History Trivia / AndreTheGiant

** What if Andre never agreed to lose to Wrestling/HulkHogan at [[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania III]]? Rumors have been flying for years as to what storylines could have resulted, including Hogan's efforts to gain revenge, a different wrestler pulling an upset victory over the big guy, Andre going on for a long, dominating run... the possibilities were endless.
*** Not entirely, Andre's injuries had piled up at this point and he was severely limited. Vince had to convince him to come back for the Wrestlemania III match which was built to carefully hide his limitations. Andre only appeared sparingly after this, rarely wrestling, and usually in tag matches.
*** It has been further discredited that Andre didn't agree to lose to Hogan in advance of the match. The urban legend goes that Andre hadn't decided whether he would put Hogan over in their Wrestlemania III match. Depending on who is telling the story, he didn't decide until the day of the event, or until he and Hogan were in Gorilla before the match. Hogan claims as recently as the 2018 HBO documentary that Andre called the finish in the ring and was surprised when Andre stayed down for the three count. In reality, Andre agreed to "do the honors" well in advance and put Hogan over. According to Bobby Heenan who was Andre's manager for the match and a longtime friend, the closest Andre came to "shooting" the match was during a spot where Hogan tried to lift Andre and (kayfabe) could not and Andre fell on top of him. Hogan legitimately had the wind knocked out of him and almost didn't kick out of the pinfall. In the 2018 documentary, Vince [=McMahon=] tells the "Andre hadn't agreed to lose" story, framing it as a rib he was pulling on Hogan, but intended to put Hogan over the entire time.

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural Wrestling/SummerSlam, and having his fear of snakes exposed by Wrestling/JakeRoberts, the WWF followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth that puts her in a near-death coma... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out Savage and several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe)... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with Jake Roberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]
*** In the Roberts-Andre storyline, the idea of involving Wrestling/TedDiBiase (as to have Andre hypnotized out of his fear of snakes) was briefly explored but was never followed up on. [=DiBiase=]'s only involvement in the feud, thus, was at WrestleMania V, when he ran interference on behalf of Andre, sowing the seeds for Roberts' later feud with the "Million Dollar Man."

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural Wrestling/SummerSlam, the WWF followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth that puts her in a near-death coma... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out Savage and several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe)... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with Wrestling/JakeRoberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural Wrestling/SummerSlam, the WWF followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth that puts her in a near-death coma... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out Savage and several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe)... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with Wrestling/JakeRoberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural Wrestling/SummerSlam, the WWF followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth that puts her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out Savage and several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with Wrestling/JakeRoberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]

** What if Andre never agreed to lose to Wrestling/HulkHogan at [[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania III]]? Rumors have been flying for years as to what storylines could have resulted, including Hogan's efforts to gain revenge, a different wrestler pulling an upset victory over the big guy, Andre going on for a long, dominating run ... the possibilities were endless.

*** It has been further discredited that Andre didn't agree to lose to Hogan in advance of the match. The urban legend goes that Andre hadn't decided whether he would put Hogan over in their Wrestlemania III match. Depending on who is telling the story, he didn't decide until the day of the event, or until he and Hogan were in Gorilla before the match. Hogan claims as recently as the 2018 HBO documentary that Andre called the finish in the ring and was surprised when Andre stayed down for the three count. In reality, Andre agreed to "do the honors" well in advance and put Hogan over. According to Bobby Heenan who was Andre's manager for the match and a longtime friend, the closest Andre came to "shooting" the match was during a spot where Hogan tried to lift Andre and could not and Andre fell on top of him. Hogan legitimately had the wind knocked out of him and almost didn't kick out of the pinfall. In the 2018 documentary, Vince [=McMahon=] tells the "Andre hadn't agreed to lose" story, framing it as a rib he was pulling on Hogan, but intended to put Hogan over the entire time.

