Current Events > Hulk slamming Andre the Giant is such an overrated moment

(+) Yeah! (+)

The match is sloppy and borderline unwatchable now. Mr. Perfect hitting a perfect Plex on The Big Show was way more technically impressive and one of the best feats of pure athleticism in wrestling.

And the WWE killed that moment by having Big Show kick out at a count of ONE.

Nothing tops mankind vs undertaker in hell in the cell

FortuneCookie posted...

And the WWE killed that moment by having Big Show kick out at a count of ONE.

WCW and two count, but yeah

OudeGeuze posted...

WCW and two count, but yeah

I might have seen the match that you're talking about. That sounds familiar.

But there was a WWE match during his brief 2002 stint where he hit the Perfectplex and Big Show kicked out at a count of one. How do you no-sell a feat of athleticism like that?

Back then the entire world were marks thinking they were watching a legitimate competitive wrestling match so Hogan slamming Andre was an OH MY GOD HE LIFTED AND SLAMMED AN 8 FOOT TALL 700 POUND (or whatever they inflated his billed size to) MAN! HE IS SUPERHUMAN! Also they billed Andre as undefeated for his entire 20+ year career and had never been knocked off his feet and basically every impossible thing ever.

EmilyTheCEman posted...

Back then the entire world were marks thinking they were watching a legitimate competitive wrestling match so Hogan slamming Andre was an OH MY GOD HE LIFTED AND SLAMMED AN 8 FOOT TALL 700 POUND (or whatever they inflated his billed size to) MAN! HE IS SUPERHUMAN! Also they billed Andre as undefeated for his entire 20+ year career and had never been knocked off his feet and basically every impossible thing ever.

I don't think Andre ever weighed 700 pounds but he probably weighed 500 pounds when hulk Hogan lifted him which is kind of insane regardless. That is close to a world record lift.

I remember when Hogan returned as the head of the nWo in 2002 and claimed that he slammed 700 lb. Andre the Giant. I thought that exaggeration of Andre's weight was just a heel boast, that he was in-character. But, no. It was one of Hogan's lies. He's repeated that figure many times in and a out of character.

I know he's still working people when he says it. He knows that you know he's lying. But it's still weird. It's like internet trolling in real life.

FortuneCookie posted...

I might have seen the match that you're talking about. That sounds familiar.

But there was a WWE match during his brief 2002 stint where he hit the Perfectplex and Big Show kicked out at a count of one. How do you no-sell a feat of athleticism like that?

It's weird, they bring Perfect back at the Rumble and have him make the final 3 with an absolutely stacked roster then job him out to Big Show in 3 minutes, including his finisher being kicked out of at 1 like you mentioned

Doesn't the opponent do most the work for suplexes? And in WCW Big Show had a lot more athleticism, he could do kip-ups and moonsaults.

Andre was heavy as shit, had back problems and was barely mobile, so couldn't assist on the move, so Hogan had to lift him almost entirely with his own power.

It's one of the most impressive feats of strengths in wrestling period.

ArchNemo posted...

Doesn't the opponent do most the work for suplexes? And in WCW Big Show had a lot more athleticism, he could do kip-ups and moonsaults.

Andre was heavy as shit, had back problems and was barely mobile, so couldn't assist on the move, so Hogan had to lift him almost entirely with his own power.

It's one of the most impressive feats of strengths in wrestling period.

Regardless of how it's done, once their legs are off the floor, everything is on the lifters arms.

Yeah it's easier to hold 500 pounds above your head if they're placed there than it is to lift 500 pounds off the ground above your head but it's still an incredible feat. Most people, hell even most professional weight lifters probably couldn't do it first try.

ArchNemo posted...

Doesn't the opponent do most the work for suplexes? And in WCW Big Show had a lot more athleticism, he could do kip-ups and moonsaults.

Andre was heavy as shit, had back problems and was barely mobile, so couldn't assist on the move, so Hogan had to lift him almost entirely with his own power.

