You're Vince McMahon, it's March '85, Do You Let Piper Go Into WrestleMania As Champ?

[Midnite Express 2009]

It's January 1985 and you're standing in your office's doorway by yourself. You're looking around the empty hallway and thinking to yourself "if I succeed at this, I will re-created wrestling history." You're on the verge of seeing your creation, WrestleMania come to light and you have two of the hottest stars on your team, those being Hulk Hogan & Roddy Piper. Hogan's champion, but everyone is pushing for Piper to get the belt heading into the main event at WrestleMania. Do you book Hogan to drop the title to Piper, ensuring that the main event will truly be a groundbreaker, or do you keep the strap on Hogan and place both men in a tag team bout instead of one on one?

Play the booker for a minute: If you were Vince McMahon in 1985 and many people have yet to figure out who you are, do you introduce yourself to the world (and closed captioning TV) by having argubly the greatest heel of all time as your champion facing your greatest face in the main event at the first WrestleMania? Knowing what we know now, should Vince have taken the belt off Hogan & given it to Piper?

 

[willross]

One of keyest selling points of WM was the fact that Mr. T was going to have a match against someone who he has publically had a problem with in Piper. Hogan was the biggest star at the time so taking the belt off of him makes no sense.

Considering the overwhelming success of WM it wouldn't make much sense to change anything about the event would it?

 

[OutsiderDX]

I don't think so.

You have to understand at that point in wrestling history, there was not one mainstreme exposure. It's not like today, where wrestling and hollywood, music, every form over entertainment crossover.

Mr. T was a huge celebrity at that time, he had Rocky, the A-Team, many commercials.

Cindy Lauper was even a bigger celebrity. She was probably the most famous pop singer in the world at that point.

Big Heel vs Big Face had been done for 50 years before that. But this was the first time Wrestling had a huge celebrity in such a big event. Having Mr. T in the match is what gave Vince the exposure from MTV to other news outlets.

As a wrestling fan i would have loved to see a Piper vs Hogan one-on-one, but if i was running the company, even in hindsight, Vince had a brilliant decision to bring in celebrities.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I'm not knocking the decision to bring in the celebs, as I wouldn't change anything else about the overall show (celeb-wise that is). But here's my idea for what they could've done. Instead of having Snuka and Orton in the corners, they could've had Orndorff and Mr. T as the corner men. That way, it wouldn't have meant that Mr. T was never involved. I think, speaking solely as a wrestling fan, it would have been great to see Mr. T get invloved and somehow cost Piper the title. Everyone be honest here, Piper DESERVED a shot at the title and some 27 years later, if put into the same position, Piper would have gotten that run with it. I'm not saying it needed to be super long, but Hogan needed to lose it. It would have given both men an explosvie angle, especially involving Mr. T.

One has to wonder however, if this idea actually ever came about, and did Hogan actually said no. I'm sure it didn't but what if it did? Mr. T still could've been apart of the show in some way or another, but not actually invloved in the match. Anyone agree?

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

I think that the plan was suppose to be Piper vs Snuka then Hogan vs Mr. Wonderful but Snuka's injury ( Drug addiction ) force the tag match. Does were the feuds before Wrestle Mania. At the time no one was expecting a tag match, I wouldn't be surprise if MR. T was suppose to be a Ref or special Enforcer for the Hogan Match. IN a era where matches lasted 20 to 30 minutes the 1st Mania only had to matches over 10 minutes. I strongly believe the Snuka's injury was the cause of this because I can see Snuka vs Piper going 30 minutes and Hogan VS Mr. Wonderful going 20 minutes. But I guess Snuka's injury was a blessing for VKM and WWF. They sold 1million buy's with this water down card.

 

[dansaint]

I believe that the right call was made. Putting T in the match REALLY got WWE on everyone's lips. And all the build up before that...Hogan and T hosting Saturday Night Live...being on all the talk shows....even being on the cover of Sports Illustrated....I don't think that happens without Mr. T being put in the match.

