Before WrestleMania returns to Las Vegas, WWE is taking a look back at the first time Sin City hosted the event.
It was announced today that a new documentary focused on WrestleMania IX will debut exclusively on Peacock on Friday, April 11. Titled “WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle,” the documentary features behind-the-scenes footage from the 1993 event.
The trailer for the documentary can be seen below. It includes interviews with Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Bruce Prichard, Sam Roberts, and former WWE executive Basil DeVito.
With extravagant toga party theming, Caesars Palace played host to WrestleMania IX. The theme was a highlight, but the show is probably most remembered for its underwhelming card and controversial finish. Instead of Hart winning the WWF Championship from Yokozuna, Hogan — who had recently returned to the company after a year away — defeated Yokozuna for the belt in an impromptu main event. That controversy is one of the focuses of this documentary.
Las Vegas will host WrestleMania for the second time when WrestleMania 41 is held at Allegiant Stadium later this month (Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20).
Just days after WrestleMania 40, WWE will be debuting a documentary on how the show came together.
Right after night one of WrestleMania ended, a trailer aired announcing that a “WrestleMania 40: Behind the Curtain” documentary will premiere on YouTube this coming Wednesday (April 10). It’s focused on the lead-up to WrestleMania and the pivot that was made with the main event picture.
After Cody Rhodes gave up his WrestleMania title shot to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, there was a fan backlash that resulted in WWE deciding to change its plans. Rhodes regained his night two main event spot and will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship this Sunday.
The Rock changed his character as part of the pivot, becoming a heel for the first time in two decades.
Interviews with Rhodes, The Rock, Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque are featured in the documentary.
“We pivot in a way that blurs the lines between fiction and reality,” Levesque said in the trailer.
“Becoming this new version has been the most gratifying decision,” The Rock said about his heel turn.
The Rock & Reigns defeated Rhodes & Rollins in the WrestleMania 40 night one main event on Saturday. It was Rock’s first real match since 2013.
Rock & Reigns winning means that Reigns vs. Rhodes on night two will now be a Bloodline Rules (anything goes) match.
Earlier this week, ESPN published an article delving into the inside story of WWE’s WrestleMania main event pivot.
HEAVEN tells the story of a trailblazing high school wrestler named Heaven Fitch. In 2020, as a junior, Fitch became the first female athlete to win a boy’s state wrestling championship in North Carolina, claiming the top spot in the 106-pound weight class. The film documents her inspiring journey up the ranks and the challenges she faced along the way, from proving doubters wrong to defying the odds and making history.
“HEAVEN” will be narrated by Beth Phoenix. The documentary will also include an introduction from Stephanie McMahon.
“The story of Heaven Fitch is the beginning of a new genre of storytelling for WWE Network Documentaries. She has inspired so many with her elite athleticism as well as her numerous accomplishments. We are excited to share Heaven’s championship story with the WWE Universe,” said Ben Houser, VP & Executive Producer, WWE Network Documentaries.
The documentary will be available to stream on the WWE Network starting at 10 a.m. Eastern time on March 7. It will be available on the free version of the WWE Network, along with WWE’s social media channels.
The trailer for “Heaven” is available to watch below:
WWE has revealed the premiere date for their WWE Icons docuseries.
The first episode of WWE Icons will premiere on the WWE Network on Sunday, January 31, 2021. The debut episode will be focused on Yokozuna.
A 12-minute first look at WWE Icons aired on the WWE Network following Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view. The docuseries will include episodes on Lex Luger, Beth Phoenix, Rob Van Dam, British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, and Yokozuna. The first look included previews of each episode.
It was announced last month that WWE Icons would be debuting in 2021, but the premiere date wasn’t revealed then. The series is being produced by WWE Documentaries.
Royal Rumble 2021 is also taking place on Sunday, January 31. In addition to being uploaded to the WWE Network on demand, the premiere episode of WWE Icons will also likely air on the WWE Network live stream after the Royal Rumble.
After years of speculation and myth, tonight we finally got to look at the match that people have been talking about for decades.
