All language subtitles for True Giants (2014)

[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.