10 Most Ambitious WWE Shows Ever

Vince McMahon was intent on breaking all the rules in the '80s. Before him, wrestling was a vast array of regional territories. However, with the increasing reach of cable television, someone was going to go national, and by God, it was going to be him. He had the roster, and he had his key player, Hulk Hogan, but he needed a big event to really establish his intent. That event was WrestleMania.

While it's exaggerated by WWE as to how much was actually at stake with this event (Vince likes to claim the company would have gone under should it fail), WrestleMania was still a big financial gamble. In an effort to make as much of a mainstream splash as possible, Vince brought in the likes of Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, and Muhammad Ali to give his product the credibility it needed (a strategy he continues to use today).

There had been supercards in wrestling before (a couple years prior, Jim Crockett Promotions held the first Starrcade), but nothing as far-reaching and A-list as WrestleMania had been attempted. And over 30 years later, such an ambitious project has created a global empire.