10 Things You Might Have Forgotten About WrestleMania I
6. Two Non-Finishes And A 23 Second Squash
Modern WrestleManias are largely known for epic matches and end-of-season blow-offs for storylines that have been raging on across WWE television for months on end. In that vein, it’s interesting to remember that the original WrestleMania had a count out finish, a double disqualification and a sub-30 second squash.
It’s rare these days for WrestleMania to be the springboard for the beginning or continuation of a story, but WrestleMania I was just that for King Kong Bundy. Bundy’s WWE career had begun about two weeks before the big show, and as was customary for a man the size and build of Bundy, he was booked to win quickly and decisively over stalwart midcarder Special Delivery Jones. The win involved less than 20 seconds of action and illustrated the first step in the building of Bundy for the main event of the following year’s WrestleMania. Additionally, the Sammartino-Beefcake clash ended in a schmoz double DQ finish and the Intercontinental title match is decided via count out in an old school wrestling classic tactic of finding a way to let the popular fan favourite get the victory over the devious heel champion without switching the championship.
These are all the kind of finishes that a few generations ago were the norm in classic wrestling booking and finishes that the knowledgeable internet fanbase of the present would let out an exasperated sigh of dissatisfaction had they been presented on a modern day WrestleMania, where the epic showcases of competition are supposed to be a cathartic journey’s end before the inevitable reboot on RAW the following evening. Hope you’re all looking forward to Goldberg retaining over Roman Reigns this year after a deeply frustrating count out finish!