Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: WrestleMania Part 3
By Sean Taylor
Jan 12, 2009 - 1:38:47 AM
A big thank you to everyone who emailed or posted feedback to my column. Special thanks to those who picked up on my mistake. The WWE’s first pay-per-view wasn’t Survivor Series, it was The Wrestling Classic. I knew that and I can’t explain why I wrote differently. But hey, everyone makes mistakes.
As I sit in my computer chair preparing to write the next column, I have popped in my WrestleMania III DVD for inspiration and I can’t help but stop and listen to the great old school WrestleMania theme song and think back to WrestleMania: The Album. For those of you who have never heard it, I highly recommend that you go to your favourite torrent site - err I mean legal website you use to download music for the low, low price of $1.99 a track – and find this disc. Along with theme songs from superstars in the early 1990s (Nasty Boys, Big Boss Man, Tatanka, Mr. Perfect) you also get original songs like “Macho Man” by “Macho Man” Randy Savage and the love ballad “Never Been A Right Time To Say Goodbye” by Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Tack on the WrestleMania theme song (now Linda McMahon’s theme) and the Survivor Series song and you have probably the best album ever produced by the WWE. If anything you’ll laugh your ass off at Savage’s rantings.
Enough of the silly stuff. We have a history lesson to get to. Sit up straight, spit out your gum, and take off that hat, mister. It’s time for History Of: WrestleMania Part 3. And pay attention, you never know if a pop quiz might show up.
By 1987, the WWE had made the full turn from the old school style of professional wrestling into the beginnings of “sports entertainment”. From the opening credits of WrestleMania III, it was clear that Vince had invested in getting better production values for his shows. Onscreen graphics were crisper and cleaner, there were more lights and cameras, the ring was on a raised platform, and entrance music was given to nearly all the superstars as opposed to just the big name babyfaces (good guys).
But the biggest difference from the two previous WrestleManias was the venue. While WrestleMania and WrestleMania 2 emanated from smaller hockey arenas, WrestleMania III took place in the expansive Pontiac Silverdome. It was a different atmosphere in a football stadium. The WWE, AWA, and NWA had all done shows in stadiums before but the ring was always placed around the home plate area. McMahon placed his ring in the center of the football field and surrounded it with seating blocks. This not only help bolster live attendance numbers (which I’ll get into deeper later) but also led to the invention of the Mini-Ring. The Mini-Ring was a bullpen cart-like vehicle used to carry the wrestlers to and from the ring because the distance between the entrance and the ring was so much further than normal. When the Mini-Ring carrying a wrestler arrived at the ring, the wrestler would be escorted to the ring by a female ring valet called a “Federette”.
Kicking It Off
The event began with a visibly emotional Vince McMahon, who was an onscreen interviewer/announcer at the time, welcoming everyone to WrestleMania III. In interviews later on, Vince would claim that before he spoke to the live crowd that night, he could feel the spirit of his father Vincent J McMahon within him. McMahon Sr. had passed away after battling cancer just three years before.
After Aretha Franklin sang “America The Beautiful”, announcers Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura introduced WrestleMania III’s special celebrity interviewers former baseball player turned actor Bob Uecker and television’s Mary Hart (“Entertainment Tonight”). Uecker and Hart also pulled double duty in the main event as guest ring announcer and guest timekeeper respectively.
The first match featured the Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) defeating “Cowboy” Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco after Martel hit Muraco with a flying cross body.
The next match was Billy Jack Haynes taking on Hercules in a Full Nelson Challenge. Hercules and Haynes both used the Full Nelson as a finisher. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Hercules’ manager, taunted Haynes claiming that his charge’s Full Nelson was better. On an episode of “Superstars”, Heenan challenged Haynes to break Hercules’ Full Nelson. When Haynes stepped into the ring, he was blindsided and beaten. During the Full Nelson Challenge, Haynes put Hercules into a Full Nelson but Hercules dove over the top rope taking both men out of the ring. The ref counted both men out. After the match, Haynes stalked Heenan until Hercules knocked him out with his steel chains.
