1980s wrestling boom
Encyclopedia
The 1980s professional wrestling boom was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling
in the United States
and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of cable television
and pay-per-view
, coupled with the efforts of promoters
such as Vince McMahon
, saw professional wrestling shift from a system controlled by numerous regional companies to a system dominated by two nationwide companies: Ted Turner
's World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) and McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). The decade also saw a considerable decline in the power of the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA), a cartel
which had until then domineered the wrestling landscape, and in the efforts to sustain belief in the verisimilitude
of wrestling.
superstar Hulk Hogan
. To play Hogan's nemesis, he signed both North Carolina badboy Roddy Piper
and Jesse Ventura
(although Ventura wrestling was limited in the WWF at that point due to the lung disorder that caused his retirement).
Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF television shows to television station
s across the United States
in areas outside of the WWF's traditional Northeastern stronghold. McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his Coliseum Video distribution company. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based. To make matters worse, McMahon would use the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF.
Vince McMahon stated in the documentary The UnReal Story of Professional Wrestling that he did not think his father would have ever sold him the company if he knew what he was planning to do: "He probably would have said, Vinny, what are you doing? You're gonna wind up at the bottom of a river", explained McMahon, Jr. The younger McMahon held a bold ambition: the WWF would tour nationally. However, such a venture required huge capital investment—one that placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse.
(GCW), an NWA member which held the lucrative Saturday time slot, in May 1984. On July 14, 1984 — later dubbed "Black Saturday" — WWF programming began airing in the WTBS
timeslot formerly occupied by GCW programming. The WWF programming was not successful and viewed as comical compared to the NWA. Due to low ratings and viewer protests, WTBS began airing wrestling by Ole Anderson
's promotion, as well as Bill Watts
's Mid South Wrestling, both of which garnered higher ratings than McMahon's WWF show. Later, McMahon sold the WTBS timeslot to rival promoter Jim Crockett, Jr.
for $1 million.
Crocket, also envisioning a nationwide promotion, absorbed several other NWA members into a single entity known as Jim Crockett Promotions
(JCP). In 1986, he renamed JCP "NWA World Championship Wrestling". He would acquire several more promotions, including some non-NWA members, in the following year. By late 1987, Crockett's ownership of so many NWA affiliates, coupled with his continued presidency of the NWA, gave him considerable power. However, Crockett's spending had left JCP indebted. Crockett's attempt to generate revenue with the broadcast of the highly promoted Starrcade
pay-per-view in late 1987 was thwarted by Vince McMahon, who held his Survivor Series
pay-per-view on the same day. A similar situation arose in January 1988, when Crockett's Bunkhouse Stampede
pay-per-view was counter-programmed by the inaugural Royal Rumble
, which aired for free on the USA Network. On November 21, 1988, Crockett was obliged to sell his promotion to Ted Turner. Under the ownership of Turner and the presidency of Eric Bischoff
, WCW would resume competition with McMahon's WWF in the 1990s.
Besides Hulkamania and the emergence of WrestleMania, another legacy of the 1980s was the destruction of the regional territory system which was in place for pro wrestling for Canada
, United States
and even Latin America
. Many fans especially those in the Deep South
were angered by the collapse of their local wrestling promotions. Some of the more well known promotions included WCCW
in Dallas and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
in Charlotte
. In the late 1980s, many fans in the Deep South disappointed in the collapse of regional territories turned to WCW
which was based in Atlanta. Fans in Nashville
and Dallas turned to the USWA
. In most of these areas, WWF shows were not financially successful until 1997-98.
