In 1981, before Hulkamania ran wild and with a need for something more compelling than the bland babyface champion Bob Backlund to draw crowds, two main event monsters were booked to boost the gates: Killer Khan and Andre the Giant. Their year-long feud was fueled by the kayfabe breaking of Andre’s ankle by Khan, culminating in an innovative stretcher match on November 14, 1981, in Philadelphia. Nearly 30 years ago, this match became a pivotal moment in wrestling history. The two later reignited their rivalry in Japan in 1982.
The ankle injury would, in many ways, foreshadow the drastic decline of Andre before and after WrestleMania III, including his highly-watched feud with Hulk Hogan a few years later. The broken ankle, after all, was real—though not inflicted by Khan in the ring. Instead, Andre broke his ankle while getting out of bed. His acromegaly, the disease that led to his continued growth and giant size, was taking its toll, leaving his bones brittle and prone to injury.
After this angle, Andre’s only major rivalry before Hogan was with Big John Studd. This rivalry culminated not in a match, but a Body Slam Challenge at WrestleMania I. Andre’s limited mobility, due to mounting back injuries and general weakness from his gigantism, was often hidden in gimmick matches, such as tag matches where his partner carried the bulk of the work, or battle royals, like the one he won at WrestleMania II. Vince McMahon was able to draw crowds for the first two WrestleManias using Andre without him having to wrestle full matches. Andre was then essentially rested for one last singles push, from WrestleMania III through WrestleMania IV, during which he also filmed The Princess Bride.
Ironically, by the time Andre achieved his greatest fame during that final singles push with Hogan and his role in The Princess Bride (1986-87), he was already beginning to fade from the ring due to his declining health.
Killer Khan, whose real name is Masashi Ozawa, had his last WWF run with Hulk Hogan, jobbing in a series of house shows in 1987 before returning to Dallas and WCCW. There, he was managed by Skandor Akbar and occasionally tagged with the Freebirds against the Von Erichs. Although Andre was the main attraction, Khan arguably had more high-profile matches over the years. Not only did he feud with Andre, but he also worked matches against then-World Champion Bob Backlund and then-Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales in the early ’80s. Khan made enough of a name for himself to later appear in one of the 3 Ninjas movies, similar to Hulk Hogan, although they appeared in separate films—Khan in 3 Ninjas Kick Back and Hogan in 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain.
When these two iconic giants clashed in 1981, the rivalry escalated to next-level violence due to a mundane incident—Andre the Giant broke his ankle getting out of bed. However, the WWF turned this potential disaster into smart booking, reporting that Khan had broken Andre’s ankle during a match.
In the storyline, Killer Khan was the first to immobilize and sideline the great Andre the Giant. This built tension without Andre needing to appear in the ring or even on camera, a brilliant move in wrestling when executed effectively. It creates new drama with minimal resources. Sadly, the cost was all on Andre, who had to recover from the real ankle injury. By the time he returned for the blow-off match, the story had grown so big that a special match was created: the Mongolian Stretcher Match. The “Mongolian” designation was likely a product of the racist stereotypes of the 1980s, capitalizing on the fearsome reputation of Genghis Khan.
The match stipulated that the winner would be the first to incapacitate their opponent long enough for medical personnel to carry them on a stretcher back to the locker room. The match featured several tense moments where Khan was placed on the stretcher after taking a beating from Andre, only to rise and return to the ring before being carried out.
In the end, Andre delivered an impressive double underhook (side) suplex and a seated senton (similar to an Earthquake Splash) to knock Khan out long enough to be carried backstage. It was the only logical finish, as carrying Andre himself would have been nearly impossible.
This match is one of the last where Andre could still move around the ring and get rough, delivering some of the stiff shots he was notorious for. After this, even against Hogan, his matches were dominated by bear hugs, stepping on backs, and leaning on the ropes while opponents ran into his giant boot—tactics designed to mask his increasing lack of mobility. His tag run with Haku, where Haku worked 98% of the match, was another way to keep Andre in the spotlight despite his limitations.
The Andre-Khan rivalry was significant enough to earn both Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s and Wrestling Observer’s Rivalry of the Year awards for 1981, a year filled with fantastic NWA Mid-Atlantic championship rivalries between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, and Ric Flair and Roddy Piper.
While the Hulk Hogan feud is undoubtedly the most chronicled rivalry of Andre the Giant, the Killer Khan feud was the last opportunity to see Andre in his prime, brutalizing his opponent rather than weakly chopping and allowing them to work around his immobility—sparked by that fateful ankle injury.
As Andre’s health declined, requiring crutches to support his massive frame, his turn on Haku and Heenan allowed him to exit as a face, occasionally returning to TV to scare and hassle Heenan and his wrestlers. Khan, after his WWF run, joined the Freebird-Von Erich rivalry in the Dallas Territory, often participating in tag matches to limit the toll on his body. Though nearly a foot shorter than Andre at 6’5”, Khan was still considered a “giant” in the ring, often referred to as the “Mongolian Giant.” He eventually turned face by turning on Freebird Terry Gordy and retired due to the immense physical toll of wrestling.
Andre’s health continued to decline rapidly, and he passed away in 1993. Killer Khan, on the other hand, still lives in Japan, where he owns a restaurant and enjoys reverence for his iconic status—a privilege Andre, sadly, did not live long enough to experience.
