Sometimes things don’t go as planned come bell time. Take, for instance, the time Andre the Giant and Akira Maeda met in Japan in May of ’86.
It was during his time at the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation where Akira Maeda began to stand out as an adept shoot wrestler.
Andre the Giant was in the latter part of his career and in significant pain, so alcohol was his vice. That said, he did not take disrespect to the business lightly.
Andre the Giant showed up to the Japanese venue more drunk than usual in May of '86. He was to face Akira Maeda, a man building a reputation as someone hard to do business with. These two together created a possibility for volatility, and much like a forest fire, it only needed a spark!