Jim Cornette on How Andre The Giant Was Paid
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- From Episode 144 of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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Listening to Jim speaking about the history of professional wrestling is just so great. I have listened to hours of his videos and I can't get enough.
Thats 2 of us ,,and man i used hate him and the M. E.
Fact I listen to his vids about kennnny at work for a great laugh
Yep. Maybe it's me, but it seems like he learned to stfu abt religion and politics. He's not Bill Maher, and God bless him if he did finally figure that out.
How was Andre paid? Promptly and to the penny I’d imagine.
One thing is for sure, There never was, and never will be anyone quite like ANDRE! 👋
Did you really forget about Hornswaggle?
Big show
@@benjohnson5117 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sid Vicious promos.
Well no because modern medicine understands how to fix the problem. He never sought help for his condition and when diagnosed it was late in life but could have given him years more of life.
An absolute legend in his own time. When people who are not even wrestling fans know who you are and know your name world wide that is amazing.
You mean like Chris Benoit?
Or like @@travelreview5962 ?
Garrett Jeffers 🤣
@@haydenhodges34 huh? I'm sorry I don't get it. No one knows my name lol
True but Andre was also an actor in movies including The Princess Bride.
I consider it a privilege that I was able to see Andre wrestling in my lifetime, but sad that I didn't get to watch him in his prime (I started watching in late '88). Even at that stage late in his career though, there was still an aura around him as someone special.
My grandfather took me to wrestlemania 3. I was 6 years old. Got to see Andre that one time and it’s my favorite childhood memory.
When my dad was little, he got into an elevator, & there was Andre staring down at my dad with 'the biggest eyes, the biggest face, the biggest grin, the biggest head,..."
I'm a few years older but I feel the same. I remember watching his HoF induction announcement.
Look at the AWA late 60's and 70's. Andre was very much a regular wrestler. You would see him slammed by Butcher Vachon and making moves that are common. His mobility was in full vigor.
I started around that same time. Never realized back then that his body was pretty much broken down by that point in his career. Watching videos of him in his prime you can really see the difference
Q: How was Andre the Giant paid?
A: Immidiately. He was paid immidiately or he'd pull the arms off of whoever was in charge of payroll.
(Source: William "Nubby" McTaggart former head of payroll.)
Just like if you dont let a wookie win at holographic chess. I have now come to the conclusion that Andre may be part wookie.
Immediately
Jim is a walking wrestling encyclopedia.
That he is, and he doesn't bullshit us either. He tells us how it is or was straight up. Bruce prichard beats around the Bush cause he still has his lips attached to Vince's ass. I agree with so much of Cornette's thinking and perception of the business
That's why I'll always call him the smartest person in wrestling
Pedro file loonie bin
I love that there is such a renaissance of pro wrestling media, look at all the amazing documentaries that people like Andre rightfully deserve
Only thing I worry about is if WWE gets the rights to someone's bio and then you have the great possibility of revisionist history.
I wish Vince Sr. imparted this philosophy onto his son
I just think it would’ve been much better for the wrestling industry
It would've been for maybe 5 years more, eventually someone would've crossed that line and did it themselves.
Jr. was obsessed with becoming a billionaire, and he had to make WWF/E public to do so. Funny thing is he used to make fun of WCW with those Billionaire Ted skits. What's even funnier, is Vince could never touch a billion dollars in cash without selling his majority stake in the business, which would expose him to getting fired. Vince doesn't sleep, doesn't enjoy food, he just works, works, works. Is it worth it if people don't respect you or your product anymore?
I think it's been crystal clear for decades that Vince Jr. is a POS human being!
Vince Jr. Does a lot of what his dad did. Vince lends his workers to other promotions, and allows other promotions to send him workers to make appearances. He let a whole episode of RAW go to ECW, when nobody knew what or who ECW was
@@darthsiddious7469 you have to care what people think for any of what you said to matter. Im sure he looks around and looks in his bank account and says "its cool man, I got billions of dollars, too old to give a damn, Life is good"
How was Andre paid? Well not sure of type of currency but I would bet he was always paid ontime and with a simpering thank uou sir.
Probably paid in pounds 🤣
Anyone remember Andre on The Princess Bride? Classic movie featuring the big man. RIP ATG
I do. Good old Andre putting over new talent like Westley.
Who tf doesn't remember him in the Princess Bride??
