As we inch closer to the halfway point of these WrestleMania Flashbacks, we find ourselves in the midst of the Gulf War in 1991 and WrestleMania VII. Fans witnessed an American hero tun his back on the country, and the start of the most legendary streak in company history.
Four months prior to WrestleMania, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase introduced a man to the WWF known as The Undertaker. Not much was known about this mysterious phenom, except that he would prove to be nearly unstoppable. In his WrestleMania debut at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, he faced off against Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
The Undertaker completely dominated the match, with Snuka getting very little offense in. Snuka tried to mount a bit of a comeback, but that came to a sudden hault when he was left draped across the top rope. Moments later, Undertaker picked Snuka up for the Tombstone Piledriver and started what (as of this writing) would turn into an undefeated WrestleMania streak.
After the Ultimate Warrior won the WWF Championship a year earlier, he faced off against the returning Sgt. Slaughter at the 1991 Royal Rumble. Slaughter had returned after a five-year hiatus, and had aligned himself with the Iraq military. Interference from Randy Savage cost Warrior the title, and Slaughter walked out as the very unwelcome champion. It also set up a showed between Warrior and Savage at WrestleMania.
As their encounter drew near, it was determined that the loser of this match would be forced into retirement. Both Savage and Warrior went to great lengths to achieve victory, including the unthinkable of kicking out of finishing moves. But it was the Warrior that would ultimately get the win. It was what happened after the match that caught everyone's attention.
Sensational Sherri, who was ringside with Savage, refused to be part of a losing combination and attacked Savage. Miss Elizabeth, who was in the crowd watching along with everyone else, couldn't stand to see him treated in such fashion. She jumped into the ring and went after Sherri. Shocked and amazed by what happened, Savaged embraced Elizabeth and found himself back in the good graces of the fans.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Slaughter (and his Commanding Officer, General Adnan) was set to defend the WWF Championship against Hulk Hogan. In the match, Slaughter gave Hogan everything he could handle and even had him locked in the dreaded Camel Clutch. But Hogan refused to submit, and fought his way back to hit a big boot and the leg drop to capture his third WWF Championship.
MATCH RESULTS:
- DARK MATCH: Koko B. Ware def. The Brooklyn Brawler
- The Rockers def. The Barbarian and Haku (with Bobby Heenan)
- The Texas Tornado def. Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Hart)
- The British Bulldog def. The Warlord (with Slick)
- The Nasty Boys def. The Hart Foundation to win the WWF Tag Team Championships
- Jake Roberts def. Rick Martel in a Blindfold Match
- The Undertaker def. Jimmy Snuka
- The Ultimate Warrior def. Randy Savage (with Sensational Sherri)
- Genichiro Tenryu and Koji Kitao def. Demolition (with Mr. Fuji)
- The Big Boss Man def. Mr. Perfect (with Bobby Heenan) by DQ
- Earthquake (with Jimmy Hart) def. Greg Valentine
- Legion of Doom def. Power & Glory (with Slick)
- Virgil (with Roddy Piper) def. Ted DiBiase by count-out
- The Mountie (with Jimmy Hart) def. Tito Santana
- Hulk Hogan def. Sgt. Slaughter (with General Adnan) to win WWF Championship
For more information, check out the Houston Pro Wrestling Examiner on Facebook as well as follow along on Twitter.
Comments