One of WrestleMania III’s memorable moments occurred in the next match. King Kong Bundy teamed with two midget wrestlers named Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook to take on Hillbilly Jim and his midget partners the Haiti Kid and Little Beaver. Bundy was disqualified for bodyslamming Little Beaver which was against the rules of the Mixed Tag Team Match. As a result of the bodyslam, Little Beaver suffered a back injury that forced his early retirement. After Little Beaver died in 1995, Bundy said in an 1998 interview that he hoped that he wasn’t responsible for Little Beaver’s death, which is unlikely since he died of emphysema.
Kneel Before Your King
The Wrestling Classic was the WWE’s first pay-per-view in November of 1985. In the following years, The Wrestling Classic was not produced on pay-per-view but the event did continue. While the 16-man single elimination tournament was brought back, the WWE changed the name of the card to King of the Ring. In 1986, former NWA World Champion Harley Race won the tournament and proclaimed himself “The King of Wrestling”. Race became the first to add the “King of the Ring” gimmick to his own to create a new character. After his matches, he would demand that his fallen opponent kneel down and bow before him. Oftentimes the opponent was forced to do so by his manager Bobby Heenan.
But one man proclaimed that he would never kneel before Race. That man was the hero of the common workingman, Junkyard Dog (JYD). On an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, a match between JYD and Race was scheduled and Race won. JYD refused to bow and wouldn’t allow Heenan or Race to make him. After that a “Loser Must Bow” match was made for WrestleMania III.
With “The Queen of Wrestling” Fabulous Moolah at ringside tending to the crown, Heenan’s interference allowed Race to pick up the pinfall victory. The stipulations of the match dictated that JYD must bow to Race and being a man of his word he did. He then attacked Race and hit him in the back with a chair. JYD picked up Race’s royal cape and wore it as he left the ring.
From Dream To Barber
The following match featuring The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine) battling The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond). Manager Johnny Valiant and new ally, Dino Bravo, escorted the Dream Team to the ring. During the match, Brutus accidentally hit Valentine almost costing them the match. Thanks to interference from Dino Bravo, Valentine was able to win the match but after the match, Valentine, Valiant, and Bravo left Beefcake in the ring. The Dream team was no more.
The next match featured “Adorable” Adrian Adonis versus “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. After WrestleMania 2, Piper went on a hiatus from wrestling. During his hiatus the effeminate Adonis took over his Piper’s Pit interview show and renamed it The Flower Shop. When Piper returned as a babyface, he restarted Piper’s Pit and the two shows “squared off”. This led to Piper getting attacked by Adonis, Don Muraco, and Piper’s former friend “Cowboy” Bob Orton. Piper retaliated by destroying The Flower Shop set with a baseball bat. The two were then signed to a Hair vs. Hair match at WrestleMania III. In addition, Piper announced that no matter how the match ended, he would retire from active competition in order to pursue an acting career.
Piper opted not to use a Mini-Ring and walked to the ring at WrestleMania III. At the end of the match, Adonis put Piper in a sleeper hold and thought Piper’s arm dropped three times. As Adonis and his manager “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart celebrated in the ring, Piper got up and put Adonis in a sleeper of his own. Adonis failed to respond and Piper was declared the winner. Brutus Beefcake re-entered the ring and as Piper restrained Jimmy Hart, Beefcake started to shave Adonis’ head. Adonis woke up and bolted to the back. Piper celebrated in the ring and the fans got their first look at Ed Leslie’s new persona, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake.
When Animals Attack
After winning the WWE Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 2, The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) held on to the belts until January 26, 1987. That night they faced Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, The Hart Foundation. The matches between the Hart Foundation and the Bulldogs were considered classics in the realm of tag team wrestling but on that night, Dynamite Kid was suffering from a serious back injury. Smith actually carried Dynamite to the ring and was on the outside for most of the match.
