André the Giant–Hulk Hogan rivalry

The André the Giant–Hulk Hogan rivalry was a professional wrestling rivalry between wrestlers André the Giant and Hulk Hogan that took place in World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE).

The rivalry is considered by many to be one of the most important in professional wrestling history.[lower-alpha 1]

History

Early matches (1980–1983)

1980; in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), André as a face faced a heel Hulk Hogan 16 times throughout the year with André victorious in all the matches.[6] At Shea Stadium during Showdown at Shea,[7] as well as a month later in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, Hogan slammed André.[8]

Throughout 1982 and 1983 while both were working in New Japan Pro-Wrestling the two had several additional matches, however during these matches André was the heel and Hogan was the face.

Build to WrestleMania III (1987)
Bobby Heenan (left) managed André (right) during his feud with Hogan

On an edition of Piper's Pit in 1987, Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for three years; André came out to congratulate him.[9] On the following week's Piper's Pit, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "the only undefeated wrestler in wrestling history." WWF billed him as having been undefeated for 15 years,[10] despite having lost several matches via countout and disqualification. Hogan came out to congratulate André but spoke mostly of himself, causing André to walk out in the midst of Hogan's speech.[11][12] A meeting between André and Hogan was scheduled to take place the next week on Piper's Pit (February 7, 1987).[13] When André came out he was led by Bobby Heenan.

Heenan accused Hogan of being André's friend only so he would not have to defend the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against him. Hogan disputed this, but André challenged Hogan to a match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania III. Heenan, following Hogan's apparent disbelief stated "You can't believe it, maybe you'll believe this, Hogan" followed by André ripping off Hogan's shirt and crucifix, with the crucifix causing Hogan's chest to bleed.[14]


During the March 14 (taped February 21) edition of Saturday Night's Main Event X at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, both were participants in a 20-man Battle royal.[15][15] Although neither won, André stated he gained a psychological advantage over Hogan, due to eliminating him from the contest.[16]

At WrestleMania III, André's was billed at 240 kg (520 lb),[17] and the stress of such immense weight on his bones and joints resulted in constant pain,[18] causing him to wear a brace underneath his wrestling singlet.[19] Hogan won the match after body-slamming André (later dubbed "the bodyslam heard around the world"), followed by Hogan's running leg drop finisher.[17] This was billed as the first time Hogan slammed André, despite having done it multiple times in 1980.[8] André had also been slammed previously by Harley Race, El Canek and Stan Hansen, among others.[20][21]

Feud continued (1987–1988)
Hulk Hogan pictured in the late 1980s

At the inaugural Survivor Series event André and Hogan were named as captains of their respective teams. Although they did not face each other much during the match, when they did Hogan dominated André however Hogan ultimately was counted out. André would be the sole survivor of the match, when he pinned Bam Bam Bigelow.[22] After the match Hogan returned to the ring and attacked André, knocking him out of the ring.

After Hogan won a match against King Kong Bundy on Saturday Night's Main Event XIV which aired January 2, 1988 (taped December 7, 1987), André snuck up to get revenge on Hogan, choking him from behind. André was eventually forced to let go after Hacksaw Jim Duggan broke a 2x4 over André's back.[23][24]

Additionally in 1988, Hogan and the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase feuded due to Hogan's refusal to sell DiBiase the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan continued to defeat DiBiase several times which led to DiBiase turning to André in hopes that André win it for him.[25] This feud set up a Hogan-André rematch on The Main Event I, which aired live on February 5, 1988, on NBC. During the match André won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Hogan, even though Hogan's shoulders were not on the mat during the 3-count. Following the match it was revealed that appointed referee Dave Hebner was "detained backstage", and Hogan during his post match interview accused DiBiase of paying someone to get plastic surgery to look like Dave. It was revealed to have been Dave's twin brother, Earl Hebner.[26] Immediately after winning, whilst still inside the ring and interviewed by Gene Okerlund, André publicly contractually surrendered the title to DiBiase, however the transaction was declared invalid by then-WWF president Jack Tunney and the title was declared vacant.[27] The broadcast was seen by 33 million people.[28]

