Greatest Big Man Wrestler of all Time

flahavaj

Have at it m*therf*ckers.

Who is the greatest "big man" wrestler of all time?

There are some amazing candidates, the likes of Bigelow, Undertaker, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Andre the Giant, even the young Big Show.

But my pick is "Bam Bam" Terry Gordy.



Incredible agility, was amazing in both American and Japan, bumped like a cruiserweight, could get anyone over. I once saw him described as the glue that held every match he wrestled and that just sums him up beautifully. Great promo as well.

Possibly the greatest tag wrestler ever as well, an integral part of both the Freebirds and the Miracle Violence Connection.

In short he was someting special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRbx96oGWtU

rossie1977

how do you define "big man" though??

you stand gordy next to paul wight or khali and he wouldn't look like a big man at all

the rock was a big man, legit 6'3-6'4 270lb when he played with the hurricanes and started in the E, but no-one ever puts him in the big man category

for me personally i think when all factors are taken into account undertaker aka mark calaway, big enough to be not look small next to the giants, longevity, stupidly over and a very good worker from 1996-2010

Jolt2007

Maybe I'm biased after the draft but I'd say from the ones you named Jumbo would be my choice for best worker. You could make a case for him being the best Japanese worker ever. He's up there with the best of anyone, from anywhere, from any era for my money and I never tire of watching that guy. Love him to bits. Love this video to bits too. Awesome theme too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW1WeLenxeo

For plain larger than lifeness (is that a word?) I have to say Andre. I've barely slept for a few days so I'm drawing a blank on any other names right now but a fine topic idea. I'll come back to this topic again me thinks.

flahavaj

rossie1977 wrote: »

how do you define "big man" though??

you stand gordy next to paul wight or khali and he wouldn't look like a big man at all

the rock was a big man, legit 6'3-6'4 270lb when he played with the hurricanes and started in the E, but no-one ever puts him in the big man category

for me personally i think when all factors are taken into account undertaker aka mark calaway, big enough to be not look small next to the giants, longevity, stupidly over and a very good worker from 1996-2010

No one looks big next to Khali or Big Show in all fairness.

Gordy was 6'5 and 300 pounds, he was a horse of a man.

I dunno how you'd catergorise big men tbh, pick who ye like.:pac:

arsenallegend

Bruiser brody, he was a hell of a big man

Undertaker is a big man and he's awesome

Angron

Kane, cause he's pretty much always been my fav.

Kess73

The much maligned Kane deserves a mention. Very agile for a tall and heavy man, and capable of moves a man his size would not be normally expected to try.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Diesel was good for his size.

Kamala coming off the top rope has to get a mention for that alone (although, I'm not sure you'd class him as a "wrestler": take that out of his arsenal and there's feck all else)

Another vote for Bigelow, but was he a "big man" wrestoler compared to some of the other "giants"?

Penn

I'd also say Kane. He just always seemed quicker and more agile than Taker and a lot of men his size.

Ham'nd'egger

Best wrestler period IMO. One crying shame is that the Attitude generation never got to see him at anything close to his brilliant peak.

flahavaj wrote: »

Have at it m*therf*ckers.

Who is the greatest "big man" wrestler of all time?

There are some amazing candidates, the likes of Bigelow, Undertaker, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Andre the Giant, even the young Big Show.

But my pick is "Bam Bam" Terry Gordy.



Incredible agility, was amazing in both American and Japan, bumped like a cruiserweight, could get anyone over. I once saw him described as the glue that held every match he wrestled and that just sums him up beautifully. Great promo as well.

Possibly the greatest tag wrestler ever as well, an integral part of both the Freebirds and the Miracle Violence Connection.

In short he was someting special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRbx96oGWtU

Nuri Sahin

*grabs coat*

waltersobchak

Think Vader deserves a mention, extremely agile for such a big man

Nuri Sahin

Umaga certainly deserves a mention too as does Rikishi.

rossie1977

speaking of vader and gonzales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQJTiakNVFg

rossie1977

mike awesome was a great worker in japan and ecw, although kevin nash said he was nowhere near the size they billed him

barry windham, mick foley (doesn't look it on tv but he is a big big guy in person)

JP Liz V1

Would Brock Lesnar and Sid Justice be counted also

I'd pick Andre or Undertaker

Mr.Nice Guy

Does Brock Lesnar count? If so he'd have to get a mention. Incredibly mobile and agile for a guy of his size. Freakish.

Edit: Liz read my mind. :pac:

Fallen Buckshot

i would have to pick the Big Bossman/Ray Traylor and or Akeem/One Man Gang

Bounty Hunter

like Jolt speaking from a draft point of view early WCW Big Show was great also, i think people actually forget this when they see him today although he can still work a good program.

The Undertaker would get my vote but there are a number of contenders and as said defining exactley what a big man is isn't the easiest.

