While I won’t watch this year’s Wrestlemania, I do plan to re-watch some of my favorite moments from past shows. This is one of my top memories.

The day had finally come. The no good stinkin’ giant was going to get his comeuppance at Wrestlemania when he had to face Hulk Hogan again. You see, I had watched the screwjob on the Main Event, which saw Hulk Hogan lose to Andre due to some funny business with the referee. The Million Dollar Man had paid someone to undergo surgery to change his appearance to that of referee Dave Hebner, and screwed Hulk out of the belt. After the match, Andre forfeited the title to Ted, which was overruled by the President Jack Tunney. The new champion would be crowned at Wrestlemania 4, in a one night 14 man tournament.

So, now that the background is clear, I watched this for the first time on the double pop out VHS set every weekend for months. It was the most amazing show I had witnessed in wrestling. I was able to see all my favorites, like Hulk, Hacksaw, Steamboat, Jake the Snake, and Koko on the same night. First up was all the other wrestlers who couldn’t fit into the tournament in a Battle Royal. This was a pretty normal battle royal until JYD, Bad News Brown, and the Hitman were left. Bad News and the Hitman seemed to make a truce to share the trophy, but what happened next changed the Hitman’s character for the rest of his career as Bad News turned on him, and eliminated Hart in a few seconds. At the end though, Hart got the last laugh by destroying the trophy.

Next, I watched Macho Man run the table. He accomplished the unthinkable by defeating Greg The Hammer Valentine, Butch Reed, and the One Man Gang to advance to face the Million Dollar Man in the finals. The only catch was, Dibiase had defeated Don Muraco and Hacksaw, but got a match off after Andre caused a double DQ with the Hulkster, which was the unthinkable result. Hulk would not be leaving as champion this year!

Another match that led to a serious future feud was Jake the Snake Roberts and Ravishing Rick Rude. This match went to a time limit draw, but setup Rude as one of the leading cowardly bad guys for the future years against Jake. This match is best known for one of the highest backdrops you’ll ever see in wrestling.

Of course, the big showdown was still to come. Dibiase had a right to the belt in his mind, which is why he had paid Andre to win it for him, and thus to protect him in the tournament. So far, it was money well spent, but Ted didn’t know that Macho Man had an ace in the hole. After several times with Andre interfering in the match, Savage asked his valet Miss Elizabeth to get help. And boy did she, because a few minutes later, Hulk Hogan marched with her back to the ring. With the numbers even, Savage was still beaten down, but Hulk was not going to let him lose. When Andre interfered, the ref turned his back and wham, payback time to Ted with a chair across the back. Macho Man, in a daze, hopped up to the top rope a landed a perfect flying elbow drop to become the new, undisputed WWF World Champion, leading to one of the most iconic images in the WWF.