…then Gladys Knight… (whose logo-riddled outfit looked like a very sparkly race car) Ray Charles was followed by Aretha Franklin… I half-expected to find the real singer tied up backstage, the victim of Okerlund’s Naked Gun-style ruse to prevent the assassination of the queen (which, in this case, would be Liberace).Īfter Mean Gene’s underwhelming performance, the WWF recruited some bona fide music legends to open up the next few Wrestlemanias with “America the Beautiful.” I guess we can cut Gene some slack for needing help with the words, as back in 1985, the Star-Spangled Banner was a mere 171 years old and not yet engrained in our national memory. At least the Rock and CM Punk wrote their crib notes on their wrists. ![]() Gene wasn’t even trying here he had the lyrics written down on a piece of paper and didn’t even bother to hide it from the cameras. Anyone who’s seen Legends’ House knows that Mean Gene isn’t picky. Gene looked about ready to burst out laughing during his rendition of the national anthem maybe he was thinking of showing his “rocket’s red glare” to Wendi Richter. Wrestlemania I featured a slew of celebrities – two slews, by some counts – including musicians like pianist Liberace and singer Cyndi Lauper, but Vince left it to Mean Gene Okerlund to perform the Star-Spangled Banner. It’s a wonder the tradition ever took off, considering the rocky start it got off to in 1985. While nowadays Vince would never admit to promoting a “sport” rather than “entertainment,” you don’t see the Grammy Awards, Guardians of the Galaxy, Mad Men, or Candy Crush Saga open with the national anthem, so draw your own conclusions. ![]() Perhaps it was the WWF trying to give the wrestling show an air of sports-like prestige. Now, if you take a moment to think about it, it does seem like an odd way to start an event revolving around men in goofy tights with stupid haircuts flopping around pretending to be hurt. Ever since Wrestlemania I, it has been a tradition to start off the show with a patriotic tune.
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