The Cards that Celebrated WrestleMania III
Time travel back to the 1980s. Alongside the big hair and neon colors, a wrestling phenomenon was taking over the world. And on March 29, 1987, Wrestlemania III touched down in the Pontiac Silverdome.
No LED screens here, just massive spotlights cutting through the haze, all focused on a ring that seems impossibly small in the vast expanse below. In this moment, the spectacle of professional wrestling is at its peak, and some of the sport’s greatest performers are about to take the stage.
Third Time’s the Charm
WrestleMania III was not just another wrestling show but a meticulously crafted event meant to transcend the sport and solidify professional wrestling as a mainstream spectacle. WrestleMania broke major ground at Madison Square Garden with 19,121 fans, and WrestleMania II spanned three venues for a combined attendance of 40,085. However, the event at the Pontiac Dome was engineered to dwarf them both in scale and spectacle.
Motorized, ring-shaped carts were used to transport wrestlers through the stadium, transforming simple entrances into mini-parades that amplified the sense of grandeur. The collective noise of the audience — billed as 93,173 by WWE (then known as WWF)—bounced off the massive dome above, creating an electric atmosphere that reverberated throughout the arena and into living rooms across the country.
Celebrity appearances enhanced the spectacle, with Aretha Franklin opening the show with “America the Beautiful,” Bob Uecker serving as guest ring announcer, Mary Hart as timekeeper, and rock star Alice Cooper in Jake Roberts’ corner. In the now-iconic words of legendary announcer Gorilla Monsoon, this was “a happening.”
The 1987 Topps WWF Set Brought the Action to Collectors
In 1987, Topps unveiled a 75-card WWF set to honor the event. Many cards featured a patriotic blue outline that became a defining feature of the set.
Within the collection, meticulously themed subsets captured the sport’s essence. The Ringside Action insert chronicled the full spectrum of in-ring action, from the high-flying “Aerial Maneuvers” to the displays of raw strength in “Bearhug.” Another subset, Superstars Speak, offered a closer look at the larger-than-life personalities of the WWF universe, complete with their signature catchphrases. The Profiles subset gave fans a snapshot of the wrestlers’ personas and featured stars like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Andre the Giant.
The showcase attraction was the nine-card WrestleMania III subset, immortalizing the event’s most memorable moments and rivalries. “Revenge on Randy” captured what Jesse “The Body” Ventura declared, “the greatest match I ever witnessed in my life”—the technical masterpiece between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat that would earn Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Match of the Year honors. Meanwhile, “The Giant is Slammed” documented Hogan’s historic body slam of the 520-pound Andre the Giant, who wore a supportive brace beneath his singlet following back surgery the year before.
Holding the No. 1 card position in the set was still relatively unknown, at least to WWE audiences, Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Long before he became one of professional wrestling’s most celebrated technical performers, this card captured “the best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be.” Decades later, this card has become a highly sought-after RC for a wrestler widely recognized as one of the greatest in-ring performers ever.
The Proud Legacy of Topps and WrestleMania
The Topps 1987 WWF set connects the collectors of today with one of the most important events in WWE history. Today, an unopened graded pack commands around $35-$50. Pristine examples of coveted “mint” or “gem mint” grades have emerged as serious investment pieces in the memorabilia market. At the same time, factory-sealed boxes represent the ultimate prize, holding the possibility of discovering mint-condition Hulk Hogan or Bret Hart cards.
For many longtime fans, Wrestlemania III remains a shining moment for pro wrestling, and the Topps cards surrounding the event tie into that idea. This was a time before Hulk Hogan turned heel — before the Montreal Screwjob irreversibly shattered kayfabe with Bret Hart’s controversial exit.
In 1987, wrestling still operated in clear black and white: Heels were heels, faces were faces, and the stories told themselves with refreshing simplicity. Each card from this set captures that purity — the deafening crowd of the Silverdome, the vibrant spectacle of 1980s wrestling at one of its most commercially successful and culturally resonant moments, and the larger-than-life personalities who were beginning to etch themselves into popular culture.
