So far, WrestleMania 1 through 5 have been covered by the rest of PWP staff and there are still many more to come (obviously). WrestleMania 6 has a special place in my heart. Not because I watched it live, because it took place in 1990, and I wasn’t even born yet, but this was one of the first shows I watched when I had the ability to go out and buy wrestling VHS tapes and DVDs.
What was the appeal of this particular WrestleMania?
Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior
I remember going to the local video store in my town, that only sold like old movies and of course, wrestling tapes. I remember being around 8 or 9 years old, and going into the store with about 15 dollars. I browsed through all the VHS tapes until I came across two that caught my eye: WrestleMania 6 and Capital Carnage 1998. I have no idea why I picked up Capital Carnage to be honest, but WrestleMania 6 caught my eye because I had never seen someone like the Ultimate Warrior.
At that time, I knew who Hulk Hogan was from WWE TV, but when I saw the Ultimate Warrior on the cover, I grabbed it so quickly, and rushed it to the cashier. Something about the Ultimate Warrior was just special. With the face paint and ring gear, I was hooked to the look of the guy.
So you can say that WrestleMania 6 has a special place in my life as a wrestling fan.
WrestleMania 6 emanated from the beautiful SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where we saw probably the biggest main event in WrestleMania history up until that point between Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, as it was billed, “The Ultimate Challenge”.
Both men put their respective titles on the line, as Hulk Hogan defended his WWE Championship and Ultimate Warrior put his Intercontinental Championship up as well; winner take all.
Going into this match, the WWE torch had been carried by Hulk Hogan for years, as he was easily the biggest star wrestling had seen to that point, and might still be. On the other side, you had the Ultimate Warrior, who’s popularity was growing and got to the point where some were starting to jump ship to him over Hulk Hogan. In this match, two favorites fighting for one victory.
This match was easily the best of the night, as it told the back and forth story of the established mega-star against the rising star. Hogan and Warrior had their respective moments in this match, but in the end, the Ultimate Warrior came out on top and the torch was passed.
Granted, what happened afterwards proved that this decision was not the right one, but it was one of the only times in Hogan’s career were he put someone over, especially in the main event at WrestleMania.