WrestleMania III: Hogan slams Andre, the night wrestling went huge

WrestleMania III is the biggest card in wrestling history: Hogan slamming Andre in front of a claimed record crowd, Savage and Steamboat tearing the house down, and the night the WWF proved it could fill a football stadium. If you grew up on WWF, this is the one you've seen a hundred times on VHS and still watch when it's on.

What made WrestleMania III the biggest show ever?

March 29, 1987, Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit. The WWF claimed over 93,000 fans, a number that's been debated for decades but remains the company's official attendance record. Whether it was 78,000 or 93,000, it was the biggest crowd wrestling had ever drawn in North America, and Vince McMahon made sure the world knew it.

The main event was Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Championship against Andre the Giant, billed as the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. Andre had been undefeated for 15 years. Hogan was the biggest star in the business. The build was simple and perfect: Andre turned heel, challenged Hogan, and the whole thing came down to whether Hogan could lift the 500-pound Giant and slam him.

He did. The bodyslam is the most famous moment in wrestling history, the image that defined the era. Hogan hit the leg drop, got the pin, and the place exploded. It wasn't a technical classic, but it didn't need to be. It was spectacle, drama and the culmination of everything the WWF had been building since Hogan won the belt three years earlier.

Why does everyone talk about Savage vs. Steamboat?

Because it's one of the greatest matches ever worked. Randy Savage defended the Intercontinental Championship against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in a match that set the standard for years. Fast, clean, perfectly timed, with something like 20 nearfalls and not a wasted second. Steamboat won the belt, and the match stole the show.

If Hogan and Andre was the spectacle that brought in the casual fans, Savage and Steamboat was the match that reminded everyone wrestling could be an art form when the right guys were in the ring.

What else was on the card?

Twelve matches total, stacked top to bottom with the WWF roster at its peak. Roddy Piper fought Adrian Adonis in a hair vs. hair match that ended Piper's run for a while. The Hart Foundation and British Bulldogs went at it for the tag titles. Harley Race and Junkyard Dog worked a loser-bows-to-the-winner match. King Kong Bundy, Honky Tonk Man, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, the roster reads like the back of a LJN figure card.

Not every match was a classic, but the card had variety, star power and the sense that this was the biggest night of the year. The WWF treated it like the Super Bowl, and for one night, it was.

Why did WrestleMania III matter?

It proved wrestling could be mainstream. The WWF had been pushing hard since the Rock 'n' Wrestling era started in 1984, putting Hogan on magazine covers, getting Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T involved, running MTV tie-ins and taking the product national. WrestleMania III was the payoff: a football stadium full of fans, a closed-circuit audience in theaters across the country, and a main event that made the evening news.

For a generation of fans, this was the night wrestling went from Saturday morning territory shows to something your parents and teachers knew about. Hogan was a household name. Andre was a legend. And the image of Hogan slamming the Giant became the defining visual of the Golden Era.

Does WrestleMania III still hold up?

The spectacle does. The crowd, the entrances, the atmosphere, the sense that you're watching history—all of that still works. Hogan and Andre is slow and methodical, but it's not supposed to be a mat classic. It's a story told in the ring, and the ending still gives you chills if you grew up on it.

Savage and Steamboat holds up completely. Watch it next to anything from the last decade, and it's still smooth, fast and perfectly laid out. The undercard is hit or miss, but the top of the card delivers, and the whole show feels like an event in a way modern Manias sometimes don't.

If you're showing someone what the WWF was in the 80s, this is the tape you pull out. It's the biggest, loudest, most important night of the Golden Era, and it's still worth watching.

For more on the era, check out our guide to WWF Golden Era wrestlers, and if you're shopping for the wrestling fan in your life, we've got gift ideas for fans who grew up on WWF.

Quick answers

How many people were at WrestleMania III?

The WWF claims 93,173, which remains the company's official attendance record, though some estimates put the actual number closer to 78,000.

Who won the main event at WrestleMania III?

Hulk Hogan defeated Andre the Giant to retain the WWF Championship, slamming Andre and hitting the leg drop for the pin.

What is the best match on the WrestleMania III card?

Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat for the Intercontinental Championship is widely considered one of the greatest matches ever and the best on the card.

Why is WrestleMania III so famous?

It drew the largest crowd in WWF history, featured Hogan's iconic slam of Andre the Giant, and proved wrestling could fill a football stadium and go mainstream.