WrestleMania 3: He slammed him

March 29th, 1987

Location: Pontiac, Michigan

Venue: Pontiac Silverdome

​Attendance: 93,173

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As Vince McMahon and the rest of the world realized that hosting an event in three different cities on a Monday was a horrible idea, the time came upon the WWF to begin preparations for WrestleMania 3.

Despite McMahon knowing that one venue was the way to go, he once again asked the question, "how can we top last year?".

With less celebrity involvement this time around, the next best way to stand out was to show a sea of screaming wrestling fans. Thus, for the first time in WrestleMania history, a stadium was selected to be the wrestling extravaganza's home.

The event's opening shot caught the world by storm as they saw thousands of fans packed inside the Pontiac Silverdome. Within a matter of seconds, you received the sense that an attendance record had been reached.

Sure enough, the number 93,173 was announced, which set the record for the largest attendance of a live indoor event in North America. It was a WrestleMania number that was carried on over the years until it was surpassed in 2016.

However, the exact attendance number has been heavily disputed. Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer states the number was only 78,000 after speaking with multiple wrestling promoters. Regardless, officials of WWF and the Silverdome stuck by their number of 93,173.

To me, personally, I don't think it matters too much. Just take a glance at the photo. Do you see how many people are in there? It's nuts, back to the show.

As Vince McMahon welcomed everybody to WrestleMania 3, he shortly thereafter introduced the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, to sing "America the Beautiful." It has been considered one of the best performances of the song at a WrestleMania.

As mentioned, celebrity involvement was significantly reduced. Milwaukee Brewers' radio broadcaster, "Mr. Baseball" Bob Uecker, and Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart were involved throughout the show.

Hart spent time in both the broadcast booth and being an interviewer, not spending a significant amount of time in either role. As for Uecker, he also spent time in the booth but was responsible for being the ring announcer for the main event between Hulk Hogan and Andre, the Giant.

Uecker's announcement of Andre has been replayed multiple times, including having a part in the WWE signature opening video package for all shows that ran from 2008-2013.

Of course, then there's the conversation of the actual card. Thankfully, wrestling was the show's focus, rather than everything that happened outside the ring.

The night had 12 matches listed, with roughly most of them having some story attached to them. In the monthly pay-per-view shows that we're used to today, there was no big show between WrestleMania 2 and 3. That meant the WWF relied heavily on their weekly television shows for the storytelling.

To avoid going through most of the event, in which there weren't a ton of bad matches, it was three moments (for me at least) that stood out for the fans in Michigan.

Farewell, "Hot Rod"

The first of three involved "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and his departure from the company. The Scottish icon (who's actually Canadian, fun fact) announced he was retiring from the world of professional wrestling, and his match with Adrian Adonis would be his last. The reason for his departure was to pursue a full-time career in acting.

The contest was a "Hair vs. Hair" match in which the loser would have his head shaved in the middle of the ring. Oddly enough, this wouldn't be the only time a match of this nature happens, but more details on that in 17 days.

The roar of the crowd greeted piper as he made his way down the aisle to the ring, compared to the insane amount of boos he received in the previous two years. With a smile on his face, Piper soaked in the moments of his final match.

After putting Adonis in a sleeper hold and knocking him out, Piper was granted the privilege to grab the clippers and shave his head.

As that was going on, Brutus Beefcake (who was kicked out of "The Dream Team" faction after winning his match earlier) came to the ring and helped Piper shave Adonis' hair off. From there, Beefcake was granted the nickname "The Barber," which stuck with him for the rest of his career.

After the shaving, Piper took one more look at the crowd and bid farewell to the world of professional wrestling. The feeling inside the Silverdome was so emotional; a fan hopped over the barrier to give Piper a hug and final goodbye.

Despite the fan being instantly arrested and detained by security, the Hot Rod acknowledged and appreciated the fan's sentiments.

A show-stealer

The second memorable moment of the night came the first of two title defenses at WrestleMania 3.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

It all started after Savage attacked Steamboat six months before, slamming his neck onto the steel ring barricade and dropping the timekeeper's bell onto his neck from the top rope. The result of that was a damaged larynx as Steamboat looked for revenge on his attack.

With Elizabeth in Savage's corner and George "The Animal" Steele in Steamboat's, their encounter was set.

The match showed an incredible display of offense from both Savage and Steamboat. Both men went back and forth, complimenting each other inside and outside the ring.

