Andre (Giant) vs. Abdullah (Butcher)

Andre the Giant vs. Abdullah the Butcher WWC 9/17/83 - GREAT

ER: We don't have much footage of Andre in Puerto Rico, so it's a joy to see him at a huge baseball stadium show with over 32,000 people in attendance. He was one of three main events underneath Ric Flair/Pedro Morales and a Carlos Colon/Harley Race hour long draw. The next month Blue Oyster Cult would headline a Halloween rock show at the stadium. There are men and women still living in this world who stood in a baseball stadium and saw Andre the Giant one month and Blue Oyster Cult the next. Imagine meeting a woman who had seen the most memorable living live attraction wrestle and also sang along to "Burnin' for You" at the same stadium, each time in the upper deck. How incredible would Andre look from the upper deck of a big 1970s concrete baseball stadium? His size is such, that it is more impressive the farther back you are, like flying over the water in a prop plane and seeing a Too Large dark shadow move below the surface. The farther back you are, the more you can see how large he is compared to his surroundings. This woman saw Andre the Giant and then, later, went back to see Blue Oyster Cult.  

She owned Secret Treaties on cassette and you still think about her. No matter how long it's been, it still hasn't been long enough to picture a time where you won't think about her. She checks in with you, mentally, every couple months while stuck in crosstown traffic. She remembers the parts that make her smile for 10 seconds or 2 minutes before something more presently important, a car braking short, brings her back into the moment. You knew her at her most beautiful, even though she would dispute that. You felt lucky to be sitting across from her in public, at a restaurant. Her confidence and tulip mouth could pull off any color lipstick. She chose her haircut at 34 and it looks just as good on her at 42. Only Hot Girls can pull off bangs this sustainably. A bun, a ponytail, down, long, thick. Her smile was working class in a way you loved, and she finally started getting real serious about her tooth care after an expensive dental bill that she never planned on paying. You loved hearing her talk about how small Abdullah the Butcher looked, dwarfed by Andre. She was good at talking. She loved to laugh and because of that had a perfect laugh. She remembers how big both men looked falling through the ropes to the floor; one falling through the ropes escaping an arm swinging Giant, one falling and rolling over the ropes like an accidental ballerina to wrest a fork away from a scarred fat man. The fork leads to pure chaos that gets consumed by every person with access to floor seating. You both know how real it was and neither of you had experienced it so real. The closure feels closer, but not yet guaranteed. 

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE ANDRE THE GIANT