WRESTLEMANIA TURNS 40

- Reese Borges, Contributor

On March 31, 1985, the World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment) premiered an event that would change the professional wrestling industry. It would become “The Showcase of the Immortals.” It would become WWE’s “Grandest Stage of Them All”. It would become wrestling’s equivalent to the Super Bowl or the World Series. This phenomenon celebrates its 40th anniversary, today. The event is “WrestleMania”.

In the early 1980s, Vince McMahon was transitioning the WWF from a wrestling company that operated in the northeastern part of the United States to a wrestling company that operated throughout the country...and eventually, throughout the world. During his expansion, he partnered with MTV to deliver 2 big special events, “The Brawl to End it All” & “The War to Settle the Score”. To truly cement the WWF’s status as the #1 wrestling company in the world, McMahon organized “WrestleMania”, a wrestling supercard that would feature 9 matches, headlined by a tag team main event of (WWF Champion) Hulk Hogan & (“The A-Team" star) Mr. T, who were co-stars in “Rocky III”, taking on “Rowdy” Roddy Piper & “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. The event would also involve appearances by celebrities from sports, music, & entertainment. For McMahon, “WrestleMania” would determine the future of the WWF. Thankfully for him, the event was a big success.

Over the years, “WrestleMania” has been known for making wrestlers like Hogan, Piper, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Bret “Hitman” Hart, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the Rock, John Cena, Triple H, & more into some of the biggest stars in the industry. It has also been known to feature some of the biggest names outside of the wrestling ring. There have been sports figures such as Muhammad Ali, Bob Uecker, Steve “Mongo” McMichael, “Iron” Mike Tyson, Pete Rose, & Jason Kelce. There have been music acts such as Cyndi Lauper, Aretha Franklin, Run-DMC, Willie Nelson, Little Richard, Motörhead, & Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. There have been actors and TV personalities such as Mary Hart, Vanna White, Regis Philbin, Alex Trebek, Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian, Mickey Rourke, & Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Some of the celebrities have even gotten in the ring. We already mentioned Mr. T (who also fought Piper in a boxing match at the Nassau Coliseum portion of “WrestleMania II”). Names such as (Chicago Bears defensive tackle) William “The Refrigerator” Perry, (New York Giants linebacker) Lawrence Taylor, (former Super Heavyweight Champion of boxing) Eric “Butterbean” Esch, (former Welterweight & Light Middleweight Champion of boxing) Floyd Mayweather Jr., (entertainment reporter) Maria Menounos, & (hip-hop star) Snoop Dogg have all competed at “WrestleMania”.

From arenas such as New York City’s Madison Square Garden & Boston’s TD Garden (then known as the FleetCenter) to stadiums such as Toronto’s Rogers Centre (then known as Skydome), New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome, & this year’s location, Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, “WrestleMania” has grown into the biggest spectacle in wrestling history. With the evolution of set designs, incredible entrances, & matches that provided memorable moments, it is why approximately 2,000,000 fans have attended the previous 40 events. March 31, 1985...”WrestleMania” was born. March 31, 2025...”WrestleMania” is still celebrated 40 years, later.