WrestleMania

This is the card that started wrestling on the road to becoming a multi billion dollar sport. If it wasn't for WrestleMania we probably wouldn't have PPV or a two hour wrestling show every Monday. This card marked the beginning of an era for American wrestling.

Most fans were not interested in seeing five star matches. Just seeing the wrestlers in the ring waving to the crowds was enough for most people. Just hearing the wrestlers theme tunes was satisfactory. Some people probably just tuned in to see popular celebrities such as Cyndi Lauper, Liberace and Muhammed Ali. Anyone who criticizes this event obviously has a built in hatred of wrestling.

It was the perfect card for the 1980's. Compare it to current events and you'll notice the differences such as the dark arenas, the relatively small crowds and the lack of technical wrestling. But this didn't matter.

There were some great matches on this card. All the wrestlers were larger than life and in my opinion they had much more charisma than many stars today. The top WWF heel of the time King Kong Bundy squashed S.D. Jones in less than half a minute. Big John Studd met fellow monster Andre the Giant in a bodyslam match. The main event was phenomenal. The hugely admired Hulk Hogan teamed up with tough guy Mr T-from The A-Team-to battle the truly despised Mr Wonderful and Rowdy Roddy Piper in a wild brawl.

I strongly recommend this to current fans who have never watched it. If you're a fan of current stars such as The Rock and Triple H then watch this and learn how the stars of yesteryear helped make the sport into the billion dollar showbiz entertainment it is today.

In 1985, the WWF made the first ever Wrestlemania, which was a very big gamble for the WWF at the time, but it payed off and it helped boost the popularity of the WWF and Pro Wrestling, but does it hold up?

The event is set in Madison Square Garden, but only the ring is lit and the audience cannot be seen, which in my opinion, does not make for a very good aesthetic, it contains none of the grandeur of the future Wrestlemanias.

The promos are for the most part, not very engaging, some even have comically bad acting.

Most of the matches are incredibly forgettable, or a slog, the only ones that were worth watching were: The US Express (Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham) vs The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff --and-- Hulk Hogan & Mr. T (with Jimmy Snuka) vs Paul Orndoff & Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton).

Which were *** 1/2 stars at best, all the other matches were *-** stars.

In conclusion, Wrestlemania 1 was he first ever Wrestlemania... but man, Wrestlemania has come SO FAR since then, aside from it's historical value, it is not worth re-watching in the modern day.

Always great to look back on the evolution of wrestling's 🤼‍♀️ sports entertainment begins here. All the best in the business under one roof instead of working territory. Unusually for what we know will follow in the years ahead this features a tag team main event .

Wrestlemania (1985) was Vince K. McMahon's big step into mainstreaming pro-wrestling. Back in the day Wrestlemania was huge and Hulk Hogan was the muscle behind it. The card and the matches weren't so hot but the hype sure was. I have to hand to V.K. McMahon for pulling off this great event. He turned a dying "sport" into "sports entertainment and am I ever so thankful.

P.S. Don't play the video game that came out a few years later on the N.E.S. because it's real bad. If you ever get that nostalgic trip watch a couple of Andre The Giant vs. Big John Studd matches circa. 1988-1989, you'll stop cold turkey believe me.

Match 1: Tito Santana defeated the Executioner Match 2: David Sammartino and Brutus Beefcake wrestled to a double-DQ Match 3: Ricky Steamboat defeated Matt Borne Match 4: King Kong Bundy defeated S.D. Jones Match 5: Andre the Giant defeated Big John Studd in a Body Slam Match Match 6: Junk Yard Dog defeated Greg Valentine via countout Match 7: Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik defeated Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham to capture the Tag Team Championship Match 8: Wendi Richter defeated Lelani Kai for the Women's Championship Match 9: Hulk Hogan & Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff

Overall Mark: B