WrestleMania 2

WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. 

Date: 7 April 1986

Tagline(s): The Premier Sporting Event of the Year!; What the World Has Come To

Promotion: WWE

Attendance: 40,085

City: Uniondale, New York; Rosemont, Illinois; Los Angeles, California;

Venues: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum,Allstate Arena, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

10. It's The Only WrestleMania Held On A Monday

WWE.com

Author's Indulgent Note: Between 1991 and 1994, I was in 2nd through 5th grade, and always thought how strange it was to go to school the day of a live WWE pay-per-view (in this case, Thanksgiving Eve editions of Survivor Series). Being only two years old in early-1986, I wasn't even aware of what wrestling was, but I imagine for others it might have felt a bit peculiar to have school the same day as a WrestleMania, particularly in hindsight.

Really, there's no known reason why WrestleMania 2 was held on a Monday, but maybe it's actually not too unusual. Most major Madison Square Garden shows of the day took place on Monday nights a few times out of the year, so perhaps having a WrestleMania on a school-day wasn't so far-fetched for the era.

9. Jake Roberts Didn't Debut On TV Until Three Weeks Before The Show

WWE.com

As with the Ricky Steamboat example in my WrestleMania 1 list, WWE had no qualms about immediately presenting "The Snake" as an immediate star. While Roberts would go on to make quick work of George Wells at WrestleMania 2, he hadn't wrestled his first WWE match prior to March 2, 1986. In fact, Roberts didn't tape his first television appearances until the following day in Brantford, Ontario.

Regarding those appearances, Roberts' on-camera debut didn't air until March 15 (an interview on Jesse Ventura's "Body Shop"), and his first match wasn't broadcast until Saturday, March 22, a squash victory over Nelson Veileux. That's just a scant 16 days before his WrestleMania match, admittedly a minuscule amount of time to acquaint Roberts with the WWE audience.

8. Roddy Piper Had His Hands Taped While Making Fists

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One year after WrestleMania 1, Piper still had little time for Mr. T and his non-wrestler status. Mr. T nearly walked out before the original event in 1985, fearing that Piper and Paul Orndorff might shoot on him. There was reason to believe that Piper, a legit amateur boxer in his youth, might uncork some stiff shots at the television icon in their boxing match, and embarrass him before the world.

Ordinarily, a boxer's hand is taped while open. In Piper's case, WWE officials had him make fists, then wrapped them with athletic tape. The apparent idea was that once Piper slid his hands into the gloves, he couldn't reach the end of the glove with his closed hands, and his punches would be less damaging, cushioned by the empty front-end of the mitts.

The situation actually caused Piper to struggle a bit when slamming Mr. T to end the fight, feeling awkward in clinching his opponent thanks to his balled-up hands.

7. Piper Left For Four Months Following WrestleMania 2

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So Piper has himself a high-profile skirmish with an iconic figure of the day, which ends indecisively. Afterward, Piper sits with Vince McMahon and guest announcer Susan St. James, further running down Mr. T. After that, Piper went ghost, disappearing from WWE until early August, at which time he returned as a conquering babyface hero.

Piper's 2016 biography, Rowdy, would claim it was the virulent gabber's first real break away from wrestling since 1973, having spent the near entirety of his adult life as a working, have boots/will travel wrestler. The need to recharge his batteries only enhanced Piper's value, as his August return demonstrated the fans' willingness to accept "Hot Rod" as a babyface megastar. Then Hollywood wanted their piece of the action.

6. Ricky Steamboat Was Originally Supposed To Face Bret Hart

Hart had been struggling to raise his head above the current in a crowded WWE locker room. He wasn't a behemoth heavyweight, nor did "The Hitman" possess spell-binding charisma. Still, he was told in February 1986 that he would be working with the transcendent Steamboat come the pay-per-view, and Hart viewed it as a golden opportunity to show how great he could really be.

Weeks later, Hart found out at the Boston Garden that plans had changed, and Hercules Hernandez would get Steamboat instead. Hart would work the Chicago portion of the show in a battle royal.

