(04 Jul 2014, 8:35 pm)AdamY wrote Yup. It was indeed Andre who reportedly drank over 100 beers in one session. Supposedly, the beers were of the small continental size (approx 150 ml) which you can buy in supermarkets but even still that's still a lot of alcohol to consume in one sitting.
By 1986 Andre would have suffering from some medical problems. He headlined Wrestlemania 3 with Hulk Hogan the following year and could do very little at that point. Little under six years later he died due to his medical condition.
Before 1986 Andre was widely regarded as one of wrestling's hardest men: a guy who no-one messed with. However, this was due to his size and strength more than any legitimate fighting background. Former Judo Olympic Bronze Medallist, Bad News Allen (later Bad News Brown in WWF 1987-90) tested Andre's alleged reputation as a hard-man after he caught Andre making racist comments. Needless to say, Andre backed down from any confrontation.
Akira Maeda, who went on become one of the pioneers of MMA, also had a legitimate fighting background. Maeda was well-known for not taking any shit during his matches; he also had a bad reputation with bookers and regularly threw tantrums when he thought he wasn't being booked correctly. There is an infamous incident (I think it occurred in 1987) between Maeda and then New Japan booker, Riki Choshu, where Maeda casually wanders into the ring and delivers a shoot-kick to Maeda's face breaking his orbital bone in the process (see below).
The Andre/Maeda match happened before the Choshu/Maeda incident and it's simply a case of Andre being being goaded into teaching Maeda 'a lesson' so to speak. Obviously, Andre bit of more than he could chew and is continuously thwarted as Maeda defends himself against The Giant. Maeda repeatedly asks officials (including New-Japan president Antonio Inoki - the guy with the huge chin who wanders into the ring at one point) whether it's OK to fight Andre for real and is told no. Nobody is sure what to do and the match continues with both competitors circling around each other with Maeda throwing a cheeky kick here and there.
Would you say the same goes for any of today's big lads, Big Show and Khali, but your right when you say Andre was feared for his size and strength...I wouldn't have fancied squaring up to Andre, whether he can hold his own legitimately or not, if he got one quick dig off at the right moment, there is only 1 way your going...Down...
I would have loved to have been around in Andre's heyday, did he have much to offer offensively or was he like a typical huge dude, very predictable and same moves week in week out