# WrestleMania V
**WrestleMania V** was the fifth annual [WrestleMania](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrestlemania) professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), held on April 2, 1989 at Trump Plaza in [Atlantic City, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-city-new-jersey). Its main event saw WWE Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage defend the title against his former best friend [Hulk Hogan](https://www.edgepedia.org/hulk-hogan), the culmination of the year-long Mega Powers storyline, and Hogan won to capture his second WWE Championship.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5) • [2](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/mainevent)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | April 2, 1989, Trump Plaza, Atlantic City, N.J., the second consecutive WrestleMania at that venue[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5) |
| Main event | WWE Champion Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan; Hogan won his second WWE Championship[2](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/mainevent) |
| Storyline climax | The Mega Powers (Hogan and Savage) exploded on the Feb. 3, 1989 episode of The Main Event, two months before the show[3](https://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/hardesthitting/betrayals3) |
| Pay-per-view performance | 767,000 buys by one tabulation; a contemporary business article reports 915,000 homes at $24.95 per view[4](https://wrestletalk.com/features/every-wwe-pay-per-view-buyrate/) • [5](https://classicwrestlingarticles.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/wrestling-with-success/) |
| Title change | Rick Rude defeated the Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental Championship, the Warrior's first pinfall loss in WWE[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) |
| Notable firsts | Shawn Michaels and the Big Boss Man made their WrestleMania debuts, facing each other as part of the Rockers vs. Twin Towers match[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) |
| Entertainment | Run D.M.C. performed a special "WrestleMania Rap" on the show[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) |
## The Mega Powers storyline
Hulk Hogan and [Randy Savage](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-savage) formed the Mega Powers in 1988, a team built around Savage's valet [Miss Elizabeth](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-elizabeth), and it became one of the most powerful partnerships in sports-entertainment history.[7](https://www.wwe.com/classics/hulk-hogan-on-randy-savage) The team's end came on the February 3, 1989 episode of The Main Event, NBC's late-night wrestling broadcast. During a match against the Twin Towers, Savage unintentionally collided with Elizabeth, knocking her unconscious; Hogan carried her to the locker room, and when he returned and offered a tag, Savage slapped him in the face and left him to finish the match alone.[3](https://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/hardesthitting/betrayals3) Backstage, the WWE Champion accused Hogan of having "jealous eyes" for his championship and "lustful eyes" for Elizabeth, and attacked him before [Brutus Beefcake](https://www.edgepedia.org/brutus-beefcake) made the save.[3](https://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/hardesthitting/betrayals3)
The two settled their differences two months later at WrestleMania V, where Savage, driven by jealousy over Hogan's friendship with Elizabeth, defended the [WWE Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/wwe-championship) against him. Miss Elizabeth watched the match from a neutral corner. Savage took the fight to the bigger challenger and nearly won with his Flying Elbow, but Hogan recovered, pinned him, and ended a Savage title reign that had lasted over one year.[2](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/mainevent) Savage had won the championship at [WrestleMania IV](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrestlemania-iv) one year earlier by defeating [Ted DiBiase](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-dibiase) in a tournament final, with Hogan's help.[8](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/venue)
Hogan later recalled that Savage wrestled the match with a broken and staph-infected bursa sac on his elbow, swollen and in pain, refusing surgery beforehand because, in Hogan's words, "I'm wrestling Hogan."[7](https://www.wwe.com/classics/hulk-hogan-on-randy-savage)
## The card
The event was the second consecutive WrestleMania held at Trump Plaza, the only venue to host back-to-back editions of the show.[8](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/venue) Beyond the main event, the card included the [Ultimate Warrior](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimate-warrior) battling "Ravishing" [Rick Rude](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-rude), Jake "The Snake" Roberts demonstrating that Andre the Giant was afraid of snakes, "Rowdy" [Roddy Piper](https://www.edgepedia.org/roddy-piper) cooling off loudmouth Morton Downey Jr., and Run-DMC performing their "WrestleMania Rap."[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5)
Several results had lasting consequences. When Rick Rude defeated the Ultimate Warrior to win the Intercontinental Championship, it marked the Warrior's first pinfall loss in WWE.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) The tag team Strike Force, Rick Martel and [Tito Santana](https://www.edgepedia.org/tito-santana), broke up after losing to the Brain Busters.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) Shawn Michaels and the [Big Boss Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-boss-man) both made their WrestleMania debuts on the show, facing each other, with Michaels and [Marty Jannetty](https://www.edgepedia.org/marty-jannetty) taking on Boss Man and Akeem.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) Andre the Giant and Big John Studd, who had faced off in a body slam match at the first WrestleMania, were again involved in the same match when Studd served as guest referee for Andre's match against Jake Roberts.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats) "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka made a surprise guest appearance, his first at a WrestleMania since the first event in 1985.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats)
## Business performance
WrestleMania V was a strong pay-per-view performer. The WrestleTalk tabulation of WWE buyrates lists it at 767,000 buys, up from 485,000 for WrestleMania IV and higher than the 560,000 of WrestleMania VI the following year.[4](https://wrestletalk.com/features/every-wwe-pay-per-view-buyrate/) A contemporary business article gives a different measure, reporting that WrestleMania V, priced at $24.95 per view, drew 915,000 homes, against 909,000 homes at $19.95 for WrestleMania IV and 825,000 at $29.95 for WrestleMania VI; the two figures measure buys and homes differently and are reported here as published.[5](https://classicwrestlingarticles.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/wrestling-with-success/) The same article notes that no single pay-per-view program had ever been sold to a million homes in the decade or so that U.S. pay-per-view programming had been available, and that the WWF ended up with 50 percent of the pay-per-view pot after the local cable outlets' share.[5](https://classicwrestlingarticles.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/wrestling-with-success/)
## Place in the series
WrestleMania V continued the pattern established at WrestleMania IV of scale through a full card rather than through a single stadium spectacle, and it carried forward the Mega Powers story that WrestleMania IV had begun building.[9](https://wrestlefile.com/events/wrestlemania-4-1988/) Independent retrospectives have ranked the show's main event substantially above WrestleMania IV's tournament final for storytelling and emotional stakes, while criticizing the length of the fourteen-match card and several of its undercard bouts.[10](https://wrestlefile.com/events/wrestlemania-5-1989/) Hogan's main-event victory was the first of three times he would win the WWE Championship at a WrestleMania, followed by WrestleMania VII against Sgt. Slaughter and WrestleMania IX against Yokozuna.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats)
## References
1. [WrestleMania V, WWE](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5)
2. [WrestleMania V Main Event, WWE](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/mainevent)
3. [Savage sours the Mega Powers, WWE](https://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/hardesthitting/betrayals3)
4. [Every WWE Pay-Per-View Buyrate, WrestleTalk](https://wrestletalk.com/features/every-wwe-pay-per-view-buyrate/)
5. [Wrestling With Success, Classic Wrestling Articles](https://classicwrestlingarticles.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/wrestling-with-success/)
6. [WrestleMania V Facts & Stats, WWE](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/factsstats)
7. [Hulk Hogan opens up about Randy Savage, The Mega Powers and why WrestleMania V means so much to him, WWE](https://www.wwe.com/classics/hulk-hogan-on-randy-savage)
8. [WrestleMania V event venue: Trump Plaza, WWE](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/5/venue)
9. [WrestleMania IV (1988) Review & Final Grade, WrestleFile](https://wrestlefile.com/events/wrestlemania-4-1988/)
10. [WrestleMania V (1989) Review & Final Grade, WrestleFile](https://wrestlefile.com/events/wrestlemania-5-1989/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestling promotions and championships › WrestleMania*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license