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PWINSIDER Q&A: ANDRE THE GIANT, WWE IN ALASKA, HHH AS A MANAGER AND MORE

Answered on 5/22

I don't see why people like Andre the Giant's in-ring skill. I've seen absolutely nothing special from him that differentiates him from the likes of The Big Show - who I am also not a fan of. Whilst I acknowledge that it is important to have monsters who are beaten by the heroic face or whatever, but I don't see why the man should be classed as a legend besides the possibility of good attitude and work ethic. Why is he classed as a legend? In terms of in-ring skill, he seemed to get through his matches on the reputation of his name alone and not the quality of his work (which is something a lot of people dislike Hulk Hogan about).

I think the key to your question is "I've seen absolutely nothing special".  I am going to assume (which granted, is something one really shouldn't do) that your Andre viewing is centered around the period of the biggest match in his career, the Wrestlemania III match with Hulk Hogan.  In fact, a large number of fans are only familiar with Andre from his work in the late 80's and early 90's.  This was the period where home video, cable television and Pay-per-view resulted in wider exposure for the WWF product, and as a result is where most people have "gotten to know" Andre.  This is also the period where Andre's bad back, general declining health, and sometimes very poor attitude, hampered his matches.  Andre's prime years, from the mid-70's to early 80's were not captured on tape, for the most part.  Remember, Andre was a "traveling attraction" and more often than not, his best work was on house shows in the U.S. that were never filmed.  Luckily, New Japan Pro Wrestling did not follow that trend, and there are some incredible matches available of his work there.  Check out his two famous bouts with Stan Hansen if you want to see how impressive Andre could be in his prime, and even those were in the latter half of his career. 

I know many wrestlers have come back from serious physical ailments such as broken ribs, backs and necks. But has a wrestler ever come back from a serious heart issue like a stroke or a heart attack?

Sure.  Off the top of my head, Buddy Rogers had a heart attack (although some people don't believe it really happened, must I've spoken with do) not too long before his WWWF Title loss to Bruno Sammartino.  Terry Gordy had a stroke, and later returned to the ring.  Obviously, the severity of the attack and the recovery of the person suffering it would dictate whether they could return to the ring or not, but it has happened. 

Is there a reason WWE doesn't visit Alaska? Is it simply the locale is out of the way? I'm one for seeing live events in exotic locations, ( I loved WWE visiting Italy for Raw/ECW/Smackdown), so I was wondering has WWE ever taped a show in Alaska?

Well, WWE did visit Alaska, in 2005.  In fact, they ran a show in Anchorage on February 6th, which was Superbowl Sunday, headlined by World Champion Triple H defeating Randy Orton, Big Show defeated WWE Champion JBL & Orlando Jordan in a handicap match, and Chris Benoit winning a battle royale.  Obviously, from a logistic standpoint, it isn't the kind of place WWE is going to do on a regular loop, and you're not going to see a TV taping there, since it doesn't pay for WWE to transport the equipment up there to do one show.  

I have a question about HHH. I guess he's a fan of Harley Race, having the beard like him and doing the high knee. Do you see him being a manager the same way Race was with Vader? Some people in the WWE needs a manager, or at least someone on their side with mic skills. Someone like Lashley or Khali could use someone like HHH to help them.

I think we have a few more years of Triple H wrestling (unless injury prevents him from doing so) before he has to make that kind of decision.  I can't really see him as a manager, mainly due to his size.  One of the reasons Vader-Race worked is because Vader was one of the few wrestlers who made Harley look small.  Not that a manager has to be smaller than the wrestler he handles, but it does help. 

There have been a lot of questions about unifying the various branded belts across the WWE lately, I’m wondering what you think of this; unify the Tag Titles and US / Intercontinental and let those respective champions, along with the Women’s and Cruiserweight defend the title across all three brands. That leaves the World / WWE / ECW champs. Keep them, but once a year (say at a revived King of the Ring or another PPV) have a Champion of Champion’s elimination match with the three big dogs. This would set up cross over feuds, establish bragging rights for one of the competitors and add to legacies (such as introducing someone as a three time Raw champ, one time Smackdown champ and winner of the Champion of Champions tournament two years running type of thing). What are your thoughts?

I like the idea of combining the tag belts and allowing the one set of tag champs, and the women's champ, move amongst the brands to defend the titles.  The idea of a floating US or IC champion is an interesting one as well, although I don't have a problem with them remaining as they are.  As for the "Champion of Champion's" match, it might make for a good "once a year" event.  I don't see WWE letting the Raw champion ever lose to the Smackdown or ECW champion, but you never know. 

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