April 5th, 1992, a grand day for me as I was in attendance for Wrestlemania 8. I was all of 10 years old then, so pretty much, my first memory and biggest memory of this event was all about Hulk Hogan. He’s the reason I got into this crazy world of WWE, and he’s the reason I was such a huge fan.
So this won’t be a review like other typical reviews, where I sit back and relive each match, but more of the memories I can recall about what Wrestlemania 8 was all about. I was lucky enough to attend Wrestlemania 30 last year, so it’s amazing to see what kind of transformation this event has taken on.
Looking back, there was guys like Shawn Michaels just starting out his solo run going against Tito Santana. There was Jake “The Snake” Roberts going against Undertaker. That match sticks out in my mind as something interesting because Undertaker was in the second match of his streak.
Of course, who knew way back then, it would become such a phenom, but here we are. Jake “The Snake” Roberts would become a pretty popular guy along the way as well, which is interesting, since he was such a hot heel at that time.
Another memory to stick out is the WWF Championship match between Macho Man Randy Savage and Ric Flair. This was all about Ric Flair possibly having pictures of Miss Elizabeth that were so racy. Racy, but not legitimate. This match as well was right in the middle of the card, just think about that. IWC are going crazy! “But, the title match MUST CLOSE THE EVENING!”
That’s right, we had a Wrestlemania with a title match in the middle of the night!
The closing events of this evening involved Hulk Hogan, Psycho Sid, Papa Shango, and a returning Ultimate Warrior. Now I will say that way back then, I didn’t know the idea that this was all fake until the Warrior got sick from a curse placed by Shango. But we won’t dwell on that aspect of it.
This main event was mostly known for being just bad. Voted one of the worst by sites. Me in my young age couldn’t care less about what was good and bad, I wanted to see Hulk Hogan. I believe I was decked out in my Hulk Hogan bandana and shirt, complete with the Hogan foam finger. So five star matches and great wrestling were the last things on my mind.
Another memory calling to mind is Bret Hart and Roddy Piper duking it out for the IC title. A match that featured some legit blood and quite a great match once I’ve rewatched it a few times.
How about the old Family Feud host introducing such illustrious heels as Repo Man, The Mountie, and the Nasty Boys? Taking on the team of Big Boss Man, Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, this match was under 7 minutes, and that’s all that needs to be said.
Sure, this won’t be one of the fondest Wrestlemania events to come down the pipeline, but for me, it’s one of the fondest memories I’ll have of my wrestling days. Being a fan for as long as I have, you do stick to those moments that made you stand up and cheer. Those moments that you’ll never forget. Like I said, seeing Hulk Hogan way back then was enough for me. That’s a memory that always comes up when people ask what’s your first memory of WWE.
