One Thing to Watch: Two WrestleMania events go down in history
With the NBA, NHL, NASCAR and other major sports leagues and sporting events suspended or canceled, what better time to take a look back at some iconic sports moments? Each day, we’ll deliver One Thing to Watch.
Today, the granddaddy of ’em all was born.
35 years ago today, @HulkHogan, @R_Roddy_Piper, Andre the Giant (@TheGiant46), and many more took part in the first-ever Wrestlemania right here at The Garden! Comment below with your favorite @WWE Garden moment ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KBxxeap65q
— MSG (@TheGarden) March 31, 2020
WrestleMania – there’s no need to add a numeral because it was the first one! – converged upon the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, on March 31, 1985, and it featured some of the biggest stars in WWE history.
And it also featured a few incredible legends from outside the ring.
Can you believe this? Muhammad Ali, taking the ring and playing a role at the first-ever WrestleMania?
That moment is enough to give you chills.
Ali served as the special guest referee for a headlining tag team match between Hulk Hogan and Mr. T – another legend outside the ring – and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.
This is unreal stuff.
Hogan and Mr. T won the match, and the hysteria around WrestleMania was born.
Fast forward 11 years later and WrestleMania XII took place at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim on March 31, 1996.
Roddy Piper also played a role at WMXII, taking on and defeating Goldust in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl match.
But in the end, this night was all about the penultimate grudge match between Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
Hart and Michaels had a long-standing feud, and at WrestleMania XII, they faced off in an hour-long Iron Match match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship.
And not only was the match legendary, so was Michaels’ entrance.
That has to be the sickest entrance in WWE history, no? This is not only peak Shawn Michaels, this is peak WWE.
Anyway, in an Iron Man match, victory is rewarded to the man who pins the other most during the 60-minute time limit.
Of course, this one needed overtime.
Michaels emerged victorious, and the two superstars would face off once more in their careers – at the 1997 Survivor Series in Montreal.
And we all know what happened that night.
Years later, the two rivals would sit down and clear the air about their disputes.
This is must-see.
