Alright boys and girls, our road to WrestleMania XXX continues and we continue our look back at some of the legendary moments in the history of the event. Today we are going to focus on perhaps the most legendary event in the history of the show — WrestleMania III.
First and foremost, let’s get the myth of the attendance out of the way. WWE has always claimed — even to this day — that they set a new world indoor attendance record (at the time) of 93,173 fans in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, the site of the legendary event.
In all actuality, the attendance that night was roughly 80,000. There were approximately 78,000 paid, with around 2,300 comps. Still an incredibly impressive number, but one that was inflated by WWE to the public strictly so they could claim a new world record, as well as deliver a number that would be hard to top by other sporting events and concerts in the future.
Now that we have that out of the day, let’s look at one of the most legendary shows in the history of professional wrestling.
WrestleMania III took place on Sunday, March 29, 1987. As noted the venue was the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The main event was one of the most iconic showdowns in history, as two larger-than-life characters would collide in what would be one of the most viewed matches of all-time. The main event that evening was none other than Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant.
While Hogan and Andre had worked matches together several years prior to WrestleMania III, oddly enough with Hogan as the heel and Andre as the face, this time it was different. Prior to this particular event, when the two met, Hogan was merely a big heel that wasn’t nearly the star that he would later become. He had yet to appear in Rocky III, or create “Hulkamania” in the AWA and set the WWF on fire. Andre The Giant was rocking the legendary afro, and was still closer to his prime. WrestleMania III featured Hogan near the peak of his popularity and Andre very close to the end of his career.
The back story to Hogan and Andre began when the two were presented trophies. Hogan’s was for being WWF Champion for three years and Andre’s was for being “undefeated” for 15 years. Hogan had his celebration and everything went just fine. When Andre was presented his trophy — which was smaller than Hogan’s — “The Hulkster” came out to congratulate Andre, and then the segment became all about him. The interview shifted to Hogan, and during this point, Andre simply walked away in the middle of the segment.
That was part one. Part two is where things got interesting, and is probably the part of the build-up to this iconic match that most remember. It was during a “Piper’s Pit” segment — of course hosted by “Rowdy” Roddy Piper — where this time Andre came out during Hogan’s interview.
Only Andre didn’t come alone.
Accompanying Andre was the most hated manager in the promotion, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Heenan was of course put with Andre to make sure Andre was a heel. At the time, if you put anyone with Heenan or in his “Heenan Family,” they were almost guaranteed to be hated by the WWF fans.
Things got interesting when Hogan asked Andre what he was doing with Heenan. Heenan of course ran his mouth a bit, and in the end, Andre challenged Hogan. It was when Andre ripped Hogan’s shirt off before leaving, where he accidentally tore off Hogan’s crucifix necklace in the process, that truly marked the beginning of their feud. Another key moment was when Hogan knelt down on the ground to pick up his necklace. Piper — in a very calm voice — famously informed Hogan, “you’re bleeding.”
To make a long story short, Hogan, who didn’t want to fight his longtime “best friend,” finally accepted the challenge. The stage was set, and the only match that McMahon thought could fill the massive Pontiac Silverdome was booked. Hogan vs. Andre was officially signed as the main event of WrestleMania III.
However, Hogan and Andre wasn’t the only match of significance on the card. We’ll delve into part two of our look back at WrestleMania III later today, where our focus will be on the lead up to the “Hot Rod’s” final trip to the ring, where he inadvertently helped launch another famous 1980s WWF character, as well as look back at one of the most legendary in-ring performances in WrestleMania history — “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat. We will wrap up WrestleMania III later today in our next installment of “WrestleMania Moments.”
Until then, leave your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also hit me up directly at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR.
