WrestleMania X was a 1994 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 10th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. It was the second WrestleMania held at this venue after the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985.
The central focus of the pay-per-view was the WWF Championship, which was defended in two matches. Due to Lex Luger and Bret Hart being named the co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble match, both challenged champion Yokozuna. Luger was first but was disqualified for pushing the referee. Hart faced Yokozuna later in the evening and won the championship by pinning Yokozuna. This led to a lengthy worked feud between Bret and his brother Owen, who had defeated Bret in the opening match of the pay-per-view.
Several other major feuds were also highlighted. Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels in a Ladder match to resolve an angle in which the two had argued over the rightful holder of the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Bam Bam Bigelow gained revenge against Doink the Clown, with whom he had been feuding, by teaming with Luna Vachon to defeat Doink and his partner Dink. Randy Savage settled his feud with Crush by defeating him in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
The event received generally positive reviews, with much acclaim directed towards the Ladder Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, along with the opening match between Owen and Bret Hart.
WrestleMania X was the first edition of the event not to include Hulk Hogan, who had been seen as the public face of the WWF. The card also marked Randy Savage's last televised match for the company.
Production
Background
thumb|The event was held at [[Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.]]
WrestleMania is considered the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and one of the "Big Five", along with King of the Ring that was established in 1993. WrestleMania X was scheduled to be held on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, the same venue of the first WrestleMania. After a disagreement between two referees, Jack Tunney, the WWF President, declared Luger and Hart co-winners. Tunney announced that both wrestlers would get a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania, the prize given to the winner of the Royal Rumble match, and both wrestlers would have to wrestle two matches for the pay-per-view. If Hart won the coin toss, he would get the first title shot, and Luger would wrestle Crush earlier on the card. After the match, Owen returned to the ring and had a confrontation with Bret. In a planned turn, Owen got upset by the loss and attacked Bret to restart the feud.
thumb|upright|right|The feud between [[Yokozuna (wrestler)|Yokozuna and Lex Luger began aboard the USS Intrepid]]
Luger's feud with Yokozuna began on July 4, 1993, at the Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge. In June, Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna's manager, challenged all American athletes to attempt to bodyslam Yokozuna on the deck of the . After several athletes failed, the storyline saw Luger arrive by helicopter and successfully bodyslam Yokozuna. This began a strong push for Luger, who was then scheduled to challenge Yokozuna for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam 1993. Luger won the match by countout but did not win the title. The WWF claimed that the match stipulations did not allow Luger a rematch. The storyline saw Luger campaigning for entry into the 1994 Royal Rumble, as he wanted the title shot that would be given to the winner. After the match, he performed three more Banzai Drops while various wrestlers ran to the ring to stop the attack. On October 18, Crush appeared on Monday Night Raw accompanied by Yokozuna and Yokozuna's manager, Mr. Fuji. Crush criticized Savage for not intervening sooner during the July 12 match. The following week, Jack Tunney announced that Savage was suspended from commentating as a result of the previous week's attack. The feud intensified at Survivor Series 1993 when Savage and Crush caused each other to be eliminated from their respective matches. Bigelow retaliated against Doink and Doink's midget sidekick Dink. The feud eventually culminated in a match scheduled for WrestleMania X. In the match, Bigelow and his storyline girlfriend Luna Vachon competed against Doink and Dink in a Mixed tag team match.
The feud between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels also dated back to the fall of 1993. Jack Tunney announced that he was stripping Michaels of the WWF Intercontinental Championship for not defending the title often enough. There have been reports that the real reason for vacating the title was because Michaels refused to drop the belt. Ramon won the title after competing in a battle royal and defeating Rick Martel, the other finalist in the match. In the angle, Michaels refused to acknowledge the title change, however, as he insisted that he was the true Intercontinental Champion.
Event
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|+ Other on-screen personnel Tom Prichard, Del Ray's partner, attacked Bushwhacker Butch before he was able to pin Del Ray.
The first televised match was between Bret and Owen Hart. The beginning of the match went back and forth with neither wrestler gaining a strong advantage. The tension between the two was demonstrated by Owen's bragging and Bret's refusal to let Owen leave the ring. Owen eventually gained momentum by using a camel clutch on Bret and performing suplexes and a Tombstone piledriver. After a verbal confrontation between Luger and Yokozuna, Luger gained the early advantage by knocking Yokozuna out of the ring. Earthquake came to the ring and attacked Bomb from behind. He powerslammed Bomb and performed the Earthquake splash to get the pinfall victory in thirty-five seconds.
