This look back at WWE WrestleMania 3 appears here, taken from it’s original form from Tiffany MC’s post at The Chairshot. Despite everything going on, it’s still WrestleMania and still the biggest day of the wrestling year!
WrestleMania III, easily the most talked about WrestleMania in the history of the event. The show that sparked a lot of young fans become some of the legendary wrestlers younger generations still look up to. This show sealed WWF and WrestleMania as THE premier wrestling promotion and wrestling event. Whether your favorite match was Hogan/Andre or Savage/Steamboat, WrestleMania III has cast a long shadow over, to the point that it was cited twenty years later when WWE came back to Detroit for WrestleMania XXIII.
As with anything that’s hyped that much, it’s hard for someone who doesn’t remember WrestleMania III, like me, to really know if the show is as good as they say or if it’s just that great looking back.
So, does the fabled WrestleMania III live up to the hype? Let’s find out.
WrestleMania III Opener
We open in Pontiac Silverdome with Vince McMahon in the ring. Vince looks very proud, as he should, and he welcomes us all to WrestleMania III! The crowd loves it. We are then introduced to the person singing ‘America, the Beautiful’, it is the Queen of Soul, the incomparable Aretha Franklin
Aretha sounds amazing, as always, and the video montage was wonderful and focused on blue collar Americans.
After the video is over, Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura introduce us to our celebrity co-hosts: ‘Mr. Baseball’ Bob Uecker and the host of ‘Entertainment Tonight’ Mary Hart. We’re told that they will be joining us throughout the show, we are then sent to ringside
Comments: This opener was much better than WrestleMania 2’s. The video montage was beautiful and didn’t shoehorn Hulk Hogan into it, which was nice. Vince has said that he felt the spirit of his dad, Vincent J. McMahon while he was waiting to start the show. I know Vince looked very proud in the ring and he was right to be proud.
Match 1: Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) vs Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)
Both teams are already in the ring when we get back to ringside. Can-Am are incredibly over as babyfaces. Orton, Muraco, and Fuji are loudly booed.
Muraco and Martel start us off. Muraco looks fantastic, but also like he’s spent too much time in a tanning bed. Martel quickly gets the upper and manages to knock Muraco down with a shoulder block. Muraco gets Martel into a corner and gets a few punches in whipping him into another corner, but Martel comes out and hip tosses Muraco. Martel then gets Muraco in a body scissors takedown for our first pin attempt, which only gets a two-count.
Muraco briefly gets the upperhand, but Martel manages to tag in Zenk. Can-Am hits a very sloppy looking double monkey flips on Muraco. Orton comes in to help his partner and gets a double hip toss for his trouble.
Orton tags in and locks up with Zenk. Orton manages to knock Zenk down, but Zenk comes back with a bodyslam before shooting Orton into the corner. Orton comes out into a hip toss and armbar on the mat.
Orton gets to his feet and takes Zenk into the corner and Zenk responds by ramming Orton’s head into the turnbuckle. Orton kicks Zenk in the stomach and goes for a Full Nelson, but Zenk counters with a Full Nelson of his own. Muraco tries to hit Zenk from behind, but Zenk moves out of the way and Muraco nails Orton instead, leading Zenk to get a two count.
Zenk tags in Martel and Martel works on Orton’s bad arm. Orton snap mares Martel but Martel keep a hold on Orton and pulls Orton down with him. Martel gets back to his feet and leg drops Orton before tagging in Zenk.
Zenk takes over, but Muraco whiffs in a tag and comes in. Zenk scoop slams Muraco and begin working on Muraco’s arm. Muraco whips Zenk into the ropes, Zenk begins to criss-cross, but Orton knees him in the back, and the heels have taken over.
Muraco hits Zenk with a neckbreaker before tagging in Orton. Orton hits a fist drop from the second turnbuckle and goes for a pin, but only gets a two-count.
Orton has Zenk in a headlock, but Zenk shoots him into the ropes, both go for a clothesline, but knock each other down. Both men manage to get to their respective corners and tag in their partners.
Martel is HOT and whips Muraco HARD into the ropes, sending him outside. Orton comes in, but so does Zenk, and the ref loses complete control of this match. A reverse whip leads to Muraco back body dropping his own partner. Can-Am send Orton outside with a double dropkick before turning to Muraco.
Martel, still the legal man comes off the ropes with a high crossbody, and with an assisting trip by Zenk, pins Muraco for a three count.
Winner: Can-Am Connection via pinfall.
Thoughts: This was a great opener to the show. Both teams looked great and there was plenty of team cohesion on both sides.
