The WWF Hall of Fame was founded by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1993. The announcement of its debut was made on Monday Night Raw on March 22, 1993, and Andre the Giant was the only inductee, making him the first-ever WWE Hall of Famer nearly two months after his passing.
André René Roussimoff, better known by his ring moniker André the Giant, was a French pro wrestler and actor who was born on May 19, 1946. Roussimoff had a character for being extremely large due to gigantism brought on by an excess of growth hormone. He was dubbed “The Eighth Wonder of the World” as a result of it.
The first class of the WWE Hall of Fame was the 1993 class of the WWF Hall of Fame. On Monday Night Raw, March 22, 1993, a video package announcing André the Giant’s induction was aired. André was formally enshrined after his passing without a ceremony. A shortened version of the ceremony from 1994 was made available on the WWE Network in March 2015.
André’s 1993 induction was reviewed by Gene Okerlund and Renee Young as part of the 1994 commentary because there was no original ceremony.
Roussimoff was the first individual to be inducted into the newly established WWF Hall of Fame after he passed away in 1993. Later, he became a founding member of both the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. According to the latter, he is “one of the most recognizable personalities in the world both as a pro wrestler and as a pop culture icon.” Roussimoff is most recognized outside of the world of wrestling for his role as Fezzik the giant, in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride.
Why is André the Giant considered one of the greatest in the WWE
From Big John Stud to King Kong Bundy, pro wrestling has produced many legendary giants. Only one name that keeps coming up while discussing the most legendary individual in history is André the Giant.
Talking about the giants of pro wrestling is without mentioning the first. Andre the Giant was a legendary figure who never lost a match and whose terrifying reign of dominance helped define professional wrestling for more than a decade. He was a beloved hero and a spectacular villain thanks to his size. He was one of the best to enter a wrestling ring because of his flexibility and undeniable star power.
Though his proficiency in the ring is renowned, his reputation outside of it helped him become even more well-known. Andre became one of the very few breakthrough mainstream successes to emerge out of the WWE, for reasons that may have included the sheer volume of booze he consumed or his kind nature toward everyone around him.
No matter whatever side of the debate André was on, he was a darling of the audience. Through cameos in films like The Princess Bride, he attracted fans’ attention away from the ring. After his passing in 1993, André achieved his goal of becoming a pop cultural legend, one that is still talked about today. At the same time that he defined wrestling, he also went beyond it.
The WWE’s first real superhuman giant, André established the standard for all other huge men that followed.