Id also agree that Lesnar could be considerd as should Vader

rossie1977

if gordy counts, then lesnar in his 290lb wwe days does asa well

on the big show and indeed andre point, most people only remember them past their primes, wight while never a world class worker did stuff that still to this day seems incredible for a guy of his size such as dropkicks, suicide dives, wights strength as goldberg says is incredible, no need for fake chokeslams here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDTlLWdfaio

andre was a fine worker in the 70s, another extremely strong man, its a pity people only remember his days when his disease was already catching up to him, here is andre at 21 though not wrestling related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q34tnGVR2BI

Gerard.C

Undertaker. Brilliant, absoulte legend in every sense of the word. Has had some UNREAL matches. Will go down in history as one of the best ever imo

Star Bingo

that clip from the 60s.. :eek: Andre the Giant handsome/lean/agile?!! his disease musta really took hold in his later years

guess we only witnessed a distorted andre in the grip of death in his WWF days.. should be more of his younger self knockin about the internet to counteract the freak image. which is pretty much all people know

Tricity Bendix

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Diesel was good for his size.

Diesel wasn't good for any size. One of the most overrated individuals going, imo.

I'm not sure if Samoa Joe counts (maybe he just looks big cus he wrestles Styles, Daniels and Angle) but I'll mention him anyway. I just really enjoy watching him.

Machismo Fan

In fairness all credit to Nash for getting so much money out of so little talent.

DrumSteve

that guy in the green jocks in the terry gordy video must have been ****ed up after that match

Lesnar for sure. A legit 6' 3'' that can pull of a SSP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r32kaZifKHA

Also Vader for his moonsaults. Ernie The Cat Ladd. Sid Vicous, Undertaker.

Vince135792003

Vader at his peak was brilliant.

Headshot

Bam Bam Bigelow

flahavaj

I f*cking love Vader.

This is my favourite match of both his and Stan Hansen's.

Hansen punches Vader's eye clean out of its socket.

Vader pops it back in and keeps going.

Real men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmK8mt4QWBg

Tricity Bendix

Machismo Fan wrote: »

In fairness all credit to Nash for getting so much money out of so little talent.

Thing about Nash is that I actually prefer him now than at any other point in his career. He physically cannot wrestle very often, and so is forced to talk up the few matches that he does have. His matches usually feel like they mean something, so even if he goes over, his opponent has at least been seen doing something worthwhile. And he's an alright talker. To illustrate, his match against EY meant a lot more than his match in the WWE against Test.


So, yeah. The less of Nash I see in the ring, the better.:D

chopperbyrne

Vader for me, with André and Undertaker close behind.

Butch Cassidy

Headshot wrote: »

Bam Bam Bigelow

Couldn't believe it took so long for Bam Bam to be mentioned! Vader and Bam Bam were my first two choices when I thought about it.

Bam Bam had an early run in WWF in the late '80s some people might forget. He was at the first Survivor Series. His second run had highs - vs. Bret Hart - and many lows - vs. Doink the Clown. The highlight of his WWF tenure may have been vs. Lawerence Taylor where he showed how well he could carry a non wrestler to a decent-ish match. Lousy main event, lousy WM match but alright for what it was. Shame he was buried after that. Vince seemed to have been moving away from the big guys giving Bret Hart a big spot in '94 but sure then in '95 it was Diesel and Sid for a few months and then Mabel gets a look in as well as Bulldog sharing a few main event PPVs. So anyway, Bam Bam didn't really get a great shot at anything in WWF outside of WM XI and the King of the Ring.

Vader was an even stranger anomaly in WWF. Hired in 1996 basically just for one thing and that was to put Shawn Michaels over and put him over big. Maybe Vader had lost it by this stage but in nearly everything he did it felt half-arsed. His two big matches in '97 against 'Taker were quite good as well as his semi-shoot against Shamrock. Special mention for his performance in the Final Four match. Always thought it was a shame they never pushed a Vader/Mankind feud.


Both men did great stuff outside of WWF (especially Vader in Japan and I think Bam Bam wrestled there too) but someone else can speak about that I quite liked Bam Bam's ECW run but if I'm being honest it's because it was the second most viewed portion of his career I saw.



What made them great BIG MEN? They were agile, athletic and could go. There's big men like Yokozuna who had about three moves and every match was very similar but with Vader and Bam Bam (while they also had their set moves) could at least wrestle a full match.

The Rock really isn't a "big man" per se as he's well proportioned - not overly muscular like Lesnar, doesn't play his height up like 'Taker and sure to hell wasn't fat like Bam Bam and Vader. Everyone else mentioned is a "big man" I'd say.

Star Bingo

ZEUS!!



is.. not a candidate. intimidating monobrow though

Exclamation Marc

Got to be Vader for me. He was the first "big man" as I'd consider the term (didn't really see much Bam Bam stuff til later on) that I saw and his matches with Michaels and others were incredible, he was more agile that guys half his size.

