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WrestleMania 10 saw WWE transition out of the original Hulkamania once and for all. After Bret Hart’s original run as the face of the company in early 1993, this is where he got the ball to run with again, beating Yokozuna like he, in retrospect, probably should have a year earlier, after putting on a clinic with his brother Owen to open the show.
This WrestleMania also saw WWE officially give up on pushing Lex Luger on top, while nonetheless bringing Yokozuna’s time as a heel champion to a close. This article takes a look back at the best and worst of WrestleMania 10.
Best Moment: Shawn Michaels crotches himself on the ropes
By WrestleMania 10, fans who were watching carefully had caught on that Shawn Michaels was a genuinely special in-ring worker. Despite his small size, the sheer quality of his performances had helped him get over as an upper card threat and elevate the Intercontinental Championship in the process.
Meanwhile, Razor Ramon had been introduced as a main event level threat, largely based on his size and charisma, but had since settled nicely into his role as a second tier face and anchor of the Intercontinental Championship scene in his own right.
Ramon vs. Michaels looked good on paper, but the Ladder Match gimmick they worked with was unproven going into WrestleMania 10. The fact that these two men put on a classic—particularly by the standards of the day—not only helped them, but established Ladder Matches as a key part of the WWE landscape for years to come. Michaels expertly crotching himself on the top rope and getting tangled up to allow Ramon to capture the title was a perfectly executed cherry on top.
Worst Moment: Lex Luger gets disqualified
In 1993, all indications were that WWE was trying to recast the Hulk Hogan role with Lex Luger as a powerhouse An All American hero who body-slammed giants. Despite good beginnings, the concept never fully caught on.
Times changed, and Luger couldn’t quite hang with The Hulkster in the charisma department; by early 1994, WWE was ready to switch courses and ultimately turn back to Bret Hart in the lead face role.
So, rather than the WrestleMania 10 coronation, WWE seemed to have had planned for Luger, he instead became a storyline cog, facing Yokozuna in the middle of the show, before the big man would drop the title to Hart in the main event. Neither Luger nor Yokozuna was equipped to put on a particularly great match, and without the satisfaction of Luger finally beating his arch-rival the match fell flat.
To make matters worse, WWE still protected Luger, thus precluding a clean finish. Rather than getting pinned, Luger got disqualified for spurious reasons by biased guest referee Mr. Perfect. That finish may have had some redeeming value had it led to a fresh feud between Luger and Perfect, but it turned out to be a one-off engagement, making it instead feel like a non-sequitur and an unsatisfying ‘Mania world title match.
