Andre the Giant vs Killer Khan (4/1/1982)

Original Rating: ****3/4

If you walked up to me on the street and asked me what I want from a professional wrestling match, I would direct you to this match.

This match is a perfectly worked match, down to every last detail. While I hold back from calling 'simple,' it's simplicity in the story it's telling, and what they do with that is what makes this work. In theory, it is the much bigger Andre (I use 'bigger' lightly here, as Khan was 7'1, Andre being just 3 inches taller) dominating Khan and Khan targeting Andre's leg to bring him down. While I just mentioned the quite small height difference between them, at least compared to Andre's other opponents, they never feel that close in height. Khan feels so much smaller, partly due to his hunch, and Andre feels so big. Andre's always good at making his already large size feel even bigger, and this is my favorite example of it.

Andre is more than a once-in-a-generation wrestler; he is a one-time thing. Never again will there be a wrestler the size of Andre the Giant who is as talented and understands wrestling as much as he did. This match is a perfect example of why. He's almost dismissive of Khan at the start, jawing with the crowd as Khan kicks his leg. This culminates in Khan hitting a chop that finally gets Andre's attention. Andre stares Khan down, backing him into a corner, and in this moment, Khan feels like he is 5 feet tall being stared down by an 8-foot Andre.

I could talk about this opening for a long time. Andre's stare down of Khan after the chop is truly remarkable and is what stuck in my brain after watching the match for the first time. Everything works in accordance with each other to make Andre seem like an impassable mountain for Khan. Even something like the camerawork looming over Andre to shrink Khan down just a little bit more or the crowd slowly building up as they realize the mistake Khan made, helps forge this single 10-second moment into some of the most memorable wrestling I've ever watched.

Now, even after the mentioned chop and staredown, Andre is still somewhat dismissive of Khan, even while locking in holds on him. He knows Khan can't escape, so he takes the time to argue with the ref. Andre is not the better man in this match; he only dominates because of his size, while Khan has to strategize around this. Because of Andre's lack of perfection and overall unfocusedness, Khan sneaks in one kick to the head off an Irish whip and attempted back body drop from Andre. This gives him the opening to go for a body slam, but he is pancaked by Andre, as he is nowhere near strong enough to get him up. Andre gets a pin and 2 count off of this, but after Khan kicks out, Andre rolls to the outside of the ring and looks completely dumbfounded at the fact that Khan could get even that small amount of offense in. Khan has his full attention now.

I've spent a decent portion already talking about Andre, but Khan here is also expectedly great. His brilliance is less up-front than Andre's, as he does the little things that lead into Andre's bigger moments. Despite being incredibly over with the crowd, Khan still plays more of a weasel-like role in this. He tries to enrage Andre as much as he can in hopes of him making a mistake. For example, he points at Andre's arm around his neck, calling it a choke, which makes the referee break it up. This makes Andre yell at the ref, "THAT'S NOT A CHOKE," only enraging him more. Past this point, Andre's offense becomes a little more stiff, but also causes him to increase the pace of the match, once again going for an Irish whip. Khan uses the increased pace to get a Mongolian chop in. While Andre shuts this down relatively quickly, it only makes him angrier. Andre argues with the ref some more, and finally, Khan punishes him for his unfocusedness with a rake to the eyes. Khan then goes after the leg.

I'm not going to act like targeting a big man's leg is a crazy new idea that's never been done before. What I will say is that Khan's legwork is so focused that it really feels like this is his only chance of winning. He clings to the leg like it's water in a desert, as it's his only hope to somehow pull this miracle win off. He gives Andre no room to breathe past this point. On a side note, Khan using the ropes to damage Andre's leg is something that I don't see done that often and is done very effectively here. Good legwork, however, doesn't matter if the selling is done poorly. Luckily, Andre is a very giving seller for someone of his size. Andre limps on the outside and turns his body away from Khan to protect his leg. I want to single out Andre, turning his body away, as something that is just another small wrinkle in this that makes it a special match. He uses his size to protect himself from Khan, forcing him to get through his entire body before he can get to the leg. It's something that only Andre could pull off so well.

Despite Andre regaining control, his leg is still something that constantly bothers him and prevents him from getting any real offense in. Khan goes back to the leg to escape any holds Andre puts him in, and Andre finds it hard to do splashes or slams without injuring his leg more. I made it a point to bring up how Andre feels humongous in the opening portion of the match, and now, that's almost completely gone. He falls to the mat because of the pain in his leg, and the crowd now has some hope to grasp onto for Khan as they passionately chant his name, and Andre yells back, telling them to shut up. But the damage is done to Andre. A once impassable mountain has been brought down to the same level as Khan.

Andre tries his best to regain the control he had, and at times it seems like he has, but whenever Khan even touches the leg, Andre shrivels back up. Even unrelated to the leg, Andre struggles. Khan gets a knee up to hit Andre or rolls out of the way of a splash, all of which only heighten the crowd's excitement and belief. The match is slipping out of Andre's hands, and the control of the match bounces between him and Khan, a shocking difference from how it started.

There's one move that so perfectly encapsulates this match to me that I can't help but talk about it. Andre, out of his own volition, hits a headbutt and immediately covers up his head like it's injured. Khan, on the other hand, pushes through and uses Andre's injury to hit a combo of Mongolian chops, the crowd getting louder and louder with each of them. This moment in particular stands out to me, as it shows that the control Andre once had is almost fully gone. At the start of this match, if he had done the exact same headbutt, he would've used it to extend his control and dominance, but instead, after everything Khan has put him through, he is forced to cover his head up in pain.

There is something I'm neglecting to mention, and that's the fact that Khan loses this match. He goes to the top, which allows Andre to grab him and throw him onto the mat. After this, he strings together some strong offense and gets a 3 count. I think this works for me because of the way it's executed. Khan puts in so much work to get Andre even on the same level as him, and at the very end, Andre uses his strength and size to rip it away from him. It technically isn't a cheap win, but it sure feels like it is. It lines up with everything that has been built, and I think the match makes it just believable enough that Khan could win, which makes the ending work just a little better.

So, is this the greatest match ever? No. While I say it's not the greatest, it certainly is in contention for me. At minimum a top 15 match of all time, and likely even higher than that. This match is something that you get more out of every time you go back to it. Khan and Andre put in two of the best performances of the '80s, and it pays off in a match that can be broken down and looked at with a microscope.

New Rating: *****

(All photo credits to TV Asahi and New Japan Pro Wrestling)

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