It's one of the most impressive feats of strengths in wrestling period.

Curt tossing 500lbs over his back and sticking the landing is way more impressive than Hogan picking up and dropping Andre.

And yeah, Big Show was/is incredibly athletic with some of the shit he did for his size.

OudeGeuze posted...

The match is sloppy and borderline unwatchable now. Mr. Perfect hitting a perfect Plex on The Big Show was way more technically impressive and one of the best feats of pure athleticism in wrestling.

This is why wrestling fans today just don't get it.

They don't understand build up, character, stage, spectacle. Wrestling is theater and the story telling side will always be far more important to the masses than athleticism, spots or workrate.

GameGodOfAll posted...

This is why wrestling fans today just don't get it.

They don't understand build up, character, stage, spectacle. Wrestling is theater and the story telling side will always be far more important to the masses than athleticism, spots or workrate.

I've been watching wrestling since the mid 90s.

OudeGeuze posted...

I've been watching wrestling since the mid 90s.

I've been watching since 97. But the point is most internet wrestling fans don't get it. If you think Hennig hitting the Perfectplex on the Giant on a random Nitro match with no build where the crowd doesn't even go nuts for it is better than Hogan slamming Andre, idk what to tell ya. You can enjoy what you enjoy and nothing wrong there, but I do feel like people like that are missing the whole point of wrestling imo.

GameGodOfAll posted...

I've been watching since 97. But the point is most internet wrestling fans don't get it. If you think Hennig hitting the Perfectplex on the Giant on a random Nitro match with no build where the crowd doesn't even go nuts for it is better than Hogan slamming Andre, idk what to tell ya. You can enjoy what you enjoy and nothing wrong there, but I do feel like people like that are missing the whole point of wrestling imo.

You're right that it doesn't have the same story or build up, but I blatantly said in the OP the perfect Plex on the Giant was more impressive from an athletic standpoint than Hogan slamming Andre, which is objectively true.

Its big as far as the history of the WWF, now WWE. Hogan himself has said its a pretty poor match and mostly just a bear hug killing time because Andres back was so jacked up at that point. There was also a little bit of doubt of whether Andre would allow it or not and when he did it was a great sacrifice and a passing of the torch and universally recognizing Hogan as the guy to be the leader

I mean in reality Hogan and Andre had battled multiple times and even did slams in Japan. It just hadnt been shown to an American audience.

Its not a good match but it was a big moment.

Actually, I found the WWE one and I take it back.

I still think overall Hogan's slam is more impressive, because Andre was heaviervand less mobile, and Hogan had to lift him, turn him 180 degrees and slam him, but Big Show was less mobile in WWF than in WCW and Curt is clearly doing a fair share of the lifting.

haloiscoolisbak posted...

It's weird, they bring Perfect back at the Rumble and have him make the final 3 with an absolutely stacked roster then job him out to Big Show in 3 minutes, including his finisher being kicked out of at 1 like you mentioned

Kinda sad to see him treated like that.

OudeGeuze posted...

You're right that it doesn't have the same story or build up, but I blatantly said in the OP the perfect Plex on the Giant was more impressive from an athletic standpoint than Hogan slamming Andre, which is objectively true.

Alright fair point. My mistake.

I could be wrong, but I think I remember hearing Andre having tons of health issues at that point which accounts for it being a sloppy match, and the Hulkster slamming him was a passing-of-the-torch moment. You have to put it in the context of the 1980s, too. This is back when just normal suplexes and body slams and DDTs and piledrivers were finishers, and there was no Internet for geeks to cry about "actually it's not that impressive, over in Japan some 500 lbs guy is doing triple moonsaults" and it was mostly children watching that really believed Andre could never be bodyslammed. It was more about storytelling and larger-than-life moments back then and not just who can do the most flips and stunts.

You realize it was Big Show doing all the work for that Perfecplex?

I can't see a giant taking out the Hulk, no matter how tall he is.

