6 Best "Big Men" in WWE history

The Undertaker has been terrorising WWE for nearly three decades
The Undertaker has been terrorising WWE for nearly three decades

Giant performers have been a part of the fabric of WWE from the company's inception in 1963.

The WWF Champion from 1963-71, Bruno Sammartino was a huge man, standing at just five feet ten inches tall but with unmatched strength. No one could wrest that title off of his waist.

However, many men, far bigger in height and girth have competed in the company in the decades since, dominating the promotion to varying levels of success.

The following slideshow documents the seven greatest monsters to ever wrestle for WWE in the history of the company.


#6 Diesel

Big Daddy Cool - Was dominant in WWE from 1993-96
Big Daddy Cool - Was dominant in WWE from 1993-96

Diesel joined WWE in 1993 as the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels.

Michaels wanted a bit of extra protection in his matches and the seven-foot-tall monster was the perfect fit.

So dominant was Diesel, however, that it wasn't long before he stepped into the ring himself.

He dominated the competition in the 1994 Royal Rumble match as he quickly dispatched seven participants in that match before he was finally eliminated.

Later that year, Diesel became Intercontinental Champion before turning babyface when he tired of Michaels's antics.

The most successful moment of Diesel's WWE career came on November 26, 1994 when he defeated Bob Backlund to win the WWE Championship.

Diesel defended the belt for an entire year against monstrous opponents such as Sid Vicious and the mammoth five hundred pound super heavyweight, Mabel.

After dropping the strap in an electric match with Bret Hart, Diesel became a tweener. With a new bad attitude, "Big Daddy Cool" took no prisoners and delighted in battering his opponents.

However, after drawing the ire of The Undertaker, Diesel finally met his match. Despite dominating large portions of their climatic battle at Wrestlemania XII, Diesel fell to defeat.

He left the company for pastures new in WCW several months later and enjoyed even greater success in that company as a founder member of the New World Order.

youtube-cover

#5 Kane

Kane - The Big Red Machine
Kane - The Big Red Machine

Kane has been on WWE television for the past 21 years, having debuted in October 1997 as The Undertaker's previously thought dead, younger brother.

Kane made an immediate impact as the monster ripped a Hell in a Cell door off its hinges to interfere in his brother's match with Shawn Michaels.

Kane tombstoned Undertaker, leaving him easy prey for Michaels's pinfall.

Despite losing his long-running conflict with his older brother, Kane defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to become WWE Champion in a brutal First Blood Match at King of the Ring 1998.

Kane continued to dominate the competition accruing a phenomenal number of Championships across his long career.

The Big Red Monster is best remembered for his violent acts such as setting his brother and Jim Ross on fire, electrocuting Shane McMahon's private parts and ripping out the Bigshow's eye to name but three.

An intimidating seven-foot behemoth, Kane has instilled fear in opponents non-stop for two decades.

youtube-cover

#4 Braun Strowman

The indestructible Braun Strowman
The indestructible Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman may only have been a part of WWE programming for three years but has left his mark on the promotion during that time with incredible feats of strength and superhuman survival instincts.

Strowman first appeared on WWE screens as a member of Bray Wyatt's Wyatt Family. Donning a black sheep mask, Strowman looked right at home as a member of Wyatt's creepy cult.

Strowman eventually chose his own path and put in a dominating performance at the 2016 Royal Rumble eliminating seven men before he was ejected from the match.

The monster soon raised more than eyebrows when he lifted an entire ambulance with rival, Roman Reigns, inside tipping it over with his bare hands.

On another occasion, Strowman pulled down a huge scaffold on top of Kane and Brock Lesnar severely injuring both.

However, in his most stunning act of survival, Strowman survived a week inside a garbage compactor after he had been dumped inside by The Miz and his Miztourage and battered them for their audacity.

Strowman has won the Raw Tag Team Championships, Money in the Bank and the Greatest Royal Rumble Match thus far in his WWE career and no doubt has future World Championships in his future as well.

