Andre the Giant

[Dylan Waco]

If purpose is too unknowable and context dependent to be a primary method to analyze wrestling, what does that say about how we value psychology? There is simple no way I know of to even discuss what is usually thought of as psychology in pro wrestling without seeing some greater purpose at work. I don't speak Japanese, and to my knowledge no one here other than OJ does, and yet the psychological genius of All Japan is widely touted here both explicitly and implicitly.

 

What we actually know about Kawadas actions in a given match is very limited. There is a ton that is unknowable even pertaining to things like selling. Im not as much of a "purposeist" as Matt, but I struggle with the idea that any real wrestling analysis can be done absent some search for purpose at minimum.

[goodhelmet]

We know the purpose... to win the match. Two guys want to win and unless there is a double count out or double dq, one goes home a loser and the other a winner. It's pretty simple. How they get to that end is the fun part.

[elliott]

What do folks think about Andre this time around? 

[Matt D]

14 minutes ago, elliott said:

What do folks think about Andre this time around? 

The 3-4 French matches are a huge get. The new NJPW Tito + Pedro tag is awesome. The Rudge tag is great. We've gotten a spattering of other things.

[Grimmas]

1 hour ago, elliott said:

What do folks think about Andre this time around? 

One of the men that are staying on my list. Such a smart worker. Such a force of nature in the ring. Love him!

[elliott]

1 hour ago, Matt D said:

The 3-4 French matches are a huge get. The new NJPW Tito + Pedro tag is awesome. The Rudge tag is great. We've gotten a spattering of other things.

Do you think you'd still have him in your top 10?

[WingedEagle]

20 minutes ago, Grimmas said:

One of the men that are staying on my list. Such a smart worker. Such a force of nature in the ring. Love him!

What does his gender have to do with his work?

[Grimmas]

1 minute ago, WingedEagle said:

What does his gender have to do with his work?

Nothing, just stating he's on my list.

[Matt D]

11 minutes ago, elliott said:

Do you think you'd still have him in your top 10?

Andre's personal case is only better. Let me start with that. Nothing in the new footage will bump him down. That said, I foresee a world where I have 30 new people on my list easily. It's just too early for me to say. I don't anticipate putting the pillars in my top ten, however, but I could foresee putting a guy like Tenryu in there and Andre was towards the end of the ten, so one or two of those and he's out of the top 10.

[Cap]

love me some Andre.  Someone I have really wanted to dig into more for a while. There is quite a bit from him that I have only seen in passing or haven't sat down with at all. The french matches sound intriguing for sure.

[Jmare007]

Shit, how much new Andre since 2016 is there? point me in the right directions please!

[Matt D]

I'll put together the Catch matches later as they were taken down a few years ago and I don't have them handy.

[Dav'oh]

ANDRE KNOWS EVERYTHING
And Here's A List of His Teachers
But first, a preface.
Before the world went global, three sportsmen's names were known all over, Pele, Mohammed Ali, and Andre the Giant. To so many who knew nothing of pro-wrestling, they knew Andre, they knew he was a Giant, and they knew he was a wrestler. Same as people who knew no boxing knew Ali, and those that knew no football knew Pele. It's probably still true today.
The world did not fit Andre the Giant. Not doorways not carseats not beercans. Not anything. But Andre the Giant fit pro-wrestling, like no other. Were there bigger? Were there better? Yes and yes. But none were greater.
Andre faced everyone, the Who's Who, right from the start. By the time he hit New York in 1973, he had received seven years (and would continue to receive under Vincent J) of the greatest education in wrestling and working one could imagine. And I'd certainly posit that Andre faced all of the contenders for Number One and never looked the lesser man, and often surpassed them. That will be up to you to decide as a viewer. I can't use the written word to explain moving pictures to you. My evidence is not in the footage. Andre's evidence is in the footage. Consider this auxillary evidence. There is NO in-ring here, to iterate. That's on the YouTubes and the DailyMotionses.  

