With Roddy Pipers antics churning fans emotions, the stage was set for WrestleMania I, which was the biggest gamble in Vince McMahons life. As we all know 30 years later, it would pay off in epic fashion. It helped pave the way for additional PPVs (though the first Mania was actually broadcast on closed circuit television). Hulk Hogan and Mr. T squared off against Piper and Paul Orndorff in a star-studded main event that also included New York Yankees manager Billy Martin, Liberace and Muhammad Ali. Although Piper wasnt the biggest star in the ring, he certainly was the biggest antagonist, getting under both Hogan and Mr. Ts skins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnoLH9v9Aio Hogan and Mr. T. would win the match, apparently finally settling the score. But Pipers standing as the biggest villain in WWF/E history was basically locked up by this series of historical events.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
