Chuck Zito has shared a wild story from WrestleMania 1, claiming his friend nearly stabbed Andre the Giant after a tense backstage encounter involving the friend’s young son. Zito said the situation escalated after Andre repeatedly refused to acknowledge the child, leading his friend to pull a knife before “Mean” Gene Okerlund intervened and helped stop things from going any further.
Zito told the story during his appearance on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon. The actor, stuntman, former celebrity bodyguard and former Hells Angels member has several connections to the wrestling business, including his friendship with Hulk Hogan and his appearance alongside Hogan and other Hells Angels members during the nWo era in WCW.
Zito explained that he attended the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The historic show featured Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main event, while Andre the Giant faced Big John Studd in the $15,000 Body Slam Challenge.
Zito remembered WrestleMania 1 fondly, particularly because of the celebrities and wrestlers involved. “You had everybody there. Come on, you know, Liberace, Billy Martin... Muhammad Ali, Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T. Yeah, I mean, plus all the biggest, you know, wrestlers at the time. Yep. It was just great. It was awesome.” Zito said he attended WrestleMania with his friend Bert, who brought his young son. After the event ended, they headed toward the backstage elevator area where the wrestlers were leaving. That was when Andre approached with Gene Okerlund.
According to Zito, Bert simply wanted Andre to acknowledge his son. “Bert goes, ‘Andre, can you say hello to my son?’ He goes, ‘Leave me alone.’ He goes, ‘Look, if you don't like me, at least say hello to my son.’ [Andre] said, ‘Leave me alone.’”
Zito claimed Bert became angry after Andre's second refusal and suddenly pulled out a knife. At that point, Zito was preparing himself for the possibility that Andre might grab his friend. “Bert pulled out his knife and was going to stab him right in the eye. And Mean Gene goes, ‘No, no knives, no knives.’ And I'm saying this guy's going to grab Bert. I'm going to have to jump on his back, you know?”
Fortunately, the confrontation ended without anyone being injured. Zito said the situation eventually calmed down, although his friend remained angry about what had happened. The incident also permanently changed Zito's opinion of Andre. He told McMahon that he had been a fan of Andre before WrestleMania, but the encounter near the elevator changed that. “Ever since that, I was an Andre fan before when I saw him wrestle. But after that elevator thing, I mean, Gene yelling, ‘No knives. No knives.’”
McMahon stated that Andre was frequently approached and bothered because of his extraordinary size, while making clear she was not trying to excuse what Zito described. Zito responded that the incident happened roughly 40 years ago, but admitted it remained something he could clearly remember.
Wrestling
