wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF WrestleMania III
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 04.01.26
-Source: Netflix
-Run Time: 3:04:48
-I was thinking of something to do for WrestleMania weekend and then WWE announced Hogan vs. Andre would be inducted as part of the Hall of Fame. That gave me my answer. This is the biggest show of all time and holds a special place in my heart. This show set the standard for every Mania that has followed. I have told the story countless times, but I will mention it again. I was just shy of my 6th birthday when I went to my grandma’s house to watch this show. It was surprise to me from my mom and step-dad. I was the first grandchild she allowed to eat in her living room. It was spaghetti and a salad. There is a photo in an album in my house of me sitting on the couch watching the show while eating. I reviewed this show very early in my time at 411, so now is a good time to take another look back.
-Announce Team: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
-March 29, 1987
-Pontiac Silvderdome, Pontiac, MI
-Attendance: 93,73 (Still real to me)
-Vince welcomes us to WrestleMania III and gives Aretha Franklin an all time great introduction and she CRUSHES her rendition of “America The Beautiful.” Look at that dome and just a sea of people. Still one of the greatest, if not the greatest, settings for a wrestling show of all time. It just looks epic and the Dome letting in the natural light and getting darker as the show goes on is just perfect.
-Gorilla and Jesse are high up in the press area for announcing duties and are joined by Mary Hart and Bob Uecker. The celebrities will be back later in the show.
“Cowboy” Bob Orton and “The Rock” Don Muraco (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. The Can-Am Connection
-Just for fun, we have two Hall of Famers in this match and three if you count Fuji. The Fink, Gorilla, and Jesse makes six. Oh, and Uecker makes seven. Muraco starts with Martel and Jesse’s not lying as he notes “Muraco is looking big.” Muraco also has one of his quads taped up. Martel gets a shoulder block to pop the crowd. Muraco mauls Martel in the corner. He sends Martel to the corner, but he floats over and gets a hiptoss. Muraco with a side headlock and blind tag made to Zenk. Double monkey flip and Muraco bails to the floor to regroup with Orton and Fuji. Orton back in and Zenk gets a slam and Orton staggers to the wrong corner and eats a right hand. Monsoon notes Orton has “excellence of execution.” Huh! Muraco accidentally decks Orton with a forearm trying to make a save and that gets two. Martel goes after the arm and brings Zenk back into the match. Muraco gets the tag, but Zenk gets a slam. Muraco sends Zenk to the ropes and drops down, so Orton can land a knee from the apron. The crowd does not approve! Orton in and he drops an elbow. Both men hit the ropes and we get a double knockdown. Tags on both end and Muraco takes a Flair bump in the corner. Everyone in the ring! They pair off in opposite corners. Muraco accidentally backdrops his own partner. Double dropkick to Muraco! Double dropkick sends Orton to the floor. Zenk gets a cross-body with an assisted trip by Martel and that gets the pin on Muraco at 5:37.
Winners: The Can-Am Connection via pin at 5:37
-This was a fine opener as the crowd was into it and the young babyface team gave the crowd a win to start the show. **
-Video package on the issues between Hercules and Billy Jack Haynes! It’s a battle of The Full Nelsons!
-Heenan and Hercules get an interview backstage and Heenan informs us it’s actually “Billy Jerk Haynes.” Noted!
Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules Hernandez (w/ Bobby Heenan)
-Heenan gives us our 8th Hall of Famer. Jesse is already drooling over this battle between two jacked up dudes. HOSS FIGHT as some would call it. Hercules uses the ref to land a knee to the gut. He misses an elbow in the corner and Haynes throws chops. Gorilla Press Slam from Billy Jack! He goes for The Full Nelson, but Hercules quickly bails to the ropes. Hayes blocks a kick and fires off more chops. Whip in the corner, but Hercules bounces it and hits a sweet clothesline! Hercules lays in the boots and gets a backdrop. Hard whip to the corner and Hercules follows with right hands. Another hard whip to the corner as he continues to work over the back. Vertical suplex gets two as Hercules pulls Jack up. Not smart! Haynes starts a comeback with punches to the gut and he goes for a suplex, but Herc blocks and Haynes’ back gives out. Backbreaker from Herc and he returns the favor with a Gorilla Press Slam. Full Nelson, but Gorilla notes the fingers aren’t locked, so Haynes is able to fight it. He breaks Jack down to his knees and the ref checks the arm, but it only drops twice. Herc releases instead of having the hold broken and decks Hayes from behind. Double clothesline leaves both men down for the count. Inverted Atomic Drop from Hayes, though his back is still hurting him. Clothesline and he continues to sell the back. Another clothesline followed by a leg drop. Huh! Haynes gets the Full Nelson, but can’t lock his fingers either and both men spill to the floor. Haynes goes back to the Full Nelson and we get a double count-out at 7:53.
