11. WrestleMania III
It’s WrestleMania III. What can be said about this show that hasn’t already been said a hundred times? It’s Hogan vs. Andre. It’s Steamboat vs. Savage. Over 93,000 people (not really…) packed inside the Superdome Silverdome. The body slam heard round the world, the biggest event in U.S. pro wrestling history, etc etc.
If you look at WrestleMania III from a pure wrestling perspective, it’s another one-match show with a few secondary contests worth coming back for. But to do so would be to deny the entire reason this event is regarded as one of the biggest and best in history. It was the grandest spectacle, the biggest build and most anticipated main event the WWF had ever advertised. It’s hard to gauge relevance over 31 years, but that might still be true.
Hogan, Andre, Savage, Steamboat, Race, Hart, JYD, Orton, Piper, Adonis, Roberts, Shiek, Reed, Valentine, Beefcake, Bundy… anyone who was anyone in wrestling – or at least wrestling according to McMahon – was a part of this show. The NWA had their annual Starrcade shows, and they were the pinnacle of American pro wrestling in that era, but this was the combination of athleticism, celebrity and showmanship that essentially created a global phenomenon.
Maybe I’m playing into the Vince McMahon kool-aid a bit too much, but the importance of this show cannot be understated.
Without WrestleMania III, without Hogan slamming Andre, without the greatest recorded match in WWF history up to that point, there may not have been a WrestleMania IV. There may not have been Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan, etc etc ad infinitum.
Stay tuned – part three is coming soon!