Holy Grail: The Search for WWE’s Most Infamous Lost Match aired tonight following Raw. It was a 30-minute documentary looking at the story behind the match between Tom Magee and Bret Hart, featuring interviews from the likes of Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Tyson Kidd, Kassius Ohno, Sam Roberts, X-Pac and the man himself, Tom Magee. And of course, the match itself was aired as well.
It was all based on a match that took place on October 7, 1986 before a Wrestling Challenge taping in Rochester, New York. In the documentary, they put over Magee’s gymnastic and powerlifting accolades and also noted his impressive 6’5 size. He was absolutely green, however, and thus couldn’t be put on television.
Bret in the documentary said he told Magee that he wanted to hear his three moves, and that as long as he paid attention to him, he’d get signed to WWE. After the match, Bret said that Vince McMahon said that his was our next world champion. In 1986, at the peak of Hulkamania, he could potentially be the next Hogan.
But of course, that didn’t happen. Magee worked for WWE for several years after that, but never caught on or progressed enough to WWE’s liking. X-Pac mentioned that he also worked a match with Ted DiBiase, and stated that there weren’t a lot of DiBiases or Harts in the WWE at the time and if he worked with those two more, he could have been something. Magee left the company in 1989 and did a few other dates before retiring the next year.
Talk of Magee and the match continued long after his career ended. Both Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Tyson Kidd recalled that was it was brought up one day at a barbecue at Bret’s house, and Bret said the next time they came over, they could watch it. But every time they came over, Bret said he needed to find it, dashing their hopes of ever watching it.
Kidd also added that while those under developmental contract could watch whatever they wanted from the WWE tape library, the company didn’t have this match readily available. Sam Roberts, who I guess represented tape traders in the documentary, also said he was never able to find it.
Eventually, the match was discovered last month by Mary Kate Anthony, a longtime fan and photographer. Bret Hart’s assistant gave her tapes to convert digitally. When she obliged, the assistant said that sending the tapes back would be tough, and that she could keep them. One of the tapes (erroneously labeled 9/19/89, which brought initial skepticism) did in fact contain the fabled match, and thus was the beginning of the end to the mystery,
After a segment where people openly brought up whatever happened to Tom Magee, the man himself was in fact brought in for an interview. He said that those in the company never let him hear that he could potentially be the next Hulk Hogan. He was happy with how the match went, and everything was in sync that night. He thanked Bret for having a great match and his father for the opportunity to train with him.
Then, we finally get the match, joined in progress. Jimmy Hart was in Bret’s corner.
Magee does a cartwheel and arm drags Hart, holding him in a armlock. Bret escaped, but Magee did a leapfrog then arm dragged him back to the floor. Bret got up and whipped him into the corner but Magree hopped to the top rope and leaped over him then followed up with a dropkick, sending Bret out of the ring.
Bret gained control back inside and worked him over, including choking him on the ropes. Magee came alive with a leapfrog and rolled him up, but Bret raked the eyes and followed with the backbreaker and the fist off the ropes.
Magee came back, whipping Bret into the ropes, with Bret taking a hard bump into the corner. Magee connected with a silly-looking elbow and hit a small package for a nearfall. Another attempt at a cover has Bret grabbing the ropes. Bret blocked a dropkick and sent Magee to the floor. Bret grabbed Magee off the apron and went for a suplex, but Magee floated over and rolled him up for the pin.
So after being lost for 32 years, I can finally say this: Bret Hart did an excellent job carrying Magee and they had a pretty good match, especially for that era in the WWE. Magee had three moves and he looked great doing those moves, and Bret Hart did a great job of carrying that match to the best of his ability. It’s a true testament to how great Hart was as a worker, not so much about how much potential Magee had.
This was a good documentary that did a great job of explaining the story behind the match and the myth of not only Magee, but the match itself. It also summed up the story nicely: Vince McMahon thought that Magee would be the future of the WWE after that match, but in the end it was Bret Hart who became one of the biggest stars in WWE’s history.