Winner: Double count-out at 7:53
-Solid HOSS FIGHT, but I hated the finish. **1/4
-Heenan kicks Haynes to force a break. Haynes goes after Heenan and that lets Hercules blast him with the chain and Billy Jack is pouring blood from his head. A couple more shots with the chain and the crowd is booing Hercules like crazy. He responds by getting The Full Nelson and leaves Jack laying as he rides off with Heenan in the ring cart.
-Mean Gene is backstage with King Kong Bundy and his midget partners!
-Bob Uecker joins Jesse and Gorilla on commentary for this one.
-Back to Gene with Hillbilly Jim and his midgets. He is nervous about the health of his little buddies and will do what he can to make sure they are safe.
King Kong Bundy, Lord Littlebrook, and Little Tokyo vs. Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver and The Haiti Kid
-Gorilla mentions Jim’s “Don’t go Messing with a Country Boy,” song, but we don’t hear it as they have dubbed music over it and the crowd’s reaction. Uecker is already cracking Monsoon up on commentary. Haiti and Tokyo start us out and then all four midgets in the ring as we get some rowboat action. Beaver in and Tokyo punches him in the ribs. Beaver with a slap, so Tokyo tags in Lord Littlebrook. Beaver throws an elbow to Bundy’s gut and that’s probably not smart. Bundy gets the tag and we get the tease of Beaver vs. Bundy. Beaver tries a dropkick and nothing doing, so he tags Jim and the crowd loves him. Bundy misses a clothesline, but Jim doesn’t. He drops an elbow and has his midgets join in on the pin, but Bundy kicks out. Jesse notes that is illegal and Monsoon agrees, but says it was fun. Jim misses an elbow and Bundy gets a front facelock. Beaver in and throws another kick. Uecker: “I think there is a lot of Beaver all over the place.” That joke went way over my head as a kid. Beaver gets in one time to many and Bundy slams him and drops an elbow for the DQ at 4:23.
Winners: Hillbilly Jim, Kid Haiti, and Little Beaver via DQ at 4:23
-I assume the money for Bundy working the rounds and Mania 2 with Hogan was good enough that he was cool with this match. Not much to this one, but it was certainly memorable. A WrestleMania Moment you might say. DUD
-Mary Hart is backstage to interview Miss Elizabeth. She looks beautiful! Randy Savage interrupts and educates us that “fascinating” is the word of the day and tells Mary his phone number is on the back of his license plate. SAVAGE IS AWESOME!
-Recap of King Harley Race/ JYD feud!
-Gene is backstage from earlier in the day when he caught up with Race, Heenan, and Fabulous Moolah, who is there to crown the winner.
-Gene with JYD from earlier in the day. JYD says he will be wearing the crown as Race has been sitting on the throne too long.
King Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. The Junkyard Dog
-The loser has to bow to the winner. Uecker is still on commentary and is apparently in love with Moolah and takes off to meet up with her. After Jim made nine the last match, we have Moolah, Race, and JYD to get us to 12 Hall of Famers. Those motorized ring carts are just perfect. BRING THEM BACK or at worst bring them to episode of SNME, since it is all about nostalgia. I could see Cody making a pitch to have them brought back. Probably Punk too! Heenan gets involved early and forces JYD to chase which lets Race take over. JYD comes back with a headbutt, but Race sends him to the floor. Race is a madman and does a falling headbutt off the apron, but JYD moves and Harley splats. Clothesline sends Race back into the ring from the apron. I like that spot! Another one sends him out on the other side. Race is just bumping like crazy and I appreciate it. Monsoon calls out Heenan for helping Race back into the ring. Remember that for later because Jesse sure does. Abdominal stretch by Dog, but Race escapes easily. He tries another headbutt and again, that’s a mistake. Race sent to the corner and he naturally bumps over the top and to the floor. Heenan distracts again and Race gets the belly-to-belly for the pin at 3:22.
