Guide Note

WrestleMania I was the first installment of WrestleMania - a pay-per-view professional wrestling event held by World Wrestling Entertainment.

Fast Facts

1. Date: March 31, 1985
2. Venue: Madison Square Garden
3. City: New York City
4. Attendance: 19,121¹
5. Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura
6. Available on pay-per-view in some markets

The first WrestleMania took place at New York's Madison Square Garden and featured Hulk Hogan and Mr. T squaring off against Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper in the main event. The match was heavily promoted with the participation of various celebrities, including boxer Muhammad Ali (as guest referee) and singer Liberace (as guest timekeeper).²

As part of the "Rock 'n' Wrestling" crossover gimmick going on at the time, MTV helped promote WrestleMania I. Cyndi Lauper, a staple on the network at the time, participated in the Women's Championship match standing in the corner of Wendi Richter.²

Another highlight of WrestleMania I occurred during the "$15,000 Body Slam Match" when Andre the Giant slammed the "unslammable" Big John Studd. After winning the money, Andre threw some of it into the crowd.³

The success of this WrestleMania increased interest in Vince McMahon's WWE (then called the WWF) and established the event as the premier annual pay-per-view event for the organization.⁴

• Hogan/Mr. T def. Piper/Orndorff

• Andre the Giant def. Studd
• Volkoff/Sheik def. US Express
• Junkyard Dog def. Greg Valentine
• David Sammartino def. Brutus
• Ricky Steamboat def. Matt Borne
• Wendi Richter def. Leilani Kai
• Tito Santana def. The Executioner
• King Kong Bundy def. Jones