Welcome to Bleacher Report's weekly WWE Throwback Thursday. Last week's inaugural article looked at a lesser-known match from two huge stars, so it seemed appropriate to go in a different direction this time.
Instead of focusing on one bout, we will take a look at an entire event. Every wrestling fan knows about how WrestleMania launched WWE into the pay-per-view business, but most have probably forgotten about 1985's The Wrestling Classic.
WrestleMania helped save Vince McMahon's wrestling empire, and it didn't take long for the savvy businessman to see the potential for profit in holding these special events. Just eight months after the first WWE PPV, The Wrestling Classic took place in Chicago, Illinois on November 7.
This is the only WWE event to have gone by this name, making it one of the few PPVs in WWE history not to be turned into an annual event.
Instead of following the formula that made WrestleMania so successful, McMahon chose to book a 16-man tournament throughout the night and one title match.
Everyone from the who's who to the who's that of WWE was involved in the four-round tournament. Legends such as Randy Savage and Tito Santana battled lesser-known names such as Moondog Spot and Colonel Kirchner.
Savage made it to the final round by defeating Ivan Putski, Ricky Steamboat, and The Dynamite Kid, while The Junkyard Dog lucked out by only having to face Terry Funk and Moondog Spot because of a double count-out decision in the match between Santana and Paul Orndorff that would have produced his semifinal opponent.
Back in the '80s, fans didn't care as much about how someone won as long as it was their favorite who raised his hand in the end, which is why JYD was able to win the tournament with a count-out victory and not upset the live crowd.
Credit: WWE.com
It was surprising to see this match in the main event slot when one of the greatest feuds of the '80s inhabited the WWF Championship match.
Between the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, Hulk Hogan defended the title against the one and only Rowdy Roddy Piper.
The first WrestleMania featured these two in a tag team main event, so putting them in a singles match for the title seemed like the best way to go for WWE's second foray into the PPV business.
It was a short match at just seven minutes, but that was how it worked back in the day. Longer contests were saved for live events, while anything that was televised was shorter to allow the usual one-hour shows to feature as many bouts as possible.
Piper and Hogan went right after each other. They took the fight outside the ring and turned it into a brawl before the referee could get control of the situation.
Piper used every dirty trick in his arsenal to battle the more powerful Hogan. The pace was fast, and the action was hard-hitting. It was everything you would expect from these two bitter enemies.
Frustration eventually got the better of The Hot Rod, and he used a steel chair while the ref was knocked out. Hogan managed to take the chair out of his hands, but the match still ended in a disqualification.
Cowboy Bob Orton came out and attacked Hogan, but Piper's WrestleMania partner, Orndorff, soon entered the fray and cleared the ring.
The heels were sent running and the babyfaces celebrated in the ring. It was a conclusion that might upset some of today's fans, but the crowd at the Rosemont Horizon was happy that night.
The Wrestling Classic proved the future of WWE programming was on pay-per-view. Had this event failed, we might not have any special events, let alone at least 12 every year.
This show was also unique because Vince McMahon gave one lucky fan a Rolls-Royce. The possibility of winning an expensive luxury vehicle likely got more people to tune in and probably helped convert a few of those people to wrestling fans. It was smart marketing.
The Wresting Classic isn't likely to make it onto many watchlists, but if you have the time, sit down and take in this event because it's a great example of what WWE was like in the '80s in a post-WrestleMania world.