Standing at 75 and weighing in at 540 lbs., Andre the Giant truly was the 8th wonder of the world, and while it was this tremendous size that attracted people to Andre in the first place, it was his shining personality and impressive in ring ability that made him a legend.
Born in France, Andre was not like other children. By the time he was twelve years old Andre was 63 and 240 lbs, too big to ride the school bus. He was a good student, but he dropped out of school after 8th grade so he could begin working. He worked a variety of labor-intensive jobs but got no satisfaction from any of them. He decided to move to Paris to learn how to become a professional wrestler and was taught the art by a local promoter.
He wrestled around Europe, Africa, and even Australia for six years before moving onto the illustrious world of Japanese pro-wrestling. Wrestling for International Wrestling Enterprise (a now defunct company), Andre experienced his first big success by capturing the companys tag titles with Michael Nador. Unfortunately, Andre was also diagnosed with acromegaly, a disease that can lead to gigantism, at this time.
Andre moved onto Canada after his stint in Japan ended, and he was an instant hit. He sold out the Montreal Forum on multiple occasions and became one of the top draws in the region. However, there were few men who even looked like they had a chance against Andre, and as he ran out of competitors the fans stopped being interested.
Fortunately for Andre, he was paired up with the brilliant wrestling mind of Vincent J. McMahon Sr. Vince helped repackage Andre as an unmovable monster, and discouraged Andre from performing any sort of athletic move in the ring (moves Andre performed with ease and regularity) in favor of a slower, more dominant wrestling style. McMahon gave Andre the title of Andre the Giant and began shipping him to regions all around the country to ensure that he never ran out of opponents to fight. The business move was a huge success for both Andre and for McMahons WWWF.
While Andre was available for bookings outside of the WWWF, it was the WWWFs Northeast region that would be Andres home. He debuted for the WWWF as a face by defeating Buddy Wolfe at Madison Square Garden. As with everywhere he traveled, Andre quickly became the most popular wrestler in the company, and he would be rewarded for his natural charm with an undefeated streak (in reality Andre had lost a handful of matches by DQ and countout, but never by pinfall or submission) that spanned a decade.
Andre continued to be a big part of the company after it was bought by Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr. His first major feud in the new WWF was a continuation of his feud with Big John Studd. Studd considered himself to be the real giant of wrestling (Studd was billed as 610 and 364 lbs., puny compared to Andre), and the two fought all over the world to determine whom the genuine article really was. The feud escalated when Studd and partner Ken Patera knocked Andre out and shaved off his hair. The feud would culminate at the first Wrestlemania where Andre won the $15,000 Bodyslam Challenge by slamming Big John Studd. Andre then took the prize money and began throwing it into the audience before having the bad stolen by the weasel Bobby Heenan. Ironically, Andre would be teaming up with Heenan within a matter of years.
Andres role in the WWF had decreased over the past few years. Though he was still a major part of the company, he had lost his status as face of the company to Hulk Hogan and he was also starting to slow down after years of wrestling and the pain that comes with his acromegaly. After winning the 20 man NFL-WWF battle royal at WrestleMania 2, Andre took time off to shoot The Princess Bride. He would come back as a masked wrestler, but would eventually be reinstated as Andre the Giant.
Andre agreed to turn heel for the first time in his WWF career in 1987 to feud with Hulk Hogan. After a few awkward encounters with Hogan in Pipers Pit, a one on one talk was organized for the two megastars of Wrestling. However, what was supposed to be a one on one turned into a one on two when Andre came out with Bobby Heenan. Hogan was shocked, but before he could reason with Andre he found himself being challenged to a match at WrestleMania 3 and having the shirt and crucifix ripped from his body. True to his character, Hogan accepted.
The match may be one of the most famous in the history of the WWE, if not all of wrestling. While it is not exactly the most technically stunning match, there is no denying that the magnitude of this match up alone is anything but magical. The most legendary moment of the match came when Hogan bodyslammed Andre, a sight that had not been seen since he began going as Andre The Giant. Hogan won the match following a leg drop, and gained arguably the most significant win of his entire career.
Unfortunately, Andre was wrestling in constant pain around this time due to his acromegaly. An already labored Andre slowed down more and more in the ring. He had a few more notable feuds, and even won the WWF Championship under the management of Ted DiBiase, but he had the title stripped from him when he tried to give the title to DiBiase himself. He would wrestle in the WWE until 1990. His last match in the WWF was at WrestleMania 6 and it saw him turn on managed Bobby Heenan after Heenan slapped Andre for losing the match. Andre returned the favor with a slap that sent Heenan out of the ring. Andre had been heel for three years, but he left the WWF to cheers. He would make sporadic, non-wrestling appearance for the WWF until 1991.
Andre died in his sleep in 1993 due to congestive heart failure a few days after his father had died. Andres body was cremated and his ashes were scattered on his ranch in North Carolina. Andre died beloved by all of his friends including The Fabulous Moolah, Lou Thesz, and Billy Crystal.
Andre was the first inductee into the WWF hall of fame and for good reason. Not only was he a tremendous in ring talent and one of the most influential wrestlers of all time, but he was also a great human being. Andre is a wrestler that is often imitated, but never emulated. If any belongs in the conversation with Hogan and Flair, its Andre the Giant.
Did you know?
Have you seen those Obey stickers posted around your town? Thats Andres face on those stickers.
Billy Crystal got to be good friends with Andre while shooting The Princess Bride, and Crystals film My Giant is based on his friendship with Andre.
Speaking of The Princess Bride, actor Mandy Patinkin would slap Andre in the face whenever Andre didnt do a good enough job of giving his lines.
Andre wasnt the only tall guy in the family. Both his parents and all four of his siblings were over six feet tall, and Andres grandfather was 78.
While Andre was definitely larger than Shaquille ONeal, Shaq has him beat in shoe size. Shaq wears a size 23, Andre wore 22. Big Show falls in between them at 22.5.
