I’ve always liked Shane and Stephanie.  I didn’t watch WWE until WCW and ECW were bought out by Vince McMahon.  I loved it when the Alliance came in and invaded WWF.  Led by Shane and Stephanie, old superstars of WCW and ECW joined with WWE superstars to try and take over WWF.  Stephanie and Shane being against Vince made the entire show.  Now, Shane and Stephanie are running WWE and doing a good job at it.  I’m glad that G.M. resigned.  He didn’t really do much for the show.  Shane and Stephanie need to quit looking for a G.M. and just stay in control of the show themselves.

2. JBL vs. Taker

I was in awe when I learned that taker was at the first Raw ever.  Since then he’s been terrorizing WWE night after night.  This night was no different.  Taker chokeslamed JBL.  JBL got back up and got a second wind.  It only lasted a second, however, as he soon went outside the ring to rest.  He was shocked when Taker got back up and he decided to just take a count out.  JBL thought he had gotten out of the match, but the problem was he had made an enemy the week before.  HBK threw him back into the ring, where he was tombstoned by Undertaker.

3. Dancing?

This is WWE, not Dancing with the Stars.  That part probably had the worst rating of the entire show.

When Cena attacked Coachman in his frustration from last week, McMahon announced that it would be Coach's decision whether to strip Cena of the WWE Championship.

Last week Cena watched his father beaten by Randy Orton while handcuffed to the ring. Orton was suspended for using the handcuffs.

As Coachman was about to forcibly take the title from Cena, it was suddenly announced that Mr. McMahon ordered that Cena not be stripped and instead would face Coachman in a tables match. Cena responded by making Coachman tap out in the STF-U before sending him through the table in the ring with an F-U.

It was then revealed that the “Mr. McMahon” who made this happen was Vince's illegitimate son Hornswoggle.

McMahon Bests The Game

Mr. McMahon finally found a way to get Triple H his first loss since returning.

The Chairman put himself into his steel cage match with Carlito and won the handicap match by escaping the cage.

McMahon made several attempts to escape during the match only to have Triple H stop him. Triple H came close to beating the boss, but Carlito broke up his Pedigree attempt with a Backstabber.

The match came down to Triple H and McMahon on top of the cage wall. Carlito tried to pull Triple H off the cage, but the game knocked him off by slamming his face into the mesh. The distraction, however, gave McMahon the time to get over the wall and climb out.

Triple H took his frustration out on Carlito by throwing him into the wall multiple times and hitting him with a spinebuster followed by a Pedigree onto a folded chair.

Holly Takes Out Rhodes

Hardcore Holly returned to RAW and ended Cody Rhodes winning streak.

After Rhodes was unable to beat Holly with a ground and pound game, he tried a springboard off the top rope. Holly dodged the attack and finished Rhodes off with the Alabama Slam.

Highlanders Make a Statement

The Highlanders ruined Brian Kendrick and Paul London's chance at beating the Tag Team Champions.

Kendrick appeared to have the match against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch won when he hit Murdoch with the Sliced bread, but Robbie and Rory entered the ring, broke up the pinfall and assaulted the young challengers.

The Highlanders' words and actions afterward seemed to say they feel they are now the top contenders for Cade and Murdoch's titles.

Phoenix Ruins Champ's Return Home

Women's Champion Candace Michelle's homecoming in Milwaukee did not turn out successful in the end as she lost a mixed tag team match with Jeff Hardy to Beth Phoenix and Shelton Benjamin.

Hardy and Michelle showed great teamwork during the match. At one time they both flew off the top rope into their opponents outside the ring.

Michelle then slammed Phoenix in the corner using hardy as a springboard. But when Benjamin pulled Hardy out of the ring, Phoenix used the distraction to hit her delayed suplex and get the pin.

Marella Walks Away

After weeks of having their differences, Ron Simmons and Santino Marella finally faced off in the ring. But in the end, Marella quit when he couldn't finish the veteran off.

The former Intercontinental Champion kept Simmons off his feet for much of the match with several shots to the back. When he tried an Irish Whip into the corner, Simmons

held firm and threw countered with a power slam. Marella then left the ring with Maria, Iving Simmons the countout win.

Marella's dislike toward Simmons stemmed from when he won a night out with Marella's girlfriend Maria in a RAW dating game.

The attorney for the son's mother revealed his identity through a process of elimination, revealing through clues that he was a fair-skinned, fair-haired, former individual champion not on ECW. Many thought this pointed to Triple H, until the attorney declared it to be the Cruiserweight Champion.