@@bigglilwayne7050 I guess people that never seem the movie or the fact that's its like 30 years old weirdo
family classic for me. even wrote to the publisher for the secret sequel or whatever. doesn’t exist btw
I am so grateful for Jim and his excellent podcast. I love wrestling and Jim just gives you the best insight. I know it might sound mushy, but I really love listening to all this. It makes me very happy. Thank you Jim/Bryan
I think once Andre hooked up with Vince Sr and started to trust him , he (Andre) stopped paying attention to the details of how he got paid when he was loaned out . Everything he asked for was given to him and there was always somebody there to hand him a stack of cash for the things he wanted to get without asking for it. Seriously do you see Andre every waiting in line at a bank or sitting in a car dealership filling out paperwork?
The land of the little people was such a legitimate hardship for Andre that Vince Sr made sure that Andre had as little to do with it as he could.
Andre could have made his millions through any promotion he wanted but Sr gave Andre something that perhaps few promoters would have thought to offer him, protection from the rest of the world
I was never really a fan of Jim the character during the days when I watched wrestling (not for 20+ years), but I absolutely LOVE all of his stories and the details.
So much history and inside knowledge. The funny stories and anecdotes are great.
Andre The Giant seemed to always be in Calgary for Stampede Week for Stu Hart along with the NWA World Champion and Junior Heavyweight Champion
One of the ultimate legends that the business will ever have imo.
Really going out on a limb with that hot take!
@@suprcrzy the term legend is thrown about way too much these days, so few actually deserve it imo!
He never gets mentioned in wrestlers Mount Rushmore - He should be first or second to HOgan then ROck & Stone Cold
@@sumzsaiyan7806 No Harley Race? No Nick Bockwinkel? No Bruno? C'mon man.
Mount Rushmore has 4 faces. The pro wrestling mount Rushmore (in no particular order) is Hulk Hogan,Ric Flair,Steve Austin & the Undertaker. Next in line are Andre,Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon though Vince is not really a full time wrestler
How was Andre paid???
Andre: BEER!!!
Jake: Okay! Take it easy!
You are awesome 👍
TWO CASES!
I can hear that lol 🤣 🍻
And he didn't piss once the whole trip lol
When Jake says "but for God's sake man, don't out-piss me" I pissed! Freakin' hysterical!
Thank god someone other than Charlie from Ballsack, Mississippi got a question asked.
I love Cornette's show. But you're right. Made me laugh. Born and raised on Lake Erie PA. Have lived in East Tennessee for 22 years. Ive seen wrestling fans north and south.
Be nice. People who live in small towns deserve respect.
Ballsack, Kentucky...LOL!!!!
Andre was such an awesome guy. Timmy White was always there with him, such an great friend.
Terry Funk made $400k as NWA Champion in 1975-76. Ronnie Garvin stated in an interview he made $100k/yr in mid 70s rasslin in Florida.
I was thinking with one of those giant novelty checks.
Seeing Andre hold that size check in a photo would be like us holding an envelope!
There was a video of a drunken andre the giant fighting in a Japanese battle royal, he won and at the end they gave him one of those giant checks. He started repeatedly yelling "I won the cash".
I'd really like to see Jim cornette live talking even if it's on the internet then sit here and listen to it like it's a Radio podcast it's hard to keep staring at the picture but the topic is so good
Andre really liked working the south, because of the late night bars.
Who doesnt love late night bars? lol
If it’s not a dry county
I grew up in Erie county PA. There are bars on every corner. But closed at 2:30 am Im sure places stayed open for him
My uncle told me a story about meeting Andre in a bar in Atlanta. (Can't remember the name of it) He asked to shake Andre's hand and the giant extended what looked like an empty can. My uncle realized it felt cold when he tried to shake hands and looked down to realize that Andre had just handed him an empty beer can and walked away.
A year or so later in the same bar he walked in and saw the world champion Ric Flair in a three piece suit. Breakdancing.
You saying up north like NY is closing down early? LOL
Who makes these thumbnails? they’re better than today’s product 😆
Travis Heckel (sp.?)
Travis Heckel
You are right sir
I wish it was a cartoon version of the stories.
Most people dont look at the description of the video
in a weird way, I like the fact that Andre would change into his gear to play cards lol
He was in his gear already, to beat somebody's ass in case he caught them cheating......The "better think twice" intimidation factor! Lol
I find it amazing Jim has had the same glasses for 40
Fuckin years
It gives him his colorful perspective.
I wish Jim would do a show of the history of wrestling
My grandfather was apart of the Louisiana Commission in the 80’s he said he & had drinks with all of those guys, especially The Dog.. He got JYD out of some stuff with the commission in fact. Js 🤘🏾⚜️
I have the Andre book. It's really eye opening and excellent.
