When Hulk Hogan first rose to immense in the eighties, he had an incredible series of iconic rivalries vs. The Ultimate Warrior and ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, but none were as legendary as his feud with Andre The Giant. Contesting the WrestleMania III main event, ‘The Hulkster’ created one of the event’s first ‘moments’ with the body slam heard around the world.
Despite their success as proven draws, it wasn’t always a happy experience working against Andre The Giant – and not just because of his intimidating size. It’s a noted piece of history that ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ was fond of alcohol, so fond in fact that Hulk Hogan was convinced the inaugural WWE Hall of Famer was going to kill him.
Hulk Hogan Feared For His Life Against Andre The Giant
Mario Mancini, an ex-WWE Superstar from the eighties, has recalled on the Cheap Heat Productions podcast how the legendary Hulk Hogan was legitimately scared for his life against the 7-foot-4, 500+ pounder:
“Before he [Hogan] entered the actual dressing room, he was screaming down the hallway, ‘He’s gonna kill me, that son of a bi*ch, he’s gonna kill me! He’s gonna kill me!’ Vince [McMahon] went running up to him, ‘Shut up, shut up.’ ‘He’s drunk in there, he’s drunk. He’s gonna kill me! He’s gonna kill me!’ Hogan was very concerned that Andre was really gonna kill him.”
Continuing, Mario Mancini explained how no one, not even then-WWE boss Vince McMahon dared to challenge Andre The Giant on his drinking habits:
“Andre was the boss. Listen, nobody called Andre out on anything. Andre got to do whatever he wanted. It was his ballgame. It would actually bother Vince if Andre was hot at him. It would bother him because you put Andre anywhere, he’s gonna sell it out.”
Hulk Hogan defeated Andre The Giant in the WrestleMania III headliner, executing an Atomic Legdrop following the aforementioned body slam. They collided one-on-one twice more on television at The Main Event and then again at WrestleMania IV.