Let me begin by saying, we miss you Eddie! You're surely remembered, on this, the week of the 3 year anniversary of us losing you. Thanks for the many memories. My heart goes out to the Guerrero family.



           
Hello Everyone and welcome to My Opinion on WrestleMania. Actually, the history of Mania. This is a request from my friend     The Rock Says This     at     http://fans.wwe.com/www.synthasite.com     First off, I'm a little annoyed. I just read on wikipedia, that 1 of Wrestlemania's nicknames, is "The Grandaddy of Them All." This is a complete and blatent lie. As you all know, Vince McMahonn created WrestleMania. Well, no offense to Vince, because he is truly a shrewd businessman, but his "original thoughts" are very few and far between. Many of you younger fans, may believe he's the begin all/end all of pro wrestling, but us long time "WRESTLING" fans remember some of the copied (stolen) ideas and gimmicks that WWE(WWF) has given us over the years. But you younger fans would not know, because WWE only gives "Their Version" of history, to always make themselves look good. So for my younger readers, here's a little Wrestling History 101. Once upon a time, wrestling was put over by ALL promotions as real. Not "Entertainment". You could actually find wrestling articles in the sports sections of newspapers and television news programs. Before cable tv, yes there was once a time, when there was no cable, wrestling was territorial. Meaning, there were different areas across the nation and globe, who had their own stars and champions. Each area or territory would have their own regular "supershows". The 2 biggest companies, at this time, were the NWA and WWF(WWE). WWF was a single company that promoted shows across the country with their own roster. NWA was a conglomeration af smaller regional companies, from across the globe. In the early 80's, a new concept was introduced, called "Closed Circuit Television". This was the pre-cursor of today's ppv"s. An event would be held at 1 location and be broadcast, via huge screen television, to venues in other cities. As there was yet, no cable, you had to buy a ticket to watch it at your local arena or colliseum. In 1983, the NWA, NOT WWE, came up with the brilliant idea of a yearly wrestling supershow, which would include the BEST wrestlers from companies, all across the nation (whereas WWE would only use talent from their roster). This event was TRULY "The Grandaddy of Them All" and was DEFINATELY not a WWE event or original Idea. It was the NWA's Starrcade 83 : A Flair For The Gold, and was held on Thanksgiving night, 1983. More than a year before WWE's 1st Closed Circuit TV supershow, WrestleMania. In fact by the time WWE had their 1st WrestleMania, NWA had already had a 2nd Starrcade, on Thanksgiving night of 1984. So how can WWE claim it's  WresleMania is the Grandaddy of Them All, when there was clearly another annual wrestling supershow in existence, before WM? It may be the grandaddy of all WWE events, but that's it. The WrestleMania series, even though it was, and still is a tremendous yearly event, was started as nothing more than a blatent rip-off (copy) of NWA's Starrcade series. Contrary to what WWE teaches, an annual wrestling supershow WAS NOT a McMahonn original concept.

Now as I've said though, it has become a tremendous yearly event. It is the stage that either propels an upstart talent into super stardom or causes him/her to crash and burn by the wayside. It is also the biggest showcase of the year, for established talent. Its widespread success has helped transform the professional wrestling industry and make the WWE the most successful promotion in North America. All of WWE's television shows are geared to reach their climax at WrestleMania, which features matches for the company's championship titles, as well as specialty and gimmick matches. Participation in a WrestleMania match, and especially the main event, is considered by many wrestlers and fans alike as one of the greatest achievements and symbols of success in professional wrestling. WrestleMania propels the worldwide commercial success of the WWE through merchandise, media and shows. All of the events produced have been sold out within a short period of time, with recent editions being sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale. WrestleMania III, held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, is particularly notable for the reported attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America and the largest paying crowd in the history of professional wrestling. Personally, I never see another ppv, wether WWE or non-WWE, even coming close to matching or overtaking the yearly success of WWE's WrestleMania. As always, that's my opinion. What's yours?