~~~Blassie went on a mission to prove that John Studd was the 'biggest' man in wrestling. The battle royal also featured stars from the National Football league. He won Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship on four different occasions. Winning the Royal Rumble was a major feather in Studds cap, particularly given that winning battle royals was such a central part of Andres legacy. Aprs avoir quitt la WWWF, Studd deviendra connu sous le nom de Chuck O'Connor, Captain USA, et The Masked Superstar II certains endroits du Mid-Atlantic. Notable Title Wins Include: WWWF Tag Team Titles; WWA Tag Team titles; NWA Canadian Heavyweight title; NWA American Heavyweight title; NWA Hawaii Tag Team titles; NWA Hawaii North American Heavyweight title; NWA (Pacific) International Heavyweight title; NWA (Mid-Atlantic) Tag Team titles (3); NWA Texas Tag Team titles; NWA National Tag Team titles; EWU World Super Heavyweight title; World Class Texas Tag Team titles; Florida Global Tag Team titles; Knoxville Southern Heavywieght title; WWF Royal Rumble Winner. John William Minton (February 19, 1948 - March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. Standing 6-foot-10 and weighing in at 364 pounds, John "Big John Studd" Minton was a mountain of a man who dominated his competition, and his legendary rivalries with Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan in the mid-1980s are considered some of the greatest of that era. photo: wwe.com. Ric Flair won the match in 1992 to capture the WWE Championship. This guy has no real accomplishments to speak of and even though we didn't get to see much of him due to his short stint, at least we got to see this guy marry his wife onSaturday Night's Main Event, so at least that was memorable! Although Andr the Giant was also in the battle royal, Studd set his focus on eliminating William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who was fresh from a Super Bowl victory that year. Big John Studd shows up Saturday as Petit Pierre, a mountain of a man who helps Lt. Danko and his "Dirty Dozen" team of soldier-spies in their weekly effort to . Later that year, he would be the guest referee for Andre's bout with Jake Roberts at WrestleMania V. Before their issue could be settled, however, Studd once again left WWE in mid-1989, this time for good. Actor: Micki + Maude. Men like Shawn Michaels, Batista, and Drew McIntyre followed the traditional heros journey of winning the Rumble en route to winning their first WWE world titles in WrestleMania main events. Even with the accomplishments, maybe Big John Studd's most memorablemoment was when Andrebeat him in a "bodyslam challenge" in Madison Square Garden during the first WrestleMania ever. Manager Captain Lou Albano protested by claiming it was an "optical illusion". Sur cette version linguistique de Wikipdia, les liens interlangues sont placs en haut droite du titre de larticle. ~~~Blassie guided John Studd to WWF title shots at then-champion Bob Backlund, but Studd was unable to win the title. Big John Studd. Together, Studd and Kowalski won the WWF Tag Team Championship in 1976 as the Masked Executioners. In 1977, John left the federation again, and after taking some time off, he competed at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but lost to the then undefeated wrestler, Nature Boy Ric Flair. Paul Bunyan'sheight sometimes listed him at an astounding 8'6" but more realistic measurements have him at about 7'7". His run in the world of wrestling may not have been a successful one, but he will surely be remembered for his towering height. modifier - modifier le code - modifier Wikidata. John Minton. Although he never got to see his famous father wrestle--due to his father's retirement a year before his son's birth, Sean held a passion for the sport. Minton died from liver cancer and Hodgkin's disease on March 20, 1995. He won the Royal Rumble match in 1989. He retired again from pro wrestling, and got himself some acting gigs, including Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991). Studd wins the 1989 Royal Rumble in Houston. Initially managed by Classy Freddie Blassie before joining Bobby Heenan and the Heenan Family, Big John Studd would help megastars such as Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant continue on their paths of superstardom. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_John_Studd&oldid=1140967140, Episode: "Bad Company" or "Bad Companions", EWU World Super Heavyweight Championship (1 time), This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 18:00. Most Royal Rumble victories have carried major consequencesnot least of all a WrestleMania world title match in almost all cases. Studd and Bobby Heenan often attacked Andre at various WWF events. He was best known for being a Wrestler. This happened during a televised tag team match on WWF Championship Wrestling featuring Studd and fellow Heenan Family member Ken Patera against Andr the Giant and S. D. Jones. Although Big John Studd was largely retired by the 1990s, he would occasionally step into the ring. In 1976, Studd returned to the World Wide Wrestling Federation, where he donned a mask and performed