WrestleMania I
WrestleMania I was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), held on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The inaugural WrestleMania drew an attendance of 19,121 and was seen by over one million viewers through closed-circuit television, making it the largest PPV showing of a wrestling event on closed-circuit television in the United States at the time.
The event consisted of nine matches and featured several notable celebrity guests, including Muhammad Ali as a referee, Billy Martin as ring announcer, and Liberace as timekeeper. In the main event, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper. Other championship matches saw Wendi Richter, accompanied by Cyndi Lauper, defeat Leilani Kai for the WWF Women's Championship, and Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik capture the WWF Tag Team Championship from The U.S. Express. Despite receiving mixed retrospective reviews, the event's commercial success established WrestleMania as an annual tradition, spawning more than forty follow-up events.
Promotion
Venue
Wrestlers
| # | Match | Type | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tito Santana defeated The Executioner by submission | Singles match [ 16 ] | Tito Santana defeated The Executioner by submission |
| 2 | King Kong Bundy (with Jimmy Hart ) defeated Special Delivery Jones | Singles match [ 16 ] | King Kong Bundy (with Jimmy Hart ) defeated Special Delivery Jones |
| 3 | Ricky Steamboat defeated Matt Borne | Singles match [ 18 ] | Ricky Steamboat defeated Matt Borne |
| 4 | Brutus Beefcake (with Johnny Valiant ) vs. David Sammartino (with Bruno Sammartino ) ended in a double disqualification | Singles match [ 18 ] | Brutus Beefcake (with Johnny Valiant ) vs. David Sammartino (with Bruno Sammartino ) ended in a double disqualification |
| 5 | Junkyard Dog defeated Greg Valentine (c) (with Jimmy Hart ) by countout | Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship [ 18 ] | Junkyard Dog defeated Greg Valentine (c) (with Jimmy Hart ) by countout |
| 6 | The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie ) defeated the U.S. Express ( Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo ) (c) (with Lou Albano ) | Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship [ 18 ] | The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie ) defeated the U.S. Express ( Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo ) (c) (with Lou Albano ) |
| 7 | André the Giant defeated Big John Studd (with Bobby Heenan ) | Career vs. $15,000 Body Slam Challenge [ 6 ] | André the Giant defeated Big John Studd (with Bobby Heenan ) |
| 8 | Wendi Richter (with Cyndi Lauper ) defeated Leilani Kai (c) (with The Fabulous Moolah ) | Singles match for the WWF Women's Championship [ 6 ] | Wendi Richter (with Cyndi Lauper ) defeated Leilani Kai (c) (with The Fabulous Moolah ) |
| 9 | Hulk Hogan and Mr. T (with Jimmy Snuka ) defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton ) | Tag team match with Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson as special guest referees [ 6 ] | Hulk Hogan and Mr. T (with Jimmy Snuka ) defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton ) |
Sources used for verification
- Wikipedia