On a spring Sunday afternoon in 1985, people went to see a fight and a Broadway show broke out.
Prior to the main event of a professional wrestling card at Madison Square Garden, Liberace and four members of the Radio City Rockettes formed a high-kicking chorus line in the middle of the ring while the familiar strains of "New York, New York" played.
Things got even more surreal when Liberace, sporting a white satin shirt and his trademark gaudy jewelry, returned after the bout. This time the flamboyant pianist joined boxing legend Muhammad Ali in raising the sweaty hands of wrestler Hulk Hogan and actor Mr. T, who had just emerged victorious in a tag-team match. Flashbulbs popped throughout the sold-out arena as the unlikely quartet took a bow.
Hotheaded former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin, looking as if he'd rather be sporting pinstripes than the tuxedo he was wearing, and rainbow-haired pop singer Cyndi Lauper also were on hand.
It was an eclectic bunch to say the least, but it all made perfect sense to Vince McMahon, the wrestling impresario who brought them all together for the inaugural WrestleMania, the closed-circuit extravaganza that would become wrestling's version of the Super Bowl, Roman numerals and all.
McMahon, chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, turned the wrestling business on its ear that day, making his vision of "sports entertainment" a reality. With celebrities adding glitz and glamour to the grapplers' grunts and groans, his World Wrestling Federation (as it was then known), moved up from grainy UHF stations and dimly lit arenas to become a heavyweight fixture in pop culture.
Tonight at 7, McMahon and WWE superstars such as The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Triple H will perform their brand of scripted athleticism at WrestleMania XX before another sellout crowd at the Garden in New York City.
All 19,000-plus tickets for the event were gone in less than five minutes when they went on sale six months ago. Ringside seats with a face value of $750 are now being resold for as much as $3,500, according to Dave Meltzer, editor and publisher of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The four-hour event is also available on television via pay-per-view for $49.95.
Over the past 19 years, WrestleMania has set records -- not just for pro wrestling, but for any sport or form of entertainment -- for pay-per-view buy rates, closed-circuit gates and attendance at indoor events.
