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Podcaster Conrad Thomspson is auctioning off his red-lettered WWF IC Championship belt at Heritage Auctions. The auction ends on Oct. 24 and the belt is drawing a lot of attention from collectors primarily due to its ties to the Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ricky The Dragon Steamboat match at WrestleMania III. The match is considered by many to be the best WrestleMania match of all-time.
Tony Giese of Heritage Auctions believes that along with the Savage Steamboat match from WrestleMania 3 that there are several factors driving attention to the belt to the point he feels it will break the record for the final bidding price of a wrestling title when the auction ends on Oct. 24. “I think first off, the length of time it was used for,” said Giese during an interview with Sean Radican on Radican Worldwide. “A lot of these belts, you know, they (WWF) would use them for a year, maybe a little longer. This one, from 1985 through 1988. Because of how long it was used, I think that’s one of the factors that we’re all gonna really point to as to-why this thing could break the record. I think it’s got a very good chance. The style of it, again, you know, we talked about the Hogan belt. We talked about how, you know, it’s just, it’s nostalgia. We remember that belt. We remember seeing it.
“This one, I think what sets it apart from the Hogan belts, no offense to the Hogan belt at all, the longevity, and that it was, you know, won by Tito Santana, debuted by Tito Santana in 1985. Then he lost to The Macho Man, then Steamboat had it for a couple months, then The Honky Tonk Man had it. The guys who wore this belt, who owned this belt, it’s not like they had two different belts they used.
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“They had one belt. That’s it. And if you look on the inside of this, there’s a piece of electric tape that is still affixed to it, and what I always think about when I look at this belt is, think of the hundreds of thousands of miles this belt traveled on the road, what it endured, what it saw, the matches it was involved in. It, you know, just how much history is involved with this belt, and then when you really… I think the thing that’s really gonna take it over the top, Steamboat, Savage.”
Giese believes that people in their 40s and 50s now grew up in awe of the Savage vs. Steamboat match at WrestleMania III, remember the match because it was different from other WWF matches at the time. “To guys our age, I still say that’s the greatest match I’ve ever seen,” said Giese. “I know now there’s a ton of false finishes and everything like that, but the performances they put on at the height of their popularity, those false finishes, we had never seen up until then. Now you see it, you’ve seen it for decades now, but it was different. It was different at the time.
“The whole lead-up to it, with the crushed larynx. Is Steamboat ever gonna come back? He’s trying to talk, he can’t talk, then he makes a comeback at Saturday Night’s Main Event. George “The Animal” Steele, Elizabeth. I mean, there’s so many things, and it was such a good storyline. But again, no matter, you could have the best storyline in the world, but the performers, those two guys, high flyers, great technicians in the ring, they could do it all.
“I mean, they could talk, they could do everything. And I mean, when you think of the Intercontinental Belt, that’s what you think of. And yes, Honky Tonk had an extended run, 440 days, whatever it was, which was awesome, but, I mean, when you really think of this belt, you think of WrestleMania III. And Conrad made an outstanding point in his video, and I’m gonna have to use it. You know, it was Hogan and Andre that sold the tickets, but it was Steamboat-Savage that stole the show.”
Giese said that usually auctions run of this nature usually run between 20 to 28 days and there’s usually bidding early in the process and then a lot of action late, but the red-lettered WWF IC Champi0nhip belt has seen action the whole way through so far. “Also, when I look at this belt, you know, in an auction setting… now, our auctions at Heritage usually run about 25, 20 to 28 days,” said Giese. “What you’ll typically see in an auction, a lot of action early and a lot of action late. This one here, this belt, from the beginning has had action the whole way through, which isn’t what you always see. Usually, you know, bidders are savvy. They’re not gonna all just put a bid in early and then bid all the way through. Put a bid early, put in a bid late, then auction night’s when things go kinda, kinda crazy sometimes.”
Giese said that Conrad Thompson getting the word out about the belt has also attracted a lot of bidders. “I think this has all the ingredients of going absolute bonkers on Saturday night because there’s a lot of people tracking, there’s a lot of bidders,” said Giese. “And, you know, Conrad has done a wonderful job, I have to say, has done a wonderful job for Heritage, for everybody involved, at really promoting this, getting it out there.
“There’s… Yes, having it’s one thing, but promoting the heck out of it, the videos, bringing it to New York, getting it to our auction gallery, getting it on some of these podcasts, getting it on your podcast. I mean, all these things. You need to get it out there, but he’s also really helped us get it out there to the world.”
NOTE: You can GO VIP and listen to the entire interview with Tony Giese from Heritage Auctions talking about wrestling collectibles, Conrad Thompson’s red-lettered IC Championship, and more HERE
More information on the history of the red-lettered WWF IC Championship owned by Conrad Thompson is available HERE.
To view the WWF red-lettered IC Championship and other wrestling-related auctions at Heritage Auctions click HERE.
