Original subtitles

- Welcome to WrestleMania.

- WrestleMania.

The showcase of the Immortals.

The grandest stage of them all.

- The greatest Sports Entertainment spectacular

of all time.

- You can cut the electricity in the air with a knife.

It is something else.

- Oh, they're on their feet.

- This global spectacle has become the pinnacle

of Sports Entertainment, where superstars become legends.

- It's over.

We have a new champion.

- And eras are redefined.

- This is one of the greatest matches I've ever seen.

- Today we look back at the classic era of WrestleMania,

the 1980s.

- Greatest wrestling event of all time.

- Unbelievable.

- This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

- Acknowledge me.

- My God.

- Stone Cold with a beer bath.

- This is surreal.

- Look at this.

He slammed him.

- Welcome, everyone, to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition,

we celebrate the beginning

of Sports Entertainment's grandest stage, WrestleMania.

And there's no better place to kick things off

than with where it all began, the very first WrestleMania.

Emanating from the world's most famous arena,

Madison Square Garden in New York City.

WWE put on a spectacle unlike anything fans

had ever seen before.

- Welcome, everyone.

As the World Wrestling -- presents WrestleMania.

- This is the biggest wrestling extravaganza

that's coming across the nation.

- The main event that evening was a colossal tag team match

featuring Hall of Famers Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful,

Paul Orndorff facing off against the immortal Hulk Hogan

and television icon Mr. T.

- And now our main event.

- WrestleMania, is really what put WWE on the map.

Really was the key launching pad

that took WWE to the top in the 80s.

- It felt like the Super Bowl, the World Series

all rolled into one massive event.

- And all four of them are going at it in the corner.

Chaos five minutes into the match.

- It doesn't get any bigger than that.

The entertainment value was so high.

- Piper with a chair.

- I think he kicked me, and I bend down-

And that's when I went for the fireman.

- Oh, nice fireman's carry.

Oh.

Drops him like yesterday's newspaper.

- It was wild.

It's only I can say, it was just wild.

- From off the- look out.

- Oh, he got Orndorff-

- Unbelievable.

- -with the cast, down for the cover, Pat Patterson-

he got him.

- They got 'em

- I stayed there as long as I could, and I said,

"I've got to remember this.

I've got to remember this the rest of my life."

And I still do to this day.

- Unbelievable pandemonium here in The Garden.

- It was a perfect springboard for what we needed

to launch the WWE into the stratosphere.

The night could not have been better.

- We're seeing the greatest spectacle

in wrestling history right now.

- The sheer intensity of The Ultimate Warrior

cannot be understated.

Warrior brought a new definition to the term lightning rod.

- I want the intercontinental belt for you little Warriors.

- But one superstar was determined to stop him

in his tasseled tracks.

Ravishing Rick Rude.

- He put that steel bar just nailed him.

- At WrestleMania 5.

The Ravishing one faced the Ultimate one

for the Intercontinental title.

- WrestleMania 5-

Ultimate Warrior

Ravishing Rick Rude.

Warrior is IC champion, Rick Rude Disrobes.

- Look at that.

He's already got the Intercontinental Title

right on it.

- It's only imprinted on his tights, Jess.

- Yes.

- That's when I knew he did that,

he was focused on winning that title right there.

- Pile driver.

- Rick was a thinker to a fault.

I mean, he'd stay up all night just looking in the mirror,

thinking of ways to make a match work.

- Ultimate Warrior's showing you why,

in fact, he is the champion.

Possesses that unbelievable strength.

- The match is usually with Bobby Heenan participating

even outside of the ring-

were much better because of what he could do to incite a crowd.

- Heenan with a lot of concern as well.

He should be right now.

- Bobby Heenan was the catalyst.

- And look at Heenan.

He doesn't know what to do.

- Rude was on the outside and Warrior

was going to press him in over the top rope,

and I had to reach down and trip him,

and he went down and I held his foot.

- He's holding on.

- He did it.

He did it.

- I said they'd outsmart him.

- And new Intercontinental Champion-

- Yeah.

- Ravishing Rick Rude.

- Yeah.

- The whole point of that was it just showed you

how important the manager was.

- How can Rude enjoy his new title?

