WrestleMania 1 (1985) Held on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the first WrestleMania was a massive gamble by Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It wasn't just another wrestling show; it was envisioned as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling, a high-stakes attempt to merge the spectacle of wrestling with mainstream pop culture and launch the WWF into a new era of national prominence. The success or failure of this event was widely seen