40 Years Of Fascinating WWE WrestleMania Facts (Part 1)

9. 'Mania II - A Long, Long Gap

Ultimate Warrior Sabotage
WWE.com

WrestleMania II was bad: a bloated and much too ambitious three-city extravaganza, Vince McMahon probably should have taken the time to host the show in one building and make that building look visually impressive.

As it was, he promoted three simultaneous Heroes of Wrestling-adjacent shows. II is remembered mostly as a promotional misfire, a historical curio, in which the ratio of bad celebrity cameos to gripping wrestling matches was as horrific as the commentary of Susan Saint James. James claimed that "ancient Chinese techniques" were used in the Paul Orndorff Vs. Don Muraco match. She talked only slightly less nonsense than Matt Striker.

It was never attempted again, and while it wasn't a full-blown catastrophe, the relative failure of the event may have informed a certain superstition on the part of Vince McMahon: that could explain why it took him a full, astonishing 35 years to book a second traditional cage match on the 'Grandest Stage'.

Hulk Hogan Vs. King Kong Bundy was the only Steel Cage match held at WrestleMania until Braun Strowman threw Shane McMahon off a cage at WrestleMania 37.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!