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#1 'Macho Man' Randy Savage (c) vs Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat (WrestleMania III)
Background:
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In 1986, Randy Savage was arguably the biggest heel in the wrestling industry. His reign as the Intercontinental Champion catapulted him into superstardom. Ricky Steamboat, on the other hand, was the perennial babyface whose popularity was second only to Hulk Hogan.
During the fall of 1986, Savage attacked Steamboat after one of their matches, injuring his larynx by ramming it into the guardrail and then dropping the ring bell onto his throat from the top rope. Once Steamboat recovered, he was hell-bent on taking revenge from Savage, which led to a grudge match between the two for the title at WrestleMania III.
Match:
With the crowd firmly behind him, Steamboat started the match with arm drags and a high neck choke on Savage. Savage retaliated but missed a corner attack, injuring his left elbow. Steamboat targeted his elbow, but Savage fought back with an elbow shot and threw Steamboat outside the ring.
A shot from Steamboat ended with Savage getting entangled in the ropes. A sequence of reversals, shoulder blocks and close pinfalls followed, which ended with Savage knocking Steamboat down with a high knee to the back of the neck and then throwing him over the top rope.
Savage controlled the next part of the match, hitting Steamboat with ax-handles and shoulder blocks before 'The Dragon' backdropped him outside the ring. Steamboat catapulted Savage into the ring post, but he fought back by sending him into the ring post. With the referee down, 'Macho Man' hit an elbow drop.
He tried again, this time with the ring bell, but George 'The Animal' Steele pushed him down. As Savage recovered, Steamboat rolled him up with a small package to win the match and the title. On the night which is famous for the body drop heard around the world, Savage and Steamboat produced an in-ring classic that ushered a new era of technical wrestling.