Just as him in the corner wouldn't of been the same because people did wonder if T, being an actor, would show how "fake" wrestling was....or would it look legit and get people to say "Wow...this is interesting. These guys are great athletes and performers".

Just T as a corner man...and you still get that "sideshow attraction" stigma that haunted wrestling in the 70's and early 80's.

I could of seen Piper win the belt at the 1st MTV show "Brawl To End It All"...and then dropping it at "War To Settle The Score"...the 2nd MTV show that got momentum for a Wrestlemania

 

[GameOver]

There was no Championship match so it's irrelevant and no anyway Hogan as Champ for that first 3 yrs was huge and nothing else coulda been better it put WWF on the global exposure.

Personally looking back i didn't like the tag match, found it mindless but overall WM1 was great, had a bit of everything

Likely as Lucha-Libre said the better plan woulda been for Hogan vs Orndorf WWF title since they had built that fued and really had no finale, and Snuka vs Piper was built, but Snuka was injured so they wanted to keep Piper still in the mix and still have Orndorf vs Hogan, and it led to other storylines that led into WrestleMania 2

and they added main stream Hollywood entertainers into the mix gave WWF all the momentum.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Hogan was champ for a little over a year at this point, and sure, he had a TON of exposure and he was over like a fat cat in a cheese factory, BUT they still could've had him drop the title BEFORE WrestleMania to Piper and had him win it back at the first Mania. My thing is, while I loved WrestleMania I (I still have the tape by the way), I would have enjoyed seeing a one-on-one bout between either Piper & Hogan or Mr. Wonderful & Hogan.

BTW: I had no idea that Snuka got injuried and that's why they had a tag match. Hmmm, interesting. I think they had Piper in two different feuds anyway, one with Snuka & one with Hogan. But overall, I think Mr. T could have played a part in it, just not necessarily as a wrestler, persay. But I understand the logic behind it anyway. Vince didn't want another Starrcade. He wanted a WRESTLEMANIA. And WrestleMania is wrestling entertainment (the birth of sports entertainment). So he needed someone huge and Mr. T was one of the most over guys in the world at this time. So it all makes sense, guess I just wanted Piper to have a run at the title & felt this was his time to shine.

 

[Genius_Deadman]

thinking about it:

i think i would have had Piper become champ before WrestleMania. if it was going to mean pushing a tag match for a lengthy program leading up to Mania of course. you could have Piper beating Hogan because of Orton or Orndorff (or both). Hogan would need to gain revenge and the belt, so he brings in Mr. T. they could've had a tag match but with the stipulations being that if Hogan or Mr. T make the pin, they become champion.

WrestleMania may have become bigger with the stipulation being Mr. T could've walked out champion (but of course didn't). Hogan could've pinned Piper and had the same reaction.

so i guess now looking at it, i would've had Piper go in as champ only if my theory plays out

 

[The Brain]

WrestleMania I went exactly as it should have. In 1985 there were no plans to make WrestleMania an annual event. No one knew there was going to be a WrestleMania 2, much less a WrestleMania 27. The idea was to have a star studded show with all kinds of glitz and glamour to transcend from the dark smoky arenas into the bright lights of pop culture. Mr. T wrestling in the main event was the key part of that whole idea. Vince was trying to reach a new fan base by crossing over to main stream with the help of celebrities. Mr. T just being a corner man or referee would not have had nearly the same impact as wrestling an actual match. Most people say fans wanted to see Hulk Hogan kick Roddy Piper’s ass. Back then fans were just as interested, probably more interested, in seeing Mr. T kick Roddy Piper’s ass. Mr. T was crucial to the success of WrestleMania.

I very seriously doubt the theory of plans being changed because of Jimmy Snuka. I am 99.999% sure that is a completely false and made up theory. If the card had Hogan vs. Orndorff and Piper vs. Snuka it would not have stood out anymore than an average MSG card in 1985. I admit I used to think the main event should have been Hogan vs. Piper for the title, but I also admit I was 100% wrong when I thought that. Hogan vs. Piper sounds ok to the people who were already wrestling fans, but that wasn’t the target audience for this event. The people who were already fans were going to watch anyway. The whole point was to create new fans. Who knows, if WrestleMania I didn’t go down the way it did it’s possible none of us would be fans today. Considering we are now approaching WrestleMania 27 I think it’s safe to say the right decision was made in 1985.