Winner: Harley Race via pin at 3:22
-I was entertained by Race bouncing all over the ring. He was near the end of his career, but he made the most of his 3 minutes on the biggest show of all time. *
-JYD does a curtsy and then decks Race with a chair. Poor sport! He only has himself to blame for focusing on Heenan so much. Dog leaves with the royal robe and Jesse wonders how he can feel so good considering he lost the match. Truth!
-Vince McMahon is backstage with WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan. Just a classic interview with Hogan being all intense and fired up. Just look at Vince’s facial reactions as Hogan cuts the promo. THERE IS NO WONDER THIS MATCH DREW ALL THE MONEY! I am fired up and we still have nearly two hours before we get to the match. Jesse knows Hogan is ready, but thinks he may be too fired up.
The Rougeau Brothers vs. The Dream Team (w/ Dino Bravo and Johnny V)
-I think I have this as Brutus, Valiant, and Valentine are all in the Hall and gets us to fifteen. I am bound to miss someone at some point please correct me. In searching Valiant I saw that he tragically passed away when he was hit by a truck in a northern suburb of Pittsburgh. Raymond starts with Brutus Beefcake and Raymond flips out of a hammerlock. Tag to Jacques and we get a double dropkick. Hammer in and he starts throwing blows with Jacques. Monsoon is right there to note that Hammer gets harder to beat the longer the match goes. Jacques off the middle rope with a blind cross-body and Hammer just drops out of the way. Not the same as the Samoa Joe walk away, but still pretty funny. Beefcake back in and he stomps away and gets a two count. Monsoon calls out Brutus’ haircut. Yeah, he probably has no future as a barber! Heenan joins the announce team and is celebrating as he is 2 for 2 and is on a roll. Monsoon notes Hercules didn’t win, but Heenan counts leaving Haynes bloody as a win. Monsoon then notes Bundy lost, but Heenan wasn’t out there as he doesn’t deal with midgets. I am forgetting about the match because of the rare Heenan, Ventura, Gorilla announce team. Beefcake off the middle ropes and accidentally hits Valentine as he tried to break up a sleeper. The Rougeaus hit their sweet double team finisher. The ref gets pulled away to break up Valentine and Jacques and that lets Bravo come off the ropes with a double axe and Hammer rolls over for the pin at 4:04.
Winner: The Dream Team via pin at 4:04
-Just another short match that the crowd was into. It was fine as this was an era where not every match needed 20-30 minutes. *1/2
-Valiant, Bravo, and Hammer leave Brutus behind as they are upset with him hitting Valentine.
-Video recap on Piper/Adonis and it was epic. As I have said, Hogan getting squashed by Bundy is my first wrestling memory, but the Piper/Adonis, Savage/Steamboat and especially, Hogan/Andre build are those hardwired memories I have.
Hair vs. Hair: Adrian Adonis (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
-Adonis comes to the ring with hedge clippers as he has promised to cut Piper’s hair with them. For Piper this was supposed to be his retirement match, but GUNTHER is still decades away from being the career killer, so it won’t stick. Piper gets a massive pop after being the most hated heel the previous two Manias (though I guess he had those cheering him vs. Mr. T). He doesn’t take a cart to the ring as he later claimed it broke. Piper uses his belt to whip Adonis to start and then chokes Jimmy Hart for good measure. Adonis gets the belt and lays into Piper and that’s fair as Piper started it. Monsoon notes that Piper didn’t use the belt this long and Jesse rightly points out it’s because Piper lost the belt. Piper sends Adonis into the corner and he flips over to the apron. Hart gets pulled into the ring and Piper runs him into Adonis and then sends both over the top to the floor. This crowd is going crazy for all of this! This is just fun! Hart is working harder than most people on this show as he gets tossed from the top onto Adonis. Hart gets a trip and again, Jesse is right as he says Jimmy had a right to do that. Oh, and we are up to 17 for the Hall of Fame. Adonis takes over and sends Piper into the time keeper’s table. Hart gets in another shot. Monsoon brings up that Adonis was Ventura’s former partner and Jesse says he has a new team and I believe it’s a shout out to his legal team/agent. Vince likely hates that team. Hart sprays Piper in the face with Adonis’ perfume and that lets Adonis hook Good Night Irene (sleeper). Adonis is kind of dumb as he releases the hold thinking he won. He celebrates and here’s Brutus as he helps Piper wake up from the sleeper. Now Piper gets the sleeper as Brutus chases Hart around the ring. Adonis is out at 6:57.
