@Chair.Shot
Main Eventer
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Joined on: Jan 31, 2012 4:38:24 GMT -5
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Post by @Chair.Shot on Jan 27, 2023 23:16:27 GMT -5
Today marks 30 years since the passing of Andre The Giant. To honor his life and career, I thought I would do a deep-dive on the championship belt that Mattel recently included with the Elite 100 Andres! The Andre 87 is possibly my all-time favorite belt. I never believed Mattel would make one so I have collected a number of figure replicas over the years to try and fill that void. Needless to say, I was floored when Mattel announced they would be making one! My only major complaint would be the strap color being blue instead of black. My minor criticisms are the side plates aren’t painted (the flags) and some of the paint on the belt is slightly off as you might notice. Here is a closer look at Mattel’s execution as well as a few shots of the customs in my collection: Mattel Andre 87     I appreciate the inclusion of a belt tip! Bonus shot of the strap length:  Turnquist Andre 87  instagram.com/turnquist_fig_belts?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=WWE Figure Artist Andre 87:  instagram.com/wwe_figure_artist?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=Unknown Ebay Andre 87 (cardboard):  Family Photos:   |
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@Chair.Shot
Main Eventer
WF 10+ Year Member
Joined on: Jan 31, 2012 4:38:24 GMT -5
Posts: 4,866
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Post by @Chair.Shot on Jan 27, 2023 23:17:45 GMT -5
History of the real belt: Genesis:Andre and Hogan sat across from each other, eyes locked. Years of friendship had eroded after the shocking turn of events only a few weeks prior. Manager extraordinaire, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan insisted that a new belt be created "to fit a giant of a man" at the contract signing for the main event of Wrestlemania III. The tension in the room was palpable to say the least. Debut(s):It is unknown when exactly the Andre 87 Belt was created. It is possible that the belt had been designed prior to the conception of the Andre angle. If that were the case, it wouldn't take much time to create a larger strap for the likes of Andre The Giant. What is known is that iconic belt maker Reggie Parks created the Andre 87 design. More on that later. -The True Debut- On March 10, 1987, the WWF filmed a set of TV tapings at the sold out Hara Arena in Dayton, OH. It was here that the Andre 87 Belt was first seen by the eyes of the public. Jack "on the take" Tunney awkwardly revealed the massive championship belt to the 8,000 fans on hand. The crowd began to boo even before the Rowdy one was able to put it on full display. The materialization of a real belt instilled fear in the Hulkamaniacs. They wouldn't create a new belt unless Andre was going to win it, right? The fear of Hogan losing became very real to many. Piper hoisted it high in the air before setting it back onto the table in front of him. Enter Bobby Heenan and Andre The Giant. The uncrowned champion momentarily puts the newly created belt around his waist but ultimately decides to sling it over his left shoulder. Despite the massive size of the belt, Andre still manages to make it appear small. The belt is undoubtedly larger than most. Here is a size comparison (using replicas) illustrating the difference between the belt that came before the Andre 87 and the belt that was to come after the Andre 87  What is interesting about the debut segment is that it did not air until one week prior to Wrestlemania which leads us to... -The Television Debut- In the clip below, Host Bobby Heenan and sidekick Gorilla Monsoon discuss the belt on the March 16th edition of WWF Prime Time. This would be the first time the majority of the WWF audience would have seen the Andre 87 Belt. But wait, theres more... -The Second Debut- One day after the Andre 87 Belt was unveiled for the first time, the World Wrestling Federation ran a show in nearby Columbus, OH. Another 8,000 fans packed the Ohio Center and would bear witness not only to the Andre 87 but to Hulk Hogan dismissing the validity of the belt on The Snake Pit. This episode would air on March 22nd - exactly one week before Wrestlemania III - and it would be the last time anyone would see or hear about the Andre 87 Belt...sort of. The End(?):Seconds before delivering the iconic line "The irresistible force meets the immovable object", Gorilla Monsoon claims "This is the final time, Jess, win, lose, or draw, for the Hulkster to wear that particular belt into the ring." (I used to have the clip but can’t find one at this time) Despite Monsoon's statement, Hogan continued using the same belt he had been using since late 1985 (dubbed "The Hogan 86"). In late 1987, the AWA held a tournament for the International TV title. The belt made for them used the same design as the Andre 87 with minimal changes (most notable is the reduced size of the strap).   The inaugural champion would be Greg Gagne who would also be the final champion as the belt was retired less than two years later. Below is an AWA International TV Title Match featuring champion Greg Gagne taking on Curt Hennig. The belt is seen being used as a weapon towards the end of the footage. Edit: YouTube took the clip down The Andre 87 briefly found new life thanks to the cinematic classic No Holds Barred.  The belt was re-leathered using a shorter white strap. Andre 87 can be seen for just a brief moment in one single scene (something I did not learn until researching this) as well as in some of the promotional information:     For reasons unknown, the decision was made to primarily use the Winged Eagle belt (the current WWF World Heavyweight Championship belt at that time) on a white strap.  In the early 90's, the white strap Andre 87 was eventually donated to Planet Hollywood in Florida by Vince McMahon himself. That is Andre 87's last known whereabouts. Planet Hollywood eventually went out of business. The belt is said to be in a box somewhere in storage but to this day, no one knows for sure.   Legacy:Many years later, a private collector requested to get a copy made by Reggie Parks. It took him a while to find the original artwork for the Andre 87 but eventually a replica was produced for the reported sum of $3,500. It is unknown how many official copies are out there.    Not too long after that first order, WWF/WWE’s replica belt licensee at that time joined in by creating more affordable (lower quality) copies of the Andre 87 Belt. For some this renewed interest in the belt and helped to create a new interest for others (such as myself). These belts became rare and go for a decent little chunk of change these days!  Today you can buy a very similar version from Fandu belts. There aren’t any company logos and the artwork is slightly off. That said, the quality exceeds that of any standard WWEShop replica I have ever seen.    www.fandubelts.com/product-page/dual-andre-87-heavyweight-championship-belt |
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Post by ztj_wwf on Jan 27, 2023 23:21:29 GMT -5
I can’t understand how they thought the strap was blue…Takes a 5 second google search to find out it wasn’t. I’ll definitely be painting the strap on one of the two I end up getting…For those who have experience with this, what would be best to use? Acrylic paint? Spray paint?
