Over the last few months, with a help from my library, I was able to watch the first 15 Wrestlemanias. The 30th anniversary of Wrestlemania occurs on April 6, 2014 and my goal was to watch the first 29 before then. With the announcement and launch of the WWE network, I think this goal will be much more obtainable. So how does the grandaddy of them all hold up over the last three decades? Were they as great as everyone remembers? Did Hulkamania really run wild? We shall find out.
Wrestlemania 1: March 31, 1985 - Wrestlemania was the great invention of Vincent K. McMahon. He wanted to cross over into Hollywood once a year and hold a huge wrestling extravaganza. He succeeded, but the matches were absolute garbage. The main event was the saving grace. It featured Mr. T and Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Cowboy Bob Orton and Jimmy Snuka were ringside for support of their teams. Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson were both guest referees for some reason. I know Vince wanted to pack as much star power into his main event, but this was ridiculous. The best part of the match, was Roddy Piper's hate for Mr. T. It seemed legit and he didn't let T do a single move. This was easily the worst Wrestlemania of the first 15.
Wrestlemania 2: April 7, 1986 - This Wrestlemania was held at three different venues throughout the U.S., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Sounded like a cool idea, but people in the stands in Chicago, couldn't see the matches that happened in L.A. and New York. It was a first though! McMahon is all about making history, even if it's bad history. The matches on 2 were a step up from 1, but there was a ton of filler. Who would want to see Adrian Adonis vs Hillbilly Jim for no reason? Again the most entertaining part of the show was Roddy Piper. He had a boxing match against Mr. T. Piper that's been building for a year. I don't know how they got away with Piper's promos. They were oozing with racism. But nonetheless they stole the show. The Main event in Los Angeles was Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match for the WWF Championship. The match was decent and I was glad to see that the company's biggest title was defended in the last match. I know this won't happen in future Wrestlemanias and really doesn't make any sense at all.
Wrestlemania 3: March 29, 1987 - For the longest time, this was regarded as the best Wrestlemania. It definitely features the best Intercontinental Championship match between Ricky the Dragon Steamboat and Macho Man Randy Savage. This was a red hot feud. Macho Man was a villainous heel and was hated by many. No one could take the title off of him though. Macho Man took Steamboat out with a throat injury, and his come back was monumental. This was a perfectly built match, from beginning to end. Honky Tonk Man and Jake the Snake Roberts put on a fun short match as well. The main event contains one of the most talked about moments in wrestling history. Andre the Giant has been undefeated in 15 years of wrestling, and he's never been WWF Champion. He turned on the Hulkster and swore he would destroy Hulkamania. The match itself was slow, but that's ok, I know Andre wasn't in the best shape of his life. After 12 minutes of bear hugs Hulk does the unthinkable and body slams the 500 pound giant. The crowd erupts and Hogan keeps his title.
Wrestlemania IV: March 27, 1988 - Man this was a long show. With a total sixteen matches, it seemed to go on forever. WM 4 featured a WWF Championship tournament. It had some great wrestlers in the brackets including Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Jake the Snake Roberts. Most of the tournament matches were stinkers, and a lot of them ended in DQ's and non-decisions. The Ultimate Warrior stunk up the joint with a weak match against Hercules Hernandez. I really enjoy Hercules' work, and have seen a lot of his work since watching these. Can't see why he didn't get a bigger push. The main event was Macho Man vs. Ted Dibiase for the WWF Championship. It was a solid contest, and of course Hogan had to stick his nose in it since he wasn't in the match. Ultimately this led to Savage's first title, and it was a cool moment to experience. The picture that sticks out in my mind when remember WM 4 is Miss Elizabeth sitting on Macho Man's shoulder with his hand raised. Priceless.
Wrestlemania V: April 2, 1989 - A step better than last year, even though there were way too many matches on the card. Rick Rude pulled a pretty decent match out of the Ultimate Warrior for the intercontinental championship. My favorite match on the card featured Mr. Perfect vs. a young Owen Hart donning the Blue Blazer mask. It was Owen's first WM, and he proved he can hang with the best. The main event was built perfectly. This is easily Hulk Hogan's best WM match to date, and Randy Savage should be given all the credit for his performance. There was actual wrestling in this match, and it surprised the hell out of me. The story was crafted perfectly in which the Mega Powers (Savage and Hogan) split their tag-team over Savage's jealousy of Hogan. Savage accuses Hogan of stealing Miss Elizabeth, and the tension run really high during the entire match. Savage still has the belt from last year's WM and in typical Hogan fashion, he wins. But I can't complain because it made sense for him to win since he's the ultimate good guy.
A pretty slow start on the actual wrestling aspect of the show, but Vince McMahon didn't really care about the in ring show, just the spectacle aspect. In that way he had a very special event on his hands.
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