When it is all said and done, Strowman will finish his career much higher on lists such as these.

youtube-cover

#3 The Big Show

The Bigshow - Not one to be messed with
The Bigshow - Not one to be messed with

The Big Show debuted for WWE back in February 1999, interfering in the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon Cage Match main event at the St. Valentines Day Massacre pay per view.

Bigshow displayed his inhuman strength by launching Stone Cold into the Cage which broke on impact.

He demonstrated it once more when he pulled down the mammoth Titan Tron big screen to enable Stone Cold to tear a hole in it to bedevil Vince McMahon.

The man born, Paul Wight smashed through the competition and most impressively eliminated an entire four-man Survivor Series team single-handedly. That same night at the 1999 Survivor Series Bigshow won his first WWE Championship by pinning Triple H in a Triple Threat Match also involving The Rock.

Bigshow's career experienced plenty of highs and lows following that first reign. He added another WWE Championship when he defeated fellow monster, Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2002 and became the face of ECW when he beat ECW World Champion Rob Van Dam on an episode of ECW on Sci-Fi in July 2006.

Two of Bigshow's most memorable moments came in 2003 and 2011 when he was superplexed by Lesnar and Mark Henry respectively causing the ring to implode both times.

Bigshow's most recent successes came in 2011 and 2012 when he won World Heavyweight Championships from Mark Henry and Sheamus.

The giant Bigshow could have achieved more in his career but the fact remains that he is one of the most memorable monsters to ever grace WWE.

youtube-cover

#2 Andre the Giant

Andre's impact is still felt 25 years after his death
Andre's impact is still felt 25 years after his death

Andre the Giant debuted for WWE back in 1973 and was an immediate success as wrestling fans were in awe of his immense size and strength.

Andre became a mainstream celebrity due to his exposure at the inaugural Wrestlemania event in March 1985 when he defeated fellow giant, Big John Studd in a Bodyslam Challenge match.

At Wrestlemania II, Andre defeated 19 other competitors from WWE and NFL as he won a 20-Man Battle Royal.

Undoubtedly, Andre's most famous career moment came in defeat, when he was bodyslammed and pinned by WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan in their much-hyped title match at Wrestlemania III.

However, not to be outdone, the mammoth Andre finally wrested the title from Hogan in February 1988 on NBC special, The Main Event.

Andre's health and therefore career began to decline from there and he quietly retired in 1992 before passing away at the age of 46, due to heart failure.

youtube-cover

#1 The Undertaker

The Undertaker's reign of monstrous dominance is unmatched
The Undertaker's reign of monstrous dominance is unmatched

No explanation necessary. The most dominant and fearsome performer in the history of WWE is the only monster who can top this list.

The Undertaker debuted with a bang at Survivor Series 1990 as the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Team. The 7 foot tall, Undertaker quickly eliminated WWE Hall of Famers Koko B Ware and Dusty Rhodes before he was counted out.

The Deadman was undefeated when he was named the challenger to Hulk Hogan's WWF Championship at the following year's Survivor Series, wherein he defeated the "Immortal One" to win his first World title.

His reign and his undefeated streak was ended six days later at the Tuesday in Texas pay per view event.

Undertaker defeated a long line of mammoth monsters during his early tenure in the company. Such behemoths as Giant Gonzalez, Yokozuna, King Kong Bundy, Mabel, Diesel, Vader and Sycho Sid all fell to the "Phenom."

The greatest challenge of Undertaker's career came in the shape of his larger brother, Kane. Undertaker would eventually overcome being set on fire by his younger sibling to beat him at Wrestlemania XIV and in the first ever Inferno Match.

The Deadman soon became yet even more demonic as he altered his look to more closely resemble Satan and formed his satanic Ministry of Darkness, which memorably attempted to marry Stephanie McMahon in a "Dark Wedding."

Over the course of his 28-year career, Undertaker remained undefeated at Wrestlemania for 23 years before his streak was ended by Brock Lesnar.

However, Undertaker had continued to dominate the competition ever since, most recently competing in the main event of WWE's first live pay-per-view in Australia at WWE Super Show-Down.

Still going strong at the age of 53, The Undertaker's career will never be matched.

youtube-cover

Quick Links