1. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff - WrestleMania 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anj6wVgXUWA There really is no other choice if you're talking celebrity matches at WrestleMania. The first one was the best. It had all the right elements: the right cast of characters, the right setup, the right buildup, the right result. Much like Helen of Troy was the face that launched 1,000 ships, this was the tag match that helped launch WWE into the mainstream for good. What "The War to Settle the Score" started, this finished with an exclamation point. Putting aside hyperbole and Vince's own exaggerations, without a successful WrestleMania I, there likely wouldn't have been a WrestleMania II, much less a WrestleMania XXX. And this match and the mainstream hype and buildup helped make WrestleMania I a success. It was a pretty decent match too, with Piper and Orndorff being the perfect heels, and Hogan's babyface act still being in its relative infancy. Throw in a game Mr. T and you have a recipe for success. As a postscript, look at the aftereffects of this match. Hogan went on to become an even bigger star than he already was. Orndorff turned face, which eventually set up his heel turn against Hogan and run of sellout shows. Piper and Mr. T would reignite their feud later for a WrestleMania II showdown. Maybe it's the success of that first celebrity match that Vince is trying to duplicate every time he throws money at a non-wrestler to perform at the "Showcase of the Immortals." Maybe he really likes the mainstream attention that WWE gets in the lead-up to WrestleMania, regardless of how it affects buyrates. One thing to fear if that's true, given Vince's near-obsession with Twitter, is
who he might want to bring in next to make WrestleMania the most socially active live event
ever. Come to think of it, watching Big Show sit on Justin Bieber probably would be worth $65 by itself.