This wraps up my rants for the rest of the weekend and will give me a chance to relax and enjoy the Super Bowl.
Have a great weekend guys. Be careful.
Wrestlemania III
WWF Championship: Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan
From The Pontiac Siliverdome in Detroit, Michigan on March 29, 1987
Hosted by Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
This is the biggest match in professional wrestling history. Period. Quick note on the Pontiac Silverdome – it recently sold for $583,000, that’s not a misprint. A multipurpose stadium facility in suburban Michigan that could seat 80K sold for the price of a two-bedroom condo in Manhattan, unbelievable. I miss the motorized carts. They haven’t been around since Wrestlemania VI.
The backstory is simple, yet complex. We hadn’t seen Andre around for a good minute but he reappeared on the scene when Hogan received some trophy for something and said “three years is a long time to be champion” and left it at that. A week later Andre received his trophy and when Hogan came to congratulate him, Andre left. The following week Piper and Ventura got into some debate and guaranteed that the next week they would produce both parties for a sit-down. You see how much more patient the wrestling fan was before the internet and wide spread cable television? Finally four weeks in Andre comes back with Bobby Heenan and throws down the challenge. He even rips off the shirt and the crucifix in the process, bringing Jesus into the booking as well. He would go on a 19-year hiatus and reappeared as part of the Main Event at Backlash I believe. Hogan accepts the challenge and here we are.
We get the biggest face-off in professional wrestling history. Andre’s “7-foot-5” height is hilarious when standing next to Hogan, it’s clear he’s not much more than 6-10 because Hogan is around 6’6. Hogan gets in a few rights and goes for a slam but Andre falls on him and gets a super near fall. Hogan quickly sells the back injury and Andre goes to work with his deliberate offense. The good thing about Andre being so big is that there’s no way Hogan can oversell his blows so some of his drama works perfect in the context of this match. A couple of forearms by Andre and that stomping kneelift drops the champion. Hard body slam and Andre dares him to get up. I have to say Andre was pretty awesome as a heel for a while. Another body slam and he walks right over Hogan’s back. A corner whip by Andre and he doesn’t follow in with any sort of urgency. He whips Hogan to the other corner and lays in the badmouth. YEAH! If only he would have done it in French. Andre shoulders Hogan in the corner and gives him a corner butt splash. Big headbutt and a choke in the corner but Hogan sneaks out of the second headbutt and makes his first comeback. Three right hands and a super duper punch stuns Andre. Axe bomber backs the Giant into the corner and he lays in the chops. Andre takes ten trips into the turnbuckle but Hogan charges and eats a size 22 right of the mouth. Andre slaps on a bearhug as he obviously needs to take a breather. Three minutes later Hogan refuses to submit and fights his way out of the hold. Andre’s selling of the punches is pretty damn funny. Hogan shoulders Andre twice but on the third attempt he gets chopped down. Andre gives Hogan another boot and sends him to the floor, however, Hogan slips out of the way of headbutt and Andre eats post. Hogan exposes the concrete and goes for a piledriver?? What a fucking moron. Of course it doesn’t work. Hogan couldn’t even wrap his arms around Andre’s waist. Back in the ring as Andre looks like he’s about to pass out from exhaustion and gives Hogan the “go home” sign. Hogan ducks a boot and knocks Andre down with a clothesline. Hogan pulls in all the power from his Hulkamaniacs around the world and slams the Giant. And when Hogan drops the big leg in 1987, you ain’t getting up I don’t care who you are.
(Hogan def. Andre, pinfall, *1/4, Given the physical condition of Andre, I think he gave a great effort. Their rematch on national television was much better.)
BONUS MATCH~!
