40 Years Of Fascinating WWE WrestleMania Facts (Part 1)
8. 'Mania III - The Match That Changed The World
In something of a paradox, if you bemoan the heavily choreographed state of modern wrestling, you have one of your favourite '80s wrestlers to thank for it.
Virtually every single move in a 2023 pro wrestling match is planned ahead of time irrespective of whether the audience is into it. This approach seeks to guarantee a certain reaction, but is less than ideal. This philosophy encourages a certain homogenised quality - many, many wrestlers work the same sequences knowing that they can drum up a half-hearted This Is Awesome chant with a double down - and, moreover, can destroy suspension of disbelief. A wrestler often has to sell a blown move or strike, making themselves look foolish in the process, because they aren't trained to improvise on the fly. Where wrestling was once far more improvised, based on the mood of the crowd, modern wrestlers are programmed to get to the next spot and to the finish, even if they are put away by something that missed by miles. This has been in place for years and years.
Randy Savage - disrespectfully, you could argue - faxed the move-for-move layout to Ricky Steamboat ahead of their 'Mania III classic, which by some distance was the best WWE match of the 1980s. A relentless exchange of holds and counters - so close and competitive that they were almost vibrating as one - you could argue that it was too good for its own good.
Great art breeds imitation, and the original WWE classic changed everything - the shift towards critical acclaim as the goal and the precise way in which it was achieved.