For the Ladder match, the Intercontinental belts belonging to Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels were both hanging above the ring, and the first wrestler to use the ladder to reach both belts would be declared the winner. The kayfabe reason given was that the heel team (Irwin R. Schyster, The Headshrinkers, Rick Martel and Jeff Jarrett) could not agree on who would be the team's captain for the match. Their opponents were scheduled to be the face team of the 1–2–3 Kid, Sparky Plugg, Tatanka and The Smoking Gunns.
right|thumb|upright|[[Burt Reynolds made an appearance as the guest ring announcer for the match between Bret Hart and Yokozuna]]
The final match of the night and main event was the WWF Championship match between Yokozuna and Bret Hart. The guest referee for the match was "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, while the guest ring announcer was Burt Reynolds and the guest timekeeper was Jennie Garth. Yokozuna performed a leg drop on Hart but then missed an Avalanche attempt.
Much of the praise towards the event was aimed at the ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. McNew of 411mania cited the match as "downright groundbreaking for the time" and an "amazing match that put the ladder match on the map." It received a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer and was voted Match of the Year (1994) by readers of his Wrestling Observer Newsletter publication. Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers also named that match PWI Match of the Year (1994). It was placed #3 on IGN's Top 20 Matches in Wrestlemania History and described as "one of the most ground-breaking matches in wrestling history".
The opening match between Owen Hart and Bret Hart has also garnered acclaim. McNew described it as the "best opening match in professional wrestling history". It was also #4 on the list of IGN's Top 20 Matches in Wrestlemania History; writer Jon Robinson described it as "the best opening match in pay-per-view history." Multi-time world champion Chris Jericho stated: "For me, the best match on [WrestleMania X] was always Bret vs. Owen, and it kicked off the show and it was hard to follow...the story was amazing, it was kind of Owen's coronation – it was a great moment". Mike "The General" Lambertson, a former professional wrestler from Deep South Wrestling and contributor to voicesofwrestling.com called the match “The greatest sports entertainment event in Madison Square Garden’s history” on episode 138 of the "Talk is Jericho" podcast.
Aftermath
Men on a Mission continued to challenge The Quebecers for the tag team belts. Men on a Mission won the title on March 29, 1994. This is said to have been an unplanned title change, as Mabel accidentally fell on Pierre to get the pinfall. This title reign lasted only two days, however, as The Quebecers won the titles back in a rematch.
Lex Luger and Mr. Perfect were scheduled to face each other in a series of matches on the WrestleMania Revenge Tour. Mr. Perfect was replaced by Crush,
left|thumb|upright|[[Bret Hart avenged his WrestleMania loss by defeating Owen Hart at SummerSlam.]]
Adam Bomb and Earthquake had a rematch on the April 4, 1994 episode of Monday Night Raw, which Earthquake won. The feud did not progress any further, as Earthquake left the WWF for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in May 1994. Wippleman and Finkel wrestled a series of Tuxedo matches in 1994 that culminated in a match on the January 9, 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw.
A few weeks after the match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, Diesel begin to challenge Ramon for the Intercontinental championship. Michaels helped Diesel defeat Ramon for the title on April 13, 1994. This win began a push for Diesel that saw him win the WWF's Triple Crown Championship in one calendar year.
The ten-man tag team match took place on the April 4, 1994 edition of Monday Night Raw. The heel team won, as Irwin R. Schyster pinned the 1–2–3 Kid to win the match.
Bret and Owen Hart continued their feud throughout 1994. At King of the Ring, their real-life brother-in-law and Bret's former tag team partner Jim Neidhart became involved in the angle by helping Owen win the tournament. During the coronation ceremony, Owen announced that he wanted to be referred to as the "King of Harts". At SummerSlam, Bret successfully defended his title against Owen in a Steel cage match but was attacked after the match by Owen and Neidhart, prompting another brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith, to get involved on Bret's side. At Survivor Series, the storyline saw Owen partially responsible for costing Bret the WWF Championship. Bret faced Bob Backlund in a match with the stipulation that the winner would be declared when a competitor's cornerman threw a towel into the ring to signify a submission. After Owen caused Smith to knock himself unconscious, Owen pretended to feel sympathy for Bret. While Backlund had Bret in a crossface Chickenwing, the angle had Owen convince his mother Helen to throw in Bret's towel, enabling Backlund to win the match and the title.