WWE History Vol. 19: Wildest Title change in the company

Andre the Giant--Victorious, with a little trickery

Andre the Giant during his first, and only, WWE World Championship reign--brief though it was.

Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant had already faced each other at the historic Wrestlemania III pay per view, with Hogan emerging victorious.

However, sharp-eyed fans were quick to note that during their match at the Silverdome, Hogan failed to kick out in time after a failed bodyslam attempt. Many believe there was just a miscue in the ring between the ref and Andre, but there are rumors which persist that Andre was proving that no one could beat him unless he allowed it to happen.

Nevertheless, the official record held that Hogan cleanly defeated Andre. After a savage assault on the Main Event, a rematch was set up for the next Main Event broadcast in February--and it would be for Hogan's WWE World Championship strap.

After a hip toss, Andre flatted himself on top of Hogan. The Hulkster managed to get his shoulder up, but referee "Dave" Hebner kept counting to three.

Andre was awarded the championship belt. For a few seconds, Andre had achieved the pinnacle of sports entertainment success.

And then he gave it away.

Andre 'surrendered' the title to Ted Dibiase. Dibiase would wrestle that weekend's events as the WWE World Champion, but his title reign didn't last much longer than that.