as "Executioner#2", teaming with Executioner#1 as The Executioners. Winning this match furthered Studds credibility. He fought his last wrestling match against The Honky Tonk Man at a promotional event. It doesn't matter if they only competed once or if they lost every single match, if they were the tallest, they're on this list. Heenan successfully campaigned to get Andre suspended, only for Andre to reappear shortly thereafter in a mask and billing himself as the Giant Machine. La dernire modification de cette page a t faite le 26 fvrier 2023 15:27. John William Minton (February 19, 1948 - March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. He is survived by his daughter Janelle Minton and sons Sean Minton and John Minton, Jr., the latter, who accepted his plaque upon his posthumous inductions to both the WCW Hall of Fame in 1995 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. The "Machines" angle began when Andre failed to show up for a tag team match against Bundy-Studd at a television taping. [10] He came out with his own line of workout and vitamin supplements and trained Ron Reis, who would make his WCW debut as Big Ron Studd. Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/big-john-studd-35149.php, 20th Century Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century American Film & Theater Personalities. June 12, 1988. After WrestleMania, Studd formed an alliance with fellow Heenan Family member, 468lb (212kg) King Kong Bundy. Determined to be one of the biggest wrestlers in the WWF, Big John Studd began taking human growth hormones back when he was actively facing off against Andre the Giant in the ring. Later that month at Showdown at Shea, Studd lost to El Olympico by disqualification. After this, Studd was brought into Florida by J.J. Dillon and feuded with Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham (the son of Blackjack Mulligan), and Sweet Brown Sugar. Uncle Elmer was more of a gimmick then a real wrestler, and his height just added to his character. World Wide Wrestling Federation (19721973), Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (19741983), World Wide Wrestling Federation (19761977), American Wrestling Association (19751976, 19801981), World Wrestling Federation (19821986, 19881989), Independent circuit and retirement (19891993), Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 18:00, World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation, sitdown splash from the top rope onto his chest, NWA North American Heavyweight Championship, NWA Tennessee Southern Heavyweight Championship, World (Wide) Wrestling Federation/Entertainment, List of premature professional wrestling deaths, "Sean Studd Following In His Father's Huge Footsteps", "Big John Studds Battle Over", by Mike Mooneyham, "Sports; Furthermore; Obituary: John Minton", "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (19671968/05) American Heavyweight Title (1968/051986/02)", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years", "W.W.A. He started training to be a professional wrestler under 'Walter 'Killer' Kowalski' at the age of 18. The Andre-Studd feud took on a new dimension in 1986, when, in the wake of Andre's increasing health problems related to gigantism and acromegaly, his role as Fezzik in the movie The Princess Bride, and his planned tour of Japan, a storyline was developed to have Andr compete in a tag team called The Machines. He had also appeared in television shows like Hunter (1987) and Beauty and the Beast (1988). In mid-1972, Studd joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation under the ring name "Chuck O'Connor", facing wrestlers such as Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon. Studd, along with Bundy and Heenan, insisted that Andre and the Giant Machine were one and the same, and set out to prove their point by vowing to unmask the Giant Machine during a series of tag team matches; the Giant Machine's partners included Blackjack Mulligan (as "Big Machine") and Bill Eadie (as "Super Machine"), with Studd and Bundy saying in interviews that they knew who The Machines were and that they had never heard of Japanese wrestlers with a South-Texas accent (Mulligan/Big Machine) or a South-Florida accent (Eadie/Super Machine), while Bobby Heenan repeatedly claimed that no Japanese wrestler or person was 7'4" and over 500lbs and spoke with a French accent. He was the 1989 Royal Rumble Winner and held many titles as well: WWF Tag-Team Champion, NWA North American Champion, NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag-Team Champion(3), NWA Canadian Champion, NWA Texas Tag-Team Champion, NWA Hawaii Tag-Team Champion, EWU Super-Heavyweight Champion, 1976 PWI . Previous Managers: Bobby Heenan, Freddy Blassie. [12] In February 1995, Minton returned for another round of chemotherapy, and it was found that the tumor had spread widely. Andre the Giant wasthe epitome of a big manin professional wrestling. On May 25, 1980, Masked Superstar II was unmasked after a match with Blackjack Mulligan in Toronto. His most famous match was the "Body Slam Match" which he lost to Andre the Giant. Studd's last match during his original 1980s