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Kriz and Bix, Were you guys aware of the audio problems with Bruce at the beginning of the show? I'm assuming it was Skype. It would be nice if there was a workaround for the future. Hate to miss a good part of what was a tremendous show because it became almost unlistenable with the in-and-out feed on Bruce's line.

You guys were a bit jumbled on the Luger contract situation. The motorcycle accident had no effect on Luger's contract. There was a no-compete clause in place until 1993. He could be shown on WWF tv but could not wrestle. The wording of the contract specifically said he was not allowed to wrestle on a competing show. The WBF thing was perfect, but it was meant to be until 1993. Also- I was in Indy for the show. There were four giant screens in place above the ring. The Luger interview was shown (no audio, from what I can remember though).

For someone who preaches positivity and fun you sure seem to have a real bug up your ass about what other people might enjoy. Okay, the WM III total by the WWE was probably in whatever Detroit Lion media guide that listed Silverdome attendance record, but even their Lion sellout totals could be taken with all kinds of grains of salt. I said this a bit earlier in the thread, but I don't believe NFL attendance figures and stadium capacities are (or were) ever "worked". Those are as legit as legit can be. The blackout rules were serious business for a myriad of reasons.

Regarding Buchanan, did you mean he took photos of the hallways and behind the scenes personnel to prove how much staff was there, but those were never published? Or you were just stating that Buchanan was there in attendance that night and had to go through the turnstyle, pointing out the fact that Titan employees were counted towards the official attendance, even though we may not have seen them on tv?

I don't post as often enough here as I would like, but I particularly enjoy the Wrestlemania 3 attendance discussions. I saw the event live on closed circuit at a theater outside of Chicago in high school, so it holds a special slice of nostalgia for me. Bix, this is an excellent piece. I enjoy your work on BTS with Kris and hope I can be a guest some day. I never questioned the attendance when it was announced. It felt right. To me, however, the attendance wasn't the paid fans in the house tonight. It's pretty reasonable to understand they gave away tickets in the upper corners to fill it up at the end. To me, the attendance isn't just the people in the seats either. I count everyone in the building that night, from the guy sitting in section 500 Row 29 to Aretha to Howard Finkel and everyone in between. Everyone under the roof. The Silverdome capacity was a legit 80,000. This is gospel. You don't mess around and work official NFL capacities. The blackout rules in the early 80s were serious business. The seats had about 80,000 people in them. However, I will say this. In recent years with clearer video (WM3 dvd editions) and 55" televisions, I've noticed more empty seats in the lower and upper bowls than I had seen in past viewings. They are scattered, but they are there. You definitely don't see the large open sections like at the Hoosierdome for WM8, but early in the event you can see random blue seats. The WWF had a camera scaffold set up on each end in the upper portion of the lower bowl, and you can see empty seats below these. So, were the seats filled to capacity? Maybe 99%. Let's say 80,000+/- On the floor, I see about 8,000 people. How many people from Titan were underneath, production crews, Silverdome security, announcers? I'd say there were 93,173 in the building that night. Wait, did they count Gorilla and Jesse? Make it 93,175! -hopefully someone gets this reference. However, to circle back to Meltzer and Zane B. No, there's no way in hell there were ONLY 78,000 in the house that night. That's ludicrous.

Really? I was always thought his involvement with HonkyTonk Man, especially in the opening match of the Friday Night live NBC special 2-5-88 was the highlight of his career. I'd put the Hart Foundation title change/ Danny Davis shenanigans next.

Was the Bulldogs/RNR match for Central States taped in NA or Japan? I can't remember.

Fuck it. I'm going to pop in SS 93 right now and watch the entire show.

This seems pretty comprehensive, I'd add the Piper-Rude Cage Match and Hart-Lawler SummerSlam for completists sake. For my money, Piper-Hart is the best of the bunch with Hart-Lawler very close behind. Warrior/Savage doesn't floor me as a match anymore, it really is a smoke-and-mirrors backdrop for an angle. Good match and Loss is on point as usual with his comment. Just not my cup of tea in 2017. Hart-Lawler at Summerslam '93? Is that the one with Doink interference? Memories are fuzzy for me on that, but I'm not sure it would make my top 200 matches of that period let alone top two.

Kudos. I can't imagine having time to watch 350 matches in 10 weeks until I retire.

