In the episode, "The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't," of The O.C., Seth Cohen's family is said to have watched Over the Top for "Chrismukkah" one holiday.

An episode of Billy and Mandy, The Grim Reaper challenges a minor character to an arm-wrestling match, turning his cap around and saying "When I turn me hat around, it's like a switch, mon! A switch!". In addition, when Billy sees them, he says "Hey, are you guys playing Over The Top without me?"

On February 16, 2007, Mike Nelson's Rifftrax service released a humorous audio commentary track for this movie.

Sylvester Stallone - Lincoln Hawk(s)

Gypsy Soul - Asia

Over the Top at the Internet Movie Database

In the 2007 television series Gossip Girl, the supporting character Rufus Humphrey plays in a rock band called Lincoln Hawk.

Winner Takes It All - Sammy Hagar

Terry Funk - Ruker

All I Need Is You - Big Trouble

Jimmy Snuka - Uncredited

I Will Be Strong - Eddie Money

Over the Top at Rotten Tomatoes

Jack Wright - Big Bill Larson

The Fight [Instrumental] - Giorgio Moroder

On an episode of Cheap Seats where Randy and Jason Sklar covered arm wrestling, at the start of the segment, they reach over the sides of the couch and grab baseball caps, put them on, and turn them around, ala Hawk just before a match in the film.

Meet Me Half Way - Kenny Loggins

Bad Nite - Frank Stallone

Robert Loggia - Jason Cutler

In This Country - Robin Zander

Susan Blakely - Christina Cutler-Hawk(s)

David Mendenhall - Michael Cutler/Michael Hawk(s)

Jimmy Keegan - Richie

John Braden - Col. Davis

Over the Top at All Movie Guide

Michael Fox - Jim Olson

Rick Zumwalt - Bob "Bull" Hurley

Over the Top is a 1987 dramatic/action film starring Sylvester Stallone, produced and directed by Menahem Golan about a long haul truck driver who tries to win back his alienated son while becoming a champion arm wrestler. The screenplay was written by Stirling Silliphant and Sylvester Stallone. The original music score is composed by Giorgio Moroder.

Lincoln Hawk is a struggling trucker who arm wrestles on the side to make extra cash, and tries to rebuild his life. Hawk's wife Christina is very ill at the beginning of the film, and asks that Hawk pick their son Michael up from military school so that he may get to know his son since they have been apart since Hawk left them ten years earlier. His father-in-law Jason Cutler is enraged since he feels his daughter was deserted by Hawk and thus has no right to be in his grandson's life. Over the course of a cross country trip, Mike learns to trust his father until finding out that his mother dies while they are on the road. Feeling he would have been there if not for Hawk, he leaves for his grandfather's estate. The film continues with Mike realizing the truth about his father, and Lincoln competing in the world arm wrestling competition, held at the Las Vegas Hilton.

John Wetton, lead singer of the rock group Asia, sang "Winner Takes It All" for the movie, but after performing the song, it was felt that his voice wasn't "mean" enough, so the song was offered to Sammy Hagar, whose version ended up being the one on the soundtrack.

The military academy scenes were filmed at Pomona College in Claremont, California during the early summer of 1986.

An episode of The Simpsons called Simpsons Bible Stories features "Winner Takes It All," a song used in the film, in a training sequence where Bart, as King David, trains for a rematch with Goliath (Nelson). In another nod, at one point in the montage, he's seen arm wrestling one of his sheep.

During a Saturday Night Live skit featuring Norm Macdonald ranking out Stallone for his poor career choices while he bleeds to death from a car crash, he saves his most biting insults for Over the Top. He sarcastically claims that Kramer vs. Kramer, another movie that deals with child custody, was not as good as Over the Top because it did not feature arm wrestling.

A soundtrack album was released in 1987 to coincide with the release of the movie. It contains music from Frank Stallone, Kenny Loggins (who performs the film's central theme, "Meet Me Half Way"), Eddie Money, and Sammy Hagar.