Big John Studd

At 47 years old, Big John Studd has this physical status:

John William Minton (February 19, 1948 – March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.

Studd is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation in the 1970s and 1980s.Studd held a number of championships over his career, including the NWA American Heavyweight Championship, NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship, and WWF World Tag Team Championship, and was the winner of the 1989 Royal Rumble.

He was posthumously inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1995 and the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004.

Early life

Studd joined the United States Army and served as a military police officer.

Personal life

Minton and his wife Donna had three children, Robert, Jannelle and Sean, who is also a wrestler.

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Professional wrestling career

Killer Kowalski coached Studd. He debuted in 1972 under the ring name "The Mighty Minton," competing on the Los Angeles NWA Hollywood Wrestling Association, where he formed a tag team with "Superstar" Billy Graham.

Studd joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation in mid-1972, naming the wrestler "Chuck O'Connor" after the match. Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon were among the wrestlers on the team. Studd unsuccessfully challenged Pedro Morales for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship on September 12, 1972. Studd's Shea, Studd, qualified by disqualification later this month. In February 1973, he left the WWF.

Studd debuted as "Chuck O Connor" in 1974, the first time he wrestled in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, where he appeared as "Chuck O Connor."

Studd won the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team championships in 1978, when he team with Ken Patera.

Studd took multiple unsuccessful championship shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in early 1982, which was contested by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at the time.

Studd's return to the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1976, where he wore a mask and performed as "Executioner #2" teaming with Executioner #1 as Executioners. The Executioners won the WWF World Tag Team Championship on May 11, 1976, defeating Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi. They were suspended of the titles until October 26, 1976, when they were banned from participation after a third Executioner (Nikolai Volkoff) intervened in a title defense. Manager Lou Albano protested by claiming that it was a "optical illusion." Studd left the WWF in early 1977.

Studd appeared for the American Wrestling Association from 1975 to 1976. In 1980, he returned to 1981 and then in 1981.

Studd made the World Wrestling Federation in late 1982 and was paired with manager "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Studd quickly became a great heel, opting for a stretcher and proving his opponents so badly that they would be beaten on the stretcher.

Though Studd became a top contender for the WWF World Championship, directed by Bob Backlund, it was his feud with 7'4" (224 cm) André the Giant over who was the professional wrestling's 'true giant' that earned him main event status. Studd and Blassie had launched a "Bodyslam Challenge," rewarding $10,000 (and later, $15,000) to any wrestler who would slam him before claiming that he (Studd) should not be slammed. Andre said and was going to slam Studd before Blassie slammed Andre from behind (as Studd grabbed the ring ropes to stop him from being slammed). The Andre-Studd feud raged throughout 1983, and Andre had the upper hand and slammed Studd several times, but not with enough strength to dismantle the entire ring. Several times, the two teams clashed inside a steel cage, where André not only slammed Studd, but instead slammed the top rope onto his chest to knock him out. Despite this, Studd began claiming himself to be the "true Giant of Wrestling" while still insisting that he had not (and never had) been slammed. Studd was also successful in slamming Studd by 1984, when his rivalry with Andre was still raging; then-new champion Hulk Hogan was up for resurgent; Hogan was also successful on several occasions.

Studd was also paired with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in late 1984, who helped bring the André-Studd feud to a new place. Studd and fellow Heenan Family member Ken Patera face André the Giant and S. D. Jones during a televised tag team match on WWF Championship Wrestling. The match came to an end after continual rulebreaking by Studd and Patera, who assaulted André later and shaved his hair with Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino, who said on commentary that they were robbing André of his dignity. André set out for revenge and accepted Studd's challenge to a "$15,000 Bodyslam Challenge" match at the first WrestleMania, whereby if Andre failed to slam Studd before the time limit (or Studd managed to slam Andre), André would have to leave wrestling if Andre did not recover from wrestling. André dominated their Wrestlemania competition in Madison Square Garden and defeated slamming Studd at 5:54.

Studd, a wrestler, formed an alliance with fellow Heenan Family member 468 lb (212 kg) King Kong Bundy. In the summer of 1985, the two assaulted André at a WWF TV card in Toronto, injuring Andre's sternum.

