Two of the best Wrestlemanias of all time. I find 9 to be underrated, and 10 about fairly judged. The problem is - if it is a problem at all - is that the truly stunning, memorable moments overshadow even the great, good ones spread throughout the disks. It's a good sign when even the fairly decent is made pale in the shadow of the spectacular.

** Wrestlemania 9 **

Well, first off, get ready for a huge chunk of cheese, cheddar variety. The Wrestlemania goes Roman, at Caesar's Palace. It's ridiculous to see Bobby Heenan, Jim Ross, et al., strut their stuff in togas. It really looks dated and, frankly, stupid. But it's 90's WW(E) folks, what do you expect?

We're not here for seeing Heenan's legs though (and if you are, this is surely the wrong DVD for you!). We're here for the matches. Being a Tagged Classic, no extras, after all. The matches are, as a whole, fairly solid. Tatanka and Shawn have what isn't the best match for either, but still shows up Doink vs. Crush later (okay, not all matches were great! At least Doink was his superior 'heel' variety). Ramon / Backlund was weirdly booked. But the Perfect / Luger match is one of Luger's best (and it shows that it's not one of Perfect's!). The event, however, is really just an excuse to push Hogan - the Money Inc; match dominates a lot of the proceedings. Then Bret fights Yokozuna. Bret can make anybody look good. But Yoko doesn't need anybody - he's far better than he's remembered for, and this match was a fantastic main event, perhaps marred by the *shock horror* surprise final match after the bell rang. I'm not going to spoil it if you don't know - WWE spoil it by putting the match on the box - but it was controversial and remains so, even today. Never mind Vince screwed Bret or Bret screwed Bret... Someone in red and yellow tights screwed Bret nicely here. Ah, well, it's a solid enough ending, despite the controversy... and you can see what WWE were trying to do. Fortunately, this event sets up Wrestlemania 10 the following year rather nicely...

** Wrestlemania X **

So Hogan has left a vacuum in the company and he's gone. A lot of the old crowd are also going - Jake Roberts is gone, Ted DiBiase is on his way out from participating in the ring. So who does Vince turn to? The performers of this rather amazing Wrestlemania, of course.

The controversy of this event, of course, is the triple main event - Luger, Yokozuna and Bret. Yokozuna filled Hogan's vacuum as a monster heel, and only Luger stood in his way. Bret came back to make up for WM9 and we have a three way. But this is before Triple Threat matches became a dime a dozen. So WWE have all three men face two matches - Lex and Yoko vs. each other, and Bret vs. his brother Owen. Bret will face the winner of the Yoko / Lex compromise. And it's twisty and turny, and concludes the year long Bret / Yoko feud. It's all very great stuff. In fact, I would say this WM is the best of them all - but I'm getting ahead of myself here. :)

The fact of the matter is, the curtain jerker between Bret and Owen is Match of the Night, by a hair's breadth. Yes, I'm including the darn ladder match! Why? Because it means something. It shows Owen in the best light possible, it's excellent wrestling, and it sets up the main event even further with Bret struggling to beat Owen. It's one of the best matches ever captured on film, and you owe yourself a treat to watch it.

And the Ladder Match? HBK vs. Razor Ramon. You've heard about it. You know it's utterly sublime. I don't need to tell you it's a five star classic. And it's on this disk! These two matches alone are worth paying for both disks!

That's not to say the rest of the disk is slouching. Bam Bam & Luna (both R.I.P.) vs. the Terrible Doink Dingalings is meant to be humorous, but both of the Tattoo Headed crazies sell the match wonderfully. This match shows you how good they both are that they make the ridiculousness of it work. Crush vs. Randy Savage is severely underrated - they had an amazing feud, and this is an amazing match to end such a feud. I remember the conclusion very vividly from my childhood - even more so than any other spot on the card (yes, including the ladder... oh, you get my point). I'm not saying it's a *good* conclusion, just that it's memorable! But yes, Savage / Crush - underrated classic. Earthquake has a surprising squash match against Adam Bomb - surprising, as John Tenta was running his WWE down at this point, whilst Bomb was raising his. I'm still fond of it, as WWE was seemingly rewarding it's 'old guard' who had stayed loyal in the mass WCW exodus. Plus, I'm a big Earthquake fan! (I'd buy a 2-disk Earthquake set!)

The Women's match is... tolerable, as is the Men on a Mission match. Hey, nothings 100% perfect, right?