McMahon was clearly not pleased at the truth, as he grimaced while Hornswaggle and Triple H had their fun with the chairman. Hornswaggle hugged McMahon's leg while Triple H put the cruiserweight's green bowler hat on McMahon's head.

The only person feeling worse than McMahon may be John Cena. The WWE Champion was banned from appearing on RAW after attacking General Manager William Regal last week. He managed to get in anyway in an attempt to get to Randy Orton, but several security people held him back.

Cena and Orton will face off for the WWE Championship Sunday at Unforgiven. Orton gave the matchup a more personal turn when he attacked Cena's father from the stands two weeks ago.

London, Kendrick Double Team Cade

Paul London and Brian Kendrick showed they are capable of sneaky tactics as well.

London defeated Lance Cade in a one-on-one match with an illegal assist from Kendrick. It was Trevor Murdoch who helped give them the chance, even if he didn't mean to.

Murdoch climbed onto the ring apron while London was on the top turnbuckle. While the referee ordered Murdoch to get down, Kendrick snuck in and delivered the Sliced Bread face slam to Cade. London finished the job with a cartwheel slam and the pin.

London and Kendrick will face Cade and Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championships Sunday at Unforgiven.

Tripe H Will Have Hands Full

Carlito couldn't humiliate Triple H in his match against Shelton Benjamin. But he'll have a huge advantage against The Game at Unforgiven.

Immediately after Triple H defeated Benjamin, who Carlito chose as his opponent, acting general manager Jonathan Coachman announced his match with Carlito on Sunday will be no-disqualification - for Carlito only.

Coachman let Carlito chose Triple H's opponent because he'd embarrassed him and Mr. McMahon over the past few weeks. Carlito chose Benjamin because of his multiple victories against Triple H,

He then tried to distract Triple H during the match, after The Game delivered a spinebuster. Triple H kept his eyes on Benjamin, dodged his flying slam into the corner, and hit him with the Pedigree to get the pinfall.

Phoenix Takes Out Three Divas

Mickie James defeated Jillian Hall, but both fell victim to Beth Phoenix after it was over.

With Women's Champion Candace Michelle at ringside, James delivered the Mick Kick to get the pinfall, only to have Phoenix enter the ring, hit both women from behind and throw them out of the ring. Michelle entered the ring and started throwing punches, but Phoenix took her out with a suplex.

Phoenix will face Michelle for the Women's Championship at Unforgiven.

Marella Not Making Friends

Santino Marella was less than endearing in his return match on RAW.

The former Intercontinental Champion was disqualified against Sandman when he tried to hit his opponent with his own Singapore cane.

Marella insisted Sandman get rid of the cane before the match started. When Sandman threw him out of the ring during the match and then jumped out after him, Marella went for the weapon.

Afterward, Marella was seen throwing Ron Simmons into a pile of barrels when he saw Simmons with his girlfriend Maria.

SmackDown Presence Felt

The RAW audience got a taste of SmackDown as the Great Khali defeated Jeff Hardy.

Mr. McMahon ordered the match after Hardy announced his delight to not be McMahon's illegitimate son.

As with most of his opponents, the World Heavyweight Champion appeared to toy with the Intercontinental Champion by throwing him around the ring for two minutes before applying his vice grip on Hardy's head. Once Hardy passed out, Khali placed one foot on his chest for the pinfall.

But after the match, Batista ran out to the ring and chased Khali out of it. Khali will defend the World Championship against Batista and Rey Mysterio at Unforgiven.

Umaga Taken Out Twice

A bad night only got worse for Umaga as he lost the Intercontinental Championship and ended up bloodied from Tripe H's sledgehammer.

Following Umaga's loss to Jeff Hardy, Mr. McMahon changed Triple H's match with Carlito to a handicap match, adding Umaga as Carlito's partner.

The two double-teamed the ten time champion just minutes into the match, forcing a disqualification. Umaga kicked Triple H in the head, followed by a Carlito backstabber. They then tried to slam a steel chair in his face, but The Game dodged the shot, assaulted them both with the chair, and finished up with the hammer to Umaga's face.

Hardy reclaimed the Intercontinental Championship, scoring the scoring a three count a split second before Umaga kicked out of the pin.

After Hardy kicked out of an Umaga pin following a sidewalk slam, the Samoan went to the turnbuckle, but Hardy knocked him off the ropes and quickly pinned him for the win.

