Andre reached a crossroads when surgery to fix an injury became necessary, but the opportunity to switch to a heel opposite industry megastar Hulk Hogan was so appealing it pulled him through surgery. It then led to an intensely personal feud with the WrestleMania III main event against Hogan and the WWF Championship on the line.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts leveled the playing field against Andre when he brought his snake into the ring. Showcasing his performance abilities, Andre acted like he'd seen a ghost when face to face with the snake and even eliminated himself from the 1989 Royal Rumble match due to a snake encounter, which made for an entertaining feud.

Andre and Big John Studd executed a thrilling feud rooted in one-upmanship to be the best big man in the company. Their most significant match was at the first-ever WrestleMania, where Andre would have to retire if he lost. Instead, he was awarded $15,000 upon winning and tossed his cash prize into the Madison Square Garden audience.

Even though he was significantly smaller, Bockwinkel was a perfect heel for Andre in Verne Gagne's AWA, generating hatred from the audience by being obnoxious and cheating. Both men wrestled in the mid to late '70s and into the early '80s for the world championship before Andre moved on to the New York territory.