Tags
Countdown To Wrestlemania, Cowboy Bob Orton, Hulk Hogan, Into The Vault, Jimmy Snuka, Mr. T, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, Muhammad Ali, Pat Patterson, Paul Orndorff, Road To Wrestlemania, Roddy Piper, Superfly Jimmy Snuka, Wrestlemania, Wrestlemania 1, Wrestlemania 31
31 Days from now the Super Bowl of the WWE will take place from Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California (which is the home of the San Francisco 49ERS). So from now until March 29 when the event takes place, we are going to be counting down the days by having a different match every day. We are going to basically start with the first Wrestlemania all the way up to Wrestlemania 30 for the first 30 days and a match of my choice for day 31. I figured since we are starting with the first Wrestlemania that it was only natural we start with the man that helped build Wrestlemania in Hulk Hogan. In Wrestlemania 1, Hogan teamed with movie star Mr. T to take on Hot Rod Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff in a tag team match at Madison Square Garden which was the site of the first event. The match also featured the great Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson as special guest referees in the match and Liberace was the special guest bell ringer.
When the bell rang, it looked as if Paul Orndorff and Hulk Hogan were going to start off the match, but that quickly changed when Piper was begging Orndorff for the tag. Once Piper was tagged in, Mr. T started to beg the Hulkster to let him in the match and Hogan obliged, making the tag. Piper had stated in many interviews that Mr. T was awful at wrestling so he didn’t want to let him do much in the match. They started off with a slap off before Piper flexed his amateur wrestling abilities, but T was able to get out of it eventually hitting Piper with a fireman’s carry and a slam. After all hell had broken loose in the ring, it looked like Piper and Orndorff had had enough of the match as both men headed to the back.
They eventually came back to the ring and it was Hogan and Piper in the ring as Hogan was cleaning house with both men. After a couple of rakes to the eyes and an atomic drop, Hogan would make the tag to T who would hit a couple of body slams and headbutts before he tagged Hogan back in. When Hogan came back in, Orndorff was able to hit Hogan with a cheap shot and Piper would take advantage of a hurt Hogan on the outside by hitting him with a chair. At this point, the duo of Piper and Orndorff took advantage of double teams to continue to have advantages over a hurt Hulk Hogan. At one point, Orndorff went to the top rope to try and land an elbow, but when he came down Hogan moved out of the way and he tagged in Mr. T, but the team of Piper and Orndorff were quick to have the advantage on him keeping the actor grounded on the mat.
Eventually, Mr. T was able to slither his way to Hulk Hogan and he makes the tag. Hogan looks as if he has the advantage, but a suplex from Orndorff grounded the champion. Cowboy Bob Orton would climb into the ring to try and attack Hulk Hogan, but Jimmy Snuka came to the rescue, but as he did the referee was distracted trying to get Snuka out of the ring allowing Orton to climb to the top rope. Orndorff had Hulk Hogan held and when Orton came down to drop the cast onto Hogan, Hogan moved out of the way and Orton hits the back of Orndorff’s head and neck knocking him out. Hogan would cover Orndorff for the 1-2-3 for the win. This match represented what Wrestlemania would be for years to come as a spectacle for the ages where celebrities and wrestling came together for the biggest show on Earth.