After vanquishing Andre at WrestleMania III with a mighty slam, Hulk seemed unstoppable. It would take some form of chicanery to part him from his gold, and that's exactly what happened. Hogan and Andre met in a televised rematch on February 5, 1988 that drew 33 million viewers, a record for American wrestling. Prior to the match, Ted Dibiase had vowed to get his hands on the belt, and was paying Andre to beat Hogan as his enormous avatar. It's a storyline that is both silly, and oddly brilliant. Hogan was 'pinned' by Andre, despite Hulk having his shoulder up. The four-year reign ended in a cloud of controversy, and Andre immediately bequeathed the belt to a jubilant Dibiase while fans, and Hogan, were in shock. Then it became apparent that referee Dave Hebner was not Dave at all, but rather twin brother Earl, who was bribed by Dibiase into screwing Hogan over. The transaction of the belt to Dibiase was ruled invalid, and a tournament for the gold was slated for WrestleMania IV, where the intrigue of fourteen men vying for the championship was an interesting change from the norm.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