Thanks to the collapse of regional territories, the WWF was now able to sign the best wrestling talent across Canada
and USA
. Other than Hulk Hogan
, the WWF eventually signed stars from other promotions such as Roddy Piper
, Dusty Rhodes
, Bret Hart
, and the British Bulldogs
. The 1980s also had success in the growth and popularity of the tag team division, which included Demolition
, Powers of Pain
, The Hart Foundation
, The Rockers
and British Bulldogs
.
who met singer Cyndi Lauper
on a plane to Puerto Rico
. Lauper asked Albano to appear as her father in her video for the single "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
" in 1983. McMahon later booked Lauper and Albano on a segment of Piper's Pit
. During the segment, the Rock 'n' Wrestling storyline began when Albano called Lauper a "broad", while Lauper retaliated by hitting him with her purse. She then challenged Albano to a match, where the female wrestler of his choice would fight the female wrestler of her choice. Lauper chose Wendi Richter
, while Albano chose The Fabulous Moolah
. The match was scheduled for July 23, 1984 at The Brawl to End it All
, broadcast live on MTV
. During the match, Lauper interfered on Richter's behalf by hitting Moolah in the head with her purse, dubbed "The Loaded Purse of Doom". At the conclusion of the match, Richter had defeated Moolah for the WWF Women's Championship
, which the WWF had promoted as Moolah holding for the previous 28 years. Meanwhile, the connection between Lauper and the WWF continued with the video for the song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
", "Time After Time
", and "She Bop
", all of which featured WWF wrestlers. Richter later had a match with Moolah's protege Leilani Kai
at The War to Settle the Score
, with Lauper and Moolah in their respective corners. Kai won the title with the help of Moolah. Richter and Kai had a rematch at the inaugural WrestleMania
, where Richter regained the title.
On January 3, 1984, Hulk Hogan returned to the WWF. Hogan had been fired from the company by Vince McMahon, Sr.
for appearing in the film Rocky III
(seen by the elder McMahon as a breach of both etiquette and kayfabe
), but was welcomed back to the company by Vincent K. McMahon. McMahon was able to parlay the mainstream popularity Hogan had gained from his role in Rocky III into an even greater level of celebrity. On September 14, 1985, Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, an animated television series
starring the character of Hulk Hogan, premiered on CBS
. The series ran until June 6, 1987, in the process expanding Hogan's young fanbase.
, the WWF created its flagship show, WrestleMania, held at Madison Square Garden
and available on 135 closed-circuit networks
. The future of not just McMahon's national experiment, but also the WWF, the NWA, and the whole industry came down to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking sports entertainment concept. WrestleMania was a pay-per-view
extravaganza (most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on closed-circuit television) that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl
of professional wrestling. The concept of a wrestling super card was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running Starrcade a few years prior to WrestleMania, and even the elder McMahon had marketed large Shea Stadium
cards viewable in closed circuit locations. However, since McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, he tried to target to a public who were not regular wrestling fans. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as Mr. T
and Cyndi Lauper
to participate in the event. MTV
, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time. The show was a huge success with Hulk Hogan, who won in the main event, going on to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated
. After the swimsuit issue, it was the magazine's best seller. Professional wrestling began to become mainstream, thanks, in large part, to the appeal of Hulkamania among children. Large television networks took wrestling into their weekly programming, including Saturday Night's Main Event, premiering on NBC
in 1985.
WrestleMania's popularity and ratings appeal made wrestling a television mainstay. Professional wrestling, now synonymous with the WWF, began to throw more grandiose matches. In 1985, the first-ever pay-per-view
wrestling event, "The Wrestling Classic", took place. The concept, a one-night tournament, was a huge success and would become a regular event, titled King of the Ring
. Later, Pat Patterson would invent the Royal Rumble match
, another grand invention showcasing the most talent.
in 1987. It achieved the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America. The main event, where Hogan scoop-slammed and defeated André the Giant
, helped the show go down in wrestling history as one of the greatest ever produced and made the WWF's popularity soar. In February 1988, Hogan and André faced each other in a special WrestleMania III rematch on the Friday night prime time
spin-off of Saturday Night's Main Event, titled The Main Event
which saw Hogan lose to André by manipulation of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
. After the match André handed the title to DiBiase as promised, resulting in the title being vacated and setting the stage for a WWF Championship tournament at WrestleMania IV. On a previous edition of the same show, Randy Savage made his official transition as a face in his match against The Honky Tonk Man
, following a previous altercation The Hart Foundation and The Honky Tonk Man, this eventually struck a friendship with Savage and Hogan.
