Andre The Giant toured the United Kingdom in the 1960s before he broke out as a worldwide star with the WWE.
Under the name Jean Ferré, he toured the UK and honed his craft against some of the best wrestlers of the day. He began wrestling in 1964 in Paris as an 18-year-old and was quickly making a name for himself
It was in England where a young Andre The Giant suffered his first-ever loss in wrestling. He was already six foot eleven at this point, but much slimmer and mobile than during his clashes with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania.
He first first discovered by the English speaking world in 1968 when Ring Wrestling Magazine wrote about his exploits in France. Journalist Michel Bézy covered his escapades in France, noting that the 22-year-old needed more experience but was the “current sensation” in men’s wrestling.
“The current sensation in male wrestling is a former woodcutter, Jean Ferré, a young giant, powerful, weighing around 280,” Bézy wrote. “Right now he needs more coaching. He is getting it. Within a year this young man, now 19, from the woods around la Ferté-sous-Jouarre, will dominate the European grappling situation.”
He was quickly billed as Giant Ferré or Géant Ferré , based on the Picardian folk hero Grand Ferré. His star in Europe quickly grew and he made his way to Britain in 1969, his sheer size being the spectacle which drew fans into the local halls.
He was billed as Jean Ferré as he made his debut in Paisley, Scotland, on May 22, 1969. The young Andre The Giant battled Wild Angus, a Northern Irish wrestler who was usually the biggest man on the card, standing at six foot three and 250 lbs. That paled in comparison to the mighty Jean Ferré.
Initially, he was to be billed as Giant Ferré. However, as soon as he came to the UK and the promoters were putting him on the bill, an issue cropped up.
As “Jude” Al Marquette wrote in his book “Two Falls, Two Submission or a Knockout”, they remarked, “We can’t call him Giant Fairy!”. So, the surname which garnered him such fame was tossed aside and the Giant became Jean.
Andre The Giant Wrestled In The UK In 1969
Andre The Giant, as Jean Ferré, wrestled numerous matches throughout the United Kingdom in 1969 after his debut in Scotland.
Due to his size, he was often paired with fellow heavyweight wrestlers, although he naturally towered over even the largest of competitors.
During his time in Britain, Andre stayed and travelled with fellow wrestler Tony St. Clair. He had started his career a few years earlier but came from a famous wrestling family, with his father Francis and brother Roy also being wrestlers.
A shy Andre, who barely spoke English, stuck with Tony and they became firm friends during his year in the UK. He and the other wrestlers helped him learn to speak the language while also developing his wrestling skills inside the ring.
Tony St. Clair said in The Eighth Wonder of the World that Andre would regularly visit Billy Riley’s Snake Pit gym and train with legends like Billy Joyce and Billy Robinson. That undoubtedly helped improve his wrestling skills, as Riley was one of the finest trainers in Catch wrestling in history.
You can read more about Billy Riley and the legendary Snake Pit here.
The fans found his lack of English endearing. His attempts to use the language in the ring would lead to smatterings of applause and got this babyface giant on the side of the fans. His extreme height and incredible strength didn’t hurt either!
The wrestlers all remarked upon his size, regularly measuring him in the locker room to see how tall he really was. They all came to the conclusion that he was a legitimate six foot eleven (although Dave Meltzer claims he was only six foot nine and three quarters). Still impressive, but not the seven-foot-four that WWE would later claim he was.
Jean Ferré wrestled as a babyface, or “Blue Eye” as they were called back then. He was a fan favourite as he was most of his career in the US, until turning heel to feud with Hulk Hogan in the 1980s.
His matches were simple and did not suffer from any overly-technical displays while not succumbing to the same ridiculousness that Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks devolved into. His regularly finished matches with a bear hug, a move that suited a man of his stature.
You can see some old clips of Andre wrestling in France here.
For the first part of his run in Britain, Jean Ferré remained expectedly undefeated. Wrestling was treated as a sport, featuring at 4pm on Saturday afternoon on World of Sport, just before the football scores, and as such it seemed impossible that anybody could beat this literal giant of a man.
Wrestlers like Jim Hussey (Rollerball Rocco’s Dad), Mike Marino and John Lees all fell to Andre The Giant in those early days.