Six-Man Mayhem: The Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana
Matilda attacks Jimmy Hart and the faces clean house right away. Back in the ring Santana and Hart go after each other and Santana dumps Hart on his face. Did Santana and Hart ever have a match during this time period, on a Coliseum Video or something? I bet it would have been pretty good. Tags to Davey Boy and Neidhart, the heels go for some cheap shots but DBS knocks them both silly. Quick tag to Dynamite and a headbutt, that’s about all the offense for him tonight. Tag to Santana and the heels quickly take over, but Santana makes the tag to Davey Boy and he gets a back drop on Neidhart. Davis distracts DBS and Neidhart gets a cheap shot but Bret misses the second rope elbow. Tag to Dynamite and he whips Hart into the buckle and hits the diving headbutt. Neidhart with a cheap shot and Hart takes over in the corner. Dynamite tries to battle back but Neidhart cheap shots Dynamite again. Decapitation by the Harts and a tag to Davis, two stomps later and he’s done. Great crowd heat for that. The Harts continue their assault on Kid. Headbutt from Hart and Davis back in with two stomps and he’s done. His cocky strut is rather awesome I must say. Finally the Harts up the ante and go for the slingshot splash with Davis. He hits all knees and Dynamite makes the hot tag to Santana. Oh shit. Santana gives Davis a huge back drop and hits the flying forearm with extra tamale sauce. Santana opts for the ground and pound over the pin and goes for the figure four when the Anvil nails (get it?) him in the back of the head. Hot tag to Davey Boy and he KILLS him with a lariat. Davis rammed into Dynamite’s head. That’s how they won the titles at Wrestlemania 2 y’know? Instead this time it sets up quite possibly the nastiest tombstone piledriver I’ve ever seen. I mean this beating is bordering on attempted murder. High vertical suplex follows and Davis is selling like a champion. Oh this is beautiful. Finally the powerslam is executed. Had Dynamite been healthy I’m guessing they would have pulled out the top-rope superplex or the top-rope flying headbutt. Neidhart breaks up the count but Tito hits him with a flying forearm. It’s complete mayhem and in the process Davis grabs the megaphone and wallops Davey Boy with it for the three count. Hella fun.
(Harts & Davis def. Bulldogs & Santana, pinfall, ****) I love love love love love this match. It’s as good as you’ll get for eight minutes.
Related Posts:
- Wrestlemania Main Events: Wrestlemania IV
- Wrestlemania Main Events: Wrestlemania IX
- Wrestlemania Main Events: Wrestlemania VI
- Wrestlemania Main Events: Wrestlemania
- Wrestlemania Main Events: Wrestlemania VII
Tags: Andre the Giant, Bobby Heenan, British Bulldogs, Gorilla Monsoon, Hart Foundation, House, Hulk Hogan, Rants, Tito Santana, Wrestlemania, Wrestlemania III, WWF
Didn’t Santana and Hart have a match on Prime Time when it was Strike Force vs. the Harts. Either they had a fight or Bret and Martel did.
Did Andre’s son, The Giant, ever avenge his dad’s loss?
Looking back, it would have been a nice tribute to Andre if Hogan bodyslammed The Giant off of Cobo Hall and he still came out to the ring afterward.
“You see how much more patient the wrestling fan was before the internet and wide spread cable television?”
I disagree with this statement. I think its not so much the fans as it is the after effect from the Monday Night wars. Because WCW and WWE were constantly trying to “one up” each other, they hot shot angles on a consistent basis. Once WCW folded, Vince never broke out of this mold. Of course, over at TNA, the “slow burn angle” killah Vince Russo resides.
could you break out of this mold now though? I will say they have taken the Bret Hart stuff fairly slow. Much slower than other stuff. But fans are conditioned to expect big names wrestling other big names and angles to play out within a 2 hour time frame instead of a 6 month time frame. We all know that Hogan and Andre were able to feud for almost two years with the addition of DiBiase. Fans were just excited to see an pre taped interview with a big star or a squash match on the shows. The so-called “big show” of primetime wrestling consisted of matches like Roma/Powers vs. the Shadows. And yet I remember it being can’t miss TV because that was far better than what was on wrestling challenge, all-american wrestling, and whatever the other names of those syndicated shows were.
I think people underestimate how monthly ppvs killed off long term angles too. Until the early 90s, there were 4 ppvs per year in WWF and a similar number in WCW. Bischoff upped the ante to seven shows in a year and WWF responded with the IYH series that made it a monthly deal. Well of course no one wanted to watched the same guys wrestle more than 3 ppvs in a row, so that was pretty much the extent of an angle.
Then you add the monday night wars, where surprise and shock was king and really, truly was good for ratings. But it was bad for quality and bad for the future of the business. Giving away big matches on cable TV has eroded ppv buyrates (where the big money is). But you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Fans won’t stand for Cena suddenly only appearing every couple months and doing an interview or a squash match. They won’t stand for main events of Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne. I don’t know if would be economically feasible for WWE to reduce ppvs, but it would for TNA, at least at this stage. WWE probably has enough buys at their outrageous price to justify a monthly show. TNA though gets 20,000 buys. Why not go to six ppvs a year. Really build up the matches. Keep guys apart on TV. Contract signings, runins, backstage fights that are quickly broken up, maybe a tag match on opposite sides, but no singles matches between guys that are feuding. Then after two months of buildup, the fans are rabid to see them battle. Those 20,000 buys might be 60,000. All they would have to do is double their buyrates to be even (and that’s without talking about savings on production costs of running less ppvs). Train fans that big things happen on ppvs again.
