The 10 Best & Worst Giants In Wrestling History

WORST: Loch Ness

Our very own Giant Haystacks, Martin Ruane from Lancashire via London. As his most well-known persona, Giant Haystacks, Ruane was one of the key figures in the popularity of British wrestling on ITV in the 1970s and 80s, including his well-known feud opposite babyface Big Daddy. Unexpectedly, Ruane turned up in WCW in 1996, despite being nearly fifty years old and well past his prime. He was dubbed ‘Loch Ness,’ revisiting the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ name he had used on a tour of Calgary in 1983. This time though, he was simply ‘Loch Ness’ – the name of the lake, not the monster. Ruane worked a handful of matches, lost most of them, and disappeared. Should have probably stayed in the UK, to be honest.

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BEST: Yokozuna

The story of Rodney Anoaʻi was recently told with love and affection as part of the WWE Network’s Icons series. Yokozuna’s most storied achievements in the ring will always be his two reigns as WWF Champion, his Royal Rumble victory in 1993, and defeating Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart on consecutive pay-per-views. But the recent WWE documentary showed that Anoa’i played an equally important role as integral part of the Samoan wrestling dynasty which today continues to thrive with the likes of Roman Reigns and the Usos. Friends and colleagues have described how talented Yoko was, but he ultimately could not overcome his battle with his ballooning weight, passing away far too young at 34.

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WORST: Giant Gonzalez

Often the butt of jokes when it comes to stories about big men in wrestling who had no aptitude for it, step forward Jorge Gonzalez. Billed at eight foot, Gonzalez was a genuine 7-foot-7, making him significantly taller than Omos, and anyone who has ever stepped foot in a wrestling ring. Similar to Paulo Silva, his height as a young man led him towards basketball. He was a third-round pick in the 1988 NBA draft for the Atlanta Hawks. When Gonzalez struggled to adapt to the demands of the NBA, the Hawks’ owner – Ted Turner – offered the towering behemoth a job with his other company…WCW. Despite an unimpressive run in Atlanta, Vince McMahon snapped him up in 1993 as a giant to be fed to the Undertaker. Sadly, he couldn’t embody the monster the WWF envisioned. Not while dressed in a caveman bodysuit, anyway.

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