EVENT: WRESTLEMANIA
YEAR: 1985
More than 19,000 people flocked to MSG to witness Hulk Hogan and Mr. T wrestle “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main event at the first-ever WrestleMania. The show also featured appearances by Liberace, Muhammad Ali, Billy Martin, and other celebrities, and its success paved the way for Vince McMahon’s World Wresting Federation (WWF) to become a national (and eventually global) promotion that essentially created a monopoly in the sports-entertainment industry.