His biggest match in the UK occurred on the 28th May during the Dale Martin Wrestling Spectacular 1969. This was the first and only time Andre The Giant would compete at the Royal Albert Hall, the iconic venue that provided the stage for so many legendary clashes.
At this event, Jean Ferré battled Big Bruno Elrington. This was a clash between two giants, with Bruno standing at six foot five and weighting 21 stone. Andre picked up the victory by one fall to nil, reversing a bear huge due to the huge size of his chest making it a struggle for Bruno to lock in the submission.
So, Jean Ferré was a star. He was undefeated and was wrestling on one of the biggest cards of the year. Nothing could go wrong, right?
Then he wrestled Kendo Nagasaki.
He Suffered His First Loss To Kendo Nagasaki Before Tumbling Down The Card
The first man ever to beat Andre The Giant was British legend Kendo Nagasaki.
The mysterious masked man, who claimed to be a martial artist from Japan but was actually Peter Thornley from Crewe, was one of the toughest men in the business in 1969.
While he wasn’t allowed on TV due to masked wrestlers being banned, he was still a draw all over the country and a huge name in the business, having travelled to Canada and Japan to compete with the best.
Kendo Nagasaki and Jean Ferré first met on the seventh of June, 1969. The giant was undefeated in his career at this point and had won eight matches on the trot on his tour of the UK. European wrestlers could only work forty matches before having to leave the country in those days, so every bout had to count.
Well, an inexperienced Andre did not want to anger the famously stuff Kendo Nagasaki. In his book “Kendo Nagasaki & The Man Behind The Mask”, Thornley wrote that Andre pulled him aside before their match and said, “Look, I’ve come here to learn how to wrestle, I don’t know a lot about it — if I’m clumsy, forgive me, and please don’t hurt me!”.
The Englishman didn’t hurt the giant but he did hand him his first loss – a technical knockout victory in his hometown of Hanley. Nagasaki was also an undefeated star but with a chip on his shoulder and a background in Judo, Kendo and weight lifting. While Jean Ferré had the size, he couldn’t stop Nagasaki winning their first encounter.
Or their second.
Or their third.
The rematch in October ended by TKO again, while the referee gave Nagasaki the win in December due to referee stoppage. While it is no shame in losing to somebody like Kendo Nagasaki, it took the shine off Andre The Giant and diluted his starpower in the UK.
In a 2024 interview, Kendo Nagasaki claimed that Andre was in Britain to learn the wrestling business. He was all too happy to oblige and teach him a thing or two about putting somebody over.
“All of them, like Hogan, came after I beat him. When André first came over [to Great Britain], he was a bit green. He came here to learn the business.” Kendo Nagasaki said.
“He was a genuine 6’11″—we measured him in the dressing room. But he was still inexperienced. Before our match, he said to me, ‘Please, if I do something you don’t like, don’t hurt me.’ And he asked, ‘What am I going to do?’ So I told him, ‘Get me in a bear hug, and I’ll make you look good.’”
No footage exists of these matches.
Jean Ferré Started Losing More Matches Before Leaving Britain For Good
Sadly, these losses did not do good things for Andre. Jean Ferré’s name was not selling tickets anymore and he tumbled down the card, suffering losses to other heavyweights in the division.
Aside from the Nagasaki matches, Andre The Giant suffered defeats in Britain to Mike Marino, John Lees, Andy Robin and Roy St. Clair – the latter likely a favour to the family for taking him in to their home during his first trip abroad.
His final match in the UK was on December 17th 1969. Jean Ferré tagged with Jim Moran, with the duo dubbed The Goliaths. While their size was impressive, they suffered defeat to Albert “Rocky” Wall and Gwyn Davies on that final night.
Andre The Giant would never wrestle in the UK. The British public had seen enough. His size was impressive enough (he was measured to be six foot eleven in the locker room) but he was still green and inexperienced to the business.
Given the success of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks in the 1970s and 1980s, there is no telling just how big Andre The Giant could have been in Britain.
He was a much better worker than both those men and was taller than anyone in the business. Jean Ferré had not been a success in the UK, whether his fault or the promoters booking him, but what he learned helped him become arguably the most legendary wrestler in history.
