Customer Reviews

WWF: WrestleMania III [VHS]

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Originating from the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, this 1987 rendition of Wrestlemania has stood the test of time as the best wrestling event ever produced for mass audiences. Despite its announcing crew repeatedly bragging about the supposed record crowd of 93,000 +, the WWF somehow put all of its classic elements of action, humor, and character development together flawlessly for a magical three-hour production.

Rating Scale: 1 (awful)- 10 (outstanding)

1. The Can-Am Connection vs. the Magnificient Muraco and "Cowboy" Bob Orton: The event gets off to a solid start as the Can-Ams salvage a routine match for a fast-paced finish.
Rating: 7.5 - 8

2. Hercules Hernandez w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Billy Jack Haynes: A pretty good battle is wasted by its double count-out finish.
Rating: 7.5

3. Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver, & the Haiti Kid vs. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo, & Lord Littlebrook: A quick novelty match has some amusing highlights including Little Beaver & the Haiti Kid doing a double-team on the other midgets, with a "little rowboat action," as Gorilla Monsoon described it.
Rating: 4

4. Junkyard Dog vs. Harley Race w/ Bobby Heenan & the Fabulous Moolah: Race does a few pratfalls, but he still wins, anyway. JYD, in turn, then crowns the "King of Wrestling" with a chair after bowing to him (per the pre-match stipulation). The match is over in just a few minutes, as both wrestlers clearly appeared past their prime.
Rating: 5.5

5. The Rougeau Brothers vs. the Dream Team w/ Dino Bravo & "Luscious" Johnny V: While the match is notable for setting up the "face" turn of Brutus Beefcake, it also leads to the new "Dream Team" combo of Greg Valentine and Dino Bravo.
Rating: 6.5

6. Roddy Piper vs. Adorable Adrian Adonis in a haircut match: Billed as his retirement match, Piper gives the audience a great going-away present by humiliating Adonis and Jimmy Hart in grand fashion with some last-minute help from Brutus Beefcake. Terrific pratfalls from Adonis and Hart!!!
Rating: 8.5

7. The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana vs. The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis: This is a solid six-man tag match well worth watching as the Bulldogs and Santana seek vengeance on Davis for his crooked refereeing. The Harts & Davis sneak away with the win.
Rating: 8.5

8. Koko B. Ware vs. Butch Reed w/ Slick: A quickly forgettable filler match (Reed wins) is salvaged only by Tito Santana going after Slick at the end.
Rating: 4.5

9. Ricky Steamboat w/ George "The Animal" Steele vs. champion Randy Savage w/ Ms. Elizabeth for the Intercontinental Title: These two guys give a superb effort in an awesome 15-minute action-packed match, which truly defined the event's historical importance in pro wrestling. Although Steamboat wins the championship, Savage proves why he would move on to the big prize a year later.
Rating: 10+

10. Jake Roberts w/ Alice Cooper vs. the Honky Tonky Man w/ Jimmy Hart: It's the big upset of the evening as Honky Tonk steals the win. With Alice Cooper at his side, Jake and his pet snake, Damian, get even with Jimmy Hart.
Rating: 8

11. The Killer Bees vs. the Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff w/ Slick: A mostly dull match (DQ win for the villains) which is not really helped by the 2x4 swinging presence of newly arrived "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.
Rating: 5

12. Andre the Giant w/ Bobby Heenan vs. champion Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Title: Although Andre clearly was not in good health in this historic match, he gives it his best effort, as the unforgettable ending will attest. It's arguably the peak of Hulkamania!
Rating: 9.5 (for its entertainment value -- not the wrestling)

Of all the Wrestlemanias, buy this one if you can.

Wow!Exactly 93,173 .. it was great and I was there. I was only six at the time but I remeber Hulk Hogan getting the biggest pops. The best match clearly had to be Andre vs. Hulk and the IC title match between Steamboat and Savage was great. This is clearly the greatest Wrestlemania ever it is more than your moneys worth I guarrantee it.

Wrestlemania III is most memorable Wrestlemania of all time! Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan go at it for the first time! Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat battles "The Macho Man" Randy Savage in one of the greatest matches in Pro Wrestling History. Billy Jack Haynes and Hercules draw blood. Wrestlemania III also includes; mixed six-man midget tag match, the birth of "The Barber", Bret "Hitman" Hart , Davey Boy Smith, Harley Race, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and the late, great Junk Yard Dog. Wrestlemania 3 is a must have for any true wrestling fan who wants to reminisce on the Rock N' Wrestling 80's and Hollywood/Hulk Hogan's greatest moment. The Silverdome crowd reaction is deafening when Hogan and Andre lock up. However, Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage is the real reason why anyone should own this tape!!! Wrestlemania 3 is Vince McMahon and company at their best! I'm sure Mick Foley and Socko own a copy.

