Before Mike Rotunda was handing out tax audits left and right as the nefarious Irwin R. Schyster (IRS), he was making waves in the wrestling world sans the sinister briefcase and tie. Yes, before he made tax evasion the most dreaded move in wrestling, Rotunda had already spent a decade in the ring, a fact that might surprise those who only know him for his relentless pursuit of unpaid taxes in the squared circle.
On the “Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw” podcast, Rotunda took a trip down memory lane, all the way back to when WrestleMania was just a baby and not the global juggernaut it is today. “It was exciting,” Rotunda reminisced, probably while flipping through an old, dusty photo album of leotards and leg locks. “I started [in the business] at the end of 1981, and now it’s 1984, and I’m in New York,” he said, marveling at his rapid rise to wrestling’s biggest stage.
Back in the day, WrestleMania was more of a one-night stand than the marathon it is now. The inaugural event was as simple as it gets, with none of the media circus or the week-long extravaganza fans have come to expect. “They used to take a little break around WrestleMania time, like a week before and a week after,” Rotunda shared, probably longing for the good old days when wrestlers could catch their breath without missing a beat.
At that first WrestleMania, Rotunda and his tag team partner Barry Windham, known as the U.S. Express, found themselves grappling for glory against The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. Spoiler alert: they dropped the gold, but hey, they made history. And speaking of gold, Rotunda and Windham are set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, proving that even after you hang up your tie and put the briefcase in storage, wrestling never forgets its heroes.
So, next time you see IRS chasing down tax dodgers in the ring, remember that Mike Rotunda’s journey began long before he started auditing the WWE Universe. From WrestleMania undercard to the Hall of Fame, it’s been quite the ride for Rotunda, proving that in wrestling, the only thing certain besides death and taxes is a good comeback story.