Winner: Roddy Piper via pin at 6:57
-Just insanely entertaining with a hot crowd. Credit to Jimmy Hart for taking all kinds of abuse in this one. ***
-Brutus finds the gimmick that made him a star as he grabs the clippers and starts shaving Adrian’s head while Piper holds Hart with a boot on his back. They wake Adonis up and have him look in a mirror. He is pissed and punches the mirror before chasing Piper, but falls on his face. He leaves with Hart covering his head with a jacket.
-Fink then gives Piper a special announcement for this being his farewell match. He kisses Fink on the head and gets handshakes from various agents. He soaks in the cheers of the crowd and heads back in the ring cart to a standing ovation. Piper would be back, but it would be three years before his next Mania match.
-The Fink introduces Jesse Ventura and I enjoyed this running bit each year. Jesse insisting on being introduced to the crowd. He shakes hands with Jimmy Hart and The Hart Foundation while Gorilla notes Jesse is in The Predator, which releases in June. The Body, The Terminator and Apollo Creed fighting an alien killing machine? It probably bombed!
The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. The British Bulldogs (w/ Matilda) and Tito Santana
-The Hart Foundation are the Tag Champions as they won the titles from The Bulldogs thanks to some questionable officiating for Danny Davis. Tito lost the IC Title to Savage also due to Davis, so they are out for blood. You can add four more Hall of Famers to our total with DBS, Tito, and The Hart Foundation. So 21? The story here is easy as the crowd wants Davis in the ring to get destroyed. When done right, heel ref gimmicks work: Fonzie, Nick Patrick come to mind. Matilda chases Jimmy before the bell as Hart just continues to deliver a tremendous performance tonight. The Foundation get run into each other on the floor. We see Jesse leaving on a cart with Matilda. Mary and Uecker have joined Gorilla on commentary and Uecker points out that Jimmy has taken the worst beating tonight. Mary Hart notes she is not related to Jimmy. Anvil gets worked over by Tito and The Bulldogs. Tito gets trapped in the wrong corner and Bret and Davis choke him. Tito with a leap over Anvil and tags Davey. He sends Anvil flying with a backdrop. Anvil back with a right hand and brings in Bret, who misses an elbow off the ropes. Gorilla calls him the master of execution. Glad he changed that later. Dynamite in and he and Bret work their magic together. This had to be an easy day at the office for everyone involved in this one. Anvil back in and hooks a reverse chinlock. Hart off the ropes with an elbow to the throat. Davis gets the tag and the crowd BOOS. He throws one kick and then tags out to even louder BOOS. Tremendous! It’s fun seeing simple stuff like this work a massive crowd. The sun is getting low so the stadium is getting a bit darker. Davis in and hits another kick and then out again with a smirk on his face. Just classic! Davis back in off a slingshot, but Dynamite gets the knees up and now IT’S ON! Tito in and Davis is toast! The crowd is popping like crazy as Tito destroys Davis. He goes to ground and pound showing great fire. Figure-Four but Anvil rushes in to cut that off and here come the boos again. Davey with the tag and sucks to be Davis! Heavy running clothesline! TOMBSTONE and it was a SWANK one! Delayed suplex, though he wasn’t doing the version where he held them up for 20 seconds yet. Powerslam gets two as Anvil makes the save. Tito in with a flying forearm. Everyone in the ring and in the chaos, Davis hits Davey with the megaphone and gets the pin at 8:52. The crowd is pissed!
Winners: The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis via pin at 8:52
-This was tremendous fun as they knew how to work this crowd and then the ending was brilliant. They gave the crowd a taste of what they wanted and then let Davis cheat to get the pin for even more heat. Knowing the story behind Davis and his interactions with The Bulldogs and Tito make this match mean more. ***1/4
-Gene is backstage with Heenan and Andre The Giant. I don’t think I counted Okerlund yet so there is another Hall of Famer. Andre doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t need to.