I think Corny be high af before Brian reads the questions b/c midway through the first part of the first question he’s already trying to hold back laughing his ass off almost every video lol
Andre The Giant worked a ton of spot shows venues like Ridgewood Grove Arena(tiny old supermarket) and Catholic church auditoriums in Brooklyn(also a small gym).
I remember when Andre visited the Florida territory Gordon Solie would say "special prices are in effect" and yes, Mil Mascaras would make brief appearances to the Florida territory.
Can you elaborate on that please? Im interested
The normal CWF proces in early 80s were less than 10 bucks. Like 5 bucks general admission. Andre nights double or triple prices
I saw Mil Mascaras around 1980 at a very small venue in Merida, Mexico. I think admission was around $3US.
No yob amigo. No yob
Keep in mind that Andre was very athletic back in his younger days.
Saw Andre at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1974 vs The Sheik. The Sheik “burnt” his face with the old fire trick. Ticket cost $3.75.
I was 10 and he was the biggest thing I’d had ever seen in my life !
Didn't Sheik do that another time 2 or 3 years later, and it helped kill the territory?
YOUR SAW 3 LEGENDS THAT NIGHT ANDRE, THE SHIEK AND THE GRAND WIZARD ERNIE ROTH AS ABDULLAH FAROUK THAT NIGHT YOUR LUCKY. CHECK IUT WRESTLING GOLD THAT WHOLE MATCH IS ON THERE
Andre, Tommy Rich, Dick Slater vs Ole Anderson, French Angel , Ivan Koloff match was in Marietta Georgia. I was on the fourth row. 😀
I remember when i was a kid in the 80's in Dothan Alabama and Andre came in for a six man tag against the original Midnight Express and Norvel Austin.
If J Cornette dies or loses his memory -- all is lost -
I'd like to imagine that Mascaras was very well paid. Besides Mexico and the United States, Mascaras has also remained a major attraction in Japan since 1971; where his star power rivals other top gaijins such as The Funks, Stan Hansen, Tiger Jeet Singh and Abdullah The Butcher. Not to mention, Mascaras' success has also crossed over into Mexican cinema. To date, Mascaras has starred (or was featured) in 23 movies since 1968.
He wouldn't sell for his opponents, nor do a job.
I worked a show with him on the card (Indy show in SF) and he strolls into the locker room wearing his mask with the tights pulled up to his chest.
What an A-hole!
He no sold his opponents in a tag match.
Definitely not as over as some of the other guys on the card.
Wouldn't shake everyone's hand in the locker room.
Dick move.
Andre the giant was paid the same way he woke up ...... in sections. 😁✌ thank you, I'm here all week.
BAM!
He was paid on time & in full, that’s for damn sure!
I wished Andre would have still been around in 2000-2001 just to see what would happen if Paul Heyman booked him and the check bounced.
Imagine WrestleMania IV when he choked Bob Uecker. Now replace Bob with Paul and replace an interview with a shoot.
Or Nailz choking Vince over his payoff from the ‘92 Summerslam.
@@anthonywarren9885 maybe make special appearance???
@@anthonywarren9885 He would have been 54 in 2000.
@@anthonywarren9885 In 2001, he would have been 55.
I pity the fool who had to negotiate a low ball offer with Andre The Giant 😂
You told him Mr.T
@@snakepliskin722 💪😎
Yea me too. 😂👏👏👏👏
I'm sure there was no negotiation Andre got what he wanted and that was it on just my opinion lmao
I offered him a peanut. He accepted!
Cornette looks like your tax accountant but talks like your drunk uncle at the Christmas party..🤣😅
I assumed Andre was paid in beer, bottles or cans or kegs. I also assume there is some exchange rate between beer and distilled liquor.
Jim’s knowledge of wrestling is amazing nothing but respect
i could listen to cornette tales all night.
I would have thought Superstar Billy Graham would have been a high earner in the 70’s. He took the belt from Bruno, had that Orange Bowl champion vs champion match with Harley Race, the Texas Bullrope match with Dusty Rhodes and lost the title to Backlund. He had several matches with most of the opponents I mentioned and spent some time in Japan while WWWF/WWF champion. He had to be a top earner for at least the second half of the 70’s.
Legend has it a promoter tried to pay him in baby oil and he yelled: NO BABY OIL!!
GET OUT NO BABY OIL HAHA!
😂🤣
@Michael J. Santini, Jr. He said it to Randy, yes.