We end as we start - Bret vs. Yokozuna, mano-a-mano. We haven't got Hogan to ruin it this time. Shame the FRONT COVER OF THE DVD ruins who wins the match! Not that it matters much in the passage of time. Yokozuna would never be this hot again. Bret, on the other hand, was beginning one of the most turbulent - perhaps unproductive - years of his career. Some of his best work was yet to come, but somehow, the image of that first Owen match on the card stays with me and I gotta wonder... was he ever as good again?

One of the best and one of the worst Wrestlemania's on the same DVD.

It's hard to really point out why WM9 is so disappointing. Sure the action isn't all that great, but the most disappointing thing is the lack of clean endings, particularly for the faces. Given that most of the endings are weak/poor it really adds up to a dissatisfying PPV, which is compounded by the fact that this was meant to be the biggest wrestling show of the year.

What makes this even odder is that the rest of the PPVs that year were good. WM9 is sandwiched between two excellent Summer Slams, and just a few months after WM9 is a very good first king of the ring ppv. The royal rumble and survivor series of rhat year were pretty good as well.

The few highlights of the show are the Shawn Michaels vs Tatanka match (bar the ending) and that's pretty much it. The Stiners vs Headshrinkers and Luger vs Perfect matches are decent and watchable but nothing special. The Hitman Yokozuna match is also decent (arguably a better match than the rematch) and given the talents of the Hitman they could've made it longer and better, dispensing of the need for a Hulk Hogan, and making it into a memorable main event. (Something the WWE never quite managed between these two.) Even so it'd have still been a weak PPV.

WM10 however is to me the opposite, with a fairly strong undercard and several utterly brilliant matches. The first thing which makes it special is the Vince M - Jerry Lawler commentary. This was a fairly new combination at the time and the King puts in an exceptionally good performance, adding something extra to each of the matches. Maybe it's because he was new to it, but even so it's an excellent example of what good commentary can do to a PPV.

Two matches which make this a must have. The Hitman vs his brother Owen. Only the fact that there was not a title at stake stops this from being the perfect match. Both put on a technical masterclass, with the momentum shifting time after time. The tension between the two brothers is palpable, Owen's performance as a bitter and frustrated younger brother is fantastic whilst Bret works well as the good but getting angrier older brother. The finish is clean and shocking, and at around 20 minutes in length leaves you utterly satisfied.

The second amazing event is the ladder match between Michaels and Razor. Both are stunningly creative with the ladder, both really draw upon the rivalry that has been created between them, the momentum shifts back and forth, and the match looks stunningly brutal. Again the ending is clever and clean and what makes this even more amazing is the whole ladder match concept was fairly new. Groundbreaking does not begin to describe it.

The rest of the card is pretty solid. Luger vs Yokozuna is pretty poor with a weak ending, whilst the mixed tag and the women's championship match are entertaining but nothing special. The rest of the card however is pretty solid - I like the tag title match. The Quebecers do a great job of double teaming the much larger MOM, even if the ending isn't the greatest. Savage and Crush put on a good falls count anywhere match which is a great finish to their fued, clever, entertaining and different.

Bret vs Yokozuna is a decent bout, but the drama of whether Bret can beat Yokozuna after his match with Owen, coupled with some great support from Jim Cornett and Roddy Piper take the match up a level. The ending celebrations too are very special, and a fitting way to end the 10th anniversary of Wrestlemania.

Worth getting for WM10, which is very strong, but not top value as WM9 is so weak. However all wrestling fans need to have the 1st Shawn Razor ladder match and arguably the best match ever between Bret and Owen in their collection, so worth getting.

A great tagged classic, Wrestlmania 10 is the highlight, 9 is disapointing but still ok.

Wrestlemania 9 best matches:

Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez - 7/10 - Interesting and unique match, great entrance for Undertaker

Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake vs. Money, Inc - 7/10 - Average tag match with a poor ending

Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna - 7.5/10 - Ok main event, liked the ending and then hulk hogan coming for another match straight aftrewards to win the title in a bizare moment.

Wrestlemania 10 best matches:

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart - 10/10 - Best opening match ever on any pay per view and one of the best in history !

Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna (special referee Mr Perfect) - 8/10 - an entertaining match because of the croud, the drama and the suprise ending.

Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramoan - 10/10 - the first ladder match and an absolute classic. This set the standard for today, also one that set HBK's career of into stardome.

Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart (special referee Rowdy Roddy Pipper) - 7/10 - not the best of matches but i liked the atmosphere in the match and the celebration at the end of the match with a deserving winner.

Overall worth the buy for Wrestlemania 10, which has two of the best matches in history on it.