Butch Reed (w/ Slick) vs. Koko B Ware (w/ Frankie)
-I am kind of half joking, but if they are going to induct matches into the WWE Hall of Fame, we might as well start inducing animals. Frankie, Maltilda, and Damian would be first and then, well, that might be it, but still. Koko is the only Hall of Famer in this one so we are at 23, I think. I am going to see this through even if I miss someone. Reed tries to throw a clothesline, but Koko avoids. Lockup and Reed complains about a hair pull. Fun story as we wait, I used to make my oldest son listen to “Jive Soul Bro,” when he was a baby. Koko gets a dropkick that sends Reed to the floor. Reed continues to beg off and catches Koko setting too early on a backdrop. Reed takes over with some weak boots and sends him into the corner. Koko reverses a whip to the corner and gets a hip toss. Koko throws rights and lefts and hits a dropkick for two. Reed kicks out easily. Small package from Koko gets two. Reed misses a clothesline and Koko gets a crossbody, but Reed rolls through and hooks the tights for the pin at 3:39.
Winner: Butch Reed via pin at 3:39
-They got less than four minutes, but we really didn’t need much more. Just a match to buffer between Davis getting destroyed (but winning) and the IC Title Match. I appreciate Reed hooking the tights. *
-Koko shows he is a poor sport and attacks. Tito Santana is out and starts ripping the suit off Slick as I guess he wants revenge for previous cane shots. Double dropkick sends Reed packing. So, the theme here is they are putting over a lot of heels in the lower and midcard matches, but are letting managers take a beating to give the crowd something to cheer. Interesting watching how this is all unfolding nearly 40 years later.
-Video package on Savage/Steamboat! I was in my grandma’s house watching when Savage dropped the ring bell on Steamboat’s throat. I LOVE THIS ALL!
-Randy Savage with an all time classic promo! I AM THE LORD AND MASTER OF THE RING! HISTORY BECKONS THE MACHO MAN!
-Dragon gets his own promo and it’s also great. THIS DRAGON WILL SCORCH YOUR BACK!
WWF Intercontinental Championship: “Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat (w/ George “The Animal” Steele)
-Add in three more Hall of Famers and we all know Liz should be, but I assume that is a tricky one. I won’t make you wait for the rating. This match is ***** all day and if I went higher, I would. I am just going to enjoy this one again like the other 100 plus times I have watched it. Lockup and Savage gets a go behind, but Dragon shakes him off. Savage bails to the floor as he sees Steele getting too close to Liz, so he leads her away. Back in another lockup and Savage gets the advantage. He misses a clothesline and here comes Arm Dragon as he gets two of them and then lifts Savage off the mat with a two handed choke before slamming him down. Savage bails and Dragon chases, which back fires as Savage is first in the ring and boots Dragon coming into the ring. Hebnar pulls Savage away in the corner and that lets Dragon land a shot and he goes to work on the arm. He lifts Savage off the mat by the arm and then drops the arm over the top rope. Savage goes to the hair and sends Dragon into the ropes and lands an elbow. He throws Dragon over the top and if this was NWA/WCW this match would be over, but it’s not. Savage boots Dragon off the apron as he seems more than content to take a count-out. Dragon fights back up to the apron and Savage goes after the throat with an elbow. Dragon gets brought back into the ring with a snapmare over the ropes. Savage gets a two count and then immediately drops a knee for another two count. Dragon blocks being sent into the corner and runs Savage into the top buckle. A chop sends Savage into the ropes where he gets tangled. Savage gets free and lands a kick to the gut. They reverse whips to the ropes and Dragon with a crossbody for two. Arm-drag and another two. Shoulder tackle and another two. Dragon gets going too fast and Savage shoves away and buries a knee to the back. He gets dumped, but skins the cat back in. Savage has him scouted though and delivers a clothesline to send him back to the floor. Savage follows and hits a running knee to the back. That sends Steamboat crashing over the timekeeper’s table and into the first row. Animal carries Dragon back to the apron and Jesse is all over that, but Gorilla says it’s fine because he is a friend and not a manager. Savage just throws Steamboat back to the floor and comes off the top with a double ax to a nice pop. A lot of Macho fans in the Dome! Savage up top again