Calhoun's enormity turned him somewhat of a circus attraction. 23. 11. The contest ended after an hour-and-16 minute time limit draw in front of a crowd that went nuts after the officials declared they had to comply with a curfew. Kurt Zehe made men look like boys when he stood next to them. Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) 'Once Upon A Time in the West' follows a rail baron named Morton who is seeking to take possession of a piece of land near the town of Flagstone. Click here to watch Bruno Sammartino in a WWWF Title defense against Ernie Ladd, a wrestler who barely made the cut on the current list. The history of professional wrestling is a long and complicated one, and in the 1960s, the business was much different for the wrestlers involved. In fact, he was more than a pro wrestling top draw; he was, with his size, an attraction wherever he went. Both men clashed on many occasions with no clear winner until that famous day in 1978 at the Madison Square Garden. The original Arena Mexico had a capacity for a little more than 4 thousand attendees. 1. Possessing an impressive blend of power and speed, Rikishi spent a good part of two decades entertaining WWE fans. Pro wrestling turned Mississippi native Jim Harris into Kamala, The Ugandan Giant. In the U.S., he made his name thanks to a massive violent feud with Bruno Sammartino in WWE. In films like Troy, The Protector and Conan the Barbarian, Jones played monstrous men, roles that didn't take much work from the special effects department. He began his WWE career as one-half of the Headshrinkers in a crowded tag team division. He began his movie career with roles like "Big Security Guard" in The Bodyguard 2 and as the titular character in Man-Thing. Mike Shaw later used the ring name Man Mountain Mike, though he was nowhere near as large as Fletcher. Knowing every heel tactic in the tag team action environment, he became the manager known as "Luscious" Johnny V who introduced Demolition to the WWF and who worked with The Dream Team (Greg Valentine / Brutus Beefcake) among others. And, in those years, he often fought in 60-minute time limit draws. The 1974 PWI Rookie of the year was trained and introduced to the WWWF by Bruno Sammartino. When the former baseball player met the Rising Suns first legend, Rikidozan, that was it for Baba, and he began training to become a pro wrestler. Titanes also had a cheating referee Hctor Oscar Brea as William Boo. Top 10 Worst Buddy Cop Films. Sheamus, John Cena and Josh Mathews combined don't quite weigh as much as Humphrey did during his career. Click here to watch Dominic DeNucci in tag team insane action with Victor Rivera against The Blackjacks. Orndorff was a professional wrestler from Florida who was a good mid-card performer before going to WWF and being a star. Even when he was Paul Wight, he was taller than most everyone else. Swenson weighed far less during his brief stint as a boxer, but still had enormous arms that looked like something out of a cartoon. Morton hires a . Ron Reis will always be remembered most for being the large man in the ridiculous costume as The Yeti, who attacked Hulk Hogan at Halloween Havoc 1995. The best quality video I could find was Stan Stasiak vs. Tony Garea in three parts: part 1, part 2 and part 3. And, with his trademark war dance, the fans went as crazy as when Hogan was "Hulking" up in the '80s. This soon turned into the uncomfortable "Love Machine" angle where Viscera wouldhump his opponents. He was a tough brawler and a solid performer who unfortunately spent much of his career in the shadow of a bigger giant. With wrestlers not wrestling exclusively for one promotion, Andre became the most popular wrestler of the decade. Paul Bunyan had to seem as unreal as the lumberjack from American folklore from who he took his ring name. The inaugural WWE Champion lost the title 21 days later against Bruno Sammartino, and he suddenly vanished for a while. The Baron enjoyed a great career with the WWWF in the '60s and in the '70s as one of the top heels. 18. The Twin Towers, as they were called, came in at a combined weight of over 760 lbs. Those I ranked are only the tip of the iceberg because other legends and pioneers existed before them. When he joined the WWF in 1979, Patterson was an established heel who already accumulated 32 vhampionships in various territories. Learn more at. He won the WWWF World Tag Team Championship in 1976 with one of his students, Big John Studd. Nostalgic (Early 2000s) Children's TV Shows, Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. A former NWA and ECW World Champion, and a violent hardcore wrestler. Top 10 Buddy Cops on TV. He also was part of a wrestling family that gave us Paul "Butcher" Vachon, Vivian Vachon and Luna Vachon. Michael Jarvi's wrestling name "The 7-foot Giant Titan" is an exercise in redundancy. I hope you enjoyed that