Wrestlers Who Couldn't Stand Andre The Giant

Andre Roussimoff, better known in history as "The Eighth Wonder of the World" Andre the Giant, was one of the most popular professional wrestlers of his time, dominating the ring with his massive presence and equally larger-than-life personality. Andre, who was diagnosed with acromegaly (or giantism) later in life, didn't always have it easy both in and out of the professional wrestling business, but always appeared to be a jolly soul to his fans across the world. 

He joined the then-WWWF under the leadership of Vincent J. McMahon back in 1973 as a special attraction across the territories of the United States. As the years went on, he grew to become the younger Vince McMahon's star in the WWF, feuding with the likes of "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan, culminating in a historic match at WrestleMania 3; Andre The Giant had other notable feuds, including Jake "The Snake" Roberts, King Kong Bundy, and Bobby Heenan.

Andre would go on to become the first entrant into the WWE Hall of Fame, which was initially created to honor his legacy following his death in 1993. While Andre is remembered as a loveable, powerful giant now, during his time within a wrestling ring prior to his retirement in 1992, he rubbed a few of those he worked with the wrong way. From perceived racial insensitivity, to those who worked stiff in the ring against him, to even wrestlers who used too much baby oil on their body before a match, there were a few wrestlers who couldn't stand Andre the Giant, and a few Andre wasn't too keen on himself.

Kamala's issues with Andre stemmed from an in-ring botch when they faced each other in Mid-South Wrestling back in the '80s. In a 2014 interview with Bleacher Report, Kamala spoke about getting into a fight with Andre backstage that led to him pulling a gun on the larger man. Kamala explained that something went wrong after their first match and Andre was upset and called him a "dumb son of a b****." Kamala explained the incident further on an episode of "The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling" podcast in 2015 and said he possibly got a spot mixed up in the match, as the finishing sequence was being told to them on the fly by the referee.

An enraged Kamala punched Andre after the comment and "beat the hell out of him" that night. The following night, Kamala said he brought his gun with him to make a point that he wouldn't tolerate any disrespect from Andre. He explained he had the .357 in his pocket when he went up to Andre in his dressing room and "stuck his finger on his nose" and Andre threw up both hands and apologized. Kamala said that Andre didn't see his gun, as he didn't brandish it in front of the legend. After that, Kamala said they had good matches together anywhere they went and they never had another problem with each other again.

Bad News Brown couldn't stand Andre after an incident where he heard the Giant making racial slurs on the back of a bus while traveling in Japan, and Brown challenged Andre to a shoot fight because of it. Brown and Andre were working for Antonio Inoki in New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the time. The incident was discussed by Brown's close friend and mentee Don Callis on an episode of "Talk is Jericho" back in October 2015. Callis said Brown didn't take too kindly to Andre's choice of words and told the Giant he didn't appreciate it and to "keep that s*** to himself." Callis told Jericho on the podcast that Andre told Brown, "f*** you," and Brown wasn't going to take it.

According to Callis, Brown took out his earrings to prepare for a fight and reached down to put them in his bag, but when he did so, Hulk Hogan thought Brown was going for a gun. Callis said Hogan took cover while Brown went to the front of the bus to tell the driver to stop. Brown then challenged Andre to a fight and tried to get him off the bus. Callis said that Andre wouldn't move and the bus ride continued without incident. 

The following day, however, Brown confronted Andre in the lobby of a hotel and challenged him again, but Andre told him "not to worry about it," and that people made fun of him for being Polish. Brown told him he didn't care and didn't want to hear "that stuff" again. Callis said that Brown told him after the bus incident that he didn't know what would have happened and that Andre likely would have "killed him," but Brown felt like he had to make the challenge.

Andre wasn't the biggest fan of the Iron Sheik due to how stiff he worked in the ring. According to rumors, this intense dislike led to Andre beating Sheik down whenever they were booked against each other, including a match at the Nassau Coliseum in 1984 that was actually just a 20 minute beat down by Andre on Sheik, despite Andre being the babyface in the match. During the "match," Sheik couldn't get a single strike in on the giant. The squash ended with Sheik taking a boot to the face, followed by a leg drop across his head and neck.