At WrestleMania IV
a special WWF Championship tournament was held and resulted in Randy Savage winning, with Elizabeth and Hogan at his side. After WrestleMania IV Hogan and Savage formed The Mega Powers
, And at the first ever SummerSlam
they faced off against DiBiase and André's tag team known as The Mega Bucks. Though friends and tag partners, over the period of a year tensions began to build for various reasons, finally resulting in Savage striking Hogan in early 1989, turning Savage heel once again, and setting up a WWF title match at WrestleMania V
, which saw Hogan after over a year once again hold the title. Savage and Hogan continued to feud for nearly another year, the feud finally ending at the February 1990 edition of The Main Event, which Hogan successfully defended the title in a special WrestleMania V rematch.
on April 1, 1990, is acknowledged as the end of the 1980s wrestling boom. The event saw the last wrestling appearance of Andre the Giant
(as a member of the Colossal Connection), who had become barely mobile in the ring due to his real life condition, and his parting way with long-time manager Bobby Heenan
. One last time, Nikolai Volkoff
(then part of The Bolsheviks
) played his standard part as the evil Soviet Russian
before turning face and embracing America, reflecting the end of the Cold War
.
The main event not only pitted the WWF's two greatest faces against each other but was intended as the passing of the torch from Hogan, the star of the 1980s, to The Ultimate Warrior
, who was immensely popular and considered Hogan's successor. Hogan's clean pin fall loss (another first) signaled the end of an era. However, the Warrior did not live up to expectations and Hogan lingered on in the WWF for the next three years, winning the title three times more.
By 1992, allegations of anabolic steroid
abuse and sexual harassment
were harming the promotion's family-friendly image.
The fans who were kids in the mid and late 1980s were teens by the 1990s, and many eventually grew bored with the comic book style of wrestling of the 1980s, turning their attention away from their childhood favorites such as Hulk Hogan, Junkyard Dog
, and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
, in favor of newer and grittier wrestlers like The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels
, Mr. Perfect
, Bret Hart
, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin
, Triple H
, and Chris Jericho
.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
, coupled with the efforts of promoters
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
such as Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
, saw professional wrestling shift from a system controlled by numerous regional companies to a system dominated by two nationwide companies: Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
's World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) and McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). The decade also saw a considerable decline in the power of the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA), a cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
which had until then domineered the wrestling landscape, and in the efforts to sustain belief in the verisimilitude
Verisimilitude
Verisimilitude is the quality of realism in something .-Competing ideas:The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory...
of wrestling.
First steps at going national
The first step in McMahon's attempt to go national was to sign American Wrestling AssociationAmerican Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
superstar Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. To play Hogan's nemesis, he signed both North Carolina badboy Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
and Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
(although Ventura wrestling was limited in the WWF at that point due to the lung disorder that caused his retirement).
Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF television shows to television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in areas outside of the WWF's traditional Northeastern stronghold. McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his Coliseum Video distribution company. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based. To make matters worse, McMahon would use the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF.
Vince McMahon stated in the documentary The UnReal Story of Professional Wrestling that he did not think his father would have ever sold him the company if he knew what he was planning to do: "He probably would have said, Vinny, what are you doing? You're gonna wind up at the bottom of a river", explained McMahon, Jr. The younger McMahon held a bold ambition: the WWF would tour nationally. However, such a venture required huge capital investment—one that placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse.
Going national
A failed attempt to garner a greater appeal outside the North-east, McMahon bought a controlling interested in Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
(GCW), an NWA member which held the lucrative Saturday time slot, in May 1984. On July 14, 1984 — later dubbed "Black Saturday" — WWF programming began airing in the WTBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
timeslot formerly occupied by GCW programming. The WWF programming was not successful and viewed as comical compared to the NWA. Due to low ratings and viewer protests, WTBS began airing wrestling by Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...
