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The Wrestling Classic, also known as Wrestlevision, was a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) pay-per-view event that took place on November 7, 1985, from the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. It revolved around a 16-man single-elimination tournament and included a WWF Championship match.

It is a commonly held misconception that The Wrestling Classic was the first WWF pay-per-view; even WWE often refers to it as such. However, the first WrestleMania event, in March of the same year, had been available on pay-per-view in some markets.

Background[]

The main feud heading into Wrestling Classic was between Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper, with the two battling over the WWF Championship. In 1985, Piper became the top heel of the promotion after he spoke out against the burgeoning Rock 'n' Wrestling connection, which lead to a confrontation with Hogan. In February, they faced each other at MTV special The War to Settle the Score for Hogan's WWF title, where Hogan retained his title by disqualification. Their feud lead to the development of WrestleMania. In the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania, Hogan and celebrity Mr. T defeated Piper and Paul Orndorff. Hogan feuded with Piper and "Cowboy" Bob Orton for the rest of the year and often got disqualification victories over them, leading to a WWF title match between Hogan and Piper at Wrestling Classic. A tournament was also being promoted on WWF television "Wrestling Classic" which was to take place on the pay-per-view event.

Event[]

The pay-per-view event featured a 16-man tournament dubbed "Wrestling Classic". The first round of the tournament began when Adrian Adonis defeated Corporal Kirchner with a Suplex. Dynamite Kid faced Nikolai Volkoff, and before the match began, Volkoff began singing Russian national anthem. As he was in the midst of finishing his singing, Dynamite Kid hit a missile dropkick on Volkoff to win the match. Randy Savage defeated Ivan Putski by having both his feet on the middle rope for leverage as he pinned Putski. Ricky Steamboat faced Davey Boy Smith. Smith landed in the ropes to attack Steamboat but Steamboat sidestepped and Smith injured his groin. He was unable to continue, so Steamboat was awarded the match by forfeit. Junkyard Dog faced Iron Sheik. The match began with Sheik choking JYD with his jacket. He applied a camel clutch on JYD before releasing the hold. JYD quickly hit a headbutt on Sheik and pinned him to win the match. Moondog Spot and Terry Funk's match was next. None of them wanted to wrestle, so they both left the ring. As Spot started to leave, Funk attacked him from behind. He tried to re-enter the ring but Spot prevented him from entering the ring and won the match by countout. Tito Santana faced The Magnificent Don Muraco. Santana pinned Muraco with a quick small package. The final match of the first round pitted Paul Orndorff against Cowboy Bob Orton. Orton was disqualified after he hit Orndorff with his cast.

The quarterfinals began. Adrian Adonis faced Dynamite Kid. During the match, Adonis accidentally hit his manager Jimmy Hart and collided with Hart. Kid took advantage and pinned Adonis to win the match. Ricky Steamboat faced Randy Savage. The referee was distracted by Miss Elizabeth as Savage took advantage and pulled out brass knuckles from his tights and hit Steamboat with the knuckles before pinning him to win the match. Junkyard Dog defeated Moondog Spot after a headbutt. Tito Santana and Paul Orndorff fought to double countout, eliminating both wrestlers from the tournament in the process. This led to Bobby Hennan's $50,000 storyline bounty on Paul Orndorff not being collected.

A non-tournament match occurred where Hulk Hogan defended his WWF Championship against Roddy Piper. Hogan applied a bearhug on Piper. Piper responded with a sleeper hold. The referee was knocked out and Piper hit Hogan with a steel chair. Hogan applied a sleeper hold of his own on Piper. Cowboy Bob Orton came out and hit Hogan with his cast. The referee saw this and disqualified Piper in the process. Piper and Orton continued to assault Hogan until Paul Orndorff came out and cleared the ring.

The semifinal match between Randy Savage and Dynamite Kid was next. Dynamite Kid superplexed Savage off the top rope but Savage countered it into an inside cradle for the victory. Junkyard Dog drew a bye in the semifinals because the double countout ending of Paul Orndorff vs. Tito Santana in the quarterfinals. A contest was held where over 250,000 fans participated. In the contest, a fan from Batavia, Illinois, Michael Hamley won a Rolls-Royce. This segment was cut from the Coliseum Home Video release for time. However, it was restored when the show aired on WWE 24/7 Classics, WWE's archival video on demand service.

The main event and the finals of the Wrestling Classic tournament occurred between Junkyard Dog and Randy Savage. JYD hit a back body drop on Savage off the top rope who landed on the arena floor. Savage was unable to get into the ring and was counted-out. As a result, JYD won the match and the tournament.

Results[]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
(c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.