                                                          *********************************
So it's January 1966 and Andre's 19 and he enrols at French Catch. By the time he "defeats" the vaunted Franz van Buyten 24 months later he's had only 32 matches in a variety of French cities, but he's "beaten" certified greats like Rene Lasartesse,  Robert Gastel and Andre Bollet. Yves Amor works him multiple times early on, as does Franky Valois, such an important figure in his later life. By May of 1969 he's deemed sufficiently advanced in French Catch to go to Joint Promotions for a look at the British Style. He's wrestling in England and Scotland, working Jim Hussey and Steve Veidor, as well as Peter Thornley as Kendo Nagasaki, who becomes the first man listed as beating Monster Rousimoff. By KO. London to a brick Andre's training with your more hookery shootery rippery types England loved to produce, but he's still turning up in one piece the next day. He's learning everything some great minds and technicians think he'll be needing.
So it's January 1970 and Andre studies overseas rather than overchannel at Japan Tech, IWE Campus. He's in there against Strong Kobayashi and Thunder Sugiyama. He's 23, mind you. He stays six weeks and heads home and has one match in the next twelve months (I'm sure he had his reasons) before reporting back for another semester at IWE with Isamu Teranishi, Rusher Kimura and Tetsunosuke Daigo showing him what they know.
How is he not learning? How many GW'sE already? Karl Gotch now. In tags before going over him 1vs1. There's at least three draws vs Billy Robinson on this tour, the first being just his 113th match. How good are his teachers and how good is the student? No-one was "seeing through his shit". He wasn't being held by the hand in undercard matches by old-timers or relegated to gimmick matches. No. The biggest names, the best teachers, because he was good enough for them, just as he was good enough to be in a prestigious tournament in front of a discerning Japanese fanbase. 
A week after the IWE World Series he goes and sits in 1970 Economy seating, the ones that don't fit him - none of this "two comp'ed first-class seats" mythos - on his first North American excursion, to Montreal's Grand Prix as Andre Rousimoff. Smart to ease him in somewhat there, but it's only the three matches, one a countout loss to the unidentified Professional.

Now he makes his US debut; just his second day in is a tag match against Larry Hennig and Lars Anderson. Heh heh heh. Fuck.

" 'allo 'allo, Mr. Gagne."
"Andre! Welcome to America. See how you go with these two! Two out of three falls while you're at it!"

It's only the three dates for Verne interrupted by another loss in Montreal territory to the Professional (who is this masked nemesis?), then he's off to see how they do things in Toronto as Jean Ferre, interestingly (to Antipodeans) wrestling Steve Rickard. To a one-shot for Afflick's WWA and now three weeks for Verne. And wouldn't you fucking know it, he's in there in a tag against Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens, he's opposite Ivan Koloff. Nowhere do we see or read of him "cArRiEd", nowhere is he seen or recorded to be overwhelmed, nowhere does he seem like he doesn't belong in there. Nowhere is he treated like the McGuire Twins or given old hands in the undercard or a plethora (see what my avatar did there ) of handicaps or Battles Royal. These fucking names tutors.
Another IWE series. In still just his 151st match he goes to a draw with Don Leo Jonathon, and you know full well DLJ is teaching him a trick or two, suspecting they might cross paths again. Oh, and he's working nearly every night for two straight months on that tour, ending May of 1972.  At that size. In those bus-seats. Beds that don't fit him. In those rings (and remember, Andre could and would bump like a champ). Always learning learning learning.
He takes ten days off and it's back to Quebec and...Professor Don Leo! Whaddyaknow. Sees Dusty Rhodes across the ring for Verne, swaps wins with DLJ between Verne gigs, teaming with Dick Beyer  against Bock and Stevens holy fuck he's in rarefied air almost every time out. And he's keeping up with them he's surpassing them, that's up to you, the viewer, but I suggest to you, the reader, he was never the marked inferior against or alongside any of the greats. He teams with Mad Dog Vachon, faces Baron von Raschke (his first listing as "Andre the Giant" in Cagematch) and now, now, in his 209th match, it's Jean Ferre alongside Edouard Carpentier and Yvon Robert Jr, against Don Leo Jonathon, Killer Kowalski and Mad Dog Vachon. There's my submission for a murderer's row, your honours. I believe he belonged. We can all see how well he moved, wrestled and worked. Dick Murdoch next. Fuck me I didn't know my premise was quite this strong.
 

MARCH 26, 1973 - ANDRE HITS NYC. The apprenticeship is over. He's the show now. A "Special Attraction". You don't go to the wrestling to see Andre the Giant. You go to see Andre the Giant and he just happens to be in his underwear.

