52 Days Until Wrestlemania 28: Steamboat vs. Savage at Wrestlemania III

It is 52 daysand counting to WWE Wrestlemania 28, with the big match between John Cena andthe Rock in the main event from Miami and Sheamus receiving a championshipmatch as a result of his Royal Rumble victory. As we continue the road toWrestlemania, let’s talks about one of the most beloved matches in Wrestlemaniahistory, the battle between Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and “The Macho Man” RandySavage and how well it holds up through a modern set of eyes.

RickySteamboat vs. Randy Savage-The Show Stealer of Wrestlemania III

Obviously Hulk Hogan vs. Andrethe Giant drew the Wrestlemania III crowd of (93,000/78,000/what the hell everthe attendance for Wrestlemania III truly was, I really don’t care, it was anawesome show regardless of how many people showed up), to the PontiacSilverdome and the bodyslam of Hulk Hogan on Andre the Giant was etched in themind of the fans and replayed countless times.

However, Randy Savage vs. RickySteamboat stole the show.

And it was utterly simplistic onhow it sets up. It is the most logical storyline in the world. Heel injuresbabyface, threatening his career. Babyface valiantly fights back against odds,and when he finally gets his hands on the heel, the babyface scores histriumphant win.

Simple effective, print it, youdon’t need to reinvent the wheel into a square when this storyline works.

And it was a simple storyline.Savage used the guardrail to weaken Steamboat’s throat and delivered a crushingblow with the ring bell. Two simple attacks really when you think about it. Andfor the record, this is why nobody ever gets over as a heel anymore, becauseeverything short of blowing the brains of the babyface out with a gun can bedone and they can still kick out at two. Therefore, they can’t get any heat.

The thing about this match, isthat it only lasted slightly over twelve minutes. But it was an awesome twelveminutes. It just proves that it’s not how much time you are given, it is whatyou do with the time you are giving. The Dragon and the Macho Man were themasters in the ring and they may have had even better matches that sadly areonly restricted to the memories of those fans at the arena.

Note to self, invent machine toextract memories from people’s minds to convert to videos, track people down,profit.

Steamboat, with George “TheAnimal” Steele in his corner, took it right to Savage, who as always duringthis time, had Miss Elizabeth. After an epic struggle, Savage tried to use thebell but Steele managed to stop him. Savage is hurt and Steamboat rolled upSavage for the pin.

There was a lot more than that,and Steamboat vs. Savage from Wrestlemania III is one match that I highlyrecommend any wrestling fan to see at least once. It not only holds up well, butit actually makes a lot of stuff from this day and age in professionalwrestling look worse. They sure as hell don’t make them like that anymore, that’sfor sure.