This is by far the greatest Wrestlemania I've ever seen. It took place in the Pontiac Silverdome with a record setting 93,000 plus fans all waiting to see the biggest match of all time , between Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan.When Hulk Hogan slammed the giant and defeated him it blew the roof off the place and also blew me away. This changed the WWF forever. This Wrestlemania is a must for anybody who is a fan of wrestling.

I've always refrained from saying "this was the greatest ever" when typing a review of any kind because "the greatest ever" is open to personal opinion, and we each have our own set of expectations that will lead us to like or dislike something. So I will not say that Wrestlemania III was the greatest ever. But, one has to give it the credit it deserves too. Wrestlemania III produced some of the most classic matches that will always be remembered by WWF fans for years to come. I'm sure many of the older-generation fans like myself will agree, who grew up with the WWF during the 80's.
Another great thing about Wrestlemania III was the world record-setting crowd of 93,173. Of course, only those who were present can really attest to the energy level they must have felt. But it's not that difficult to imagine the excitement and awe that that show must have had because of that crowd, knowing how much WWF fans get into the action.
I will now give a brief overview of each match, not necessarily in the exact order they took place.

Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel & Tom Zenk) vs. The Magnificent Muraco & Cowboy Bob Orton: A great opening bout. Martel and Zenk used their speed and agility like never before in this one.

Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules Hernandez: The storyline of this match was interesting in that both men claimed to have a better full-nelson hold than the other. The match itself was good and there were plenty of full-nelsons and attempted full-nelsons.

Hillbilly Jim (with Little Beaver & The Haiti Kid) vs. King Kong Bundy (with Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook): One of the weaker matches of the card. The focus was mostly on the midgets wrestling and not much happened between Bundy and Hillbilly Jim (this could have been a great match if only those 2 had fought by themselves). I have nothing against midgets nor midget wrestling, but come on, what was the point of having that? Surely not to make people accept them more, because I doubt that was one of the outcomes that this match brought forth.

Humiliation match. Junk Yard Dog vs. King Harley Race: I miss the late (and great) Junk Yard Dog. I really liked watching this one with him and Race. A pretty descent match overall, with a funny ending.

Rougeau Brothers vs. The Dream Team (Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake & Greg "The Hammer Valentine): The highlight of this one was when Beefcake decided to go babyface at the end after getting stabbed in the back by The Hammer. It was a bittersweet moment, as The Dream Team was one of the greatest and most talented tag teams ever.

Retirement match. Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Adorable Adrian Adonis: Probably the funniest match of the card. A must-see. To this day I can't stop laughing when Piper got some assistance from Brutus Beefcake and shaved off about half of Adonis' hair after getting him in the sleeper hold. What a hoot. And at the very end some guy from the audience runs past security and high-fives Piper in the ring. Moments later he gets "kindly escorted" out. I don't think that was part of the script.

Six-man tag team match. British Bulldogs & Tito Santana vs. Hart Foundation & "Dangerous" Danny Davis: I suppose Dangerous (as dangerous as my pet gerbil) Danny Davis was one of a kind in how (to the best of my knowledge) he was the only ref to turn wrestler. Other than that, he was pretty worthless in this match, and in the WWF for that matter. But the match itself was good, with poor Dynamite Kid taking a pounding before Davy Boy Smith cleaned house. The Hart Foundation didn't wrestle to their capacity in this match, but that's how it often is when a 6-man tag team match takes place: everyone has to get their time in the spotlight, which in turn doesn't really allow anyone to do as much as they would in a 4-man tag team bout.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts (with Alice Cooper) vs. Honky Tonk Man: The feud had been going on strong for both men in this match's storyline, and the aggressive wrestling from both proved it. A good solid match. Alice Cooper and Jimmy Hart almost went at it, and it would have been totally classic if it had actually happened.

Koko B. Ware vs. The Natural Butch Reed: In my opinion, the worst match on the card. No real great moves, ended way too soon, no "zap." Just a filler match. Could have been a lot better.

