This is the first of what may be a series of posts about the greatest matches to occur in my lifetime (described in chronological order), depending on whether or not I am in the mood to continue in the weeks following.

Ah, yes, Savage vs Steamboat. What wrestling aficionado does not drool uncontrollably when faced with the prospect of reliving this match? Their 'Mania III bout is the first one that comes to mind because in my opinion, it set the stage for a wrestling match to be viewed as a work of art by itself. One could argue that the matches of Ric Flair set that tone years before, but I always found Flair's early work to be so...samey, and thus, average, in a sense. I'm not knocking the "Nature Boy," whom in my opinion was the greatest of all-time. I am merely suggesting that Savage and Steamboat created a template for truly great matches held in North America, similar to what Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid did in Japan at the start of the decade. At the time, Pro Wrestling Illustrated put forth the bold claim that this was the greatest wrestling match not just of 1987, but, well, ever.

The date was March 29th, 1987. The place was the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The setting? Well, duh, WrestleMania III, before an alleged 93,173 (actually closer to 78,000).

The prematch interviews were memorable. In typical fashion, Savage exclaimed, "History beckons the Macho Man, yeah!" Steamboat, who would be accompanied by George Steele, looked particularly intense, given the fact that Savage had supposedly "injured" his throat with a sneak attack several months earlier. "This Dragon will scorch your back! I will come away with the championship belt and see new horizons!"

At Savage's insistence, the two had worked out the match move for move (a rarity, but something Flair claimed Savage insisted upon doing with him in their WrestleMania match five years later). It showed.

The opening was tentative, a surprise, given Steamboat's position as the returning babyface lusting for revenge. Savage proved easily distractable in the early minutes, jumping to ringside and leading Elizabeth to a neutral corner when Steele wandered too close. Some armdrags and a standing choke, and the challenger seized the first advantage. The momentum turned soon enough, and Savage gained the first pin attempt, one that yielded only a one count.

Savage continued with a mild offense, but missed a charge in the corner. His arm struck the turnbuckle, and as Savage winced, Steamboat went on the attack, focusing on the joint in question. This continued until Savage responded by whipping Steamboat into the ropes and connecting with a brutal short elbow that caught "The Dragon" in the throat. Savage threw Steamboat out of the ring to buy more time and further control the pace of the match.

After a pair of Savage near-falls, Steamboat fought back and managed to tie the "Macho Man" in the ropes. Savage escaped, but Steamboat upped the pace, gaining three near-falls in under half a minute. Savage answered by planting a high knee into Steamboat's back. He tried to toss Steamboat from the ring; Steamboat "skinned the cat," but Savage caught on and made sure his rival was ejected from the ring with a nice clothesline.

An axehandle and running elbow yielded another two-count for Savage. Savage hung Steamboat's throat over the top rope to score an additional count of two. The action continued with Savage using an atomic drop, vertical suplex and gutwrench suplex. After each maneuver, Savage covered his foe, but each time got only two. The most amazing part of the match was when Savage ran at Steamboat, and Steamboat backbodydropped him out of the ring. Savage fell to ringside from 15 feet in the air, without the use of his hands to break his fall. It was a gutsy bump, particularly in the conservative wrestling world of the 80s.

Steamboat connected with a chop off the top and covered Savage for another count of two. Referee Earl Hebner initially counted three, bringing every fan in the arena to their feet, but Savage's foot was on the rope at two. That was followed later by a furious exchange in which Steamboat gained six near falls inside of a minute, while Savage gained one of his own.

Hebner was knocked unconscious following a mid-ring collision with Steamboat. Savage acted quickly to exploit the opportunity. Savage delivered what should have been a match clinching top rope elbowdrop, but the referee was unable to make the count. Thinking on his feet, Savage grabbed the timekeeper's bell from ringside. Steele attempted to intercept, but was discouraged from doing so by a stiff Savage boot from the apron.

Mounting the top rope, Savage made ready to give Steamboat a shellacking that would have been sure to take a permanent toll on Steamboat's voicebox. Steele, however, threw him from the top, preventing Savage from bringing the ring bell into play. Savage was dazed by the fall, enough to allow Steamboat to roll him up for the count of three and the Intercontinental title.

Savage made his way to the back in a dejected state while Steamboat celebrated the biggest win of his career up to that point in time. In reality, "the Macho Man" must have been smiling inside. He had delivered the match of his life, increasing his value to the WWF for years to come. Despite the loss, Savage never really lost much momentum, and was crowned WWF World champion the following year at WrestleMania IV. Oddly enough, Steamboat's stock within the company seemed to slip. He lost his title to Honky Tonk Man after a short reign, and was out of the WWF by early-1988. His aborted WWF stint might be the earliest example of how Vince McMahon preferred home grown talent to foreign talent developed elsewhere. Of course, Steamboat's best years were still ahead of him. In 1989, he pinned Flair to take the NWA World title in another classic outing.

The Steamboat-Savage match at WrestleMania III was the most hotly received match in WWF history up to that point. Unsurprisingly, it was voted Match of the Year for 1987 by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. No other match of '87 was as deserving of the honor.