The road to WrestleMania 31 is well underway and throughout the years the biggest event on the WWE calendar has shaped careers, provided memories that will last a lifetime and has been a showcase for the greatest matches in the history of the company.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Greatest Moments From WrestleMania III
Over the next month, Sports World News will delve into each of the first 30 WrestleMania events and reflect on the best moments in each edition of the historic "Show of Shows."
The WWE returned to Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, N.J. for the second consecutive year with WrestleMania V on the back of a dramatic storyline that was set to see "The Mega Powers Explode" on April 2, 1989.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Greatest Moments From WrestleMania IV
A crowd of 18,946 people filed into Trump Plaza to watch Hulk Hogan battle the "Macho Man" Randy Savage for the WWE Championship after some bad blood boiled over between the two huge Superstars.
Here are our three best moments from WrestleMania V:
3) Demolition's Revenge: After Mr. Fuji turned on Ax and Smash of Demolition to join The Warlord and The Barbarian, collectively known as the Powers of Pain, in a rare double turn at Survivor Series 1988, a new feud was set up.
The Demolition were now babyfaces as the Powers of Pain turned heel and aligned themselves with a villain in Mr. Fuji.
Heading into WrestleMania V, an interesting match was made as Demolition would defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji in a 3-on-2 handicap match.
The finish saw Fuji accidentally throw salt into in The Warlord's eyes, leaving the manager vulnerable and enabling the face duo to hit the Demolition Decapitation on Fuji and then pin him to retain the titles.
Demolition gained revenge on their former manager and were able to thwart off the latest threat to their titles at the biggest show of 1989.
2) A 'Ravishing' Intercontinental Champion: Bobby Heenan's infamous Heenan Family stable didn't win many singles titles in the WWE, but that wasn't the case at WrestleMania V.
Heenan's charge "Ravishing" Rick Rude had a chance to face The Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental Championship.
The Warrior had ended the Honky Tonk Man's over year-long reign as champion at SummerSlam 1988 and held the title for 216 days entering that night in Atlantic City.
Rude won the title after he reversed a suplex from the apron into a pinning combination and Heenan held the Warrior's legs down from outside the ring to allow his client to capture the Intercontinental Championship.
It marked the first and only championship Rude ever won in the WWE.
1) The Mega Powers Explode: Randy Savage winning the WWE Championship in a tournament at WrestleMania IV commenced a year-long storyline with him and his WrestleMania V opponent Hulk Hogan.
Savage and Hogan formed a team known as The Mega Powers in 1988 and successfully thwarted off heel tandems such as Andre the Giant & Ted Dibiase and The Twin Towers throughout the rest of the year.
Things took a sour turn in 1989 when Savage began to get jealous of Hogan and his manager Miss Elizabeth, eventually culminating with Savage turning on "The Hulkster" on an episode of The Main Event in February 1989 and attacking him.
This set the stage for Hogan to challenge Savage for the very same championship he helped him win in the very same building over a year before their eventual clash.
Hogan and Savage had a solid back-and-forth match and in the end Hogan won a nearly 18-minute long bout after his vintage Hogan comeback and leg drop finisher.
With the win, Hogan captured the gold for the second time in his career and the first time since Feb. 5, 1988.
Looking Ahead: WrestleMania V was a very memorable event for the WWE, but things were about to take another crazy turn as The Ultimate Challenge loomed at WrestleMania VI and the WWE's first international WrestleMania was set to take flight.
Rank-0-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania V had a lot of filler in it, but it didn't drag on as much as WrestleMania IV while it wasn't as great as WrestleMania III, placing it right in the middle of those two events.
1) WrestleMania III
2) WrestleMania V
3) WrestleMania IV
4) WrestleMania I
5) WrestleMania 2
For more coverage, follow us on Twitter @SportsWN and Like Us on Facebook
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