But TNA isn’t interested in producing a quality wrestling product, they’re only interested in beating WWE. And their plan is to everything WWE does, only badly.
I honestly think TNA should do ONE major PPV a year. That’s all. Choose a top feud, and spend a year building up to the match. WWE didn’t start out with 12 PPVs a year, and it took half a decade of huge sucesses and profits for them to bump that number up to four. Not to mention the fact that the WWF (and WWWF) had been a thriving regional promotion for decades BEFORE the national expansion. Once TNA proves that they can actually draw more than 500 fans a pop at house shows or rise above the ‘1.1/20,000′ rut, then maybe they can add a show or two down the road. But the current model is completely ridiculous for such a fantastically unsuccessful entity.
I’m curious for those that were big fans in both eras — both the 80s – early 90s and the late 90s to early 00s — which pace did you prefer more?
The WWF in the 80s-early 90s had great booking that made sense and told great stories even when the wrestling wasn’t so great, and the NWA — while having a lot of ill conceived angles — generally stuck them out and saw them through, instead of reverting to all the random, chaotic shock style of the later 90s that both feds became guilty for. Plus the wrestling quality was very high as well.
I think I’d say that while the late 90s were probably more exciting, the earlier stuff was far more satisfying for me.
That’s the stuff I go back to and can watch now from start to finish — I have a real hard time watching most modern WWE/WCW PPVs from start to finish, due mostly to all the meaningless insta-feuds that normally didn’t last from one PPV to the next and all the midcarders with no substantial angle or stories behind them. I have every episode of Nitro from late 1995 until 2001 on tape and a lot of Raw from 1995 – 1998 and then again from 2000-2001, but I’ll be damned if I can make it through a whole show without losing interest.
I was going to add — I’ll gladly watch the high points of the later years (the main events, the big angles and matches and such) but I dont enjoy the entire shows the way I enjoy the earlier stuff.
Well, I’ve been watching wrestling since ‘79, and was fully into both eras, so I guess I could qualify. As for which pace did I prefer then, it’s a really tough call.
As a teenager, the 80s style worked very well for me, because the question of which cartoon super-hero would beat the other is something you’re willing to wait for at that age. Heck, the anticipation is half the excitement/pleasure. To give an example, “What would happen if Jake the Snake ever got his hands-and python-on the Million Doller Man?” That’s the sort of question you could mull over for ages at that age (and there’s a feud that got the major drawn-out treatment). It worked very well for me.
On the other hand, the Monday Night War era was during what was still my angry-young-man period. I wanted a lot, and I didn’t want to wait for it. Both in wrestling and life. The wrestling wars suited that to a tee, and it also worked very well for me. Even if I knew deep down that it could only last so long.
If I HAD to pick, I’d probably say the MNW era. But, I can also really appreciate the eighties style, both with its benefits and its drawbacks. They both worked well for what I wanted at the time.
I’ve been watching since late 70s as well, and personally I greatly prefer the 80’s Rock n Wrestling era. The characters were huge, the gimmicks over the top, PPV’s were spaced out nicely, and big matches were rare. Back then you’d have to wait for SNME or PPV to see Hulk wrestle, or a good main event match. Now we get title matches and main event matches weekly. I think that kills the excitement of it. I mean look at RAW coming up, we have Cena v. HHH, that would be a main event on PPV, but it’s happened so many times now. Same thing with the Rey/Undertaker match, they did it about 3 weeks before the Rumble, and then again. There are so many matches that work best as a one time only. I guess I’m just jaded by the way I enjoy the old stuff over the new. But to each his own.
Check out my blog with SNME recaps and videos at:
http://nala310.wordpress.com/
Andre’s one of the only wrestlers I know of (Savage being another) who could perform at an elite level whether heel or face. And one of the things that sets him apart from today’s giants, like Big Show, is how truly terrifying he was. Show’s intimidating, sure, but he also looks like a pretty nice guy. Andre could look and sound like a monster, and that’s part of why the U.S. fans could turn on him so utterly in this match, after cheering him for years. That, and the fact he was facing Hogan, of course.
To see how scary Andre could really be–in his prime–check out one of his Japanese bouts with Stan Hansen.
Totally agree. In Show’s defense though, he’s had stretches in his career in which has booked so bad that it hurt his character. However, take into evidence his stint on Smackdown as champion (while Heyman was booking) and his alliance with Jericho in “Jeri-Show” as proof that he can be pretty bad ass.
