The Back Alley Archives

WrestleMania III, which was 25 years ago today, featured more than two matches — a whopping 12, actually — though you'd hardly know it to hear most modern recollections of the night. Hell, WWE's documentary on the history of WrestleMania only mentions two matches: "Macho Man" Randy Savage versus Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and, of course, Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant. There were memorable moments all over the card: Aretha Franklin sang "American the Beautiful"; Junkyard Dog absconded with "King" Harley Race's crown and robe; Tito Santana awkwardly disrobed his dastardly manager Slick; Hercules Hernandez and Billy Jack Haynes met in what amounted to a contest of steroid cycle timing; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, at his jingoistic pinnacle, refused to allow the singing of the Russian national anthem; Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake performed his first haircut as a good guy; Alice Cooper helped Jake "The Snake" Roberts handle his snakes; and King Kong Bundy committed a little-person hate crime against a guy called Little Beaver. As inimitable color man Jesse "The Body" Ventura — arguably at his peak that night[SUP]1[/SUP] — said during the event, "When you're at WrestleMania you take what you can get."