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, the WWF followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth that puts her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out Savage and several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with Wrestling/JakeRoberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, the WWF followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth that puts her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out Savage and several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with JakeRoberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]

** What if, prior to [=WrestleMania=] III, a rumored storyline pitting Andre against Wrestling/BrunoSammartino (then, a part-time wrestler who was mainly heard on the WWF's syndicated ''Superstars of Wrestling'') actually took place. The rumor was that the WWF's writing staff wanted a way to put Andre over as a credible and dire threat to Hogan, and what better way than to squash -- literally -- the sport's top draw [[note]](even in 1987, Bruno was ''still'' selling out locales such as Madison Square Garden)[[/note]] and a man who virtually never had been beaten decisively, much less suffered any sort of pinfall or submission loss? While certainly it could have made for a compelling short-term storyline -- playing up Sammartino's credentials, only for it to be meaningless against a refocused Goliath of a man determined to beat Hogan -- the WWF decided to take the direct route and instead have Andre easily dispatch Hogan during a battle royal aired on ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. That said, Bruno has said in latter-day interviews he had pushed for a possible matchup with Andre, in a rare face-vs.-face battle (as the two generally had respect for one another) but that Vince [=McMahon=] Sr. didn't favor having his two top face draws battling each other and forcing fans to take sides.

** What if, prior to [=WrestleMania=] III, a rumored storyline pitting Andre against Wrestling/BrunoSammartino (then, a part-time wrestler who was mainly heard on the WWF's syndicated ''Superstars of Wrestling'') actually took place. The rumor was that the WWF's writing staff wanted a way to put Andre over as a credible and dire threat to Hogan, and what better way than to squash -- literally -- the sport's top draw [[note]](even in 1987, Bruno was ''still'' selling out locales such as Madison Square Garden)[[/note]] and a man who virtually never had been beaten decisively, much less suffered any sort of pinfall or submission loss? While certainly it could have made for a compelling short-term storyline -- playing up Sammartino's credentials, only for it to be meaningless against a refocused Goliath of a man determined to beat Hogan -- the WWF decided to take the direct route and instead have Andre easily dispatch Hogan during a battle royal aired on ''Saturday Night's Main Event''.

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, they followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth and put her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with JakeRoberts. [[note]]Indeed, there was at least once match where Andre did grab Elizabeth by the hair, only for Roberts to run to ringside with his snake to run the ophidiophobic Andre out of the arena, although, since that match took place at an untelevised house show, no footage exists; two other matches that have been uploaded to video sharing websites saw Andre grab Elizabeth by the ankle and attempt to break it only for Savage to stop it.[[/note]]

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, they followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth and put her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting HillbillyJim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with JakeRoberts.

** What if, prior to [=WrestleMania=] III, a rumored storyline pitting Andre against Wrestling/BrunoSammartino (then, a part-time wrestler who was mainly heard on the WWF's syndicated ''Superstars of Wrestling'') actually took place. The rumor was that the WWF's writing staff wanted a way to put Andre over as a credible and dire threat to Hogan, and what better way than to squash - literally - the sport's top draw [[note]](even in 1987, Bruno was ''still'' selling out locales such as Madison Square Garden)[[/note]] and a man who virtually never had been beaten decisively, much less suffered any sort of pinfall or submission loss? While certainly it could have made for a compelling short-term storyline -- playing up Sammartino's credentials, only for it to be meaningless against a Goliath of a man determined to beat Hogan -- the WWF decided to take the direct route and instead have Andre easily dispatch Hogan during a battle royal aired on ''Saturday Night's Main Event''.

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, they followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage, [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth and put her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting Hillbilly Jim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with JakeRoberts.

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, they followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage [[WouldHitAGirl brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth and put her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting Hillbilly Jim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with JakeRoberts.

** What if, to push Andre as an unstoppable, angry-at-everyone (except the Heenan Family and Wrestling/TedDiBiase, of course) madman in the wake of losing to Hogan (again) at [=WrestleFest=] '88 and the inaugural SummerSlam, they followed through with a planned storyline to have him, during a match against Wrestling/RandySavage [[WouldHitAWoman brutally injure]] Wrestling/MissElizabeth and put her in a near-death coma ... and then in the aftermath, Andre (along with [=DiBiase=] and the rest of the Heenan Family) take out several face wrestlers in unusually graphic and brutally severe ways (for instance, repeatedly hitting Hillbilly Jim over the head with his lucky horseshoe) ... the upshot being that Hogan steps up (once again) to stop Andre's rampage once and for all. Instead, they did decide to put Andre in an equally compelling feud with JakeRoberts.