WWF WrestleMania III

WrestleMania III, the absolute pinnacle of the 1980s Golden Age of wrestling, was built and sold less on celebrity involvement, or novelties the way the first two editions were – instead focusing on the truly epic showdown between WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and former pal Andre the Giant. To say that the match was ‘highly anticipated’ would be a grand understatement, as it was a dream match the likes of which the WWF had never promoted (though they had run Hogan/Andre before, pre-Hulkamania), and drew an unprecedented 93,000 to the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Detroit to witness it live.

While that attendance figure has been heavily disputed by sources outside of the WWF over the years, the facts are that the Silverdome did hold a legitimate 81,000 for the Super Bowl five years earlier (which had the ‘disadvantage’ of a field, which can/did act as floor seats for a wrestling card), and some 90,000 to see Pope John Paul II not long before WrestleMania. While it is possible that the attendance was slightly inflated, I strongly believe that some 90,000 were on hand – with millions more watching on closed circuit and pay per view across the country.

From Pontiac Michigan; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura. Aretha Franklin sings America the Beautiful to kick things off – introduced by a choked up Vince McMahon.


Opening Match: Bob Orton and Don Muraco v The Can-Am Connection: This WrestleMania is one of two to famously make use of the now beloved motorized 'ring carts' (basically mini rings on wheels that drive the wrestlers to and from the ring), and one of the more beloved parts of the WWF for most people my age. Muraco starts with Martel, and Don showboats with power - but misses a blind charge, and gets hiptossed, then monkey flipped for two. Tag to Tom Zenk, and the Can-Am's double-monkey flip Muraco to the floor. Orton (father of Randy Orton) gives it a go, but the Can-Am's pinball him in their home corner, and Zenk hooks an armbar. Kneelift turns the tide, but Orton's attempt at a full-nelson gets reversed, so Muraco tries a cheap shot - only to have Zenk sidestep, and the Can-Am's keep after Orton's arm. He manages to get the tag off to Don, and another attempt at a cheap shot slows Zenk down, but a double knockout allows him to tag Martel - triggering a four-way brawl, and Martel pins Muraco with a bodypress at 5:37. Wasn't long enough to properly work a formula match (the heat segment was all of thirty seconds), but energetic, and a good choice for the opener. *

Hercules v Billy Jack Haynes: The basis of this feud is that both men use the Full Nelson as a finisher, and are battling for supremacy. Nelson supremacy. Big staredown to start, and it's power-stalemates galore, until Hercules misses a blind charge and gets press slammed. Nelson, but Herc hits the deck, and scrambles to the ropes before Haynes can get it locked. Billy Jack responds with fists of fury, but gets leveled with a lariat coming out of the corner. Backdrop, and Hercules keeps hammering the back - whipping him into the corners repeatedly. Vertical suplex, but Hercules picks him up at two - wanting to finish with the Full Nelson. He gives him a backbreaker first, and a press slam of his own set up the Full Nelson. He can't get the fingers locked, however, and Billy Jack summons the power of the super hot crowd to power out. Haynes with an inverted atomic drop, and a legdrop sets up a 2^nd rope fistdrop. Full Nelson locked, so Herc dives for the ropes, and they spill to the outside - ending in a double countout at 7:52. Seriously? In a blowoff match? At WrestleMania III?!? What are you waiting for? Match was fine otherwise, well paced and building to the Nelson showdown nicely - but that ending was ridiculous, especially on a show like this. *

Mixed Six-Man Tag Team Match: King Kong Bundy, Lord Littlebrook, and Little Tokyo v Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver, and Haiti Kid: The 'mixed' angle is that Littlebrook, Tokyo, Beaver, and Kid are midgets. Tokyo and Haiti start, but it only takes a few seconds for all the midgets to get involved, and start firing off tiny spots. The dust settles on Tokyo and Beaver (eww, dusty beaver), and the little Beav smacks him around until he tags Littlebrook. He has a bit better luck, and tags Bundy, but Beaver doesn't back down - sliding under his legs, and dropkicking his gut before tagging Jim. They dog pile Bundy, but he shrugs them all off, and hits Jim with the Avalanche. That draws Beaver in to make the save, though it doesn't go too well, and Bundy slams him. He adds an elbowdrop for good measure, and the referee disqualifies him at 4:12. Afterwards, Bundy's own partners turn on his for his dwarf-tossing ways (though Jesse Ventura has a point - Beaver attacked Bundy repeatedly, he had every right to defend himself), and everyone goes home happy. Well, except Little Beaver. He's dead now. Match was just comedy, with a nice bit thrown in to keep Bundy strong, even in loss. DUD