The puroresu sets I bought from Highspots have given me a whole new respect for Andre (Hogan, too, for that matter). Which makes watching this match (and The Main Event) that much more painful, because his deterioration is even more apparent. I don’t think he was ever allowed to ‘be’ Andre The Giant in the WWF, because of the different booking styles and mentalities about the business. And yet, even with the physical issues, Andre was one hell of a great heel. Had he been healthy, I think he and Hogan could have drawn huge money for years, especially with Hogan chasing the unbeatable monster heel champion.
Part of the problem is that they’ve never booked Show like an actual giant. He should have been booked once, maybe twice a month to squash a few jobbers on television in less than a minute, and then only three or four times a year on PPV for marquee bouts. Obviously, his pay would’ve had to been restructured so he would still make as much as the other top stars, but limiting his exposure and making him a special attraction would have helped to create the proper aura around him. Of course, the same could be said all their main eventers, but booking Show to be ‘just another wrestler’ week after week for over a decade has killed any specialness he may have had along with any drawing power.
Would’ve agreed with you about Show in 2002, but not now by a long shot. He’s always in and out of main events, he’s dominant everywhere else, and aside from some fun stuff here and there with Vicki (which was in the Mania main event mix, so that’s a pretty forgivable exception), he’s all kinds of dominant, KOing the Undertaker & carrying the guy who’s going to be in the World title match at this year’s Mania in a tag-team as champions for half the year. Of course, I’m a Big Show fan, so I’m kinda apt to rush to his defense. I enjoy the crap out of his matches, and have since his breakthrough in 2003.
Well it wasn’t so much that Andre was scary, it was how his opponents reacted towards him. It’s night and day to see someone who has talent (Hogan, Stan Hansan) put over Andre vs. someone who had none (Warrior).
I’m a big believer that, in general, Giants are miscast in wrestling. Guys like Big Show and Khali should be used as babyfaces and not given serious main-event pushes, because it’s no win. They either take the title and cripple the main event scene due to freakishly huge guys being limited in what moves can be performed against them, or they job to the champ and lose whatever special aura they have going for them.
I actually like the Great Khali. I wouldn’t call him a good wrestler or even a decent one, but he has a place in the business. If he was used as a special attraction babyface, a guy who comes in to help the top babyfaces during tag matches or something along those lines, that would be perfect. That’s how Andre the Giant was used back in the day.
You throw him in there with a babyface for a tag match, or maybe pair him up against the larger (not giant-sized) guys for special ‘battle of the behemoths’ matches. Heck, just book a battle royal for the hell of it, put him in it, and let him win. In Andre’s time, battle royals were hugely over and fans legitimately bought that the biggest guy had an advantage. They don’t anymore because it’s been decades since the Andre rule of “the biggest is the best” has actually been in effect. When Khali entered the 2007 Royal Rumble, the fans totally bought he was a threat. This year, before Beth Phoenix ever showed up, they didn’t anymore. He got no reaction and nobody felt for one second he had any advantage or chance of winning at all, and that’s quite sad.
So in short: Giants are good for special attraction babyfaces, but not as legitimate heelish threats to win. Sadly after Andre the Giant had such a good run as a heel against Hogan, the WWE forgot what made Andre a star in the first place and has tried for years to make every monster sized wrestler a heel, and that sucks.
I agree with this, except for the part about liking Khali. He just pisses me off for some reason. Don’t know why.
It should also be noted that it was Vince McMahon Sr. who booked Andre to be a true giant and a star, because he understood the issue of overexposure for such a gimmick. And booking him for one night stands around the country meant that he could be booked as a face or a heel and not kill business in the the areas if booked properly. But yeah, a heel giant just doesn’t work in the long term. Andre’s run after WMIII proves that to a tee.
Well, I wouldn’t include Andre’s ENTIRE post-WMIII run. He still drew record numbers on TV for the rematch with Hogan where he won the title. But the idea that the biggest giants should be booked as heels is silly.
In Khali’s case, he just doesn’t have this look of being scary about him. He looks like a nice, jovial guy and he should have been used as a babyface right out of the gate. The babyface doesn’t have to carry their end of the match offensive and thus his very obvious limitations would have been well hidden, and he could have gotten Andre the Giant style over while he learned how to work. And quite frankly, I think he actually has shown improvement in the ring. I’m not going to fault those who don’t like him, because he’s certainly an acquired taste, but he’s not totally worthless.
