WrestleMania 3: Hogan/Andre or Savage/Steamboat

[supremebve]

2 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

I am sure that there are like 5-8 Puro/Joshi matches that may top it personally, but as far US related matches, Steamboat/Rude 30 minute Iron Man is in the my top 10. At worst, it's just on the outside of that top 10 just cause it happened almost 35 years ago now.

Now that said, the Cactus Jack/Sting match on the same card along with War Games that same year are sentimental favorites cause they got me back into WCW. 

Now I'm going to have to find the match and give it a watch.  I know I've seen it, and I remember loving it,  but I don't remember it being good enough to hit anyone's top 10.  This is the exact type of match that fits right in my wheelhouse, but I've probably only watched it once or twice. Maybe I need to watch it with fresh eyes.

[Sublime]

Hogan/Andre is a master class of working the crowd and working a minimalist match. It’s my vote for Hogans best match,Savage/Steamboat is neither man’s best match m. Everything that Hulk and Andre do hits perfectly and the perfect moment. It’s a spectacle, yes, but it’s a spectacle because both men met the moment and did what they needed to do to have the best possible match around Andres limitations.

We discussed this match on the discord sometime ago and I said there that Andre understood wrestling so well he would have been an all time great even if he wasn’t a giant. Even broken down he was always in the right position always sold perfectly always keeping the crowd engaged. Andre is one of the greatest of all time and it has nothing to do with his size. He and Hogan are top tier crowd workers (that is one positive thing i have ever felt about Hulkster) and they both hit it out of the park at the Silverdome

[Curt McGirt]

Steamboat/Rude smokes Steamboat/Savage. 

Yep

[zendragon]

22 hours ago, supremebve said:

Now I'm going to have to find the match and give it a watch.  I know I've seen it, and I remember loving it,  but I don't remember it being good enough to hit anyone's top 10.  This is the exact type of match that fits right in my wheelhouse, but I've probably only watched it once or twice. Maybe I need to watch it with fresh eyes.

 

[twiztor]

19 hours ago, Sublime said:

Andre understood wrestling so well he would have been an all time great even if he wasn’t a giant. Even broken down he was always in the right position always sold perfectly always keeping the crowd engaged. Andre is one of the greatest of all time and it has nothing to do with his size. He and Hogan are top tier crowd workers (that is one positive thing i have ever felt about Hulkster) and they both hit it out of the park at the Silverdome

and it's doubly amazing that he has such a thick, deep accent that he can be hard to understand. But it doesn't matter at all because he's so good at what he does.

[zendragon]

My vote if for Savage/Steamboat

buuuut the go-go-go style of so much modern wrestling where athleticism is prized above all else (seriously every indy show I go to has a bunch of matches that feel like a copy of a copy of a copy of Osprevy v Ricochet BSOJ) I seriously appreciate Hogan v Andre a lot more now than I did in the past. 

[JLowe]

I saw it live on PPV with a group of fellow high school dudes, none of who would be considered smarts or even smart marks beyond knowing that outcomes were pre-determined (but not knowing who would win). Ricky Steamboat was my favorite WWF wrestler at the time, and I HATED Macho Man. I loved this match so match and for years would’ve told you it was my favorite match of all time. Everyone at my watch party was freaking out for the match and popped huge for the ending. A case where the story added to a fantastic match.

Hulk-Andre is a case where the story and the hype made a perfectly fine match into what someone here described as the most important match in WWF history. I was not a fan of Hulk, thought he was annoying and made fun of the whole “Hulk Up” thing. So I was rooting for Andre from that perspective even though I HATED Bobby Heenan. The match was a spectacle for sure, and I will admit to popping when Hulk finally slammed Andre, but I (and many of us at the watch party) were mad because Andre clearly had pinned Hulk and gotten a three-count. That is a botch that sticks with me to this day.

I really didn’t remember the rest of the card, even seeing it posted here. It was all about those two matches.

[GodzillaPerez]

Watching Hogan vs Andre.