Butch Cassidy

Star Bingo wrote: »

ZEUS!!



is.. not a candidate. intimidating monobrow though

I remember renting No Holds Barred from my video shop years ago and it was the most dreadful piece of ****e ever. Possibly the worst film of the 80s! It's terrible even for a mark even for teh biggest Hogan mark!

chopperbyrne

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

Couldn't believe it took so long for Bam Bam to be mentioned!

Can't get much earlier than the first post!

Cactus Colm

I would say Taker. First few years he got over on the gimmick alone, but has constantly improved, to become one of the most consitant, reliable wrestlers around, while still been able to legitimately stay a title contender, while plenty his age and younger are failing to compete.

His biggest weakness to the claim of best big man is the quality of his opponents. We've really seen his quality against people like Angle, Edge, Batista, HBK, Foley, etc. But of course he's also had to work with (and make look viable) nathan Jones, Giant Gonzales, Brian Lee (fake undertaker), and every other big sized wrestler to set foot into the wwe, no matter how little talent they have.

But, I do have to admit, that I'm voting with ignorance, I don't have the greatest knowledge of Japanese wrestling, or even wCw, and anything pre 80's.

A-Train/Giant Bernard/Matt Bloom might be considered a great big man in the future, he seems to be doing very well in Japan, and is supposed to have improved greatly in the ring. Would love to see him back in the states at some time.

Butch Cassidy

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Can't get much earlier than the first post!

Haha! Touché. I never saw Gordy's output aside from ECW and The Exectutioner thing which should obviously be forgotten.

Prufrock

André. Worked throught terrible pain and provided us with a timeless moment at Wrestlemania by getting slammed by Hogan. Also was a draw in his own right.

flahavaj

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

Haha! Touché. I never saw Gordy's output aside from ECW and The Exectutioner thing which should obviously be forgotten.

I mentioned Bigelow as well in fairness!;)

Butch Cassidy

Andre was a draw undoubtedly but he just wasn't a particularly good wrestler. I know he worked threw pain in some of his most successful years ie. the WrestleMania years but still, don't think that makes him a great big man.

johnnycnandy

Bam Bam Bigelow. He could do crazy things for a man his size.

Ruu_Old

Vader! His presence alone was intimidating enough. Those clubbing blows, he was a bear! WHO THE MAN, WHO THE MAN! *makes v sign*

Jolt2007

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

Andre was a draw undoubtedly but he just wasn't a particularly good wrestler. I know he worked threw pain in some of his most successful years ie. the WrestleMania years but still, don't think that makes him a great big man.

But at the end of the day the whole point is to get people to buy tickets and no big man did that better than Andre. He wasn't the greatest worker, although he was reportedly more than capable in his younger days when he was agile enough to throw dropkicks and have hour long matches, but to be honest it doesn't matter much how well he could work. He had and incredible aura about him and a natural charisma that no other big man could rival that more than compensates for any in ring flaws, and that makes him great in my opinion. Plus the dude rocked an afro!

Prufrock

Jolt2007 wrote: »

But at the end of the day the whole point is to get people to buy tickets and no big man did that better than Andre. He wasn't the greatest worker, although he was reportedly more than capable in his younger days when he was agile enough to throw dropkicks and have hour long matches, but to be honest it doesn't matter much how well he could work. He had and incredible aura about him and a natural charisma that no other big man could rival that more than compensates for any in ring flaws, and that makes him great in my opinion. Plus the dude rocked an afro!

If you can find something more intimidating than a 7 foot giant with an afro I don't wanna see it. But Andre did put asses in seats. Sure he was never going to be Bret Hart inring but he worked with what he had.

Butch Cassidy

The whole point isn't to just put bums in seats. The whole point is to have good matches!

One of the best programmes Andre worked was with Jake the Snake. Jake used to be afraid and intimidated by Andre who would come after him with a look of menace taht said "I'm gonna break you in half" but then Jake would take out the snake and Andre ran a mile. Excellent storytelling.

Butch Cassidy

Jolt2007 wrote: »

But at the end of the day the whole point is to get people to buy tickets and no big man did that better than Andre. He wasn't the greatest worker, although he was reportedly more than capable in his younger days when he was agile enough to throw dropkicks and have hour long matches, but to be honest it doesn't matter much how well he could work. He had and incredible aura about him and a natural charisma that no other big man could rival that more than compensates for any in ring flaws, and that makes him great in my opinion. Plus the dude rocked an afro!

The whole point isn't to just put bums in seats. The whole point is to have good matches!

One of the best programmes Andre worked was with Jake the Snake. Jake used to be afraid and intimidated by Andre who would come after him with a look of menace taht said "I'm gonna break you in half" but then Jake would take out the snake and Andre ran a mile. Excellent storytelling.

mrgardener

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

The whole point isn't to just put bums in seats. The whole point is to have good matches!
.

Rubbish. Bums on seats is what its all about.
Not so much now, but in the attitude era, most of the memorable moments were not the "good matches", but were the build-ups and storylines.

Butch Cassidy

Yeah I suppose...

TripleAce

Mark Henry obviously. He is the world's strongest man