ride back to the old school universe, and as usual, your comments are more than welcomeespecially if I missed anyone on the list and/or if you disagree with the order. Stevens wrote on his website, "I lost my nerves from my spine to my forearm, along with most the muscle in my back, my lower right chest, my right tricep and all my strength. Al hacer clic en el botn Aceptar, acepta el uso de estas tecnologas y el procesamiento de tus datos para estos propsitos. The result was one of the worst matches in wrestling history. As for any similar list, I considered many factors to rank the wrestlers. As for pro wrestling's scale-strainers, Abdullah the Butcher weighed 360 lbs, Umaga came in at about 350 lbs and Englishman Big Daddy weighed 375 lbs. Monsoon lost the match, but he once again proved he could hold his own against the largest wrestlers in the business at the time, being himself a 6'5", 400-pounder. Eddie Graham. That is why he is known as "the father of Mexican wrestling". Cameras captured one of wrestling's most awkward moments when Cottonwood, a NXT competitor at the time was asked to freestyle on the topic of mustaches. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. During his heyday in the '60s, Calhoun feuded with Dick the Bruiser and battled Bruno Sammartino. Whether he wrestled as G-Rilla, The Mastodon of Mayhem or the only living,breathing, rompin, stompinFunkasaurus in captivity, Brodus Clay's ring names and nicknames have all been references to his size. Are you sure you want to delete your score and checked items on this list? Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. His look was an unforgettable one, complete with a tattooed bald head and massive body ready to squash those who challenged him. Click here to watch history being made when Ivan Koloff defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF; and click here if you want to see The Russian Bear in a cage match again vs. Sammartino, in 1975. Robert "Jeep" Swenson resembled the sturdy girth of his namesake. The Top Ranked Pro Wrestlers of the 1950s In real life, he was Max Palmer, an actor and evangelist born in small-town Mississippi. Vicious in contrast, became a world champion several times over. 1 Lou Thesz 2 Karl Gotch 3 Sailor Art Thomas 4 Brute Bernard 5 Judy Grable 6 Chief Don Eagle 7 Johnny Valentine 8 Primo Carnera 9 El Santo 10 "Killer" Buddy Austin 11 Mark Lewin 12 The Great Bolo 13 "Butcher" Vachon 14 Wilbur Snyder 15 "Mad Dog" Vachon 16 Ray Gunkel 17 Sputnik Monroa 18 "Wild" Red Berry 19 Mildred Burke 20 The Sicilians 21 Ladd played both basketball and football before becoming a pro wrestler. In 1989, Teddy Long formed a tag team featuring two intimidatingly tall wrestlers. Jackson Andrews wrestled for FCW from 2009-2011, where his colossal frame was his main asset. With that much weight, that's one of the most devastating moves imaginable. His monikers included Big John Harris, Silo Sam and Trapper John. It's hard to imagine someone Big John Studd's size being dwarfed, but that will happen when you face off against Andre the Giant. His run as the World Champion officially lasted 2,083 days, and it took him less than one year with the company to win the title. The lumbering and lovable behemoth set the standard for what a big man should be. According to PWInsider (via 24wrestling.com) WWE released Norton along with several other FCW wrestlers in 2011. Click here to watch Mr. Fuji in rare singles action taking on Pedro Morales and click here to see him in some tag team action. * Continued to exist after the National Wrestling Alliance was founded in 1948. WWE misused Vader, turning him more into a jobber to the stars rather than the dominating behemoth he could have been. After I completed my previous top 25 lists covering the 1990s and the 2000s, I thought about doing one more list with the '80s, but there are already two of those that have been published recently. Humphrey weighed around 750 lbs in his heyday, but according to Harley Race in King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story, Humphrey, "at one point, topped 1,000 pounds.". His most notable feud, that lasted for over two decades in and out WWWF, was against Bobo Brazil, and in the process, he became a two-time WWWF US Champion. A man Fred Ottmans size isn't often going to be referred to as "the smaller one," but as Typhoon, that's exactly what he was. Click here to watch the only excerpt I found of Backlund winning the WWWF Championship and click here to watch him against Pat Patterson in a cage match in 1979. Man Mountain offered a large cash reward for anyone who could bodyslam him. If his nine-day reign was short, Stasiak can at least say he was one of the only six WWWF champions of the '70s and to have been a top heel of his time. Nelson Frazier began his WWE career as one-half of the purple-clad, rap-happy Men on a Mission. With