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Post by Flair Forever on Jan 27, 2023 23:25:25 GMT -5
Wow very thorough - I learned a lot! Never knew this belt had so much history attached to it. What a great post!
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Post by theaxehennig on Jan 28, 2023 7:51:44 GMT -5
Very interesting read. My first experience with wrestling was Mania 5 (which hooked me), but in the buildup to the Mega Powers exploding, they did a montage, which included the “we’re friends, Andre” scene. Was always curious about all of this. Thank you for taking the time to post this history.
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Post by Mongo Bears on Jan 28, 2023 8:29:50 GMT -5
Good read. Thanks for posting!
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Post by The Gang on Jan 28, 2023 9:14:35 GMT -5
Awesome, thanks for all the research you put into this!
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Post by Back to the Codyverse on Jan 28, 2023 10:44:42 GMT -5
Awesome thread. I learned a lot from this and now I want to buy some classic belts lol
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vandamin8or
Superstar
Joined on: Mar 22, 2016 11:14:18 GMT -5
Posts: 683 
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Post by vandamin8or on Jan 28, 2023 10:49:46 GMT -5
Thanks for this, it was a great read. I've no idea why Mattel made this blue now. I had assumed there must be some reason for it, but no, just Mattel stuff.
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captncharisma19
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 16, 2019 12:54:17 GMT -5
Posts: 2,659
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Post by captncharisma19 on Jan 28, 2023 11:26:36 GMT -5
Thanks for this, much love
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oldschoolfool
Main Eventer
Joined on: Mar 4, 2021 17:37:06 GMT -5
Posts: 1,297
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Post by oldschoolfool on Jan 28, 2023 12:48:46 GMT -5
I appreciate the effort that went into your post.
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stormbreaker
Superstar
Joined on: Jul 23, 2021 16:34:10 GMT -5
Posts: 927
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Post by stormbreaker on Jan 28, 2023 12:58:20 GMT -5
This is an unprecedented display of strength and determination.
We salute you.
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Jan 28, 2023 14:39:26 GMT -5
Great post! I learned a lot. I wish I would've known about this belt at PH back when I went there a couple times.
It's a beautiful title design. I know it's a Mattel variation, but there's something about those dark blue belts that appeals to me. I love the original AE 'Big Eagle' that Austin had, too. The blue and gold go nice together.
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Post by Ministry of Darkness on Jan 28, 2023 16:40:01 GMT -5
Interesting read regarding the Andre '87 belt and thanks for compiling the information. 👍
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Post by Crossfit Jesus on Jan 28, 2023 16:50:49 GMT -5
Nice research done ☑️
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ttmbrad
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Jul 23, 2022 17:38:42 GMT -5
Posts: 470
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Post by ttmbrad on Jan 28, 2023 19:47:13 GMT -5
Fun read. Thanks
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 28, 2023 20:50:04 GMT -5
Brilliant read 👏👏👏. Thanks for posting
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@Chair.Shot
Main Eventer
WF 10+ Year Member
Joined on: Jan 31, 2012 4:38:24 GMT -5
Posts: 4,866
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Post by @Chair.Shot on Mar 1, 2023 9:34:56 GMT -5
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Post by WCWThunderRosa on Mar 1, 2023 14:32:00 GMT -5
I can’t understand how they thought the strap was blue…Takes a 5 second google search to find out it wasn’t. I’ll definitely be painting the strap on one of the two I end up getting…For those who have experience with this, what would be best to use? Acrylic paint? Spray paint? There’s at least one person on the design team who is colorblind, perhaps more |
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leca
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 9, 2017 11:18:38 GMT -5
Posts: 123
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Post by leca on Mar 1, 2023 21:32:48 GMT -5
Excellent post, it's nice to read like this. It's a very interesting topic the history of champion belts.
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