Best "Big Man" In History?

[hb2k]

So, I'm doing a podcast on Wednesday, and the topic of discussion is on who the best big man in the history of the business is, and would like some feedback and suggestions from you guys to read on the show (and I'll credit you by name as well).

I think it's an interesting topic, and the ambiguity of what constitutes a "big man" is an issue in some ways, but part of the show will be justifying our own choices in the roundtable discussion and debating the others that get suggested, so that's part and parcel of it.

And hell, even what qualifies somebody as the best is subjective and an interesting part of the discussion - a guy who was agile and an amazing worker for a guy his size, or somebody who played the role to perfection and was completely effective.

But yeh, who is your own personal pick for the ONE guy you think is the best Big Man ever, and why?

[drave]

https://s2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/G7xEs9limh46zoO8vJumnw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTYxMjtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz00MDc-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/1b9dd4b1ac76b10d500f6a7067007a81.jpg

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Ric Flair said the best big man ever was the Big Show. You can't argue with his success and longevity. Although there wouldn't really big big men in wrestling without Andre the Giant. He was a trailblazer keeping the giants out of the circus freakshows and into a ring.

[Shisen Kopf]

Andre the Giant /thread

[Sepholio]

Kevin Nash

:shifty:

[Rammsteinmad]

Being the "first" or the "pioneering" doesn't necessarily make someone the best. If the Undertaker doesn't count as a "big man", then I'll definitely go with Big Show.

[Seth82]

I'll give a mention to Bam Bam Bigelow.

this guy was pretty damn agile for a big man such as himself.

also would mention Vader as well.

[Curtis]

The Big Show.

[Sepholio]

Bam Bam was the shit.

[Blonde Moment]

I think we are forgetting someome

http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/ep_trending/public/video/thumb/2013/10/entvid_undertaker_052212.jpg

[Hanso Amore]

ICE TRAIN

[Bad News Gertner]

Andre. It's a business. Workrate means zero.

[XL]

Depends what you mean by "Big Man".

Andre and Show were/are giants and could be considered in their own category.
Guys like Vader, Bam Bam, Yokozuna, and Mabel/Viscera/Big Daddy V are impressive in what they can do in spite of their body shape.
Then there's the Taker, Kane, Nash mould. Tall, muscular guys with varying degrees of athletic ability.

[whiteyford]

Vader/Bigelow

[Jura]

If Big Show had the body and athleticism of his Giant days in WCW then yeah he'd be up there but later on he was just the biggest dude in wrestling until Khali showed up. Vader and Bam Bam are up there but after everything Undertaker has done how can you not pick him?

I think "Big Man" is what wrestling presents to the audience what a big man is and not necessarily how tall they actually are. The Rock and Triple H are big dudes in any case but in wrestling there are a lot of other guys taller and bigger than them that are obviously the Big Men of wrestling but they weren't presented to us in the same category as Kane and Taker and nowadays you have guys who are shorter but presented as big men like Big E and Rusev. Also Batista is realistically 6'3"? and Randy is probably legit 6'5" but Batista is considered one of the heavies while Randy is not.

I think you should consider achievements, in-ring talent, perceived potential and realized potential. For an example of the last two let's take Big Show; perceived potential would be in his early days where we saw him do crazy shit for a 7 footer and thought wow if he could do that then he could be even better and as for realized potential...well his career is almost over so you can look back and see what he's actually done in comparison to what he might have been able to do.

[Vastardikai]

Undertaker, Vader, Bam Bam.

[Hanso Amore]

SCOTT NORTON

[XL]

Crash Holly.