Vincent J., having taken the reins, uses him only in Gardens Boston and Madison first go around, six shots in seven weeks. Couple of intro squashes, then Toru Tanaka gives him an Introduction to North-East Heavyweight Style 101 at MSG and he teams with 1973-popularity Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon. And you know Andre is looking at every little trick Strongbow and Monsoon are using, learning learning learning. He gets sent to NWA Big Time for Fritz von Erich I think and Houston for Boesch I think. He beats Black Gordman and Goliath in a handicap. Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston get their first looks at him. Fights John Tolos in Bakersfield and teams with Strongbow and Gorilla the same day in Boston. Is that a mistake or was that possible working the timezones? He finishes off the year for Vince against your Stan Stasiak Blackjack Lanza and Mr. Fuji types.
It's the miles. He starts 1974 doing El Paso, Lubbock, Abilene, Amarillo, Houston in 1974 cars, monster-sized beasts but still they don't fit him. Travelling with the boys. Doing the hard yards. They mainly give him Killer Karl Cox. Another big man to learn from. He debuts in Las Vegas and San Francisco squashes and a Battle Royal . Makes a quick bucket of cash vs DLJ on his way to Central States for the first time, a one-off, getting Baron Mikel Scicluna for more US Big-Man 101. Then it's Ed Farhat, the Sheik, for the first time (4'15" DDQ) in Toronto and a three-minute loss to him a week later. I'm struggling to think what Andre learns from Ed. But it's off to debut in New Japan as part of what I consider a fairly lop-sided "partnership" between Capitol and Inoki. Long flight and the toilets don't fit him. 
It's vs Seiji Sakaguchi and Shibata and Antonio Inoki in tag and six-mans nearly every night for a month leading to his first singles with Inoki. NWA Hollywood first-up back in the States. Debuts at the Kiel in a Battle Royal (Dory Funk Jr  wins). He hits St Joseph and Waterloo. Between the 15th of February, and the 13th of April, 1974, he worked 27 matches all over Japan and then California, Missouri, and Iowa and debuts in Florida on the 16th. At his size. In that world, built for everyone but him. How is he doing this?
74 Andre teams with 74 Muraco  vs 74 Dusty and 74 Ole Anderson. He's in Georgia for an intro squash, then MSG, back to Florida via Georgia and an introduction to Bill Watts in a tag. 
We're starting to see some short and long-term feuds starting to build, but he's not really being put in a position to do anything except make a good first impression. Clearly, he does. Against the best. Singles vs Watts, he faces at once Jimmy Garvin, Ronnie Garvin, and Seedy Garvin. He's facing Buddy Roberts. The Battle Royals are mounting as he makes his first appearances in Greensboro, Charlotte, and Richmond. An AWA cameo. A week in Japan. This fucker's not human. Back to Western States where he faces Terry Funk, Murdoch and DLJ for luck (wins a Battle Royal with Akio Sato while he's at it). Learning Texas Tricks to go with every other Regional Trick and National Trick and Big-Man Trick he's been taught or picked up along the way. Canada to wrestle Gene Kiniski. Fuck me - this is one straight run of matches:

July 22, 1974 vs Gene Kiniski (DCO) New Westminster, British Columbia
August 9 vs Ernie Ladd (DDQ) Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
August 18 vs the Sheik (DCO, 5'10") Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto
August 26 def. Killer Kowalski, aspirational if not practicing trainer, at MSG via count-out 
August 31, 1974 teams with Bruno Sammartino against the Valiants at the Civic Centre in Baltimore.

I wonder what Austin Aries' booking diary looks like for August?

And again, it's not for me to tell you if the matches were any good. He gets Don Jardine (as Super Destroyer), Buddy Colt, and the Minnesota Wrecking Crew over four nights next. The Akio Sato pairing and Bruno tag seem to be part of a shift from "Andre vs territory's literally biggest heel", to, "territory's biggest face gets to team with Andre". He's co-winning Battle Royals with Dusty and teaming with him and teaming with Wahoo McDaniel. Teams with Bruno and Haystacks against that teacher Kowalski and some Valiants. Teams with Gorilla. He's already learned how to wrestle and defend himself and attack in a variety of ways, as taught by the greats. Now he's learning how to be the world's greatest babyface, learning at the side of the some of the greatest heels and babyfaces in history.

