This site uses third party cookies for analytics and advertising. The lack of speed and mobility that hampered his basketball career would go on to do the same for his wrestling career. When his three-year reign ended in 1977, Sammartino established an unbeatable record of 11 years as the reigning WWWF Champion. Danny Hodge - World Champion, Challengers (listed alphabetically): Norton signed a developmental deal at age 26, but apparently WWE officials didn't see enough from the 7'0'' giant. Ranking Explanations . As Kane, he was the perfect size to play a hellish monster capable of challenging The Undertaker. When he joined the WWF in 1979, Patterson was an established heel who already accumulated 32 vhampionships in various territories. Strong Female Characters That Are Unforgettable! This cannot be undone. In the sport of wrestling, Channel 8s television ratings reached 96 rating points. The Pakistani known as Raja Lion had a brief, forgettable career as a pro wrestler. Top 10 Times Wrestlers Fought While Injured . Hogan began his professional wrestling career in . Click here to watch the 1977 PWI Match of the YearGraham defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Title. At one point, he ballooned to nearly 800 lbs. After a brief time as "The Colossus of Boggo Road," Jones left WWE, and Hollywood soon found several uses for his massiveness. Despite ripping off Tosh Togo later in his career, The Devious One was a fearsome competitor, winning tag team gold several times during his career with Professor Toru Tanaka and the legendary Masa Saito. Click here to watch Zbyszko turning on his mentor at the end of 1979; then, treat yourself by clicking here to watch their classic cage match in August 1980. Click here to see Patera injuring Billy White Wolf after the match and click here to see the strongman clashing with Bob Backlund. He left that match bloodied and without the WWE title. The former NXT contestant and bodyguard for Alberto Del Rio looked to be making a name for himself with his new funky gimmick, but his momentum has slowed. During this tussle with the boxer, Monsoon's immense size became startlingly apparent as he made Ali look small standing across from him. He bumbled about the ring worse than Giant Gonzales or The Great Khali ever did. With the Tag Team Championship around his waist for two-and-a-half yers, he holds the record for the most combined days. The result was one of the worst matches in wrestling history. All rights reserved. By the time most old school wrestling fans got to see him, Mr. Fuji was known more as a diminutive little manager who looked slightly like Oddjob from James Bond. Born in Montreal, WWE Hall of Famer Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon was one of the top heels in the AWA in the 1960s and 1970s, capturing that promotion's World Heavyweight Championship five times. Known as Colossus the Gladiator or Giant Warrior, Bearden had hisfirst match in 1987 and wrestled for decades. 11. As you could see, pro wrestling didn't start with Hulk Hogan in the '80s. When you think about WWWF in the '60s and '70s, Bruno Sammartino must be the first name to come to mind. Even when he was Paul Wight, he was taller than most everyone else. Vader used that agility along with powerful strikes and the powerbomb to become WCW champ three times, beating Sting and Ron Simmons in the process. He had a brief run in WWE as Waylon Mercy, a psychopath/Southern gentleman. The Master of the Heart Punch had one of the shortest reigns as world champion in WWE history, but he holds the unique distinction to have ended Pedro Morales' 1,027-day reign. The custom of betting the mask arose: if a wrestler lost, he had to take it off and could never wear it again. In 1971, he and Bruno Sammartino put the hand on the short-lived WWWF International Tag Team Championship, a secondary Title. I started to watch wrestling around the age of nine, and it was in the middle of the '80s so I had to do extensive research to complete the following slideshow. Chyna. 1951-07 - Wrestling Magazine (credit: Rock Rims), circa 1958 - Boxing Illustrated/Wrestling News, 1959-09 - Boxing Illustrated/Wrestling News. If there were some great female wrestlers back in the '60s and in the '70s, none of them could overshadow her, and that's why she's the only woman featured on the current list. He started out in his native France as Geant Ferre, a play on a French folk hero. The Baron enjoyed a great career with the WWWF in the '60s and in the '70s as one of the top heels. These famous Americans are from the political, business, entertainment and professional . When he battled fellow big man, Haystacks Calhoun as well as guys like Tony Neopolitan and Billy Cox in the '50s and early '60s, a big part of his move set was simply sitting on his adversary. 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. He would carry that swagger to WWE along with his "Big Cat" nickname. Ruane wrestled for the majority of his career in England, but had a short stint in WCW as Loch Ness. Click here to watch Monsoon taking on the wrestler who later became the legendary manager Captain Lou Albano; you can also click here to watch some vintage moments, the Muhammad Ali-Gorilla Monsoon incident and Vince McMahon Jr. leading an interview in 1977. Copyright 1995-2023 puroresu.com. While he's not among the very tallest or heaviest on this list, Abyss is plenty big in both categories. He built his reputation with a hardcore side that disappeared in the early '80s due to health issues. Taro would go on to try his giant-sized hand at kickboxing and MMA, but his size didn't translate to success in either case. 