Bob Uecker is the ring announcer and introduces Mary Hart as the guest timekeeper which seems huge for the time. She gets her own mini ring entrance. When she's in the ring, she leans into a turnbuckle to see what it feels like and Jesse Ventura to quip "Hopefully she doesn't take a turnbuckle like Animal Steele." and all I wanted at that point was for Mary Hart to immediately bite into a turnbuckle.

Jesse lists both guys measurements during their entrances. That is such a good touch reminding you that this is the biggest match ever. 

Imagine if Hogan had been a foot off, Would the iconic Andre-Hogan picture work? Jesse: "Hogan is six foot eight but Andre is SEVEN FOOT FIVE."

The main question I want answered with my wrestling is "Am I buying this?" That's why I really don't watch much modern wrestling. Everything is too much or too "cinematic". Everything in this match means something. Every movement. The immediate body slam failure into the pin is genius. Andre is always 3 seconds away from the world title. Hogan slipping out and Andre headbutting the turnbuckle rules and foreshadows what comes next. How much would an Andre bearhug suck in kayfabe? Hulk's comeback is only punches but every punch gets a louder reaction. Once he's free, he charges into Andre knocking him off balance. The giant is vulnerable. Then Hogan hits the ropes and... Andre hits him with a chop and he's down. That's all it takes. One movement of the arm and Hogan is screwed. Andre then hits a weak looking boot on Hogan, knocking him to the outside. Although it looked bad, it's still a giant kicking you. Andre follows him and once again and much more directly, Andre headbutts the post. Even with the knowledge that his body was breaking down, Andre knew he always had the headbutt in his arsenal. Tonight it has backfired twice. Hogan knows Andre better than Andre thinks. He's going to try and finish the job early by pulling back the mats and attempting to piledriver Andre on the concrete which honestly is great strategy. Only Andre backdrops him. Once he gets him back in, he goes for a big boot which has been one of his go-to moves since the day he started training and he can't. His body gives out. The first crack in the giant is a big one. Hogan clotheslines Andre and he goes down. Just like that with one shot. Jesse even points out that might have been the first time someone knocked Andre down like that. Hogan slams Andre and the already on fire crowd gets louder. Leg drop and they get louder. 3 count and they get LOUDER.

Steamboat vs Savage is a better actual match but Hogan vs Andre is one of my favorite examples of Pro Wrestling.

[supremebve]

21 hours ago, zendragon said:

 

Yeah, it's awesome.  It's pretty easily the best Ironman match in my eyes.  The Psychology of Steamboat immediately going after the ribs to limit Rude's wind and Rude responding by trying to stack quick pinfalls in the first 10 minutes is the exact type of thing missing from current wrestling.  Everything they do afterwards builds off of those two decisions.  Steamboat is perhaps the best of all-time as the fiery babyface underdog, and Rude is at his best as the technical bruiser who can wrestle with the best of him but isn't afraid to break the rules.  I'm pretty sure this is Rude's best match, it's fantastic.  

[Technico Support]

Hour long iron man matches are usually bad, and a half hour feels like a cheat since we expect wrestlers to be able to go at least 20-30 in big matches.  Especially a physical marvel like Steamboat.  Like there’s nothing “iron man”-ish about going 30.  What I’m saying, in my weird and extemporaneous way, is 30 minute iron man matches are the way to go; they just need a new name.

Edited April 18 by Technico Support

[AxB]

If an hour is too long, and half an hour is too short, then the world clearly needs more 45 minute Iron Man matches.

Preferably between two wrestlers who are in 5'5" height bracket. Mercedes Mone vs Hikaru Shida, that would be good.

[zendragon]

I'm trying to think of a good joke about two wrestlers who sort of look like cavemen (like maybe Camron Grimes and John Nord) having a bronze age man match

[Curt McGirt]

Oh c'mon, Barbaro Cavernario is right there. 

[odessasteps]

He doesn’t look like a caveman, because he is a caveman (and an accountant).