Phoenix Makes Another Statement; Marella Makes New Rival

Beth Phoenix quickly defeated Maria in a rematch of the match that never officially took place last week.

The women's number one contender needed only one standing suplex to take out Maria in less than a minute.

Afterward, Phoenix said she would face Candace Michelle for the championship at Unforgiven, using the title shot she won at Summerslam.

She said Michelle would “ face a Diva unlike anything the world has ever seen before”and gave Maria another suplex to send a message.

Before the match, Santino Marella came out with Maria and said his arm was nearly healed and that he would soon embarrass Ron Simmons, who won a contest date with Maria weeks earlier.

Marella's speech was interrupted by the Sandman, who came out of the crowd and chased Marella out of the arena.

Kendrick, London Will Face Champs

Brian Kendrick and Paul London became the number one contenders for the World Tag Team Championships by defeating Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.

The two will face Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the championships.

Kendrick took out Haas with his Sliced Bread Number Two move, the running headlock slam up the turnbuckle, to get the pinfall. Haas had tried to slam Kendrick into the corner, but Kendrick ducked away to set up the finisher.

Cade and Murdoch were at ringside during the match. Afterward, the champions shook the contenders' hands in the ring and left without incident.

Rhodes Beats Davairi Again

Cody Rhodes' winning streak continued as he pinned Davairi for the second straight week in a mixed tag team match.

Rhodes got the win for himself and Mickie James, defeating Davairi and Jillian Hall. Rhodes countered a body slam into a DDT to pick up the win.

McMahon Will Get His Answer Next Week

Mr Kennedy claimed to be Vince McMahon's illegitimate son, but an attorney for the mother denied the claim and announced the real son would be announced next week. The only other clue he would give was the phrase “things are looking up”

The announcement came as McMahon's family pressured him to change his ways or step down as Chairman.

Wife and CEO Linda threatened that she could take him to court because of all his supposed affairs, which he later denied. Daughter Stephanie said was sick and needed help. Son Shane said he had to think about the family legacy and it was up to him to change.

But what does this mean for World Wrestling Entertainment? For decades, the WWE has been at the top of the mountain of professional wrestling. It is aired in over forty different countries. They frequent such places as Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Summerslam, the most recent WWE pay-per-view event, earned the WWE around fifty million dollars, my sources say. But will this negative attention to this industry, be enough to bring what has been one of the most powerful and wealthiest sports entertainment federation in recent memory?

Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the chairman of the WWE, addressed the public in a number of ways after the Chris Benoit incident drew media attention: Through articles on wwe.com, interviews or discussions with the media, and even a press conference. Controversially, he had claimed that steroids could not and had not been involved in the murders. But police who arrived at the scene said that steroids were in fact found in the house. Could it be that Mr. McMahon had been trying to cover this up, or did he genuinely believe that steroids could not have been involved?

The Benoit case, along with these most recent developments, forces us to speculate on one specific question: Could this hurt the WWE? It already has. The released superstars weren't benchwarmers, who sat on the sidelines waiting for an opportunity to be put onto their brand's line-up. The three of them frequented the ring, and though none had any major success as of late, they all had become a well-known part of the WWE to its fans. How will the fans react to the loss of these talents?

And what might this mean to other professional wrestling federations? Though since the WWE “ate up”, if you will, both ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) and WCW (World Championship Wrestling), there hasn't been much competition. But for the growing federation TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling), this could be just the break they have been looking for. If the WWE was to be damaged enough, it could ultimately result in the destruction of this powerful company. If that were the case, WWE superstars would likely be flocking to TNA, in search of work.

Some former WWE superstars have already joined up in the TNA roster. Though many of them did so before this negative attention was drawn on the WWE. Could all of this result in the WWE losing even more of its roster, to TNA? And if WWE were to fall, would that mean the rise of TNA, as the most dominate company in professional wrestling? Or would some other budding group emerge, and take the wrestling world by storm?

The WWE has over 160 superstars on its roster, not considering the recent releases. Not only that, but there are bound to be tens of thousands of other workers, for the backstage jobs that need to be done. Will they all have to suffer at the lack of self-control by some of these wrestlers? Will thousands be laid-off, or even the entire company broken, because of this negative media attention? Only time can tell.

Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City

Date: 31st March, 1985.

The first Wrestlemania (now often dubbed “Wrestlemania I”, but then simply called Wrestlemania, of course) emanated from the historical Madison Square Garden, the site of countless fantastic WWF moments of the past, and destined to be the site of many more to come. While this event will always go down as the first PPV in the history of the WWF, it was in fact only available to a very limited market on PPV. Wrestlemania made the bulk of its money through closed-circuit television and video tape sales, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this was the first WWF event to be offered on a PPV basis at any level.

Coming into the event, Hulk Hogan was a little over a year into his first WWF Championship reign, and was in the peak period of his popularity. Vince McMahon, whose desire it was to attract the mainstream audience to wrestling, filled the show with celebrities from top to bottom. The likes of Liberace, Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali and, most famously, Mr T all had a part to play in the night's proceedings. It was also around this time that the WWF started its relationship with MTV, bringing us the “Rock n Wrestling” generation.

The video tape version of the show opens up with an introduction from Vince McMahon. This was well over a decade before Vince made his ownership of the WWF public knowledge, and at this time he preferred to play the role of an announcer and keep out of the spotlight. Considering the amount of McMahon we have seen on television since 1998, this is probably a slightly alien concept to newer fans. Vince's introductions were followed by the singing of the American national anthem by… “Mean” Gene Okerlund? In all fairness, he did a pretty decent job, but that doesn't stop this being a rather surreal moment. With commentators Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura (not quite at the peak of their powers at this point) introduced at ringside, and the formalities out of the way, the show proper could begin.

The Action Begins

The opening match of the card (and the match with the now prestigious accolade of being the first match in Wrestlemania history) was Tito Santana vs. The Executioner. Tito was at the peak of his WWF career at this point, having lost the Intercontinental Title to Greg Valentine just six months earlier. The Executioner was… a guy in a mask. The man under the mask was apparently “Playboy” Buddy Rose, and judging by the commentator's talk of the Executioner being undefeated, it's quite obvious that this was never going to be more than a short term gimmick. Regardless of that, Buddy Rose can hold claim to wrestling in the first ever Wrestlemania match, even if he was in disguise. The match itself was quite short at a little under five minutes, but was a nice, solid opener. In fact, with a little more time these two could have put on something very good judging what they did in such a short time. Tito, of course, picked up the win by following up his flying forearm with a figure-four leglock for the submission. The crowd, I should add, were hot throughout the entire match, which was pretty much the norm for the era.

A Monster Unleashed

Next up, in what would become a history-making bout, it was King Kong Bundy vs. SD (Special Delivery) Jones. Bundy was reasonably new to the WWF at this point, and at over 450lbs was getting the customary WWF monster hype. SD Jones is actually quite well known in modern circles as one of the premier WWF jobbers of the 80's. However, he did still have some credibility left at this point. That would pretty much evaporate after this match. After running straight into a bear-hug, Jones was crushed against the turnbuckles, avalanched and splashed for a Bundy pinfall victory in under thirty seconds. Impressive stuff from the big man, no doubt. However, what was even more impressive was that the time-keeper recorded the official time of victory at nine seconds. How they arrived at nine seconds I will never know, but that's what went down in the record books (despite the fact that I've timed it myself and it's actually well over 20 seconds). This was clearly an attempt to put Bundy over as a monster heel, and in that respect it worked very effectively. Either that or the time-keeper was drunk. Bundy would go onto much bigger things by the time the next Wrestlemania came around, and while poor old SD Jones did pick up the occasional victory in meaningless matches in the following years, he was pretty much cast as a jobber for life from this point onwards.

Steamboat makes his mark

Ricky Steamboat, who would go on to make his mark in Wrestlemania history in years to come, featured next in a singles match versus “Maniac” Matt Bourne. Whilst the name might not be familiar to newer wrestling fans, Matt Bourne is perhaps best known to WWF/E fans for playing the original Doink the Clown in 1993 (not the babyface Doink the Clown, but the original heel Doink which is considered by many to be the greatest version). Bourne was also “Big Josh” in WCW in the early 90's, but the less said about that the better. Steamboat, who was new to the WWF at this point, was wearing short tights as opposed to the long tights which would become his trademark. As would appear to be the norm for the show up to this point, these two only has a short time to put together a match. What resulted was an inoffensive bout, with Steamboat coming out the pinfall victor in under five minutes after a top rope cross body block. By Wrestlemania III, Steamboat would be making a much larger impression.