As far as the way Vince Sr booked, that was the 70s. You can’t book a guy for one-night-stands across the country anymore. That era is long over. But with all the TV shows the WWE has, they could just not have a guy like Khali belong to any one brand. Just have him show up once a month on TV and do the house show circuit in the meantime.
I’ll give you a scenerio. Let’s say John Morrison is fighting the Straight Edge Society. He jobs one week, gets fucked the next week due to interference, and so he gets into a tag match. He places a call, and the next week Khali shows up to be his mystery partner. He stands on the apron for 90% of the match while Morrison does his face in peril bit. Hot tag, chops, pin, and the faces celebrate. Morrison starts to gain momentum in his feud, Khali disappears off TV for a while, or maybe gets a singles match with Festus or whatever the fuck he calls himself these days, wins it, and disappears.
Do that for a few years, bringing him on TV once every month or two, and after five to six years you suddenly have an Andre the Giant style “unbeatable but fun loving and heroic superbuddy” giant character that can be used as a catalyst for any number of angles. It’s a total no-brainer and I don’t get why the WWE or any company, TNA included, doesn’t do this.
“But the idea that the biggest giants should be booked as heels is silly…The babyface doesn’t have to carry their end of the match offensive and thus his very obvious limitations would have been well hidden…”
Have to disagree here (which will probably get me called all kinds of fun names). As limited as most giants’ movesets are, I’d argue that their selling tends to be even worse. Unless they’re fighting other superheavyweights, their selling usually succeeds only in making the opponent’s moves look shitty. Given that virtually every match’s heat segment has the heel in control and the face having to sell, I think most giants are better suited as heels.
Sure, the “special attraction” bit might have worked great in the territory days, when a guy could do quick stops all over the country and keep the attraction fresh, but in the current climate with guaranteed contracts and one company having a huge advantage over all others, the only way for giants to make superstar money is to wrestle frequently.
I’m not going to call you any names. (fucking douchebag
)
You’re right about giants and their ability to sell. It is usually not on par with the average wrestler, and that’s usually due to physical limitations. In the case of guys like Andre and Show (maybe Khali, I never heard word of it) they were born with a condition that caused them to grow BUT it also causes stuff like chronic fatigue syndrome and thus it’s basically easier to lay still like you’re dead.
Truth be told, I think Big Show goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to selling moves, especially power moves. He’s actually really good about picking and choosing his spots when it comes to selling. I still think he’s not the best wrestler and it’s not totally on the booking, but he’s a guy who went from garbage in 1999 to fairly passable in recent years and I admire anyone who actually strives to improve (something IWC darlings like Christian or Matt Hardy know nothing about, even after over a decade in the big leagues).
“Given that virtually every match’s heat segment has the heel in control and the face having to sell, I think most giants are better suited as heels.”
Well the simple answer is Giant matches shouldn’t be booked like normal matches. I’ve seen tapes of Andre’s 70s matches and the unique structure they had worked. I wouldn’t call them GOOD matches or anything, but they were treated like a spectacle instead of a normal wrestling match and thus the fans stayed lively through-out. Giants are not of the traditional build, so it makes no sense to put them in traditional matches.
“but in the current climate with guaranteed contracts and one company having a huge advantage over all others, the only way for giants to make superstar money is to wrestle frequently.”
Ah, but I never said to take them off the road. I said to keep them off TV. Big difference. If they’re only popping up on TV 15 or so times a year, they become a special ratings attraction. Meanwhile they still get to make their money by working the houseshow circuit, where they can draw money for having your chance to see the freak live.
And guess what, that formula is a proven winner. When the WWE split into “A Shows” and “B Shows” in 1985, they drew sell-outs to B shows by using Andre the Giant in battle royals.
The WWE currently has the largest roster of professional wrestlers ever assembled. They have enough guys to run battle royals at house shows and use it as a springboard to get a guy like Khali or Big Show over in that big way.
I laughed when Beth Phoenix dumped Khali out of the Rumble, but a little part of me died too. I’m a big believer in protection booking and that spot really sucked. On the same token, they could have gotten the same comic effect by putting Santino in the rumble and letting him dump Khali. I have nothing against women wrestling (check out my upcoming TLC review where I blast IWC writers for always slamming diva matches like they think they’ll catch cooties from watching them or something) but that spot is not going to benefit Beth Phoenix, and it’s sure as hell not going to benefit Khali. It might have helped someone else on the roster though. I didn’t get it.
