The WrestleMania III Intercontinental Championship belt is on the block at Heritage Auctions, with bidding open through Saturday, Oct. 24. The belt, owned by wrestling historian and podcaster Conrad Thompson, is lot 81948 in Heritage’s Fall Sports Catalog Auction.
As of Monday, the Heritage listing shows a current bid of $87,500 against a guide value of $300,000 and up. A 22 percent buyer’s premium applies on top of the winning bid. Proxy bidding ends at 10 p.m. CT on Oct. 24, and the lot sits in the auction’s extended bidding session.
Four Hall of Famers, one belt
Heritage lists the belt as the version used from 1985 to 1988, held by Tito Santana, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat and The Honky Tonk Man. Most title belts were used for a stretch and then retired, according to the listing, but this physical belt passed through the hands of four WWE Hall of Famers.
The lineage runs straight through the biggest match in its history. Savage won the Intercontinental Championship from Santana in February 1986. Steamboat took it from Savage at WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987, in a bout Heritage calls the “masterpiece” of a show headlined by Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. The Honky Tonk Man beat Steamboat for the title on June 2, 1987.
“We are approaching the 40th anniversary of that match, and still, to this day, it is referenced by wrestlers and fans alike as one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time,” Thompson said in the auction announcement. Heritage is also publishing an online history of the belt written from Thompson’s perspective, and the listing describes him as widely regarded as the belt expert. The anniversary arrives March 29, 2027.
How it fits the memorabilia market
Heritage sold Hogan’s WrestleMania I boots for $1,037,000 in February, the first wrestling collectible to reach seven figures. In August, it sold Hogan’s WrestleMania 2 title belt for $414,800. Both of those pieces were photo-matched, and the listing for this belt leans on its lineage and the Savage and Steamboat match instead.
The belt measures 48.5 inches end to end and 9 7/8 inches top to bottom. Heritage notes visible wear from its years on the road, plus a 6.5-inch piece of black tape on the reverse that is peeling slightly at the top and bottom of the left side.