The Studd-Bundy partnership and André remained to feud for the remainder of the year and into 1986, with Andre frequently recruiting faces like Hulk Hogan, Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, and Hillbilly Jim to work with him. Studd was heavily involved in the well-known 20 man over-the-top battle royal that took place in the Chicago segment of WrestleMania 2 and featured in Studd's unforgettable pre-match interview with Gene Okerlund and then Atlanta Falcons player Bill Fralic, with Studd telling Fralic that he had no interest in professional wrestling and Fralic's telling Fralic that Studd's word "Dudd." The invitational battle royale attracted also famous names from the National Football League. Despite André the Giant's participation in the game, Studd focused on removing Fralic and fellow football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who was fresh from a Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears earlier this year. Studd defeated Perry during the game, only to have Studd dismiss Studd while the two were shaking hands. André went on to win the royal battle.

In 1986, André-Studd's feud escalated due to gigantism and acromegaly, his role as Fezzik in the film The Princess Bride, and his planned tour of Japan, a storyline was devised to encourage André to compete in a tag team named The Machines. André didn't turn up for a number of tag team matches against Bundy and Studd, so the "Machines" campaign began. Bobby Heenan's campaign was successful in getting André suspended, only for André to reappear in a mask and billing himself as a Japanese wrestler named the Giant Machine later that day. Studd, as well as Bundy and Heenan, maintained that Andre and the Giant Machine were one and the same, and that they had no knowledge of the Japanese wrestlers (Mulligan/Big Machine) or a South-Florida accent, with Studd and Bundy claiming that no Japanese wrestler or individual spoke with a French accent (Eadie/Super Machine) or a South-Texas accent; while Bobby Heenan repeatedly stated that no Japanese wrestlers However, neither Studd, Bundy, or Heenan were able to decode The Machines, and their true identities remained a mystery.

Studd, who long had a reputation of not selling pain to wrestlers with little or no in-ring experience, face Ted Arcidi in a televised house show at the Boston Garden in mid-1986. Studd was notably tense during the match, with his ridicule for someone with no wrestling experience who had no interest in being in a professional wrestling competition.

In 1986, the Bundy-Studd team competed with other established WWF tag teams, including The Islanders (Haku and Tama), and the British Bulldogs hosted the WWF Tag Team Championship (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid). Studd and Bundy started arguing after losing a match to the Bulldogs in late 1986, and although it seemed to foreshadow a feud between the two teams, no one was aware of it. Studd's last match during his original 1980s WWF campaign came on November 15, 1986, when he teamed with Bundy to defeat the Machines (but not included the Giant Machine). Despite leaving the WWF, Studd's presence was still present in a WWF Magazine article published shortly before WrestleMania III, where he praised André in his upcoming match against Hogan (contending that Hogan's friendship with André was a ruse to refuse him as a potential challenger to the title). Studd has retired.

Studd's return to the WWF on the Brother Love Show in December 1988 after two years in retirement. On the day to welcome Studd back to the Heenan family, an elated Bobby Heenan appeared. However, Studd turned down the bid and ran Heenan off the Brother Love set with Heenan now directing his old rival André the Giant.

Studd continued to feud with several members of the Heenan family, including André who had turned heel after Studd's absence and Haku (one of the few wrestlers with the ability to bodyslam Studd). Studd won the 1989 Royal Rumble in Houston, which many consider to be his highest achievement in his WWF career. Studd later served as a special guest referee in the match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and André at WrestleMania V in Atlantic City. Studd and André had many words with each other before and during the match, and finally disqualified his nemesis after the giant struck him from behind. Studd's last match with the WWF was June 4, 1989, with Hillbilly Jim wrestling in Studd's place later this month. Studd resigned from WWF after receiving what he considered to be poor payoffs.

Studd competed on the independent circuit until 1993; his last match was against The Honky Tonk Man. Ron Reis, who will make his WCW debut as Big Ron Studd, came out with his own line of workout and vitamin supplements, as well as training Ron Reis.

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