AEW commentator Tony Schiavone recently discussed various topics on his podcast, “What Happened When.” He highlighted the significance of the match between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant at WWE WrestleMania 3.
Schiavone said, “When I heard that WrestleMania III — and I was working with the Crockett right there in ’87. I remember thinking, ‘Holy s**t! Holy s**t, we’ll never do anything like that.’ And this is the one show that just jettisoned the WWE into pop culture. To me — now I listen. I know Mr. T was a part of the first WrestleMania, there was WrestleMania 2. But to me, this crowd and Hulk Hogan against Andre The Giant, to me was the thing.”
On Andre:
“Andre the Giant had been established as more than just a wrestler; he had been established as an attraction. Being booked by the McMahons, being booked by the WWE all those years, he went out to different territories. And every time Andre The Giant would come to a territory, it meant something. So Andre was an established star of professional wrestling fans around the world. They knew him, because he was everywhere. And now Hulk Hogan obviously comes around, and he’s the big star. And it was one of those meant to be moments. It’s when everything as the old cliche goes, came together. So yeah, it still amazes me when I watch this about how big this was compared to everything else that I was accustomed to.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
