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Post by Jaws the Shark on Apr 21, 2019 12:24:32 GMT -5
I think it'd have been largely the same. Maybe a few more acting roles, but if he didn't die right when he did, I don't really know how much longer he could have potentially lived, anyway. He was very ill. I think this is pretty much right. He had been completely broken down for about a decade by the time he died, I don't think he would've been putting over anyone else. He'd have done Hollywood or maybe TV, and done some public appearances for big paydays, but his wrestling days were absolutely finished. The myth maybe wouldn't be as strong as it is today, but I think it would still exist to a large degree.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Apr 21, 2019 15:03:56 GMT -5
Andre wouldn't work with them. He was notorious for hating other giants in wrestling because every other giant in the business was taking money out of his pocket basically. Not to mention he'd have been well retired by now and most likely in a wheelchair his body was just too big for his frame and could not support his weight. But he wouldn't have necessarily been in a wheelchair when Nash, Gonzalez and Big Show were making splashes in the business. He was pretty crippled up, but still able to walk around and have matches to an extent just months before he died. Granted, it's not like he would have been having matches with Nash or Gonzalez in WWF, but it doesn't seem so outside the realm of possibility that they might have been seen standing close to another giant, especially Nash at some point, especially if Andre continued to work for Vince in some capacity. It's a series of big what ifs, but it does seem most likely that he would have ended up completely disabled and disappear into his reclusive lifestyle. The fact he was broken down was only part of why I said he wouldn't work with them. The bigger point as I said was Andre was notorious for hating working with other giants.
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Post by kingoftheindies on Apr 21, 2019 15:05:40 GMT -5
I think Andre would still be pretty revered but maybe youd hear more negative about him from shoot interviews
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Post by Stu on Apr 21, 2019 15:21:41 GMT -5
He'd be 72 years old if he was alive today. So take that for what it's worth.
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Post by Alice Syndrome on Apr 21, 2019 15:38:35 GMT -5
World's largest wheelchair.
Seriously, if you wanna be depressed, look up the footage of his last match, when he basically had to use 2 smaller guys as crutches to get to the ring, and one of his knees had just outright quit on him.
When I think about the possibility of him living another 26 years with that, the first thing I think of is that I've got a friend with Ehlers Danlos, who's basically really relaxed about the fact she's 23 and already half way through her projected life span. The other week she got us all to take turns punching her in the thigh to prove she can't feel her leg anymore, and then pointed out why on earth would she want to live an average person's lifespan if it was just an extra 30 years or so of that kind of thing happening to her body
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Post by Prince Petty on Apr 21, 2019 15:44:07 GMT -5
The only way he could possible be alive now would be if he'd had his Acromegaly fixed surgically, soon enough that he still had a good quality of life. So he may have been a very different person to be around, if he wasn't in constant pain and discomfort.
I remember Bret Hart said that if Andre liked you, he liked you. If he didn't, you were best off just avoiding him. So perhaps more people would have experienced that lighter, fun side of him that Bret, Tim White and others knew, and there would be fewer Bad News Browns.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2019 22:10:37 GMT -5
For him to have still been alive, he would have had to get the surgery to fix the acromegaly, and that results in so many changes.
He wouldn't have had quite the large forehead and jaw and other features that made him look like an actual "giant," and that might have affected his level of fame.
At the same time, he would have been much more mobile, as seen in the earliest footage of him, and as a tall, agile wrestler, his presentation/gimmick would have been slightly different from the lumbering, powerful, "immovable object."
Also, without his constant pain, he probably wouldn't have been quite the grouch or bully he was at times.
Basically, if he doesn't get the surgery, his career is probably very similar to Big Show's. Presented as a giant, but nowhere near the same aura, and likely not on anyone's "most important" list.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Apr 21, 2019 22:41:45 GMT -5
Most likely petty, vindictive Vince McMahon would have said something like, "You want giants? Forget the 80s, here's Giant Gonzalez, the largest man ever to walk the face of the earth" on commentary.
Like clockwork, he would have some beef with Andre, just like he has with every top star from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2019 7:08:06 GMT -5
If he was still alive, I think we all as wrestling fans would be constantly praying for him to die because he would just be in the most horrible of health... The rumour I have always heard was they wanted Taker vs. Andre at Mania 7. Taker said it himself during the recent shoot interviews with his pastor. Andre was looking forward to getting healthy enough to work with Taker. They'd wanted him for the 91 Rumble (he was announced as an entrant very early on & even cut a promo for it, IIRC) and the rumor was he was gonna win that match. Combined with Taker/Andre at WM7, I'm guessing this was all being booked as a farewell for him......and suddenly, not surprised that he wasn't a wrestler for either, or ever again, with the WWF.
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Post by OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 on Apr 22, 2019 7:43:10 GMT -5
I think he would’ve stopped talking to Vince once he tried to replace him. Andre was vindictive and had heat with any competing giant.
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