's promotion, as well as Bill Watts
Bill Watts
William F. "Bill" Watts is a former American professional wrestler and promoter. Watts was famous under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a tough, no-nonsense promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, which grew to become the UWF.In 1992, he was the Executive...
's Mid South Wrestling, both of which garnered higher ratings than McMahon's WWF show. Later, McMahon sold the WTBS timeslot to rival promoter Jim Crockett, Jr.
Jim Crockett, Jr.
Jim Crockett, Jr. is a former professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1988, he owned Jim Crockett Promotions , a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance...
for $1 million.
Crocket, also envisioning a nationwide promotion, absorbed several other NWA members into a single entity known as Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
(JCP). In 1986, he renamed JCP "NWA World Championship Wrestling". He would acquire several more promotions, including some non-NWA members, in the following year. By late 1987, Crockett's ownership of so many NWA affiliates, coupled with his continued presidency of the NWA, gave him considerable power. However, Crockett's spending had left JCP indebted. Crockett's attempt to generate revenue with the broadcast of the highly promoted Starrcade
Starrcade (1987)
Starrcade '87 was the fifth annual Starrcade professional wrestling event produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. It took place on November 26, 1987 from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois...
pay-per-view in late 1987 was thwarted by Vince McMahon, who held his Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1987)
Survivor Series was the first Survivor Series pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1987 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio....
pay-per-view on the same day. A similar situation arose in January 1988, when Crockett's Bunkhouse Stampede
Bunkhouse Stampede
The Bunkhouse Stampede was a professional wrestling show held annually by Jim Crockett Promotions from 1985 through 1988.-Concept:In 1985, the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions came up with a new match to increase the fans' interest in their product...
pay-per-view was counter-programmed by the inaugural Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1988)
Royal Rumble was the first annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
, which aired for free on the USA Network. On November 21, 1988, Crockett was obliged to sell his promotion to Ted Turner. Under the ownership of Turner and the presidency of Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, WCW would resume competition with McMahon's WWF in the 1990s.
Besides Hulkamania and the emergence of WrestleMania, another legacy of the 1980s was the destruction of the regional territory system which was in place for pro wrestling for Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and even Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Many fans especially those in the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
were angered by the collapse of their local wrestling promotions. Some of the more well known promotions included WCCW
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
in Dallas and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. In the late 1980s, many fans in the Deep South disappointed in the collapse of regional territories turned to WCW
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
which was based in Atlanta. Fans in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and Dallas turned to the USWA
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...
. In most of these areas, WWF shows were not financially successful until 1997-98.
Thanks to the collapse of regional territories, the WWF was now able to sign the best wrestling talent across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Other than Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, the WWF eventually signed stars from other promotions such as Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
, Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
, Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, and the British Bulldogs
British Bulldogs
The British Bulldogs were the team of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Tom Billington , professional wrestlers who competed through most of the 1980s in both North America, England, and Japan and is by many considered one of the top tag-teams in history.-Early years :In the 1970s, Dynamite Kid and Davey...
. The 1980s also had success in the growth and popularity of the tag team division, which included Demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
, Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
, The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
, The Rockers
The Rockers
The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World...
and British Bulldogs
British Bulldogs
The British Bulldogs were the team of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Tom Billington , professional wrestlers who competed through most of the 1980s in both North America, England, and Japan and is by many considered one of the top tag-teams in history.-Early years :In the 1970s, Dynamite Kid and Davey...
.
Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection
While Crockett created a nationwide company, Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation would go on to a period of unprecedented success in the mid 1980s. The success was in part precipitated by the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection", a period of cooperation and cross-promotion between the WWF and elements of the music industry. The idea was formed by WWF employee Lou AlbanoLou Albano
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
who met singer Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
on a plane to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Lauper asked Albano to appear as her father in her video for the single "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun may refer to:In music:* "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper on She's So UnusualIn film:...