Look what's happening.

- Really sneaky stuff.

Great stuff though.

- The Rock 'N Wrestling Connection was alive and well

heading into the first WrestleMania.

At the forefront of it all is pop icon Cyndi Lauper.

The managerial services of the multi-time Grammy winner

were enlisted by Wendi Richter.

- Lou is going down.

- Yeah.

- Lou is going down.

- Yes.

- As she was on a collision course against women's champion,

Leilani Kai.

- I didn't lose that belt to one person,

I lost it because Moolah interfered in my match,

and I'm dead set on getting it back where it belongs.

- The first time I met Wendi Richter, I kind of felt like,

"Oh, we could do something fun."

- This is what it's all about.

The ladies world championship.

- Wedni Richter fighting-

and, like, finally seeing a female in there doing her thing.

I was like, oh, okay, this is this is cool.

- Leilani Kai trying to hold on to that coveted women's title.

- It integrated everything, and women's wrestling was just

starting to be as popular as the men's wrestling.

- Leilani grabbed a little bit of hair

and took Wendi down right there.

- It was one of the most talked about matches on the card

because of breaking down that barrier.

- Here comes Cyndi Lauper and we got a melee on the floor, Geno.

- No.

- Whoa.

Hooks the leg.

She got her.

- It was electric at The Garden.

It was wired.

- And new World Wrestling -- ladies champion Wendi Richter.

- I was so proud of the women who were standing in the ring.

- I wanted to be a role model for the girls,

so I tried very hard to be that role model.

It was probably the highlight of my life.

- History made here at WrestleMania.

- There is perhaps no greater tag team rivalry in the 1980s

than that of the Hart Foundation and the British Bulldogs.

These four superstars put on an absolute clinics

every time they competed against each other.

- Ooh, look at that.

- Another chapter in their storied history.

The Hart Foundation and "Dangerous" Danny Davis took

on Tito Santana and the British Bulldogs

for a six man tag team match up at WrestleMania 3.

- This is a six man tag team match.

- Oh my gosh, WrestleMania 3-

Hart Foundation against the British Bulldogs.

We had Danny Davis and they had Tito Santana.

- Definitely adds to the spectacle when you add the

outsiders and a six man is actually more exciting.

- Here we go.

- Oh, pandemonium broken loose.

All six men inside the ring.

- Pontiac, Michigan with 90,000 people.

The Hart Foundation and the Bulldogs-

All my brothers in law.

We were like rockets in there, racing around and hitting each

other at full blast.

- Plenty of action going on.

- It ticked all the boxes in making it this epic

that we all know it to be.

- Double team effort.

Look out.

Hitman on the second turnbuckle.

Inside-

Nails him.

Look at this.

- You got to be kidding-

Give me a break.

- WrestleMania is where it all culminates.

It's only natural for the Bulldogs

and the Hart Foundation to kind of land there.

- I just know it was such a happy time for all of us,

all of us to be together on the stage.

It was very powerful stuff.

- Mr. T, one of the most recognizable faces in television

history, formed an incredible relationship

with WWE in the early 1980s.

But there was one superstar

who never took kindly to T's visits.

- This is exactly what you could end up looking like here.

- Rowdy Roddy Piper.

- Here comes Piper.

Wait a minute.

- Oh.

- And after an assault during exhibition boxing match

at Saturday Night's Main Event, Mr. T laid out the challenge.

- You humiliated me in front of my two kids.

They was crying and whatnot, so I got to avenge that.

So you're going to be in trouble April the 7th.

- At WrestleMania 2,

the gloves would be on for this historic encounter.

- All right.

- And now a scheduled ten rounds of boxing.

- The best rivalries in WWE are the ones where you truly

are invested in their hatred.

- Look at his face.

- Oh, look at that.

- Hey, I don't want none of that.

- There was so much bad blood,

I didn't know what was going to happen.

- T with a peek-a-boo.

Look at this.

Not getting hit at all.

Look at left hand of Mr. T.

- We had the gloves on, so-

so we was punching and whatnot.

- In round two, Piper pounds Mr. T.

Mr. T seems like he's in danger.

- Man, Piper is letting him have it.