I think people don’t buy the giants’ chances of winning battle royales anymore because giants never actually win them. If you look at the winners of the Royal Rumble in the past ten years, you have guys like Rocky, Austin, HHH, Brock, Benoit, Batista, Mysterio, Undertaker, Cena, Orton, and now Edge. None of them would be considered “giants,” and most of them are pretty average in size (compared to their peers). In the 90s, we had guys like Bret, Shawn, and Flair winning.
That was actually my point. Battle Royals were actually used primary in the old days as a means to put over Giants and show that they could beat 20 or more men at once. It wasn’t just Andre the Giant either. Guys like Ernie Ladd (big for his time), Gorilla Monsoon, Don Leo Jonathan, and John Studd benefited from getting battle-royal pushes. In general territories would book them as a means to get over whoever happened to be the biggest guy on the roster at the time. When Andre was around, it wasn’t uncommon for a company to book a battle royal one month and put over their resident big man, then the next month book another only this time Andre is in it and dumps the big guy at the end, touching off a feud.
A two bedroom condo in Manhattan is significantly more expensive than 583k. Try a studio, and probably not in a top quality neighborhood.
Well obviously not Tribeca but I saw a 1/1 co-op in Hell’s Kitchen going for about 450K. That area is rapidly improving.
I agree that Big Show is capable of good matches, especially when he keeps his weight down. Khali can at least be scary *looking*– though I’ve never enjoyed a Khali match, aside from a couple he had with Cena and Kane.
Good or bad booking aside, I still think Andre had an extra ’something’; call it an unsettling quality. It wasn’t just the acromegalic features, either. I felt the same way watching Lesnar, and even Savage. Just this sense that there was something chaotic and inhuman boiling inside of them. Big Show, by comparison, strikes me as an oversized regular guy. Totally different feeling.
Well his general personality wasn’t jovial. Bobby Heenan said on many occasions that he hated people in general. So he just channeled his normal everyday anger and amped it up to 11. You got Andre the mega evil heel.
After watching some good Andre matches from the 70s courtesy of WWE 24/7….I shudder to think what a heel Andre in his physical prime could have done. Imagine if he was throwing suplexs and coming off of the top rope against Hogan in that match? I honestly don’t think fans would have believed Hogan (or any other wrestler) could beat him.
I still get goosebumps at the beginning when they’re trash talking and Jesse (i think, maybe Gorilla) says, “He’s hulking up already!” during a close-up of a super-pumped Hulk Hogan. With that little detail, I thought they nailed the hugeness of the moment…I mean, Hulk Hogan hulking up BEFORE the match?? That’s f’in awesome.
I also enjoy to no end Hogan’s failed piledriver attempt on the floor…still have no idea what he was going for.
And Bulldog’s piledriver on Danny Davis is spectacular. I may have to watch WrestleMania III again this weekend….still my favorite show of the 80s, and was my favorite show period until WrestleMania 17 came along.
I’ll only watch the Coliseum Video version of this show. I love the opening with Mene Gene standing in the empty Silverdome, which really puts on display the magnitude of the event. Plus the transition right from Hulk Hogan’s ridiculously nutty interview right into the middle of the announcement of the attendance record. Watching this on the anthology DVD just loses so much. I think I saw this show for the first time in about 1991 and I was blown away with it then, not quite as much as I was by GAB 1989, but they are very comparable atmosphere wise, both had great crowds in particular.
The work in the match may not be stellar, but the visuals are great and not just for the big moments — I love the image of Andre just casually walking over Hogan’s back as if he couldn’t be bothered. The image of Hogan hurting his hand while punching Andre is a nice touch too — just emphasizing how this guy was in no way just a normal opponent for Hogan. I love how Hogan biffs the intiial bodyslam too and gives all the fans in the audience a collective heart attack.
One thing I’m really struck by is the commentary for this event and I have watched this match in the company of others that were not fans of wrestling and most all of them got a chuckle or two out of Gorilla and Jessie’s banter. What made Jessie Ventura so special as a commentator was how he didn’t let people get away with anything and always kept the focus on the match/angle. The part where he gets all over Gorilla’s case for saying that Andre never asked for this title shot is great stuff — he just pushes the commentary right back into the match, emphasizing the importance of the angle. Great stuff.
I still think Wrestlemania III was one of the greatest events the WWF ever gave us, and all the matches were good. Then again Gorilia and Jesse were dead-on all night, and the whole cast/group were selling the Ponatic Silverdome as big as the old Roman Coliseum. (I’m shocked outside of Ceasar’s Palce that Vince hasn’t tried another Roman Coliseum type show.)