Loser Must Bow Match: Harley Race v The Junkyard Dog: Race was doing the 'King of Wrestling' gimmick (forcing losing opponents to bow at this feet) to set this up. Race manager Bobby Heenan gets involved right away - luring Dog into a chase - and allowing Race to wallop him. They trade headbutts (ending with JYD on the floor), and Race dives off of the apron with a falling headbutt - only to have Dog roll out of the way. He sends Race flying in and out of the ring, then hooks an abdominal stretch - but gets hiptossed. Falling headbutt hits, but JYD's hard head takes as much out of Race as it does the Dog - and he starts unloading headbutts of his own. That gets Heenan involved again, and Race uses the distraction to hit a belly-to-belly suplex at 3:23. Afterwards, Dog bows as per the stipulations... before promptly kicking both Race and Heenan's asses with a chair, and celebrating with Harley's robe and crown. Much has been said about Race's WWF run, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say making fucktons of money to work quickie matches in front of record crowds was fine with him. Match wasn't much wrestling-wise, though Harley sold well, and took a number of nice bumps. ½*

The Dream Team v The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers: Brutus Beefcake starts with Raymond Rougeau, and they trade hammerlocks until Raymond hits an atomic drop, and tags Jacques Rougeau. Double-team dropkick sends Beefcake scurrying to tag Greg Valentine, but he gets caught with a bodypress from Ray, and a jumping backelbow from Jacques. 2^nd rope bodypress misses, however, and Valentine hammers Jacques with a bodyslam. Tag back to Beefcake to help cut the ring in half, but a Valentine piledriver ends in a Rougeau backdrop, and Jacques tags Raymond. He's a maison of fire, so Beefcake goes for a cheap shot - only to miss, and allow the Rougeau's their bearhug/flying seated senton for the pin - but Dino Bravo (in the Team's corner) makes the save, clobbers Raymond, and Valentine gets the pin at 4:03. Afterwards, the Dream Team team (Valentine, Bravo, Johnny Valiant) ditch Beefcake (fuckin' assholes made him walk instead of taking the cart) for the miscommunication. Short, but energetic, and everyone worked hard. The Rougeau's probably should have gone over here, but they had plans to push Valentine and Bravo pretty hard as a team, so I can see the logic. * ¼

Hair v Hair Match: Roddy Piper v Adrian Adonis: Brilliant feud here, with Piper taking a vacation from the WWF, only to return to find his 'Piper's Pit' set replaced with Adonis' 'Flower Shop.' That led to a bunch of heated promos and confrontations, finally resulting in this - billed as Piper's 'retirement match,' win, lose, or draw. Big slugfest ends when Piper pulls out a belt he's tucked into his tights, and starts whipping Adonis - though a distraction from manager Jimmy Hart allows Adrian to steal it away for some shots of his own. Adonis tries to work him over, but Piper goes ballistic on him, including using Jimmy Hart as a weapon - throwing him at Adrian like a missile. The double-teaming overwhelms Piper, however, and Adonis controls with kick-punch stuff. Sleeper, but he lets off too early as the referee checks the arm, and Brutus Beefcake (who had gotten his hair cut by Adonis during the build up for this) runs in to revive Piper/officially turn face, and Roddy hooks his own Sleeper for the win at 6:20. Afterwards, Beefcake does the honors of shaving Adonis - which ended up turning into his most famous of many gimmicks. Brilliant feud, brilliant moment, brilliant booking... but the match itself was horrible. DUD - but fun, and the actual wrestling kept short enough.

