To say pro wresting was different in the 1980s is an understatement, and this day in wrestling history exemplified the growing popularity and arguably the height of the WWE’s Golden Era.
With each new WrestleMania we hear the terms “greatest ever”, “most spectacular”, and “most stupendous” bantered about relentlessly.
But on March 29 1987 there was a different feel as we didn’t have to be told how special WrestleMania III was going to be — we knew it. The WWE still did a massive promo program, but fans tuning is was a far gone conclusion.
The build up with Andre the Giant turning on Hulk Hogan on Piper’s Pit and the subsequent emotion pouring from Hogan put the top two stars on a clash everyone wanted to see.
Andre was nearing the end of his wrestling career as various injuries continued to hamper him, but he put Hogan over by letting him bodyslam and pin him to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
Nothing for sure
One of the greatest storylines about this story came out in recent years when Hogan talked about how they were waiting for Andre to give his okay to lose by pinfall for the first time in his 14 year WWE career.
Andre was a legitimate giant and was stronger than anyone else, and if he didn’t want to lose is wasn’t going to happen as Hogan talked about in his Hollywood Hulk Hogan book.
Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the quote.
“There was a huge build-up to the match, an incredible amount of promotion and planning. The tricky part was keeping Andre and me apart until WrestleMania. We wanted to make sure the fans didn’t see any physical encounter between us until the night we got into the ring.
“All along, I was asking Vince what Andre and I were going to do when the match started, but he kept putting me off and saying, ‘I’m not sure yet.’ Vince wasn’t the kind to make a snap decision. He would always wait until he heard everybody’s opinion and then figure it out.
“When it came to my match wrestling Andre, Vince ended up listening to a lot of conflicting points of view. Some guys were saying, ‘The Giant’s never been beaten.’ and other guys were saying, ‘Hulk should beat The Giant.’ Some guys were saying, ‘Andre’s too old and Hulk’s the up-and-coming star.’ and still other guys were saying, ‘Hulk doesn’t deserve to beat Andre.’
“I didn’t expect Vince to make up his mind until the eleventh hour. Finally, at almost twelve o’clock the night before WrestleMania, Vince came to me and said, ‘I want you to win the match.’ The only problem was he hadn’t discussed it yet with Andre. As powerful as Vince was in those days, he wasn’t the strongest force in the wrestling universe. The strongest force was Andre. If he had said, ‘I won’t let Hogan win.’ I wouldn’t have won. That’s all there was to it.” – Hollywood Hulk Hogan book.
The slam heard round the world cemented many wrestling fans for life and sold what the WWE claimed to be an indoor attendance record, though that number is in doubt as allegations that Vince counted everyone in the building in that total.
Still, it was a moment many of us will never forget, and this day in wrestling history has a special place in many fans’ hearts for that reason.
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