I LOVE THE UNIVERSE on November 1, 1974, Andre faced Johnny Valentine and Ric Flair in Richmond (teaming with Sonny King ). Beats Flair and Rip Hawk the next night, before a fortnight off, then Japan.

Oh, to the, "But he had his off-nights" Brigade:
Fuck me running. Of course he fucking did. I got jet-lagged writing then typing this, and I'm in a seat that fits me. 

Japan's just a build up facing the New Japan regulars leading to Inoki-Andre II. Christmas time is Andre's Time. Yay! New Year's 1975 starts off with Houston, St. Petersburg, Fort Worth, Dallas in four days. In seats that didn't fit him. He's teaming with Carpentier against Greg Valentine and Pat Patterson in LA. To Ohio where, with Tex McKenzie, he faces Abdullah, a butcher by trade and the Sheik. A few nights in Florida where he faces Archie Gouldie , a Stomper from Mongolia by hobby. He's teaming with Peter Maivia and Patterson in SF three nights later, three nights later it's Valentine and Jardine in Charlotte. 
Wonder if he's allowed an off-night yet. Probably not because he's got a run with Verne now, going to two draws with Chris Taylor in there. Teams with Dusty and Superstar Graham to say goodbye. He's already learned how to wrestle. Dusty and SBG and co. are teaching him theatrics.
Now it's Big Bill Miller at the Kiel. At this point, I don't think there's anything to be gained by anyone trying to "prove' themselves against Andre. The boy can play. There's not a lot in pro-wrestling he doesn't know, in or out of the ring.  The first draw with Taylor was his 400th match. He's 29 years old and more than halfway through his life. 
Vincent gives him to his promoters in Utica, Trenton and Albany before Verne gets him for seven matches in eight days. Andre travels with the boys in seats that don't fit him from Chicago (vs Ox Baker) to Green Bay to Moline to Omaha, Denver, St. Paul, and Duluth (in tag matches). Tulsa, OK for a Battle Royal the next day, four days later it's a double-shot in Shreveport and Colorado.
He had a bad back? Funny, that. Handicap wins over Don Greene and Jerry Lawler and stuff with Abby in Georgia and trips to the Western States circuit before debuting in Oregon. He's well past being taught anything. He's out there now, showing what he's learnt from a Who's Who of the Who's Who of Pro-Wrestling.

Did I mention, this world he's travelling? Not one doorway was meant for him.

 

[elliott]

That was beautiful! 

[elliott]

I have definitely reached the "I fucking blew it section" of my 2016 list because I ranked Andre 55th in 2016 and I fucking blew it. I love @Dav'oh's post above. I understand the criticisms you can throw out. The endless series with John Studd and other disappointing WWF matches. You might think he's an embarrassment in his later career. Whatever. I just don't care about those things. Andre was always a marvel but now we can point to a ton of examples of Andre backing it up with work. You want a world class brawl? YOu want a classic title match? You want comedy? You want a multi-man? You want face work or heel work? You want impressive young lion work? You want someone who looks world class in their physical prime? You want a valuable post prime? You want high end all time great matches? You want the greatest natural character in wrestling history? Andre has it all. He's closer to #1 than he is to #50. 

[KB8]

Andre was my number 80 in 2016, and as of right now I'm okay with that. I didn't have him at 80 rather than 60 or 50 or 30 because I watched a bunch of shitty Andre matches from Vince Sr. era WWWF and decided to penalise him. I'm not saying those matches don't exist, it's just that running through that stuff is not and has never been particularly high on my list of priorities, so I can't exactly scrutinise Andre with those shows in mind. Maybe in the interest of being thorough I SHOULD watch them...but then who the fuck has time to watch everything of everyone and stay even remotely sane? On the other hand, I didn't have Andre higher because I just haven't seen a lot of the footage that would build THAT case. That's not me saying it's not out there - I'm saying I just haven't watched it yet (and I have a pretty good idea of the stuff I need to see). So for the time being 80 is a spot for Andre I'm content with. He was awesome, of course. Maybe the most impressive aura of anyone in history and how he projected that was amazing. Early 80s Andre on the New Japan set was mind-blowing holy shit level great and his highest highs are just crazy. A terrifying presence as a heel but could garner a ton of sympathy as a babyface, which is quite astonishing when you consider the fact people believed he'd rip just about anybody's head off given the impetus. And yeah, I'm one of those weirdos who has a soft spot for broken down damn near immobile Andre.

