From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Height: 6'1" Weight: 234 pounds "I am the Excellence of Execution" Heralded as one of the greatest technical wrestlers that ever lived, "The Hitman" has maxed out stats in speed and agility. The biggest thorn in Bret Hart's side is his low recovery stat, which allows certain move strings and combos to work on him that wouldn't for other characters such as Lex Luger. Even though he has an average power stat, like Shawn Michaels, his technical ability allows him to string moves together to still provide high damage output. Bret Hart proudly carried the WWF Heavyweight Championship after winning the title at WrestleMania X against Yokozuna. This time frame also served as the beginnings of Bret's intense rivalry with his brother, Owen. |
From: Atlanta, Georgia Height: 6'4" Weight: 270 pounds "Lex Luger is the All American Hero" Lex is one of the game's all-around style of characters in his stats, but this muscular wrestler gets a notch above in his power stat to max it out like Yokozuna. Unlike Yokozuna, though, Lex Luger has a very high recovery stat that makes hitting certain move chains on him trickier than on other characters. Lex Luger was riding a wave of popularity at the time, which stemmed from him successfully body slamming the 500-plus-pound Yokozuna in a ring that was placed on the deck of the USS Intrepid. This led to Lex Luger transforming from his "Narcissist" persona to an All-American that proudly represented the United States of America and he went on a "Lex Express" bus tour. Lex Luger was a co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble with Bret Hart, but lost his WWF World Heavyweight Championship match with Yokozuna at WrestleMania X. |
From: San Antonio, Texas Height: 6'1" Weight: 235 pounds "I'm the greatest thing going on God's green Earth" The "Heartbreak Kid" is the fastest character in the game, with his power being his only low stat. Because he is so fast and can chain some of his moves, he is still able to do damage in short order. Shawn was among the wrestlers who was transitioning personas at the time, dropping his former manager "Sensational" Sherri Martel in favor of a bodyguard in Diesel - more famously known as Kevin Nash. In fact, the entrance music sample for Shawn Michaels featured in WWF WrestleMania still had the version that was voiced by Sherri Martel instead of the version that was redone by Shawn himself and used for the rest of his career. At the time of the game's development, Shawn Michaels was involved in a feud with Razor Ramon over the WWF Intercontinental Championship, which came to a head in a ladder match for the title at WrestleMania X. |
From: Asbury Park, New Jersey Height: 6'4" Weight: 400 pounds "I'm the Beast from the East!" Bam Bam Bigelow was a very talented wrestler who was deceptively agile for his size. He can go toe-to-toe with any wrestler in the game, but WWF WrestleMania gives Bam Bam the ability to control fire and his special moves give him several aggressive tricks tucked under his sleeve. In Bam Bam's tenure with the WWF at the time, he is probably the most known for his high-profile WrestleMania XI (1995) match with the New York Giants' NFL player Lawrence Taylor. At WrestleMania X, though, Bam Bam was in a feud with Doink the Clown, which resulted in a tag team match featuring Bam Bam Bigelow and his manager/very talented female professional wrestler Luna Vachon versus Doink the Clown and his sidekick ally Dink the Clown. |
From: Death Valley Height: 6'11" Weight: 322 pounds "Rest in peace" The Undertaker is kind of like an in-between of Lex Luger and Doink the Clown. Although he isn't quite as crazy as Doink in his moves, The Undertaker has a range of spiritual special maneuvers at his disposal and he has impressive base stats similar to Lex Luger. The Undertaker loses a tick of power and recovery compared to Lex Luger, but The Undertaker still hits hard. Speed is supposed to The Undertaker's weakness, but he still has crisp moves that keep him moving and other mobility options to mask this "weakness." If you were playing this game for the first time and asked my recommendation for which character you should pick, I would tell you to pick this character. The Undertaker is actually the only wrestler in WWF WrestleMania that did not compete at WrestleMania X. He squared off against Yokozuna for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a casket match at the Royal Rumble event a couple of months before, and in this story, various wrestlers interfered in the match and The Undertaker was sealed into the casket for a loss. After this, The Undertaker took several months off in order to heal an injury. |
From: Tokyo, Japan Height: 6'4" Weight: 568 pounds "Banzai!" Sumo wrestling champion Yokozuna uses his weight to his advantage. He hits like a tank, but has very limited mobility. This sometimes makes it difficult to get your hands on the opponents, but, when you do, Yokozuna makes sure these opportunities count to their fullest potential. Yokozuna held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from summer 1993 up until losing it to Bret Hart at WrestleMania X. He originally captured the title from "The Hitman" after interference from his manager, Mr. Fuji, at WrestleMania IX, but then immediately lost the title after accepting a challenge from Hulk Hogan. Yokozuna regained the title at Summerslam 1993, and, as the result of there being co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble, Yokozuna had to defend the title twice at WrestleMania X - first against Lex Luger, and then against Bret Hart. |
From: The circus Height: 6' Weight: 243 pounds "Life's a joke!" Doink is the second-fastest character in the game, statistically making him a slightly-stronger version of Shawn Michaels. However, Midway took his gimmick to the next level in WWF WrestleMania, giving him a number of zany special moves and attacks. In this regard, his gameplay style is drastically different. Doink the Clown originated as a heel ("bad guy") character that would play mean pranks on fans and wrestlers. This eventually changed into a more light-hearted character that tried to have fun with the crowd and do more comedic moves against his opponents. Doink was originally portrayed by the late Matt Osborne but has since become a gimmick that has been portrayed by multiple individuals. Doink didn't participate in very many main event matches in the WWF, and at WrestleMania X, he teamed up with his sidekick Dink to wrestle against Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon. |
From: Miami, Florida Height: 6'7" Weight: 262 pounds "Take a look at the bad guy" Razor Ramon has decent base stats, including above-average power behind his attacks. In this game, Razor excels in brawling, including what is probably the best running dropkick in the entire roster. However, similar to Bret Hart, his recovery stat is not great, meaning certain strategies are more likely to work on him compared to other wrestlers. "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon, more famously known as Scott Hall, was the active WWF Intercontinental Champion at the time of the game's development. Razor Ramon had won the title the previous October after the WWF forced Shawn Michaels to vacate the title. Shawn Michaels eventually returned with his own version of the WWF Intercontinental Championship, claiming he had never lost the title. To settle the matter, Razor and Shawn competed in a ladder match at WrestleMania X to crown an undisputed WWF Intercontinental Champion. |
From: Three Mile Island Weight: 292 pounds Height: 6'10" Finishing Move: Atom Smasher (Interestingly enough, no finishing move listings are in the final version of the game for any of the characters) "I'm ten megatons of terror" |