10 Times Vince McMahon Had Nothing To Do With WWE's Massive Success

9. WrestleMania

Vince GULP
WWE

The creation of WrestleMania was informed, heavily, by the creation of StarrCade - a 1983 mega-event booked by Dory Funk, Jr., and the brainchild of Dusty Rhodes. The premise, like everything else great in what Tony Schiavone was fond of terming "our great sport", was simple: StarrCade featured the biggest money matches available for viewing by the biggest national audience possible, screened all over the country on PPV precursor closed-circuit television. Everything about the show was big. So monumental as to be unmissable, StarrCade altered the very fabric of pro wrestling.

It's little wonder that the size-obsessed McMahon borrowed liberally from it upon devising his 'WrestleMania' equivalent.

McMahon simply dreamed bigger than big, adding celebrities to the equation in an attempt to seduce a curious mainstream audience. The gambit paid off, thanks in no small part to Mr. T's massive popularity and Hulk Hogan's headline-grabbing choke-out of Richard Belzer. Glamorous and "legitimate", WrestleMania was wrestling's debutante ball. The role of Howard Finkel should not go unnoticed, either; his pitch of the name 'WrestleMania', a genuine addition to the world's lexicon, was far superior to McMahon's own 'The Colossal Tussle'.

An association with another worldwide craze, Beatlemania, was considerably bigger than McMahon's bathetic wordplay.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!