On this day 30 years ago, the phenomenon that we now know as WrestleMania was officially born in Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY. This Spectacular was straight from the vision of Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Jr. According to the "True Story of WrestleMania" DVD (which is also on WWE Network), ring announcer Howard Finkel came up with the name "WrestleMania" based off of "BeatleMania". This was an event that was unlike anything else at that time. Vince McMahon pulled out all of the stops to make sure that this show was spectacular as it pioneered the Celebrity involvement that emphasized "Sports Entertainment". In the early stages, WrestleMania was on Closed Circuit Television. This show was seen by over a million fans via CCTV, as MSG itself held 19,121 fans in attendance. WrestleMania I featured the biggest names in Pop Culture at the time such as Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper. Boxing Icon Muhammad Ali was the Special Guest Referee, and Yankees manager Billy Martin was also a Ring Announcer. Liberace also danced with his Rockettes, as he would later serve as the Timekeeper for the Main Event. Lauper and Mr. T were at the side of the Megastar of that Era, WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. Hogan and T became friends during Rocky III (Hogan: Thunderlips, Mr. T: Clubber Lang), so they had a natural connection. Another major player in this event was the quintessential villain of that time, Rowdy Roddy Piper. The feud between Piper and Hogan attracted Mainstream Press, which set up the connection with MTV that created "The Rock & Wrestling Connection". You had celebrities from every form of entertainment in support of Hogan defeating Piper. Hogan & Mr. T even hosted "Saturday Night Live" the night before the show, as the first WrestleMania made waves across the country and all over the world. At this point, Hogan was at the top of his game as the Champion and the Torch Bearer of Wrestling. The A-Team was a highly popular show, and Mr. T was even in Cartoons and on the cover of Cereal Boxes. Cyndi Lauper was the top female artist at the time with her smash hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" that featured various wrestlers in the video. The Modern Fans may not understand this now, but the first WrestleMania was a major deal. This was an attraction that had never been witnessed before previously in Wrestling. This was the birth of an Empire. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura were the ringside announcers. However, the first WrestleMania did have a high risk involved with it. Legend has it that if this WrestleMania was not a success, then Vince McMahon and WWF would cease to exist. McMahon put the company on the line for the sake of this show. It was imperative that this show was a hit. This was Vince's counterpunch to Jim Crockett's "Starrcade", the biggest show for NWA. On the undercard, Tito Santana defeated The Executioner by Submission. King Kong Bundy (w/Jimmy Hart) defeated S.D. Jones in 9 seconds, the shortest match in Mania history. Ricky Steamboat would defeat Matt Borne (later Doink), with the Flying Crossbody. David Sammartino (son of Bruno Sammartino) wrestled Brutus Beefcake (w/Johnny Valiant) to a Double-DQ. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik (w/Freddie Blassie) defeated The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham w/Lou Albano) to become the new WWF Tag Team Champions. (Fun fact: Mike Rotunda would later become Irwin R. Schyster (IRS). Rotunda is also the father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. Windham is their uncle as well.) Sheik and Volkoff were a great heel tag team at the time, as Nikolai would sing the Russian National Anthem, as Sheik would yell "Iran number 1, Russia number 1". They symbolized the feuds that America had with Iran and Russia during this time. Think about how Rusev got heat for winning the US Title. This was the equivalent of that at the time. Now, moving closer to the main event. Andre The Giant defeated Big John Studd in a $15,000 Body Slam Challenge to solidify himself as the True Giant in Wrestling, as he would not have to retire. Remember, $15,000 was a big deal for that time. Andre would throw the money out to the fans in celebration, before Bobby Heenan would run with the bag. Wendi Richter defeated Lelani Kai to win the WWF Women's Championship. Cyndi Lauper was in Richter's corner, as Legendary Women's Wrestler The Fabulous Moolah was in Lelani's corner. This is when Women Wrestlers were taken more seriously than they are now. In the Main Event, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Pat Patterson took Ali's place as the referee in the ring. The match was a great Main Event to kickoff the innaugural WrestleMania, as it was named "Match of the Year" for Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Hogan was unanimously named "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" by PWI as well. The first WrestleMania was not only a success, but went beyond whatever expectations that everyone had. Vince McMahon, his family, Gorilla Monsoon and others would have a toast in celebration. Overall, WrestleMania I set the standard for what we have seen ever since.
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