“Andre Wanted Me to Sit Next to Him” – Hulk Hogan Recalls His Backstage Conversation With Andre the Giant Before Their Iconic WrestleMania III Bout

Hulk Hogan has not been seen in the wrestling world for a long time now. The WWE legend was once the sensation of the promotion, connecting hundreds of thousands of fans to his storyline as well as the sports entertainment network. He was one of the founding wrestlers of WWE who contributed vastly to the company’s growth. However, Hogan was not alone on this adventure. Rather, all the wrestlers at that time contributed to the growth of the company. However, one prominent name that can be called out for credit is Andre ‘The Giant’. There have been several on-screen rivalries in WWE, but there doesn’t seem to be much of a comparison when we take this certain rivalry into account.

This rivalry was necessary for both Hollywood Hogan and WWE to gain popularity. A fairly recent docuseries has been produced by the company to capture and recall one of the greatest moments in its history. In the first episode of the second season of ‘WWE Rivals’, the featured stars were Hulk Hogan and Andre ‘The Giant’. While talking about his late on-screen rival, Hogan remembered a close moment they shared together backstage.

Hulk Hogan recalls his ‘Giant’ enemy

It appears that the memory of The Giant among his former co-stars is well preserved. As WrestleMania III was on the calendar, Hogan recalls sitting backstage with The Giant right before their big fight. Little did the wrestlers know that the fight was going to be iconic. “In the dressing room, Andre wanted me to sit next to him,” recalled Hollywood Hogan. Even though there was going to be tension between the two inside the ring, Andre did not want his opponent to get any hostile ideas about him.

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As a friendly gesture, Andre offered Hogan the same beverage that he was consuming at the time. However, dreaded by the concentration of alcohol, Hogan was already off-board. He appreciated the tolerance that Andre had for alcohol, but he reveals his thought train at the moment by saying, “there’s no way I could’ve drunk what he gave me to drink and walk to that ring.” Although he didn’t want to break his opponent’s heart by declining the drink, Hogan recalls dumping it off somewhere when The Giant wasn’t looking. This wasn’t the only interaction that they had backstage. And not all of it was pleasant.

When Hogan upset The Giant with his questions

As the big fight came closer, Hogan was growing more and more nervous. Due to this, he ended up asking Andre what he wanted to do in the ring. This question agitated the huge wrestler, who replied, “don’t worry,” in a deep tone. He even denied permission for a body slam while wrestling, since his back wasn’t in the best condition at the moment.

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Considering how iconic the fight was, the backstage moments seem to be even more iconic. Fans surely do wish there was a taping so that they could witness the raw moments in real-time.