50 Fun Facts About WrestleMania

Which billionaire backed Bobby Lashley in a hair-versus-hair match at WrestleMania 23?

Donald Trump picked the winner, so he and Lashley shaved Vince McMahon bald in the ring. The referee then dropped Trump with his finishing move.

Which boxer was ringside enforcer for the WrestleMania XIV main event and punched the loser?

Mike Tyson made the winning three count himself, then dropped the beaten champion with one punch. Weeks earlier he had been unveiled as an ally of that champion's D-Generation X.

Which NFL linebacker beat Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event of WrestleMania XI?

Lawrence Taylor won with a flying forearm off the second rope. He brought a squad of fellow football players to keep Bigelow's allies away from the ring.

Which television star teamed with Hulk Hogan to win the main event of the first WrestleMania?

Mr. T and Hogan hosted Saturday Night Live the night before to promote the show. They then beat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in a tag team match.

Which rival, billed as undefeated for 15 years, did Hulk Hogan body-slam at WrestleMania III?

André the Giant weighed about 525 pounds when Hogan lifted him. A first attempt a minute into the match had failed, and Hogan was almost pinned underneath him.

Who ended The Undertaker's 21-match unbeaten run at WrestleMania by pinning him at WrestleMania XXX?

Brock Lesnar needed three F-5s to do it. The decision to end the streak after 21 straight wins divided fans, critics and former wrestlers.

Which boxing champion knocked out Big Show with brass knuckles at WrestleMania XXIV?

Floyd Mayweather pulled off a glove to use the knuckles and won when Big Show could not answer a ten count. Weeks earlier his punches had left Big Show bleeding from the nose.

Which boxing legend was a guest referee for the main event of the first WrestleMania?

Muhammad Ali patrolled the outside of the ring and threw a punch at Roddy Piper when the tag match broke down into a four-man brawl.

Which Canadian city hosted WrestleMania VI, the first WrestleMania held outside the United States?

Toronto drew an announced 67,678 to the SkyDome, a record for the building at the time. Future stars Edge and Christian were in the crowd as fans.

Which Latin music star won a tag team match alongside Damian Priest at WrestleMania 37?

Bad Bunny pinned The Miz himself to win. Earlier in the match he hit a Canadian Destroyer on the floor outside the ring.

Which arena hosted the first WrestleMania and then the tenth and twentieth editions too?

Madison Square Garden gave way to a football stadium for later New York-area editions: the 29th and 35th were held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Who beat Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 in a generational dream match billed as Icon vs. Icon?

The Rock won, yet the crowd overwhelmingly cheered Hogan even though he was cast as the villain. It was Hogan's first WrestleMania in nine years.

Who pinned Hulk Hogan in the champion-against-champion main event of WrestleMania VI?

Ultimate Warrior won with a big splash and became the first man to hold the WWF and Intercontinental titles at the same time. WWF rules barred holding both, so he gave up the Intercontinental belt.

Which wrestler passed out from blood loss rather than submit to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13?

Steve Austin lost the match but won over the crowd, who cheered him for refusing to quit. The bout is often cited as the start of WWE's Attitude Era.

Who beat Bret Hart in sudden-death overtime of a 60-minute Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII?

Shawn Michaels became champion after neither man won a fall in the full hour. Time ran out with him trapped in a submission hold, and officials ordered the match restarted.

Which veteran lost at WrestleMania XXIV under a rule that his next defeat meant retirement?

Ric Flair lost a so-called Career Threatening match, closing a 35-year career. The retirement turned out to be only a period away from active wrestling.

Who won his first WWE Championship by pinning JBL in the SmackDown main event of WrestleMania 21?

John Cena won with his FU slam. It was the first of a record-setting 17 world title reigns in WWE.

Which pop singer managed Wendi Richter to the women's title at the first WrestleMania?

Cyndi Lauper had also stood in Richter's corner on MTV, where two wrestling specials helped build interest in the first WrestleMania.

Winning which annual WWE match has earned a guaranteed world title shot at WrestleMania since 1993?

Royal Rumble winners go on to challenge for a world title at WrestleMania. The one exception came in 2016, when the championship itself was the prize of the Rumble.

Which cinematic bout with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 was The Undertaker's last contest?

The Boneyard match was a brawl through a graveyard and across a warehouse roof. The Undertaker partly revived his biker persona for the first time in over 16 years.

Which structure enclosed The Undertaker and Triple H for WrestleMania XXVIII's End of an Era match?

Hell in a Cell was Triple H's own choice of setting when he finally accepted the challenge. The Undertaker won, lifting his WrestleMania record from 19 wins to 20 without a loss.

Who ended Roman Reigns's 1,316-day world title reign in a WrestleMania XL main event?

Cody Rhodes won a championship that his father Dusty Rhodes never held. Reigns had beaten him in the main event of the previous year's WrestleMania.

Which WWE ceremony returned from an eight-year hiatus in 2004 as part of WrestleMania week?

The WWE Hall of Fame began in 1993 with a single posthumous inductee. Its last ceremony before the break was held alongside Survivor Series in 1996.

Who won two titles in the first women's main event in WrestleMania history, at WrestleMania 35?

Becky Lynch pinned Ronda Rousey with a crucifix, Rousey's first pinfall loss in WWE. The match began after midnight, at the end of a show lasting about seven and a half hours.

Which longtime WCW star wrestled his first WWE match at WrestleMania 31, losing to Triple H?

Sting was making his WWE in-ring debut after decades as a headliner for rival promotions. The defeat turned out to be his only WrestleMania match.

