10 Things Nobody Has Told You About WWE WrestleMania

7. It's OK Not To Have Watched WrestleMania I

Triple H Roman Reigns
WWE.com

The other contender for the worst ever WrestleMania show is of course the very first edition.

It's slightly better than you might expect from a mid-1980s WWF card. Ricky Steamboat Vs. Matt Borne was a dynamic and unfussy sprint by the standards of the time, though it's hardly worth watching back in 2023. That applies very much to Tito Santana's opening win over the Executioner.

Andre the Giant's Bodyslam challenge win over Big John Studd was improbably effective; WWF fans of the day hadn't yet been insulted into not taking retirement stipulations seriously. The main event was a loud spectacle that was never about the in-ring quality; as much a mission statement of Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation as anything else. Elsewhere, it is a dimly-lit chore to get through. Much of the action borders on appalling. Enduring the first WrestleMania feels like a rite of passage, something one has to do as a fan. Some feel guilty for never getting 'round to it.

The show was fundamental to Vince McMahon's success as a promoter. He really did leverage everything on it; were it to have failed, the expansion would not have happened. The WWF may not have happened.

It's more important to Vince than it will ever be to anybody else.

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!