The SmarK Rant for WWE Vault presents Andre the Giant in the Territories

The SmarK Rant for WWE Vault presents Andre the Giant in the Territories

Originally written 05.18.26

Well this has everything I love. Andre. The territories. The WWE Vault.

https://youtu.be/cQdmXy80_AI?si=4zEojOR15o2p9CuU

Andre the Giant v. Hulk Hogan

This looks to be from Georgia in 80-ish, with clips of the match as Andre slams the Hulk but the ref is bumped in the process. And a second ref runs in as Hulk goes for a slam and Andre falls on top for the pin. Afterwards, Hulk lays him out and beats him down.

Battle Royal:

From World Class. We’ve got Andre of course, at a stadium show, with guys like Bugsy McGraw and Wild Bill Irwin. I’m thinking 84? Various guys bounce of Andre and try to take him down unsuccessfully. Apparently the gimmick is you can also win by bodyslam, which seems unfairly slanted towards Andre. Andre in fact slams Jose Lothario to eliminate him. Bugsy and Wild Bill team up to slam T. John Tibedeau, who seems like a Tugboat type of guy. Andre casually headbutts and slams Wild Bill to get rid of him. Andre gets tied in the ropes via a dropkick from Bugsy, and Al Madrill gets some offense on Bugsy before falling victim to a slam and he’s gone. That leaves McGraw and Giant, and Bugsy hypes himself up and fails the slam, but then fires himself up again and this time Andre falls on top of him. So he bails and his manager explains all the ways he was doing the bodyslam wrong and instrusts him to take his time and try it again. So he runs in, hypes himself up, and promptly walks into a bodyslam from Andre and loses the match at 5:54. This was some fun nonsense with Andre and a bunch of geeks for him to destroy.

Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes & Junkyard Dog v. Ernie Ladd & The Wild Samoans

From Mid-South TV of course. Talk about a dream match on free TV. Dusty slugs away on Sika and JYD comes in with a forearm shot for two. Andre chops him down, so Afa comes in while Ernie Ladd avois the whole “Andre” situation and decides not to tag in. Andre pounds on Afa as well, so Ernie decides to come in and take care of business himself, so he grabs a headlock and and Andre sends him flying with a chop and then goes to his own headlock on the mat. Finally the heels trap Andre in the corner and work him over as Ladd takes big exaggerated shots, really playing for the cheap seats even in the TV studio. Dusty manages to get the hot tag and drops elbows on Ladd while Bill Watts discusses Dusty making Mid-South his exclusive booking agent. Dusty can’t be married to one territory like that! He needs to sow his booking oats! Andre comes in and just levels Afa with a big boot for two, but Ladd breaks it up to make the save. So it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA and the Samoans hit Andre with a double slam and Ladd adds a splash for two. But then the Samoans brawl to the floor with the babyfaces, which allows Andre a chance to come off the middle rope with a gigantic splash on Ernie Ladd for the pin at 6:55. Ernie Ladd was DELIGHTFUL here.

Bob Roop & Larry Hennig v. Andre the Giant & Dusty Rhodes

Footage from Florida, joined in progress with Dusty in a SINGLET. I’m assuming that was to mock Bob Roop. It’s various clips of the babyfaces making comebacks on the heels and Andre kicking their ass in various ways. The crowd is just eating it all up, especially Andre pummeling the Axe with headbutts. The heels briefly double-team the Giant and he quickly makes them regret it and Dusty sends Henng into a bearhug from Andre. And Dusty drops the elbow on him and pins him at 3:53 aired. Afterwards, Larry puts Dusty down with an Axe Attack and the heels destroy the ref to cover up the evidence, but Andre makes his own comeback and the heels flee in terror.

AWA World title: Nick Bockwinkel v. Andre the Giant

Oh I’ve seen this one before somewhere! This is from AWA’s Winnipeg TV and I wanna say it was on one of those “Best of Andre” AWA PPV specials they had many years ago to make a few bucks. I’m 100% sure I’ve seen it before and probably reviewed it but I can’t exactly place where. Andre headlocks Bockwinkel and beats on him with forearms, sending him to the floor. Back in for Regal’s favorite move, THE CRAVAT, showing that Andre can work a hold when he needs to. Andre headbutts him and hits him with a suplex, but he misses a falling headbutt and that somehow is more painful than hitting Nick’s head would be. So Bockwinkel hits him with a knee strike, but Andre puts him in a bearhug and Bockwinkel slugs out of that. So Andre gets MAD and headbutts him into the corner. Bockwinkel is like “OK, let’s do this!” and starts chopping Andre, so that gets him EVEN MORE MAD and Andre just waffles him and sends him flying out of the ring. Back in the ring, Nick with the headlock as he tries to figure this out, but can’t take him down and Andre just lifts him by standing up. And then Bockwinkel runs the ropes and hits Andre’s ass for the classic spot, going flying into the corner. Finally Bockwinkel goes for the back and manages to get him down, but he tries a figure-four and Andre just kicks him off. Bockwinkel with a chinlock that turns into a sleeper, but Andre throws him off. So Bockwinkel goes back to it, but makes the mistake of leaving Andre’s limbs free, and he manages to put Nick in a leglock from his back. That was a neat piece of business. Nick fights out and goes back to the sleeper again. Andre runs him into the corner to break and ties up Nick’s head in the ropes in another crazy spot and then chops him down again and backdrops him as Bockwinkel sells like a ragdoll all over the ring. Giant misses a blind charge and Bockwinkel pounds away in the corner while Bobby Heenan holds the leg, but Andre has had enough and he hauls Heenan into the ring for a beating, and then slaps special ref Larry Hennig to draw a DQ at 16:20. So the Heenan Family hits the ring and decides to attack Hennig in the chaos, beating him down until Andre returns and makes the save, sending the heels flying. This was a great piece of business with cerebral master Nick Bockwinkel trying to figure out how to deal with the unbeatable Giant and eventually getting him to snap. ***1/2

