Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant's WrestleMania 3 main event match for the WWE Championship left many friends concerned for the future of Hulkamania.
Once friends, the 7-foot, 500-pound Andre turned on Hogan after seeing Hogan's title reign being more honored than his undefeated streak, making the giant angry and hungry for gold. Hogan memorably lifted Andre off his feet during the match and delivered a body slam, which became a foundational moment in professional wrestling, seeing that the unbelievable can and will happen.
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Hogan was a guest on "Barstool Rasslin,'" and said that the Andre body slam is one moment from his career that he would like to revisit.
"That was the only time I've ever been to the ring where I didn't know if I was gonna get killed or if I was gonna win or lose," Hogan recalled. "When I went to Vince [McMahon] I said, 'What are we gonna do for a finish?' (McMahon) 'Oh, Andre will do the right thing, don't worry.' I said, 'Well, I'm worried.'
Hogan mentioned that Andre was suffering from a recent major back surgery he underwent and did not have to go through with the WWE Championship main event match but did.
Andre did not like Hulk Hogan when they first met and, in fact, Hogan once said Andre beat him up for the first eight years until he smartened and began to respect the business, thus earning Andre's respect and forged a friendship until Andre's death.
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"I sat in the dressing room with Andre for like eight hours, watched him drank two-fifths of Jack Daniels, watched him do a bunch of other stuff for the pain in his back," Hogan recollected of the day of WrestleMania 3. "I said, 'Boss, hey, what are we gonna do out there?' (Andre) 'Don't worry.' 'Hey, boss, what do you think, can I try to slam you?' (Andre) 'No.' And I'm like, 'Oh hell, I'm going to get killed.'"
Hogan revealed what Andre did for him in the ring.
"All of sudden he went, 'Slam.' I went, 'What?' And he screamed at me again, 'Slam.' And he just when he came at me I just gut him, and I got him up to here and I had him here. I went, 'Oh my god,' I don't think, and then I just said 'to hell with it,' and when I turned him my back tore, my biceps tore in both places, and I slammed him, and dropped the leg thinking he was gonna kick out but he didn't. And I went, 'Oh my god, that big son of a b****,' he just put a rocket launcher on me."
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Hogan was already a household name going into WrestleMania 3 in Pontiac, Michigan, but body slamming and scoring the win over Andre solidified him as a worldwide phenomenon.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Barstool Rasslin'" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
