WWE legend could almost drink as much as Andre the Giant, veteran commentator claims (Exclusive)
Former WWE Spanish language commentator Hugo Savinovich says Andre the Giant's heavy alcohol intake could almost be matched by Ric Flair.
Legendary stories have been told about Andre's lifestyle outside the ring. According to his former WWE rival Hulk Hogan, the seven-foot-four star once drank 100 beers in 45 minutes. The Frenchman could also allegedly consume eight bottles of wine in three hours.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Savinovich spoke about his friend's relationship with alcohol:
"Andre the Giant was very close with one of my brothers, Frenchy Martin, or Pierre Martel in Puerto Rico. He could go a trip from San Juan to Ponce, drink a whole case of the local beer, and then go from the local beer into wine. One of the nicest guys." [0:40 – 1:03]
While Andre usually competed in short matches, that was not the case for Flair. According to Savinovich, The Nature Boy regularly wrestled 60-minute contests after a long night of partying:
"With Flair, he could do almost the same drinking as Andre the Giant, but he would still do one hour with one of the talents in that country, so that company could have the street credit of having their champion face Flair, the world champion. [Local wrestlers] did not beat Flair but went 60 minutes with Flair. You say, 'How the heck can he do it one hour after he just stopped drinking Kamikazes and knocked all of us out with the alcohol?'" [6:13 – 6:49]
Watch the video above to hear Savinovich's claim about Vince McMahon stealing the idea of the Universal Championship.
Hugo Savinovich gives his opinion on WWE icon Ric Flair
A 16-time world champion and two-time WWE Hall of Famer, Ric Flair is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the history of the business.
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Hugo Savinovich was responsible for looking after Flair when he wrestled in the Dominican Republic in the 1980s. The Ecuadorian only has good things to say about his friend of many decades:
"I love Flair," Savinovich continued. "Man, I think he's one of the best in our game. It was very good for our business because he was an actual star before all this big machine of publicity of WWE. Flair was the star in our business." [7:03 – 7:24]
In July, Flair came out of retirement to compete in the final match of his career at the age of 73. Savinovich, 63, will also wrestle for the last time against his legendary rival El Profe at DEMONMANIA La Batalla Final (The Final Battle) on Saturday.
What are your favorite Andre the Giant and Ric Flair stories? Let us know in the comments section below.
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