Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
The inaugural member of the WWE Hall of Fame, Andre the Giant’s name is synonymous with the company and his place in wrestling history is assured. Today on the blog we take a look at his swan song with the company.
‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ Andre the Giant had been a staple of the WWF ever since the early 1970’s. For the majority of that time, Andre was considered one of the most beloved wrestlers on the entire roster. By 1987, Andre the Giant turned heel by joining with Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan and challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF title. Andre would remain a heel for the next three years of his career.
After Wrestlemania 6 in the Spring of 1990, Andre had a falling out with his manager Bobby Heenan and was essentially turned babyface again. The problem was, Andre’s health was deteriorating and only made sporadic appearances for the WWF. It was in the summer of 1991, that Andre would have his very last “big” storyline with the promotion. In many ways, it was a farewell tour to say his goodbyes and ingratiate himself to the fans once more.
It started in the late Spring of 1991, where it was revealed that Andre the Giant would be returning to the WWF. What followed, was several managers coming forward to try and woo Andre into signing with them. A series of segments then aired over the following weeks. First, it was his old manager Bobby Heenan who came out to shake Andre’s hand only for Andre to squeeze really tight and send Heenan off running. Then came Mr. Fuji, who got his face slammed into a pie. Then ‘Sensational’ Sherri tried to convince the Giant to sign with her only for Andre to bend her over a bar and spank her.
Finally, Jimmy Hart came out and told the world that Andre agreed to sign with him. Andre came to the ring and it indeed seemed that Andre and Hart came to a deal. Jimmy Hart announced that Andre would start teaming with his other protege, the Earthquake. Andre then rebuffed Hart and was met with Earthquake attacking Andre from behind and repeatedly squashing Andre’s leg.
In reality, this was done to make an excuse for Andre to be shown walking with a cane. He was legitimately in poor health and could barely stand for long periods of time let alone walk. With Andre out “injured,” Earthquake began a feud with Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts where Earthquake squashed Roberts’ snake, Damien. Andre would return to align with Jake Roberts to go against Earthquake. Around this time, Tugboat turned heel and became known as Typhoon teaming with Earthquake as the Natural Disasters.
The original plans and hopes were for the Natural Disasters to take on the team of Andre and Jake Roberts at SummerSlam ’91 but Andre just wasn’t physically able to compete. It later was changed to Earthquake and Typhoon battling the Bushwhackers with Andre in their corner. The Bushwhackers lost the match and before the Disasters could attack Andre, Hawk and Animal of the Legion of Doom made the save. SummerSlam ’91 was Andre’s final swan song for the WWF on television. He made some house show appearances but Andre simply was in no condition to be an active competitor for the company.
Andre the Giant made some infrequent appearances in Japan and for Herb Abrams’ UWF and his final television appearance ever was on WCW’s Clash of the Champions on September 2, 1992. Andre the Giant would die just 4 months later in his home country of France.
David Fullam
Rest in peace, boss.