Some of wrestling's most legendary, memorable, and entertaining matches have occurred at WWE's premiere event WrestleMania. It does not have to be in the closing spot to be a classic. Sometimes the show's opener has stolen the show and sometimes it is a match midway through the show.
Although WrestleMania is a stage for greatness, not all matches receive fame, glory, or even recognition. It is not just because those matches had lesser-known names, match quality did not always live up to the show's expectation. Not every single match from close to 40 years to an annual event will be remembered but from that list here are 10 WrestleMania matches from the 1980s (I-V) you forgot about.
10 Tito Santana vs The Executioner (1985)
This is a match that every WWE fan, let alone every wrestling fan, needs to know. Tito Santana vs The Executioner was the very first match to occur at WrestleMania.
Santana won the match by submission in under 5 minutes. It was by no means an instant classic but it definitely deserves a watch for its historic value. Not every fan knows what the first match was at WrestleMania and if you are in that category, you no longer have an excuse.
9 Ricky Steamboat vs Matt Borne (1985)
The third match on the first WrestleMania card was a match-up between the future NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and the future "Doink The Clown." Steamboat took on Matt Borne and won in under 5 minutes. It may have been forgotten that Steamboat wrestled at the first WrestleMania.
It is fun to watch matches between two superstars years before both launched to fame. Two years later at WrestleMania Steamboat would tear down the house with Randy Savage and although Doink did not have an amazing WrestleMania IX showing, he was a favorite who fans still fondly remember through home videos and classic video games.
8 Jake Roberts vs George Wells (1986)
WrestleMania 2 more or less had 2 standout matches from its baffling event that took place from 3 different cities. Those matches were Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy and the WWE vs NFL battle royal. In the first set of matches from Nassau Coliseum, there was somewhat of a WWE vs CFL battle.
In that clash Jake "The Snake" Roberts fought retired Canadian football player George Wells and won in under 5 minutes. Wells played football in the 70s, transitioning into wrestling midway through his gridiron career. George fought in Stampede Wrestling in Canada in the late 70s before joining the NWA. In WWE, Wells was Bret Hart's tag partner before Jim Neidhart.
7 Flag Match: Corporal Kirchner vs Nikolai Volkoff (1986)
The name Michael Kirchner may not ring a bell for fans but his wrestling has most definitely been seen by thousands, if not millions, of people. Kirchner wrestled in WWE in the mid 80s as "Corporal Kirchner" and also spent some time in Stampede Wrestling. At WrestleMania 2, he defeated Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie) in a Flag match. A Flag match occurring at WrestleMania alone is something fans have forgotten.
The Kirchner-Volkoff fight only lasted 2 minutes. Kirchner is best known for his work in Japan as "Leatherface," his persona based on the character of the same name from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In the Halloween season old videos of Kirchner's "Leatherface" matches often pop up on social media.
6 Rick Martel & Tom Zenk vs Bob Orton & The Magnificent Muraco (1987)
Highlights of WrestleMania III include King Kong Bundy, the Roddy Piper-Adrian Adonis hair match, Steamboat vs Savage, Jake Roberts with Alice Cooper, and Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant. The opening match of the night was a tag team match between the Can-Am Connection and the team of Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji).
Rick Martel and Tom Zenk got the win over Orton and Muraco in a little over 5.5 minutes. For Bob Orton and WrestleMania, fans tend to think of his appearances at 'Mania 1 and 21. For Fuji, fans best remember his WrestleMania IX and X appearances alongside Yokozuna. This is a forgotten match/appearance for both Hall of Famers.
5 Danny Davis, Jim Neidhart & Bret Hart vs Tito Santana, Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid (1987)
Had the competitors in this match all been in their prime together, it would probably be considered the greatest six-man tag match ever. Midway through WrestleMania III, The Hart Foundation defeated Tito Santana and The British Bulldogs. Representing The Hart Foundation was Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and "Dangerous" Danny Davis.
Before joining the Harts, Davis wrestled occasionally under a mask named "Mr. X," acted as a manager, and was also a crooked referee throughout his WWE career. The history and linkage of "The British Bulldogs" Davey Boy Smith and Tom Billington to the Hart family are well documented with training and marriage; it must have been a great family moment to have a WrestleMania match all together.
4 Andre The Giant vs Hulk Hogan (1988)
WrestleMania IV was mostly a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion after the title was vacated months prior. 16 matches took place that night which was a lot for the time and still is, despite that being close to the number of matches at a modern WrestleMania. In the quarter-finals of the tournament, Hulk Hogan fought Andre The Giant, meeting in back-to-back WrestleManias.
Their second meeting suffered in quality and entertainment. Despite Hogan and Andre being the most advertised match for WrestleMania IV, even being featured on the event poster and home video release, Randy Savage winning his first WWE Championship was the only memorable match from the event.
3 The Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules (1988)
To take a break from tournament action at WrestleMania IV, following the last quarter-final match The Ultimate Warrior faced off against Hercules (with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan). In early 1988 on Superstars of Wrestling Warrior and Hercules went face-to-face.
Hercules challenged Warrior to a tug-of-war match with his steel chain which ended in a draw when the chain snapped in half. This led to the feud's blowoff at WrestleMania where Warrior won in 4:30.
2 Jake Roberts vs Andre The Giant (1989)
Andre The Giant began a rivalry with Jake "The Snake" Roberts in late 1988 stemming from Jesse Ventura revealing Andre's fear of snakes. Jake at one point threw his snake Damien onto Andre which caused him to have a "heart attack."
Andre memorably eliminated himself in the 1989 Royal Rumble match after Roberts put Damien in the ring, causing Andre to take off in fear. The blowoff came at WrestleMania V with Big John Studd as special guest referee and Bobby Heenan in Andre's corner. Roberts won by disqualification in under 10 minutes and would once again use Damien to scare off Andre once and for all.
1 Red Rooster vs Bobby Heenan (1989)
Bobby Heenan's night at WrestleMania V was not over following Andre's match. Bobby Heenan wrestled in the second-to-last match of the night. Heenan, accompanied by The Brooklyn Brawler who he had recently debuted, fought "The Red Rooster" Terry Taylor.
In the second-last televised match of his career, Heenan lost to Red Rooster in 30 seconds after he ran into the corner, hitting the steel ring post, allowing Rooster to get the pin. The Hogan vs Savage main event was on everyone's mind that night and still is about the event, overshadowing one of The Weasel's matches.