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322 pages

English

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Is there a way to find truth in the stuff of legend? You may think you know Andre the Giant - but who was Andre Roussimoff? This comprehensive biography addresses the burning questions, outrageous stories, and common misconceptions about his height, his weight, his drawing power as a superstar, and his seemingly unparalleled capacity for food and alcohol. But more importantly, The Eighth Wonder of the World: The True Story of Andre the Giant transports readers beyond the smoke and mirrors of professional wrestling into the life of a real man. Born in France, Andre worked on his family's farm until he was 18, when he moved to Paris to pursue professional wrestling. A truly extraordinary figure, Andre went on to become an international icon and world traveler, all while battling acromegaly. While his disorder is what made him a giant and a household name, it's also what caused his untimely death at 46. With exhaustive research, exclusive interviews with family and friends, and an explor

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Publié par	Ecw Press
Date de parution	14 mai 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781773054766
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	4 Mo

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The Eighth Wonder of the World
The True Story of André the Giant
Bertrand Hébert and Pat Laprade

Contents Dedication Foreword Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Acknowledgments Photos References Books Websites Newspapers and magazines Specialized magazines and newsletters TV shows, movies and digital content About the Authors Copyright

Dedication
This book is dedicated to Gérald Hébert, Gene Okerlund, Larry Hennig, Don Leo Jonathan, Michel Dubois, Terry Todd, Françoise Valois, Jacques Rougeau Sr., René Goulet, and Jackie Wiecz

Foreword
It’s my honor to write a foreword about André the Giant. In my opinion, there has been no one in the wrestling business that carved out a spectacular and unique position as André did. No one had an instant influence on the wrestling shows that he performed on more than André. I first met him in the Amarillo territory in 1973. He was just a green “boy” then. If there was an awe moment in my wrestling life, it was when I first met and stood next to André. Even today, it is hard to comprehend the massive size and presence he had in and out of the ring. He was so tall at seven feet and somewhere in the 450 pounds range. Everything about him was just massive. His head was almost so big that you could hardly put a headlock on him. He wore size 22 shoes, I was told. His fist was as big as two of anyone else’s. His fingers were as large as big sausages.
There are countless André stories. Most everyone has one and it is unique and told in awe and with respect. You can be sure that there will be numerous stories about him from the wrestling events and also outside of the wrestling business in this book. André not only was a great performer but also was agile for someone his size.
I think that he needed and wanted a life out of the limelight. He longed to be able to live a normal life and not be looked at and noticed constantly. I am sure that it became a huge burden living the life of “André the Giant.” He longed for normalcy and privacy that he hardly ever received.
In many ways, I think he enjoyed the wrestlers so much because they treated him as an equal and not as “the giant.” I never heard anyone say that André was full of himself or selfish. He just wanted to enjoy life in a normal way.
Personally, I really got to know André in Japan where we ended up working against each other for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Antonio Inoki. The thing that I realized is that André was smart in the ring and also in the wrestling business. He knew his place and the difficulty of being able to wrestle in something other than a “special” type of match. André was always looking for a way to be more than a special attraction. He was smart enough to see that he needed an opponent to work with while in Japan and realized that I was the one. He, for sure, enhanced my career and was also instrumental in making me a top guy in Japan. For this, I am and will always be grateful.
Enjoy this book and read the spectacular and interesting life of a true giant of a man, wrestler, dad, and friend.
Stan Hansen

