Jorge González (wrestler): Difference between revisions
rvv |
→After Wrestling: rumors |
||
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
==After Wrestling== |
==After Wrestling== |
||
He is currently confined to a [[wheelchair]], and recently told an Argentinean newspaper that he was doing what he could to survive, but that things were 'rough'. Gonzales is hoping to get some sort of aid from the Argentinean government, he also currently lives in a care center. Gonzales has faced numerous health problems in the past few years and now has to wear tight knee braces when he occasionally stands. |
|||
Gonzales currently is unmarried and has no children. After retiring from professional wrestling, he shaved his beard and has lost a lot of weight. |
|||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
Revision as of 14:27, 11 April 2007
Jorge Gonzales  | |
|---|---|
| File:Giant Gonzalez.jpg | |
| Born | January 30, 1966 Formosa, Argentina |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Giant Gonzalez El Gigante |
| Billed height | 244 cm (8 ft 0 in) |
| Billed weight | 209 kg (460 lb) |
| Debut | 1990 |
| Retired | 1993 |
Jorge González (born January 30, 1966 in Formosa, Argentina) is a former basketball player and professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s under his best known name, Giant González.
Basketball
González was originally a basketball player from Argentina. His size and presence attracted interest from Hollywood in the mid 80s with various bitparts coming his way. He successfully played in Argentina's first division league for Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, and also for the Argentina national basketball team. However, he did not appear at the 1988 Summer Olympics as some sources claim. He was though drafted by the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, but apparently he couldn't handle the pace of the American game, and had trouble maintaining a proper, athletic weight.
Professional Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
In 1989, Hawks owner Ted Turner offered Gonzales a job as a professional wrestler with another of his ventures, WCW. After a year of training, Gonzales was introduced to fans as El Gigante on May 19, 1990 at the Pay-per-View Capital Combat event. Wearing shorts, he competed as a face, and was billed as being close to eight feet tall (244 cm) (he was actually 7 ft 6 in (229 cm), as measured by the Guinness Book of Records in 2000).
Over the next two years, he feuded with Ric Flair over the WCW Title, participated in the infamous 'Chamber Of Horrors' match in 1991 and also had a date on TBS with Missy Hyatt. His overall lack of wrestling skills and the English language saw many fans not take to him as intended, however. Later, he gained some popularity and credibility with a cross-promotional stint in the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, and then defected to the WWF in late 1992.
World Wrestling Federation
Gonzales competed as Giant Gonzalez during his brief WWF tenure as a heel, and was managed by Harvey Wippleman. Gonzalez grew a beard and wore a bizarre and memorable full body suit that consisted of airbrushed muscles with bushy hair attached. He was introduced at Royal Rumble in January 1993, where he quickly overpowered and eliminated Wippleman's nemesis The Undertaker from the rumble match despite not being an official participant.
The Undertaker and Gonzalez continued to feud on-and-off throughout 1993, which included a notorious match at WrestleMania IX where Gonzales was disqualified after using a chloroform-soaked towel to smother the Undertaker. Their feud ended with the 1993 SummerSlam, where Undertaker finally pinned Gonzales, clean. After the match, Wippleman berated Gonzales, and was given a chokeslam for his troubles, thus ending their relationship and turning Gonzalez pseudo-face.
During this period, Gonzales also made an appearance in an episode of the mainstream television program, Baywatch, in which he wore his signature body suit. He also later appeared in the pilot episode of "Thunder In Paradise", and a couple of episodes of the TV series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys".
Health and personal issues started to build up behind the scenes, along with general disappointment from management and fans over his progress. Gonzales' final televised match was a battle royal for the vacant Intercontinental Title, which was held on "Monday Night RAW" in September 1993. He quit the company soon after. Giant Gonzalez's subsequent retirement from all wrestling later that year (at 27) was ultimately due to his size, and becoming too unwell to wrestle.
In 1993, Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 498 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years".
After Wrestling
He is currently confined to a wheelchair, and recently told an Argentinean newspaper that he was doing what he could to survive, but that things were 'rough'. Gonzales is hoping to get some sort of aid from the Argentinean government, he also currently lives in a care center. Gonzales has faced numerous health problems in the past few years and now has to wear tight knee braces when he occasionally stands.