10 Most Shocking WWE WrestleMania Role Reversals

5. Paul Orndorff - WrestleMania I & 2

Paul Orndorff Wm I Wm 2
WWE

'Mr Wonderful' played arguably the most vital role in the first ever WrestleMania main event - he had to take the pin.

The headline attraction required a conclusive conclusion, but 'Rock N Wrestling' tie-in megastars Hulk Hogan, Mr T and Roddy Piper weren't exactly best placed to take pinfalls as the company approached its mid-1980s apex. Orndorff examined the Madison Square Garden spotlights as the company's biggest ever show went off the air, but like the dire sequel show itself, 1986 wasn't exactly the follow-up he'd hoped for.

Orndorff and opponent Don 'Magnificent' Muraco fought to count-out after just four minutes in the show's tepid opener. Problematic Paul found time to offer some rather unpleasant abuse to Muraco's manager Mr Fuji in that time - the overall fall from grace was hard to hide from.

WWE made good on the rather rapid decline - Orndorff's heel turn on Hulk Hogan in late-1986 was informed by his disappearance from the main events after turning babyface to side with 'The Hulkster' following WrestleMania I. The pair drew huge together too - reality successfully informing the fantasy as it so often does.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett