Original subtitles

[MUSIC]

In the land of giants, only the truly supreme beings survive.

But it is only a select few who have

the lasting power to leave an indelible mark for generations.

Their massive frames coupled with rare appeal have

immortalized these larger than life figures.

These are the top colossal beings in wrestling history.

And we celebrate their contributions and commitments

to being truly giants of this industry.

[MUSIC]

>> 7ft tall, 500 pounds, the

largest athlete in the world.

>> Big Show makes it look so easy.

[MUSIC]

>> [INAUDIBLE] Power of the biggest athlete in the world.

[MUSIC]

>> I was always a big kid, I remember turning six

years old and I was 101 pounds, I got really tall.

I think I was 14, I was really tall, I was 68 at 14, and I was into basketball.

It was hard for me to fit in with other kids being that big.

>> Growing up, being freakishly large isn't as cool as you might think it is.

>> I had to develop a little bit of a quirky sense of humor, and little did

I know it would really, it was foundation to prepare me for what I was born to do.

And that was be a sports entertainer.

At figure about nine, I developed a tumor

on my pituitary gland, it's referred to as acromegalia.

The pituitary gland is your governor for all your bodies systems.

Because I had that tumor, it put pressure on the pituitary

gland, which caused it to abnormally secrete too much growth hormone.

It floored me, it really hit me right in the stomach,

hard, because I always just thought I was blessed,

I never thought of it as a disease or an abnormality.

I just thought, hey, I'm gifted, I had to get it

fixed so I could have a longer life, that's the thing.

You don't really see a lot of old giants walking around.

[MUSIC]

>> The WCW Power Plant will help you reach your potential.

They'll train your body, work on your moves, and

motivate you to be your best, the WCW Power Plant.

>> When I walked in the Power Plant, because my

size was so different and my athletic ability was so different.

I mean, I had great feet from playing basketball, I mean, I had

great hand eye coordination, I could throw a punch, but I was terrified.

My gosh, I was terrified I was gonna get fired every day, I

mean, I always looked at it like, yeah, I'm a giant, I'm unique.

I'm so unique, they can fire me and not miss me, so I tend to work harder.

>> This mammoth man, the biggest man in pro wrestling, makes his way to the ring.

>> Be a giant, that was all I heard all

the time, be a giant, be a giant, be a giant.

But no one could tell me what I needed to be because the athleticism

that people used to seeing giants do was very boring.

It was the opposite of athletic, it was frustrating.

I wanted to have the great matches like I would see Triple

H have, I'd see Shawn Michaels have, I'd see Razor Ramon have.

I'd see all these guys have these matches where you're sitting on the

edge of your seat the whole time and it's false finishing, false finishing.

And I wanted to have those kind of matches.

>> Unbelievable, did you see that?

>> [CROSSTALK]

>> I was basically a point guard, brain in a center's body.

>> Devastation has been unleashed.

>> The thing about, for me, for wrestling is I was such a

good athlete, I was able to watch someone do something and then emulate it.

I mean, I can throw arm drags, take arm drags, dropkicks.

All these things are completely ridiculous because my size

was so different and my athletic ability was so different.

I mean, I had great feet, I could make my

body do whatever I needed to do in the ring.

>> He's still on his feet, big man, he's off it.

>> A missile dropkick from that giant [INAUDIBLE].

>> I've been fortunate through my career to make some

impacts in our industry, some memorable moments, so to speak.

Floyd Mayweather was tremendous guy to work with.

[NOISE] >> He understood the art of entertaining,

he knows how to create controversy.

We wanna create this Goliath versus

David, create this controversy, wrestler versus boxer.

Take a great champion like Floyd Mayweather, a monstrous behemoth like

the Big Show, put them together, it's got pay-per-view written all over.

>> The greatest fighter in the world versus the largest athlete in the world.

>> The crowd reaction was ridiculous.

When I chop Mayweather in the chest or I'd pick him up, hit

him in the side slam, I could feel that emotion come through the crowd.

>> Just slamming the greatest fighter in the world.

>> One of the memorable moments that sticks out in

my head is when Brock Lesnar and I broke the ring.

>> No freaking way.

>> Is he set Big Show up superplex?

>> No, he can't do that.

>> The 500 pound superplex.

>> [INAUDIBLE] To the top rope.

>> No [INAUDIBLE] superplex, my God.

What the hell?

[NOISE] >> The ring just imploded.

>> We hit in the ring, broke.

It was insane, and it was also scary.

It was like I could only imagine after never

being through an earthquake, what an earthquake must feel like.

That was one of those little moments in history

that I don't think you can plan, or ever repeat.

[APPLAUSE].

I guess that's my mark on the business, I broke a ring, great.

Finally, where I am in my career now, I get to finally be me.

I get to be the guy that likes kids, that likes to smile.

[MUSIC]

At the same time, I'm also what I am.

I'm a 7 foot, 420 pound athlete, that can be dangerous when I need to be.

>> This could be big show's night right here, man.

And there goes Cody and.

>> Whoa, who's gonna stop it?

Who's gonna stop this, big man right here?

>> Sports entertainment it's fun.

It's the funnest thing I've ever done in my life.

It's the most rewarding thing.

[MUSIC]

I can't imagine myself ever doing anything else but this.

[MUSIC]

>> 400 pounds, the All Asiatic Champion.

That's here for the popular Gorilla Monsoon.

[MUSIC]

>> Gorilla Monsoon, in his eight days, he was a great amateur wrestler.

I remember Gorilla Monsoon with the big beard.

And he became a heel, and he made a

lot of money with Bruno Sammartino, I'll tell you that.

>> Whoa, Mr. Ruhl went for a ride.

[MUSIC]

>> When it comes to Giant, Monsoon was one of the best.

>> Look out.

>> You ever see Monsoon do a cartwheel?

A big guy like him, it was unbelievable he could do that.

He would do it sometime just to please me, let me see the cartwheel.

Not tonight, it was great.

People were shocked to see him do that.

[APPLAUSE].

>> He was at my mercy.

I could have done anything.

At that point, I could have wrist lock and broke

his arm, broke his leg, broke his neck, done anything.

>> There was a lot of guys in different territories.

They knew of Gorilla Monsoon, but they never saw him wrestle.

Some of these guys were shocked to see how this guy can move.

He was very athletic.

>> Look at Monsoon, look at the footwork of him, my gosh.

>> They had a boxing match.

Andre the Giant, and Gorilla Monsoon in Puerto Rico.

I remember [LAUGH].

I remember Gorilla telling me the story.

And I know it's pouring down rain, and every

time he tried to hit Andre, he wouldn't get anywhere.

If I remember well, I think Andre knocked him

out and he went down, he never got up [LAUGH].

>> Monsoon has him on one side, chops him up and out goes Baron Mc Secluna.

And there's Muhammad Ali standing up, pointing his finger at Gorilla Monsoon.

Wait just a minute.

Ali has his jacket off, he has his tie off.

>> What they were trying to do at the time, is to promote the big match.

Muhammad Ali vs Inuki in Japan, Wrestler vs Boxer.

So monsoon went in the ring, hey, I'm a wrestler, you're a boxer, let's go at it.

>> Vince you know, this guy may be a great box,

but he don't belong inside that squared circuit with a wrestler.

>> And Monsoon picked him up unexpected, picked up Muhammad Ali,

put him on his shoulder and dropped him right on his back.

>> Turn round the round, there they go.

>> Muhammad Ali had no idea that was coming.

Muhammad Ali got mad, but there's nothing he

could do, there's a big gorilla looking at him.

What else are you going to do now?

>> Muhammad said he could beat any professional wrestler anytime.

I believe he learned here at this moment, that he cannot Gorilla Monsoon.

>> There's another one that he used to do called the giant swing.

He grabs you by the ankle, and you're on your back, and he spins you around.

Then he lets you go, you don't know where you're gonna go.

We became really, really close friends.

>> Pat, thank you very much, good luck.

>> Gorilla, thank you.

>> It's a pleasure always.

>> He was telling me a story one time, and Gorilla is a

big guy and his house was a nice big house in New Jersey.

He was decorating the house on the outside,

Christmas lights, and he gets a nice long ladder.

He's climbing up the ladder, hook up some Christmas lights.

And then as he gets off way up to the

[LAUGH] ladder breaks, and he falls right on his back.

And his little son comes running out and

said, daddy, we're gonna need another ladder [LAUGH].

>> I'm Gorilla Monsoon.

>> Once again, I'm your host, Bobby the Brain Heenan.

Why?

Because the sign says so?

>> Sign says so >> Does that make,

>> I say so.

>> Monsoon and Bobby Heenan, they became accommodators together.

And what a pair.

>> So until next week, Gorilla Monsoon for Bobby the Brain.

Hey, loser, give me a 180.

Let's get out of here.

>> I can't get these wheels to work.

>> We'll see you all next Monday.

>> That's it, straight with you again?

>> Yeah, I wanna go all the way down to the old steel pier.

You know where that is?

>> No, I don't know where that is.

[MUSIC]

>> I mean, you'd want to watch that show just to see these two guys.

>> I will single handedly take them apart piece by piece.

>> [LAUGH] Are you serious?

>> This is Class.

>> World Wrestling Federation joining forces with Trump Plaza Hotel and casino.

>> That's like a lamp?

>> Don't touch anything, please.

>> Don't worry.

>> What is that?

>> Cash.

>> You're loaded, you got about $3 in there again.

>> It was incredible.

The costume they had to put on and all that stuff, classic.

>> Look he's gone nuts.

>> Will you stop?

You have a rifle.

>> It's funny how his name became Gorilla Monsoon.

And now we have a name to call him the what we call it the Gorilla Position.

When the wrestlers make their entrance, they gotta go near the entrance.

We used to say, Gorilla wants you, Gorilla wants you.

Well, I'll be there in a minute.

No, your Gorilla wants you now.

So that was the place, and eventually we called it Gorilla Position.

He had a good style, but he told it like it is.

>> Listen to this place go crazy.

Unbelievable, pending on him the garden.

[MUSIC]

>> The irresistible force meeting the immovable object.

>> It's too bad he passed away man, he was such a good guy, really.

[MUSIC]

>> I was born in Chicago, Illinois.

At the age of five, my mother took me and we moved to South Carolina.

Didn't have much money, or anything like that.

My mom was a single mom.

I didn't have a dad growing up.

She took care of me the best she could.

She had to work, and I kinda took care of myself growing up.

That's basically how I got interested in

wrestling, that's all I dreamed about constantly was

[SOUND].

Being a professional wrestler.

Elementary school, I started sprouting up.

You can look on some early pictures.

How you take a class picture, your whole class and you can see me at the back row.

I'm a head or two taller than everybody in the whole class.

In school when they ask you, where you gonna be when you grow up?

I told them straight away, I'm gonna be a professional wrestler.

And they were, yeah, right.

>> From Chicago, Illinois at £450, one man gang.

[SOUND]

>> It is, who is this big man?

I'm not sure who said it, but somebody's, made the comment, he's a one man gang.

>> Look at the strength and the size of this one man gang.

>> And that's how I became one man gang from then on.

[SOUND]

>> Once I got my groove going in professional wrestling, I don't

wanna say I was, known as a hardcore wrestler, but I mean, that

was kind of the style, that I kind of portrayed going out there.

>> There's too good of people in this world.

There's Punk's and there's Punk slappers.

And I'm the biggest slapper of them all.

>> Yeah, it looked menacing and big.

Promoters always want you to be.

>> You a big man.

>> Size was everything to them.

They wanted me bigger and bigger.

What do you weigh?

Well, 375, we want you at 400.

Ernie Ladd got in touch with me, he told me,

he goes, you know, you need to Talk with Vince McMahon.

He's really interested in bringing you to WWE.

I really didn't even know much about WWE because I didn't get CTVs or nothing.

I was traveling.

So sure enough, phone rings and I pick it up, you know, hello, this is George.

This is Vince McMahon.

You know, I have deep voice.

He's always got that real voice that sounds like business all the time.

And, you know, we talk back and forth.

He goes, I'd be, you know, interested in

you working for me, you know, and all that.

And he goes, do you have any days off coming up?

I'd like to fly you and your wife to, you know, New York.

And we'd meet at the office and we'd have a talk.

There was never any, you know, guarantee of anything.

It was just, you know, I'll give you a chance.

And, you know, we go from there and see what happens.

His opponent will be led towards the ring

area by his manager, the doctor of style, slick.

Where is he from?

Chicago, Illinois.

Yeah.

Weighing 450 pounds, the one

man, gang, this man is awesome.

Look at the size, the enormous size.

Well, yes, the one man gang really is moving around very well for a man of £450.

He seems to be very light on his feet, very agile.

I don't know if that's just genetics or just maybe eating too much.

But whatever happened, happened, and luckily it did.

Because if I'd been a normal sized person, probably

wouldn't have made it in the world of professional wrestling.

Tonight there's gonna be a transformation that's gonna.

You've been beating around a poor schlig.

What kind of a transformation?

What are you talking about?

When they first approached me, I thought it was a joke.

Mr. McMahon Just out of the blue, asked if I could dance.

I'm like, I don't even know what he's talking about.

I said, no, I can't dance.

And he kind of just said, we need to learn.

Behold and behold.

A king.

A king.

Wait a minute, Slick.

Wait a minute.

430.

£450.

I recognize this man as the One Man Gang.

I didn't feel comfortable for a long time doing that character.

You know, it took me a good while to get into character for that.

You know, the hardest part for me was

trying to figure out how to portray the character.

You know, the whole point of it was it was just a comedy.

I couldn't take it serious.

I went out and said, man, I'm just gonna be foolish.

I guess it worked okay.

People kind of got with it a little bit, you know.

Yeah.

When I left, WWE took pretty much a whole year off.

I didn't do anything.

Spent time with the family, you know, did a lot of things with

my kid that I didn't do because I was on the road so much.

My greatest accomplishment is getting to live my dream,

you know, from back when I was a kid.

Just dreaming about the stuff.

Man, this ain't.

This ain't.

It don't seem like it should be real, you know, I'm like, man, this ain't right.

I'm just George Gray from Spartanburg.

How would you like to look up at £600 staring you right in the eye?

We talk about the giants of sports entertainment.

The granddaddy of them all, Wes Haystacks Calhoun.

No doubt about it.

Sports and reference to the one and only Haystacks Calhoun.

I had never seen anybody that big in my entire life.

The camera turned and walking down the aisle was this giant.

And he was in overalls.

He had a horseshoe around a.

With a steel chain and he was barefoot, ready to do a little boogalow.

Everybody loved hey, Sacks Calhoun.

He talked about where he grew up in McKinney, Texas, and he was a farm boy.

He actually used to lift up cows and move them and

taking big haystacks and just tossing them, almost like for fun.

So his early days consisted of the farm and also food.

He was a big boy.

When he was 16 years old, he was £300 and the doctors told him he wouldn't see 18.

At 18 years old, he was a little over £400.

They said he wouldn't live to 21.

Getting close to £600 there.

21.

They told him he had six months to live.

He said, if I saw something that I liked, I ate it.

He said that was it.

I was just a big boy and I liked eating.

His family was very supportive of whatever he wanted to do.

So he decided that he was going to try pro wrestling.

So with his horseshoe and his chain given to him by his dad

as good luck, he went out on the road and this country boy, Calhoun.

And he just wrestled in different places just for a few bucks every

night, trying to break in, and nobody would take a chance on him.

Finally, he wound up in Kansas City, and there was a former

NWA World Heavyweight champion by the name of Orville Brown.

And Orville Brown saw something in hey, Sax Calhoun.

A great marketing attraction in this big guy.

Got somebody now that's 601 pounds.

This is something he can do something with.

So he helped train him and he had other people train him.

So not only was Haystacks huge now at 601

pounds, but he also was trained as a professional wrestler.

And that helped him throughout his career because

he was the only guy ever that size who

could get into the ring and not only just use his power, but he could also wrestle.

With somebody.

>> Side headlock applied now by the country boy.

>> Once he saw that Haystacks got through all

the grueling training, Orville Brown endorsed him to other promoters.

And you get the endorsement of a former NWA

World champion, what more could you ask for back then?

>> Haystacks Calhoun, a novelty in the wrestling World.

[MUSIC]

>> He was a special attraction, he never stayed

in the same area for a long period of time.

You wouldn't want to see a steady diet of

Haystacks Calhoun in the same arena or the same territory.

Haystacks was well needed by promoters all over

the world, because there was really no one else

close to his size in the business, so he could get work wherever he needed to work.

If he had an off week and needed some more bookings, all he

had to do was pick up the phone and say, Haystacks is available.

>> Haystacks has been around a long, long time,

real veteran of the square circle, Mr. Calhoun is.

>> When he would come out, people would just stand up just to

look at his size and say, they loved him, he commanded the crowd.

[NOISE]

>> Haystacks waving at all his little neighbors.

>> You were always his neighbor or his partner if he liked, Haystacks

always liked to consider himself just a plain old guy like everybody else.

And I remember one time seeing a

story in one of the Boston, Massachusetts newspapers.

That a reporter went down to the subway to

go to the matches at the Boston Garden that night.

And he got onto the subway car and he looks,

and among everyone else sitting down there is Haystacks Calhoun.

And he went and sat near Calhoun, he says, you're

a big star, what are you doing taking the subway?

And Haystacks says, I'm just like everybody

else, partner, I'm just going to work.

Haystacks was one of the few people ever in sports entertainment who could draw

people in and be of a huge value without championship gold around his waist.

And for Haystacks to get a shot at a world heavyweight

championship, I mean, the National Wrestling alliance sent him a letter.

And said that you're £100 or more over the weight limit to

win The World Heavyweight Championship, and they refused to let him compete.

>> Look at a ring, close look, everything moves when Haystacks moves.

>> Haystacks was forced to retire due to

health issues, obviously as big as he was, and

him not wanting to curb his appetite led

to his physical downfall and he had to retire.

It was very sad because everybody loved him, everybody adored Haysack's Calhoun.

[MUSIC]

>> George Gonzalez came from El Colorado, Formosa, Argentina, George came

to the US because he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks.

But when he got to the States, apparently his basketball skills

weren't exactly on the par with Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.

So even though he was drafted, he didn't make the roster, but

the Atlanta Hawks were owned by Ted Turner, who also owned WCW.

Ted Turner saw dollar signs in an 8 foot tall giant, so

he talked to the people that were running the wrestling organization for him.

And said, well, look, he didn't make it in the NBA, I'd

like to see him make it in WCW, and the rest was history.

[MUSIC]

Everybody looked at him with awe, I had

never seen an individual this big, size 18 shoes.

His hands were bigger than my head, he was a true

wonder of The World, and that's not an exaggeration, that's not speculation.

I can tell you that.

>> Eligante in the rings and nobody, and

I mean nobody, wants anything to do with this.

>> He had an old Ford Bronco and they took the front seat out

and he drove it from the back seat because he was eight feet tall.

>> And I wanna dance.

>> Yeah, but can't we have an interview first?

>> I wanna dance.

>> He's just a gentle giant, at that time, he wasn't mean,

he didn't make, you know, mean faces or vicious motions in the ring.

And the kids loved him, so therefore the parents loved him, making the kids happy.

And people wanted to slap five with a big giant, they wanted

to put their hand next to his and see the difference in size.

And it was just a natural fit, a big giant, good guy, in our business.

>> If you want the belts, you deal with me, pal.

>> For Ric Flair, who's, you know, a normal sized person, maybe six

one, maybe 240 pounds, you go against a guy that weighs 480 pounds.

It looks like David versus Goliath, which is maybe the aspect they were going for.

[MUSIC]

The first time I met George is when he came to the WWE for

the first time, in fact, I met

him in Sacramento, California at the Royal Rumble.

>> Look at the size of that monster.

>> We became friends right away, that was the day that

I met him, that was the day I became his manager.

We interfered in the Royal Rumble and caused problems with The Undertaker.

>> That is the biggest man I have ever seen in my life.

>> George wore a body suit that had muscles airbrushed on the suit from neck

to toe and had big fur put all over the shoulders and on the arms and everything.

It was ridiculous how he looked, I mean,

that was part of the mystique, like bigfoot.

>> Devastating clothesline.

>> Let's face it, when Giant Gonzalez got in the

ring, people didn't expect to see Monkey Flip, moonsaults, Frankensteiners.

They expected to see big Giant chopping down the tree, maneuvers.

Just being a part of WrestleMania, let

alone Semi main event, is a huge accomplishment.

Being there opposite of The Undertaker in the

ring, that's a huge deal in and of itself.

>> He is dwarfing The Undertaker.

>> Undertaker wasn't able to pin Giant Gonzalez, even

though he won the match, it was a disqualification.

He gets the win, come on now, Undertaker, you didn't pin the big man.

>> Well, he may have won this battle

by disqualification, but the war is far from over.

>> SummerSlam that was held in the palace of

Auburn Hills in Michigan, Giant Gonzalez against The Undertaker.

Once again, I had the urn that Undertaker cherished, but

Gonzalez and myself managed to steal it from Paul Bearer.

We had possession of the urn, well, low and behold, at the

end of this match, after he's been gone for months and months.

Paul Bear reemerged, came out, clotheslined me,

knocked me down and took the urn

away from me, gave it back to The Undertaker, gave him his power back.

[MUSIC]

Gonzalez blamed me, took me in the ring, picked me

up by my throat, boom, ChokeSlammed me on the ground.

>> And I'll pick up, and down he goes.

>> It's the first time that I've ever

been knocked out, and that's for real knocked out.

I was at an autograph session where there was pictures,

eight by tens of me and George Gonzalez on the table.

And the promoter of the autograph session looked at me

and says, there were lifts in his shoes, weren't they?

I said, no, there weren't lifts in his shoes, he goes, he was really that big?

I said, he was really that big.

[MUSIC]

I'm from a little small town called Walls,

Mississippi, and we had the matches in Memphis,

everybody in my family, in my neighborhood, Watched

me on TV, always saw me with George Gonzalez.

And they wanted to meet him.

We wanna meet the Giant, we've never seen a Giant, please.

After the matches, we got in the car, we drove down to walls.

We went to the local establishment, there that everybody gathered

and I said, everybody, get ready, you're gonna meet my friend.

And in come George.

Everybody went nuts.

He posed for pictures, he picked up the old women and the young girls

and everybody was just getting his autograph,

getting their picture made next to him.

He came to my home and met my wife, he met my family.

And he didn't act like he was grumpy, miserable, tired, which I'm sure he was.

To this day they talk about the day the Giant came to Wallace, Mississippi.

And that meant a lot to me personally, that he would

take the time out of his life to do that for me.

[MUSIC]

It's like the first time you see the Grand Canyon.

It's hard to describe it to someone who's never seen it.

They'll say, yeah, it sounds great.

But when they see it, it's like, wow.

And unfortunately, since he's no longer with us,

no one will ever see him in person.

George was the biggest man in the history

of our profession in the WWE, in the world.

I mean, that's a fact, that's not arguable,

that's not debatable, that's not up for conversation.

He was the biggest man in the history

of our profession, and how can anybody forget that?

[MUSIC]

>> We talk about some of the biggest men in this great sport.

I've got to bring up the name of Big John Studd.

John Stud, Los Angeles, California, 6'10, 360.

>> Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

>> Hold on.

>> Wait, little man.

Seven foot plus, nearly 400 pounds of solid muscle.

I am the Giant of professional wrestling today.

I am the biggest man in wrestling and I am the strongest man in wrestling.

[MUSIC]

>> He grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and he

wanted to be big, he wanted to be tall.

Big John Studd got to like Killer Kowalski.

Went to his camp up there after a while and that helped him a lot.

And they wound up being tag team partners.

>> From parts unknown, with a total combined

weight of 578 pounds, The Executioners.

>> And when those two big monsters got in the ring, everybody in the wrestling

arena, they realized that these guys were there, no nonsense wrestling.

And they were brutal.

[MUSIC]

>> Look at the size of this guy.

He's a biggin.

>> He was, fairly successful down

in Georgia, Georgia Championship Wrestling and

Crocker Promotions out of Charlotte, North Carolina and the AWA out of Minneapolis.

>> I've traveled around the country collecting bounties.

Well, I consider the AWA Heavyweight Championship a bounty.

A bounty that I want to collect.

>> I wouldn't say that he was a consistent

main eventer, but he was right there near the top.

Everywhere John went, he became more successful.

[MUSIC]

>> I've come to the WWF Wrestling Federation for one purpose

and that's to leave a mark that you people will never forget.

>> When John eventually molded himself into being

Big John Studd, he wanted to be a giant.

John was struggling to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

Pumping more iron, eating more food.

And he put his heart and soul into being a giant.

John went from being 6'8 to 6'11.

And went from like 280 pounds, 300, all the way up to 360.

So he literally, [LAUGH] you can almost see him grow like a weed.

>> I think John Studd has probably grown 3

or 4 inches since the last time I've seen him.

>> He loved Andre the Giant.

He wanted to be as big as Andre.

>> You seem to have an obsession with Andre the Giant.

I mean, Andre is 7 feet 4 inches near the 500 pound mark.

And I think that it's not humanly possible for you ever to be as large as Andre.

>> Well, we gotta get something straight, I don't wanna be Andre the Giant.

There's no way I wanna be Andre the Giant.

I just want him to be number two and me number one.

>> He was a giant, 6'11, 360, I'd say that's pretty close to being a giant.

[LAUGH]

[MUSIC]

>> This is going to be an extraordinary matchup.

>> Bobby Heenan was our manager and we challenged Andre the Giant.

So I get up on the top rope, jump off and

catch Andre in the side of the head with a big knee.

Knocked him out.

>> Drop to elbow.

Double team plate, double team effort.

>> Here comes John with a pair of scissors.

We're gonna cut his hair, all the people are going nuts.

>> And Studd and Ken Patera continue to rape Andre the Giant dignity.

Look what they're doing to this man.

>> And then when John and Andre continued the feud, sell out everywhere.

It was one of the hottest feuds I'd ever seen in this thing.

Yeah, it was huge, huge.

>> This is the $15,000 slam match.

If the gentleman to my left is slammed, he loses $15,000 in cash.

>> Big John Studd claiming that no one

in professional wrestling can give him the bodyslam.

>> Nobody's ever slammed John Studd, I can't be slammed, I can't be pinned.

I take steel bars and steel bolts, and I bend them with my bare hands.

>> I think John was telling me about that bodyslam challenge with Andre the Giant.

He said, that worked out real good.

He said, I almost had him up, Ken, I almost had him up.

>> Look at this, Studd trying to slam Andre.

Forget about it.

Andre now going to work on the leg.

Look at this, Andre picks him up.

He slammed him.

Andre the Giant making history as he slams Big John Studd.

[MUSIC]

>> We're live here in the Summit in Houston,

Texas, and indeed, it is time for the Royal Rumble.

>> When the smoke clears from the Royal Rumble, there's gonna be one man standing.

And it's not gonna be Big Boss man, it's not gonna be you, Akeem, and it's

not even gonna be you, Andre, it's gonna

be the Giant of professional wrestling, Big John Studd.

>> I talked to him briefly at the time.

I said, that's a little different, isn't it?

He says, well, it's better to have people cheering

for you than cheering against you all the time.

>> Here is the winner of the Royal Rumble, Big John Studd.

>> This way you can be given all the bumps not taking them.

[LAUGH] >> He liked that part?

>> Yeah.

[MUSIC]

>> We wanna say goodbye- Goodbye, and take a

look back at the career of Big John Studd.

His real name, John Mitten, who lost his long battle with Hodgkin's disease.

>> Yeah, it was tragic, and bizarre.

A guy for, 20 years and then, one day he's not there anymore.

It's kinda scary.

>> John Mitten, will be missed and respected,

by the folks in the World Wrestling Federation.

Dead at the age of 46.

[MUSIC]

>> Yeah, when Big John Studd got inducted into the

hall of Fame, I said, God bless him, he deserved it.

>> My dad was a great man.

I've never heard anything but that.

Not one week goes by where someone doesn't go and say, man, your dad's Big John Stud.

I still have his wrestling doll, you remember the cartoon?

It's great, I love it every time.

And it's great that he had that impact on pop culture.

[MUSIC]

>> There's a young man from Johnstown,

Pennsylv, that wanted to become a professional wrestler.

John had the size, and he worked hard to get big and stay big.

>> This man is a monster, a mountain of a man.

[MUSIC]

>> So, he was legitimate, he was a giant.

Big John the Giant Studd.

[MUSIC]

[SOUND] >> Ladies and gentlemen,

would you please welcome,

the one, the only, 7 foot,

300 plus pounds, Big

Daddy and Cool Diesel.

>> I remember, the first match, I watched it as a kid.

Was a character named the Dingo Warrior.

And he was gigantic.

He was the biggest human being I'd ever seen in my life.

I was, 310, 320 at the time.

I said, you know what?

I could do that.

7feet, 325 pounds.

>> I had probably, the worst three years of my life coming from WCW.

And finally, Shawn saw me as a Vinny Vegas character,

and he goes, do you think Nash would be my bodyguard?

>> Adrian, go ahead and start the noodles.

This ain't gonna take long.

[LAUGH]

>> Look who's back on top of the world, looking down on all of you.

A heartbreak in himself.

Shawn Michaels and his insurance policy, my bodyguard.

I came along and was like that.

Big brother was, nah, man, you're the man, you're great.

I'm just happy as I can be just to be a part of this.

>> Look at that McMahon.

His insurance policy is standing on the floor, and over the second rope.

He is one big dude.

>> Very, very big.

[MUSIC]

>> This so-called bodyguard, this insurance policy, what's his name?

>> You wanna know what his name is?

>> Yeah, I'll give you the info.

>> His name is Diesel.

>> So devastating is the 7foot Diesel.

>> He's the biggest, baddest thing to walk down the pike in a long time.

And sooner or later, somebody, is gonna find out what I'm talking about.

>> No, the chalk knife.

He got in, Diesel did it, a new Champion.

[NOISE] >> Accompanied by Shawn Michaels,

Intercontinental Champion, Diesel.

>> That was always the grooming spot.

You got the IC because you were gonna be in the mix.

And now, I was actually validated in the business, I should be here.

And then, with Shawn and I won the Tag Team Championships.

I remember, coming through and I remember hearing three or

four different guys like, geez, how many does that guy need?

I was just thinking, wow, that was the first time

in my career, that my success, was giving me heat.

And then, to get all three Championships in a

year, then they were just, right place, right time.

>> Here he comes, Big Daddy Cool.

>> Diesel.

>> Wow, Big Daddy Cool Diesel, winning the title

from far back within a record setting 8 seconds.

>> How sweet it is.

Because Big Daddy, has got that goal.

>> I was honored, to be able to keep it that long.

It was a long time for somebody had the title that long.

Yeah, but a year of grueling action as Champion,

took its toll on Diesel, both physically and mentally.

>> The guys in the locker room always refer to what we do as the business.

Got home, pulled me aside and said, WCW offered me

this and he showed me what it was, I went.

And he wasn't the Champ.

So, I got on the phone, and they made an offer to me.

[SOUND]

>> The following announcement has been paid for by the New World Order.

>> I got a big surprise for you.

>> My God, Razor and Diesel are on the other show and they're taking it over.

>> This is where the big boys play?

Bring what you got.

The measuring stick just changed around here, buddy, you're looking at it.

>> They let us become ultra-violent and be kinda gangster.

And then, Hulk turning was huge.

>> Hulk Hogan has betrayed, WCW.

He is the third man.

>> Look at this picture.

>> My God.

>> You can call this, the New World Order of Wrestling, brother.

>> Originally, it was gonna be Sting.

Having Hulk turn, gave us validity, because Hulk was with us.

We just started grabbing like anybody that

had any kind of recognition from this company.

>> I think it was kind of the beginning of a different era.

>> The genesis has begun.

It's a new beginning.

The beginning of the New World Order.

>> The NWO was the hip brand, that was actually, hipper than, either WWE or WCW.

I wouldn't say, we were the Beatles, but I'd say we're at least Zeppelin.

>> It was a strong run, I don't think.

I can't think of an angle that had that long of legs on any other aspect.

>> Three, two, one.

[SOUND] >> Lennox.

>> What, are you kidding me?

>> Daddy Cole, Kevin Nash.

>> Diesel is back.

>> I wanted that career.

ANC, look, we still got it.

>> You never know who's gonna enter the Royal Rumble.

Look at this.

>> He eliminates swagger.

>> I look back at that and I say, what are some of the hardest days of my life?

I mean, I wouldn't trade those days for nothing.

I feel blessed that I got to come back and finish

as a Yankee, and I can't ask for a better career.

[MUSIC]

>> I don't earn respect, I take respect and I demand respect.

Do you realize I'm 6, 9 and over, 300 pounds, and I wear a size 17 shoe?

[MUSIC]

>> Back in Orange, Texas, in the 50s, segregation was still strong.

And on the restroom doors is black and restroom doors are white.

There wasn't much left to do for a kid in the country, if you

wanna stay out of trouble, you had to burn the energy some kinda way.

I burned my energy in football and basketball.

I had no idea I would be a pro athlete one day.

I was a small country boy that grew to quite a size.

We became most devastating pass-rushing team in football, National Football

League and American Football League because of Errol Faison and Ladd.

I was big, I was powerful.

I thought any Ladd at one time was unblockable.

I had no interest in wrestling, but the wrestling world

had an interest in me because I was good for publicity.

>> It's a new era because Ernie Ladd is on the scene.

The new Ernie Ladd is on the scene

and he's gonna clean this Georgia championship wrestling.

>> I enjoyed wrestling very, very much.

>> Do you think I'm going to relinquish this opportunity?

>> Wrestling became my love that's why I quit football.

>> One of the few individuals to have made

a successful transition from pro football into pro wrestling.

>> I'm the best wrestler and everybody in the country know I'm the best wrestler.

>> And I was making more money as a wrestler

than I was as a football player at the time.

>> And there he is in all his arrogance, the big cat, Ernie Ladd.

[NOISE] >> I was an innovator.

I brought things to the table that had never been brought to the table.

I was really the first real black villain.

>> Don't give me that smirky look on your face.

You're just a TV announcer.

And I know I burn you up every time I look

at you TV announcer, it make you sick, don't it, boy?

It make you sick, don't it?

But look at you.

You wish you could do something about it, don't you?

>> I'm a ghetto boy.

When I take you and whip you and embarrass you

in front of all your redneck friends out in TV land.

>> He's been called many things by the fans.

>> They love to call me the N word and I love for

them to spend that money to come and call me the N word.

I've gone into arenas and the arena was sold completely out.

And I've asked for my money before and they didn't wanna give it.

I got dressed and walked right out and they started rioting

the place to tear the place up because I walked out.

But they didn't wanna pay me, so I had to leave.

>> I want all the people out in every arena.

When I come to your arena, get down on your knees and bow.

When the king come into the square circle, shut up and give me respect.

>> I was a great mouthpiece.

I had a great interview.

I used to use one lines.

>> I want the people out in TV land that draw real near to the television

and dig the earwax out of the ear, because I have a little something to say.

>> I'm gonna pass on a little word of advice.

To the wise should be sufficient.

>> When I was really on top as a pro

wrestler, there was nothing like being able to put the crowd

in the palm of your hand and you'd be able to

dictate to make room to scream or settle down or whatever.

>> I never broke a rule because I'm a clean wrestler.

I don't do anything dirty.

They suspended me one time for no reason at all.

>> Ernie Ladd heads for the ropes, comes off and he stacks down.

Knocked on the outside of the ring.

>> You had to make sure that you got the people to a point, whether they're in

riot and make them destroy your building where

they close the building and when you come back.

>> When the King step into the square circle, they're gonna see a new man.

They might curse the day if they were ever born.

>> And look at that, a double bear hug.

Unbelievable strength on the part of Ernie to pick Cadillac.

>> Look out.

>> It's no question.

They take the best athlete and match him against

as many wrestlers they could possibly find for it.

One man is not good enough for me.

>> For the big cat outweighs Stan loudness by almost 100 pounds.

>> Torres with no place to go up there.

Just all he can do is look at Ladd punishing.

>> Marvel a good-sized man, Pat.

Looks like a midget in there compared to Ernie Ladd.

[MUSIC]

>> I am the king of the square circuit.

>> And don't you forget it.

>> If I represented you, I would have represented you good.

And I thought I set a good example to

all of the people because they are creations of God.

My priority is to put God first in my life because without God, I can do nothing.

>> Ernie Ladd had no business playing pro football a bit

more than a man in the moon, other than he was big.

But Ernie Ladd's heart was bigger than his body.

When I go to practice, I beat on people.

When I go to practice, I run people.

There's nothing wrong with dreaming.

The only person that can stop you is yourself.

Pick it up.

Take it to the next level.

From this moment on, thank you and God bless.

>> I want the record books to reflect that I did something outstanding for wrestling.

>> Here's the king Ernie Ladd.

>> You could raise your hand and be king or lower

your hand and be the bomb, whatever one you wanna be.

I always thought I was

King when I walked out

in the square circle.

[MUSIC]

>> It's like an eclipse.

>> The world's strongest man, Mark Henry.

>> Mark Henry's just a mountain of a man.

[MUSIC]

>> Mark Henry is the most dangerous man in the entire WWE.

>> Look at this.

World's strongest lamb [INAUDIBLE] >> He's the world's strongest fan.

This is absolutely amazing.

>> Come on, Mark this is incredible.

Come on, big man.

>> Mark Henry has set a world record over a hundred thousand pounds.

>> That's never been done in history.

>> I'm considered the world's strongest man because I've competed in all of the

strong disciplines powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting and strongman.

I'm the only one in history that has ever won a national title in all three.

>> Super heavyweight Olympic hopeful Mark Henry there you

see setting a record in powerlifting over 900 plus pounds.

Mark Henry recognized as the world's strongest man, ladies and gentlemen.

>> I was a fan and I got a call from Vince himself asking me if I

would like to come to Stanford and see how we do things.

And I was like, get out of here this ain't Vince McMahon click.

Hung up on him.

And my manager called me back and said, hey, did you hang up on Vince McMahon?

I was like, please tell me that was not Vince McMahon for real.

He was like, yes, it was.

He's gonna call you back.

Please answer the phone.

He called me back and we just hit it off.

And he was like, I think that this business chose you.

And I was like, I'm sold you can quit making the pitch.

Like, where's the contract?

>> The world's truth is, man, Mark Henry.

>> I came in as muscle from the Olympic days to sexual chocolate.

To me being a strong man, my job is to lift this car

and prove to all the fans of the World Wrestling

Federation that I am the strongest man in the world.

The most memorable is me picking up the car.

I was able to put my shoulder in the car and picking up both wheels

off the side, which at that time, nobody had ever done.

>> Look at that.

>> He did it.

>> [CROSSTALK] He did it.

I held the limo back with my legs.

>> Test is pushing down on the accelerator, the car's going nowhere.

Mark Henry's done it.

>> Good luck, big man.

>> There may be guys with, a lot more cuts, but cuts don't make you strong.

My strength is internal.

It's not just physical, my strength is also mental.

I have the ability to make my body do things that, it shouldn't be able to do.

And that just comes from focus and not wanting to fail.

I don't wanna fail, and it just makes me stronger.

>> And this one's over.

The world's strongest man makes his mark.

>> In 2002, Vince allowed me to take the time off to train.

And I won the world and national Powerlifting Championships.

And the world's strongest man.

>> Unbelievable, the Arnold Schwartz Strongman Challenge.

And our own Mark Henry, won it all.

>> It ended up being one of the things that helped me in my career in wrestling.

It was hard for me to go, 15 years of being a

good talent, but not being a great talent.

>> Will mark Henry's 15-year dream be fulfilled tonight?

>> Henry says the Championship will validate his career.

>> Sometimes you need confirmation, and I never got it.

>> Henry, gonna win his first title.

Randy Orton kicked out.

>> Maybe he can't win the big one.

>> I just felt underappreciated.

People found a way sometimes to not want to give you your just due.

So I was gonna take it.

[MUSIC]

>> Mark Henry, a world strongest slam.

Mark Henry, Mark Henry, Mark Henry, is the World Champion.

[MUSIC]

The 15-year Odyssey is over.

Mark Henry is World Champion.

And all doubters and cynics be damned.

[MUSIC]

>> The 15 years of blood, sweat, and tears and

everything that I did to get here today, to finally

become Champion, I was never letting it go.

And that's honestly how I felt.

Now you don't have a choice, but to respect me because I hold this.

>> One of the most incredible runs, I have ever witnessed.

It culminates, in Mark Henry's first, world title.

>> It just cemented my legacy, in this business.

>> Nothing but destruction in the wake of Mark Henry.

>> I've been with this company, for 18 years straight.

My career speaks for itself.

From Haystacks Calhoun to Andres to Big Show, you

name every big guy, that's ever graced the stage.

I feel I'm at the top of that list.

I've been the strongest man in the world, and

I'll be there until they put me in the ground.

[MUSIC]

[NOISE]

[MUSIC]

>> At King Kong Bundy, 6 foot 4, 420 pounds of muscle and bone.

>> The first time I met King Kong Bundy was probably in the early

80s when I first came into the WWE, my impression was what everybody else was.

What a huge guy he was.

>> Awesome is not the word, for this monster coming into the ring.

>> I like to call him the walking condominium with ladies.

>> He is frightening looking for.

[INAUDIBLE]

>> I think he had been down in the South,

Russell, some other smaller territories, and I had known of him.

>> I'm gonna unveil, the Avalanche tonight.

And when you see it, ain't nobody, gonna believe it.

>> Lundy, a confident, powerful man, an awesome man.

A man that steamrolled everybody.

>> Everyone was talking about, what a tough guy he was, and

how good he could wrestle in the ring for a big guy.

>> The mass is not what gets you, it's the movement.

If the guy is big and can move, it makes him awesome.

>> Once he got here to this world, and got on this stage where everyone could see how

big Recipe was, the guys that were already here,

we knew that Bundy was gonna help the program tremendously.

And it turned out, he did.

He was, just absolutely great.

>> 6 foot 6, 455 pounds, the biggest man in professional wrestling.

>> This is one of the most impressive athletes I've ever seen in my life.

Bundy, had that big, shaved chrome dome.

He was a big guy.

I knew he like 400-some-odd pounds.

Very impressive and menacing looking.

Anyway, when he'd get that black single on that, it was pretty, pretty good.

Looked like a buffalo running at you if you're in the ring with this guy.

And if you wanted to talk about somebody that was intimidating, and

walk that walk and talk that talk, that was King Kong Bundy.

He could back it up.

>> Everywhere I go, Vince McMahon, everybody, notices King Kong Bundy.

I'm the most recognizable athlete in the world, bar anybody.

Now, let's just put it this way.

He was easy to pick out in the airport.

>> As a matter of fact, you just do fit in that chair, don't you?

>> Yeah, it's a tight fit.

For a man his size, he was probably the fastest big man, I ever wrestled against.

>> The Avalanche got him, right in the corner.

>> When he would get a couple steps in that ring, and come towards you

and hit you in that corner of that thing and it was, I mean, it hurt.

>> Look out, Avalanche.

>> And a lot of guys, who throughout his career were kinda hurt by him doing that.

If you weren't a bigger, stronger guy, if he

caught you wrong, he could hurt you with that.

[NOISE]

>> He wants the five count.

Not satisfied with three.

>> He liked to get as many cast any five counts.

>> And things, he was yeah.

He just wanted to make sure, [LAUGH] everybody

knew that he beat you, beat you decisively.

>> I give him the five, that way when Bundy beats you, you've been beat.

>> And that was the thing that got him a lot of heat with the fans, too.

>> Like, you're showing off, well, not do that.

[SOUND] >> Count of five for King Kong Bundy.

[MUSIC]

>> He loved being a heel.

He loved being the bad guy.

>> What do you think?

>> Don't look bad.

>> I think that'll do.

>> That's a nice part in it, too.

>> [LAUGH] >> It's not bad.

>> [LAUGH] >> What are you laughing at?

Nobody likes to kick everybody.

[INAUDIBLE] Shut your mouth.

I'll break you in half right here, Albert.

>> He wasn't the kinda guy that would get out at nighttime and get

real social and go to the clubs and bars and invite things into his world.

>> On the highway of life, I'm a Mack truck.

And when you're a Mack truck, you don't need any road manners.

>> Heenan, giving instructions in there.

And here comes.

No, the referee, through the ropes.

Right at the holster, another Avalanche.

>> Bundy, Maniere.

>> Bundy, Bundy, Bundy.

>> WrestleMania 2.

>> He gave Hogan a heck of a match in there.

I mean, very entertaining match.

And that's the thing about King Kong Bundy, man, you can put him in any match.

And man, he was ready.

>> Devastation himself, King Kong Bundy.

>> I remember, Bundy being fired up about this.

There because he knew it was a big stage for him, to

be the main event at a WrestleMania with Hulk Hogan, the world's champion.

>> Hillbilly Jim, you're gonna feel the avalanche.

You're gonna take the five count and like I

said, you little midgets just get in my way.

That's all I need.

Just get in my way one time.

>> Were in some of the more famous matches in our own lives,

whether we wanted to be or not especially that one at WrestleMania III.

>> I'm not really worried about myself in this

match here because I know how King Kong Bundy is.

And I believe I can take whatever he dishes

out, but I'm worried about my little buddies here.

>> We had the little guys as partners and I'll never forget

how the Silver Dome sounded that night when he slammed Little Beaver.

Then he dropped that elbow on him.

It was unbelievable, you wouldn't believe what a boo 94,000 people can make.

>> [APPLAUSE]

>> I probably get asked about that match more than anything.

And I've talked to Bundy about it a lot since then he says it's the same thing.

>> Even though he probably wouldn't say that was his favorite match.

I think it was the grandeur of the whole thing

with it being WrestleMania III and that world record indoor crowd.

>> It kinda bonded us together for life, I guess.

And it's probably always gonna be that way.

>> Better shore up this stage a little bit, big man.

You've got a multi million dollar piece of talent out here.

>> People would contact him about doing movie parts.

And apparently somebody had knew he was King Kong Bundy.

They knew Al Bundy and it was a perfect fit.

>> I do a lot of work on behalf of the stupid.

>> He told me after that that he really enjoyed doing that.

And he had hoped that he could have maybe

worked some sort of a reoccurring role on her.

But you know just how Hollywood is now.

>> There's no denying that King Kong Bundy is a huge man.

However, we don't think that he is 80ft tall.

>> [SOUND] [LAUGH]

>> I don't think he got as much credit as he should have.

I've always shouted his praises, man.

I know how good he was.

>> Look out.

>> [APPLAUSE]

>> Big Trouble comes in 450 pound packages like King Kong Bundy.

>> Bundy could compete against anybody that ever was in that ring.

He brought something to this company that we hadn't had before.

And I think he brought it up to a new level there.

As far as a big, tough, hardcore bad guy, that would be King Kongbo.

>> When I first got into the wrestling business.

I'm thinking the bigger you are, the better can be.

[MUSIC]

To me I think it made my whole career,

my size and then I guess this really ugly face.

I have helped a lot too.

>> There will be no doubt in 1991 that Sid Vicious rules the world.

>> The statement that he is making is that

Sid Vicious rules the world of professional wrestling in 1991.

And make no mistake about it, baby, Sid Vicious is.

>> I was in WCW, I was doing my very first promo.

>> I'm Sid Vicious and I rule the world.

>> The saying master and rule the world came from Dutch Mantell.

He said keep it short.

And Arne Anderson also helped me with that as well.

>> I think it answers to the question who rules the world, you're lucky.

>> Dutch gave me that and I stuck with that.

>> Enjoyed Sid Vicious because it was a nickname that I got as a kid.

Being a member of the Four Horsemen.

It happened so quick and it was so short lived.

>> We got one more addition to the Horseman.

>> I'm the man of the future of the world, of the wrestling world, everything.

>> I was really young in the business at that point.

So to me it was the biggest thing I'd ever been a part of.

The guy just walking in the door and being one of the four Horsemen.

It don't get any better than that.

When I came into the WWE at that point, I was

only to do pay per views and TVs for one year.

Then at WrestleMania I'd go into house shows.

Well, this is an old story people don't remember, but at that SummerSlam

where I was the special guest referee, they fired Ultimate Warrior that night.

So things changed, I had to go into this character sooner.

So I think the name suggested was rushed.

>> All the years I've been here, never have I seen anyone

step in here with the credentials, the size, the senility of that.

I've seen guys come down the road that were vicious men.

I've seen big men, I've seen muscular men.

I've seen Azo man, he's got it all in one total combined unit right there.

He's a monster, he's a monster.

>> Sid Justice, I didn't really like that name.

To me it was just a little corny.

I didn't might suggest.

>> I rule the world.

[MUSIC]

>> As far as doing interviews, starting off low and

ending up high or sometimes you'll start high, end up low.

I believe when you start off low, you draw the people in.

They have to almost turn the volume off to hear you.

>> I am the champion of the world, that says it all.

That says that I am a man.

That says that I am the master and the ruler.

>> I think when we talk soft, people have to listen.

>> Tonight I will do anything and everything it takes.

For tonight, I know I am the better man.

>> Remember doing an interview one time and I did that laugh.

>> Since then, it's like I could be on

the street somewhere and I'll be asked two questions.

Either give me that look or give me that laugh.

>> [APPLAUSE] >> Come on, come on.

>> [APPLAUSE]

>> Now, as far as what character I enjoyed doing the most was Psycho sitting?

The reason why is because I got to use all my facial expressions.

If people remember about my facial expression, those

things, I'd sit there and do that blink stuff.

Like I was really psycho.

>> So with a name like Psycho Sid, it expands everything that you can do.

>> [APPLAUSE] >> Psycho Sid, this guy's crazy.

So it gave me more things to broaden.

I could do a lot more things at Psycho Sid.

>> And there, ladies and gentlemen, there is the man, if you would.

>> I am the man and I am the master.

And I am the ruler of the world.

>> [APPLAUSE] >> Become a WWE Champion was.

First of all, it was probably the greatest accomplishment of my life.

The reason why is how it happened.

I don't know if a lot of people remember.

Vader was going to meet Sean at SummerSlam, get the title, and

then go to the Alamo Dome to put it back on Sean.

Well, we were working the Garden one night, me and Vader in a singles match.

We came back through the curtain, and I saw Vince standing there.

And this was about a month or so before the pay per view.

I knew that, I think at that point that

they changed their mind to put me in that spot.

So what I feel, I feel I worked myself into that championship.

It wasn't something that they didn't plan that for me.

That was something that they changed for me and that.

That, to me, was probably the greatest thing that I'd ever

done, that I actually feel like I worked myself into that spot.

The match I was most proud of again was when I became the WWE Champion.

>> And the World Wrestling Federation Champion, Sycho Sid.

>> The Pay Per View when I broke my leg, it was a tough deal.

A lot of people don't ever walk again from things like that.

Johnny had come in as the booker, as he asked me to go to the

second rope and come off with a knee, I said I wasn't comfortable with it.

And he said, well, we've already got it written in and blah, blah, blah.

What happened was I landed to an angle, and that

angle, just the giving point was right above my ankle.

As far as that injury, too, I told myself I would never watch it

until I felt that I was somewhat physically back to the person I was.

And it took me a few years to get to that.

And once I got to that, I really was never interested in

watching it, so I've never seen that footage ever.

I think, in my wrestling career, when I reflect back on it, I think

I can honestly say that I don't think anyone worked harder than I did.

I don't think anybody kept their nose to the grind center like I did.

I worked out twice a day on the road.

I would be coming in for my first workout,

having my second breakfast, people were just getting up.

The fans don't know those things.

So the greatest accomplishment for me is what my peers knew about

me and how hard I worked, and what I did to get right out of there.

[NOISE] >> The man is here.

[MUSIC]

>> I grew up in inner city Los

Angeles, place you may have heard of Compton, California.

The worst murder rate in not just the United States, but the entire world.

To survive, you needed to be able to run very fast.

And for a short, fat, white kid, I could really run.

It was Friday night, and my mother and father were out.

I was on the couch and, you know, I heard something.

[SOUND] I got up and I walked over.

It was my bedroom where I had heard the noise.

And I got up and I saw two men, one man had already broke through the window

and was standing on my bed, and he was helping the other one through.

And just froze, and suddenly it dawned on me that

we needed to get out of there, my sister and I.

So I screamed, and we ran to the neighbors.

You needed to grow up really quick or Los Angeles would consume you.

I remember my dad, he would grab me by the back of the head and drag me over to a kid

that was older and bigger than me and said, you got

a problem with my son, he's got a problem with you.

And, and we'd fight, and that's the way I was brought up.

My dad welded some homemade weights, and I was lifting the

same amount of weights that he was as a young kid.

And he said, he nodded his head and he grabbed my hand

and said, we're going down and sign you up for pop winter football.

They went down and looked at my size, they said, well, how old's your son?

Well, he's seven years old.

Well, he's too big to play with 7 years old,

he has to play with the 13 and 14 year olds.

And he said, that's fine, let him do it.

I was a high school All American.

Coming out of high school, I probably had my choice of over 40

colleges, and I fell in love with the University of Colorado on Boulder.

It was a tough place to break into.

It wasn't like you were gonna come in and dominate right away

because there were people ahead of you that were also very talented.

I had been told that I was recruited pretty heavily by the agents.

About 4 to 6 weeks before the draft, and I was running a 40-yard dash for the NFL.

I ruptured a patellar tendon.

You have to understand that the patellar tendon is basically a

career-ending injury, you don't get drafted, you don't ever play again.

I was drafted to the Los Angeles Rams, so it was a great homecoming.

Going home and realizing that dream was a big deal for me,

and this ring is an NFC championship ring slash super

bowl ring, that's something that I'm very proud of.

My fourth year in the NFL The patellar tendon, it re-uptured.

To have a childhood dream end suddenly like that, all the hard work

and all the things I had done in football was flashing before me.

I went back to Boulder, Colorado, and I got my

real estate license, but I got bored out of my brains.

Got back in the gym and I was

bound and determined to become a professional wrestler.

Got in the car and drove down to Minnesota and

went to a gentleman by the name of Brad Riggins.

He was a 1979 Greco-Roman world champion.

I squared up with him and thought, well, I'll just,

I'm gonna throw this guy around and show him what's up.

And we were down in his basement, and he had a toilet

walled off, and it had a door and a little wall.

And we got to tussling pretty good.

He put my head right through that door [INAUDIBLE], so you wanna be a wrestler?

I understood what that meant right away.

I started out with the AWA.

Big Otto Vance had contacted the owner, Verne Gagne.

He was looking for a young, big guy to come over and be his champion.

I was off to Europe, the next thing I knew.

We would be in a city for six weeks, eight weeks, three months, so you'd get to

know the city, you would have favorite spots you'd go to to eat and have a beer.

And I wish I'd spent more time, but Inoki came calling and was off to Japan.

I was going to initially wrestle Tatsumi Fujinami, I guess he

took a look at me and said he wasn't gonna do it.

I was dressed and ready to fight Mr. Saito came up to me, and he said,

Leon, it's just not gonna happen, I apologize,

but go ahead, get undressed, have a beer, relax.

So Inoki finished his match and got on the

microphone and told them that he would fight me.

I probably had three or four beers, and the next thing I know

is that they come running, Leon, Leon, get dressed, he's calling you out.

Inoki hadn't lost in several years, and I came over and

pinned him in about three minutes, beating Antonio Noki, Hall of Famer.

Your very first night in town.

I guess it was a pretty good way to start off your career in Japan.

I had an opportunity to sign a contract with the WCW.

>> It's Vader time Sting, six foot four,

445 pounds, brother, and I'm coming at you.

>> Sting was in dire need of opponent.

>> Vaider Ray's calling for the powerbomb.

And he just planted him with a power bomb, and

Vader has owon it, Vader has won all the time.

>> Ladies and gentlemen, the winner

of the match and new WCW World

Heavyweight Champion, Big Van Vader.

>> The title is important.

Important for one reason is, in other words, the company has put faith in you.

Right there the goal, I fear no man and I feel no pain.

I always took the role very, very serious, I came

off the top and took a bump on my left shoulder.

[NOISE]

>> Complete full thickness tear, the rotator cuff.

So I went home and was rehabbing that, and I got a call from WWE.

>> I bring you, [NOISE]

>> The prince of power.

>> And actually told Mr. McMahon that I

would require surgery if we did come to terms.

I debuted, had a great debut, and then had the surgery.

I was having a conversation with my agent, he said,

well, are you gonna be ready to start on this date?

And I went, excuse me, I said, what have you done?

He had basically cut a deal that had me starting

back much sooner than I was physically capable to do.

Certainly no fault of the WWE, I was put into a situation physically

where I was back in the ring months before I should have been.

You have one opportunity to make a first

impression to me that was just so frustrating.

My contract was up, and I had an opportunity to go back to Japan.

I'm grateful for the time that I had here and certainly

left on great terms, but it was time for me to go.

[NOISE]

>> Well, time is not on your side.

>> Are you kidding me?

>> [INAUDIBLE] Weighing 435 pounds,

the man Big Vader time.

>> [INAUDIBLE] All right, it's Vader time.

>> That was one of the best moments of my entire career.

>> [APPLAUSE] [SOUND] [NOISE]

>> The number one trend in the world right now is Vader time.

>> All the big matches I've been about for me to say this

much about that one little match, it touched my heart, it really did.

[MUSIC]

I prided myself on doing things that other people couldn't do.

You asked me how I'd like to be remembered as one

of the best big men in the history of professional wrestling.

>> And brother, the pain game is over for Big Van Vader stands on top

of the world, the Heavyweight Champion of the world, yeah.

[MUSIC]

>> That's the study for that, you know how big the family tree is?

>> All in a nutshell.

>> I still get confused.

>> All in a nutshell.

Our dad, our father, Rikishi, his mom and

Yokozuna's dad are brothers and sisters, which makes

my dad and Rikishi and Yokozuna, first cousins.

>> He was our favorite uncle, one of our favorite

uncles, every time he came around, it was always just fun.

>> I think I was like 6 years old, had a

birthday party, and me and my brother, he gave us $100.

I just remember thinking, man, we got $100, man, we about

to buy all the candy, I'm about to buy everything with this.

So 6 years old, $100, I felt like I was rich.

>> Take a look at 505 pounds of Yokozuna.

>> I was like, what?

No, man, he is not Japanese.

>> They're so wrong, they don't even know

what he is, he's Samoan, that's how we were.

>> The first time we saw the Yokozuna character was on TV.

It was just twins coming to the TV.

We run, we look and we're-

>> That's uncle Rod, no, no, it's not, no, it's not.

>> Yokozuna.

>> Before Yokozuna character, he was working as a Kokina.

But he had the wild hair and he had the Samoan cut trunks too.

Looking just like wild Samoan.

>> He's a giant, but we know he can move,

a hell of an athlete, can move like a cruiserweight.

>> Make no mistake about the athleticism of Yokozuna.

>> Despite his girth, Yokozuna is quite agile.

>> I think that's what mainly surprised a lot of people.

>> That's phenomenal flexibility for a 505 pound man.

>> Looking back on uncle Yoko, moving in here is mind blowing, man.

>> I have never seen an athlete in my entire

life more fearsome, more just absolutely awesome than this man.

>> It's really hard to imagine just how huge this man is and what he can do.

>> The Banzai Drop, we were there when my dad

and Yoko was trying to come up with a finishing move.

My dad came up with that move.

It was time you are laying under him, now just imagine that sight, right?

Looking up, I couldn't.

>> You see his big old huge butt?

>> Yeah, and so he jumps off the second

and lands on your chest and sits on you, Banzai.

>> This is so impressive, this is awesome.

Can you imagine looking up and seeing that coming down at you?

>> You have to pay me to take the Banzai Drop.

>> Actually one time we broke the rope [INAUDIBLE]-

>> Yeah, it was time to do the Banzai Drop against Stone Cold, damn turnbuckle snap.

>> And also the big leg drop.

>> Yokozuna used to do, he actually did it on him.

>> He did it on me, he was, just

stay there, he's just lay down, and I was, okay.

>> How old were you?

>> Maybe ten.

>> He did it, it was funny and scared.

>> Scariest thing, but I ain't feel nothing.

>> Everybody should come watch WrestleMania, especially Adam Houser.

>> Yokozuna vs Bret the Hitman Hart.

What's at stake?

The World Wrestling Federation

Championship belt, brother that's everything.

>> Then the slam by Yokozuna for the ropes, and my.

He dropped that big huge thigh, and the martial arts kick.

That's phenomenal flexibility for a 505 pound man.

Fuji threw something right at Hart's eyes, Yokozuna hooks the leg.

[INAUDIBLE] [SOUND] >> Yokozuna won the title.

>> That's right.

>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> I know we went to school the next, >> Yeah.

>> The next day, hell yeah.

>> Yeah, walked in, yeah, I ain't even do

my homework today, that's how good I'm feeling right now.

>> And we got to hold the title.

When he brought it home, he used to wear

it around the house, take pictures in it, pretty awesome.

>> Uncle Yoko is a top dude, man, a top guy.

>> Yokozuna has defeated Hulk Hogan.

>> But when he beat Hulk Hogan, I was like, hell, yeah, this is crazy.

>> Every time he came home and my dad, him

and my dad came off the road, it's automatic barbecue.

Always had mayonnaise with turkey tails, that was his dinner.

>> Grab the jar, he'd just grab the turkey tail, dip it in.

When he [INAUDIBLE], he just dip it in the bottle and just.

>> Would go to these buffets with him and my dad and our whole family, man.

We would just sit there close, I mean,

close out these buffets, man, to where you eat.

We'll get full and then we'll just sit there

until we get hungry again, and he's back up there.

>> Yokozuna weighs close to 700 pounds.

>> Look at the size of this man.

>> Very impressive.

[SOUND]

Everybody I loved him was concerned about his weight,

but he'd always be like, I'm good, I'm okay.

>> My dad and my mom would always sit there and

talk to him about it, eventually, his health was his issue,

he would have to sleep sitting up all the time because

if he laid down or on the side, he can't breathe.

>> My mom sometimes my dad would get up just to check on him at night.

[MUSIC]

Life is short.

>> Garage passed away, so young man.

>> Yeah, it got my dad too, cuz him and my dad

was real close, so seeing our dad kind of crack a little bit

just made us realize how short life is, then dug Yoko into the

Hall of Fame, that was a huge thing for me and my brother.

>> What you saw on television, he was the total opposite to the

world, the mighty Yokozuna to the family, uncle Rodney.

>> Larger than life, man, because you just remember

Yokozuna, you can look at him like, I remember him.

[MUSIC]

>> Pretty sure, WWE Universe Mrs. Uncle Yoko, locker room Mrs.

Uncle Yoko, I know me and my brother and our family definitely

missed him, man, but now he's just big inspiration.

[MUSIC]

>> [INAUDIBLE] I'm from India.

>> The 7.3, 420-pound Great Khali.

>> The Great Khali is enormous.

>> This is a bona fide freak of nature.

>> The Great Khali just towers over [LAUGH] every athlete in this ring.

>> Khali was a fan of wrestling before he started at WWE, he, back in India, was a

bodybuilder, weightlifter, Mr. India, even when he won awards for bodybuilding.

And eventually he came out to the States, and then he started getting some roles

in Hollywood films, and one thing led to another, and he was approached by WWE.

You knew he was gonna be something special, and

he had an opportunity to, and he jumped at it.

>> This man is the biggest man ever to step foot in the Deep South Arena, my God.

>> In Hindu culture, it is, Khali is known as the goddess of destruction.

>> You will loathe the Great Khali, you will fear the

Great Khali, you will worship the Great Khali.

>> Khali had mentioned originally there was an idea to have him

called the Great Gandhi, and Khali didn't feel that that was appropriate.

And that a nation of one people out in India would appreciate him taking Gandhi's

name and making it his own, especially as being a heel at the time in WWE.

I think he had a conversation with some

different people, and Khali came up, and the

meaning of it being the goddess of evil

destruction, it fit his character at the time.

>> Great Khali.

>> One of the very few people who, in his debut,

had the opportunity to drop the Undertaker and lead the Undertaker down.

>> I don't remember the last time

I've seen anybody manhandle the Undertaker like this.

>> I've never seen anybody this size in my entire life.

>> Khali's had a rivalry with some of the greats, from John Cena to

Batista to Triple H, Khali was victorious over Kane in his first ever

WrestleMania, [SOUND] he's been able to fight them all, all the big names.

He's not a lot of guys get to do that, he's been in the

ring, not just in matches, but in stories and long-running stories with these icons.

>> And the Punjabi giant standing dominantly.

>> The following contest is the 20-man over the top rope Battle

Royal, and it will determine the new World Heavyweight Champion.

>> Batista trying to eliminate Kane,

no, Kane's eliminated, Batista [INAUDIBLE] does eliminate.

>> There's your new World champion

[SOUND], The Great Khali is World Champion.

>> I remember I ran down from the back, ran down the ramp, got in the

ring, and I think I was jumping around, and I was so proud for him as well.

>> Whether you like it or not, ladies and gentlemen, the Monsters reign has begun.

>> I think it was huge for Khali, he was still

early on in his career, he'd been here about a year.

[MUSIC]

>> That championship that's on Great Khali's

shoulder may be there until Khali decides to retire.

>> The first ever Indian born, World Heavyweight

Championship, I think again, really took to the

nation, India took to its fans out here where they had someone to look up to.

The people of India never had a WWE World Champion before.

[MUSIC]

[LAUGH] People in India completely adore The Great Khali,

I mean, I'll tell you a story, back in

2010, I went on a media tour with Khali,

it was a complete mob scene, just complete mob scene.

I mean, people had signs, Khali's got, people wanted to

bearing gifts for him and whatnot, and it was just

a complete, complete mob Beatlemania scene, and that's kind of

the way it's been with him ever since he debuted.

He's essentially the pride and joy of India, I don't think

he truly, truly realizes the impact he has on that nation of

people, and that's their guy, and they hold him dearly.

[MUSIC]

>> Ladies, who wants to kiss the Punjabi playboy, it's time for the Kali Kiss gift?

[MUSIC]

I think Khali proved he wasn't just a

one-hit wonder where he was just simply a heel

for people to hate him and to be that

giant that can destroy people and just looks intimidating.

He took it where he was able to turn on the entertainment factor as well.

>> The 7.3,420-pound.

>> Romantic at heart, the great Khali.

>> You can't handle the tooth.

>> You can't handle the tooth, that's what the tooth fairy says, give me some.

>> Yeah.

>> The kiss cam character and the

character he became is definitely more of who

Khali is as a person, backstage, he likes to joke, he's the nicest guy, he's humble.

I'm glad we were able to bring that out, he's definitely,

definitely one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life.

[MUSIC]

I think.

Khali's legacy in WWE will be one of an entertainer in the long run who took

him a while, but he grasped the nature of WWE and sports entertainment.

I think he'll be remembered his legacy as the nicest guy

who, loved what he did and he's always about having fun.

[MUSIC]

>> Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to tell you my name, you know who I am.

>> We have saved the best for last, no doubt

of that most extraordinary athlete of this or any other generation.

Without further ado, we will now introduce to

you the one and the only Andre the Giants.

If he comes to your town, take out the whole family,

because you don't want to miss this eighth wonder of the world.

To millions of wrestling fans around the world, he's known as Andre the Giant.

He left home at a young age, 17, that's another thing I

admired about Andre is that, he grew up on a farm in a town with 30

people and left there on his own and forged his way through life.

I played soccer for four years, then after Sally Abedel Rigby for two years, I was

in boxing for almost two years and now I'm in wrestling for almost 15 years.

[APPLAUSE]

>> Taught himself four different languages.

>> [FOREIGN] >> And became a big superstar?

>> This man draws without a doubt more

people than any single attraction in the world today.

You couldn't just walk up to Andre, he checks everybody up before you trust them.

Andre was like my big brother, and how good was that for me?

We became such close friends through the years, we talked about everything.

And the thing that probably secured our friendship is, I

never said a word about anything we ever spoke about.

Even Vince himself would ask, how's Andre like this?

I said, he's sitting right there, go ask him.

>> I want to make everybody happy, and

that's why I'm traveling all over the world.

I want to make everybody have the chance to see a Giant.

>> They say, be careful what you wish for,

you want to be famous and you can't go anywhere.

He told me many times, if I could be you for

a week, I'd give you everything I had and he meant it.

>> You are without a doubt the greatest attraction I have ever seen.

[APPLAUSE]

>> Who wouldn't be excited to see Andre the Giant?

It happened in, especially in the airports and checking into hotels.

I saw people faint when we got off an elevator, because all of a sudden

he'd step out and stand up straight, my God, he just dropped to the floor.

But the unique thing about him was, that he had the

patience and tolerance to accept what it was, he just handled it.

No matter how tough it was for him, getting through life, being the

size he was, where things didn't fit and they never in a bad mood.

We started every day with a handshake and a smile,

and then we laughed all the way through the day.

>> Can you believe the difference in the size of hands?

How big a shoe do you wear?

>> 22.

>> Extraordinary athlete, the most extraordinary of all time.

He looks like a top coat, I can't believe it, this is unreal.

Andre, you're the best.

>> The thing about him is he didn't run and

hide and hibernate, because of his size and who he was.

He went out and enjoyed life.

>> You've got to be a prime target for professional sports.

>> Few years ago, the Washington Redskins contacted me.

>> George Allen was good friends with Vince McMahon Senior.

And he said this would be fun to charge up the camp and get a little promo

before the season start, could you get Andre to

come down like he's gonna play for the Redskins?

They tried to put a helmet on him that won't fit,

they tried to put shoulder pads on him, wouldn't it fit.

Tried to find them cleats, size 22, they don't have any.

It was a promotion, it was a fun thing, he loved it.

He told me he loved every minute of it, he had a ball.

But he did say when I walked in that locker room, he never saw so many guys

like, man, anywhere the poor guy went, he couldn't hide.

>> I tell you, I'm traveling so much, last

year I bought for $67,000 just an airplane ticket.

Friends want to see me, so I just keep traveling and show myself up.

>> I tried to make every day of travel as easy as I could for him, so I would

call places and rent Winnebagos or Vans so he was comfortable.

>> Every time I go on the plane, I have to buy a ticket in

first class, and when I get in

the airport, almost taxi, sometimes they're too small.

>> He'd have to force himself in there, I would equate

it to putting a Saint Bernard into a birdcage, it was brutal.

>> I can tell you.

>> I put my sandwich in there.

>> Okay, I've got a car you can put your sandwich in, I've got the car for you.

>> This is a big misconception, on Andre.

He could eat and drink as much as he wanted to, if

he was just felt like putting on a show or fooling around.

It had to be a lot of friends around, and they made a big deal out of it.

Many times, say we just got fish and chips somewhere.

My fish and chips would come out on a plate

like this, his would come out on a platter like that.

He'd send it back, he said, I want the same order that he has.

There was a place in Rhode island not too far from my house

called Custies, and it was all the lobster and steak you could eat.

Andre was having a playful night, so he ate like 10 steaks and 12 lobsters

or something like that, which was a record they had it up at the restaurant.

>> That was even my dream before to rest in the top, to

be the number one, to be the best one, and I admit it.

>> First of all, he loved the fans and he loved

being number one, because he felt that wrestling was his love.

The people in that locker room were his family.

To know that the fans and that everyone thought he's number

one because he was called the boss, everyone called him the boss.

>> That's why many times people ask me

that question, why I'm not the champion, and I

say all the time, I don't want to be the champion, I just want to be the giant.

I think because of his health and the way he was feeling, he knew it was time.

>> Here's a man has never lost the match.

[APPLAUSE]

>> And Andre knew what a good Showman help was, so they had a very good relationship.

I know we have to come in one point, you have to go in the ring together.

And that's why Andre, when he decided to tag in

the new force, everyone was in total agreement, it was Hogan.

>> We have established a brand new indoor

attendance record of 93,000.

[APPLAUSE]

>> Look at the stare of the champion against the challenger.

[NOISE]

>> The irresistible force meeting the immovable object.

And the champion unloading with everything he's got.

[APPLAUSE]

>> Look at the look on the face of the champion.

[APPLAUSE] >> That adrenaline can do wonders.

[APPLAUSE] >> Look at this.

Runs in a big life, over for the COVID.

He took the one, two, three, right in the middle of the ring.

And pass the torch and that's business.

And he didn't have any hesitation about doing it.

[MUSIC]

I've seen him on many interviews saying, I'd never be Hulkamania, Hulk Hogan.

Nothing would have ever happened except for Andre putting me there.

>> I gotta tell you, I know we're gonna

be wrestling for quite a while, but I'll be back.

I'll be back, don't worry about that.

>> Again, he wouldn't say anything, but it got.

And I could see coz he's a proud guy.

He carried the business and he didn't wanna say goodbye all the way.

[MUSIC]

But it was tough to see him on the crutches.

And I have to push him on a wheelchair through the airport and there's the

biggest man in the world, the great Andre the Giant in a weakened position.

It was kinda sad.

And he was in an awful lot of pain, awful lot of pain.

[MUSIC]

He knew from that disease from day one.

And he never would say it, but he knew he

wasn't gonna be 60 years old, bouncing grandkids on his knee.

[MUSIC]

He just looked bad and every day and it was a hard thing to see.

It was a very hard thing to see.

[MUSIC]

Just sat up all night thinking of losing a

great guy like that and how much fun we had.

But that's the way he lived his life.

And like I said, if all of us could live like he did, you had a great life.

Years might not be as long as you want them to be, but as long as you

packed him full of great times and great people and you did good.

>> The one and only Andre the Giant.

[MUSIC]

>> My dad says, none of us getting out of this life, so have do what you can.

Be a good person, which he was.

Be a great person and enjoy what, what time you have.

[MUSIC]

>> Don Andre the Giant is number one and Andre the Gian is the best.

And Andre the Giant, ladies and gentlemen, the

most phenomenal athlete, as we said of all time.

[MUSIC]

>> I'm a lucky guy to have known him.

I miss him every day.

[MUSIC]

>> For better or worse, these men will always be identified with their size.

But it was the entire package that elevated

their personas to worldwide acclaim and renowned fame.

[MUSIC]

They are an attraction unto themselves.

[MUSIC]

Their size brought awareness, but their personalities

piqued audiences curiosity and kept their attention.

[MUSIC]

These men are the true giants of this industry.