 

ANDRE THE GIANT YOU SHOULD WATCH:

v Franz Van Buyten (French Catch, 1/20/68)

v Harley Race (Houston, 1/7/79)

v Stan Hansen (New Japan, 9/23/81)

v Killer Khan (New Japan, 4/1/82)

w/Hulk Hogan v Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Heenan, Bobby Duncam & Ken Patera (AWA, 11/7/82)

[elliott]

The Stan Hansen match is just perfect in all ways. Godzilla vs King Kong come to life. 

[KB8]

I literally just watched their match from May '79, and it's not in the same stratosphere but it's a super fun accompanying piece. The dynamic is actually flipped and Hansen works overtly heelish, even loading up the elbow pad and lariating Andre right in the forehead, which leads to Andre bleeding and Hansen biting the cut. Hansen's mouth and moustache are covered in blood afterwards so he looks like some zombie redneck unleashed upon the world. The post-match is exactly what you think as Hansen launches furniture and Andre stalks him down with a chair and Blassie shouts along waving his cane like a crazy puppeteer. 

What a match-up. 

[Grimmas]

1 hour ago, elliott said:

The Stan Hansen match is just perfect in all ways. Godzilla vs King Kong come to life. 

A top 5 match of all time for me. Great description.

Is there anything better in wrestling history than Andre putting on a Stan Hansen elbow pad to deliver a lariat?

[Microstatistics]

7 hours ago, elliott said:

The Stan Hansen match is just perfect in all ways. Godzilla vs King Kong come to life. 

Andre the Giant vs. King Kong would have been a better match. Kong understands the concept of selling better than Hansen. 

[elliott]

King Kong is an all time babyface so that isn't an insult to Hansen. Its like saying someone doesn't punch as well as Lawler.

[Dav'oh]

Andre the Giant vs the Iron Sheik (07/09/1984)

No-one really knows why Sheiky-baby was on Andre's Shitlist, but it led to his murder on this September 1984 Nassau Colosseum evening.

This was the Bloated, Beloved, probably Boozed Andre, breaking down before our eyes and heading towards the 1987 back surgery that required veterinarians to calculate the amount of anaesthesia needed for a 7', 500lb human being. And unlike the monsters and ogres of legend, he was a Beautiful Giant. Smiling Andre, Laughing Andre, Throwing Money To The Crowd Andre -  Gentle Andre.

No-one really knows why Sheiky-baby died that night, but clearly he had summoned Andre the Grotesque and all his joyful malevolence. This is Andre the Sadist, the Ugly, the Bully.

To wit: Andre the Beloved does not even acknowledge the crowd, who really do belove him, during introductions. He stands there, grotesque - and make no mistake, Andre is truly hideous. With  a pituitarily disfigured face no mother could love and his knees near buckling, he makes no attempt to mask his ugliness. Sheik, for his part, looks in great shape, and Kimchee, for his part, is the special guest referee. (Andre's trunks are huge, for those into that sort of thing.)

It's not that Andre doesn't sell Sheik's initial attack; he doesn't even register it. Khosrow, of course, must know full well that you go squish now, and can only rely on the benevolence of His Malevolency to stay alive.

Andre takes centre ring, where he will remain. The bell rings and Sheiky bails, hoping the governor will phone in with a last-minute reprieve. But to the gallows he must, eventually, walk. They lock-up, Collar-and-Elbow no.1 in a series of twelve. Andre picks him straight up and bodyslams him on one of those eighties WWF rings brought to you by GraniteWorld, then stands on Sheik's spine while he's down, as you do.

They reset, and into the fray once more for Sheiky. *Please note, this "match" is just reset after reset and *please note that the Iron Sheik is a fucking trooper. He knows he's got fifteen minutes of Andre the Bastard to endure. Andre wrestles Sheik down.

#3. Andre grabs an arm and hiptosses his victim, much like an orca tossing a baby fur seal. My carpet and underlay have more spring than this ring. My carpet and underlay are smarter than some of the crowd, who are trying to get a U.S.A chant up and running.

v.4 - Andre ducks the tie-up and hoists Sheik up in a bear-hug, unmoving, before dumping him, but Khosrow, knowing he's fucked anyway, gets a shot in. The World Health Organisation do not recommend this procedure.

