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Looking
back at Trump Plaza's relationship with WWE, By Vaughn
Johnson- 12th July 2014
Profiles
WWE
WrestleMania
Donald
Trump Hotels
Sports
Entertainment
Atlantic
City Business
This
Dec. 9, 2011 file photo shows the exterior of Trump
Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City N.J. The casino's
parent company said on Saturday July 12, 2014 that
it expects to close Trump Plaza on Sept. 16. It would
be the third Atlantic City casino to shut down this
year.(AP Photo/Wayne Parry, FILE)
News
broke Saturday that the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino
in Atlantic City, N.J. will be closing
its doors for good by mid-September.
Why
is this significant to professional wrestling? The
Trump Plaza was the official partner/sponsor of WrestleManias
IV and V in 1988 and 1989.
The
events emanated from the Boardwalk Hall next door
to the casino, but the sponsorship of Trump Plaza
Hotel & Casino led to a business partnership between
Donald Trump and the WWE as far as the promotion of
the event.
The
partnership was so fruitful that it was the only time
the mega-event was held in the same venue two years
in a row.
Something
that came from the partnership that still has lasting
effects was the number of promotional events that
surrounded WrestleMania. Those events were the genesis
of what is now WrestleMania Axxess, which is one of
the main attractions to WrestleMania today.
Trump
himself went on to do numerous ventures with the WWE,
including shaving Vince McMahon's head at WrestleMania
23 and accept an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame
in 2013.
WrestleMania
IV will always standout among the the 30 WrestleManias,
as there was a one-night tournament for the vacant
WWE Championship. Randy Savage won the tournament,
as he wrestled three times before triumphing over
Ted DiBiase in the finals to win the title.
RELATED:
Looking back at WrestleMania IV
Savage’s
title win also began the partnership between himself
and Hulk Hogan, who collectively became The Mega Powers.
The
story between Savage and Hogan played out over the
course of a year and culminated at WrestleMania V,
when Hogan defeated Savage to win the WWE Championship
in one of the biggest main events in WWE history.
RELATED:
Looking back WrestleMania V
WrestleManias
IV and V were the only ones held in the state of New
Jersey until 2013, when the Garden State hosted WrestleMania
29 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
(Philly.com)
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