Wrestlemania I

Wrestlemania I Review


Here we are with WWE's first ever PPV and the first ever Wrestlemania. Was it a success? Well obviously or I wouldn't be doing this review right now. Let's see how good the show is.



Mean Gene Okerlund seems like a strange choice to sing the Star Spangled Banner to start the show. He wasn't bad.


Tito Santana vs The Executioner 
The Executioner was in fact Buddy Rose. Why they didn't use his proper ring name I'll never know. Santana's got to be one of the most underrated workers ever. These guys had the honor of being the first match in Wrestlemania history, and they put on an entertaining contest. It wasn't anything special but it was fun while it lasted. **



King Kong Bundy vs SD Jones
How the hell did this one manage to get away with the claim that it was only nine seconds long? I counted just over twenty. Needless to say, this was just a very quick squash for Bundy. DUD



Matt Borne vs Ricky Steamboat
Borne was of course better known as the now late, great Doink the Clown. This is a Steamboat match, so even at its worst it's still gonna be pretty good. Entertaining match, even if the finish came out of nowhere, and was more like a squash. We wouldn't see Borne again until Mania IX. *1/2



Brutus Beefcake vs David Sammartino
I feel bad for David as he had an absolutely enormous name to live up to, and unfortunately there was no way he was going to live up to that expectation. Plus he got punished for Bruno leaving the WWF. This one lasted way too long at about twelve minutes and was pretty damn boring the entire time. Only the finish was exciting with Bruno getting involved. *



Greg Valentine vs The Junkyard Dog
The IC Title is on the line. Junkyard Dog is the first person with entrance music, and the crowd went crazy for him. Another pretty dull match, but it was kept short and had a hot crowd Junkyard Dog. Still it just wasn't that good at all. The crowd seemed pissed off at Valentine's cheating finish, but the match was restarted to give JYD the countout win. *



Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff
The Tag Titles are on the line. Rotundo is of course better known for his I.R.S character and for being the father of Bray Wyatt. I think Windham was better off in the NWA. Sheik and Volkoff got some nice heat from the crowd. A short tag match but it was a lot of fun while it lasted and had a hot crowd. The fans hated the decision with the heels winning. **



Andre The Giant vs Big John Studd : Body Slam Challenge
The only way to win is to slam your opponent. If Andre loses he must end his career, and if Studd loses he must give up $15000. When talking about this show this match is brought up quite a lot, but I don't know why as it wasn't good at all. The crowd loved it at least. As much as I love Andre this was just boring. 1/4*



Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai
The Women's Title is on the line. This one is mainly remembered for Cyndi Lauper, who was a big deal at the time, coming out in the corner of Wendi as a part of the Rock N Wrestling Connection. Fabulous Moolah was in the corner of Kai. This started off slow, but got quite exciting towards the finish. Still not much of a match though, featuring mostly hair pulling and hammerlocks. *



Mr T & Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff
Here's the big one. This match is the reason why we still have Wrestlemania today and why it's the biggest show in wrestling. Vince took a gamble on Wrestlemania, and this match certainly paid it off in a very big way. The crowd was insanely hot for the match and that made it even better. The match was a ton of fun and worth watching more than once. One of the most important matches ever. ***



7.5/10. As a wrestling show this wasn't very good, but for historical significance it may be the most important show in wrestling history. It still has quite a fun vibe to it. A must-see show for every wrestling fan for sure.