Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The June 1987 issue of WWF Magazine featuring Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Miss Elizabeth documents professional wrestling at the precise apex of its first great mainstream cultural moment. WrestleMania III had taken place on March 29, 1987 — just weeks before this issue's production cycle — at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan before a reported attendance of 93,173, the largest indoor crowd in the history of North American sports at the time. The centerpiece of that event was the Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant match, built over months of carefully escalated television storyline, including Andre's championship challenge delivered face-to-face with Hogan on Piper's Pit — a segment watched by an estimated 33 million television viewers. The body slam that ended that match has since become one of the most reproduced images in professional wrestling history. A WWF Magazine issue from June 1987 featuring both men on the cover is therefore a primary document of the immediate aftermath of one of the most significant events in wrestling history, produced for the fan readership while the WrestleMania III moment was still culturally fresh and widely discussed. Collectors building a comprehensive record of Hulk Hogan's documented presence in the WWF press will find the Hulk Hogan magazine archive at OriginalMagazines.com an essential resource, and those specifically researching Andre the Giant's career documentation will find related material in the Andre the Giant magazine collection.
Miss Elizabeth's presence alongside Hogan and Andre on this cover reflects her specific position in the WWF's 1987 narrative landscape. Elizabeth had debuted as Randy Savage's manager in 1985 and by 1987 had become one of the most recognizable figures in professional wrestling — her combination of genuine elegance, visible emotional authenticity in ringside performances, and role as a counterpoint to the sport's masculine theatrics had made her a genuinely beloved figure for a fan base that was expanding rapidly into previously untapped demographics. Her presence on a June 1987 cover alongside Hogan and Andre signals the editorial recognition that the WWF's mainstream appeal rested not only on its larger-than-life male performers but on the full cast of characters whose relationships and storylines gave the product its dramatic structure. The full WWF Magazine archive at OriginalMagazines.com provides essential context for collectors tracing the publication's coverage across the Hulkamania era, and the 1987 magazines collection offers broad context across publications from this specific year.
The broader cultural significance of June 1987 in professional wrestling history is worth establishing clearly. The WWF's mainstream expansion in this period — driven by Vince McMahon's national television strategy, the celebrity crossover of WrestleMania, and the genuine charisma of its top performers — was transforming professional wrestling from a regional live entertainment product into a national media property. WWF Magazine was the primary print vehicle for sustaining and deepening fan engagement between pay-per-view events and television broadcasts, and an issue from this specific post-WrestleMania III window documents the publication at the height of its editorial relevance within that ecosystem.
About the Publication
WWF Magazine was the official publication of the World Wrestling Federation, launched in the early 1980s as professional wrestling's national television expansion created a readership large enough to sustain a dedicated monthly magazine. Its editorial format combined wrestler profiles, behind-the-scenes features, event coverage, photography, and storyline commentary for a fan audience that followed the WWF's programming on television and at live events. By 1987 it was operating within a media ecosystem that included national pay-per-view events, syndicated television, and an expanding merchandise operation, and its pages reflected the WWF's deliberate cultivation of its top performers as genuine celebrities rather than simply athletic entertainers. The magazine served as both a promotional vehicle and a documentary record of one of the most commercially successful periods in professional wrestling history.
Key Highlights Inside
- Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Miss Elizabeth cover feature — published in the immediate aftermath of WrestleMania III, documenting the three figures most central to the WWF's 1987 narrative at the moment of maximum mainstream attention following the Silverdome event.
- June 1987 publication date — placing this issue within weeks of WrestleMania III and the Hogan-Andre match that generated the largest indoor crowd in North American sports history at that point, giving the issue its specific documentary significance within wrestling's historical record.
- Address label on front cover — confirming subscriber distribution, with label placement on the cover face a condition consideration that should be assessed relative to the cover imagery in listing photographs.
- Note: Specific article titles, featured wrestlers beyond the confirmed cover subjects, event coverage details, and additional interior content have not been independently verified for this issue. The highlights above reflect confirmed cover content and well-documented historical context for all three subjects, the publication, and the period.
Condition & Rarity
The noted condition describes a good-condition copy with minor age-consistent wear, an address label on the front cover, and a plastic protective sleeve. The front cover label is the primary condition disclosure: applied directly to the cover face during original subscriber distribution, its placement relative to the three cover subjects — Hogan, Andre, and Elizabeth — determines how substantially the cover's display value is affected, and prospective collectors should assess the listing photographs with this in mind. Minor wear on a monthly wrestling magazine now nearly forty years old is entirely expected and does not typically affect interior content legibility or structural integrity. The plastic sleeve confirms deliberate protective storage. WWF Magazine issues from the WrestleMania III period are actively sought within the vintage wrestling press market, and the specific combination of Hogan, Andre, and Elizabeth on a single cover from June 1987 gives this issue a collector significance that extends beyond the general WWF magazine audience to anyone documenting this specific chapter of wrestling history.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Post-WrestleMania III WWF Magazine issues featuring Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant are among the most consistently sought items in vintage wrestling press collecting, and the addition of Miss Elizabeth to this June 1987 cover makes it a particularly complete document of the era's central personalities. If this issue has already been claimed, the Hulk Hogan magazine collection at OriginalMagazines.com is the best starting point for other issues documenting his career across publications, and the Andre the Giant magazine collection is equally worth exploring for his documented presence in the wrestling press. The full WWF Magazine archive covers the Hulkamania era comprehensively, and the 1987 magazines collection provides broader context across publications from this landmark year in professional wrestling history.