#9 Andre becomes the first Hall of Fame entrant after his death
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1993 began with tragic news, as one of the industry’s biggest, most roundly-respected legends, Andre the Giant, passed away from heart failure. Andre’s health had been deteriorating for some time, especially during the latter part of his in-ring career, and he finally found peace in January while visiting his mother in France.
It is difficult to do adequate justice to the legacy of Andre, but in summary, the man was born to be a star of professional wrestling. Standing at 7ft 4inches, and weighing 520lb, Andre spent most of his career as a lovable, gentle giant who would only show his aggressive side when a dastardly heel needed taking down a peg or two. His early career saw Andre wrestle all over the world, including in his native France, Japan and Canada, before eventually being signed by Vince McMahon Sr., head of the WWWF.
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McMahon, and later, his son Vince McMahon Jr., knew how best to showcase Andre, and made him appear sporadically for their company. When you have such a massive Superstar on your roster, the worst thing you can do is overexpose him. Andre became WWF’s star attraction throughout the 1970s and 80s. His name would be a guaranteed ticket seller, and for very good reason.
Perhaps Andre’s greatest contribution to professional wrestling came in 1987 when after almost 15 years of being a WWF babyface, he would be convinced by Bobby Heenan to turn heel on Hulk Hogan and set up one of the biggest wrestling main events of all time. The bodyslam Hogan gave to Andre at the end of Wrestlemania 3 truly cemented Hulkamania, and the WWF never looked back.
Andre became the very first entry into the WWE Hall of Fame soon after his death. This was an honour worthy of such a legend; however, no actual ceremony or acceptance speech took place. Today we are used to seeing Hall of Fame red carpet events and a night of speeches and celebrations, but Andre’s entry was announced with a video package on an episode of Monday Night Raw in March 1993.