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. advertisememt. At nearly eight years long, it is the longest World Championship reign in pro wrestling history. He was a rigid wrestler on redwood-like legs. The mystery that surrounded Khali, combined with his monstrous size, was the kind of television drama fans hope for from wrestling. According to the Chronicle-Telegram, Zehe "won several matches simply because his opponents couldn't get his arms around him.". In 1989, Teddy Long formed a tag team featuring two intimidatingly tall wrestlers. His sole presence guaranteed sold-out arenas to any promoter, and it was no exception for the growing WWWF. Jones certainly had Undertaker's size and an impressive physique, but never did much more than tread water with the company. Aired January 7, 1962. Calhoun's enormity turned him somewhat of a circus attraction. All are heavyweight unless otherwise noted. Click here to watch Strongbow taking on Professor TanakaMr. Jerry 'The King' Lawler. - The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History (2011), WCW Monday Nitro (1995) and WWE Smackdown! Even a legendary in-ring talent like Race couldn't do much in the way of wrestling with Humphrey. Honorable mention: Edouard Carpentier, Verne Gagne, Lou Thesz, Wilbur Snyder, Rip Hawk, Fritz Von Erich, Pepper Gomez, Lorenzo Parente, Jr. Heavyweight: 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. He is an actor, known for WWE: OMG! Anyone who is 7'0'' tall is inherently a giant, and a titan in Greek mythology refers to a race of giants. And he trained some of the greatest wrestlers in the business. On the top of all that, if that means anything, he was the PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year in 1973 and the Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year in 1979. Ottman would go on to gain the worst kind of fame when his character The Shockmaster clumsily burst through a set on WCW television. His monikers included Big John Harris, Silo Sam and Trapper John. His finishing move, like many men of his size, uses his weight as a weapon, splashing down on a fallen foe for a victory. I could not even French press a 5-pound dumbbell.". Hogan doesn't often get considered a big-man wrestler though he is 67 and 300 lbs. If she were a stick figure at that height, pro wrestling might come calling anyway, using her as a visual curiosity. If it was not really his fault, it was still the birth of a legend. You probably noticed that the name of Bruno Sammartino was repeated often and was featured in many videos. He was a master of in-ring psychology and an ace on the mic who could generate heat like no others. With his now-famous bleached blondhair and sumo-style thong, Rikishi gained his highest level of popularity. Here is a smattering of pro wrestlers from that era. Wrestler Mick McManus ( Image: Mirrorpix) Mick McManus Former printer William Matthews' nickname, Rugged South London Tough Guy, was hardly catchy yet he was one of the sport's biggest draws. Time will tell if WWE can find a way to utilize their latest mastodon. Click here to watch Luke Graham in the ring; it's probably not a WWWF footage, but that's all I could find. Couple that with him weighing at nearly 500 lbs and Harris was clearly one of wrestling's largest men. Logos are registered trademarks of respective organizations. Big Show has been big for a long time. He even wrestled Bruno Sammartino during The Living Legends first insurmountable title reign. When he was not in singles competition, he teamed up with many other villains, and with Gorilla Monsoon, he won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship in 1963. One would think it wouldn't be hard to convincingly portray a man of Mark Henry's size as a dominant and destructive force, but it took until the later stages of his career before that happened. The best quality video I could find was Stan Stasiak vs. Tony Garea in three parts: part 1, part 2 and part 3. When he was not embracing success in the tag team division, he had some memorable feuds in singles against the likes of Billy Graham and Ken Patera. The Master of the Heart Punch had one of the shortest reigns as world champion in WWE history, but he holds the unique distinction to have ended Pedro Morales' 1,027-day reign. However, since I didn't watch wrestling in those great days, I could hardly evaluate the in-ring abilities, the charisma and the mic skills. Despite his runs as a heel in the '70s, he managed to have a huge fanbase because of his revolutionary style. Stevens most recently played an orc chieftain in the new Hobbit trilogy. 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.". They experimented with a few gimmicks for him, including the poorly conceived Sultan, who resided in mid-card status. - The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History Darren Matthews was born on May 10, 1968 in Staffordshire, England, UK. A former NWA and ECW World Champion, and a violent hardcore wrestler. He made matches like his battle vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III an unforgettable experience. The fight was filled with roughness throughout, but the highlight came when the Son of L.A. Park sealed the fight with a brutal spear on Marshall. In between, he floated between gimmicks, WCW trying to find a way to best use Reis' immense size. Karloff Largarde - World & National Champion. Angelo Poffo Angelo Poffo, from Downers Grove, Illinois, was both a hero and a villain to me. 1962-08-10 - National Wrestling Association (source: LegacyOfWrestling.com) 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. Wrestling someone Giant Haystacks' size must have made several chiropractors rich. , Rikishi gained his highest level of popularity '70s, he was Paul Wight, he was a master in-ring! A huge fanbase because of his revolutionary style the WWE Title name to come to mind size, was perfect... Stint in WCW as Loch Ness the very tallest or heaviest on this list, Abyss is plenty big both... 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