During the match, fans booed referee Danny Davis because he seemed to favouring the Harts. Davis allowed the Harts to utilize blatant illegal double team maneuvers to win the match and the titles. The WWE immediately suspended Davis’ referee license for “life plus ten years” so Hart Foundation manager Jimmy Hart signed Davis as a wrestler. After The Bulldogs were given enough time to recuperate, they were signed to a six-man tag match at WrestleMania III. They teamed with Tito Santana to take on The Hart Foundation and “Dangerous” Danny Davis, who made his in-ring debut that night.
The Bulldogs and Santana were led down the aisle at WrestleMania III by Matilda, the Bulldogs mascot. When Matilda got into the ring, she immediately attacked Jimmy Hart and his megaphone. Jimmy and his charges ducked out of the ring while the referee called for the match to start. Eventually, the match deteriorated into a brawl involving all six men which allowed Davis to hit Smith in the head with Jimmy Hart’s megaphone and score the pinfall.
The next match featured “Bird Man” Koko B. Ware against “The Natural” Butch Reed (with manager Slick). Reed rolled through Koko’s flying body press to gain the pinfall. Slick then entered the ring and began attacking Koko before Tito Santana ran in and made the save.
The Masterpiece
Going into the WWE Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania III, fans recognized champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage and challenger Ricky Steamboat as above average wrestlers. But no one had any idea what kind of match would be produced. The fans both in the Pontiac Silverdome and at home watching on pay-per-view were unaware that the match they were watching would be called the one of the greatest wrestling matches, not just in WrestleMania history, but of all time.
In the summer of 1986, Steamboat was greeting fans after a match when Savage attacked him. Savage continued the assault by hanging Steamboat over the ringside guardrail and dropping an elbow on the back of Steamboat’s head. As a result, Steamboat suffered a larynx injury (kayfabe) and was sent to the hospital. This led to a six month series and blood-filled matches culminating at WrestleMania III with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
Steamboat brought George “The Animal” Steele to be his corner man. Steele had developed a crush on Savage’s manager, Miss Elizabeth. After fifteen, action filled minutes, Steamboat used a small package to pin Savage and become the first man to win the WWE Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania.
Rock n’ Russia
Following the Intercontinental Title match was Jake “The Snake” Roberts versus the Honky Tonk Man. Jake Roberts had an interview segment called The Snake Pit. While being a guest on the show, The Honky Tonk Man hit Roberts in the head with his guitar and legitimately injured Robert’s neck. When the match for WrestleMania was made, Roberts brought in shock rocker Alice Cooper to counteract Honky Tonk Man’s manager, Jimmy Hart. During the match, Roberts went for his patented DDT but Hart pulled Roberts’ leg allowing Honky Tonk Man to roll up “The Snake” while holding the ropes. After the match, Cooper grabbed Roberts’ python Damien and chased Jimmy Hart around the ring.
Next up was The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff taking on The Killer Bees (“Jumpin’” Jim Brunzell/B. Brian Blair). During Volkoff’s traditional singing of the Russian national anthem, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan interrupted and stayed at ringside for the match. The Iron Sheik soon locked Brunzell in a camel clutch. Duggan, tired of watching the dirty tactics, jumped into the ring and hit Sheik with his 2x4 causing a disqualification.
Giant Challenge
Since defeating The Iron Shiek in Madison Square Garden, Hulk Hogan was still the WWE Heavyweight Champion. Along the way, Hogan had formed a strong friendship with fan friendly Andre the Giant. The two men were the best of friends always training and traveling together. They were like brothers and there were no bigger superstars in the business at the time.
Then on an episode of Piper’s Pit, Hogan was presented with a trophy for holding the WWE Title for three years and Andre was presented with a trophy for remaining undefeated for the previous fifteen years. Andre noticed that his trophy was nearly three times smaller than Hogan’s and left disgusted. Weeks later, Jesse “The Body” Ventura brought Andre back to Piper’s Pit to confront Hogan and Andre brought with him, his new manager Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Heenan said that Andre was fed up that even though he’d never been defeated, he was never offered a title shot. Andre then challenged Hogan, tore off Hogan’s shirt and necklace, and walked out. Piper put Hogan on the spot and asked if he would accept the challenge. Hogan said “yes”.