A Legend in the Corner

The name Bruno Sammartino is one that even newer wrestling fans will have heard mentioned from time to time. That is hardly surprising considering that he is the longest reigning WWF (or WWWF as it was then) Champion of all time. His first ever Wrestlemania appearance however, would be in a limited role. Having retired from full-time wrestling in 1981, Bruno's main role at this time was managing his son David. At Wrestlemania, David would go up against Brutus Beefcake, managed by Luscious Johnny V. This was a considerable time before Beefcake adopted the “Barber” moniker, and he was playing the obnoxious heel role at this point. In a change of pace, this match was afforded considerably more time than the matches earlier on the card. In fact, at over twelve minutes, this match was longer than the previous three put together. Unfortunately, it would appear that they allowed the wrong match more time, as this slow, plodding effort did little to keep the tempo of the show going. In fact, it was very noticeable that the crowd only got into it when Bruno and Johnny Valiant got involved, leading to the eventual double disqualification. A poor match, and a cheap finish. Beefcake would go on from here to gain much success in the WWF PPV era, while the Sammartino's relationship (both with the WWF and with each other) would end in turmoil. That, however, is for another day.

The First Title Match in Wrestlemania History

The first title match of the night featured the Intercontinental Champion Greg “The Hammer” Valentine defending his title against The Junk Yard Dog. As mentioned earlier, Valentine had defeated Tito Santana for the Intercontinental Title in September 1984, and they still had outstanding and unresolved issues. This feud with the Junk Yard Dog was very much a filler feud while things built up for an inevitable Santana/Valentine rematch. This would also be the only ever Wrestlemania appearance of the original Intercontinental Title Belt, as Valentine would destroy it later in the year, forcing the WWF to create a new belt (the more familiar version of the 80's and 90's). Valentine would retain the title here at Wrestlemania against the Dog, but only in dubious circumstances. Valentine used the ropes for leverage after a rollup to gain a pinfall victory, but Tito Santana (sticking his nose in to continue the Santana/Valentine rivalry) ran to ringside to protest to the referee. The referee (taking Santana's word for some reason) chose to restart the match. Valentine, however, was not quite so keen and walked away to retain his title via a count out. It was a very cheap way for the first ever PPV title match to finish, but in truth the match itself was nothing to write home about either, as Valentine and JYD ran through their usual repertoire until the referee called a halt at the seven minute mark. Quite an inauspicious start for the Intercontinental title on PPV.

The Tag Titles Change Hands

The big matches continued as the WWF Tag Team Titles were on the line, with current Champions Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo defended against Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. Rotundo (perhaps the least familiar name of the four) would go on to be better known in the WWF as Irwin R Schyster (IRS). The Champions had only won the belts a couple of months prior to this event, but the heat for this match was off the chart, simply because of who the opponents were. Volkoff and Sheik with their anti-american rhetoric brought heat to whatever match they wrestled in at this point. You could barely get a comprehensible world of English out of either of them, but you didn't need to. They made their allegiances perfectly clear for all to see. Sheik, also, was only fourteen months removed from losing the WWF Title to Hulk Hogan, so these were very credible challengers indeed. Once the action started, what ensued was a surprisingly energetic effort from all concerned. Rotundo and Windham were always good value, but Shiek and Volkoff kept pace with them and when you factor in the very, very hot crowd, this was an entertaining effort. For the third match in a row though, the finish was cheap. With the referee losing control fast, manager Freddie Blassie passed his cane to the Iron Sheik, who subsequently blasted Barry Windham with it, allowing for an easy three count. The crowd, as you can imagine, didn't like that one very much. This was clearly the match of the night so far and showed just how important the tag team titles were at this point, which makes the general distain they have been shown in recent years all the more frustrating. Windham and Rotundo would regain the belts later in the year.

Giants Collide

Andre the Giant and “Big” John Studd were embroiled in a bitter and long running feud for most of the 80's leading into Wrestlemania, where they met in a $15,000 bodyslam challenge. In an era when we continually read about the top wrestlers earning figures in excess of $500,000 per year that may not sound particularly impressive, but we have to remember that this was over twenty years ago. With Studd stumping up the $15,000 himself, the stipulation was that if Andre managed to body-slam Studd the match would be over and Andre would pocket the money. However, if Studd body-slammed Andre, the Giant would have to end his career. Andre was, of course, a massive fan favourite at this point and had the full support of the crowd as the match begun. Truth be told, the match was incredibly poor, with a pace so slow and plodding that it's hard to describe, as Studd spent about a fifth of the match in a bear hug. In amongst all of the punching, kicking and choking, Studd attempted a body-slam once, and failed. Andre also attempted a body slam once, and was successful, drawing a huge ovation from the fans in attendance. The money was his, but while he was in the process of doing the very generous deed of dishing it out to the crowd, Bobby Heenan (manager of Studd at the time) stole the bag and ran to the back. I'd imagine the fans in the front rows were a little peeved about that. As I stated before, the match was very poor by anyone's standards, but to be fair to Andre his peak had long since passed. While he was not quite as broken down as he would become in his latter years, he was a million miles away from the big, agile giant of the 70's.

