Hulk Hogan on plans for original WrestleMania: “That was David Schultz’s idea”
Initially, “Dr. D” David Schultz was supposed to be part of the original WrestleMania
With WrestleMania taking place this weekend, Undisputed is running a special series each day this week.
The Road to WrestleMania is a series of stories detailing some of the most defining moments throughout the history of WrestleMania.
Wednesday: Shawn Michaels on WrestleMania VIII
Thursday: Hulk Hogan on initial plans for the original WrestleMania
Friday: WrestleMania 41 predictions
Hulk Hogan on the original main event for WrestleMania: “That was David’s idea”
Hulk Hogan.
Mr. T.
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
And “Dr. D” David Schultz.
The plans for the original WrestleMania, as Hogan recalls, did not include “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. And for valid reason–a different heel came up with the idea for the match.
“The main event of WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden, that was David Schultz’s idea,” said Hogan. “It was his original idea for WrestleMania.”
Schultz was a big part of the plan for Vince McMahon, who had grand designs of turning the World Wrestling Federation into the most powerful wrestling promotion–and a force to be reckoned with in its pop culture crossover. McMahon had his premier star in Hogan, a beloved babyface ready to lead the company into new terrain. He also had Piper, a brash-talking villain without a peer. Mr. T offered a pathway to Hollywood and mainstream media, and the fourth piece of the puzzle was Schultz, another fantastic villain who was ahead of his time.
And that was the match Schultz pitched: himself and Piper against Hogan and Mr. T at MSG in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania in March of 1985.
“It all started with David’s idea,” said Hogan. “It didn’t turn out that way, but that’s how it started.”
An incredibly talented pro wrestler, Schultz was also a controversial figure. He is the man who slapped 20/20 reporter John Stossel, a moment that forever changed the trajectory of his career.
Though Schultz was defending the integrity of professional wrestling, he also committed assault by hitting Stossel two different times. That was a harsh response to Stossel opining that pro wrestling was fake, a comment that forced Schultz to become especially defensive.
Yet that wasn’t the reason McMahon parted ways with Schultz. It did, however, mark the beginning of the end of their working relationship.
The final straw was when Schultz had an unplanned altercation with Mr. T, which he had not approved. Schultz has denied it happened the way it was presented–and perhaps McMahon was looking for a reason to remove Schultz from the WWF–but it marked the end of Dr. D’s run.
“David shot his own angle when he slapped Mr. T,” said Hogan. “Vince was so damn mad. He wouldn’t forgive him, and that was the end of him.”
WrestleMania went on without Schultz. Full of glitz and glamour, Hogan teamed with Mr. T to defeat Piper and Orndorff.
“Vince replaced Schultz with Orndorff, and that’s how that went down,” said Hogan. “But that was David’s idea originally.”