WWF run came on the November 15, 1986, episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, where he teamed with Bundy to defeat The Machines (a match that did not involve the Giant Machine). News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. In the early 1980s, Studd spent time in Florida, the AWA and NWA before returning to WWE. Profile Info. [8] By 1984, with his feud with Andre still raging, Studd was challenging then-new champion Hulk Hogan for the title; Hogan was also successful on several occasions in slamming Studd. But pro wrestling has also been filled with cherished giants loved by fans for years. Studd held a number of championshipsincluding theWWA World Tag Team Championship and WWWF World Tag Team Championship, and was the winner of the 1989 Royal Rumble. During the match, Studd was noticeably wrestling stiff and showing contempt for someone he saw as nothing more than a weightlifter with no wrestling skills who had no business being in a professional wrestling ring. Here is a list of the top 13 tallest wrestlers of all-time. John William Minton (February 19, 1948 - March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. Winner of the 1989 WWF Royal Rumble, last eliminating "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, Big John Studd was trained by Killer Kowalski. Three children: John Robert, Janelle, and Sean. He was posthumously inducted into the WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Hall of Fame in 1995 and 2004 respectively. He continued wrestling at various events, until he got an opportunity to showcase his skills at World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). In early 1982, Studd gained several unsuccessful title shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was held by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at the time. He started training to be a professional wrestler under 'Walter 'Killer' Kowalski' at the age of 18. He won WWA World Tag Team Championship with Ox Baker at the World Wrestling Association. at the age of 18. However, back in 1989, WWE staged only its second official Royal Rumble. He won the Pro-Wrestling Championship Tag Team of the Year with Killer Kowalski in 1976. Big John Studd: Bio. John became an instant crowd-puller and, along with Killer Kowalski, went on to win the Tag Team Championship. During his long career, he was most successful as Diesel and Big Sexy. Although he wrestled under the names Captain USA, Chuck O'Connor, the Executioner #2 and The Giant Stud, he is most popularly known . Although the Big John Studd death is now two decades in the past, his memory lives on amongst fans and friends. Even though Big John Studd was a towering 6'10", he was usually just played second fiddle to the 7'4" Andre the Giant for the duration oftheir wrestling careers. Having worked in the WWWF, Mid Atlantic and the AWA, John had his most succesful run with the WWF beginning in the early 80s. Despite this, Studd began declaring himself the "True Giant of Wrestling," all while continuing to insist he could not (and had never been) slammed. In December 1984, Studd, along with Patera and Heenan, cut Andre's hair during a tag team match. He started He received several title shots at AWA champ Verne Gagne, but was unable to win the coveted strap. Even when he was admitted to the hospital for the final time, he told close friend, wrestler Billy Graham, that he would be out in a few days; however, he would never be released from the hospital. Studd went on to feud with several members of the Heenan family, including Andr who had turned heel during Studd's absence and Haku (one of the few wrestlers who could bodyslam Studd). Unfortunately, Big John Studds death occurred much too soon at the age of 47, leaving fans and the wrestling community deeply saddened. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan devient son manager et il se lance dans une rivalit contre Andr the Giant, ce qui amnera a un Body Slam contest (organis par Andre The Giant et o le vainqueur est celui qui arrive porter un bodyslam son adversaire) au premier Wrestlemania avec 15000$ en jeu. Around September 1994, Minton's lungs collapsed and he went back to the hospital. Sadly, however, John Minton passed away on March 20, 1995, due to complications from liver cancer and Hodgkin's disease. He went to the AWA but was generally unhappy there. $18.06. Studd is referenced in the Limp Bizkit song "N 2Gether Now" featuring Method Man. He died from lymphoma cancer on March 20, 1995. In early 1982, Studd gained several unsuccessful title shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was held by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at the time. Sadly, Big John Studd passed away in 1995 after a tough battle with Liver Cancer and Hodgkin's disease. Big John Studd Also known as Captain America, Captain USA, Chuck O'Connor, Executioner #2, John Studd, Masked Destroyer, Masked Superstar #2, Mighty Minton A few months later at the inaugural WrestleMania in New York City's famed Madison Square Garden, Andre and Studd made history by competing in a $15,000 Bodyslam Challenge. 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