Watch this pay-per-view and admire, everywhere, the sense of grandiosity that permeates throughout. The roster is shrunken in size and literal stature but you're not given time to notice. The venue is barely a venue, but WWE had never cast so many production spells in one night. Jim Ross is in a toga, not that he gets to make use of the breathing space in the era before the Divas Division.
Razor Ramon was ready-made for the occasion. The gold around his neck glistened as it would just months later when he won his first Intercontinental Title - he was the tall, tanned film star that had stumbled into Vince McMahon's auspices when he was desperate for the type.
Bob Backlund...was not.
The match, subsequently, was horrifically boring - not least because it had no stakes attached either. WrestleMania IX needed bangers, not clangers.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
