Greatest WrestleMania Moments
Mr. T holds Roddy Piper on his shoulders at Wrestlemania 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on on March 31, 1985. Adam Scull / AP Photo
Once upon a time, professional wrestling was a regional attraction. Several promoters across the United States ran events, and today’s “sports entertainment” maintained a carnival-like atmosphere prior to the 1980s.
When Vince McMahon took control of his father’s World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1982, he saw a bigger vision: pro wrestling standing alongside the great spectacles in all of entertainment. He reportedly almost went broke for the first WrestleMania in 1985, and again for WrestleMania 3 two years later. His gambles paid off. WWE now is one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world, producing everything from television to music, movies and merchandise.
WrestleMania is WWE’s flagship event. These moments put WrestleMania onto the mainstream entertainment radar and show the evolution of pro wrestling.
WrestleMania 1: Beginning of the Spectacle
Date: March 31, 1985
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.
Attendance: 19,121*
From the beginning, WrestleMania was designed to showcase the superstars as some of the world’s biggest attractions. Vince McMahon set out to do this by bringing in celebrities from across the entertainment spectrum.
Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, Liberace, Cyndi Lauper and a host of others appeared at the inaugural showcase.
The tradition of surprise appearances has continued ever since.
*Attendance figures are provided by WWE and account for all attendance, paid or otherwise. Because of this, some figures have been disputed.
WrestleMania 2: NFL vs. WWF
Date: April 7, 1986
Locations: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.
Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Ill.
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, Calif.
Attendance: 40,085 (combined)
This show often gets overlooked, but McMahon was ambitious in trying to orchestrate an event at three distinct locations across the country.
The highlight of the show has to be the NFL vs. WWF battle royal, featuring NFL several players, including Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, Russ Francis, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin and William “The Refrigerator” Perry.
There also were three special referees: Robert Conrad, Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Dick Butkus.
WrestleMania 3: Hogan and Andre
Date: March 29, 1987
Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Mich.
Attendance: 93,173
This rivalry was the first great storyline of the WrestleMania era.
And it could have not have come at a better time for the WWF, with the promotion set to embark on a massive endeavor entering the nearly 100,000-seat Pontiac Silverdome.
The way Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant built their feud culminated in one of the most iconic images in wrestling history, when Hogan slammed the Giant to the mat, giving him his first loss in more than a decade.
WrestleMania 4: Ooooooooh Yeaaaaaah!
Date: March 27, 1988
Location: Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, N.J.
Attendance: 19,199
When Macho Man Randy Savage stood in the ring celebrating his newly won WWF title with Hogan, the moment signified the deserved realization of a childhood dream and the beginning of one of the most captivating story arcs in wrestling history.
The two formed an uber-effective alliance over the next year.
Until things changed.