Andre the Giant v. Big John Studd

I believe this is a Maple Leaf Wrestling show in Toronto from 1982, but I could be wrong. Andre threatens a couple of shots off the lockup as Studd retreats to the corner, and then Andre goes with the headlock instead and puts Studd down with a shoulder. Studd looks noticeably skinnier here than his WWF prime a few years later, I should note. Or maybe it’s the slimming black tights. Studd tries his own headlock and Andre throws him off, but Studd grabs the ropes to avoid further pain. Andre goes for a cobra hold off the lockup and we’re clipped to Studd working a hammerlock, but Andre slams out of that. Not sure if that was worth $15,000 back then. Studd bails and comes back to go for the arm again, but Andre takes him down and works on the leg and then hits him with the big headbutt and follows with the boot. Studd bumps to the floor to escapes, so Andre follows him out and they brawl to a double countout at 7:07 shown. Good stuff. **1/2

Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant v. Ken Patera, Bobby Duncum, Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan

From the AWA in 1982, looks like a show in Denver according to Cagematch. This is kind of an unfair handicap match, given that the Heenan Family probably needs another 3 guys to make it fair. Hulk Hogan is mighty over here. The faces clear the ring right away and Andre headbutts Bockwinkel. Hulk invites any of them to come in, so Duncum takes him up on it and then Andre comes in and just wallops all the heels himself. Hulk hits Duncum with a high knee and follows with the Axe Bomber and an elbow for two. Patera hits Andre with a cheapshot, so Hulk presses Patera and Andre sits on him in a great spot. Hulk tosses Duncum and beats on him outside, hitting him with a backbreaker on the floor. Back in the ring, Andre continues to unload on Duncum, and then pulls him up and hammers him back down again. Andre is just partying and having a great time and all the Heenan guys are terrified of coming in next, so finally Bockwinkel bites the bullet and tries. So he immediately runs into Andre’s ass for a huge pop. Andre starts working on his arm and the other heels grab Nick’s other arm to save him, but Andre just yanks all of them into the ring in a great spot. The faces double-team Bockwinkel in the corner and Andre bites him. Over to Patera, who tries to slam Andre and that’s not happening, but Patera hits him with a kick to the head and drops elbows on him to finally take over. So all four Heenan guys attack Andre and Hulk quickly makes the save and tosses them off, hitting Bockwinkel with a chair on the floor. Hogan rams Patera and Heenan together, but Bockwinkel attacks Hulk from behind and it’s soon it’s 2 heels on each babyface on opposite sides of the ring. Duncum and Patera hit Andre with an impressive double slam and Patera gets two off that. Bobby Heenan decides to tag in and attacks Andre in the corner, and Andre just SMACKS him into the corner in disgust. He whips Heenan into Hogan’s big boot and he’s had enough of this shit, beating on the other heels as well before squashing Heenan in the corner with his ass. Bockwinkel tries to save and Andre rams them together, allowing Hogan to choke out Bockinkel and hit him with a thumb to the throat. Blind charge misses and Hulk is face in peril again, as Duncum works him over and puts the boots to him. All the heels swarm Hogan and beat him down in the corner, allowing Patera to work the arm with a standing armbar. Heenan actually comes in and gets some shots on the arm before letting Duncum crank on the standing armbar some more. Hulk does a proto Hulk-Up and takes Duncum down with his own armdrags, and it’s HOT TAG Andre and by god he’s done with this shit. He just kicks all the asses he sees and the heels go flying for him. Hogan hits Duncum with the big boot and legdrop, but the heels save and Andre has to wallop them again. So Andre hits Duncum with his own big boot this time, and then he slams Hogan onto Duncum and that gets the pin at 17:28. This was INCREDIBLE entertainment, with insane heat and pretty much all action despite the limitations of everyone. Prime AWA and a must see match to end the video! ***3/4

I LOVED this collection! This is what I want out of the Vault! Give me more rare and classic Andre stuff! Maybe some Bruno as well but there’s less footage of him around, sadly.