The Killer Bees vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff: Pretty average match, when comparing it to the other tag team matches on the card.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat: The main reason why I bought this video. Anyone who claims to be a WWF fan and hasn't seen this match is the same as someone who claims to be a fan of popular music and hasn't heard The Beatles. This was an AWESOME match to the fullest and is argueably the best match in WWF history even today.

Main event. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant: The other reason why I bought this video. I have never been a Hogan fan, but Andre was among my list of all-time favorite wrestlers. I knew beforehand that Hogan would win this one, but seeing Andre give such a great performance was what made this match so memorable.

I recommend Wrestlemania III highly, and I think it will be eye candy for old-school fans as well as newer fans. Most of the matches were typical Wrestlemania ones, but there were plenty of classics in this one which make owning it worth your money.

Will there ever be a more memorable event than WrestleMania III? Probably not. The magic of this card is unforgettable. The priceless commentary of Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon, the colorful characters, the hype of the main event, even when Mean Gene Okerlund came out to announce the 93,173 fans in attendance make this event the greatest WrestleMania of all time. But most of all, the classic Intercontinental title match between champion Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat" is beyond a shadow of a doubt the greatest match of all time. The magic of WrestleMania III held on March 29, 1987 will never be recaptured. Truly worth seeing time and time again.

This wm will be remember this one for many reasons. No wm up to this point has came close to reaching the attendance record of 93,000 plus fans, Hogan vs Andre, Savage vs Steamboat and much more. The whole card together wasn't great but still a solid show from start to finish. Here's the card and my ratings.

***** = Classic; **** = Excellent; *** = Good; ** = Fair; * = Poor; DUD = skip

1. Can Am Connection vs Muraco and Bob Orton
- Alot of people have given this 3 stars but I didn't think it was that good. Muraco and Orton didn't do much here. Can Am dominated about 90% of the match. Can Am uses some great technicial wrestling and high flying action here. Martel pins Muraco with a high cross body while his partner does a schoolboy trip from behind.

Rating: ** 1/2

2. Billy Jack Hayes vs the late Hercules
- The battle of the full nelson. Both guys use some good power moves. Too bad it had to end in a lame double countout finish. Solid performance both men.

Rating: ** 1/2

3. King Kong Bundy w/ midgets vs Hillbilly Jim w/Midgets
- Short and boring. The only exciting part of the match is when Bundy slams a midget and drops an elbow on him.

Rating: 1/4

4. the late Junkyard Dog vs Harley Race
- Another really short match. The only saving grace behind this match is Race doing some good selling for JYD. Loved the part where JYD was laying on the outside of the ring and Race tried to do a flying headbutt but missed. Race wins with a belly to belly suplex and JYD had to bow down to the king.

Rating: 1/2

5. Rougeaus Brothers vs Dream Team (Valentine and Beefcake)
- Once again we had another really short match that had the potential of being a good match. They manage to pack in some decent action. Dino Bravo's outside interference helped the Dream Team win but Beefcake decides that it's time for him to do his own thing.

Rating: *

6. Rowdy Roddy Piper vs the late Adrion Adnois
- this was a hair vs hair match and Piper's last match (well we know that was a lie). Lots of brawling and crazy selling by Adnois makes this a fun match to watch. Adnois had a sleeper on Piper but release the hold which allowed Beefcake to interfere and Piper would seize the opportunity and put his sleeper on Adnois for the win.

Rating: **

7. Tito Santana and Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation and Danny Davis
- Davis was responsible for his bias officiating by screwing Santana and Bulldogs out of their titles. Match could've been better but the beatings Danny Davis received was very fun to watch. Davis hits Davey Boy Smith with a megaphone for the win.

Rating: *** 1/4

8. Koko B. Ware vs Butch Reed
- Neither one of these men did anything in their careers. Battle of the jobbers. Reed wins when Koko went for a high cross body but Reed roll over and grabbed Koko's tights.

Rating: DUD

9. Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage (IC title)
- A match full of great technicial wrestling. Match was fast paced with lots of close pinfalls and no restholds. I can't call this the best match ever in WM history, but it definately is in the top 5. Match ends when Savage tried to do to Steamboat what he did a month ago when he jumped off the top rope and rammed the ring bell
into Steamboat's throat, but George "Animal" Steele pushes Savage off. Savage goes to slam Steamboat only to have it countered into a small package and Steamboat becomes the new IC champ.
It's very rare that you see a match where the competitors go at and have a fast paced match with be able to perform the moves accurately. A must see.