It wasn't until the match's final moments that showed a perfect display of storytelling, fan emotion, and a happy conclusion.

With referee Dave Hebner knocked unconscious, "Macho Man" went for his signature elbow drop to seal the victory. However, with no ref, there was no way to count the pinfall to end the match.

Immediately thereafter, Savage went to the timekeeper's booth to grab the bell to, once again, jump from the top rope and drop the bell onto Steamboat's neck. Right before Savage went for the jump, Steele immediately tried to take the bell away from the champion.

​As the "Macho Man" kicked "The Animal" away, Steele immediately got back up and threw Savage off the top rope. As he recovered, Savage picked up Steamboat for a scoop slam but was rolled up for the three-count as a new intercontinental champion was crowned.

Fans inside the Silverdome erupted as Steamboat was seen holding the gold and left with Steele hugging him in joy after becoming champion. To this day, it's considered one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time and even the best of the night, which brings me to my final point.

The "biggest" main event in Sports Entertainment

"The irresistible force meeting the immovable object" were the words uttered by Gorilla Monsoon as Hulk Hogan stared down Andre, the Giant in the center of the ring for the start of the main event.

It is one of the first images that is widely recognized when you speak about WrestleMania. The match came to be after Andre, who was friends with Hogan for years, suddenly snapped and asked for a world title shot at WrestleMania 3. A shocked and crushed Hogan accepted the challenge.

From the sound of the bell, it was all Andre as he pounded on the Hulkster, barely giving him a chance to fight back. From headbutts to chops, to what was roughly a three-minute bear hug, you had the sense that a new WWF champion was going to be crowned.

Until Hogan suddenly got to his senses, knocked down the Giant (to the delight of the crowd), and then executed one of the biggest slams in the history of professional wrestling.

Hogan's famous leg drop immediately came after the slam and got the pinfall to retain the WWF Championship.

Simply put, this has to be one of the most overrated main events in WrestleMania history.

Let's take Hogan's slam and put it to the side, and focus on the match as a whole. It was too slow-paced, which felt off to suddenly hit the gas and quickly end the match.

In a 12 minute match, it was all Andre for roughly 11 minutes. Within a matter of a minute, Hogan got up, slammed him, and got the pinfall. It almost felt too surreal that Hogan managed to recover and walk away with the win quickly. In wrestling, you normally want to see a proper back and forth battle, especially when it comes to a giant's story.

​Finally, the match's believability also proved to be an issue, especially with the three-minute bear hug that the Giant was giving Hogan. As much credit as Andre can be given for his performance; it wasn't working, making the abrupt finish even worse.

Nevertheless, the match will thankfully be remembered for that scoop slam over the quality of the match. Today, the WWE relies on those "WrestleMania moments" to continue the legacy of the show. The slam happens to be one of those original "moments."

Final thoughts

Despite the main event, WrestleMania 3 was still a good event that featured decent bouts all around. When comparing it to the first two WrestleManias (especially the year before), the event inside the Silverdome will easily stand out.

Speaking of the Silverdome, it was clear that WrestleMania deserved to be in front of an audience that big in a building like that. While they didn't immediately go back to a venue that big right away, it was the pioneer for what is now a yearly tradition of hosting WrestleMania inside a stadium.

It was the rebound the WWF needed and properly delivered to the wrestling world.

Once again, WrestleMania set another standard it needed to reach for the following year. Only fitting it was held where the world "gamble" couldn't have been emphasized enough.

Results:

​- The Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel & Tom Zenk) def. Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco

- Billy Jack Haynes & Hercules ended in a double countout

- Haiti Kid, Hillbilly Jim & Little Beaver def. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook (via disqualification)

​- Harley Race def. Junkyard Dog - Loser must bow match

- The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake & Greg Valentine) def. The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques Rougeau & Raymond Rougeau)

- Roddy Piper def. Adrian Adonis - Hair vs. Hair match

- Dangerous Danny Davis & The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) def. The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) & Tito Santana

- Butch Reed def. Koko B. Ware

- Ricky Steamboat def. Randy Savage - WWF Intercontinental Championship

- The Honky Tonk Man def. Jake Roberts

- The Iron Shiek & Nikolai Volkoff def. The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell) (via disqualification)

- Hulk Hogan def. Andre the Giant - WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Rating: B+

Thanks for reading. Look out tomorrow when I take a look at WrestleMania 4.

32 days away until WrestleMania 35.