I mean even Koko vs. Butch Reed was classic due to Jesse. (You know the B stands for Buckwheat, you know? Oh yes it does . . . )
And Hercules vs. Billy Jack Haynes to see who had the better full nelson was epic, even though it ended in a Double Countout.
They treated it like a real sport or at least an EVENT/HAPPENING, and made every match seem important.
I like the darkness of the arena a lot as the event reaches the Savage/Steamboat match.
There is something to be said for simple lighting as opposed to how garish it’s become. I liked Scott’s comparison between the WrestleMania VI lighting of the SkyDome and the WrestleMania X8 version — with “every seat lit up like a Christmas tree”. It’s just not as visually attractive, it’s sensory overload.
Okay my version of Hogan vs. Andre.
Like Princess said, this was an epic match to end all epic matches, in the size and the scope. Vince really wanted to “THINK BIG” in terms of giving a real Wrestlemania event. I and II were fair events, but he really wanted to give it a grand stage feel and where else, but the Silverdome with about 80,000 to 93,000 people. I think it was a good idea around 2001 to make Wrestlemania – the big stadium show. I see them doing 30 at MSG like they did 1, 10, and 20 – but as long as Vince can maintain business – Wrestlemaniia has earned itself a big stage arena slot.
In 1987, however, nothing was bigger than Hulk Hogan. He was the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, and he was a throwback of the 1950’s good guy like the George Reeves Superman. He was the hero that took on super mastermind vilians and giant monsters.
Another “friendly giant” of the squared circle for most of his known career in the states and the WWWF and WWF before him was Andre the Giant. Andre was the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and truly was built as unstopable due to his massive size. Most of his big feuds were with evil big guys managed by masterminds. He did lose in some feds, but in terms of being a “premeir” guy in the WWF – he hadn’t been pinned. Hulk Hogan (the character) saw Andre as a hero, a man who he looked up to. (They were booking this concept since 1985, when Hogan did a “in character interview” on the first Hulkamania tape.
Andre was like all of Hogan’s friends like JYD, Superfly Snuka, and Mr. Wonderful – 1985. It was Hogan’s yard, but he needed friends that ran by the same ethics of Hulkamania – yadda, yadda.
Then Andre gets suspended in 1986. In real life, Andre had major back issues and to have surgery. He did appear in a mask as the Giant Machine in a rib angle of all these American guys (Blackjack Mulligan, Bill Eddie – Smash/Masked Supertar) being Japanese wrestlers.
To make it more ridicious (sic), they had Hulk Machine and Piper Machine show up once Andre left for surgery. Most of us were supposed to be in on the gag because Bobby Hennan had Studd and Bundy show up with paper bags on their heads one week.
So flash to 1987, and Andre the Giant returns. Bobby Heenan seems almost supportive, in spite of Gorilia badgering him about the trouble they had in the past. However, Andre seemed to be a changed man. He still smiled when he returned, but there was a hurt that wasn’t there before. He’s mean to Hogan when Hogan wins an award being champion for three years, and then when Hogan comes out to support Andre the next week – Andre just looks down at the award – almost as if we’re seeing the last babyface of Andre slip away – as he wants to accept the support from his friend Hogan, but he wants more. He feels he deserves more.
And to be honest – Hogan is just a show-stealer and glory hog that I’m sure smarks today feel more for Andre than they felt for Hogan – who was just the Superhero giving the Batman pep talk to Robin. (Although Adam West’s Batman was actually a spoof, although it took years for me to realize that.)
So Andre turns heel, joins up with Heenan and we got the build of the “undefeated” Andre against the superhero. A once good Superhero turns evil, and is a monster of a man and we don’t know if our present day hero can defeat him.
WRESTLEMANIA III MAIN EVENT: WWF World Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan (champion) vs. Andre the Giant (w/ Bobby Hennan)
Four people makes this match special, outside of the arena, Gorilia Monsoon, Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan, and Andre the Giant. Hell, even add Joey Marella and Bobby Heenan. The heels are in awe as Andre gets a monster heel reaction and the fans pelt trash at him. I’m noticing little things I never notice before. Including how hard it was for Andre to climb to the ropes, and Bobby smirking at Andre being pelted with garbage.
Jesse giving the tale of the tape for Hogan/Andre just makes this more epic.
And when Hogan turns around to rip the shirt, you just can see the anger – that he has to take someone he thought he trusted, and he just starts bad mouting Andre. I mean Hogan just goes crazy to Ultimate Warrior level. He probably was just asking Andre they could have a beer after the match, but Hogan is just shaking his head and giving Andre a what-for.
