1980s professional wrestling boom The 1980s professional wrestling boom ( more commonly referred to as the Golden Era ) 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 . History . First steps at going national . The first step in McMahon ' s attempt to go national was to sign American Wrestling Association 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 stations 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 . Going national . A failed attempt to garner a greater appeal outside the North - east , McMahon bought a controlling interested in Georgia Championship Wrestling ( 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 . 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 manager Lou Albano 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 protégé 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 inaugural WrestleMania . To counter the NWA ' s primary supercard , Starrcade , 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 . Hulk Hogan , Andre the Giant and Randy Savage . WWF held its most successful event , WrestleMania III in 1987 . It achieved the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America . The main event , where Hogan scoop - slammed ( which dubbed ' the body slam heard around the world ' ) 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 . End of an era . Generally WrestleMania VI 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 , Stone Cold Steve Austin , The Rock , Triple H , and Chris Jericho .