WrestleMania

Vince McMahon's Wrestlemania is a classics in sports history. Maybe not the greatest moment, but it is way up there (right up there with Mays throwing the ball from outfield and the 1994 Rangers Stanley cup victory). McMahon's vision of a true sports event in wrestling is pure genius, in which he has Mr T fight the "American hero" Hulk Hogan in one of the most memorable matches ever. Great fun, with McMahon there to produce and star in this spectacle that is only matched (maybe even greater) by the super bowl. A++

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

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.

WrestleMania was denifitely a great way to start out for the WWF(Oops excuse me...WWE). Star ratings wise, it really was not a great card. The WWF would be in trouble for making P.P.V. cards that bad. But, the magic was there.

The MOTN(Match of the night) of course, was Hogan/T vs. Piper/Orndorf. Alot of junk was in it too like the King Kong Bundy match that was really 24 seconds but kayfabe says 9 seconds.

All in all. Easy recommendation.

BTW, if you want to chat about the good old days of wrestling just drop me an e-mail!

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.