Andre finally has enough and shoves him, Hogan shoves back, Andre misses a punch and Hogan goes crazy with punches, but decides to body slam Andre and Andre falls on top for a close three count. Hogan clearly kicks out, but Andre is so big and if this had been a real contest the ref would have counted three for real. So it was a great followup storyline to have Heenan and Andre b*tch that they were robbed. Of course, Andre and Heenan are irate as Hogan crawls away in pain.
Andre kicks the back, and then pounds on it. Heenan is still letting Marella have it, as Andre just beats Hogan with knee lifts and a bodyslam and Hogan sells it like a truck hit him. Andre demanding Hogan to get up, as Hogan can barely move. Another body slam, and steps on Hogan’s back and begs Hogan to get up. Andre grabs the tights, for a irish whip and just gloats like the Jaws in the James Bond movies. Andre taunts the fans, and shoulder blocks Hogan in the corner twice. Butt-smash follows, followed by a headbutt.
Andre is slow and mythlogical here, but watch some classic movies with evil monsters going after the superhero in the serials. It is working . . . and BLAM Andre misses a headbutt and Hogan escapes to the crowd pip and Hogan hits a right hand, and a elbow smash, and a few chops in the corner with a head smash. Andre is dazed, but Hogan gets caught up and waits to charge with the pattened Hogan turnbuckle clothesline and eats big boot.
Damn is Andre legit warn out here. You almost wonder if Bobby’s “you all right” was a shoot, as Andre gets back in character and nods. Big chop and a bear hug follows. Rest holds never have bothered me before, but I was a mark when I first watched this match. The focus is on Hogan fighting to get out, but Andre is the one that looks in pain here. (Must be the HD TV and BluRay player) Hogan finally is able to power out of the Bear Hug with a series of fists and continues to unload with punches. Shoulder block follows, as does another, but Andre chops down Hogan to size. and big boots him to the floor. For someone in the bad shape Andre was in, he jumps out of the ring like a cat to pounce on Hogan – with chops – but ends up headbutting the post.
Then Hogan does something that still doesn’t make much sense. He exposes the concrete to attempt to piledrive Andre, but Andre easily backdrops him and Hogan takes a major bump (I guess). Andre gets mad and throws Hogan back into the ring.
Andre tries for a irish whip and big boot, but Hogan ducks and nails Andre to the ground with the Axe-Boom-Bah Larait clothesline that means nothing in America or the WWF, but needless to say Andre sells it and Hogan Hulks Up! Andre gets up, but Hogan SLAMS HIM and DROPS THE LEG FOR THE WIN!
Rating: Oh God this is going to be tough now. I think its a well booked match between good and evil, with the good guy being able to defeat the bad guy. Its got some good dramatic moments, in spite that Andre really was sick here. I still think based on the dramatic booking its a ***** match, hands down. But it was a well booked dramatic event over being an actual sporting event, which wrestling was still being billed out even in the WWF-land back in 1987. Still, all the fans wanted to see the superhuman Hogan destroy the evil giant and it was accomplished.
Of course as an adult you can see Andre’s evil was more like pain, but hell it doesn’t make me enjoy the match any less.
A minor correction: I believe it was God who appeared in the Backlash match, not Jesus. An understandable mistake, though.
“A minor correction: I believe it was God who appeared in the Backlash match, not Jesus. An understandable mistake, though.”
Hulk Hogan DID NOT appear at Backlash.
(crickets)
I’ll see myself out.
Tell that to The Showster, brother!
P
… And he beat Triple H for the title too. Everbody knows I meant Backlash 2006.
I knew what you meant, yes! I just loved The Showster, that’s all.
Absolute must see viewing, it doesn’t matter that Andre/Hogan (by general standards and forgetting all the limitations) was horrible. Call it a DUD for the match but ***** for entertainment. This was where they jumped the shark, must see PPV!
This likely hurts my smark-mark cred, but hell as anyone who reads the WTLR at Pulse knows, I’m not a conformist.
And I gave Hogan/Andre my *** passing grade. It was basically as well done as that match could have been given Andre’s limitations. From a technical standpoint it sure as hell wasn’t pretty, but it *FELT* like a huge event. The crowd stayed thunderous even during the extended bearhug and it had so many iconic spots in it. I get goosebumps watching it to this day.
“We hadn’t seen Andre around for a good minute but he reappeared on the scene…”
I have a dim memory of a storyline where Andre got “suspended” for no-showing a tag match and leaving his partner (I want to say JYD, but I’m really not sure anymore) to get crushed in a handicap match. I’m pretty sure that’s how they wrote him out of the WWF for a while before the WM III angle.