10 Vintage WrestleMania Matches That Ended In Disqualification
8. André The Giant (with Bobby Heenan) Vs. Jake Roberts – Special Guest Referee: Big John Studd
WrestleMania V
2 April 1989
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City
Jake Roberts’ charisma propelled him into being one of the most over talents while keeping a relatively grounded gimmick. He looked like a backwoods serial killer carrying his pet python Damien in a sack. André’s Ophidiophobia and Bobby Heenan’s potential trickery added much tension to the bout. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura dubbed this “The Snake vs. The Weasel”.
André attacked before the bell, slamming Jake’s head into a deliberately exposed turnbuckle. André dominated much of the match until his arms became tangled in the ropes allowing Jake to hit some rough strikes. As Jake gained control, tension built around whether the ‘Master of the DDT’ could hit his finisher on somebody of André’s size?
While guest referee Big John Studd was distracted, Ted DiBiase stole Damien. Jake chased him down to retrieve his snake.
The DQ:
Back in the ring, André choked out Studd. Jake slid Damien into the ring causing the Giant to flee. Studd declared Roberts the winner by disqualification.
The match cut from Jake standing tall to Sean Mooney in “the
cheap seats” attempting to interview a fan whose discourse was limited to
shouting slight variations of “Jake’s the best”.