If you think of the giants in professional wrestling, both metaphorically and literally, Andre the Giant is the man who immediately springs to mind.
Real name Andre Roussimoff, the former WWE Champion towered over almost everyone he ever stepped into the ring with, even his most famous rival Hulk Hogan.
Famed for his incredible height and weight, including his hands which were bigger than most men’s head, he became a massive attraction across the wrestling world.
Andre travelled from territory to territory from his debut in the 1960s until his death in 1993, drawing huge crowds to see the giant in action.
His career culminated in a WWE Championship win in the most viewed WWE match of all time, pinning Hogan to win the only world title of his career.
Tales of his greatness have been told for nearly half a century, although the line between truth and legend is hard to see.
The claim about his height is one often made and one we will verify right here.
The Claim: Andre the Giant as 7 feet 4 inches tall
WWE have made it canon in wrestling that Andre the Giant, at his peak, stood at 7 feet and 4 inches tall.
On WWE.com, they list the late Frenchman as being 7 feet 4 inches, or 2 metres and 24cm.
Additionally, commentators over the years have remarked at the sheer size of Andre, agreeing with the narrative of his height.
Throughout the territory days, Andre was billed anywhere between 6 feet 10 inches and 7 feet 5 inches, but in WWE they stayed fairly consistent with him being 7 feet 4 inches.
However, they did not announce his height when making his entrance to the ring. Two famous examples are his matches against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 3 and Saturday Night’s Main Event, where they simply announce his weight and then his name.
This does make him the tallest-billed wrestler in WWE – that honour goes to the (supposedly) eight-foot tall Giant Gonzalez – he is still the most famous big men in the business.
Standing at 7 feet four would undoubtably make him one of, if not THE tallest wrestler in the history of the wrestling business.
But the company often exaggerates heights to make their Superstars seem larger than life – so was Andre the Giant really 7 feet 4?
The Evidence: Andre was only as tall as a British wrestling legend
Photographic evidence from Andre the Giant’s career, as well as testimonies from pro wrestlers and journalists alike, prove that he was nowhere near 7 feet 4 inches, even at his peak height.
The most conclusive piece of evidence is a photograph of Andre next to British wrestling legend Giant Haystacks during a tour of New Zealand in 1980, as posted by Ost’s Wrestling Archive on X.
The photo in question shows a newspaper clipping of the pair during a match on May 6, 1980 in Auckland, New Zealand, where Haystacks was known under the name “Goliath”.
Goliath was billed as 7 feet tall and Andre as 7 feet 4 for the event, although the photograph shows the pair being almost the exact same height.
The Englishman was billed as an inch shy of 7 feet, although Wrestling Heritage estimates that it is a figure that could have been exaggerated by as much as five inches.
Even if it was correct, that would make Andre below 7 feet. Anyone who has heard WWE speak about him would find that claim ridiculous, making him nearly half a foot smaller than they say.
However, British legend Tony St. Clair, who hosted Andre during his 1969 tour of the UK, claimed they measured him backstage at a show and found him to be around 7 feet tall.
In “The Eighth Wonder of the World”, he was quoted as saying: “He was even foot on, with his wrestling shoes on. Those shoes were not as thick as wrestling boots are today, adding only about an inch to his real height.
Dave Meltzer weighed in on the debate in 2016, reporting that Andre measured 6’9¾” at age 24 during a UK tour, where he suffered his first career defeat in a bout against Kendo Nagasaki.
By contrast, British legend Tony St. Clair recalled measuring Andre backstage in 1969 and finding him “even foot on” with wrestling shoes, which added about an inch.
In “The Eighth Wonder of the World”, he was quoted as saying: “He was even foot on, with his wrestling shoes on. Those shoes were not as thick as wrestling boots are today, adding only about an inch to his real height.”
Both accounts carry weight — Meltzer’s based on a documented figure, St. Clair’s on memory — but the photographic record leans toward Meltzer. In the 1980 shot, Andre and Giant Haystacks appear nearly identical in height.
Sixteen years later, Haystacks faced The Giant (Big Show) in WCW, a legitimate 7-footer, and was clearly shorter by several inches. If Haystacks was under 7’0”, Andre standing level with him in 1980 places Andre below that mark too.
Taken together, the evidence suggests Andre was closer to 6’9”–6’10” in his prime, not the 7’4” WWE billing. Later reports of him being measured at 6’10” near his death remain unverified, but they fit the pattern of a man whose true stature was extraordinary — just not as tall as the myth claimed.
The Verdict: False
Examining all possibly evidence from vahttps://verifywrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/woman-traveling-in-france-2023-11-27-05-16-47-utc_Easy-Resize.com_.jpgus parties, it is impossible that Andre the Giant stood at 7 feet 4, and there are many doubts that he broke the 7-foot barrier at all in his life.
Why was Andre the Giant so tall?
Andre the Giant was not a “giant” in the mythical sense of the word; he suffered from acromegaly, a disorder which caused his gigantism.
The disorder is caused by a non-cancerous tumour in the pituitary gland, which causes it to overproduce growth hormone in the body.
The excess growth hormone caused his body to grow much larger than the average. As well as his huge height, Andre had massive hands, feet and even facial features.
This is the same disorder that The Big Show suffered from, although he had the tumour removed from his head as an adult, something Andre refused to do (he was scared he would lose his size and his wrestling career).
Gigantism caused Andre a world of pain. His back was in pieces as early as the 1980s, with Hogan having to literally carry him through their famous matches, as Andre could barely stand.
He suffered immense pain travelling the globe, being forced to endure long plane rides in cramped seats and sleep in beds that were never big enough for him to lay comfortable.
While his height was the basis for his wrestling career, it also proved to be a curse all the way until the end of his life.