The Doggie Doggie World of Professional Wrestling

Abstract

On Sunday, 2 April 1989, Macho Man Randy Savage fought to defend his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) national championship belt against challenger Hulk Hogan in a spectacular showdown at Wrestlemania V. For a long time Hogan's demise seemed certain as we watched him, apparently exhausted, his forehead bleeding, struggle simply to stay in the squared circle with the Macho Man. But in the event's final seconds, the Hulkster (as he is known to his fans) miraculously recovered his spirit and strength and turned the match around to wrench the title from his opponent. audience at the Beacon Theatre in New York City was ecstatic at the dramatic reversal-dancing in the aisles, mimicking Hogan's victory gestures, shouting at and snapping pictures of the hero on the huge closed-circuit screen. After months of following the televised challenges, of listening to the accusations and counter-accusations exchanged between the two men, the American public was more than ready to see The Megapowers Explode!' Wrestlemania V drew its enormous live audience through a variety of media. While nearly 20,000 people were present in the arena at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, approximately Ioo audiences of 2,000-14,000 people watched the event in closed-circuit auditoriums. In addition, another 915,00ooo households across the United States were tuned in to the show via pay-per-view cable television hookups.2 By whipping such a large audience into a frenzy of anticipation and then delivering almost four hours of