Introduction
Pontiac, Michigan, March 29, 1987.
The story goes like this . . .
André the Giant is challenging Hulk Hogan for the World Wrestling Federation title. Near the corner of Michigan Highway and Opdyke Road, in a town of 70,000, 30 miles northwest of Detroit, 93,173 people are crammed together to witness one of the biggest pro wrestling matches of all time. The Pontiac Silverdome — home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons — is the place to be. Much like André, the stadium is the largest of its kind and a great stage for a match like this.
André versus Hogan is the perfect match on the perfect stage. The challenger, from Grenoble in the French Alps, stands seven foot four, weighing 520 pounds. The champion, from Venice Beach, California, is six foot six and 302 pounds. Both are undefeated, and they face each other for the very first time. Will Hogan be able to slam the Giant, let alone beat him? Will the Giant end Hogan’s 39-month title reign? This WrestleMania , the showcase of the immortals, the third such event organized by Vincent Kennedy McMahon, is the first to reach a worldwide phenomenon level. WrestleMania III ’s slogan “Bigger, Better, Badder” suits it to a T.
Ever since arriving in North America, André had been the biggest attraction in pro wrestling. Fans have heard that André came from France in the early ’70s and, after a brief stint in Canada, went on to rule the wrestling world, managed by the top impresario in the sport, Vincent James McMahon. André was his vision.
A decade later, McMahon’s son took over the company, and he chose Hulk Hogan as the future of the business. As the company’s history goes, André and Hogan were best friends. André was even part of the celebration when Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik for the WWF World Heavyweight championship at Madison Square Garden in 1984 — he famously poured champagne on Hogan’s head.
Since becoming champion, Hogan had defended the title against almost every bad guy in the promotion: Rowdy Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, Jesse Ventura . . . the list goes on and on and on. A couple of times a year, Hulk and André teamed up to face adversity that one man alone could not overcome. André, it seemed, was too much of a novelty to be considered for a championship match; since he had started working for the elder McMahon, seven different wrestlers had won the crown jewel. Hogan was simply the latest to jump ahead of him.
And that is what March 29, 1987, is all about: André being overshadowed by Hogan, not getting the respect he deserves. By the time of the marquee match, fans in the Silverdome have already seen so much: pretty boys Rick Martel and Tom Zenk opened WrestleMania III with real vigor; Brutus Beefcake was evicted from the Dream Team, replaced by Dino Bravo; Ricky Steamboat defeated Randy Savage in a match no one will ever forget; and Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff had their own version of the Cold War. Édouard Carpentier, André’s old friend from France, is providing commentary in French for André’s francophone fans.
The building is rumbling when “Mr. Baseball” Bob Uecker introduces Entertainment Tonight ’s Mary Hart as the guest timekeeper. With former enemy Bobby “The Brain” Heenan by his side, André comes down the very long walkway from the backstage area to the ring on a motorized cart made to look like a miniature ring. He remains stonily indifferent to the chorus of boos and the debris thrown at him. He enters his battlefield by stepping over the top rope, as he always does. This is the pinnacle of his career.
Backstage, Hogan is nervous. “What if André goes into business for himself? What if he decides he’s winning tonight?” If André did, there would be nothing the Hulkster could do to defeat him.
Hogan’s “Real American” entrance music finally hits. In better shape than André, he walks from the curtain to the ring, cheered on by the thousands of Hulkamaniacs in attendance.
The tension is real. The two biggest stars of the last decade are in the ring, and everybody in attendance or watching on closed-circuit TV around the world are on the edge of their seats. After just a few seconds, Hogan tries to slam the Giant, something that no one has ever been able to do. But he’s denied by André, who covers the champion for a two-and-three-quarter count by referee Joey Marella. After taking the beating of a lifetime, Hogan comes back from the dead, slams André, and hits the leg drop for the one, two, three. Not only did Hogan win the match and keep his title, but he also dealt André his very first defeat.
Or did he?
“The Hogan-André match at WrestleMania III and the Bret-Shawn match in Montreal in 1997 are the two most important matches in the history of modern wrestling,” argues journalist and founder of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , Dave Meltzer.
This match and everything surrounding it were the culmination of every myth and legend ever heard about André coming to a head, on the biggest stage he ever performed on.
André wasn’t seven foot four, at any point in his life. He didn’t weigh 520 pounds. And he wasn’t from Grenoble or even the French Alps. This was not André and Hogan’s first match, and André had been lifted off his feet way before Hogan stepped foot in a ring for the first time. Montreal was more important to André’s career than any biography of him has ever revealed. Even the number of people in attendance that night in Pontiac was exaggerated.
However, one thing is true: the magnitude of that encounter was undeniable. Depending on a fan’s age and knowledge of pro wrestling at the time, they either loved it or thought it was a poor performance. But everyone agrees that its influence on the future of the WWF is immeasurable. André’s health was declining, and it was the right time to officially pass the torch, even though Hulk had already been the star of the WWF for a while. André knew this match would make him a legend beyond his time. In a business where timing is everything, that feud opened the door to so many great things for the WWF as it seemed to expand without limit at the beginning of the PPV era. The André and Hogan feud was, in fact, an importan