The initial release of the Sony Playstation saw a lot of great games hit in a very short period of time. There were originals like Twisted Metal and Warhawk, excellent ports like Rayman, and arcade classics like Ridge Racer and Tekken.
Shortly after the PSOne’s debut, Midway released a conversion of its Mortal Kombat style wrestling game, WrestleMania. To coincide with the game’s release, the WWF released hints and codes on various tapes, and even commissioned a video to walk players through the game’s secret moves.
And it is easily one of the funniest (unintentionally, that is) tapes the company has ever released.
As was the norm at the time, the show was hosted by WrestleCrapper Todd Pettengill. He was actually superimposed over game play footage, as were WWF Superstars like Razor Ramon, who would tell you, the fan at home, how to perform their special moves.
Sound funny? You betcha! Especially when you have guys with over the top gimmicks like Paul Bearer telling you what button combinations to hit to perform moves.
Or the Undertaker, who explains how to play in what may be the funniest soundbyte of his entire career.
But it was Bret Hart who is by far the star of the show, as the Hitman takes part in one of the hokiest skits you will ever lay eyes on.
You see, Bret was brought in by Midway to explain how to make a wrestling game, which apparently involves driving a forklift…
…and working in the metal shop, all while wearing his RING ATTIRE.
He did, however, wear a tie to work.
Anyway, Bret learned everything he could about the gaming industry, eventually learning so much that he was pointing out programming errors to the creators of Mortal Kombat.
He also helped with the sound in the game, by not only recording sound bytes…
…but also playing the keyboards as well as one of the founding members of Asia.
So there you have it. Now that Bret’s in-ring career is over, I would look for him to be programming Crash Bandicoot 6, coming soon to a PS2 near you.
Paul Bearer: “I usually don’t like to give away secrets about my Undertaker, but for you videogame fans, I think I can dig up a few! The sliding chokeslam can be very effective. Hit down, towards, and punch, down and POWER PUNCH!!”
Undertaker: “I have one more bonus mayhem move – the DEMON DIZZY! Hit down, away, and kick. Rest…in….peace…”
Bret Hart: “I started with the basics. Before you get into a project like this, you really have to know the ropes. I started with hands on experience, step by step, until I knew how an entire game came together.”
Bret Hart (condescending tone): “Come on, you guys, there it is right there in front of you the whole time. You’re de-referencing a null pointer. Open your eyes.”
Bret: “Good sound is key to a great game. AAAAARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! Is that all right?”
Crazy keyboard music, followed by Bret saying: “Just like that, but punch it up with a little more bass.”