Wrestlemania 40th Anniversary

     Today is the 40th anniversary of Wrestlemania. The first Wrestlemania was held on March 31, 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. There was one South Florida location that broadcast the closed-circuit event. 

     The local area at that time was known as a National Wrestling Alliance territory. It was called Championship Wrestling from Florida and the play-by-play announcer was Gordon Solie. They held monthly events at Sunrise Music Center in Broward County, West Palm Beach Auditorium in Palm Beach County and Miami Beach Convention Center in Dade County. 

     The World Wrestling Federation made inroads in South Florida over the next couple of years. One shocking situation was the WWF holding an event at James L. Knight Center in Miami on January 2, 1987. The University of Miami Hurricanes played Penn State for the college football national championship at the same time.