When this match was announced, the wrestling industry was hit with a shockwave. No one – fan, wrestler, or insider – ever thought Hogan and Andre would happen. The match was promoted everywhere people would see it. Television, radio, billboard, and print ads littered North America. Vince McMahon didn’t want anyone to not know about this match and it created a buzz for a wrestling match unlike any before.
When the match finally happened, Hogan and Andre stared down as Gorilla Monsoon announced that this was “the Irresistible Force meeting the Immovable Object”. Monsoon used this phrase almost every time he announced on a wrestling card but the phrase was forever linked to the WrestleMania III main event. Andre dominated the match but Hogan “hulked up” and bodyslammed the giant (which no one had ever done previously) and retained his title.
Fans were happily surprised to see Hogan retain but they weren’t the only ones. Despite knowing that he was going to the match, Hogan was worried that Andre might change his mind. Andre’s health was beginning to decline and he was losing his passion with the wrestling business and the fame that it brought him. Standing seven feet, four inches tall and weighing over five hundred pounds, Andre could win or lose a match at his discretion. If he wanted to win the title that night, there was nothing Hogan could have done to stop him. But Andre was a professional and true to his word, he lost for the first time.
Wrestling Changed Forever
WrestleMania III was, once again, a gamble for Vince McMahon. Just as he’d done the two years prior, Vince put all of his money behind the promotion and production of WrestleMania. The difference with WrestleMania III was that the gamble paid off so well, Vince never had to gamble again. The success of WrestleMania III was unparalleled.
Most famous proof of WrestleMania III’s success was the live attendance. After the Butch Reed/Koko B. Ware match, Gene Okerlund stepped into the ring and announced a new indoor attendance record of 93,173. Many consider this number to be inflated with the real attendance being in the neighbourhood of 78,000. There has been no proof to prove either point so the wrestling industry generally accepts the 93,173 number. The previous record for the WWE was 74,080 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
WrestleMania III brought the WWE into the mainstream. With Hulk Hogan at the forefront, the WWE was selling out live events, setting merchandise sales records, and getting high enough television ratings to replace Saturday Night Live once a month during SNL’s original golden era. Even the wrestling industry began to change their view of the WWE. Michael P.S. Hayes, a loyal NWA supporter at the time, later said that everyone knew the WWE could draw with the circus-like characters and storylines but if people wanted real wrestling, then they were going to be disappointed. But when Hayes saw the Savage/Steamboat match, he said to fellow NWA wrestler “Hollywood” John Tatum, “Damn, now they got it all.” Not only did the WWE have the best entertainment and hype but they also had the best wrestling.
The business made finally changed into sports entertainment. WrestleMania III made the WWE a financially stable organization. Now Vince could gamble a different way. It was on to Atlantic City for a WrestleMania . . .
. . . that would Trump them all.
Rrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnggggg! Well, there’s the bell. I guess it time for this session of The Classroom to come to an end. I hope you’ve all enjoyed Part 3. As always, I can only do better if you email me your feedback here or post it in the forums. All feedback will be responded to. I hope to start pumping out these columns a little quicker so keep your eyes peeled to LordsofPain.net. Also, check below for some other great reading and a video I promised to some of the guys from LOP. The audio might be off and the quality sucks but it’s a new camera and I’m still working the kinks out.
Gold Star Achievements
Here are some other columnists that you should check out. The Eyes of a Monkey by Dr. Monkey Death of the Gimmick Match by Phatman (He’s new and a friend. Go easy on him. lol) The Column Series Invitational by various columnists competing for bragging rights. Lots of great columns here.
Yes, that’s me. The song is “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen.