Which celebrity beat Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 38 with help from a huge mousetrap?

Johnny Knoxville and his Jackass allies pulled the oversized trap from under the ring and snapped it shut on Zayn to set up the winning pin.

Where was WrestleMania 36 filmed without an audience after the pandemic ruled out a stadium?

The Performance Center, WWE's training facility in Orlando, replaced a stadium in Tampa. It was the first WrestleMania taped without a crowd and the first shown across two nights.

Who won a one-night, 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV to claim the vacant WWF Championship?

Randy Savage beat Ted DiBiase in the final. Hulk Hogan and his challenger from the year before had been disqualified together in the quarter-finals for trading chair shots.

Who won the WWF title from Bret Hart at WrestleMania IX, then lost it to Hulk Hogan in 22 seconds?

Yokozuna pinned Hart after manager Mr. Fuji threw salt in the champion's eyes. Fuji then challenged Hogan on the spot, missed him with more salt and hit his own man instead.

Who beat Triple H to open WrestleMania XXX, then won the world title in the main event?

Daniel Bryan was added to the title match only because he won the opener. He then outlasted the reigning champion and a third challenger in a triple threat match.

Who won his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, eleven years after his WWE television debut?

Kofi Kingston won with his Trouble in Paradise kick. In the storyline, Vince McMahon had repeatedly tried to keep him out of the match.

Who cashed in a title-shot contract during the WrestleMania 31 main event and pinned Roman Reigns?

Seth Rollins ran in while both scheduled fighters were down, turning a singles bout into a three-way. WWE dubbed his win the Heist of the Century.

Which ladder match for a world title contract debuted at WrestleMania 21, where Edge won it?

Money in the Bank began as a six-man match on the WrestleMania 21 undercard. The concept later grew into one of the five biggest annual events on WWE's calendar.

Which wrestler retired after losing a No Holds Barred match to Triple H at WrestleMania 35?

Batista had demanded one final match against Triple H, who chose the stipulation. The same show saw a second veteran bow out, with Kurt Angle losing his farewell match to Baron Corbin.

Who won the Raw tag team titles at WrestleMania 34 with a 10-year-old partner from the crowd?

Braun Strowman walked into the stands and chose a boy named Nicholas, a referee's son. The pair soon gave the titles up, citing his schedule as a fourth grader.

Which stadium hosted WrestleMania III, where WWE announced an indoor attendance record of 93,173?

The Pontiac Silverdome figure was announced during the show as a new indoor record. Later analyses have put the real crowd at around 78,000.

Who played an Iraqi sympathizer before losing the WWF title to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VII?

Sgt. Slaughter's storyline ran during the Gulf War. WWF cited security concerns over it when the show moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the arena next door.

Which champion slipped out of a loosened boot to escape Kurt Angle's ankle lock at WrestleMania XX?

Eddie Guerrero then rolled Angle up in a small package to keep the title. He had quietly untied the boot himself while Angle was outside the ring.

Which NFL tight end hosted WrestleMania 36 and pinned a friend to win the 24/7 Championship?

Rob Gronkowski pinned Mojo Rawley for the 24/7 title after Rawley had won it earlier in the event. He had only recently signed with WWE when he was named host.

Who beat Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women's title in a WrestleMania 37 main event?

Bianca Belair turned the match by whipping Banks with her own long braid. It was the first WrestleMania main event between two African American wrestlers.

Which gambling destination hosted both WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V in the same venue?

Atlantic City's Convention Hall on the Boardwalk held both shows. They were promoted under the name of a casino hotel rather than that of the hall itself.

WrestleMania 2 came from three arenas on one night: Long Island, Los Angeles and near which city?

Chicago's share of the card took place at the suburban Rosemont Horizon and closed with a tag team title match, before the broadcast moved on to the West Coast.

Which baseball great was flattened by Kane at three WrestleManias in a row?

Pete Rose insulted the hometown team as guest ring announcer and took a Tombstone piledriver. He came back for revenge twice, once hidden inside a chicken costume, and lost both times.

Which pianist was the guest timekeeper at the first WrestleMania, arriving with The Rockettes?

Liberace was part of a celebrity line-up for the main event that also featured a famous boxer as guest referee and New York Yankees manager Billy Martin as ring announcer.

Which aerial move did the challenger botch, landing on his head, in the WrestleMania XIX main event?

Shooting star press was the move, and it came up well short. The challenger still recovered to pin champion Kurt Angle moments later with a third use of his finishing slam.

Who did The Undertaker beat at WrestleMania VII to begin his long unbeaten WrestleMania run?

Jimmy Snuka was caught in mid-air attempting a springboard crossbody and dropped with a Tombstone Piledriver. The match was The Undertaker's WrestleMania debut.

Which longtime WWE ring announcer is credited with coming up with the name WrestleMania?

Howard Finkel named the event that Vince McMahon had conceived. Hired in 1980, he went on to become WWE's longest-serving employee, with 40 years at the company.

Which former wrestler called the first WrestleMania on commentary alongside Gorilla Monsoon?

Jesse Ventura provided commentary beside Monsoon for the whole card. The broadcast opened with interviewer Gene Okerlund singing the national anthem himself.

Which heavy metal band played Triple H to the ring live at WrestleMania X-Seven and 21?

Motörhead performed his entrance theme, The Game, live on stage both times. The big entrances did not help: Triple H went on to lose both matches.

Which Las Vegas resort staged WrestleMania IX, the first WrestleMania held outdoors?

Caesars Palace inspired a Roman theme for the show, with the announcers dressed in togas. The costumes became one of the most frequent criticisms of the event.