Men in tights mark a milestone of mayhem as Wrestlemania grapples with New York

Thursday, March 11th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ When Wrestlemania first stormed into Madison Square Garden, its mix of high-wire theatrics, mayhem and drama thrust the no-holds-barred world of professional wrestling into mainstream consciousness.

Part Super Bowl, part ``Melrose Place'' and part riot, the latest edition of Wrestlemania bursts back into New York on Sunday, celebrating its 20th anniversary event with what World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon promises will be the greatest sports entertainment event ever written.

``Some years we succeed very well, others not as well, but I don't think anyone will be disappointed by this one,'' McMahon said by phone from his Stamford, Conn., office.

Since its 1985 debut, Wrestlemania has been the battleground for professional wrestling's biggest rivalries, a forum to resolve its plot lines, and a vehicle for making its stars' household names.

``Wrestlemania was the first time in our business that there was a national event,'' said WWE president Linda McMahon, Vince McMahon's wife.

It's been a long road since Hulk Hogan and Mr. T squared off against ``Rowdy'' Roddy Piper and Paul ``Mr. Wonderful'' Orndorff in Wrestlemania I to defend singer Cyndi Lauper's honor, with Andre the Giant present, Muhammad Ali as guest referee and Liberace as ceremonial timekeeper.

This year's ultra-hyped event will feature five packed hours of high-flying rumbling and celebrity appearances. Kurt Angle, a gold-medalist wrestler in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, will battle Eddie Guerrero for the WWE championship.

``To be a part of an event that guys like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant defined _ I'm looking forward to getting into the ring,'' Angle said.

Other highlights include Triple H. vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels in a three-way match for the world heavyweight championship, and Sable and Torrie vs. Stacy and Miss Jackie battling in another match.

The event also mysteriously promises that ``the dead will rise again,'' an apparent reference to ``The Undertaker,'' a repeatedly killed-off and revived character.

Before the fighting begins, the WWE Hall of Fame will induct former Minnesota Gov. Jesse ``The Body'' Ventura and Pete Rose, the disgraced former baseball star and previous Wrestlemania celebrity guest.

With a sellout crowd at the Garden _ tickets top out at $754.50 _ and the event available on pay-per-view in 90 countries for $49.99, the WWE is hoping for a huge earner, after declining ratings over the past few years.

As the WWE's main event, Wrestlemania serves as a divining rod of the company's fortunes, which have gone through more ups and downs, side changes and plot twists than even its ingeniously scripted matches.

Although mostly seen through closed circuit television, Wrestlemania I marked the league's first experiment with pay-per-view. The WWE's 11 annual pay-per-view events now generate a quarter of its revenues.

By Wrestlemania III, the event and the World Wrestling Federation, as it was then known, were riding high. Held at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Mich., it shattered the world indoor attendance record for a sports or entertainment event with a crowd of 93,173.

In the early 1990s, wrestling lost some luster, and its viewership dipped. ``I'm always making mistakes,'' McMahon said. ``Some years are better than others.''

Then the soap opera started finding its way outside the ring. In 1994, McMahon was acquitted of charges he pressured his athletes to bulk up on steroids.

Outside-the-ring competition _ Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling _ poached not only viewers, but wrestlers, luring over big names like Hogan and Ric Flair.

In the late 1990s, McMahon developed new stars like The Rock, ``Stone Cold'' Steve Austin and Mick Foley. Ratings soared, the WCW folded and in 1999, McMahon took the WWF public on the New York Stock Exchange.

In another twist, a judge declared in 2002 that the World Wildlife Fund, not McMahon, owned the acronym WWF, prompting the change to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Critics have decried the events as misogynistic and overly violent for both the performers and fans, yet McMahon insists Wrestlemania has remained consistent in its dedication to showmanship.

``You always have to give the audience what it wants, and what it wants is constantly changing,'' McMahon said. ``Really, we are like any good Hollywood studio, except with maybe a better track record.''