LMAO I get it tho from Andre's perspective. He is substantially bigger than his opponent most of the time so he probably is more cautious about possibly hurting you accidentally. So if you have a bunch of baby oil on its harder for him to grip and perform moves on you safely
Angelo Poffo lol
Love this inside detail stuff 👍
I hope Cornette and Brian realise the role that Travis Heckels artwork plays in attracting traffic to their page. When you come across his thumbnails you wanna click on it, and then you see how the picture correlates with the subject matter that Cornette and Brian are discussing. Hats off to Travis!
@Joe Greene indeed i do, but I'm just referring to TH-cam traffic
Yo this artwork with Andre is 🔥🔥
It is almost spot on Andre 👍
I haven’t watched a wrestling match since 1988. I listen to Jim Cornette everyday.
Damn lol
Did Andre even bother buying a house in the first 20 years of his career?
It seems his life was constant travel 365 days a year
He bought a ranch in north carolina and raised long horn steers. I believe his daughter lives there now.
@@raytaylor5022 but he bought that later on, I doubt he owned it in the 70's
I was a kid in Atlanta and when he said "hello ladies and gentlemen, I don't have to introduce myself, you already know who I am." That was the coldest shit I've ever heard and it was real. We were like.. yeah
I heard Andre was paid in giant sausages that gave him gas.
Good question.
I love you Jim Cornette!! I can listen to you talk wrestling all day, it brings me fond memories of listening to my cousin talk about his favorites. You somehow was able to keep your spark even after wrestling started to suck. Thank you so much! Please don’t ever stop doing what you do, not that I expect you to anyway, thank you for not being full of $h!+!!!!
"Beer. He was paid in beer."
No way. They couldn’t afford that many kegs lol you know Andre had to quench his thirst and he had to take of his buddies. His food/ bar tabs were beyond Ralphie May level ( a comedian who would pay for 1000 dollar meals like it wasn’t shit lol)
That was a great question.
Wonderful question
How much better would wrestling be if Wrestlers were allowed to go to any promotion like in the 70s. That’d keep so many wrestlers fresh and become hot commodities for different promotions.
Love that he said NWA. Gangster xD
Edit: this is before I knew about the other mwa that didn’t include rapping LOL
Ive listened to the new Andre book. Its alright but seems very much like a pity book which is something I don't think he would have liked. Spends most of the time emphasizing how hard his life was. Almost stopped at chapter 3 it was laying it on so hard. Id say see if your library will get a copy or do what I did and listen to it on audible and then return it.
"How was Andre paid?"
"Snatch"
With a really big check
This is what cornette belongs doing ..the shock jock shit gets old but he knows his shit this is good listening
I saw video of Andre near the ring drinking a bottle of white wine. Funny way of warming up the body.
Andre transcended the business in a way
*every way
Andre was his own territory
My first exposure really to Andre The Giant was Princess Bride. I never really got to see him wrestle as I was a little too young when he was in his prime.
Andre sounds more like a Circus Bear than he does as a performer.
Lmao real shit
all the wrestlers were like that during the territory days.
@@snarkykryptonite4768 Yeah I didn't see that treatment with Bockwinkle, Flair or Hogan.
*Shrugs*
Lmao
Big Daddy Rikka Andres loneliness and depression leading to his alcoholism is well documented.
Mixed with how the world didn’t fit him and he was treated like a freak outside the arenas?
Money... a conceptual construct.. a story we tell .... it doesn’t make up for that kind of treatment.
He sounds like a sumo wrestlers and those guys are just caged attractions who live in cages of decadence and hedonism.
It’s soul sucking
Seeing Andre in person when I was 11ys old in 1989 is still one of my most cherished memories, even though the warrior beat him in 30 seconds.
That book was very good and thorough. I highly recommend it.
Playing cards with an LJN wrestling figure...legendary!
Good morning true fans. All the fanboys are asleep after a hard night of watching super kicks and Canadian destroyers.
I like the Bucks and like Corny...where tf am I placed?
@@arnavbhagwat4232 You are in the frontier bro. You define yourself.
@@Ted_Bell I like Cassidy but hate the gentleman Cornette refers to as 'Shitstain'....also don't like flippy shit but find the Bucks entertaining. So Corny might sign me an autograph and then punch me in the face.
@@arnavbhagwat4232 - Bring him some Wendy's. He'll forgive you
Afternoon from London; tea?
Saw Andre & George the Animal beat Sheik & Volkoff in Welland, Ontario in 1985ish.
Anyone notice there’s a lot of people named Chris who send in question’s?
I absolutely luv Jim Cornette... just need to speed these up a bit. Just a bit.
Why for 10 min I thought the thumb nail was them eating white fries at Wendy's lmfao
pizza? leave a message on his pepperoni
Mascaras was awesome. Seen footage.
