Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan

[8.0] "Wow, one of the most fun experiences I had watching pro wrestling, this is spectacular, what a way to end Hogan's legendary 1, 474-day reign, since 1984 he's the WWF champion, but no more after this one, because it's now Andre the Giant's turn as the WWF Champion, well, for less than 2-minutes, because he actually handled the title to Ted DiBiase after the match, as a part of an ambitious plan. I didn't think Hogan and Andre could repeat the magic of WrestleMania 3, but they did in many ways, the crowd was electric here, popping for absolutely everything, and screaming at the top of their lungs for Hogan, their hero. The beginning was awesome, with Andre keeping a straight face, confident, like he knew the victory was his, while also looking super scary, like always, fantastic selling by the big man during the entire thing, he was calm the whole time. The action started and Hogan erupted the place, going for DiBiase and Virgil, taking them out, and then proceeding to punch Andre, which obviously made the crowd go crazy every time, but Andre was tough to knock down, and he was resisting. After some struggle, Andre managed to turn things into his side, and dominated Hogan, a role that he plays fantastically, despite missing a couple of executions, that weren't landed so well, and people that insist on saying they suck over the years like to use those things as a big measure, but to me it's normal, obviously not ideal, but it's not something that harms my experience in this case, but yes, the move they did looked ugly two or three times here. After that, Hogan reverted the submission with an awesome hulking up, where he held Andre's arms, a movie-worthy scene, and out-strengthened Andre the Giant, which is nuts, but he did it, and everyone thought he was on the verge of winning, until Virgil distracted the referee after the leg drop, and he didn't win, and the next time Andre went for the pinfall, Hogan clearly kicked out, but the referee gave him the win anyway, a total screwjob, I was very pissed off, even after 36 years, I couldn't believe they did that, and to make things even better, the post-match angle revealed that there was an EVIL TWIN DAVE HEBNER, yes, Dave was the referee of the match, but he was replaced with his twin brother Earl, the same referee of the Montreal Screwjob, and this was all part of DiBiase's plan, he locked Dave Hebner in a closet, and Earl screwed Hogan. When both referees stood there to confront themselves, I had one of the biggest laughs in my life watching wrestling, that was so creative, I love it, Hogan's reactions were priceless, he wanted to beat someone, but didn't know who was the evil twin, and then the evil twin revealed himself, and Hogan threw him over the top rope, so good, insanely fun. Overall this is obviously less mythic than Mania 3, but it's better and funnier IMO, great stuff, I had all the feelings even after so many years, this is great, made me want to instantly watch the next episode and see the conclusions. That match was watched by 33-million people on NBC, an impressive and notorious record when it comes to the biggest wrestling audiences of all time - {****}"

[2.0] "I don't know how this rating isn't lower. This is one of the worst matches i've ever seen. It's so clear that Andre the Giant cannot move at all. Its so clear he can't take a bump. He didn't even do his boring finishing move correctly and the overacting from Hulk Hogan is excruciating"

[5.0] "The match isn't good, it's sad to see Andre moving with such difficulty (he literally falls to the ground when attempting a big foot...). The storyline around it with the Hebner twin brothers and Andre surrendering the title to DiBiase is good. You really got this sense of a big plot against Hogan and I like it. Very poor work other than that..."

[1.0] "I don't understand how anyone can see a good story in this misunderstanding. A typical match in typical Hogan style, but there's one thing... it's the end of his legendary streak, like this... I'm confused, the only thing that irritates me more is that Andre the Giant was champion for less than a day; he clearly deserved more."

[7.0] "A really fun time of a match with a real simple story. Hogan is able to knock every body down with one strike which he showcased on Virgil and DiBiase multiple timea throughout the match but when it came to Andre he needed to put the work in. All the strikes in the worle were dazing Andre and nothing more. Hogan needed to gove Andre everything he had. Andre gets the advantage and is essentially getting the heat on Hogan with his vice grips that he used that sometimes turned into blatent choking. Hogan was able to rally back but then Andre caught Higan with a Butterfly Suplex and got the win dispite Hogan obviously kicking out. The screw finish is what it is but the match was a hoot and a half. ***1/4"

[10.0] "André The Giant becomes the first French World Wrestling Champion and the WWE Champion with the shortest reign (2 minutes)."

[5.0] "A rather poor match, but history is being made beyond that. Still, it's a shame we didn't do a bit better, as it's a title change after all, and Andre isn't at his best, as evidenced by this sort of badly applied butterfly suplex. In-ring quality: 0.25/4. Stakes: 2/2. Justification: 1/1. Place on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 1/1. Bonus/Malus: too low for such an important match -0.75. Total: 5.5/10. Match seen on the WWE Network."