Over the years, prior to his death, Sheik spoke about his dislike for Andre, including during a shoot interview where he said Andre was rude to his fans. He recalled an instance where Andre told a fan to "Get the f*** out of here," which upset him. Former wrestler Tom Prichard (brother of now-WWE official Bruce Prichard) explained in April 2022 on "HANNIBAL TV" that Andre didn't appreciate the way Sheik acted and did indeed teach him a lesson in the ring at Nassau Coliseum.

Ultimate Warrior was a notoriously stiff worker in the ring and one of the only men to ever put him in his place was Andre the Giant. Andre and Warrior worked together when the bigger man was in the twilight of his career and his health was rapidly declining. Warrior would still hit Andre with his signature stiff clothesline and one day, Andre decided enough was enough. When Warrior went to hit him with the move, Andre held out his fist, and Warrior ran straight into it, knocking himself out in the middle of the ring. He didn't even bother to pin the downed Warrior, but walked out, humbling his opponent. 

After knocking himself out in front of a crowd, Warrior began to work less stiff with the legend and also begged for his forgiveness in the form of gifts. Warrior would bring Andre gifts like wine backstage and praise the giant for all he had done for the professional wrestling industry. Later in life, and following Andre's passing, Warrior would mention Andre liked working with him and they respected one another. Warrior would dismiss the notion that Andre didn't like him and said Andre had no problem saying he didn't want to work with another wrestler.

Andre the Giant was known to dislike fellow big men, and according The Undertaker, though Andre liked him back when he was starting in the business, Andre didn't like Big John Studd when they worked together in the '80s, despite Studd being one of the Giant's best rivalries. Andre's dislike for Studd came from a number of things, including Studd working stiff in the ring, as well as his promo work that once offended Andre. 

Jake "The Snake" Roberts explained on an episode of "The Snake Pit" that Studd once said things that hit too close to home for Andre in a promo when he referenced Andre's acromegaly. According to Roberts, Studd said that Andre wasn't a giant, he was a "freak," which Andre took offense to. Roberts said after that, every time Andre got around Studd, he would beat "the f***ing s*** out of him." Undertaker also claimed that Andre "damn near killed" Studd on multiple occasions. 

In another recollection of Andre's hatred for Studd, Ken Patera recalled on "HANNIBAL TV" that Andre liked him in the beginning until Studd started acting like a giant and allegedly began taking growth hormone that caused him, in Patera's words, to grow over three inches in his mid-30s.

The Fabulous Freebirds, a stable consisting of core members Michael "P.S." Hayes, Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy and Buddy "Jack Roberts," competed in the then-WWF in the 80's for a good time, not a long time, and had Andre the Giant to thank in part for that. Their very brief run in the company occurred in 1984 during the mega-popular "Rock 'N Wrestling" era. The group wrestled under the guidance of David Wolff, Cyndi Lauper's manager, as the pop star was a major influence on the pop culture and wrestling connection at the time. They weren't liked by Andre, however, due to their rock n' roll reputation as party animals.

Hayes recalled an incident between the stable and Andre on a September 2021 episode of "Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw" and debunked the urban legend that they were "fired" by Andre. He said that he and his stablemates arrived late and heavily intoxicated for a show in Ohio where Andre was set to be their backstage agent for their match that night. Hayes said Andre noticed he was drunk and despite their best efforts, Hayes and the Freebirds performed poorly in the ring that night. Hayes admitted he was the one to confess to McMahon, and though Andre wasn't happy with the stable, it was McMahon to send them packing.

After Andre's death, it was revealed he wasn't too fond of one fellow "Rock 'N Wrestling" era star for one very specific, albeit rather trivial, reason. Randy Savage's brother, the late Lanny Poffo, said in an interview on Renee Dupree's podcast back in 2023 that Andre didn't like Savage because of the excessive amount of baby oil he would lather up with prior to a match to highlight the look of his physique. 

On the podcast, Poffo said that Savage's answer to Andre's annoyance was that his "gimmick was baby oil" while Andre's was "being a giant." Poffo noted that things could either be easy or difficult when it came to working with Andre, and he asked his brother why he couldn't just make an exception and not use baby oil during his matches against Andre. According to his brother, Savage just offered him a "f*** you" as an explanation. Poffo said Savage never backed down from Andre and, in addition to the baby oil, they never got along.

Andre's daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, had a different explanation for why her father didn't like Savage. She said he had no tolerance for performers who used steroids back in the day, and didn't like Savage for that reason. Despite their distaste for one another, the pair faced each other numerous times throughout the '80s, including during a feud in 1988 over the WWF Championship.