10. Andre The Giants Becomes Champion; Sells Title To Million Dollar Man (The Main Event, February 1988)
It was a simpler time, the 1980s. Insider news was reserved for a select few. Kayfabe still reigned supreme over the wrestling industry. Championships changed hands so infrequently that each of them was eye-popping. When Hulk Hogan lost the WWE title to Andre the Giant in February 1988, sports entertainment enthusiasts certainly took notice. Since Andre was portraying the villain, it was not at all surprising that he earned the gold through nefarious means. However, the concept of being so greedy that a top superstar would actually sell the title to another man was unlike anything that the fledgling mainstream entity had ever seen. Ted Dibiase managed to swindle the Giant and the referee, Dave Hebner, into doing his bidding. Everyone apparently did have a price for the Million Dollar Man.
Give credit to Vince McMahon for making a reality the character that he had once dreamed of playing when he was a child and give even more credit to Dibiase for pulling it off so brilliantly. Hogan had been WWE Champion for four years. It was surprising enough to see him lose the belt, but the manner in which he lost it was the enduring moment that has lived on through the ages as one of the most iconically shocking.
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