" in 1983. McMahon later booked Lauper and Albano on a segment of Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit
Piper's Pit was an interview segment featuring Roddy Piper which was a mainstay of WWF/WWE television from 1984 to 1987, and then returned briefly in 1989. Also, Piper hosted similar segments while wrestling for other promotions in 2003 - 2011....
. During the segment, the Rock 'n' Wrestling storyline began when Albano called Lauper a "broad", while Lauper retaliated by hitting him with her purse. She then challenged Albano to a match, where the female wrestler of his choice would fight the female wrestler of her choice. Lauper chose Wendi Richter
Wendi Richter
Wendi Richter is a retired American professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she held the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship twice. In the 1980s, she joined the World...
, while Albano chose The Fabulous Moolah
The Fabulous Moolah
Mary Lillian Ellison , better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah, was an American female professional wrestler. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildred Burke, as well as working alongside professional wrestler "Nature Boy" Buddy...
. The match was scheduled for July 23, 1984 at The Brawl to End it All
The Brawl to End it All
The Brawl to End It All was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on July 23, 1984. The show was a major event in the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection in the mid-1980s WWF...
, broadcast live on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. During the match, Lauper interfered on Richter's behalf by hitting Moolah in the head with her purse, dubbed "The Loaded Purse of Doom". At the conclusion of the match, Richter had defeated Moolah for the WWF Women's Championship
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
, which the WWF had promoted as Moolah holding for the previous 28 years. Meanwhile, the connection between Lauper and the WWF continued with the video for the song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released as a single for The Goonies, a 1985 film which was released around the same time as the single...
", "Time After Time
Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper song)
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remained there for two weeks...
", and "She Bop
She Bop
"She Bop" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984. Worldwide, the song is her most commercially successful single after "Time After Time", and reached number...
", all of which featured WWF wrestlers. Richter later had a match with Moolah's protege Leilani Kai
Leilani Kai
Patricia Schroeder , better known by her stage name Leilani Kai, is a semi-retired professional wrestler. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school...
at The War to Settle the Score
The War to Settle the Score
The War to Settle the Score was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on February 18, 1985. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Championship against Roddy...
, with Lauper and Moolah in their respective corners. Kai won the title with the help of Moolah. Richter and Kai had a rematch at the inaugural WrestleMania
WrestleMania (1985)
WrestleMania was the first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The attendance for the event was 19,121 fans...
, where Richter regained the title.
On January 3, 1984, Hulk Hogan returned to the WWF. Hogan had been fired from the company by Vince McMahon, Sr.
Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent James "Vince" McMahon, better known as Vince McMahon, Sr. was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for founding the American promotion, World Wide Wrestling Federation, which is now known as WWE.-Early life:Vincent James McMahon was born on July 6, 1914 in Harlem,...
for appearing in the film Rocky III
Rocky III
Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...
(seen by the elder McMahon as a breach of both etiquette and kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
), but was welcomed back to the company by Vincent K. McMahon. McMahon was able to parlay the mainstream popularity Hogan had gained from his role in Rocky III into an even greater level of celebrity. On September 14, 1985, Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, an animated television series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
starring the character of Hulk Hogan, premiered on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. The series ran until June 6, 1987, in the process expanding Hogan's young fanbase.
The inaugural WrestleMania
To counter the NWA's primary supercard, StarrcadeStarrcade
Starrcade was an annual professional wrestling event held from 1983 to 2000 by the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling as their flagship event equal to WWE's WrestleMania , and featured the largest feuds of the promotion...
