To kick off Round 6,
Team Malfunction Junction selects in the
Match Category:
From Wrestlemania 3, Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the Intercontinental Championship.
The background story to this match started on the November 22, 1986 episode of WWF Superstars when Savage defeated Steamboat to retain the IC belt. After the match, Savage continued to assault Steamboat, eventually hitting Steamboat with the ring bell after leaping from the top rope. Savage landed with the bell on Steamboat's throat, causing him to suffer from a crushed larynx. Steamboat was out of action for several weeks recovering from the attack. On January 3, 1987, Steamboat returned to the WWF during an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event when he ran to the ring to prevent Savage from dropping the ring bell on George "The Animal" Steele in the same manner he had done to Steamboat. This rescue led to both the Wrestlemania rematch and Steamboat and Steele's friendship (which played a role in the outcome of the match).
For a 13 year-old me, this was the most anticipated match on the card for WM3. At that time, Hogan very rarely appeared on Superstars, and never wrestled on the show, so the biggest matches to happen on Superstars (which was the WWF's weekly flagship show at the time) were the IC title matches. Even though I understood that wrestling was "fake", I still vividly remember the Savage attack on Steamboat and having schoolyard debates about whether or not Steamboat was really injured.
The match is widely considered to be one of the best matches in WWF history, and was named the 1987 Match of the Year by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and The Wrestling Observer (two of the biggest independent wrestling magazines at the time).