At WrestleMania IV, André and Hogan fought to a double disqualification in a WWF title tournament match.[29] Afterward, André and Hogan fought in a steel cage match held at WrestleFest on July 31, 1988, in Milwaukee.[30] At the inaugural SummerSlam pay-per-view held at Madison Square Garden, André and DiBiase (calling themselves The Mega Bucks) faced Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage (known as The Mega Powers) in the main event, with Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. The Mega Powers won thus ending the Andre-Hogan rivalry.[31] André's next feud would be with Jake Roberts, and Hogan's would be with the Big Boss Man.

Notes
  1. The Hogan-André rivalry has been cited as one of the greatest of all time by WWE,[1] Sportsnet,[2] GameSpot,[3] Slam! Sports,[4] and The Outline.[5]
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References
  1. Melok, Bobby (April 5, 2019). "WrestleMania's 10 greatest rivalries". WWE. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  2. Joyce, Gare (July 1, 2016). "Greatest sports rivalries: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant". Sportsnet. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  3. Cartelli, Lance (February 22, 2017). "The 21 Most Legendary WWE Rivalries Of All Time, Ranked". GameSpot. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  4. "Andre the Giant Obituary". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 31, 2019. His match against Hogan at WrestleMania III was probably the highest peak that wrestling ever hit in North America.
  5. Gordon, Jeremy (April 11, 2018). "HBO's 'André the Giant' documentary has one giant distraction". The Outline. Hogan is featured liberally in the documentary, talking about his personal relationship with Andre, his reputation around the industry, and most crucially, their iconic match at Wrestlemania III.
  6. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/80.htm
  7. Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling: The Results WWF 1963–1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
  8. Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology (DVD). WWE. 2006.
  9. Krugman (2009), pp. 132–133.
  10. McAvennie, Mike (March 30, 2007). "The Big One". WWE. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  11. Krugman (2009), pp. 134–135.
  12. "WWF @ East Rutherford, NJ – Meadowlands – January 5, 1987". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  13. "WWF @ Tampa, FL – SunDome – January 26, 1987". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  14. Krugman (2009), pp. 136–139.
  15. Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling: The Results WWF 1963–1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 623. ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
  16. WWE (July 8, 2013). Battle Royal with Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant – via YouTube.
  17. "WrestleMania III – André the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan – WWE Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2011. It was billed as the biggest main event in the history of sports entertainment: Hollywood Hogan vs. André the Giant. Hogan, in his third year as WWE Champion, was set for the biggest challenge of his life in the form of the 7-foot-4, 520-pound Roussimoff, who betrayed his former best friend in exchange for his long-awaited shot at the championship.
  18. "André the Giant". Biography. January 13, 1998. A&E Network.
  19. Assael & Mooneyham (2002), pp. 71–72.
  20. Krugman (2009), p. 157.
  21. Race, Harley (2004). King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story. Sports Publishing L.L.C. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-58261-818-0.
  22. "Survivor Series 1987 – Main Event". WWE. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  23. "Saturday Night Main Event – Jan. 2, 1988". WWE. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  24. Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling. 1: WWF 1963–1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1492825972.
  25. Krugman (2009), pp. 172–175.
  26. "A WWF Magazine Investigative Report: Dave Hebner's Shadow," WWF Magazine, June 1988, p. 30.
  27. "Andre the Giant's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  28. "The Main Event results – February 5, 1988". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  29. "WWE Title Tournaments". prowrestlinghistory.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  30. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wfest88review.htm
  31. "SummerSlam 1988 main event match details". WWE. Retrieved March 6, 2011.

Further reading
  • Krugman, Michael (2009). André the Giant: A Legendary Life. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-4112-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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