Pontiac Silverdome, Home of WrestleMania 3, and other Amazing Events!
The date was March 29th, 1987. Hulk Hogan battled, 7 foot 5 inches, Andre the Giant for the Championship belt. Hulk in his classic yellow and red and Andre in a black singlet. 93,000-plus fans in the Pontiac Silverdome witnessed history as Hulk hoisted the 525lb Andrea and slammed him into the mat. Hulk bounded off the ropes and landed a leg drop. Then he pinned Andre. A new era of wrestling passed on that day.
They stacked the card with incredible feuds that have been building to this event. Classic wrestling legends like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper Vs “Adorable” Adrian Adonis. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Vs Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Honky Tonk Man vs “The Snake” Roberts (with Alice Cooper as Jake’s corner man!)
Wrestlemania 3 was the cornerstone of both classic wrestling. And for me, Hulk Hogan was like a father figure, and everything you saw on tv as a kid was canon. There was no internet to learn about the “real” identities of your wrestling heroes. They were those names and only those names to most kids watching. Now we can directly connect to real wrestlers on all kinds of social media.
Piper’s Pit
The build-up to Wrestlemania 3 was a calculated plan. The beginning of the infamous animosity between Hogan and Andre began on “Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s Piper’s Pit. Hogan was handed a large award for being champion. Andre received a much smaller award for his long undefeated reign.
The Pontiac Silverdome opened in 1975. The Lions left the dome for a new home in 2002. It was left abandoned until 2012 when it was demolished. The guardian.com has a more complete history of the Silverdome if interested.
Wrestlemania 3 was one of the largest wrestling events ever and one of the largest events for the Silverdome. But there were many other significant events and important facts. Here are some of them:
