In a lot of ways, wrestling has changed so much in the past 17 years that comparing Wrestlemania X7 to the early Wrestlemanias is like comparing apples to oranges. But even in its early days, Wrestlemania was the showcase for the very best in the world.

Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat had a very heated and brutal feud in the upper mid card for nearly the whole year preceding Wrestlemania 3, including a vicious ringbell attack by Savage.

In terms of sheer in-ring quality, Steamboat/Savage was revolutionary at the time for a WWF match, and still stands out as a top quality match today. The ring psychology was amazing, and the near falls had the crowd at the edge of their seats.

The match had the effect of propelling Randy Savage to the upper tier of the WWF. Ricky Steamboat didn’t get the same rub, due to out of the ring issues, but both are remember for this match as a highlight of their respective WWF careers.

Nowadays there are super in ring matches on an weekly basis on TV, but to have such a great match backed by a superb storyline is why Steamboat/Savage is considered such a classic.

Danny Birdwell on Savage/Steamboat:
I watched his match recently and it still stands as one of my favorite matches of any PPV. It had a good story behind it (Savage’s “injury” to Steamboat’s throat) and the match itself was great. I remember cheering wildly when Savage went down by a Small Package.