15. WrestleMania III - Main Event Almost Didn't Include Andre The Giant
WrestleMania III still stands as the most important event in WWE history, with the event headlined by Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant for the WWF Championship drawing a record crowd to the Pontiac Silverdome. Everyone knows that. What everyone doesn't know is that getting Andre to agree to work the event was far from a sure thing. Andre was essentially retired from wrestling as he had recently filmed The Princess Bride and was beginning to prepare for life away from the squared circle. If Vince McMahon was unable to convince Andre to come back, as well as turn heel and put over Hogan clean, the backup plan was for Hogan to wrestle Paul Orndorff for the title. With all due respect to Mr. Wonderful, anything other than Hogan vs. Andre at WrestleMania III would've been a huge, colossal drop off. Luckily for everyone (except Orndorff), Andre agreed to return and began his last run towards the biggest professional wrestling match of all-time. As we will see play out again through future WrestleManias, Vince McMahon always had a backup plan - sometimes more than one.
Matt Davis
Contributor
A former stuntman for Paramount Pictures, Matt enjoys sports, water skiing, driving fast, the beach, professional wrestling,
technology, and scotch. At the same time, whenever possible.
Having attended many famous (and infamous) shows including WrestleMania XV, In Your House: Mind Games, and the 1995 King of the Ring, Matt has been a lifelong professional sports and wrestling fan. Matt's been mentioned in numerous wrestling podcasts including the Steve Austin Show: Unleashed, Talk Is Jericho, and Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard.
As a former countywide performer, Matt has been referred to as Mr. 300 for his amazing accomplishments in the world of amateur bowling. He is also the only man on record to have pitched back-to-back no hitters in the Veterans Stadium Wiffle Ball League of 2003.
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