved a big match at Wrestlemania and who would be bigger than the man he eliminated to win the Rumble itself? I always like Big John Studd, I thought he was a good promo and had untapped potential. I’m not so sure about him as a babyface but on this night he deserved a big match. I did decide to give Ted DiBiase the victory by countout as it doesn’t hurt Studd too much. John would then get his heat back after the match.

Result: Ted DiBiase wins by countout.

Randy Savage (c) vs. Hulk Hogan – WWF World Heavyweight Championship match

Original Wrestlemania Matches: Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan did of course main event Wrestlemania V.

Booking: This match was built perfectly and it gave us the Wrestlemania main event that we all needed. I wouldn’t change a thing here, Hulk Hogan beats Randy Savage in a perfect face vs. heel rivalry. There’s a part of me that would have loved to have seen Savage’s reign continue but he had a year long reign and it was probably time to pass the baton back to Hogan. Hogan has opponents like Ted DiBiase, Andre The Giant, Randy Savage, Ric Rude and Bad News Brown, as well as The Twin Towers who would all be solid opponents for Hulk over the next year.

Result: Hulk Hogan wins the World Heavyweight Championship by pinfall.