On January 23^rd, 1984, Hulk Hogan pinned the Iron
Sheik to win the WWF (know called WWE) World Championship. This began a
phenomenon lovingly referred to as “Hulkamania.” It also set off one of the
more interesting periods in professional wrestling, and in pop music, which
came to be known as the Rock & Wrestling Connection.

Having inherited the WWF from his ailing father in the early
80s, Vincent K. McMahon was setting out to make wrestling history in a variety
of ways. For those unfamiliar with early pro wrestling, the sport was
controlled and promoted on a regional level prior to the rise of the WWF. These
regions were called “territories.” McMahon’s power base in NYC and his
substantial financial clout enabled him to poach talent from these territories,
eventually eclipsing and subsuming them into his own.

One critical weapon in this conflict was the insertion of
the WWF into 80s pop culture. Men like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage became
household names, and this was done in part by making pro wrestling “cool.” By
tying it in with popular music and other cultural fixtures, McMahon made the
WWF name a drawing point in itself, a sum of the colorful characters and
bigger-than-life storylines.

In 1985, Hulk Hogan began hanging around with 80s pop
sensation Cyndi Lauper on televised wrestling. Dave Wolff, Cyndi’s boyfriend
and manager at that time, was a huge fan of pro wrestling growing up, and
helped to engineer the deal with McMahon and the WWF. Prior to this, Wolff had
recruited WWF personality “Captain” Lou Albano to star in Lauper’s video for
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Things were about to heat up, however, and Cyndi’s
involvement in sports entertainment was about to deepen.

For the buildup of the inaugural Wrestlemania event, Lauper
declared that she was managing WWF Women’s Championship contender Wendi
Richter.  At Wrestlemania, Richter
marched to ringside as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” blared over Madison Square’s
sound system, and beat Fabulous Moolah for the Women’s Title. In addition, she
began “feuding” (the term used within wrestling for a staged, extended rivalry
or conflict) with both Albano and infamous WWF bad guy “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.  A match was even hyped and shown on MTV,
called “The War To Settle The Score,” which also involved Piper’s fellow heels
(wrestling bad guys) Bob Orton Jr. and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, as well
as TV celeb Mr. T coming to the aid of Hogan. In his autobiography, Piper
recalls being tempted to hurt Cyndi Lauper for real; it was suggested by an
unnamed WWF employee that “the end of Lauper’s career could be the beginning of
yours.” Piper, however, went easy on Lauper but developed some real-life heat
with Mr. T. The two went on to have an (allegedly) semi-legitimate boxing match
at Wrestlemania II, in which Piper claims (in his autobiography) that his hands
were purposefully misplaced in his gloves so as to handicap him.

Cyndi Lauper was not the only 80s rocker to make appearances
at WWF events and get involved; the subsequent two ‘Manias had cameos from
famous rock icons as well. At Wrestlemania II, The British Bulldogs, a popular
tag team consisting of Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid, were joined by not
only Lou Albano but the infamous Ozzy Osbourne. While he refrained from biting
the heads off any small animals, Osbourne did stay ringside with Albano as the
Bulldogs took the Tag Team Titles from the duo of Greg “Hammer” Valentine and
Brutus Beefcake. At the third Wrestlemania, dark rocker Alice Cooper
accompanied Jake “The Snake” Roberts to the ring to confront the Honky Tonk Man
and try (unsuccessfully) to unseat the Elvis-gimmick villain as
Intercontinental Champion.

Celebrity cameos and involvement at major WWF events would
continue well into the 90s and the modern era, but nothing could hold a candle
to the craziness that was the Rock & Wrestling Connection.  While the WWE is currently very popular, not
to mention a very lucrative company, it owes its initial launch into mainstream
entertainment to the brilliant mix of pop culture and sports entertainment that
took place in the mid to late 80s. It was a formula that made people take
notice, and that put, in wrestling slang, “an ass every eighteen inches.” That
is to say, the tickets sold out and the plan was a success.

We all remember Cyndi as the pixie-like, lovable songbird,
flamboyant yet oddly girl-next-door, and 80s pop icon. She had hits like “Girls
Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” and “True Colors,” and even moonlighted
as a manager for female WWE champion Wendi Richter. She had a tie-in with the
film “The Goonies.” She had a good time back then, and we had a good time with
her.

I’m pleased to show that she’s aged beautifully. Still
active in music production and a huge advocate for various charities, Cyndi
still has the look of a pop-punk fairy princess, though she’s grown up a little
wardrobe wise. And there’s nothing wrong with that!

Speaking of WWE (called the WWF in the 1980s, before the
legal battle for the acronym was won by the World Wildlife Fund), their
ultimate moneymaker in the 80s was the man, the legend, the sport entertainment
icon, Terry “The Hulk” Hogan. Having gotten his start in Verne Gagne’s AWA as
“Sterling Golden,” Hulk was renamed and repackaged by Vince McMahon after
having been seen in this iconic opening scene from Rocky III:

Hulk’s look, his intensity, and his message resonated with
people in the 1980s, both in and out of professional wrestling. His sports
entertainment career lasted well into the 2000s, but he was at his biggest
during the 80s. He was well known as far away as Japan.

However “phony” you may think wrestling is, though… it can
put wear and tear on a man. Not to mention that the real guy behind the image,
Terry Bollea, wasn’t living his prayers-and-vitamins lifestyle behind the
scenes.

Hogan has not aged well. I won’t sit here and insult him,
but he’s got a real hang-dog look now… the look of a tired man. Anyone who
follows celebrity news knows he’s had his ups and downs after wrestling, but
he’s still kicking in an industry where many die young.

Films like “Pretty In Pink” and “The Breakfast Club” are
essential viewing for the 80s enthusiast. Molly Ringwald is a name and a face
you remember if you grew up then, unless you were Amish or lived in a cave.

Younger than the previous two on this list, still only in
her 40s, Molly has stayed busy, both acting and writing two books thus far. She
also maintains an advice column.  She’s
had two spouses and is a mom to 3 kids… and she looks great!

If you don’t remember Boy George, where were you? The
frontman of Culture Club who was such a “chameleon” himself that he crafted an
entirely androgynous persona, the man whose real name is George O’Dowd is
synonymous with the crazy edge of the 80s pop scene.

George’s solo career stretched well into the 90s and beyond,
and he’s also written some books, gotten into some legal trouble, and the usual
stuff.  He’s even branched into DJing,
and toured briefly this year.

The years are beginning to weigh on Boy George, but he’s
still got the recognizable look we all know. I have a feeling he’s still far
from finished entertaining people, though only time will tell.

Most people wouldn’t know Henry Thomas by name, but if you
say “Elliot from E.T.” they will know who you mean.

Henry has kept working since then, on into adulthood, having
put films like “Legends of the Fall” and “Gangs of New York” under his belt in
more recent years. His face is still unmistakable, if you look. He’s still a
gifted character actor, and in this writer’s opinion, is underused!

That’s all for now, but here’s all the best to our classic
icons, past and present!

….