Rating: *****

10. Jake "Snake" Roberts vs Honky Tonk Man
- match was rather slow and there wasn't much wrestling involved. Mostly just Jake throwing punches and Honky didn't look like he was trying. Alice Cooper came out on behalf on Jake but Honky was able to cheat his way to victory. Jimmy Hart gets a close up look of Diamian.

Rating: 1/2

11. Killer Bees vs Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Sheik
- Another short but decent match. Sheik and Volkoff were working over Jim Brunzell for the most of the match until Hacksaw Jim Duggan comes in and whacks Sheik in the back with the 2x4 for the DQ finish.
Could've been much better if it lasted longer.

Rating: ** 1/4

12. Hulk Hogan vs the late Andre The Giant
- Okay the match was not a great wrestling match but it got it's point across. The match is a classic for obvious reasons. It was the first time in 15 years (or that's what they say), Andre ever lost a match and was ever bodyslammed. Amazing sight to see. The fans were on the edge of their seat the whole way.

Rating: (for historical purposes) *****


In short, Wrestlemania 3 was not a great show because many of the matches were too short. There isn't that many good matches to hold the event up but it still has some shining moments. Their were 2 matches that will stand on in the minds of many wrestling fans.
Andre vs Hogan and Steamboat vs Savage were amazing matches to see. Slight Recommendation

THIS WAS THE GREATEST WRESTLEMANIA OF ALL TIME. HERE'S WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS CLASSIC PPV'S CARD;

1. BOB ORTON, JR. & DON MURACO VS. RICK MARTEL & TOM ZENK
A GOOD OPENING MATCH. ORTON'S SON, RANDY ORTON, IS CURRENTLY IN THE WWE. THIS SUNDAY, HE WILL BE FACING CHRIS BENOIT FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP AT SUMMERSLAM. RATING; 4/5

2. BILLY JACK HAYNES VS. HERCULES
A TIME FILLER MATCH. RATING; 2/5

3. KING KONG BUNDY, LORD LITTLEBROOK, & LITTLE TOKYO VS. HILLBILLY JIM, LITTLE BEAVER, & HAITI KID
ANOTHER TIME FILLER MATCH. THIS MATCH WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER IF IT WAS JUST A 1 ON 1 MATCH BETWEEN BUNDY AND JIM. THE MIDGETS RUINED THIS ONE. RATING; 1.5/5

4. JUNKYARD DOG VS. HARLEY RACE
AN OK MATCH. FORMER NWA WORLD CHAMPION HARLEY RACE WAS KNOWN AS THE KING YEARS BEFORE JERRY LAWLER GOT TO THE WWE. RATING; 3/5

5. JACQUES & RAYMOND ROUGEAU VS. BRUTUS BEEFCAKE & GREG VALENTINE
A PRETTY GOOD MATCH. RATING; 3.5/5

6. HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH
RODDY PIPER VS. ADRIAN ADONIS
A CLASSIC MATCH. THIS WAS SUPPOSEDLY PIPER'S LAST MATCH. BUT, IT WASN'T. RATING; 4/5

7. THE HART FOUNDATION [BRET & JIM] & DANNY DAVIS VS. THE BRITISH BULLDOGS [THE LATE GREAT DYNAMITE KID & THE LATE GREAT BRITISH BULLDOG] & TITO SANTANA
A GREAT 6 MAN TAG TEAM MATCH. IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO SEE AN EARLIER MATCH THAT INVOLVED BRET HART. RATING; 4.5/5

8. KOKO B. WARE VS. BUTCH REED
BORING. RATING; 1.5/5

9. FOR THE WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
CHAMPION RANDY SAVAGE VS. RICKY STEAMBOAT
EVERYBODY REMEMBERS THIS ONE. THIS IS A BONAFIDE CLASSIC MATCH. HAS PLENTY OF GOOD IN RING ACTION, THE MOVES ARE ALL ACCURATE, AND THERE'S NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN THIS INSPIRING MATCH. ONE OF THE WWE'S ALL TIME GREATEST MATCHES. BEST MATCH OF THE NIGHT. RATING; A WELL EARNED 5/5

10. JAKE ''THE SNAKE'' ROBERTS VS. THE HONKY TONK MAN
A SO SO MATCH AT BEST. ALICE COOPER DOES APPEAR IN THIS PART OF THE EVENT. RATING; 2/5

