10 WWE WrestleMania Myths EXPOSED

9. WrestleMania I Was Do Or Die

CM Punk
WWE.com

The myth:

Vince McMahon mortgaged the entire future of the World Wrestling Federation on the success of WrestleMania I. If it failed - and it very nearly did, since the dire closed-circuit advances were only salvaged by an eleventh hour PR blitz - that was it. The WWF was Capital G Double O Double N Double E: gone.

The myth exposed:

This is mostly true, which is wild, considering McMahon's penchant for an underdog story. Well, he doesn't really like underdog stories - Daniel Bryan was told to f*ck off and make way for Roman Reigns, the Big Dog, in 2015 - but he is fond of framing his international monopoly as an underdog, inexplicably. This is something he has done in retrospect when revising the history of the Monday Night Wars to put over his achievement, in the face of those ill-gotten Ted Turner millions, all the more.

Vince's ill-gotten millions allowed him to expand in the early '80s, but it was a costly endeavour, and the excellent Jim Crockett Promotions product of '85 was making waves out of the Carolinas and into major markets like Chicago. Vince spent a fortune with the intent on making more, and went all in.

If he failed, the WWF would be in disarray, but it would have survived in some form, perhaps through the intervention of creditors. Wrestling was hot - somebody was bound to invest - but such investment would have diluted Vince's level of control.

Knowing what we know, that was likely untenable - but not quite the brink suggested.

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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!