- Down goes Mr. T.

- Round three.

Mr. T is smacking around Roddy Piper.

- Oh.

Oh right out of the ring.

- Roddy Piper is like, forget this.

- Uh oh.

I told you, Vince.

- Oh my.

Oh, look at this.

- Oh, wait a minute.

- Big body slam right in the middle of the ring.

[bell rings]

- Finally Piper disqualified.

- The tensions boiled over so much that Piper had to take

matters into his own hands.

- So it will go down as a victory for Mr. T.

- Piper and Mr. T.

40 years later, and we're talking about it.

- Randy Savage truly encapsulated the golden era of

WWE with his larger than life persona

and his incredible in-ring performances.

When the WWE Championship was vacated, a one night, 14 man

tournament was held at WrestleMania 4.

Savage was certainly one of the odds on favorites to win.

- Who is going to win?

- Randy "Macho Man" Savage.

- Oh, I think Macho Man for sure.

- Macho Man Savage I think he's great.

- But he had an extremely tough task ahead of him.

- The tournament's here.

We're going to find out

the undisputed World Wrestling -- Champion.

- WrestleMania 4 was a tournament.

- The title's vacant.

It's never happened in WWE history,

but we'll settle all that.

- So Randy wrestled three times.

- Look it, he turned it into a small package.

- Two count.

He got him.

- "Macho Man" Randy Savage over the one man gang.

So that is your final.

- You can feel the electricity in the air.

- Nice move.

Oh, look at that.

- Well, DiBiase said he'd do anything to get that title.

- Savage in deep trouble.

- It looked bad for Randy-

And then to everyone's exhilaration.

- Macho Man-

- Oh, he got him.

Look at Savage going to the outside.

Savage the flying elbow.

Hooks the leg.

It's over.

- That night elevated Randy to a great heights of superstardom.

He was living his dream.

- This is Macho Man's finest hour.

- The "Macho Man" Randy Savage stood tall at the end

of WrestleMania 4 as WWE champion,

with his best friend and manager, both by his side.

- Standby for this one.

- Whatcha gonna do

when the Mega Powers come Running through?

- No way to stop us now.

Uh uh, no way.

- But what a difference a year makes.

The next few months saw hints of jealousy from the champion

against his Mega Power partner, Hulk Hogan,

as he claimed the Hulkster

was lusting after the lovely Miss Elizabeth.

- You got lust for Elizabeth right there.

- This guy, man.

Try and talk some sense to him.

[yelling]

- The world was indeed watching WrestleMania 5

to see the Mega-Powers explode.

- This is the main event.

It don't get no bigger.

- This is sold out.

It's the hottest ticket in town.

- What a matchup this is going to be.

- He was just as intense as ever.

And he would really turn the dial up when he worked with me.

- Here we go.

Time for talk is ending.

- Miss Elizabeth chose to go into a neutral corner,

and then she finds herself in the middle of a match.

- Oh, come on, give me a break.

- It was pretty crazy.

- Referee Hebner just put Miss Elizabeth out.

Savage perched up there on the elbow.

- He got it.

- He nailed him.

- He got it.

- Oh God.

The Hulkster is out of there.

- I can't believe this is happening.

- Oh there's the big boot.

- The boot.

- And the leg drop.

One, two-

He got him.

As once again, the Hulkster holds up the gold

- You know, the timing and everything felt magical.

It felt like we were on point,

but I didn't realize how special it really was.

- During the 1980s, WWE superstars truly seemed

larger than life.

Nobody encapsulated that more than the Eighth Wonder

of the world Andre the Giant.

- I'm so happy to make the wrestling fans happy and

I'll show them who is the real giant.

- But one man thought he could usurp Andre

as WWE greatest giant.

Big John Studd.

- There's only one and it's John Studd, the giant.

- At WrestleMania 1, Studd would challenge Andre to a

$15,000 Body Slam challenge.

- This is the $15,000 Slam match.

- It was one of those big matches.

It was a matchup I wanted to see.

- 15 grand in that little World Wrestling -- briefcase.

That's what's at stake.

As these two behemoths just go at each other.

- As a kid watching it, it's just like watching those

Godzilla movies or something.

