Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant packed 78,000 fans into the Silverdome in suburban Detroit for WrestleMania III in 1987.

The slogan was “Bigger, Better, Badder,” and this show lived up to the hype.

Gorilla Monsoon described the main event as “the irresistible force meets the immovable object.”

No WrestleMania main event will ever match this aura, because something unthinkable was going to happen.

Either Hulkamania would finally come up short, or Andre the Giant would lose for the first time in 15 years.

Hogan’s bodyslam and victory over Andre will live forever in wrestling history.

CLASSIC CONFRONTATION

The amazing Intercontinental championship match between Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat still holds up decades later.

Steamboat won the championship, ending Savage’s 13-month reign.

SO LONG, HOT ROD

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper didn’t stay retired, but he had a memorable sendoff match with Adrian Adonis.

Brutus Beefcake lent Piper a hand in the victory and cut “Adorable” Adrian’s hair after the match.

After Piper retired, Beefcake gained popularity with his “Barber” gimmick.

…AND SO MUCH MORE

King Kong Bundy went from headlining WrestleMania 2 to teaming up with Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook one year later. Bundy dropped an elbow on Little Beaver and got disqualified.

Former heel referee Danny Davis got beaten up for his past sins. But he scored the pin as he and The Hart Foundation beat The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana.

King Harley Race pinned Junkyard Dog in a match where the loser had to bow to the winner. JYD offered a modest curtsy and attacked the King.

In other bouts:

·      Butch Reed pinned Koko B. Ware

·      Hercules battled Billy Jack Haynes to a bloody double-disqualification

·      The Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel & Tom Zenk) beat Cowboy Bob Orton & Magnificent Muraco

·      The Rougeau Brothers defeated Greg “The Hammer” Valentine & Brutus Beefcake

·      Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff beat The Killer Bees by disqualification when Hacksaw Jim Duggan interfered

·      The Honky Tonk Man upset Jake “The Snake” Roberts