#12. Andre “The Giant”
Achievements/Accolades:
- 1-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time WWE Tag Team Champion
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 1993)
Opinions:
“I’ll admit: I FORGOT to put Andre on my first draft Top 50 list. How could a larger than life legend slip through the cracks like that? I couldn’t tell you. But something I can share about Andre was my confusion at having two different LJN rubber Andre toys. One with the short black hair and black singlet. Let’s call him “heel Andre.” And one with the blue traditional trunks and a huge Afro: babyface Andre. They used to fight each other. Sometimes, they would even team up against my Hogan (multiple variations) LJN toy & my Randy Savage. I’ll never forget his storyline with Hulk Hogan because it was the biggest match of all time. I must have watched it 1,000 times. Andre on this list is a no-brainer. His contributions to the business & drawing power will never be duplicated in the same respect that it was with him.” – Jay Alletto
“What else can be said about the pop culture icon that is Andre the Giant that hasn’t been said already? Arguably one of the biggest names of wrestling before the insurgency of the WWE expansion of the 1980’s, Andre’s story is one of a man who’s colleagues always speak in happiness and reverence that goes beyond the screen and words to positively affect a fan in retrospective. Despite having the shortest WWE World Championship reign in history, his great moment of the Body Slam heard around the world is a moment that stands the test of time in the zenith of the wrestling golden era. Andre may not have been the best of wrestlers technically but there is no denying his intangible qualities.” — Zak Fellows
