Awesome / André the Giant

• Being the greatest drinker in the history of mankind.
• Obviously, his WrestleMania III match with Hulk Hogan, which is possibly the most famous main event of all time. While fans know that André's final years were wracked with serious pain as a result of gigantism, André actually had to have serious back surgery done in order to compete in this match, and had to wear a brace under his singlet. André went through with all this just so he could put Hogan over on the big stage. Talk about a Determinator.
  • In a CMOH for Vince McMahon, of all people, McMahon researched the surgery for him, convinced him to do it, and paid for it out of his own pocket without André being required to do the match. He even offered his own house up to Andre when he was rehabbing from the surgery.
    • In an equally CMOA for André during the surgery, and also related to the "greatest drinker in the history of mankind" thing mentioned above, the anesthesiologist in charge of the back surgery had no clue how to treat a giant beforehand. Finally giving up, he merely asked André how much alcohol he drank in one sitting. André replied, "It usually takes me two liters of vodka just to make me feel warm inside". The anesthesiologist used this as a guide for how much to give him, leading to a medical breakthrough that's still used as a baseline for people with gigantism today.
  • Before the match, Hogan wrote down a plan for the entire event, leaving the finish open because he couldn't think of a good finale. When the time came for the match, Hogan and André went through what was planned, leaving Hogan confused as they reached the finish. Then Andre yelled, "SLAM!" Hogan, in a moment that quite possibly made the WWF for decades to come, body-slammed André. André then yelled, "LEGDROP!" Even in intense pain, on the greatest stage he would ever compete on, André knew exactly what needed to be done.
• As told by Ric Flair, in 1976, André, Ric Flair, Dick Murdoch, and Black Jack Mulligan were drinking at a bar one night, and for whatever reason, Mulligan suckered punched André. For context, Mulligan was a large and muscular man, getting punched by him would render anyone down for the count. André didn't even flinch. Not only that, Andre grabbed both Murdoch (who was in on the assault) and Mulligan by their throats and dragged them to the ocean and held their heads underwater, and only by his mercy, would they live. Flair noted that André wasn't going to kill them, he just wanted to remind them just how easy it would be for him to do so.
• In his final WWF match (in which he and Haku lost to Demolition at WrestleMania VI), Bobby Heenan turned on him by berating him for the loss and slapping him. In a famous moment, André responded by roughing up Bobby and Haku, then left the SkyDome (and, by proxy, the WWF) to a big ovation.
  • Even better? When Heenan slapped him and André recoiled in shock, the crowd started to go nuts because they knew what was going to happen.
  • The icing on the cake was, after André beat up Brain and Haku, he kicked them off of the ring cart that took them to the ring and took it himself, soaking up the cheers of the fans as he rode into the proverbial sunset.
• There are plenty of great André stories. Such as when a group of drunks would not leave him alone. So, he went after them. The guys, thinking they were bright, jumped in their car and locked the doors. André then proceeded to tip the car over with them all still inside.
• Michael Hayes told the story of how he and the other Fabulous Freebirds showed up late to a show. André happened to be the agent and was very agitated and bawled them out as soon as they got in. Hayes, who had a deserved rep for being a difficult pain in the ass at the time, pitched a tantrum, saying he'd go right to the top due to André's "abuse" of them. André said that was fine and that the next day, either they would be gone or he would be. Needless to say, the Freebirds were sacked.
• Rob Reiner recounts a tale in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and André, who had forged a friendship, being both enormous, European transplant badasses in the entertainment industry, happened to be in the same city at the same time and went out to dinner together. Andre was famous for insisting on paying for dinner with everyone he dined with. In an attempt to subvert the Giant and pay for the meal himself for once, Arnold called the waiter aside and asked for the bill. André responded by picking up Schwarzenegger (at the height of his bodybuilding days, no less) and carrying him back to the table like a small child. Talk about moments when you wish you had a camera.
  • Sound like a tall tale (no pun intended)? Schwarzenegger himself confirmed it.
  • Just the fact that André always insisted on paying the tab whenever he dined or drank with people. He knew that A) he ate and drank a lot more than anyone else; and B) he earned far more than most other wrestlers at the time so he could afford it.