10 Shocking Moments from Wrestlemania 1

#2 Andre wins $15,000

A rich giant.

With the WWF Champion Hulk Hogan in the main event, and with younger, promising stars making up the bulk of the mid-card, Vince needed to find a place on his Wrestlemania show for arguably the most infamous pre-Hulkamania superstar on his roster.

Two years before main eventing Wrestlemania 3 with Hogan, Andre the Giant found himself in a programme with Big John Studd, a man almost as big and intimidating as the Eighth Wonder of the World himself. Ironically, Studd was being managed by Bobby Heenan at the time, the man who later convinced Andre to turn heel and face his best friend at Mania 3.

Rather than a straight-up wrestling match, the two behemoths were engaged in a mini-competition of sorts, with the requirement being that Andre needed to bodyslam Studd or else face having to retire from wrestling.

After a little back and forth, Andre eventually succeeded, sending the crowd into a frenzy and picking up $15,000 dollars from Heenan as his prize. Rather than keep the money for himself, the ever lovable Giant began throwing notes into the audience before Heenan grabbed it off him, sprinting his way to the backstage area.