[5.0] "Iconic in many ways. Not a great match by any means, but it tells the story it needs. Andre is dangerous but Hogan knows how to beat him and teases doing so, but this time Andre is able to beat Hogan finally. Or did he? As the famous angle goes, Hogan gets the shoulder up at two and is counted down anyway. Andre wins the title but unjustly. Twin refs. Corrupt refs. The Million Dollar Man buys his way to the title. Madness. **1/2"

[8.0] "The match that broke my 13-year-old heart. I never thought Hulk Hogan could lose the title. It was just not possible. But then we get the WWF debut of Earl Hebner as the evil twin ref of Dave Hebner and that bastard cheated. I just about cried as Andre handed the title over to Ted DiBiase after the match was over. I actually thought this was a brilliantly worked match, considering both guys' limitations at the time."

"The Hogan/Andre match was not a mat classic but I loved it. I love the finish and the twin referees. I wasn't born till 1992 with my first wrestling memories not being till about 1998 which was a great period in wrestling but watching all the shows from the 80s on Peacock have been amazing with this one being one of the best. I'd give this a 8/10 all day."

[4.0] "It's a sad match to watch, as Andre is almost completely finished by this point. Hogan does a great job trying to cover for Andre's shortcomings and it's arguably his second best in-ring performance ever (after Warrior Mania match). There's no disguising Andre's inability to do the simplest of moves though. The match is considerably more well known for the antics of Ted DiBiase, the twin referee angle and the end of Hogan's first title reign."

[8.0] "I actually think this match is pretty good. Andre was in constantly declining rate in these years yet it felt like he really had his working boot on here. I honestly enjoy this Hogan/Andre match more than any of their others; even including Mania 3. I didn't expect much from this match going in so that probably helped a lot. I'm also happy Andre got to hold the title here, if only for a moment. Speaking of that, I know it's a controversial angle, but I actually like the after match angle with Andre trying to sell Ted Dibiase the belt and it ending up getting held up a lot. I don't love the consequences for Mania 4 besides Randy winning the title, but this segment itself was great. Historic match."

[6.0] "05/02/88 The Main Event WWF. This is a tough match to rate, it was entertaining to a degree, but it's hard watching Andre with his obvious limitations in the ring due to his severe pain at this time. The crowd was electric, the opening was wild and the finish was strange but fun. The big bonus watching Hogan get pinned with a legitimate 1... 2... 3... ding ding. Plus Ted Dibiase finally getting what he deserved the World Title. A solid 6, bordering 7 could be changed at any moment."

[5.0] "Despite the screwjob finish and Andre being even more immobile this time around, better than the first match due to a much quicker pace. Insanely hot crowd helps too."

[4.0] "This was Vince Russo style overbooking. Hogan only dropped the belt with the help of an evil twin referee, and a phantom 3 count, AND Andre gave the belt away immediately to Ted Dibiase which Jack Tunney called bull shit on and the belt was vacated and awarded to the winner of the Mania 4 tournament."

[4.0] "Strictly as an in-ring match, this was not good at all (though it was surprisingly cool to see Hulk Hogan throw a second-rope diving clothesline). But it's hard to rate it too low given how good the angle and spectacle surrounding it were."

[5.0] "One with huge historical importance for multiple reasons - 33 million viewers, the end of Hogan's reign, the Hebners shenanigans etc - but also a really fun match. The ending and post-match angle were not the best, but it's otherwise enjoyable until the finish. In my opinion it's not better than WrestleMania 3, but it's MUCH better than WrestleMania 4. [**1/2]"

[5.0] "I liked the first half of this match, Hogan and Andre had the crowd in the palms of their hands without having to do anything, DiBiase bumps is ass off for Hogan while Andre stands there. Hogan taking a Deadly Driver was a trip but after that the match kinda dips. Andre can't really do much at this point and falls down just throwing a boot. I don't like the finish at all, especially considering is the culmination of a 4 year plus title reign."

[6.0] "This is a very difficult match to rate. On the one hand, this was the most-watched WWF match of all time, it will never be topped, especially with the decline of traditional TV and the wrestling fanbase in general. That alone should make it essential viewing. On the other hand, the match wasn't on the level of their Wrestlemania one and was never going to match up to that. I'm giving this a 6 largely for its historical significance, but I'd say its really not worth your time."

[8.0] "The most watched WWF title match of all time, never to be topped. I actually think the match itself has a lot going for it, the story of Hogan avoiding the slam which almost cost him the match at Wrestlemania III and instead going buck wild with strikes was very unexpected but fun to watch, and the strategy only backfired when Andre wouldn't go down and Hogan tried to go up to the top. The post match fall out is a bit silly but the match itself is one I appreciate."