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Tito Santana and The British Bulldogs v Danny Davis and The Hart Foundation: This came about when crooked referee Davis cost Tito his Intercontinental Title and the Bulldogs their Tag Titles (to the Harts). The Bulldogs attack all three on the way in, and the dust settles on Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart. Davey with a side-headlock, so Bret Hart tries a cheap shot from the apron - only to have Davey dodge. Santana with an armbar, but Neidhart railroads him into the heel corner, and a little friendly triple-teaming slows him down. Backdrop fails, however, and Tito tags back to Davey to show Neidhart how to properly hit a backdrop. Tag to Bret, but he misses coming off of the 2^nd rope, and Davey passes to Dynamite Kid to send Bret chest-first into the corner. Falling headbutt gets two, so Neidhart throws a cheap shot, and Bret unloads on him with closed fists in the corner. Jim with a reverse chinlock, and the Hart's clobber Kid with a decapitator. With him subdued, Danny Davis asks to tag in, and fires off a couple of stomps... then promptly tags back out. The heels cut the ring in half on Kid, but Davis' attempt at a slingshot splash hits the knees, and Tito's a casa of fire! Jumping forearm, but he doesn't even bother covering - just unloading on Davis instead. Figure four, but Neidhart runs in with a clothesline to break it up before he gets it locked on. Tag to Davey Boy for a clothesline of his own, and a well executed tombstone leaves Davis dead. Hanging vertical suplex and the Running Powerslam put an exclamation point on it, but Neidhart breaks up the cover. Six-way brawl allows heel manager Jimmy Hart to pass Davis his megaphone, and one bop later, Davey Boy is done at 8:50. Solid tag action - well paced, and well worked all around. * ½

Koko B. Ware v Butch Reed: Bunch of false-tieups to start, until Koko catches him with a dropkick to send him going over the top. Back in, Ware hammers away, but he gets clobbered on a backdrop attempt, so he tries a Golden Gloves routine instead. Another dropkick gets two, and an inside cradle for two. Bodypress, but Reed rolls through, and that's the pin at 3:38. All kick-punch stuff here. DUD

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Randy Savage v Ricky Steamboat: This is not only one of the more famous matches in history, but it had an absolutely fantastic angle to set it up - Savage crushing Steamboat's larynx with the ring bell on TV (pretty much just for the hell of it), and the Dragon coming for revenge after a long recovery. Stalemate off of the initial lockup, so Savage tries to take him down - only to have Steamboat quickly wrestle out. Savage bails to move Elizabeth away from George Steele (in Steamboat's corner), but ends up walking into a series of crisp armdrags on the way back in. Double-chokeslam puts Savage back on the outside, but Steamboat gives chase (revenge!!) - only to run into Savage's boot on the way back in. Elbowsmash, but a blind charge misses, and Steamboat goes right after the shoulder. Savage with a desperation backelbow to buy time, and he tosses Steamboat over the top for good measure. Savage tries to keep him from getting back in, but Ricky won't stay down, so Savage gives him another elbowsmash for two. Kneedrop gets two, but Steamboat reverses a turnbuckle smash, and ties the champ up in the ropes to unload some closed fists. Bodypress gets two, so Savage charges - but runs into another armdrag, and a shoulderblock. Savage keeps coming though, and finally manages to outfox Steamboat during a criss cross with a high knee, and a clothesline sends Steamboat back to the floor. Randy dumps him into the crowd to try and ensure a countout, but Steele carries him back in - only to have Savage immediately toss his limp body back over the top. He follows with a flying axehandle this time, and another coming back in gets two. Savage snaps his neck across the ropes (sold beautifully by Steamboat - springing across the ring), and a suplex gets two. Gutwrench suplex for two, and a side suplex - but Ricky flips out of it, and backdrops Randy over the top to the floor. Steamboat drags the champ back in for a flying tomahawk chop, and a knife-edge chop each get two. Sunset flip for two, and a schoolboy for two. Somersault cradle gets two, and an inside cradle for two - Steamboat just throwing everything at him. Slingshot into the corner for two, and a rollup for two - which Savage reverses for a two count of his own. Steamboat with a barrage of closed fists, but Savage tugs the tights, and sends him into the post to slow him down a bit. Hangman's clothesline, and the Flying Elbowdrop - but the referee is down from a criss cross sequence. Frustrated, Savage goes out to grab the ring bell, but this time George Steele steals it away, and shoves Savage off of the top rope. Randy still tries a bodyslam, but punch-drunk Steamboat holds on, and cradles him for the title at 14:35 - on pure instinct alone. Considered by many the greatest match of all time (Steamboat has a habit of showing up on those short-lists), and was certainly the best widely seen match done up to that point. Both guys spent weeks meticulously planning their spots from bell-to-bell, and ended up with a match filled with brilliant execution and drama (from the near falls to the ring bell ending) - all set to a breakneck pace. This obviously stole the show (it's still spectacular today, but for 1987 was absolutely mind-blowing), and Hulk Hogan was none too happy about being shown up before the biggest match of his career. **** ½