[DAMN iNATOR]

<iframe frameborder="0" width="560" height="315" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x1905dj" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1905dj_big-show-theme-song-and-titantron-2013-2014-hd_music" target="_blank">Big Show Theme Song and Titantron 2013-2014 HD</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/xCenation" target="_blank">xCenation</a></i>

[Hanso Amore]

ROAD BLOCK

[Razzamajazz]

i dunno. every time the "best big man" is ever mentioned, my first thoughts are either bigelow or vader

[Hanso Amore]

Reese

[Sepholio]

I think you guys are forgetting these fellas

http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/standard_list/public/t25/image/2012/10/Scariest/13_WWE-Encyclopedia2000.jpg

and
http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/pictures/kurrgan.jpg

[Vastardikai]

I'd put the Big Bossman about 5th or 6th, behind the three I mentioned above, Kane, and maybe Big Show.

[Kris P Lettus]

Big Van Vader aka Baby Bull Leon White

[Jura]

Vader appeared in Boy Meets World. Another point for Vader.

[Hanso Amore]

I'll post serious.

In terms of size, skills, performance and gimmick my favorite as many already said is vader. No way can anyone touch him from 1990-1994. Hogan and hbk ruined his late career.

In terms of spectacle and aura it's hands down Andre. There will never be a vader memorial battle royal. Andre Is a near household name based on his aura and acting, and just being a pop culture figure. You go into any house in America and hey will most likely know stone cold, hogan and andre

[Hanso Amore]

And the rock

[Hanso Amore]

Andre goes on wrestling Mount Rushmore so it's hard to not say he's the best big man of all time

[Kris P Lettus]

Is Scott Hall a "big man"?

[Kris P Lettus]

Vader appeared in Boy Meets World. Another point for Vader.

He was also in the live action Fist of the North Star movie.

[Kris P Lettus]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/m6mskb5_x3A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[EzekielKane]

The Undertaker.


Now? Jordan Cassatt, this guy is a BEST!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wxq6kB7RCjE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

[DAMN iNATOR]

The Undertaker.


Now? Jordan Cassatt, this guy is a BEST!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wxq6kB7RCjE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

Future HoFer right there...:y:

[Nark Order]

Big Van Vader is my personal favorite big man ever. He might just actually be the best overall as well. I dunno.

[Tom Guycott]

Vader appeared in Boy Meets World. Another point for Vader.

He was also in the live action Fist of the North Star movie.

If memory serves me correctly, he was also in a Honeycomb cereal commercial... although when I tried to YouTube verify, I caught one I forgot about with Andre (vid purported to be recorded from a hometown TV station, no less).

Looks like THE MASTODON* is getting a landslide victory here, though.

I mean, Taker, Andre, Bam Bam, and Vader all bring something different to the table (and I love me some Bigelow)... and I'm surprised Lesnar isn't somewhere in this thread... but Vader seems to have some of what makes everyone else who is in the argument for exactly what qualifies on the list. He is noted for agility vs size, he had the spectacle look, he had some charisma, and purported physical toughness (maybe not emotional toughness, but that has nothing to do with in-ring persona). He may not be the biggest or the best in any specific category, but he is in EVERY category.




*"It's fuckin' Vader!"

[Razzamajazz]

the correct answer is Andre, or else WWFE will sue you

[hb2k]

Would like to thank you all for chiming in on this one, I read a lot of comments on the show (and namedropped the ones that got through ;-)), if you wanna check it out, you can hear it here:

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/ftwmvy/SCGRadio4-TheBestBigManInHistory.mp3

Would like to have read MatthewAllenHanso and Tom Guycott's comments on the show, but they same in after we recorded, so my apologies. I polled a few different places and Vader got the most votes, and the discussion that came from everybody's thoughts I felt was really interesting. Check out the show, if you like it, we're on iTunes, let me know what you think.

[Shisen Kopf]

The Undertaker.


Now? Jordan Cassatt, this guy is a BEST!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wxq6kB7RCjE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

thats really good and better produced than ROH. Tell me, what do you guys use for the "ring"? looks really high quality.

[cnoslim]

Hornswoggle..... Naw.... it's BIG SEXY KEVIN NASH

[SNLfunnyguy]

Good podcast dude!

[hb2k]

Thanks very much, greatly appreciated :-)

I am doing another one shortly, so if you wish to contribute some feedback for me to read on the show I'd be happy to (the 1994 thread)...