Hart was crushed, but there was a silver lining. He and Steamboat worked together that evening and put on an impressive match, Hart's first notable singles bout with the company.

5. It Featured Bruno Sammartino's Only Pay-Per-View Match

"The Living Legend" was all but retired by the early eighties, so him wrestling on any pay-per-view was a bonus for his already-illustrious career. Not that a battle royal appearance really compared to his lengthy WWWF World Championship reigns, but a man of Sammartino's stature was overqualified for a WrestleMania match in some capacity.

Still in quality shape at the age of 50, Sammartino participated in NFL-infused battle royal in Chicago. There, he made two eliminations, tossing out defensive tackle Ernie Holmes (who won two Super Bowls with Sammartino's hometown Pittsburgh Steelers), and fellow former World Champion The Iron Sheik.

As far as 1986 goes, Sammartino's battle royal participation would prove secondary to an enjoyable mini-feud he had with Macho Man Randy Savage later that summer, over the course of some Madison Square Garden cards.

4. Jimmy Snuka Was Once Considered As Hulk Hogan's Opponent

This story drips of hearsay and is potentially a tall tale, but it's never really been disproven, either. The recently-departed "Superfly", who had worked Hogan's corner at the inaugural WrestleMania, claimed years later that shortly after the event, Vince McMahon quietly pitched an idea where Snuka would turn heel on "The Hulkster", perhaps not until early in 1986, and work with him for the championship at WrestleMania 2.

The story goes that Hogan declined the match, claiming he had no desire work with a "crazy maniac" like Snuka.

Snuka was viewed as a key element in the 1983 death of Nancy Argentino, and before the end of June 1985, Snuka would be gone from WWE anyhow, not returning until 1989.

3. Jesse Ventura Left WWE Briefly Following The Show

In an attempt to garner better living wages and benefits in the wrestling world, Ventura had quietly spoken to his peers about the idea of unionizing. As Ventura would tell it, there was plenty of support for the idea until word got to McMahon himself, and many job-scared wrestlers scurried away from a potential union. Ventura, at an impasse with McMahon (one of many), temporarily exited WWE following the show, and headed for Hollywood.

With a focus on acting, Ventura was able to join the Screen Actors Guild, which provides him with health and retirement benefits, as long as he keeps his dues paid. "The Body" returned to the WWE fold later in 1986 (reportedly at the request of NBC, who relished having him on Saturday Night's Main Event), and no longer pursued a union in wrestling.

His reasoning: he got his benefits, and if the wrestlers were too scared to fight for themselves, that's not his problem.

2. An Injured Bobby Heenan Would've Been Fired If He'd Missed The Show

WWE.com

"The Brain" had dealt with serious neck issues since injuring himself in the ring earlier in the eighties. In spite of the pain, Heenan would still gamely bump around at will for whatever babyface he'd wind up at the mercy of, and it only exacerbated his injuries. Days before WrestleMania 2, Heenan had an MRI done in Tampa, where two fractured vertebrae were discovered. He badly needed surgery.

The night before WrestleMania, while hospitalized, Heenan was contacted by the office, who told him if he missed his scheduled appearance in Los Angeles, he'd be fired. Heenan checked himself out, flew to LA, bumped for Hogan after the steel cage main event, caught an early morning flight back to Tampa, and returned to the same hospital.

1. Hulk Hogan Vs. King Kong Bundy Is The Only Traditional Steel Cage Match At WrestleMania To Date

WWE.com

Hard to believe, isn't it? Steel cage matches have been a staple of WWE and wrestling in general for decades, the ideal blow-off match. Yet at WrestleMania, there have been only four cage-based matches to date. Three of them have been Hell in a Cell matches pitting The Undertaker against some Corporate Ministry co-member (by sheer coincidence). Hogan vs. Bundy marked the only appearance of the classic blue-barred cage at a WrestleMania.

Given WWE's preference to have cage matches end with some form of escape, it's certainly possible that the company preferred to have major feuds blow off with a pinfall or submission on the big stage, rendering their use for cages moot. Alas, it's still a common gimmick match that's been largely absent from the WrestleMania scene.