I'll take the finish between Eddie and rey halloween havoc

The main takeaway was Andre had been undefeated in the WWE for 15 years until Hogan finally ended that streak at WM3. To me the achievement wasn't that Hogan slammed Andre. It was that he ended the only streak that was probably bigger than Takers.

https://www.wwe.com/superstars/andrethegiant

In WWE, Andres already-burgeoning career caught fire. He blazed through WWE on an unprecedented winning streak, remaining undefeated for nearly 15 years. Throughout heated rivalries with such Superstars as "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, Blackjack Mulligan and even Hulk Hogan (whom Andre defeated in an epic clash at Shea Stadium in 1980), no one could overpower the giant.

Beyond his undeniable prowess in the ring, Andre also enjoyed massive crossover success the likes of which would not be seen again until The Rock dominated Hollywood starting in 2002. During the 70s, he made a number of guest appearances on TV, including The Tonight Show and The Six Million Dollar Man (where he played, of all things, Bigfoot). But perhaps his most famous role was in 1987 when he played the gentle-hearted giant Fezzik in Rob Reiners smash hit comedy The Princess Bride.

As the 80s wore on, Andre was still an integral part of WWEs national expansion. During the early part of the decade, he battled against Big John Studd, a rivalry that reached its zenith at the first WrestleManiain 1985 when Andre and Studd met in the Body Slam Challenge, which Andre won. The following year, he took part in the Chicago portion of WrestleMania 2, winning the NFL vs. WWE Battle Royal, and adding to his record for most Battle Royals won.

In 1987, Andre shocked the world when he turned on long-time ally Hulk Hogan and allied himself with the villainous Bobby The Brain Heenan. The Brain scored Andre his first-ever opportunity at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania III. In front of 93,173 WWE fans in Pontiac, Michigan, Andres 15-year winning streak ended when Hulk Hogan slammed him to the mat in a torch-passing moment that ignited a new era in WWE history.

Yeah everyone knows he lost a load of matches overseas back then but Kayfabe was a lot realer back then so try and look at it with that in mind.

So no one watched the Andre the giant doc?

Hulk and everyone was scared to death of him. He completely manhandled everyone ever.

His injuries were from letting other people do stuff and when they went too far.

Hulk wasn't sure he was going to let him pick him up and Andre had to help him even when letting him.

punkfanalways posted...

The main takeaway was Andre had been undefeated in the WWE for 15 years until Hogan finally ended that streak at WM3. To me the achievement wasn't that Hogan slammed Andre. It was that he ended the only streak that was probably bigger than Takers.

https://www.wwe.com/superstars/andrethegiant

Yeah everyone knows he lost a load of matches overseas back then but Kayfabe was a lot realer back then so try and look at it with that in mind.

As a kid I figured he wrestled a lot elsewhere and there was stuff they weren't telling me, but I was still surprised when I learned that Andre getting slammed was a pretty regular spot for him his entire career.

yeah that was impressive , andre weighed like 550. None of you could have lifted him, right?

WWE management had a belt specially designed for Andre in case he changed his mind during the match and won (If Andre decided he was going to win, who's going to stop him?), but the belt ended up not needed. Shame, I would have loved to see it honestly.

Considering the pain Andre was in at the time I think he'd have been grateful to drop the belt.

TyVulpine posted...

WWE management had a belt specially designed for Andre in case he changed his mind during the match and won (If Andre decided he was going to win, who's going to stop him?), but the belt ended up not needed. Shame, I would have loved to see it honestly.

I think that Hulk could have taken 87 Andre if he started to shoot.

What's the term/trope for when someone is underwhelmed by something that came before because they've seen the more refined version of the thing?

Seinfeld effect or something?

Any time Mr. Perfect is brought up, it's a real bummer. On Macho Man's rap album, he's got a song about him and it's sad af. Then the fact that a guy that tragically passed too soon is singing a song about his friend that also passed too soon is super depressing.