Tournament Bracket[]

Pin-Pinfall; Sub-Submission; CO-Countout; DCO-Double countout; DQ-Disqualification; Ref-Referee's decision

  First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                                     
 Adonis   4:17    
 Kirchner Pin  
   Adonis   6:03    
   Dynamite Kid     Pin  
 Dynamite Kid     0:06
 Volkoff Pin  
   Dynamite Kid       5:50    
   Savage Pin  
 Putski 2:56  
 Savage Pin  
   Savage 4:29
   Steamboat Pin  
 Davey Boy 3:41
 Steamboat Ref  
   Savage   17:06  
   JYD      CO
 Iron Sheik 4:33  
 JYD Pin  
   JYD 0:45
   Moondog Pin  
 Funk 0:17
 Moondog CO  
   JYD
   BYE  
 Muraco 4:11  
 Santana Pin  
   Santana 11:38
   Orndorff DCO  
 Orndorff 6:51
 Orton DQ  

Other on-screen talent[]

Commentators
Interviewers
Ring announcer
Referees

Note[]

  • The segment that announced the winner of the car was cut from the Coliseum Home Video release for time. However, it was restored when the show aired on WWE 24/7, WWE's archival video on demand service.

Also See[]

External Links[]

1985 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-views

WrestleManiaThe Wrestling Classic

World Wrestling Entertainment Tournaments
King of the Ring
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Queen's Crown
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1985 The Wrestling Classic1986 Sam Muchnick MemorialFrank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team1990 WWF Intercontinental Championship1993 WWF Women's Championship1998 WWE Championship Tournament1995 WWF World Tag Team Championship1996 WWF World Tag Team Championship1996 Kuwaiti Cup1996 WWF Intercontinental ChampionshipMiddle East Cup1997 WWF Intercontinental Championship1997 WWF World Tag Team Championship1997 WWF Light Heavyweight Championship1997 WWF European Championship1997 Kuwaiti Cup1998 WWF Championship1998 WWF Intercontinental Championship1998 Brawl For All2002 WWE Tag Team Championship2003 WWE Championship #1 contenders2003 WWE United States Championship2005 Gold Rush Tournament2005 WWE Championship #1 Contenders2005 WWE Championship #1 Contenders2005 WWE Championship #1 Contenders2006 WWE Championship #1 Contenders2006 WWE Women's Championship2008 Intercontinental Championship TournamentIntercontinental Championship Tournament 20102010 WWE Divas Championship2011 WWE Championship2012 WWE NXT Championship Tournament2012 WWE Tag Team Championship2013 NXT Women's Championship2014 Intercontinental Championship Tournament2014 NXT Women's Championship TournamentThe Wrestling ClassicNXT Tag Team Championship 20132014 NXT Tag Team Contender's Tournament2015 NXT Championship Contender's Tournament2016 WWE Tag Team ChampionshipWWE Cruiserweight Classic 20162016 Smackdown Tag Team Championship2017 United Kingdom Championship TournamentWWE Mae Young Classic 20172017-18 United States Championship Tournament2018 WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament2018 WWE UK Championship Invitational Tournament2018 NXT North American Invitational Tournament2018 NXT Tag Team Invitational Tournament2018 NXT Women’s Invitational Tournament2018 WWE Tag Team Eliminator2018 United Kingdom Championship TournamentSmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament 2018Mae Young Classic 2018WWE United Kingdom Women's Championship Tournament 2018SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament 2018World Cup Tournament 2018NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament 2020Intercontinental Championship Tournament 2020NXT Breakout Tournament 20212022 NXT Women's Breakout Tournament2022 WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament2022 NXT UK Championship TournamentWWE SmackDown World Cup Tournament 2022WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contenders Tournament 2023World Heavyweight Championship Tournament 2023NXT Women's Championship Tournament 20232023 NXT Women's Breakout Tournament2023 NXT Men's Breakout TournamentWWE United States Championship No. 1 Contender Tournament 2023-2024

World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events

Royal RumbleElimination ChamberFastlaneWrestleManiaBacklashMoney in the BankExtreme RulesSummerSlamHell in a CellCrown JewelSurvivor SeriesTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

Former pay-per-view events
The Wrestling Classic (1985)This Tuesday in Texas (1991)King of the Ring (1993-2002)In Your House (1995-1999)No Way Out (1998-2012)Unforgiven (1998-2009)Over The Edge (1998-1999)Fully Loaded (1998-2000)Judgment Day (1998-2009)Armageddon (1999-2008)InVasion (2001)Vengeance (2001-2011)Cyber Sunday (2004-2008)New Year's Revolution (2005-2007)December to Dismember (2006)Breaking Point (2009)Bragging Rights (2009-2010)Fatal 4-Way (2010)Capitol Punishment (2011)Night of Champions (2008-2015)Over The Limit (2010-2012)Bad Blood (1997-2004)Roadblock (2016)Payback (2013-2017)Battleground (2013-2017)Great Balls of Fire (2017)No Mercy (1999–2008, 2016–2017)Evolution (2018)
Former International pay-per-view events
One Night Only (1997)Mayhem in Manchester (1998)Capital Carnage (1998)No Mercy (UK) (1999) • Rebellion (1999-2002)Insurrextion (2000-2003)Global Warning (2002)Super Show-Down (2018-2021)
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