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PWINSIDER Q&A: ANDRE THE GIANT, HULK HOGAN, MICK FOLEY AND MORE

Hogan choking out Richard Belzer. I've only recently found out about it and watched the video on youtube. Was it all a work?

Here's what happened, to the best of my knowledge.  Comedian Richard Belzer was hosting a cable show and Hulk Hogan & Mr. T were on to promote Wrestlemania.  Belzer asked Hogan to demonstrate a hold, so he put Belzer in a front facelock.  Belzer went limp, playing up the move, and when Hogan released it, Belzer fell to the floor.  Belzer jumped right back up, turned to the camera and sent the show to commercial.  It was obviously just the two men playing around.  However, Belzer had hit his head on the floor, and was bleeding from the head as a result.  Belzer later filed a lawsuit over Hogan dropping him on the floor and the two sides settled out of court. 

I've always wondered was Mick Foley supposed to go over HBK at the Mind Games PPV? I heard the plan was for him to get the title but Vince changed his mind mid way through the match. If it did happen why would he do something like this? I always thought the Mankind character at that time would have been a great heel champ at that time.

There absolutely was not any plans at all to put the World Title on Mick Foley at the Mind Games PPV.  Remember, Mind Games was a "minor" PPV, and the title match was really just another challenge for Shawn to build up his title reign.  It would be a few more years before Vince McMahon would come to the realization that Mick Foley could be champion.

I'm watching Royal Rumble 1996 on WWE 24/7 and I'm wondering why was Undertaker wearing a mask?

The reason for the mask was that Undertaker had suffered a broken eye socket at the hands of Mabel during an edition of Monday Night Raw that sidelined him for two months, and when he returned he wore the mask to protect the eye.

I'm hoping you can tell me what was the story behind the infamous Andre the Giant shoot match that took place in Japan sometime in the 1980's, I think I've recently seen a video of it, and besides looking extremely out of shape, the Giant looked bored as hell with thee whole thing. Was the match indeed a shoot and was it meant to be or did something happen during the match that caused it?

It occurred in 1986, and was basically rooted in the fact that Maeda had a real ego problem when it came to wrestling (he hardly ever did jobs) and had an even bigger problem with foreign stars. On top of that, Andre was never one to suffer fools lightly.  Well, Andre apparently knew of Maeda's rep, and there was very little cooperation between the two. Andre took Maeda down a few times, making it hard for Maeda to do anything. Maeda did manage to take Andre down with a single leg at one point, and Andre grabbed Maeda's face, freaking out Maeda. Maeda then went to kicking at Andre's legs with stiff shots and then backing away, but Andre wasn't selling any of it. Antonio Inoki came out, and there was a lot of confusion. Andre, finally tiring of Maeda kicking his legs and then backing off, lied down in the ring and basically dared Maeda to get on him. Maeda, probably realizing if Andre grabbed him on the mat, he'd kill him, backed off. Inoki was also yelling at Maeda to not try it.  The match was ruled a no-contest, with a fight almost breaking out between Inoki and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. To be honest, the legend of the story has grown to ridiculous proportions over the years. It wasn't nearly as interesting as some people make it sound.

What are the chances of some of the legendary British wrestlers making the WWE's Hall of Fame one day? I know they weren't part of the WWE but neither was Verne Gagne and he was inducted. I think guys like Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy are deserving of a place. Your thoughts?

I think the chances are pretty slim.  Unless you made a mark in North America, WWE doesn't seem to give you much consideration.  If Japanese legends like Antonio Inoki, Tiger Mask and Jumbo Tsuruta (who did have U.S. success) aren't in the Hall Of Fame, I don't see Big Daddy or Giant Haystacks getting a nod. 

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