#1 ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage vs. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat Wrestlemania III (1987)
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Hogan and Andre may have headlined Wrestlemania III, but this was the match that stole the show and inspired countless aspiring men and women to take up wrestling as a career.
This is a match that has stood the test of time and can still elicit a reaction from any crowd in the world, even in the modern, high flying, spot fest era of the business. Add to that stories about how Randy planned every minute detail of the match beforehand and then putting on segments of the match on live events with Steamboat.
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All these small segments were stitched together to bring out a masterpiece in front of over 90,000 strong at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
The match had been fueled with a compelling angle, where Macho Man had taken a ring bell to Steamboat’s larynx. In a world where kayfabe was intact, WWE managed to sell Steamboat’s injury and convince the audience that it would take a miracle for Steamboat to return to the ring.
It was, therefore, a huge moment when Steamboat finally returned to challenge the vile Randy Savage for a match at Wrestlemania with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
The match in itself was an exhilarating extravaganza filled with high spots and a staggering 21 false finishes, taking a bold step away from the slow-paced action of those times. The two men battled to and fro as their respective managers looked on in anxiously.
The match ended in karmic justice as Randy Savage was pushed off the top rope by George ‘The Animal’ Steele and banged his head on the same ring bell that he had planned to hit Steamboat with. Steamboat finally won the cliffhanger with a rollup making the matchup an instant classic.
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