The late, great (and won't those qualifiers tragically appear a lot over the course of reviewing past WrestleManias) Mean Gene Okerlund was - according to the man himself - a late replacement for a no-showing singer that night.
It was far from the most memorable rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, but was by its very nature a collectors item - Vince McMahon preferred 'America The Beautiful' anyway and made sure to include in place of the National Anthem as often as he could in the years that followed.
Affording the absentee some dignity, Okerlund never named the AWOL star - though considering how heavily the other celebrities were promoted in advance, it's very possible that the airlift story was used to cover up a charmingly cheesy start to McMahon's biggest ever undertaking.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
