WWE Superstars and legends attended the highly-anticipated HBO Andre The Giant documentary premiere in Los Angeles Thursday night, including Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Mark Henry and “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart.
In WWE, there have been many Superstars who are larger than others, but Andre the Giant has proven to be larger than WWE itself. Throughout the ’70s and well into the ’80s, the so-called “Eighth Wonder of the World” was the company’s leading attraction, towering over the competition at seven feet, four inches and tipping the scales at a gargantuan 500-plus pounds.
In WWE, Andre’s already-burgeoning career caught fire. He blazed through WWE on an unprecedented winning streak, remaining undefeated for nearly 15 years. During the early part of the 1980s, The Giant 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.
.@StephMcMahon and I are on our way to the premiere of the #AndreTheGiant documentary! @HBO pic.twitter.com/8uJVU7T1Fq
— Triple H (@TripleH) March 30, 2018
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, Andre’s 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.
One year after his passing, Andre was honored by his peers as the first inductee in the newly founded WWE Hall of Fame – a fitting end to a career of a Superstar so great, so monumental, and so larger-than-life itself, that his massive footsteps are permanently imprinted on the WWE Universe.
Go behind the scenes of the life and career of one of the most beloved figures in sports-entertainment history when “Andre the Giant” is presented by HBO Sports, WWE and the Bill Simmons Media Group Tuesday, April 10, on HBO.
Article source: WWE.com