Bigger! Better! Badder!

WrestleMania III and the Year It All Changed

De: Keith Elliot Greenberg

Narrado por: Michael Bower

How did WrestleMania III legitimize wrestling as entertainment and reshape the industry? Greenberg lays it bare and offers insights into WWE's evolution and WrestleMania's lasting impact

On an overcast day in 1987, the pro wrestling landscape was altered forever when a reported 93,173 fans converged on the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit to see Hulk Hogan defend his championship against André the Giant. For several years, Vincent Kennedy McMahon had been transforming old-time rasslin' into mainstream "sports entertainment," incorporating A-list celebrities into storylines and forcing even cynics to follow the proceedings. But the massive turnout for WrestleMania III convinced sponsors, licensees, and media conglomerates that the company that would become World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was no longer a fringe diversion for the unwashed masses; it was now legitimate physical theater worthy of global attention. From this point forward, it would be acceptable for devotees to make the annual pilgrimage to WrestleMania from the far corners of the Earth, the way others journeyed to the World Cup or Super Bowl.

Bigger! Better! Badder! is the story behind the seminal event, told from the perspective of company executives, wrestlers who appeared on the card, fans who attended the show, and other wrestling personalities. However, wrestling author and historian Keith Elliot Greenberg also examines the entire industry at the time, including insights from representatives from the rival promotions McMahon was putting out of business as pro wrestling transitioned from a regional phenomenon into an international juggernaut.

©2025 Keith Elliot Greenberg (P)2025 Podium Audio

very good book

I hope he make more books like this because it was the best wrestling book I hear

The behind the scenes information about the WWE

The guy reading the book was very entertaining. One can tell he was enjoying the subject. Very into his quotes from the wrestling personalities. He changed his voice whenever he Made a quote. The book gave some new information about the birth of Hulkamania

Great retrospective of WrestleMania 3

I really enjoyed this retrospective of Wrestlemania three and how the Wrestling business has evolved from 1987 to the current present. Highly recommend for any Wrestling fan that is interested in the history of wrestling and how Wrestlemania three was an influential event that carries on today..

Worth It, Even for Long-Time Fans

I've been a wrestling fan for damn near 40 years. I love diving in to the history of business, there's just nothing like it. While I've read just about all the major books that focus on this time period, I was pleasantly surprised by how much new information there was in here. Starts with Vince Jr's rise (dude is maniac), then provides plenty of great first-hand accounts of what went into WM3, going over the show match-by-match, and finishing with the aftermath.

Extremely well written. Greenberg deserves a lot of credit. I encourage him to write more books of this nature. You could fill a library by going in depth on historic wrestling shows. Extremely well narrated. I can't be the only wrestling fan who's noticed how often wrestler's names get mispronounced here on Audible. Well, that's not a problem here at all. Not only that, Michael Bower clearly knows his stuff, because the accents he uses when quoting someone are incredibly on the money. Really immerseses you in the story. Can't praise him enough.

Bottom line: This isn't some throwaway rehash, it's a fresh, detailed take on one of the most important events in wrestling history. I can't recommend it enough.

Good voice performance, unnecessary detours

Save for a few significant mispronunciations (kay-fab?), the voice performance was well done, making an effort to give the different narrators distinct qualities.

The story itself is meh. There weren’t very many new insights and it meandered at times. The Regal and Brookside sections added nothing really, feeling like the author already had those interviews and wanted to work them in somewhere, even if they weren’t a good fit.