 

[ElMikeO]

They made the right call in keeping the belt on Hogan. He was the face of the company, and they needed someone for the people tuning in for the first time (due to celebrity pull) to take to, so they'd keep coming back. Easier to do with a face than with a heel.

 

[Cvaldezjr04]

I personally would have loved to have seen a Hogan/Piper Title match. Thing is, Vince took a HUGE risk on Wrestlemania. The success it had could not have been perceived beforehand. Hogan was the biggest wrestling star at the time, and piper was Genuinely hated, so having Piper come in WM 1 as the champ could have possibly not made wrestlemania 1 the success it was, especially if there was gonna be no title match, therefore Piper leaving Mania 1 still as the champ. So the safe route was to keep the title on Hogan. I agree that WM 1 went exactly as it should have. I loved it, I have the original VHS and I still watch it every now and then.

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

WrestleMania I went exactly as it should have. In 1985 there were no plans to make WrestleMania an annual event. No one knew there was going to be a WrestleMania 2, much less a WrestleMania 27. The idea was to have a star studded show with all kinds of glitz and glamour to transcend from the dark smoky arenas into the bright lights of pop culture. Mr. T wrestling in the main event was the key part of that whole idea. Vince was trying to reach a new fan base by crossing over to main stream with the help of celebrities. Mr. T just being a corner man or referee would not have had nearly the same impact as wrestling an actual match. Most people say fans wanted to see Hulk Hogan kick Roddy Piper’s ass. Back then fans were just as interested, probably more interested, in seeing Mr. T kick Roddy Piper’s ass. Mr. T was crucial to the success of WrestleMania.

I very seriously doubt the theory of plans being changed because of Jimmy Snuka. I am 99.999% sure that is a completely false and made up theory. If the card had Hogan vs. Orndorff and Piper vs. Snuka it would not have stood out anymore than an average MSG card in 1985. I admit I used to think the main event should have been Hogan vs. Piper for the title, but I also admit I was 100% wrong when I thought that. Hogan vs. Piper sounds ok to the people who were already wrestling fans, but that wasn’t the target audience for this event. The people who were already fans were going to watch anyway. The whole point was to create new fans. Who knows, if WrestleMania I didn’t go down the way it did it’s possible none of us would be fans today. Considering we are now approaching WrestleMania 27 I think it’s safe to say the right decision was made in 1985.

Sorry but I remember 1985 like it was yesterday, Piper VS Snuka was suppose to happen at wrestlemania but Snaka had a big drug problem which the WWF kept very quiet. Piper even cut the best promo of his career the summer of 1984 ( Pipers Pit smashing the coconut on Snukas head and calling him a monkey) Back in those days feuds lasted almost the whole year. Hogan was feuding with Mr. Wonderful for months in 1985. These matches were set for Mania 1. The reason I say VKM was bless it all turn out okay was because if Mania 1 would had been a bust there wont be no WWE today. VKM has always stated that the whole company was ridding on Wrestle Mania even Hogan and Mean Gene Okerlund have been quoted saying the same. Now about the Snuka drug problems I witness it my self when I was a kid in high school me and some friends played hooky to go see Hogan, Snuka and the rest of the wwf guys lift weights at the mid city gym on w49 st between 8th ave & Broadway. We attended Graphic Arts HS on w49 st between 9th and 10th ave. We used to sneak in the gym through the back door entrance on w50st and saw a few of the wrestlers smoking weed and yes we also saw needles. They used to chase us out all the times. I use to think that Hogan promos of him working out at the mid city gym was BS till i actually witness it. I don't expect you to believe my story but if you do some research on the gym and school I mention and research Snuka's drug past and the WWF steroids scandal and wwf programming for the summer of 1984 to Mania 1985 you will see that the tag match wasn't in the original plans.