30 Week Journey: Wrestlemania II (1986)

The Lapsed Fan continues its 30-week, 30 Wrestlemania journey with what the world had come to in 1986, Wrestlemania 2.

It’s the deuce, in perhaps more ways than one, as the WWF aims too high in trying to push the same buttons that made the first Wrestlemania such a success – a litany of celebrities and Mr. T mixing it up – while trying to basically have three Wrestlemanias at once. One city wasn’t enough – this had to play out in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Hosts Jack Encarnacao and JP Sarro – with another enlightening contribution from the guru Dave Meltzer – journey and lampoon their way through the second Grand Daddy of them All, including:

- The New York Athletic Commission’s insistence that they regulate Mr. T versus Roddy Piper in a worked boxing match, only to stand idly by as Piper threw a stool at T in between rounds and committed a litany of other heinous breaches without consequence
- Fans are left asking “where’s the beef?” when a mic fails
- The Wrestlemania debuts of event icons Jake Roberts and Randy Savage
- Susan St. James brings her … perspective to the color commentary chair
- Dynamite Kid and Terry Funk’s one real chance to strut their stuff on the WWF’s grand stage
- The NFLer who had heat with Andre leading into the Battle Royal
- Big John Studd no-sells Bill Fralic
- The debut of the blue cage
- Hogan slams Bundy and victimizes Heenan
- Check your drawers, it’s G. Gordon Liddy

Jump on this speeding locomotive that is The Lapsed Fan’s 30-week Wrestlemania mission!