10 Harsh Realities Fans Of Andre The Giant Need To Realize

Andre The Giant is one of the most iconic wrestlers to have ever graced the professional wrestling business, earning his status as a legend through his work competing around the world and in WWE. He was a true attraction and was also the worthy first ever inductee into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Despite having such a legendary career, there are some harsh realities about Andre The Giant’s life and career that even his most avid fans must realize. He is no doubt a legend, but not everything about his time in the business was absolutely perfect, both from his own personal perspective and also from a booking perspective at times too.

10 Andre The Giant Didn’t Lose Enough

A Handful Of Losses In His WWE Career

• It made sense for Andre The Giant to be unstoppable, but not many wrestlers were put over by him
• When having a monster heel or massive attraction, the goal should be to help elevate others too by beating him

Suggesting that Andre The Giant didn’t lose enough isn’t to say that he should have lost all the time, but certainly more than he did. Andre The Giant’s losses came few and far between, with very few wrestlers defeating him across many decades.

For someone who was often seen as unbeatable, it would have made sense to make some stars by having them defeat Andre. There could have been plenty more big names established in various promotions around the world if they’d beaten the legend.

9 Wasn’t Shy To Backstage Heat With Other Wrestlers

Andre The Giant Was A Favorite Among Some, But An Enemy To Others

• Andre The Giant, like many wrestlers from the past, had a tendency to build heat with other wrestlers
• The likes of Iron Sheik, Bad News Brown, Kamala, and more had heat with Andre

Andre The Giant had a lot of close friends in the professional wrestling business, but he is also someone who did create some enemies over the years too. For instance, Kamala and Andre didn’t see eye to eye and even led to an altercation where a gun was pulled.

Andre didn’t get along with the Iron Sheik either due to the perception that Sheik was a stiff worker, and the same sort of thing happened with The Ultimate Warrior too. There were various other names over the years too who didn’t always get along with Andre.

8 Andre The Giant Had A Large Ego

Given His Star Power, It Isn’t A Surprise That Andre Had A Big Ego

• Andre The Giant didn’t like others taking his spot
• Andre wanted to be the only “big man” in WWE

Andre The Giant had a much larger body than other professional wrestling, and with that did come an ego too. Andre was a huge star, and most huge names do have some sort of ego, and his fans should come to that harsh realization.

An example of this was that Andre The Giant allegedly did not like Big Boss Man due to the fact that he felt his spot as WWE’s resident “big man” was threatened. The same happened with Big John Studd, who Andre also disliked due to the threat to his position in WWE.

7 Andre The Giant Avid Drinker And Not Always Professional

There Are Many Stories Of Andre The Giant’s Escapades

• Andre was a renowned drinker, but this isn’t necessarily a good thing
• Andre was sometimes a menace inside and outside the ring

There have been many stories offered out over the years by professional wrestlers and other personnel inside and outside the industry detailing the stories of Andre The Giant’s drinking ability, which almost has a mythical nature to them with how insane they seem to be.

However, this isn’t the best reputation to have, and there was a lot to suggest that Andre struggled with drinking problems and it also led to a lot of unprofessionalism. Andre ran up bar tabs of tens of thousands of dollars, among other messy tales. He also caused some mayhem on the Princess Bride movie set, with his antics on a buggy leading to someone suffering a broken foot.

6 One Of The Weakest WWE World Champions Ever

Andre The Giant Has Only One WWE World Title To His Name

• Andre was made to look like a big dumb giant when he gave up his WWE World Title to Ted DiBiase
• His reign with the biggest prize lasted all but a few minutes

Andre The Giant is included in the list of illustrious names who have held the WWE World Championship, but his reign was one of the worst. It was very short, as Andre “sold” the title to Ted DiBiase almost immediately.

This made Andre look very weak mentally and not like a strong champion. It devalued the WWE World Title, lessened Andre’s status in WWE, and was ultimately pointless as DiBiase was stripped of the title anyway. Andre The Giant would not win another world title in WWE, and his fans would come to the harsh reality that WWE completely botched his title win.

5 Andre The Giant Was Hard To Watch In His Later Years

In Pain And Immobile, It Is Sad To Watch Andre’s Last Matches

• Andre The Giant should have retired sooner
• He refused to step away from the ring despite being done

Andre The Giant’s various health issues took its toll on his body, and in his later years he failed to be a good worker and his matches were mostly poor. It was quite hard to watch Andre, and Vince McMahon even suggested that he retire.

Andre did not agree with this notion and wanted to continue working. Even Andre’s fans must admit that it is not a good thing when wrestlers carry on for too long and become a parody of their former selves. It has happened with many wrestlers, and Andre is one of them. He did not know when it was time to give it up in terms of an in-ring career.

4 Andre The Giant Vs. Hulk Hogan Is An Overrated Match

WrestleMania 3’s Main Event Was Historic, But Not Great

• Hogan & Andre had a big fight feel, but their chemistry wasn’t perfect
• WWE hypes this match up far too much for what it was

One of the most important matches in WrestleMania history was Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant. It helped to raise the profile of the WrestleMania event and it also helped to push HulkaMania to an even bigger level.

However, this match is overrated. Its importance cannot be overstated, but the quality of the match was lacking. Andre stumbled around the ring, the chemistry was so-so, and the overall execution of the moves was far from perfect. The match is remembered for the huge bodyslam, but that is it when it comes to memorable moments from this encounter.

3 There Have Been Better Big Men In The Ring Than Andre The Giant

Andre The Giant Is The Most Infamous Big Man, But He Isn’t The Best

• For his time, Andre was great, but over the years better big men have come through
• He influenced many names but the likes of The Big Show were better

There will be many who claim that Andre The Giant is the greatest big man in professional wrestling history. He might be the most well known and the most legendary, but there have been other giants who have surpassed him in terms of talent.

To name a notable example, Big Show was quicker, stronger, more athletic, and had more charisma than Andre. The likes of Braun Strowman and others have also showcased a superior level of talent than Andre. There is no denying that he laid the groundwork for people like this to succeed, but the harsh reality is that he is not as good as some of those who came after him.

2 Andre The Giant Is Not A Decorated Champion

Despite His Winning Record, Andre Hardly Won Any Championships

• Promotions didn’t want Andre winning their top titles
• His career should have been more decorated as a champion

It was previously noted that Andre The Giant had a poor WWE World Title reign. In fact, he didn’t have any memorable title reigns throughout his whole career. He won a few tag titles here and there, but in terms of singles title success, he is nowhere near the vast majority of even midcarders.

Promotions did not want Andre winning titles due to the fact that he never lost, meaning that they could not make further title changes where and when they pleased. Andre was an attraction rather than a champion.

1 Hulk Hogan Was The True Star Of Their Feud

Andre The Giant Was Very Important To HulkaMania

• Hogan was more talented and a bigger star than Andre ultimately
• Even his biggest fans must admit that his role was to put over Hogan in WWE, and nothing more

There will likely be some fans of Andre The Giant who claim him to be on the level of Hulk Hogan, but the truth of the matter is, that in WWE Andre’s purpose was to put over Hogan.

Hogan was the clear star of their feud, and his win over Andre lit the fire under HulkaMania, allowing the craze to reach even higher levels. Andre was important for sure, but Hogan was more important. If it weren’t Andre, someone else would have been in that role and presented as the major force for Hogan to overcome.