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Wrestlemania III

WrestleMania III
WrestleManiaIII.jpg
Promotional poster featuring Hulk Hogan and André the Giant
Tagline(s) Bigger! Better! Badder!
Theme
song
(s)
"Who's Zoomin' Who?" by Aretha Franklin
Information
Promotion World Wrestling Federation
Date March 29, 1987
Attendance 93,173
Venue Pontiac Silverdome
City Pontiac, Michigan
Pay-per-view chronology
WrestleMania 2 WrestleMania III Survivor Series (1987)
WrestleMania chronology
WrestleMania 2 WrestleMania III WrestleMania IV

WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The event was held on March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. There were twelve matches, with the final event being WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan successfully defending his title against André the Giant.

WrestleMania III is particularly notable for the WWF's claiming a record attendance of 93,173 and the largest recorded attendance of a live indoor event in North America at the time. This record itself stood until February 14, 2010 when it was surpassed by the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, and the only WWF/E event with an official higher attendance was WrestleMania 32. Both of the latter events were held at AT&T Stadium. The event is considered to be the pinnacle of the 1980s wrestling boom. The WWF generated $1.6 million in ticket sales. Almost one million fans watched the event at 160 closed circuit locations in North America. The number of people watching via pay-per-view was estimated at several million, and pay-per-view revenues were estimated at $10.3 million, setting a record for the time.

Like all other WrestleMania events, WrestleMania III was promoted for several months in advance. The main feud stemmed from André the Giant's heel turn and betrayal of his friend, the WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, which began on an episode of Piper's Pit when WWF President Jack Tunney presented Hogan with a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three years, and André, his good friend, came out to congratulate him but cryptically remarked "Three years to be a champion, its a long time". A week later on another episode of Piper's Pit, Tunney presented André with a visibly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years" and Hogan came out to congratulate André, but before The Giant could speak, ended up being the focal point of the interview. Annoyed by this, André walked out during Hogan's congratulation speech. A week later on yet another Piper's Pit segment, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, a long-time adversary of Hogan and André, announced himself to be André's new manager. André then challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III and attacked Hogan, ripping off Hogan's T-shirt and crucifix necklace.


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Wikipedia

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