and another double ax, but in the ring this time. Beautiful running elbow gets a two count. Savage snaps Dragon’s neck over the top rope and that gets two. Atomic Drop gets two as Monsoon gets silly as he says the clothesline with the top rope could be a DQ. Jesse is all over that one as he questions Monsoon. Savage with another two count. Dragon fights back, but Savage goes to the eyes and gets a gutwrench suplex for two. Dragon flips out of a suplex, but sets too early on a backdrop and Savage boots him. He charges and takes a crazy bump off a backdrop to the floor and now Jesse wants a DQ, which is silly because Savage has thrown Dragon to the floor several times. Dragon gets a chop off the top back in the ring and the fans go crazy as they think it’s three, but it was only two. Dragon gets another two count and starts firing away with chops to the head. Savage gets dumped to the floor and Dragon chases again. He learned from earlier and gets a sunset flip for two. Roll-up for two! Jackknife cover for two. Small package for two. Jesse: “This is one of the greatest matches I have ever seen.” Slam by Dragon and he catapults Savage into the post and gets another roll-up for two. Another one for two and Savage reverses that and holds the tights for another two count. I LOVE THIS MATCH SO MUCH! Savage goes to the tights and pulls Dragon shoulder first into the post. Double reversal and the ref gets creamed in the process. Clothesline by Savage and everyone is out. Savage is up first and comes off the top with the Flying Elbow, but no ref. That shot of Savage coming off the top with the Dome above him is just beautiful! Savage checks the ref and decides to get the ring bell. Steele tries to stop him, but Savage boots him in the head and goes up again. Steele is back and shoves him off. Savage is woozy and goes for a slam, but Dragon counters with a small package for the pin at 14:39 to a massive pop. Go watch the found footage the WWE Vault released to hear the pop without the commentary.
Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Ricky Steamboat via pin at 14:39
-I mean, this match is just perfection and did it in less than 15 minutes. Both men just going for the win all match and when it ended Savage’s world was CRUSHED and Dragon looked emotional in victory. One of my favorite matches of all time and it still gets me out of my seat (which made it harder to type). Every fan needs to see this match once even if you don’t think it compares to what is being done today. Just an insanely influential match that made a lot of people want to be wrestlers. *****
-Gene is backstage with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Alice Cooper. We see the infamous guitar shot that apparently wrecked Jake for real as they gave HTM a non-gimmicked guitar. Watching back and it sure did look like it sucked! That thing did not explode like other guitars. I believe Jake has blamed that guitar shot for getting him hooked on pain killers.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts (w/ Alice Cooper) vs. The Honky Tonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart)
-Add two more Hall of Famers to our growing list (28?). Gorilla notes you won’t see a better match than that last one if you live to be 100. Sadly, Gorilla did not live to be 100. Jake jumps Honky before the bell and hits a knee-lift. HTM rolls to the floor, so Jake follows and tears his Elvis suit off. HTM goes back in the ring and rolls back out. Jake follows and gets a slam on the floor. Back in the ring, Jake sends HTM to the corner, but runs into a knee. HTM goes to the arm, but Jake just fires up and hits a short arm clothesline. HTM bails and tries to get to Jimmy to talk strategy. Jake stop that, but Honky sends him into the ring post. HTM dances in the ring as Alice Cooper helps Jake back to the apron. HTM knocks Jake off the apron and he crashes into the railing. I just love the look of this show as we see the roof of The Dome. Again, it just looks epic! Jake finally back in the ring and HTM throws right hands and lands kicks to the chest. HTM hits a back elbow and drops a double ax. Jake counters Shake, Rattle, and Roll with a backdrop. He then brings Honky out of the corner with an inverted atomic drop. Jake starts firing off punches and HTM calls for time as he begs off. No dice as Jake hits a backdrop followed a right hand that knocks HTM between the ropes. We get some rocking chair action as gets punched in the face repeatedly. DDT but Jimmy grabs Jake’s leg to stop that and HTM gets a roll-up while holding the ropes for the pin at 7:05.
