411’s WWE Greatest Moments Report: Andre The Giant

-Sure was a lot of wrestling yesterday. Here’s some more. I did watch Wrestlepalooza and thought it was a fine show. The stream was perfect on ESPN as I watched with Hulu Live TV Plus. It was kind of wild seeing WWE on the main page of Disney Plus. On to this week’s A&E block. We go old school with a man that scared me as a child. Let’s get to it!

-Michael Cole is our narrator and host!

10. A Feat of Strength
-Jan. 12, 1976

-Andre lifts a weight labeled as 2000 lbs. We hear Hogan from 2022 talk about meeting Andre for the first time. We see Andre winning Tug of War against like ten men. They would run these feats of strengths to build the lure of Andre.

9. Showdown at Shea
-Aug. 9, 1980

-For the longest time this was never acknowledged on WWE TV and here they just casually note this match took place 7 years before Mania III. It’s heel Hogan vs. face Andre in Shea Stadium (under Bruno/Larry). I need to watch that whole show at some point.

8. Tackling The Giant
-WrestleMania 2

-My very old review of the show is here. It’s the match that closed the Chicago portion of the show as Andre wins a battle royal that featured NFL players. Bret and Anvil were the last two left with Andre. Bret says it was a challenge but notes that Andre was really a natural. Bret is runner-up as Andre tosses him over the top and onto Anvil. Bret would also be runner-up at the Mania IV battle royal.

-Commercials!

7. Swimming with Giants
-TNT: July 24, 1984

-Tuesday Night Titans was Vince getting to be Carson and have wrestlers tell stories and show their personalities. In this memorable episode we get Andre singing the fish song. Fun stuff! Vince is losing it and it’s all a joke as Andre just mouths like a fish and pretends to swim. “I’ll be back with the whale song.” Funny!

6. Stretcher Out
-Nov. 14, 1981

-Andre broke his foot getting out of bed and they wrote it into the show as Killer Khan broke his ankle. It’s a red hot angle and leads to A Mongolian Stretcher Match between Andre and Khan. Andre swinging a stretcher at you has to be rather terrifying. Andre gets his revenge and destroys Khan, who gets carried out on a stretcher. You could always tell when they had matches in The Spectrum back in the day as the canvas had “The Spectrum” plastered on it. See, just like today with Papa John and Netflix on the mat.

-Commercials!

5. Body Slam Challenge
-WrestleMania

-I thought this might be hire. My review (which was the first thing I ever wrote for 411) can be found here. Andre didn’t like John Studd as he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was the real Giant. I hope Studd was paid well. Andre slams Studd to win the match and starts giving out the $15000 to the fans, but Heenan steals it back. I mentioned this before I think, but I worked with Studd’s nephew as he was a veterinarian for a few years at my office.

4. King Kong Giants
-Sept. 23, 1985

-The Colossal Jostle! Yes, that was the name given to the match. It’s Andre vs. Bundy and much like Studd, I hope Bundy was paid well. No clean result as John Studd interrupts the match. Andre grabs a chair and they both smartly bail. This should have been lower.

3. A Giant Survivor
-Survivor Series 1987

-I have not done this show yet as I started my Retro Reviews with 89. WrestleMania III made all the money, so they decided to add another PPV in Nov and needed Hogan/Andre again. The solution was to have them each captain a team and the Survivor Series was born. Hogan gets eliminated relatively early and Bigelow gets left against Andre and friends. He gets a couple eliminations, but Andre smoked him to become The Sole Survivor. Made all the sense as Andre needed a win back to set up The Rematch!

-Commercials!

2. Main Event Andre
-Feb. 7, 1987

-ANDRE THE GIANT CHALLENGES HULK HOGAN FOR WRESTLEMANIA III AND TEARS HIS CROSS OFF HIS CHEST. Yes, it deserves all the caps. This was the feud that hooked me as a wrestling fan as I can still see myself watching this all unfold in my grandma’s house. It leads to Mania III in the BIGGEST MATCH OF ALL TIME. Yes, it is the biggest match of all time. I will never back down from that statement. I love that show so much and watch it at least 3 times a year. Again, my very old review is here.

1. An Immortal Rematch
-The Main Event: Feb. 5, 1988

-Seeing the year next to Hogan talk makes me sad as that is reserved for people who have passed. The most watched wrestling match in North American history sees 33 million people tune in to NBC for the Andre/Hogan rematch. I reviewed this show as well. This moment deserves the top spot because Andre wins the WWF Title for the only time in his career. Hogan says Andre laid the groundwork for him and anyone who walks through the doors. He calls him the biggest and greatest superstar anyone has ever know. They obviously don’t touch on the twin ref saga and Andre immediately surrendering the title to Dibiase.

-This was fun as anytime we can discuss Andre it’s a good day. Lots of nostalgia and moments that were at the dawn of my falling in love with pro-wrestling. Thanks for reading!