Reliving Andre The Giant's Controversial WWE Championship Win over Hulk Hogan

With Triple H's Royal Rumble win creating some controversy, it only seemed appropriate to use this week's Throwback Thursday to look at another controversial WWE Championship victory.

Back in 1988, Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant were as big as they came in the wrestling world, both literally and figuratively.

Their match at WrestleMania III is one of the most memorable in WWE history, but it was their encounter on February 5, 1988 that created the most controversy.

Back in the late '80s, the pay-per-view business was still getting off the ground. Saturday Night's Main Event was a way for Vince McMahon to feature big matches on NBC.

The program produced a spin-off, simply titled The Main Event. It didn't last long, but the show had some great action featuring some of the biggest WWE Superstars.

During an episode of The Main Event, Hogan defended the WWE Championship against Andre The Giant, but he also had to contend with Ted DiBiase and Virgil outside the ring.

What Hogan didn't plan on was referee Earl Hebner being in the pocket of The Million Dollar Man. When it came time to count Hogan's shoulders down for the pin, Hebner ignored his kick-out and declared Andre the winner.

The official for the match was supposed to be Earl's twin brother, Dave. You could imagine how surprised everyone was when the two Hebners appeared side by side and began arguing about what had transpired.

It was an odd foreshadowing of how Earl would be involved in the Montreal Screwjob almost a decade later. Granted, what happened with Hogan was all part of a storyline, but it's still interesting how Hebner was in the middle of both situations.

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June 1988- Dave Hebner's Shadow. pic.twitter.com/255cOo2hb4

— WWF Magazine Archive (@WWFMagArchive) March 4, 2014"

You would think Andre would be unstoppable as champion, but he didn't even want the title for himself. As soon as the match was over, he handed the belt to DiBiase. This was the first, and last time DiBiase would have the title around his waist.

Unfortunately, The Million Dollar Man would hold the belt for less time than it took Hebner to fake a three-count. The storyline WWE President, Jack Tunney, declared the title vacant. He cited the controversial ending to the match and the fact that a champion cannot just give the title to whoever he wants.

It was one of those rare moments in wrestling where real heat was created. DiBiase and Andre were the two biggest heels in the company at the time, and this event made the fans hate them even more.

After Tunney vacated the belt, a tournament was held at WrestleMania IV to crown a new champion. Hogan, Andre and DiBiase were all involved, but none of them would walk out as WWE champion.

That honor went to Randy Savage. He went through Butch Reed, Greg Valentine and The One Man Gang before defeating DiBiase in the final round to win the title for the first time in his career.

Hogan may have helped The Macho Man clinch the win, but it was Savage who lasted four rounds in a tournament featuring WWE's biggest stars, and none of it would have happened had it not been for DiBiase trying to buy his way into a title reign two months earlier.

Of all the times the WWE Championship has been vacated, the night Andre and DiBiase screwed Hogan out of the title has to be the most memorable.

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