Professional Basketball player, Professional Wrestler. Reported to be the tallest player in the history of Argentine basketball (he stood 7'6"), he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1988 but could not adjust to the demands of the NBA. The following year Ted Turner gave him a place in his World Championship Wrestling organization, and he made his ring debut under the name El Gigante on May 19, 1990. He stayed with WCW for two years as a face and battled Ric Flair for the WCW title. 1993 saw him move to the World Wrestling Federation as a "heel" under the management of Harvey Wippleman and he debuted in that year's "Royal Rumble", but his stay there would be brief. At the 1993 Summer Slam he was defeated by a chief rival, The Undertaker; when Wippleman berated him for losing, Gonzalez gave him a choke slam and left the WWF. His last match was in December of 1993. After his retirement he returned to Argentina and lived on a ranch. Wippleman, who despite appearances remained a close friend, said that Gonzalez suffered from diabetes during his time in the WWF, and that in his last years he was confined to a wheelchair and on dialysis due to kidney failure. He was listed as the World's Tallest Professional Wrestler in 2000 by the Guiness Book of World Records.
Professional Basketball player, Professional Wrestler. Reported to be the tallest player in the history of Argentine basketball (he stood 7'6"), he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1988 but could not adjust to the demands of the NBA. The following year Ted Turner gave him a place in his World Championship Wrestling organization, and he made his ring debut under the name El Gigante on May 19, 1990. He stayed with WCW for two years as a face and battled Ric Flair for the WCW title. 1993 saw him move to the World Wrestling Federation as a "heel" under the management of Harvey Wippleman and he debuted in that year's "Royal Rumble", but his stay there would be brief. At the 1993 Summer Slam he was defeated by a chief rival, The Undertaker; when Wippleman berated him for losing, Gonzalez gave him a choke slam and left the WWF. His last match was in December of 1993. After his retirement he returned to Argentina and lived on a ranch. Wippleman, who despite appearances remained a close friend, said that Gonzalez suffered from diabetes during his time in the WWF, and that in his last years he was confined to a wheelchair and on dialysis due to kidney failure. He was listed as the World's Tallest Professional Wrestler in 2000 by the Guiness Book of World Records.
Bio by: Hilda Duell
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
