Continuing on with questions asked on the Facebook page, I asked our followers, “Who were the greatest super heavyweights of all time?” The only limit I gave was a minimum weight limit of 300 Ib. I was able to collect 30 top five lists from our followers, and I thank everyone who participated.
Like previous articles of this nature, I gave the wrestlers points in the following manner to determine the top five: #1 5 points #2 4 points #3 3 points #4 2 points #5 1 point.
Honourable Mentions
- Mabel/Viscera/Big Daddy V – 13 points
- One Man Gang – 18 points
- Rikishi – 25 points
- The Undertaker – 25 points
I feel like The Undertaker would have gained more votes, however, when people think of Super Heavyweights, they think of the following five. The Undertaker was over 300 Ib during his peak so I allowed it. Rikishi did really well, and I never expected One Man Gang to make the honourable mentions over wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Earthquake, Kane, Mark Henry, Umaga and Giant Haystacks.
Let’s get this top five started! (Any weights stated are billed weights taken from Wikipedia and might not be 100% correct)
#5 Bam Bam Bigelow – 39 points (390 Ib)
RIP 1961-2007. Scott Bigelow was one of the most agile big men in the history of wrestling. This is a man who was going on 400 Ib and could still do a perfect moonsault. He was really consistent in his work, and although he never had much success in the WWF, he won championships across his 21 year career, including the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
#4 Vader – 49 points (450 Ib)
It was only fitting for Bigelow’s former tag team partner to follow him in this list. Just like Bigelow, Vader was known for being agile despite his size. He could perform moonsaults and dropkicks, and he has had much success in his wrestling career.
Despite no success in the WWF, Vader is a former WCW World Champion, IWGP Heavyweight Champion and AJPW Triple Crown Champion. Vader is one of the most successful American wrestlers to work and win championships in Japan.
#3 The Big Show/The Giant – 51 points (425 Ib)
There was never any doubt that Paul White would make this list. He is one of the most recognizable men to ever grace the wrestling business. His weight has fluctuated over the years, in WCW he was still young, and he was able to move. He was no Vader or Bigelow back then, he was green, he was inexperienced, but over the years he has gotten better. We will never see Big Show doing a moonsault, but we have seen many impressive moments from the big man.
In 2000, the WWF sent Big Show to OVW to lose weight, he had put on so much weight he inadvertently injured other wrestlers. He returned in 2001 and has been a mainstay in the WWF/E ever since. The followers of our Facebook page has voted The Big Show as the best Super Heavyweight who is still very much alive and wrestling.
#2 Yokozuna – 58 points (580 Ib)
RIP 1966-2000. Rodney Anoa’i, a member of the Anoa’i family along with Roman Reigns, Rikishi, The Usos, Samu, Rosey, Manu and Umaga, is the heaviest man on this list, and also one of the most accomplished in the WWF.
Despite being billed as a sumo wrestler, Rodney was actually American, and had never participated in sumotori. He was billed from Polynesia (an area of the Pacific Ocean containing over 1000 islands) despite his manager Mr. Fuji following him around with a Japanese flag. This often made fans assume he was Japanese, but he was actually Samoan-American.
Yokozuna’s huge frame didn’t stop him from moving. He moved around the ring better than some super heavyweights. He was never going to perform any high risk moves, because his size would literally squash his opponents, but he was still able to deliver running attacks, suplex, slams, splashes and kicks.
Yokozuna is notable for being the only man to defeat both Hulk Hogan and Bret The Hitman Hart, for the WWF championship; both in the same
year. He is also the first man to defeat The Undertaker in a casket
match. Near the end of his career, Yokozuna weighed an estimated 760 Ib. He was purposely trying to get to 850-900 Ib to set the new record for the heaviest professional wrestler ever. He died just over a year after his last match from pulmonary edema.
#1 Andre The Giant – 73 points (520 Ib)
RIP 1946-1993. Was there any doubt? The greatest super heavyweight of all time is “The Eighth Wonder of the World”. André Roussimoff was an attraction. He was a solid worker, but he was never agile, he was never technically gifted. What you saw is what you got with Andre. He was going to dominate his opponents with power, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
The clip of Andre being slammed by Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania III will always be one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history. He was the yang to Hogan’s ying, and it’s hard to imagine what wrestling would have been like without him.
Andre’s gigantism was never resolved, and he died in 1993 of congestive heart failure. He was the first ever WWE Hall of Famer, and the only wrestler to be inducted in 1993. His legacy continues on, and the WWE’s most recent tribute was at this years Wrestlemania XXX when Hogan introduced the Andrè the Giant Memorial Trophy.
Thanks for participating! I won’t be doing another one of these for a while, but if you really want to participate in the next one, I recommend you “Like” our Facebook page. Bye!
