Andre was both a literal and figurative giant in wrestling. His stature would still be hugely impressive today; standing at 7'4 and weighing over 500 pounds Andre would dwarf nearly every current WWE superstar. He captured the imagination of wrestling fans in the 1980's as his sheer size made any match involving Andre into a spectacle. He was the first man inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, indeed, it was Andre's death which lead to the creation of the Hall of Fame. His feuds with Hulk Hogan were legendary, and are a huge reason why WWE was able to create their foothold in the mainstream of American culture. He held the WWE Championship for less than a day, selling the belt to Ted DiBiasie. For a legend in the field of sports entertainment Andre's trophy cabinet is remarkably bare in WWE. Look at the Big Show in 2014. He's spent years bouncing up and down the card; losing sumo matches, dressing as a baby, and getting beaten by nearly everyone on their way to the top. Yet with Brock Lesnar's current run the WWE turn to Big Show as a genuine adversary. His size means that he always looks a threat, something the audience can believe in him. Andre was even bigger than Big Show (no pun intended), and although Andre was not a great technician in the ring his monstrous size meant that he was able to look like a threat to any of the stars. Andre only wrestled at two Royal Rumbles, 1989 and 1990, and in neither Rumble was Andre shown as the powerhouse that he should have been. In 1989 he eliminated himself because he was so terrified of Damian. In case you're not fervently Googling for a wrestler called Damian in the 1989 Royal Rumble I'm going to save you some time, Damian was a python. He was Jake the Snake's python, and Andre's fear of snakes was enough for him to leave the Royal Rumble over the top rope. Every fan was wondering which star would have the strength to get Andre over the top rope, and in the end it was Andre's ophidiophobia(fear of snakes) which was his downfall. In 1990 he was at least eliminated by his opponents, with Ax and Smash of demolition throwing Andre over the top rope. Which Rumble could they have won? 1988. Andre was still a force in 1988, people would have believed he could win the whole event, and his size would have made his elimination seem a mammoth task. The winner of the Rumble didn't get a title shot at Wrestlemania yet, but there was still a great kudos associated with winning this prize.
A 27 year old man who should know better.
An actual RE teacher.
Living in the North of the United Kingdom with his partner and two rabbits.
The rabbits are called Jasper and Isabella, and they are the inspiration for most of his work, as well as eating USB cables.