Number Five sees a hip-throw and Andre goes to the mat for an armbar. Sheik, not having gotten the memo yet, tries another strike, but Andre gets up, pronto, and says, "Le Fuck No, Mon Ami", then waffles him.

Yay, though the Sheik walks in the Valley of Death, he fears not no.6, in which Andre the Tormentor does a legsweep then grabs the first neck he can see (spoiler: it's the Sheik's), and the attached arm and rolls over, taking the Sheik with him. Show-Off Andre, Humiliation Andre, manhandling an Olympic-calibre "real" wrestler and bodyguard to the Shah, on the mat. 

Lucky Sevens? Nah...Andre is offering nothing but resets by standing centre-ring and waiting for Sheik to come to him, as he must. This time Khosrow, who was 42 and survived by a wife and small children, endures a front-facelock and a single-underhook suplex. Andre gets to his feet and drops a knee on the spine, just because.

The Iron Sheik bails again, and Andre just stands centre-ring, a monster in appearance and intent.

No.8 = Front-Facelock.

The ninth reset of the match and Andre grabs a leg, stands on the Sheik and gives him a groinbreaker. Andre the Merciless awaits centre ring again and the Iron Sheik is selling like a babyface, and his courage in crawling, fighting to his feet to try and lock-up again is Steamboat-esque. Andre, mais oui, cuts him off at the pass.

Sheik limps so gingerly and so fucking gamely into the tenth sequence. Andre again pre-empts a lock-up with a hand around Khosrow's throat and a knife-edge whoooo! (hold the whoooo!). Andre waits, centre-ring, for #eleven while the Iron Sheik channels Ricky Morton and, on all fours, takes swings at Andre's shins. #eleven has Sheik suffer a side-headlock judo throw into neck crank, with all of Andre the Prick's weight on the Iron Sheik's non-ferrous lungs.

Andre's just running through stuff he knows. Not spots, just stuff. And he's brutalising, torturing him but protecting him, at once. Takes centre-ring. The Sheik is a fucking manly man's man here as Andre chops him down, then deadlifts him by the front of his pants in a near Front Admiral, whips him to the ropes and hits the Big Boot. Butt Splash x 2, but Kimchee won't make the count (Andre's only cover of the entire massacre).

And so Andre bodyslams Kimchee on the Iron Sheik's nose. Andre the Satisfied lets Sheik roll out of the ring, unhindered.

Right on his fucking nose.
 

[Clayton Jones]

I had Andre pencilled in my top half orginally, spent some time watching his late 60s footage and some early 80s on my first round with him, and found myself thinking "how high is too high??" Then read through this post and for once I really enjoyed the back and forth debate. I thought both sides made great points and it gave me a good batch of matches to start on when I get to round two. Andre is a rare candidate where I'm looking forward to watching his lesser stuff, although I'm also admittedly going to give him a bit of a pass after he really starts to break down.

[NintendoLogic]

On 1/16/2022 at 6:52 AM, Dav'oh said:

No-one really knows why Sheiky-baby was on Andre's Shitlist

I've always heard Andre didn't like Sheik because of the latter's tendency to take liberties with enhancement talent.

[fxnj]

It's not going to be much of a controversial opinion to say Andre was awesome in Japan, but holy shit was he awesome in Japan. It's mindblowing to revisit his late-70's and early-80's NJPW stuff every few years and see just how much he'd mastered the art of working as a big man. Even cooler now that we have that added context of his time with 60's French catch and how he developed that style into his own thing.

I dare anyone to find a better worked squash match than this. Everything is on point between the character work, the creativity, the execution, and the comedic timing.

https://archive.org/details/njpw-misc-tv-sky-a-samurai-classics-1978-1980-60fps/1979.05.25a-NJPW-Handicap+Match-Andre+the+Giant+VS+Osamu+Kido+%26+Haruka+Eigen.mp4

Also, the re-evaluation of his time in 90's AJPW as a strong way to close out his career and the new handheld matches that have come out has been my favorite new movement in 90's AJPW these past few years. The Misawa/Kawada tag was already a bit of revelation and a great match for Andre's limitations, but the Jumbo/Taue tag is just a great match full stop without any "for his limitations" qualifier needed.