The Women's Championship

Unfortunately, the match quality was not about to improve as we moved to the Women's Title match between reigning Champion Leilani Kai and challenger Wendy Richter. This was a rematch between the two, as Kai had won the title from Richter in February '85. Richter was accompanied to the ring by Cyndi Lauper, who rather comically claimed to be Richter's manager in the pre-match interview. I'm not exactly sure how qualified she was to do that role, but I suppose she was no less qualified than Stacy Keibler or Michelle McCool. Irrespective of her credentials, she was in Richter's corner to counteract the threat of the Fabulous Moolah, who was in the corner of the Champion. What followed was an extremely sloppy match, with a couple of very messy spots indeed, including the finish. As Kai came off the top rope with a flying cross body block, Richter attempted to roll through into a cover. However, she failed, and in attempting to rectify it the finish ended up looking pretty awful. Awful or not though, Richter was the new Champion. The mid to late 80's signified a slight resurgence in the women's division, as the WWF chose to take it reasonably seriously. However, after 1989 the interest dwindled and Vince put the title on the back burner. It's a matter of opinion as to whether he has ever truly taken the Women's title seriously since.

The Main Event

With the rest of the card now out of the way, all that remained was the main event - and what a celebrity strewn affair it was. Baseball celebrity Billy Martin was the guest ring announcer, and American entertainer Liberace was the guest time keeper. Heavyweight Boxing legend Muhammad Ali took the role of guest referee, and his role would be to keep control on the outside while referee Pat Patterson kept control inside the ring. Television and movie star Mr T was also involved, but in a much greater capacity. He would be WWF Champion Hulk Hogan's partner as they took on the hated “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and his partner Paul “Mr Wonderful” Orndorff. Factor in that Bob Orton was in the corner of the heels and Jimmy Snuka in the corner of the babyfaces, and it really was a star-studded affair. Once the pre-match razzmatazz had died down, the four wrestlers legally involved in the match settled down into a pretty decent tag bout. Mr T, although looking lost at times, actually contributed significantly to the match, showing a few amateur moves, along with a few basic pro moves. He really wasn't as bad as you would have expected. After a few moments where the referee lost control (presumably to get Ali involved and earn his appearance fee) and a feigned walkout by the heels, the finish came when “Cowboy” Bob Orton accidentally hit Orndorff with his arm cast (which he seemingly wore forever) to allow Hogan to get the pinfall victory at about the thirteen minute mark. Needless to say that the crowd were hot throughout the entire match, from the ring entrances to the final bell. The star-studded nature of the bout meant that fans of the time pretty much ate it all up, and the match itself was actually quite good from a wrestling standpoint as well. It was a good end to the biggest WWF show of all time.

The Verdict

Wrestlemania was an event with massive historical significance. If it had failed, who knows where the WWF/E and Vince would be today. The show was the acid test for Vince to discover if he really could feed his grappling show to the mainstream market. The results of PPV experiment were encouraging enough for Vince to try it again later in the year with the Wrestling Classic and the subsequent video tape sales made Wrestlemania a resounding success. However, whether the show stands the test of time is another question entirely.

For any current WWE fan who has never seen wrestling from this era before it could be a huge culture shock to watch Wrestlemania. To a certain extent the product is unrecognisable from the WWE we watch today. You'll not have found any pyro and fancy entrances in 1985, that's for sure. On top of that, irrespective of what era it was from, the overall match quality at Wrestlemania could be summed up by one word - “lousy”, and even the better matches (the tag title match, the main event) won't be to the tastes of much of the modern fanbase. The celebrity factor is also irrelevant as I doubt many youngsters today even know who Liberace and Cyndi Lauper are.

The match quality was pretty much irrelevant at the time, as the sheer spectacle of the event sold it to the fans. However, when viewing it today (with the spectacle diminished) there isn't much here to appeal to the modern wrestling fan. The first Wrestlemania will always have huge historical value, but I only recommend watching it out of curiosity if you've not seen it before. As a show in its own right it really does not stand up well today on any level. If you've not seen Wrestlemania it might be worth digging out for the sheer historical significance, but not for the show quality or entertainment value. In that respect it has very little to offer.