Hi Scott,
Something has always bothered me about the way Andre the Giant left WWE. Yes, he turned face again at Wrestlemania VII and left the arena to a huge ovation. However, he was attacked by Earthquake soon after & stood on crutches in the Bushwhackers' corner at SummerSlam in his final appearance.
I know hindsight is 20/20 & everyone likes to play fantasy booker, but did it ever occur to anyone to have Earthquake attack Andre & injure his knee, but then have Hogan save him from an Earthquake splash? From there, Hogan & Andre could have shook hands and brought their storyline arc full circle. THAT could have been Andre's swan song (with the explanation that Andre suffered a career-ending injury) instead of him swatting at Earthquake with a crutch as his last act.
Your thoughts?
Thank you!
Brian Scala
Well you know something, brother, Hulk couldn't have saved Andre in 91, because Andre had already been dead for at least 5 years before that, dude. In fact, Hulk slammed the 1000 pound angry giant at the first Wrestlemania in 1982 in Shea Stadium, and he couldn't trust him after that. Andre was forced to pass the torch to Hulkamania that day, and he was such a dangerous guy that you didn't know if was gonna SHOOT on you or not, brother, especially when he weighed 1200 pounds and drank 100 beers at a time, dude. But thankfully the power of Hulkamania triumphed in Detroit when Andre's monster truck drove off the roof of Cobo Hall, and Andre died later that day, but not before pulling Hulk aside and personally handing him the WWF title so that Hulkamania could explode into the stratosphere.
Wait, sorry, what was the question again?
haha awesome. I actually like your storyline idea--it never made sense that the Bushwackers of all people were being associated with Andre. If I recall, this is all started after Wrestlemania 7 and Andre was "on the look-out" for a new manager. FYI--it never materialized. We did get to see Andre smack Sherri's ass in a bar though.
ReplyDeleteI never knew this..........
ReplyDeleteAwesome rant. Vintage '99 Scott.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Andre thought he had one last face run in him but by that point, he was so broken down and I think he finished up in Japan before he died.
ReplyDeleteJust the fact that Andre's weight went from 1000 pounds to 1200 pounds in a sentence had me howling with laughter. Best Hogan promo ever.
ReplyDeleteWait, is this a quote or scott ranting?
ReplyDeleteHe's building momentum!
ReplyDeleteWasn't Andre supposed to be in the 1991 Rumble but replaced by Knobbs? I vaguely remember something like that. Odd, in that IIRC the Nasty Boys had yet to debut on TV at that point
ReplyDeleteAndre had even been announced as a RR91 participant but wasn't ready. Then he came back in the summer for that angle with the managers. Odd stuff, but I guess they thought he could have one last run.
ReplyDeleteWell from what it sounded like on Andre's A&E documentary, the guy was barely able to go for WM3, so by that point he must've been in really bad shape.
ReplyDeleteNever knew if the documentary was just poorly researched (considering Andre was in the Colossal Connection 3 years later) or Vince was just riding the horse until it collapsed.
That was the funniest thing I've read in a long time... brother
ReplyDeleteCome on, Hogan would have upped the weight one more time.
ReplyDeleteFucking hilarious Scott.
Nope--the Nastys' debut a few weeks prior to the Rumble--taped in December 90. I remember hearing Honky Tonk (who was on commentary with Piper and Vince for a few weeks) having to correct Vince multiple times--he kept calling Saggs--"Scaggs." It was kind of a big deal seeing them since they had a pretty cool (but short) run in WCW at that point (Halloween Havoc 90 was awesome with the Steiners--orange and black ring ropes! lol). You are correct though--the first few Royal Rumble reports had Andre in the event.
ReplyDeleteYeah, having Hogan save Andre at Summerslam (which was at MSG, to boot) would've been awesome. I guess it would've hinted at a post-Summerslam feud for Hogan against the Natural Disasters, which wouldn't have been in the cards, though Hogan going against his heel-turned buddy Typhoon would've given Hogan something to do before facing Undertaker at Survivor Series.
ReplyDeleteThere was some interesting stuff going on with Andre around that time -- he was originally announced for Rumble 1991 as a participant, but then a few weeks before the show they mentioned he was injured in Japan, and according to Meltzer that is legit, although I can't honestly remember him working a match where he actually got in the ring after WrestleMania VI.
ReplyDeleteif we factor in all the other stories about Vince, I'd would definitely say the latter.
ReplyDeleteAnd those Japan matches make his late era WWF stuff look pretty darn mobile.
ReplyDeleteMore speculation...if Andre had been able to compete in the 1991 Royal Rumble, would he have won it? The Rumble wasn't "for" anything at that point and I could see the WWF booking Andre to win as a lifetime achievement award, sort of like they did for Studd two years prior. It also would've made sense for the kayfabe greatest battle royal specialist ever to win the WWF's most high-profile battle royale.
ReplyDeleteHe wrestled until 1992 in Japan, but never in the WWF after WrestleMania VI (unless you count the AJPW/WWF/NJPW combined Tokyo Dome card the week after that.)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0E1ppKojFU
Don't forgot the fact Andre farted on you too, brother.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell at this point. Sounds like something Hogan would actually say now. If Hogan can say Andre farted on him, he can say anything. I'm waiting for him to say there were armed Colombian soldiers at ringside - just in case Andre started shooting.
ReplyDeleteWell played, sir!
ReplyDeleteScott your the man, that's too funny
ReplyDeleteAndre last match was in December 1992 - just about four weeks before he died. I remember as a young smark seeing Andre on WCW TV just months before with his crutches, knowing wrestling was real because he was still suffering from that attack from Earthquake. Little did I know. Thought maybe it was leading up to a Andre the Giant comeback in WCW. I think Andre knew he was about finished at that point. I think he was, respectfully, more humanistic in his views - but he did acknowledge he never did steroids - just used what God gave them. Not sure what that meant in the mind of Andre the Giant, who "lived life" in constant pain, and partied the whole time. This one, even I'll admit is deep - so I'll leave it as it is and have people think on it - if they choose to. Respectfully, I know this is a wrestling board - and I'm just deeply thinking of Andre the Giant. Being French, Andre may have been a humanist.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully, he was a big guy and a good worker as a mega-attraction. I never realized how bad of shape he was in until I started seeing him work matches with Jake the Snake.
With Miss Elizabeth having been back in the fold, having her manage him, with him being Savage's best man at SummerSlam '91, would've worked, as he was now a face, and I think she was the only face manager in WWF at the time.
ReplyDelete