Winner: The Honky Tonk Man via pin at 7:05
-This was fine as they had to follow the IC Classic. Funny, that Honky is the one to get the win in the match that followed Macho/Dragon and he’s the one that ended up taking the IC Title from Steamboat. **
-Jake tries to blast HTM with the guitar but misses and Honky sprints to the back. Jimmy is left alone and we get a show down with Cooper, but Jake holds Jimmy and he gets the Damian. See what I mean about the heels winning, but the crowd getting something to cheer for after the match?
-Gene Okerlund is out to announce the indoor attendance records of 93,173. Jesse wants them to bump the total up two more for him and Monsoon. Again, people have been arguing about this number for nearly forty years and likely will for the next forty. It’s a massive crowd and visually, looks bigger than any crowd you will see for a wrestling show.
The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Slick) vs. The Killer Bees
-Volkoff sings The Russian National Anthem, but here’s Hacksaw Jim Duggan to shut that down because it’s the land of the free and the home of the brave. Logic doesn’t really work there, but the crowd cheered. Sheik, Volkoff, and Duggan give us three more Hall of Famers. The crowd hates Sheik and Volkoff as garbage pelts the ring. Bell sounds and all four men battle in the ring. We get double reversals and a dosey doo with Sheik and Nikolai. The Bees take control and after a minute we finally settle down to Sheik and Blair. The Bees continue to make quick tags and get a double hip-toss. Props to Slick for selling the beating from Tito and still sporting the ripped suit. Brunzell hits his dropkick to pop Monsoon. He gets caught in the wrong corner and gets double teamed. Duggan leads the crowd in a USA chant. Sheik with a double ax under the chin for two. Volkoff in and misses a clothesline, but catches Jim with a bearhug. Sheik back in with a suplex for two. Another suplex and another two count. Jim with a high knee as this one is kind of dragging. Tag to Blair, but the ref didn’t see it. Double elbows by Sheik and Volkoff. Things just stop so Sheik can pose on the corner. Duggan chases Slick and Volkoff on the floor. Sheik with the Camel Clutch as Duggan heads into the ring and decides to clobber Sheik with the 2×4. That’s a DQ at 5:43.
Winners: The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff via DQ at 5:43
-This gets the nod for worst match on the show as at least the midget match was memorable and the crowd was into it. Just slow and seemed longer than six minutes and then the dumb ending. DUD
-Gene backstage with Andre and Heenan for a second time. Now, Andre gets to cut a promo and says it won’t take him long to come back with the World Title around his waist. The excitement in Heenan’s voice is fantastic as he feels he has can’t lose cards here. Don’t blame him either!
-Video recap of Hogan/Andre and it’s just fantastic. I would love to see what the WWE team would do for a Hogan/Andre hype video today. I feel they could so something epic. Here it’s just beat after beat of video from Andre celebrating Hogan’s Title win to each Piper’s Pit where Andre turned. Again, just burned into my brain as each week I saw this unfold in my grandma’s living room. Hogan screaming “yes,” to accept the challenge and the cut to the fans losing their minds in the crowd is spectacular.
-Gene is backstage and we get one more Hogan promo as the whole show has been to building to this match. I am so fired up for this! Hogan says today is the day the whole Earth is going to shake. I mean, he’s not that far off.
-Fink introduces Bob Uecker as he is the guest ring announcer. He then introduces Mary Hart as the guest timekeeper. Both seem in awe of the size of the crowd as they take it all in from inside the ring. Hart: “unbelievable, look at all these people.”
WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Andre The Giant (w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan)
-Hogan and Andre give us our final two Hall of Famers of the show. Andre gets booed out of the building as he rides down with Heenan in the cart. The fans are pelting him with garbage and he just waves at them. Awesome! Just watching him get into the ring, you can see he is not in the best shape. Jesse runs down the tale of the tape for Andre (and later Hogan) and it’s a nice little touch. The crowd just explodes for Hogan and he doesn’t need a cart as he makes his entrance. I can’t imagine the energy running through his body making that entrance with that crowd cheering him. Jesse: “This is the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling.” He’s not lying and still holds up today. Monsoon notes this is the last time for this version of the WWF Title, but that didn’t happen for about a year. We get the most epic stare down of all time and the crowd is just losing it without them doing anything. Hogan starts with right hands and goes for a slam, but Andre falls back for a two count. It was definitely two, but we have the moment that led to the rematch down the line. The buzz from the crowd is something else. Andre goes after the back as Heenan continues tp yell at the ref that it was a three count. Jesse wonders if Hogan got too psyched for the match and blew himself out. That would be Warrior three years later. Slam from Andre and another. He then walks over Hogan’s back. There are cases where you don’t need flaming tables, 360 dives, and the like. This match is proof of that as the crowd is fully engaged in what they are seeing. Andre whips Hogan from corner to corner as the match is structured so he doesn’t have to move all that much. Andre uses his backside to squash Hogan in the corner. Heenan yells for a head-butt and Andre delivers. He goes for a second one, but Hogan ducks. Hogan throws right hands and hits a running elbow. Chops from Hogan and he rams Andre into the top buckle eight times. The crowd is losing it but come back down as Andre catches a charging Hogan with a big boot. Heavy chop from Andre and he goes to the bearhug and it’s probably the most famous bearhug spot of all time. I generally hate bearhugs, but in this case it’s all good because the crowd is doing all they can to rally Hogan while also being terrified he could lose this one. Hogan’s selling is amazing as he looks like is he about to cry and just reaches out for the fans to help him. He then starts to fade and the ref checks the arm and it drops two times but I think the ref was just checking for any resistance. He gets to the real test and it drops twice, but the third time stays up as Hogan starts to rally again. He punches his way out of the hold and sells his fist being hurt on Andre’s head. Hogan gets a series of shoulder tackles that budge Andre back a little, but a chop cuts off this rally. Andre hits another boot and Hogan falls to the floor. Andre follows and gives Hogan a loud chop. He goes for another head-butt but hits the post. Man, that poor post has a family. Hogan gets desperate and tries a piledriver on the exposed floor, but no chance that will work and Andre backdrops out. Back in the ring, Andre misses another boot and Hogan hits a clothesline that drops Andre and the crowd erupts. Hogan feeds off the crowd and starts Hulking-up. It happens: HULK HOGAN SLAMS ANDRE THE GIANT. THE BODY SLAM HEARD ROUND THE WORLD. Jesse: “I DON’T BELIEVE IT.” Just listen to that crowd. Go find the YouTube video where Gorilla and Jesse are removed from commentary and just listen to the crowd. Hogan hits the leg drop and as JR noted 12 years later, “he beat Andre The Giant with that move.” Hogan does all he can to hook the leg and gets the pin to an eruption from the crowd at 12:04.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan via pin at 12:04
-It’s the biggest match in WWF history for sure and set the standard for what a WrestleMania Main Event should be. This match didn’t need to be anything more than what we got. Just look at the way the crowd reacted. The match itself is better than people have said over the years. It was the right length and the story was there. Hogan got injured early and Andre attacked the back. Hogan made a few comebacks, but Andre just kept cutting him off. Andre made one big mistake as he cracked his head off the post and never really recovered. That is why Hogan was able to drop him with the clothesline. We then get the single biggest moment in WWF history with THE Body Slam. Hogan then finishes the still stunned Andre with the leg drop. Everything about this match is perfect. Star ratings are just opinion and when I reviewed this years ago, I copped out and went ***1/2 to split the difference between history and the actual in ring work. That ends today. This match just makes me happy and no, it’s not Savage/Steamboat or Flair/Steamboat or Taker/Shawn or Okada/Omega (for today’s fans), but it didn’t need to be. This match and everything it represents and has meant to millions of people deserves the full rating. *****
-Hogan poses to Real American as Jesse makes his yearly threat to come out of retirement and take Hogan out. He then jokes that Hogan’s next defense may be against Uecker. Man, we are getting close to stuff like that in current day WWE.
-We get an amazing shot of Andre yelling at Hogan from the cart, while Heenan has his heads in his hands, likely in tears. Hogan takes the ring cart to the back and they raise it on a lift for another amazing visual.
-We see a replay of THE SLAM and Leg drop!
-Gorilla signs off and we get still photos to recap the show with Aretha’s “America The Beautiful” from earlier playing. In the original it was Aretha’s “Who’s Zoomin Who?,” but I assume they don’t want to pay for the rights to that anymore.
-Thanks for reading!
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