Hes a douchecanoe
My first experience with live pro wrestling was in 1980 at the old Cincinnati Gardens. The Giant was in the main event. I couldn't believe size of his head and neck when he walked to the ring . I'd only seen him in magazines and maybe once on tv before that. At one point he grabbed his opponent by the ankle and held him up high with ONE ARM, like a woodsman holding a dead squirrel by the tail . I have to think he was pissed off because I don't think that was a typical part of his repertoire of moves in the ring. My brother in law said it was the most incredible feat of strength he'd ever witnessed. My brother in law was 6 '3: and around 220 lbs and the guy Andre was dangling was bigger than him.
Mascaras was so big in Japan that the promotion made him his own entrance music... he was a super hero over there... and checkout the videos on youtube and people went crazy for him and mobbed him when walking to the ring-... he teamed with Hogan and Andre when they were on their prime... so yes he made shits loads of money
You don’t call Andre. Andre calls you.
"I'll give you a week on the giant" ha ha
I thought the same thing. If I'm getting Andre I want him for a month every year during my busiest season working the entire loop!
@@gerilynnlaporte9346 definitely. He's always a guaranteed draw x
A week is still a week of sellouts, Vince sr didn’t even have to give em that
Tony Atlas has the GREATEST Andre story 🤣🤣🤣
Love the insight
Andre had a ranch in North Carolina, longhor steers
& a 3 wheeler.=)
Damn Pedro Morales had a territory in Buffalo NY? I never knew. I was born and currently live here.
You can find info about at least a couple of IWA territories based out of Buffalo and Cleveland. Never knew that Pedro Morales was a territory owner though.B.W.
He never did. That was Pedro martinez
Doug: You're absolutely correct. One of the great undiscovered Tag Team names came out of that circuit in 1983. The Chiffon Ponies: Zoltan The Great and Jim Jett.B.W.
The more I hear about Vince Sr. the more I like him. He had the money to crush other promoters, but saw the value in a thriving industry and loaned talent to them in exchange for talent he could have just outright snatched like his son would have.
SR was a part of the Hand Shake Crowd. JR just wanted to be on top. That's why he raided everyone else. Created Cartoon Characters to draw in the kids and got away from anything that remotely resembled Wrestling Skills. Research the reason why he started calling it Entertainment. It all comes down to $$$$. He didn't like paying the Athletic Commissions to do a show.
@@johnderekmitchell1510 For the longest time I felt VKM made the right decision to go the entertainment route. And for the longest time at least in regards to WWE's popularity it seemed he did. But i feel like now we're seeing the effect of his decision making on the landscape decades out and I can't honestly say that anymore.
Sure its true that the world in general has changed..and whose to say with the rise of mma and everything if wrestling wouldn't have still declined in popularity. Still part of me will always wonder how it would be today if Vinny Mac hadn't salted the earth the territories once stood on and threw the old ways out the window.
@@johnderekmitchell1510 great how he tried to monopolize the nwa championship
I grew up watching wrestler with my Grandpa and he hated Jim Cournette lol that means he was doing his job. Jim's wrestling to the core
JIM HAS ALL THOSE PAYOFF BOOKS IN HIS COLLECTION AND HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL HOW MUCH ANDRE WAS PAID
He probably doesn’t have WWWF/WWF/WWE payroll books because those are either in WWE archives or long gone. And most likely Andre’s payoffs are in there and not written in other territories books since it was all through the WWWF/WWF.
reminds me of JRE...great stuff from JC
True superstar - Andre was
I always wondered what Andre's payoff were. I would like to know what Vince paid him annually and how many dates a month and year he worked. And I would specifically like to know what his wrestlemania 3 payoff was? Anybody know what Hogan and Andre made for that match?
According to Jesse Ventura, Hogan made more than the entire card combined, including Andre. I don't know what that number was, but it was why Hogan didn't want to unionize and have the money even out.
"Andre liked you or he didnt like you" - HTM
Lol pretty much covers all the bases
Andre also did not like Big John Studd. He used to tell Studd to not step over the top rope. He said and I quote.....me giant and only one who step over top rope, you go between ropes. Unquote..... and Studd didn't listen,and paid for it every night they uhh...worked together? It was hell for big John, he should've listened
These interviews are the best part of kayfabe being dead
How was Andre paid? In large bills!
That you, I'll be here all night!
The Sheik was also one of the richest wrestlers in the 70s. I'm surprised you missed him.
I saw the sheik he was young working for bruisers outfit in Mattoon ill. His weapon of choice was a paper folded up coke cup , that he plunged into throat and eyes of his opponent.
No Baby Oil!