The Importance of…2.20.09: WrestleMania III

Posted by Mike Chin on 02.20.2009

The Importance of... begins its road to Wrestlemania this week with an analysis of how Wrestlemania 25 is shaping a up, and a look back at the historical significance Wrestlemania 3.

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Quick notes on the past week of wrestling

I'm quite pleased with the surprises coming out of No Way Out. The shock of Edge dropping one strap, then picking up another was a real shot in the arm for WWE--on par with Edge's first WWE title win three years ago. This move got people talking, and has resulted in some interesting turns for the top of card at Mania. Cena-Edge and Triple H-Orton are unique choices for the main events. On one hand, it has been long enough since any of these guys have feuded that the programs feel relatively fresh and vital. On the other hand, the earlier programs between these guys were intense enough, and important enough to the overall mythology of WWE that, despite only having a month and a half to build these matches, long-time fans can have the sense that these are match-ups of destiny, not unlike Hogan-Savage at Wrestlemania 5, Hart-Michaels at Wrestlemania 12, or Rock-Austin at Wrestlemania 17. Cena-Orton and Triple H-Edge would have been serviceable Wrestlemania main events, but the new line-up has so much more history behind it, and is absolutely worthy of main eventing Wrestlemania 25.

Tack on HBK-Undertaker and a Hardy Brothers war, and I'd say this card is shaping up quite nicely.

On to our regular column...

I often frame my analysis of wrestling history within context of having been a child of the eighties—a kid who grew up on Hulk Hogan, The Macho Man and the latter days of Andre the Giant. It's especially important to keep this perspective in mind when you start to talk about Wrestlemania. I grew up with the institution of Wrestlemania—it has been around for as far back as I can remember, and I have been around long enough that I can remember the build leading up to almost every event. With all of that being said, there a select few Manias that need no sugar-coating, and little context. Wrestlemania III was not the best Wrestlemania, but I'll be damned if it was not the most iconic. When you talk about super shows, famous main events, and mark out moments you'll be hard pressed to ever find a more important wrestling show than this one.

Vince McMahon founded Wrestlemania on the idea of running a super show—a massive moneymaker, featuring the biggest names in the business. The first Mania saw Hulk Hogan team with celebrity buddy Mr. T against the two top heels of the day, Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. The second saw Hogan square off against King Kong Bundy in a cage. Each of these contests were huge main events for the day. Neither of them approached the magnitude Hogan-Andre, the defining match of Wrestlemania III.

The program between Hogan and Andre was, in many ways, a no-brainer. You take the two biggest, most over stars of the day. You have one of them turn heel on the other—the classic Hogan formula that worked before, and would work many times over again in the future. You make sure one is, physically, the biggest man in the business, with an unparalleled aura of invincibility around him. You make sure the other is the most popular star of all time, who just happened to build some of his legacy on being insanely strong, and capable of bodyslamming gigantic men. Add these factors together and you have the recipe for a showdown that will capture the imaginations of children, marks and casual fans alike, with only a few nay-saying smarks bringing down the parade (though even they had to be a little psyched).

Granted, the Hogan-Andre showdown was not a fantastic match. The thing is littered with prosaic brawling and rest holds, with very little substance. Hogan was never known for his work rate, and Andre, never a brilliant technician, was years, if not decades, past his prime. And yet, despite the limitations and the lackluster execution, this match stands as the single most iconic wrestling match of all time. Why? There's the epic stare down—milking the crowd for every ounce of anticipation in a way that would not happen again until *maybe* Hogan-Rock 15 years later. There's Andre's titanic bearhug, a snore of a move that Hogan sold like death and that Andre was big enough to get over. And, of course, there was the most iconic moment of them all, when The Hulkster lifted his opponent and bodyslammed him to the mat en route to victory. It's the kind of moment that captures the imagination of a generation of wrestling fans—the kind of moment that was so perfectly built to, sold and executed that there was no alternative but for it to achieve immortality in the annals of wrestling.

Of course, Wrestlemania III was important beyond the main event. Most obviously, there was the Ricky Steamboat-Randy Savage battle over the Intercontinental title. Take two of the best workers of the day, put a sensational program behind them (complete with a heated injury angle), and give them a crowd of 90,000 to cheer them on, and you have a recipe for something special—many people's pick for match of the year, and an encounter that some will maintain is the greatest match in the history of wrestling's greatest show.

The rest of the card, though lackluster, did have its moments of significance. There was Roddy Piper's purported retirement match, in which he not only defeated, but cut the hair of arch-nemesis Adrian Adonis. There was the blow-off to the Junkyard Dog-Harley Race feud (hey, I said lackluster…). These matches demonstrated a growing understanding of what Wrestlemania, as a supershow, could mean—a true culmination of a year of angles, at which truly memorable moments could occur. What's more, Vince McMahon masterfully set the stage for this card, securing the space for an enormous crowd and drawing them in with the main event, and having Aretha Franklin set the stage at the very beginning, singing "America the Beautiful" and letting everyone know just how big the night was about to be.

From a purist's perspective, Wrestlemania III was not a great show. The event presented dramatic moments, grandiose scenes, a splash of solid in-ring action at the mid-card, and ended up being the most famous wrestling event known to man. In short, it represented a pinnacle, not for wrestling, but for sports entertainment. In so doing, it went a long way toward establishing wrestling fans' expectations, as well as the direction of the business, for the years to come. If that's not important, I don't know what is.

That's all for this column. Next week, The Importance of… continues its road to Wrestlemania. We take a look at a less celebrated event, as we recognize the importance of Wrestlemania IV. See you in seven.