- Look at this stop trying to slam Andre.

[crowd chants "Slam."]

- You can hear the fans there chanting slam.

- Andre picks him up.

He slammed him.

It's all over.

- Unbelievable.

Andre looking for the money.

He's got it.

Look at this.

He's throwing the money out.

- Uh oh, look at that Bobby "The Brain" Heenan grabbed

the bag with the money.

- It's really a special match because things like that

don't happen often.

But when they do, they happen at WrestleMania.

- The winner, Andre the Giant.

- "Macho Man" Randy Savage is riding high as Intercontinental

Champion for the better part of 1986.

- And he's from Sarasota, Florida.

What's with the broom?

Wait a minute.

What is th-

- Professional wrestling

completely cleaned.

Oh, yeah.

- There was no length the Macho Man wouldn't go in order to

retain his championship.

- Oh.

- Steamboat's grabbing his throat.

- Whoa.

Steamboat can't breathe.

- After having his larynx crushed in one of the most

brutal attacks in history.

Steamboat sought revenge on the Intercontinental Champion,

and the two were set to lock horns at WrestleMania 3

in what many consider to be the greatest match of all time.

- This contest is for the

Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship.

- We knew before it happened it's like

this is gonna be the match that raises the bar.

It's going to be the best match on the card for sure.

- From an in-ring perspective, with the Intercontinental Title

was all about, there was nothing bigger or better.

Macho Man, Steamboat match-

One of the greatest matches of all time.

- Deep arm drag by the Dragon.

- Oh, look at that.

You got to get up pretty early in the morning

to outsmart the Macho Man.

- Anytime you have that type of talent in the ring,

you should expect a great match.

- Talk about determination.

Look at the clothesline by the Macho Man.

- What a move by Macho Man.

I don't know how Steamboat-

- Dragon gets out.

- I don't know how he's doing it.

- Down in the middle.

One, two-

And Savage comes out once again.

- This is one of the greatest matches I've ever seen.

- His favorite position.

Bombs away.

- He got him.

- He nailed him with it.

- That many eyes watching-

we wanted a match to steal the show.

- Savage in a whole heap of trouble.

Now a small package by The Dragon.

He got him.

I can't believe it.

- Everywhere I go, people still yell out

"WrestleMania 3, you and Savage.

WrestleMania 3, you and Savage."

Out of the 6000 that I had-

that match.

- WrestleMania 3 was unquestionably the biggest

WrestleMania of the classic era,

with over 93,000 fans in attendance.

Macho Man and the Dragon put on a classic,

and while that match may have stolen the show,

it was the main event that people paid their money to see.

- I'm here for one reason to challenge you for a world

championship match in the WrestleMania.

- Are you or are you not going to fight him

at WrestleMania 3 for the World Heavyweight Championship?

Yes or no?

- Yes.

- The immortal Hulk Hogan will put his WWE Championship

on the line against the undefeated Andre the Giant.

Our number one moment is the irresistible force

meeting the immovable object.

- This is the main event of the evening.

- It was just the right time,

the right people, the right place.

It was perfect.

- Look at the size of The Giant.

I mean, Hogan is 6'8.

- You needed a match as big as possible,

and nothing was going to be bigger than

Hogan and Andre at the time.

- Hogan would get beat down In the match

and he was just the guy that you could believe in.

- One more time, if that arm drops, it's over.

Oh, look at that.

It's up there.

Listen to these fans.

- The fans realize no matter what the odds were,

he was never counted out of a fight.

- Look at the look on the face of the champion.

He's Hulking up.

Look at this.

He slammed him.

I don't believe it.

- Hulk dropping a big leg

Over for the cover.

- It's over.

- I knew that night the whole world was watching.

WrestleMania 3 just launched the WWE

to a whole nother level from that point on.

- What can I say?

I never thought it could be done.

- History is made here in the Silverdome,

and that guy right there has made history

all over the world.

- Hogan slamming Andre the Giant has become a defining moment

in the history of WWE.

That'll do it for this edition of WWE's Greatest Moments.

Hope you've enjoyed this

look back at WrestleMania, the moments that became the

foundation for what makes WrestleMania the greatest

spectacle in all of Sports Entertainment.

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