Top Five Favorite Big Men

Padraic Toolan and Brian Damage

Pro wrestling has been filled with larger than life characters. Who are your top five favorite big men all time in pro wrestling? The key word is favorite…not necessarily the best…although could be some of the all time greats.

Padraic

Honorable mention – Andre the Giant. I only know of his late career with very limited in-ring ability, but Andre’s impact on wrestling cannot be argued or understated. 

5. Braun Strowman 

Dude is the total package and cannot figure out why WWE did not make him the face of the company. 

4. Paul Wight 

Again, the total package. And he could MOVE in his prime. I feel like he is unfairly judged by what fans believe he should have been rather than what he is, which is one of the most versatile and long-lasting (especially among big men) wrestlers ever. We’ve joked about his constant heel-face changes and rolled our eyes when we would anticipate a big return or call up to face a heel, and we’d get, “WeeeEEEEEElllll….”, but he got those roles because I think he’s more of a big deal than people want to admit. 

3. Sid Vicious 

An absolute beast, and a beast of a personality as well. He was always at the top of the card, when he was available. 

2. Kane 

I still get scared when I watch any old shows with the original Kane character. Dude isn’t just an incredibly powerful and charismatic wrestler, he’s a fuckin’ demon man. When thinking about how great of a performer Glenn Jacobs is, think about how long he made us terrified of and then firmly behind a character before that character ever said a word. 

1. Taker. 

Can’t be anyone else for me. 

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Honorable Mention – King Kong Bundy. Man did this guy ever scare me as a little kid. Especially when he attacked Hulk Hogan and put him on the shelf. Definitely should get a mention, just missed my cut.

Brian

Andre the Giant

Not my all time favorite, but definitely a wrestler I was rooting for to win at Wrestlemania III and was absolutely overjoyed and ecstatic when he beat Hogan for the title on the Main Event program. Many fans just remember Andre at the tail end of his career when he was slow and lumbering, but the fact is Andre was extremely fast and agile in his younger days as a pro.

The One Man Gang

The One Man Gang was another favorite of mine. A great brawler and had solid charisma. He had a great career, which I feel was unjustly tainted by his run as the African Dream Akeem.

Sid Vicious

Sid Vicious/Sid Justice/Sycho Sid/Lord Humongous call him what you will, but Sid was a specimen to behold back in the 80’s and 90’s. He looked the part of an absolute monster and I was lucky to be in attendance at Madison Square Garden when he defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWF title. The crowd was most definitely pro Sid.

The Big Bossman

The Big Bossman aka Ray Traylor was a very underrated big man wrestler as far as I am concerned. He weighed over 330 pounds and stood well over 6 feet tall and was quick as a cat. He knew how to work a match and cut a good promo.

Bam Bam Bigelow

The Beast From the East is my personal favorite big man, because he was doing things unheard of for a man his size during the 1980’s. Drop kicks, moonsaults, high risk maneuvers were all a part of Bam Bam’s repertoire. He really should have been a bigger star than what he was, but he did have personal issues that kept him down the card for years.