WWF 305 Live: THE COLOSSAL JOSTLE!

King Kong Bundy vs. Andre the Giant WWF 9/23/85 - GREAT

ER: The Colossal Jostle!! How have I gone this long in my life without knowing that there was a match between two huge men and it was billed as the Colossal Jostle!! This had to been the main draw on an MSG show that did 18,000 people but is a lackluster show on paper. No title matches, a 3 minute JYD/Funk match on top, and yet here's the Colossal Jostle early in the evening. The crowd is loud and hostile for this jostle, and it really felt like a true clash of the titans. A month earlier they did an angle where Studd and Bundy beat down Andre to end an Andre/Studd singles, sent the man out on a stretcher, and then Andre went on a New Japan tour for a month. This was his first match since returning from that beatdown (Japan), and an excellent example of the all time great in-ring acting of Andre. 

Within seconds he is strangling Bundy in the corner and Andre's facials are the best. Bundy throws some big clubbing arms, but Andre is all about huge chops and headbutts and covering Bundy's entire neck and face with his hands. There's even this wild moment where Andre uses his forearms to block two Bundy swinging arm strikes and then throws two of the biggest chops I've seen. 

Now, this whole thing was shaping up to be one of the great 80s Andre singles matches, but right in the middle is Andre holding a long headscissors armbar. It's a long stretch and positions don't change a lot, and it's a real tonal shift for the match. However, it's also undeniably fascinating to watch Andre work an armbar while Bundy is doing whatever he can to budge Andre and make the ropes. They say everyone's the same size on the mat, but imagine Andre holding your head with his legs while he pulls on your arm! Think of the weight and strength required to hold a man as large as Bundy down to the mat! It's a long hold, but I found it pretty interesting. Andre even rolled Bundy onto his stomach, so at one point he was holding it almost like a crossface, very cool visual. 

Once out, Bundy bumps real big for Andre, doing an incredible backwards fall through the ropes and out past the apron, splatting with a back bump to the floor to sell a headbutt. When Bundy makes it back into the ring, Andre is laughing that playful, sinister laugh, like a cartoon cat cornering a mouse. Andre's acting during Bundy's comeback was excellent, making it impossible not to buy into Bundy's chokes and kicks, truly one of the best at making body pain palpable. Andre gets the boots up on a corner charge and hits a bombs away, but Studd runs in and we get a welcome back beatdown. This was a really great 1985 feud, something that would have played incredibly hot in any territory. 

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