Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
On March 29, 1987, Hulk Hogan defended his WWF world title versus ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ Andre the Giant in the Pontiac Silverdome at Wrestlemania III. While fans today may argue about the quality of that match and debate the actual attendance figure of how many fans filled the Silverdome that night….one thing was for sure…the match told a story. Not only inside the ring, but outside of it as well.
The storyline was simple, Andre the Giant was a close friend and ally to Hulk Hogan during his world championship run. Andre was one of the first to greet Hogan back in the dressing room with a champagne bath after defeating The Iron Sheik for the title in January of 1984. While Andre was a star attraction for the WWF, he was never granted a title opportunity from his friend the Hulkster. For the three plus years Hulk held the title…he never once offered a shot to Andre.
That apparently ate Andre up inside and in February of ’87, appeared on Piper’s Pit with manager Bobby ‘the Brain’ Heenan by his side to challenge Hogan for the title. The addition of Bobby Heenan solidified Andre’s heel turn and ultimately…Hogan accepted Andre’s challenge at Wrestlemania III. That was the kayfabe story in a nutshell. As we all know, Hogan slammed Andre, gave him his patented leg drop maneuver and pinned Andre (supposedly for the first time in 15 years). If you listen to Hulk Hogan tell the tale, he body slammed the 800 plus pound Andre in front of over 100,000 fans at the Silverdome. Regardless, it was a great story told leading up to their match and the story told during the match. I remember as a kid, watching the show via closed circuit television rooting for Andre to beat Hogan. I was in absolute awe of the massive crowd at Wrestlemania III and was completely invested in the match.
Looking back now, maybe the match wasn’t all that great. I mean nobody will mistake it for Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage…but fond memories none the less. The real story surrounding this match, is just as fascinating as the one I just spoke of. The issues with Andre behind the scenes. Vince McMahon making alternate plans in case of anything going awry. Hulk Hogan fearing Andre not doing business with him. Andre being broken and battered at just 40 years of age…the story is worth telling.
At the time the decision was made to turn Andre into a heel and challenge Hogan….Andre was breaking down physically. His back and his legs caused a great deal of pain for him and Vince saw this as a very small window to get this match booked. According to long time friend and WWF referee Tim White, Andre was becoming more and more bitter and angry due to the pain he was suffering from and the taunts from fans and spectators who saw Andre struggle to walk and to travel. He was becoming more and more like a loner and seemed angry at the world at times.
After the announcement was made that Andre would face Hogan at Wrestlemania III, Vince McMahon supposedly had a back up plan just in case Andre was unable to compete due to his poor physical state. The word was ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff (who already had a red hot feud with Hulk) would be an alternate opponent for Hogan just in case Andre couldn’t go. The day of the event, Hogan swore that he had no idea if Andre would be willing to put him over. Andre supposedly made Hogan sweat it out most of the day. The same for Vince McMahon.
According to Mr. Fuji, Vince McMahon told the entire Wrestlemania roster to be on “standby” just in case Andre decided to go into business for himself and shoot on Hogan in the ring. Fuji claims he told Vince…“What are we going to do exactly? Andre could beat all of us up.” There were rumors that Andre summoned Hogan to his dressing room just an hour or so before the main event. Andre allegedly told Hogan to get on his hands and knees and beg him to do the job. Hogan supposedly obliged and as soon as Hogan fell to his knees, Andre laughed and told him not to worry. Andre was in a great deal of pain that night and wore a heavy duty back brace just so he could have the ability to walk around.
Of course, the evening went as planned and Andre did the right thing and did business the right way. One could only imagine what Wrestlemania III would have looked like if Andre wasn’t physically capable of wrestling. Would Hulk vs Orndorff be a better match? Probably, but certainly wouldn’t have the same cache. What if Andre truly refused to put over Hulk. All those wrestlers on standby…what would they do? What could they do? What if Andre refused to lay down for Hogan and decided to legitimately overpower Hogan in their match? Well, Andre was the consummate professional and gave young fans like me a memory of a lifetime.