Jake Roberts v Honky Tonk Man: Jake has Alice Cooper with him, for morale support. And drug muleing. It was also one of the few bits of celebrity involvement for this show - especially when compared to the B-list Oscars that was WrestleMania 2. Jake jumps Honky on the way in, and just obliterates him with closed fists - in and out of the ring. Slam on the floor, but Honky hits the deck when Jake tries the DDT, and bails back to the floor. Honky manages to lure Jake out for a shot to the post, and he works the shoulder, but gets backdropped out of the Shake Rattle 'n' Roll, and hit with an inverted atomic drop. Jake with a backdrop, and it's DDT-time, but Honky manager Jimmy Hart hooks his legs, and Honky Tonk falls on top (with a little help from the ropes) for the cheap pin at 7:04. Obviously, they weren't going to follow the Intercontinental Title match, and they didn't make much effort to try. ¼*

The Killer Bees v The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff: In one of the more illogical bits of Jim Duggan's routine, he stops Volkoff from singing the Soviet National Anthem on the basis that 'America is the land of the free.' They take out their frustrations by jumping the Bees before the bell, but they get reversed on a double cross corner whip, and cleared out of the ring. The Bees trade off on Sheik, but Volkoff fires off a cheap shot and the heels cut the ring in half on Jim Brunzell. Sheik with a gutwrench suplex for two, and a hanging vertical suplex for two, so he tries the Camel Clutch, but Jim Duggan runs back in to break it up with the 2x4 - getting the Bees disqualified in the process at 5:43. Not bad, just dull. ½*

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Andre the Giant: Never has the term 'main event' been more appropriate, as this would be the biggest match in wrestling history - and keep that designation for a long time after. As with many other matches on this card, it had a great angle to set it up - their longtime friendship strained when Andre (billed as 'undefeated in fifteen years') perceived Hogan as a glory hog, and decided he wanted the title. Bob Ueker acts as the guest ring announcer, and Mary Hart as the guest timekeeper. Big, big staredown to start - with Hogan talking smack, and Andre just scowling down at him. They start trading rights, and Hogan stupidly tries a bodyslam - only to get toppled for two (a clear two count, though for years Andre would use it to argue that he had Hogan pinned there). Andre casually bodyslams him a couple of times (just to rub it in), and literally walks all over the Hulkster. Hulk tries to come back with a series of right hands, but a blind charge misses, and Andre gets him in a bearhug. Another series of rights gets the Hulkster free, but a pair of shoulderblocks barely faze Andre, and he chops Hogan down, then kicks him to the floor. Headbutt into the post misses, however, so Hogan tears off the mats to try a piledriver on the exposed (wood, since they're on an elevated platform) floor, but Andre casually backdrops the champion. I don’t care how much crack you do – there’s no justification for that one. A piledriver? On ANDRE THE GIANT?! Inside, Hulk catches him with a clothesline to finally knock the big man off of his feet, and even Hogan is shocked. Really? That shocks you, but trying to piledrive a literal Giant sounded like a good plan? Hogan's got the juice of the Hulkamaniacs running through him full force now, though, and he manages to bodyslam Andre (in one of the most memorable moments in all of professional wrestling), and the Legdrop finishes clean at 12:07. Certainly not a great match (in fact, a pretty bad one), but it gave the audience exactly what they wanted, and was suitably epic. It also was incredibly historically significant - not only as the main event - but in Andre's passing the torch to Hogan, who was already the biggest star in the game, but had never defeated the legendary Giant. That one bodyslam is still putting Hogan over, and solidified him as the premiere superstar of wrestling - and not just a 'fad.' ¼*

BUExperience: What’s there to say, really? It’s one of the biggest wrestling shows of all time (any era, any promotion, any country), and was the first WrestleMania to truly act as the blowoff show to end all blowoff shows – with big stuff like Hogan/Andre, Savage/Steamboat, and Piper/Adonis all getting settled in dramatic fashion. It’s far from the best pure wrestling show (or, even the best WrestleMania from that standpoint – with lots of quickie ‘more is more’ booking going on), but easily the most epic – with memorable matches and moments galore, all in front of one of the biggest and hottest crowds ever drawn. *****