The allegation that the Giant Machine was actually a masked Andre the Giant is one of the most longstanding, pernicious and patently untrue urban legends in the history of pro wrestling. 

It’s time to set the record straight for good: the Giant Machine and Andre the Giant were two completely different people. 

Yes, there were some striking similarities, such as their gargantuan 500-pound frames, their tuba-like voices and their shared penchant for black, single-shoulder-strap singlets. 

Adding to the confusion was Bobby Heenan’s constant, misguided and slanderous accusations that Andre was portraying the Machine, fuelled by the coincidence that Andre had been suspended by WWF President Jack Tunney shortly before the debut of The Machines. 

But make no mistake, Andre was most definitely not the Giant Machine, and here’s the proof:

• Andre the Giant was from France, and the Giant Machine was from Japan. Those are VERY different places.
• The Giant Machine spoke no English, responding to interview questions only with “A-so.”
• According to respected journalist Gene Okerlund, “experts dismiss Heenan’s allegations as wild speculation.”
• Granted, the Piper Machine was Roddy Piper and the Hulk Machine was Hulk Hogan, but both of those men feuded with Andre the Giant in the past, so why would they team up with him?

Clearly, the longstanding rumor that the Giant Machine was a disguised Andre the Giant is as silly and outlandish a falsehood as the allegation that Los Conquistadors were actually Edge and Christian.