WrestleMania 1985 WrestleMania ( chronologically known as WrestleMania I ) was the first 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 , New York . The attendance for the event was 19 , 121 fans . The event was viewed by over one million fans through Closed - circuit television , making it the largest event on closed - circuit television in the United States at the time . It was also available in limited markets on Pay Per View , although WWE lists The Wrestling Classic as their first Pay Per View event . The event was the start of the Rock ' n ' Wrestling gimmick , which brought together professional wrestling and the music industry , and matches aired on MTV during the buildup to the event . Nine professional wrestling matches , performances with pre - determined outcomes between wrestlers with fictional personalities that are portrayed as real , were featured . The main event match pitted Hulk Hogan and Mr . T against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff . Hogan won the match after interference from " Cowboy " Bob Orton ( Bob Orton , Jr . ) . Also at the event , Wendi Richter defeated Leilani Kai for the WWF Women ' s Championship , and Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik defeated The U . S . Express ( Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham ) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship . The reviews for the event were mixed . Reviewers considered the main event match to be entertaining and humorous but lacking in technical wrestling . Despite this , it received " Pro Wrestling Illustrated " ' s annual PWI Match of the Year award . Background and promotion . In the late 1980s , Vince McMahon ' s World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) ' s main competition in the professional wrestling industry was from Jim Crockett Promotions . McMahon countered Jim Crockett ' s successful Starrcade pay - per - view , which began airing in 1983 , by creating the WrestleMania franchise . For the first WrestleMania , Vince McMahon began cross promoting with MTV . In addition , several celebrities like Muhammad Ali , Liberace and Cyndi Lauper also appeared during the buildup to and at the event . The WWF aired two wrestling specials on MTV . The first one was " The Brawl to End it All " , aired on July 23 , 1984 , in which a match from a live Madison Square Garden broadcast was shown on MTV . Wendi Richter defeated The Fabulous Moolah to win the WWF Women ' s Championship on the card , with Lauper on her side . At " The War to Settle the Score " , which aired on February 18 , 1985 , Leilani Kai , accompanied by Moolah , defeated Richter , again accompanied by Lauper , to win the Women ' s Championship . Two other championships were also defended at WrestleMania : the WWF Intercontinental Championship and the WWF Tag Team Championship . Prior to the event , Greg Valentine had feuded with Tito Santana over the belt . Valentine defeated Santana on September 24 , 1984 for the championship . Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham won the WWF Tag Team Championship three months before WrestleMania from the team of Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch . In the months leading up to the first WrestleMania , Roddy Piper began a talk - show segment on WWF television entitled " Piper ' s Pit " . On one episode of the show , he hit Jimmy Snuka over the head with a coconut , leading to a feud between the two men . As part of the storyline , Piper recruited Cowboy Bob Orton to be his bodyguard . On another episode of " Piper ' s Pit " , Piper spoke out against the burgeoning Rock ' n ' Wrestling connection , which led to a confrontation with Hulk Hogan . In February 1985 , the two men faced each other at " The War to Settle the Score " , where Hogan won by disqualification after interference by Paul Orndorff and Mr . T . Their on - going feud led to their match at WrestleMania . As part of the promotion for the event , Hogan appeared on " Hot Properties " four days prior to WrestleMania , where he put host Richard Belzer into a front chinlock — a move that cuts off the flow of blood to the brain . Belzer , however , fell to the floor unconscious and began to bleed profusely . His injury required eight stitches .