WrestleMania III

On March 29, 1987, the World Wrestling Federation packed the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan for WrestleMania III, a 12-match card built around one irresistible image: Hulk Hogan defending the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. Vince McMahon produced the show, and the undercard leaned on Bobby Heenan as André's manager, plus The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and Slick in supporting roles that gave the night its Cold War villain heat. The event ran about 180 minutes and helped define the pay-per-view era, drawing an announced 93,173 paid attendance, a number later revised by outside analysts to roughly 78,000. Either way, it was the largest indoor crowd in North America at the time and the high-water mark of the 1980s wrestling boom.

The tone is pure spectacle: big entrances, flag-waving heels, and a main event sold as the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Critics praised the Hogan-André bout for its drama even while knocking its technical quality, and the Intercontinental Championship match between Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage drew raves as one of the best pure wrestling matches ever put on a major card. Nearly one million fans watched at 160 closed-circuit locations across North America, with millions more on pay-per-view, and the WWF pulled in $1.6 million at the gate and an estimated $10.3 million from PPV, both records for the time.

For a modern viewer, WrestleMania III plays like a time capsule of Reagan-era showmanship: a card that is half athletic exhibition and half theater of the absurd, anchored by two matches that still hold up as reasons to watch. [edit]

The card opens with a mixed tag team match that sets the tone for the evening: comedy, character, and a crowd ready to be entertained. From there, the show moves through a series of grudge matches and tag team contests, each designed to give a different corner of the roster a moment in the spotlight. The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, with Slick in their corner, wave the flags of America's Cold War adversaries and draw thunderous boos. The Killer Bees, Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell, bring technical precision and crowd-pleasing double-team moves. The Honky Tonk Man, with Jimmy Hart at his side, struts and preens like an Elvis impersonator who has never heard the word humility. Jake "The Snake" Roberts brings his sinister snake-handling act, and the rock star Alice Cooper stands in his corner, a crossover stunt that fits the WWF's rock 'n' wrestling era perfectly.

The emotional core of the undercard is the betrayal of André the Giant. For years, André had been the gentle giant, a beloved figure who never turned down a photo or a handshake. But in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania III, he aligned himself with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, the scheming manager who had long been a thorn in Hulk Hogan's side. The turn was shocking to fans who had grown up with André as a hero, and it gave the main event its heat: Hogan, the reigning champion and cultural icon, would face a man who had never been convincingly beaten, a man who outweighed and outsized him, a man who now wanted nothing more than to destroy him.

The secondary spine of the show is the Intercontinental Championship rivalry between Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and the champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage, with Miss Elizabeth in Savage's corner. Their feud is faster, more athletic, and more personal than the heavyweight main event, a clash of styles that hardcore fans point to as the night's true masterpiece. Savage, with his flamboyant outfits and erratic intensity, is the perfect foil for Steamboat's quiet, disciplined fire. The match is built as a test of whether Steamboat's technical brilliance can overcome Savage's cunning and the ever-present threat of Miss Elizabeth's involvement.

As the evening builds toward its two marquee bouts, the tone swings between athletic exhibition and theater of the absurd. The crowd, packed into the Silverdome, is hot all night, and the production values are pure 1980s WWF: big entrances, bright colors, and a sense that this is the biggest show on earth. The undercard delivers its share of memorable moments, from the comedy of the opening match to the spectacle of the flag-waving heels, all building heat for the two matches that close the night. The shape of the card is classic WrestleMania: a long undercard that moves from comedy to grudge matches, then the two title bouts that everyone came to see. The specific winners and how the main event resolves are in the finale section below.[edit]