WrestleMania 39: Inside the Crazy World of WWE – Andre The Giant drank 108 beers in 45 MINUTES, Goldust’s “BOOB JOB” and POO in The Rock’s lunchbox
The weird and wonderful world of WWE takes center stage for the biggest spectacle in sports entertainment this weekend – WrestleMania!
‘Mania 39 promises to be the most spectacular event in company history as Roman Reigns and co take over Hollywood.
Since the very first Showcase of the Immortals in 1985, WWE has been intrinsically linked to the California monument.
From drafting celebrity guests to mentoring his own stars such as Dwayne Johnson to join Hollywood themselves.
However, the ultimate example of WWE showbusiness often takes place outside of the ring and behind the curtain.
With enough behind-the-scenes stories to launch a blockbuster movie franchise, talkSPORT.com ranks five of WWE’s most infamous legends…
Andrew the Giant
The ‘eighth wonder of the world’ was synonymous with his rivalry with WWE poster boy Hulk Hogan in the 1970s and 80s.
But behind the scenes, the couple were close friends, and it was Hogan who once revealed that 7-foot-4 Andre could really put them away.
The stories behind the late Hall of Famer’s drinking ability are widely known, including downing six bottles of wine before a game.
He also allegedly had a $40,000 bar tab at his hotel while filming The Princess Bride and the man himself told US talk show host David Lettermen he could finish 117 beers in a single session.
Hogan has since confirmed that Andre almost accomplished this latest feat in less than an hour at the Delta Crown Lounge.
The Hulkster said, as reported by the Daily Star: “I get a call. “Hey, boss, I’m at the Tampa airport. I have a one hour layover.
“I was like OK, it’s about 15 minutes from my mom’s house. So I walked through the airport and met him at the Delta Crown Lounge.
“By the time we sat down we had about 45 minutes before he had to walk to the next door. He drank 108 12-ounce (350 ml) beers.
Goldust
His real-life half-brother Cody Rhodes went from WWE scrap to headlining WrestleMania 39.
But he had to resort to far less drastic measures than Goldust to propel himself back onto the main event stage.
The Bizarre One – the eldest son of WWE icon Dusty Rhodes – was one of wrestling’s most controversial figures during his heyday.
And when Vince McMahon planned to give up his thing after his initial popularity waned, Goldust became desperate.
The 53-year-old, who was married and shared a daughter with fellow WWE star Terri Runnels at the time, offered to get a boob job done.
Goldust reportedly sought $1 million to go under the knife with the idea that fans would be intrigued enough to watch him wrestle.
Legendary WWE commentator Jim Ross wrote in JR’s cookbook: True Ringside Tale, BBQ, and Down-Home Recipes: “Dustin walks into the small room at MSG, sits down and tells me that he has the idea that will put him back on the map.
“With a film crew present, he wants to go under the knife and have a breast implant procedure, essentially making him the first transgender character in sports-entertainment history!
“His vision was that it would be so weird and bizarre that our fans and new fans, for that matter, would pay a lot of money to watch him wrestle.
“He indicated that it was worth it because this character would be the hottest new thing in the world and the money would be flowing in for everyone!”
“Vince had a puzzled look on his face and as he told me later, he thought he was ‘ribbed’.
“It wasn’t a rib, and after Dustin was done, Vince explained that he appreciated Dustin trying to come up with new concepts for the character and keep thinking about it, but Vince didn’t think that creative idea particular was the direction we wanted to travel.
“I later asked Goldust’s wife, Terri, if she knew about his concept, and she responded by rolling her eyes and nodding. That pretty much covered it up.
The rock
WWE management invested heavily in Dwayne Johnson, who turned out to be a superstar right from the start.
So much so that he was placed in favorable positions by creatives early in his career, which sparked the jealousy of his more established rivals.
And that led to Rocky becoming the victim of a disgusting prank intended to undermine the rising star’s confidence.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry said: “Me and The Rock have always had our lockers right next to each other.
“I walked in and saw people laughing and laughing and running away from where our lockers were.
“I saw his box was open. I grabbed the box and was going to close it and I looked inside and there was shit in it.
“Somebody s*** in their box of food, so of course I have to dispose of it and say, ‘Hey man, don’t leave your food here.’
“They envied us new guys coming in.”
Stephanie McMahon
The Billion Dollar Princesses’ actual marriage to Triple H is well documented, but the origins of their romance are much murkier.
McMahon became pregnant with the couple’s first of three daughters in 2005 – only for her father Vince, then WWE Chairman and CEO, to float the idea of revealing himself as the father of her child as part of a incest scenario.
She told an old WWE documentary: “My dad approached me about wanting to father my baby in a TV script, which is still only the second time I’ve said no to him about something he wanted to do.
“That one was just a little too disgusting actually. It’s completely disgusting. I don’t find the entertainment value in that at all.
“And he’s actually my dad, so how could I even play that? I can’t pretend to kiss my dad like we’re in love or something. It’s just revolting all around.
“Then he got the idea that Shane (McMahon) was actually the father of my baby…my brother and again, no!
“I know it happens sometimes in this world, but it won’t happen with us – I just can’t do this, it’s too much!”
The contractor
“Taker’s dedication to kayfabe meant he was rarely seen in public as Mark Calaway and avoided interviews until his retirement in 2020.
Early in his character, WWE fans learned that the 6’8 giant was truly undead and slept in coffins.
While the former may not be true, the Phenom admitted to taking a nap behind the scenes at his coffins after telling others to rest in peace.
Appearing on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, he said: “We’ve had some long, arduous days in TV production.
“You just have hours where you don’t do anything and on more than one occasion I may have pulled out a coffin and took a nap in there without thinking about it.
“It is cold, dark and comfortable. I had big caskets, big opponents early on, so I had big caskets they had around, so they served a dual purpose sometimes.
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