11. THE IRON SHIEK & NIKOLAI VOLKOFF VS. THE KILLER BEES [BRIAN BLAIR & JIM BRUNZELL]
A SHORT BUT OK MATCH. RATING; 3/5

12. FOR THE WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. ANDRE THE GIANT [R.I.P.]
THIS IS ANOTHER VERY MEMORABLE MATCH FROM THIS EVENT. HOGAN HAD FOUGHT ANDRE MANY TIMES BEFORE THIS, AND HE ALWAYS LOST. THIS TIME, HE WINS AND KEEPS THE WWE TITLE. IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED AFTER ANDRE BEAT HOGAN THE FOLLOWING YEAR FOR THE TITLE ON A FRIDAY EDITION OF SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT, NO WRESTLER EVER WAS ABLE TO EXCEED HOGAN'S 4 YEAR WWE TITLE REIGN. HOGAN IS MY FAVORITE WRESTLER OF ALL TIME. RATING; 5/5

AND THAT, WAS THE BEST WRESTLEMANIA OF ALL TIME. NO WRESTLEMANIA BEFORE OR AFTER IT WAS AS ENTERTAINING OR INNOVATIVE AS THIS ONE. THIS EVENT HAS THE RECORD FOR THE WORLD'S LARGEST INDOOR ARENA CROWD. AS SOON AS YOU SEE A COPY OF THIS EVENT, BUY IT. THIS REALLY NEEDS A DVD RELEASE, ESPECIALLY BEING THAT THIS TAPE WAS RECORDED IN EP, MEANING THAT THEY SACRIFICED QUALITY FOR LESS TAPE.

It's debatable whether or ont this is the greatest Wrestlemania but you can't help but give this 5 Stars. Why? Well this is what truly made the WWF far bigger, far badder and far better than any other wrestling promotion. I mean if you can manage to get 93,173 fans into one venue to watch pro-wrestling you must be doing something right!

Can-Am Connection vs. Magnificent Muraco and Ace Cowboy Bob Orton- A good tag opener. Rick Martel and Tom Zenk were a good team. However Bob Orton and Don Muraco are basically punching bags for the Connection. **1/2

Hercules vs. Billy Jack Haynes- An ok match. Nothing special except when Herc assaults Billy at the end of the match with his chain. Pretty standard filler though especially considering it ends in a double count out. **

Hillbilly JIm, Little Beaver and Haiti Kid vs. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo, and Lord Little Brook- Awful. Nothing more then a laughable circus match. Funny though. Partyicualrily when Bundy squahes a midget. *

Harley Race vs. Junkyard Dog- Too short considering the match stipulations. Race sells for JYD in a mediocre match. **

Dream Team vs. Rougeau Bros.- Not bad at all. The Rougeaus were the good guys here and put on a decent tag against The Dream Team with Dino Bravo. It ends with the Rougeaus losing but the Dream Team crumbles when The Hammer turns his back on Brutus. ***

Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis- A hair versus hair match. Roddy's 'farewell' as well but this match mainly consists of Roddy beating up a grostesque looking Adonis. In the end Adrian loses his hair to Piper and Brutus Beefcake. **

Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. British Bulldogs & Tito Santana- A very good entertaining six man tag. The Harts are the heels here with the referee Danny Davis as a wrestler! Although a tag championship match between the Harts and Bulldogs would have been better this is still a good match. ***

Butch Reed vs. Koko B. Ware- Nothing memorable. Standard wrestling filler. It's not the worst here. But neither of these wrestlers did anything in the WWF. Reed wins it but who cares. *1/2

Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat vs. Macho Man Randy Savage- Fantastic match. The best match of '87 for sure. A great technical match that may very well be the best of both men's careers. The Dragon ends Savage's lengthly title reign. *****

Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake 'The Snake' Roberts- Another filler match. Although both men would go on to be bigger stars in the WWF. Alice Cooper appears in Jake's corner but it doesn't help him win the match. **

Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff vs. The Killer Bees- Meh...nothing much here. Hard to say this could have been worse. Especially when Hacksaw Jim Duggan comes down and costs The Bee the match. *

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant- The legendary match that changed everything. Not much of a technical wrestling match however the crowd is so into it that this match and thats what makes this a classic. *****

Overall it's not the best Wrestlemania in my opinion the WWF had made it ot the big time but they hadn't brought out the best yet. Still legendary though.

This wrestlemaina will be the best of all time. The crowd i think will never be topped in a wrestling event in the untied states again. this video is worth the money to me the best match was Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat for the IC title. the best i have seen so far.