Andre The Giant is one of the most captivating and larger-than-life personalities who helped put WWE and professional wrestling on the map alongside stars like Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior in the golden age of wrestling.
The 7-foot giant was a huge attraction for WWE, especially due to its enormous size and stature and epic rivalry with Hulk Hogan. Moreover, the most iconic moment remembered to this day among fans was Andre being slammed by Hogan at WrestleMania III.
During a recent interview with Roots of Fight, current WWE superstar CM Punk was asked about his perspective of Andre The Giant. The Best in the World stated that Andre was a lot different in his prime, a lot of which is not available in the footage.
Moreover, despite being slammed by Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III as his iconic moment, Punk believed that Andre helped usher in the pop culture era of wrestling in WWE, and nothing would have been the same without the former WWE Champion.
“I think it is really hard for people to understand like how big and athletic Andre was. You know when he was in his prime, not a whole lot of footage of that and obviously, famously 1987 was WrestleMania III when Hogan slammed him like he was in the twilight of his career, but he helped usher that rock and wrestling pop culture era and nothing would be the same if it wasn’t for him.”
Andre The Giant is still remembered even in today’s landscape with multiple mentions and even the name-sake battle royal that came into existence in 2014 that helped elevate the careers of various WWE superstars. While The Giant left the world sooner than expected, wrestling fans will forever cherish his legacy and memories.
Do you agree with CM Punk’s belief that Andre The Giant helped usher in the pop culture era of wrestling in WWE? Sound off in the comments!