Ranking the top 10 matches of WWE's Golden Era

#5 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant Wrestlemania III (1987)

This match is dubbed as the defining match of the Golden Era. It created a bona fide star in Hulk Hogan and allowed him to run with the Hulkamania gimmick that laid the foundations of the business as we know it today. Built on the back of two of the biggest names in the industry this match sold out the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

The seeds of the rivalry were planted when Andre felt slighted by the fact that Hogan was given a bigger trophy for being the WWE Champion, while his undefeated streak lasting 15 years had been acknowledged with a much smaller trophy. During a segment of Piper’s Pit, Andre revealed Bobby Heenan as his manager and ripped off Hogan’s shirt.

The match itself was not a technical masterpiece, but the names involved gave it a big fight feel. Hogan battled on as the typical babyface, matching Andre strike for strike, and often getting flattened.

But the writing was on the wall when Hogan bodyslammed Andre in a move touted as the ‘Bodyslam heard around the world.’ One leg drop and three counts later, Hulk Hogan became the biggest thing going on in the world of pro-wrestling and ushered in a generation of kids saying their prayers and taking their vitamins.