WrestleMania: 25 Years of Decadence

Pro wrestling's biggest event turns a quarter-century old. MSN will be there, but first we (and WWE superstars) tell you why you should care

Brief History

So, you ask, what makes WrestleMania any different from the dozen other wrestling pay-per-views or weekly episodes of "Monday Night RAW" or "Friday Night SmackDown"? Isn't it just another event? Simply put, it's like saying the Oscars are another awards show. It's like saying the Super Bowl is another football game. You may know people who don't like football, but when the Super Bowl comes around they watch. Even the most casual observers come out for WrestleMania. The sports stations, which disdain pro wrestling, devote a segment to it. And, from the beginning, celebrities came out in droves and either embraced it or often took part in it. Muhammad Ali, Alice Cooper, Mr. T (who kicked off the celeb buzz by headlining the first WrestleMania), Mike Tyson, Ozzy Osbourne, Donald Trump ... they are all WrestleMania vets. Last year, Floyd Mayweather boxed in a match and rumors this year have Mickey Rourke in attendance in an unknown role. An Oscar nominee at a wrestling match? Oh, if Andre the Giant were around to see this ...

The event started as a one-time promotion by WWE (then WWF) CEO Vince McMahon back in 1985. Wrestling was increasing in popularity, but lacked one massive event to bring the talent and story lines together in a single program. McMahon rolled the dice and created a one-night spectacle set at Madison Square Garden. The popularity was beyond anything the company envisioned. It kick-started Hulkamania into overdrive (later stars from the Undertaker and the Rock to Stone Cold and the Macho Man to Shawn Michaels and Triple H all made their monikers household names at the event). A year later, the event played simultaneously in three venues in three separate cities. A year after that, WrestleMania set an attendance record for an indoor sporting event when 93,000 people packed the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit. And so on and so on. WWE kept raising the stakes, the story lines got more creative, the performances got more intense, the fans kept showing up, and here we are 25 years later. And if you can't sense my excitement, let me put it this way: I'd rather be in Houston this weekend than anywhere else on the planet.

Now, let's get down to business. In the past week, I've spoken to a few WWE superstars and asked them to name their favorite WrestleMania moments. After they share their thoughts, we'll take a look at the card for WrestleMania 25 and I will embarrass myself with some predictions that will ultimately show how far ahead of me the WWE creative team is ...

Memories

It's not only fans who have their favorite WrestleMania moments; the talent themselves are all fans who grew up loving the event. Here are a few of their favorite matches:

Edge, the WWE world heavyweight champion: "I remember WrestleMania III was the first one where I thought, 'Holy crap. Look at all these people!' It was the visual, the immensity of that crowd ... The wrestlers coming in on carts. And, of course, the body slam heard round the world, when Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant. And Savage vs. Steamboat, Piper vs. Adonis. It's just WrestleMania!"

The Miz, one half of the world tag team champions: "The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania 18. It was my favorite of the '80s going against my favorite of all time. When they stood there, nose to nose, and people were cheering, 'Let's go, Rocky,' and others were chanting, 'Let's go, Hogan" -- it was one of those moments where you just got goose bumps.

WWE diva Beth Phoenix, aka the Glamazon: "WrestleMania 10, the opening match, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. It was brother against brother. That match was special for me, because not only was it the first time they had wrestled each other on a huge stage like that, but it wasn't for a championship. It was more of a grudge and an opportunity for Owen to step out in the spotlight. The emotion of it was something that I got lost in as a little kid and a moment that for me fortified that this is what I wanted to do with my life."