10 Outrageous WrestleMania Moments That Made Mainstream News
5. The Birth Of Wrestlemania
The first ever Wrestlemania took place back in 1985 and was a huge, huge event that put the WWF on the global map and changed the face of the wrestling industry for ever more. Key to the initial success of the show was obviously getting eyes on the product, and in order to do that it was deemed that there needed to be a crossover mainstream appeal to Vince McMahons brainchild. As such, the first Wrestlemania saw the WWF go all out in order to bring in some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports so that the shows appeal would be far reaching. Legendary New York Yankees manager Billy Martin was brought in as a ring announcer, the enigmatic Liberace was the shows timekeeper, the iconic Muhammad Ali was brought in as an official, and Mr. T, one of the most recognisable and popular people on the planet at the time, actually competed in the main event alongside the WWFs poster boy, Hulk Hogan. The first Wrestlemania did everything it could to lay impressive foundations for what would become a global phenomenon, and it set the precedent for celebratory involvement and for being able to garner major mainstream press coverage.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.
