Why Wrestlemania Still Appeals

ByABC News
February 25, 2004, 9:53 PM

March 9, 2004 -- Admit it. If you're reading this story right now, you're a wrestling fan, and you're looking forward to Wrestlemania XX this Sunday.

Or at the very least, you're someone who is feeling nostalgic, remembers watching Hulk Hogan as a child, and is wondering, "Wow, there have been 20 Wrestlemanias?"

If you're a fan diehard or occasional don't be ashamed. There's no need to stay in the closet. From Japan to London to Australia to all 50 states, there are millions of us. It's not a "guilty pleasure"; it's simply a pleasure with a legacy that goes back to the 19th century.

But when World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation) presents Wrestlemania XX on March 14 before a sold-out crowd at New York's Madison Square Garden, the event will have a special poignancy for one of its wrestlers. WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton was only 4 years old when his father, Cowboy Bob Orton Jr., participated in the first Wrestlemania in 1985. (He was the cornerman for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in the main event tag-team match against Hogan and Mr. T.)

Next month, Orton, 23, will make his Wrestlemania debut, and he says his match not only represents the high point in his young career, but is also a tribute to his father and grandfather, Bob Orton Sr., also a retired wrestler.

"For me to get this opportunity, and for it to mean so much, considering my lineage in the business my dad was in the first, second and third Manias it feels great and that's an understatement," Orton said.

"I guess you can say it's a dream come true."

From Rock n Wrestling Connection to 2004

The first Wrestlemania was not the first wrestling supercard, but it took the industry to new heights.