I was commenting elsewhere that Owen absolutely tore the damn house down with his match. He hit every signature Owen spot, a beautiful plancha to the floor, all kinds of flippity flop stuff that was ultra cutting edge in 1988 and basically got a standing ovation from the crowd at the end. Hell of a match. So what happened? Vince waits a few months and puts him under a dumb mask and Warrior gets a mega push.

I actually watched the CHV Savage & Liz the other night and saw that angle again. (By the way, it reminded me on just how damn good that particular CHV was, as were most of them from that era. The Savage and Liz one was great though). My interpretation of that was Savage made/forced Liz to go out and ask the question. She says, "Randy wants to know why you don't wrestle any...." My take on the whole relationship from the beginning was that she was the abused hot chick in a bad relationship that didn't know she could get out. Kinda of a slice of Americana in the 1980s.

Without nitpicking, because I love the shows, but this is the 2nd time recently I've heard you guys claim Liz was supposed to come in as a heel manager ala a character from Dallas. I don't believe that was ever the intention. On the CHV, Savage already was the I-C Champ, but I don't believe Liz was playing heelish in the segment out by the pool. Even in her debut, Savage didn't hold the ropes for her, and Vince mentioned that. I believe Savage was always supposed to "talk down" to Liz and treat her poorly, with her being the sympathetic character. I love your podcast, but you're completely incorrect on this one.

The irony in that is that Gorilla himself couldn't tell the Rougeaus apart when they debuted. Their first match in Toronto included Gorilla insisting that Ray was in fact Jacques. Alfred tried to correct him to no avail.

Austin on his podcast has talked about getting on the treadmill and putting on old World Class tapes or Continental. To me, that's endearing. Love that about him.

Didn't Crockett Cup run two nights? It's not a bad idea.

Yes, we've argued about this before. WM3 was about the belt. Possibly his "last shot".

This is trolling, right?

Kris- Do you think Jarrett and Sawyer Brown lip-synched Some Girls Do or was that live? I LOVE that segment.

Really enjoying this episode, but I'm a huge mid-80s guy anyway. I was 14 during this period in late 1986 and completely immersed in WWF and all things wrestling. I find the discussion about the location selection for WMIII really fascinating. I had never heard the rumor that they might consider doing MLG along with NY and LA again. Pontiac was such a perfect locale considering proximity to Toronto after the big Main Event crowd the previous August, it just made perfect sense - also an indoor facility which was really required for a late March show. Watching the interview with Andre on the Thames when it originally aired, there was no hint whatsoever that a heel turn was coming, however I recall pondering why the Machines angle ended so abruptly without much of a reason. Contextually, that may have been the clue in and of itself. Once the Piper's Pit segments started, even with the first one with the trophy presentation, it was obvious what was going to happen even though it was surreal.

Just wanted to let Bix and Kris know how much I enjoy these shows. I download them and listen as I'm falling asleep at night. This time frame ('85-'88) is my favorite, and in particular this period in '87 is just absolutely my wheelhouse in terms of good wrestling memories while growing up (still with a half dozen or so different territories running on tv every week). If I could ever guest-host with you two, it would be an honor. Great stuff. Love the format of the show and especially the sound clips you've been adding.

Savanah Jack was a bit of a who-gives-a-fuck TV Champ too, but I thought it was still a hot show.

Reunion Arena, right? Kane appears at the end? Hottest Raw match ever. Place was just coming unglued.

You absolutely nailed it. You and I probably grew up in the same era. The only thing I could add to this, possibly, is the Nov '86 UWF show where all three belts changed hands and ended with a cage match. Probably overbooked, but epic nonetheless.

I can't tell you exactly when Hulkamania peaked, although I believe it is Wrestlemania III. However, what I can absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt tell you is when Hulkamania began to decline: Survivor Series 1987. Not only was this the first "big" event that Hogan didn't "win", but he was made to look like an absolute schmuck, idiot, and whiney bastard. Bundy and Gang played him like a fool, he got eliminated fair and square, and then after Andre beat Bigelow, Hogan ran down like a crybaby sore-loser to beat Andre up. This entire event made Hogan look like a complete tool, which was the stigma that he really carried over through the late 80s and into the early 90s when people began to turn big-time on the character. I even remember the Apter magazines taking Hogan to school about this. They never favored the WWF over Flair and the NWA, but there was always at least some respect shown toward Hogan's character. After this event, it went downhill fast. There's no way to go back and watch that show and see Hogan in a positive light.