a body that looks capable of no more than stumbling around, Baba dropkicked, headlocked and chopped his opponents in his more than 3,000 matches. Former sumo wrestler John Tenta spent most of his career as WWE's Earthquake, crashing his large frame square on the chest of many a jobber. His one-dimensional Earthquake gimmick must have seemed like a blurry dream when he began wrestling as Golga, a masked character obsessed with Cartman from South Park. World Title Vacant, Challengers: Bobby Bonales, Alejandro Cruz, El Enfermero, Cavernario Galindo, Humbero Garza, Carnicero Grimaldo, Rene Guajardo, Memo Rubio, El Santo, Huroki Sito, Welterweight: El Santo - National Champion, Welterweight (Mexico): Andrews didn't move particularly well. to these sites/people. A former lieutenant during the Revolution, Lutteroth had a deep fascination with wrestling. It would take a whole book to cover his unique career, but to make it short, he was the face of the company for over 15 years. This cannot be undone. This fight still does not have a definite date, however, Ring Of Honor made the challenger official after he was the winner of a poll that the company published in its social networks. Click here to watch The Baron teaming up with Frand "The Moose" to face Jay Strongbow and Peter Maivia. Lindsay Kay Hayward is one of the tallest women in history. Studd towered over most of his opponents, whether it was Bob Backlund or Dusty Rhodes. The team were actually a bloody hardcore tag team. * Some NWA promoters recognized Moolah as world champion From 1972 to 1978, in an age when tag team wrestling actually meant a lot, Fuji portrayed the stereotypical heel Japanese persona, and he was often involved in anti-American storylines. For many of his matches, Jeff Bearden had to bend down awkwardly in order to get a proper hold on his opponent. 50's and 60's wrestlers 20 Pins 7y S Collection by Thomas Roberts Similar ideas popular now Professional Wrestling Wrestling Professional Wrestlers Wwe Wwe Wrestlers Wrestling Superstars Pro Wrestler Professional Wrestlers The Professional Andr The Giant Giant People Tall People Mario Vintage Photography Wwe Wrestlers Jean Ferrat Jesse Ventura He is nimble and versatile. He played ball for his native Brazil Later, he tried his hand at MMA. They experimented with a few gimmicks for him, including the poorly conceived Sultan, who resided in mid-card status. He is even credited as the inventor of the figure-four leglock. Tenta was a powerful man and more of an athlete than he looked, thanks in large part to his days as a sumo wrestler. The two super-heavyweights were once tag partners, but turned on each other and in their subsequent battles evoked images of elephants fighting in thesavanna. 2. His wrestling career didn't last long. Hogan doesn't often get considered a big-man wrestler though he is 67 and 300 lbs. His Gargantua ring name couldn't have been more apt. He, like Giant Baba, started out under the tutelage of Rikidozan and perhaps is best known for his greatest gift to wrestling - starting New Japan. She won the Women's Championship in 1956, and she battled each and every woman on her path to build her unique legacy. 1963-09 - Boxing Illustrated Wrestling News, 1967-10 - The Wrestler (credit: @wrestlerweekly), 1968-12 - Wrestling Revue "Official Wrestling Ratings" (credit: Tom Burke), 1968-12 - Ring Wrestling: "Official World Ratings". Lance Storm His girth made most moves impossible for both Humphrey and his opponent. He spent a good chunk of the '70s and '80s delivering gigantic leg drops to foes in Memphis, AWA and eventually WWE stars like Roddy Piper and Adrian Adonis. While wrestling reached 96, 98 points, says Jorge Battah. Click here to watch Andre The Giant winning a battle royal in the mid-70s. With his famous headbutt and his piledriver, he became a seven-time WWWF United States Championship from 1963 to 1971, when the title was deactivated. However, on many occasions, he was caught at his own game, and it ended in a bloodbath after his rival returned the illegal object against him. Fans were enthralled by him, curious to watch a man his size and perhaps were pulled in by his larger-than-life aura. It's unfortunate that Shaw became such a joke because he, unlike many men his size, had decent moves in the ring. Bigelow wrestled with WWE, ECW and WCW as well as in Japan. Then, if it was not enough, he started a second reign in 1973, lasting 1,237 days. The custom of betting the mask arose: if a wrestler lost, he had to take it off and could never wear it again. All rights reserved. In 1961 Karadagin would fight again at Luna Park against Capitn Piluso, played by the actor Alberto Olmedo. He built his reputation with a hardcore side that disappeared in the early '80s due to health issues. He gave us classics against Bret Hart and Taz. 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