Tonight, FS1 will air the first-ever television broadcast of WrestleMania III in the United States. Yes, WrestleMania III from 1987…and it is in its entirety!
The five-hour WWE block will kick off at 7PM with a WrestleMania III Rewind, the same episode that is available on the WWE Network. At 8PM, the sports network will then air WrestleMania III from the Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan where 93,173 packed the stadium for the show main evented by Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant.
At 11PM, a new episode of WWE Backstage will tackle the fallout from Money In The Bank with two-time MITB ladder match winner CM Punk back on the panel to analyze the show.
WrestleMania III was the largest WWE pay-per-view at the time and the build for Hogan vs Andre captivated the audience. It would have been interesting to see what the betting odds would have been back then for such an event although betting on WWE events came decades later. Speaking of betting odds, you can check out the William Hill sign up offers for 2020.
The show had 12 matches on the card, a stacked show even by today’s standards. The Can-Am Connection opened the show taking on Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco with Mr Fuji. Billy Jack Haynes vs Hercules was the second match on the card, followed by a six-man tag team match featuring Hillbilly Jim, Haiti Kid, and Little Beaver taking on King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo, and Lord Littlebrook.
There was a loser must bow match with Harley Race vs Junkyard Dog, and a tag team match with The Dream Team taking on The Rougeau Brothers. Roddy Piper wrestled Adrian Adonis in a hair vs hair match that gave birth to Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake.
Another six man tag team match was next with The Hart Foundation teaming with Danny Davis to take on The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana. Butch Reed, with Slick, wrestled Koko B. Ware and then Ricky Steamboat wrestled Macho Man Randy Savage for the Intercontinental title in one of the greatest WrestleMania matches ever. The Honky Tonk Man wrestled Jake Roberts who had Alice Cooper in his corner and The Iron Sheik teamed up with Nikolai Volkoff to take on The Killer Bees.
The main event featured 12 minutes of Hulk Hogan taking on Andre The Giant for the WWE title with the bodyslam heard around the world.