, the WWF created its flagship show, WrestleMania, held at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and available on 135 closed-circuit networks
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
. The future of not just McMahon's national experiment, but also the WWF, the NWA, and the whole industry came down to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking sports entertainment concept. WrestleMania was a pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
extravaganza (most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on closed-circuit television) that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
of professional wrestling. The concept of a wrestling super card was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running Starrcade a few years prior to WrestleMania, and even the elder McMahon had marketed large Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
cards viewable in closed circuit locations. However, since McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, he tried to target to a public who were not regular wrestling fans. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
and Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
to participate in the event. MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time. The show was a huge success with Hulk Hogan, who won in the main event, going on to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
. After the swimsuit issue, it was the magazine's best seller. Professional wrestling began to become mainstream, thanks, in large part, to the appeal of Hulkamania among children. Large television networks took wrestling into their weekly programming, including Saturday Night's Main Event, premiering on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1985.
WrestleMania's popularity and ratings appeal made wrestling a television mainstay. Professional wrestling, now synonymous with the WWF, began to throw more grandiose matches. In 1985, the first-ever pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
wrestling event, "The Wrestling Classic", took place. The concept, a one-night tournament, was a huge success and would become a regular event, titled King of the Ring
King of the Ring
King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event....
. Later, Pat Patterson would invent the Royal Rumble match
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
, another grand invention showcasing the most talent.
Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Randy Savage
WWF held its most successful event, WrestleMania IIIWrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
in 1987. It achieved the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America. The main event, where Hogan scoop-slammed and defeated André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
, helped the show go down in wrestling history as one of the greatest ever produced and made the WWF's popularity soar. In February 1988, Hogan and André faced each other in a special WrestleMania III rematch on the Friday night prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
spin-off of Saturday Night's Main Event, titled The Main Event
WWF The Main Event
The Main Event was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was a spin-off of the show WWF Saturday Night's Main Event and occasionally aired on NBC on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final...
which saw Hogan lose to André by manipulation of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
. After the match André handed the title to DiBiase as promised, resulting in the title being vacated and setting the stage for a WWF Championship tournament at WrestleMania IV. On a previous edition of the same show, Randy Savage made his official transition as a face in his match against The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
, following a previous altercation The Hart Foundation and The Honky Tonk Man, this eventually struck a friendship with Savage and Hogan.
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
a special WWF Championship tournament was held and resulted in Randy Savage winning, with Elizabeth and Hogan at his side. After WrestleMania IV Hogan and Savage formed The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet...
, And at the first ever SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1988)
SummerSlam was the first annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation and took place on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden, located in New York, New York. The pay-per-view was created to help the company compete against rival...
they faced off against DiBiase and André's tag team known as The Mega Bucks. Though friends and tag partners, over the period of a year tensions began to build for various reasons, finally resulting in Savage striking Hogan in early 1989, turning Savage heel once again, and setting up a WWF title match at WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey...
, which saw Hogan after over a year once again hold the title. Savage and Hogan continued to feud for nearly another year, the feud finally ending at the February 1990 edition of The Main Event, which Hogan successfully defended the title in a special WrestleMania V rematch.
End of an era
Generally WrestleMania VIWrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...
on April 1, 1990, is acknowledged as the end of the 1980s wrestling boom. The event saw the last wrestling appearance of Andre the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
(as a member of the Colossal Connection), who had become barely mobile in the ring due to his real life condition, and his parting way with long-time manager Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
. One last time, Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...
(then part of The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Russian Communist bad guys. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although...
) played his standard part as the evil Soviet Russian
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
before turning face and embracing America, reflecting the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
The main event not only pitted the WWF's two greatest faces against each other but was intended as the passing of the torch from Hogan, the star of the 1980s, to The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
, who was immensely popular and considered Hogan's successor. Hogan's clean pin fall loss (another first) signaled the end of an era. However, the Warrior did not live up to expectations and Hogan lingered on in the WWF for the next three years, winning the title three times more.
By 1992, allegations of anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
abuse and sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
were harming the promotion's family-friendly image.
The fans who were kids in the mid and late 1980s were teens by the 1990s, and many eventually grew bored with the comic book style of wrestling of the 1980s, turning their attention away from their childhood favorites such as Hulk Hogan, Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...
, and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
, in favor of newer and grittier wrestlers like The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
, Mr. Perfect
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, and Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
.