10 WWE WrestleMania Myths EXPOSED
7. WrestleMania III Packed In 93,000 Fans
The myth:
Prior to WrestleMania 32, WrestleMania III held the WWE attendance record; if a professional wrestling promoter is to be believed, 93,000 fans watched on as Hulk Hogan slammed André The Giant in what was the iconic moment of 1980s professional wrestling.
The myth exposed:
The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer consulted with promoter Zane Bresloff, who disclosed to him the real attendance of 78,500 (75,700 paid). This revelation was supported, subsequently, by internal company documents. Actual data validated the report of an inflated number, a practise consistent with virtually every wrestling company ever.
But is that in itself a myth?
Look at that gorgeous aerial shot. It is captured from that angle for the express purpose of putting over the sheer scope of the occasion, but there isn't an empty seat in the house - a house, David Bixenspan unearthed in a Deadspin report, that listed the total capacity of the Pontiac Silverdome as 88,000. A visit from the Pope outdrew Hogan that same year of 1987, and if the capacity was 88,000, and there wasn't an empty seat to be found, wasn't the number closer to 88,000 than 78,000?
Bix cited inconsistencies in Meltzer's sourcing and previous reporting; Meltzer countered by claiming his source was direct as it gets; Bix countered again by revealing that the report Bresloff sent Meltzer was incomplete.
Whatever: if it was 78,500 or 88,000, it wasn't 93,000.