Nearly a year before Vince McMahon's mammoth brainwave helped redefine the very possibility of what made Sports Entertainment main event, Andre The Giant's Battle Royal victory was amazingly considered a last hurrah for a legendary figure.
Though most of the celebrity integrations on this show failed (woeful commentators Susan Saint James and Cathy Lee Crosby were awful, as were knackered one-note jokes Clara Peller and Herb making the most of their five minutes of fame) the NFLers that mixed it up by hiding in plain sight were all credible threats based on size alone. William 'Refrigerator' Perry especially so, programmed as he was with Big John Studd to make the most of the mass.
Andre's closing battle with The Hart Foundation was joyously silly. Grabbing Neidhart by his beard and Bret as if he was a child, The Giant sent them both packing to the euphoric joy of a crowd completely in love. Only at his most creative could McMahon see millions of dollars in his heel turn.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
