50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s

The WWF went from just another pro wrestling company vying for your eyeballs to a juggernaut nobody else in the industry was equipped to compete with. Vince McMahon's relentless crusade to crush his competition and become the biggest show in town dominated the 1980s. Traditionalists who adhered to territorial rules despised McMahon's colourful circus act, but fans flocked to arenas, bought into bold pay-per-view ventures like WrestleMania and hurled millions of dollars at the WWF to wear officially branded merchandise.

Behind the scenes, things were even crazier than they were in front of Vince's slick new federation cameras. McMahon made stars of workers like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase and countless others. His "WWF Superstars" were larger than life, but there was a boatload of drama lurking behind the curtain. Some of it was childish, some of it was seedy. That'll come as no surprise to anyone who has charted the then-boss's private life since.

The 80s proved to be a decade bursting with promise, ego and (perhaps most importantly to those involved) riches. WWF fame made many wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, and there's just so much to dig into. That's especially true once Vince McMahon Sr sold up to his son in 1982. After that, Vince Jr set about the task of dismantling unwritten rules that had governed North American wrestling for aeons. He monopolised the biz, made three letters the pre-eminent force in "Sports Entertainment", and generally revolutionised everything.

Prepare to read facts and stories that'll pull a range of emotions. You'll laugh, you'll gasp and you certainly won't believe some of the wild west happenings of the 80s!

Firstly, the entire decade as you know it could've been drastically different.

Hulkamania became a go-to buzzword to sum the WWF's boom period up, but here's a quick 'did you know?'. Musclebound brute and all-round action figure come to life Hulk Hogan didn't leap into Vince McMahon's mind as the first viable candidate to build his retooled company around. No, it was one Dusty Rhodes. Vince told this story for maybe the first time during his six-part Netflix doc.

There, Dusty's son Cody appeared as a talking head and might've revealed exactly why daddy dearest didn't get the nod in front of Hogan. Basically, Rhodes said his father never truly believed in what McMahon was trying to do with all the glitz, glamour and monopolisation. Pivoting, Vince pinpointed Hulk as the idea replacement for a technical wrestling babyface like Bob Backlund, and the rest is history.

Imagine how different things could've been?! It's kinda wild that Cody is to modern WWE now what his dad nearly was in the 1980s. Dusty was going to be the focal point - the kind of smart-talking promo machine who could sell fed pay-per-views aplenty, and the sort who watched merchandise fly off the shelves. 'American Dream' instead of 'American Made' would've been the battle cry.

It wasn't to be. McMahon either decided against Dusty in the end or didn't feel like Rhodes was meeting him halfway anyway. Dusty stayed put in the NWA (for now), Hulk became the water carrier, and the WWF revolution burst into life. It's hard to envision anyone in Hogan's shoes, but that almost happened.