Andre the Giant was a man everyone called boss. Although he was never truly in charge of the company, that was just a matter of perception. In reality, Andre ran the show and carried the WWE on his massive shoulders for years. If you had Andre’s respect, he would call you boss as well.
When WrestleMania VI came around WWE officials knew Andre’s days were numbered. Bruce Prichard spoke about this subject in some detail during his podcast episode about WrestleMania VI. Andre was slow to work in the ring, and even missed those paintbrush-slaps to Bobby Heenan at the conclusion of the match.
Not a lot of people realize this, but Bret Hart was an artist of sorts. Bruce Prichard said he would draw a cartoon on the chalkboard every night in the locker room. He was actually pretty well known within the boys for his humorous wrestling themed backstage doodles.
Word had gotten around pretty heavily that this might very well be Andre the Giant’s last Mania and Bret Hart wanted to give him something special. So, Bret spent a good amount of time drawing a cartoon of every member of the WWF locker room and he spent, even more, time having everyone sign the back of it as a gift to Andre.
When Bret Hart handed the framed picture to Andre, the massive man looked up with tears in his eyes and said, “Thank you, boss.” It was said to be a very touching moment and while Andre is no longer with us, the cartoon has survived to this day.
The Andre the Giant museum exhibit in Ellerbe, North Carolina has the cartoon on display, and one awesome listener of the Bruce Prichard Show snapped a picture of it for us all to see. It is not only a work of art but an absolutely priceless piece of professional wrestling memorabilia. We wish Andre was still alive today so we could thank him for everything he gave to us. But we’re very glad Bret Hart was able to do this for Andre so he had an idea how much he was loved and admired before his last WrestleMania.
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