Wrestling Deja Vu 04.13.09: Belligerent Behemoths

Posted by Joseph Martinez on 04.13.2009

It seems the Undertaker is always getting challenged by larger than life wrestlers. Join WDV today as I take a look into two of the Deadman’s largest rivals.

Hey yo. Welcome to the column. It's week seventeen of the Wrestling Deja Vu experience and today we have two giants under discussion.

I might as well start off with some Wrestlemania comments since I was unable to last week. My reaction is probably similar to other writers, but here goes: I didn't want Punk to win the MITB, I didn't care for the Divas match (although I know why it's there), Ricky Steamboat made the Legends-Jericho match VERY exciting, Hardy v. Hardy was better than expected, JBL v. Mysterio was sad, Undertaker v. HBK was very good and should have been the final match on the card and the main eventers were solid, but had no business following up Undertaker-UT.

Any who, the subjects of today's column are The Great Khali and Giant Gonzalez.




There are some apparent similarities between these two characters, but it all comes down to how they were used and their massive size. My reaction to comments is next, feel free to skip over if you don't want to read why I consider John Bradshaw Layfield to be my favorite wrestler.

LOOKING BACK

This discussion pretty much dominated last week's comment section. I don't really understand why having Bradshaw as my favorite wrestler makes me fifteen, but I can see how it would confuse some. The guy was a decent brawler but never really tore it up in the ring. The reason he is my favorite is because he got me back into regularly watching wrestling. As a child, I watched WCW every Monday and nearly every time they put on a Sunday Pay-Per-View. When the company went under I tried making the WWF my main wrestling program, but I couldn't do it for some reason. I had watched the WWF sparingly before, but couldn't during the Invasion storyline. I stopped watching wrestling shortly after and my only affiliation with the pseudo-sport was the message boards I visited. Three years later (or so), I tuned into Smackdown and JBL immediately caught my eye. I really enjoyed his work on the mic and especially enjoyed the heat he got from all my friends who absolutely hated him for that Mexican border skit. He beat Eddie Guerrero for the World Title and I was hooked onto JBL. From there, I watched the rollercoaster that was his career. He rose to the top, then fell back down when he had to job to The Boogeyman. There was never a dull moment for me and that's why he's my favorite wrestler.

And now courtesy of Youtube user Thenumber1JBLFan, here is JBL's last moment in a WWE ring.




Alright, you didn't click this for JBL and some of you probably hate the guy, so let's get on with today's column.



AND INTRODUCING THE PARTICIPANTS

The Great Khali has always been a controversial wrestler. He was involved in an incident that resulted in the death of a training partner and when he entered the WWE, he was hated on by many fans for his lack of moves and such. Khali began his wrestling career in 2001 and was signed up by the WWE in 2006. During his career, he's been in feuds with various superstars always playing the unbeatable monster that the face just so happens to beat at the end of the feud. Until recently, he was a good monster character and his World Title reign didn't bother me much (although lots of people felt this should've never happened). He's been battling some injuries, but he still goes out and does his job. He's also supposed to be a huge deal in India and a swell guy in real life.



WHERE IS HE NOW? He's still active with the WWE. Khali is currently using a big friendly giant gimmick and is doing pretty well as a face with his Khali Kiss cam.



Drafting a big 7'6 guy to play for your NBA team seems like a brilliant idea in theory, but it doesn't always work out that way. This was the case with Jorge Gonzalez, a professional basketball player from Argentina. This didn't stop Ted Turner (owner of the Atlanta Hawks at the time) from utilizing the big man as Turner introduced Gonzalez to the world of wrestling. Gonzalez didn't stay with Tuner for long as he jumped ship to the WWE in 1993. He became Giant Gonzalez, feuded with the Undertaker and left the WWE shortly after.

WHERE IS HE NOW? Gonzalez retired in 1995 because of injuries and has been slowed down by various medical problems including diabetes.

THE GIANT LANGUAGE BARRIER

The transition can be difficult when an individual is born in one country and they're imported into another for various reasons. One of the major difficulties comes in the language department. Now, for whatever reason (kayfabe, just didn't learn it) these two weren't really billed as being able to speak the English language. This meant that the two had to have a manger. They each got their chance to speak and it resulted in just yelling. Daivari and Harvey Wippleman were good managers, but this barrier prevented both wrestlers from gaining the steam to match their position on the cards. To their defense, both of these guys made decent faces (Gonzalez's was extremely short) and the fans seem to enjoy the Great Khali these days.

UNSTOPPABLE FORCE V. IMMOVABLE OBJECT


Khali and Giant Gonzalez do their best to look good before losing against The Undertaker

The Undertaker's character has its low spots, but it also allows the WWE to pull off these "Unstoppable force v. Immovable object" storylines every now and then. Giant Gonzalez debuted during the 1993 Royal Rumble and eliminated the Undertaker from the match. At Wrestlemania, The Undertaker defeated Gonzalez via DQ and their feud ended at Summerslam where Gonzalez was defeated cleanly by Taker. Things didn't go better for The Great Khali. Like Gonzalez, he debuted strong against the Undertaker and they put over his Brain Chop as a move that would take anyone out. Also like Gonzalez, The Undertaker handedly defeated the Great Khali in their blow off match (although Khali did get a victory at a previous pay-per-view).

THE BIGGER THEY ARE…

Another thing these two have in common is the awkward movement that comes with their massive size. Any other man could run and take some bumps, but Khali and Gonzalez were different cases. The slow movement that accommodates the height makes every match slower and power attacks look awkward from both Khali or Gonzalez and their opponents. Personally, I think The Great Khali was far more agile than Gonzalez and doesn't get the credit he deserves in the ring. He won't be pulling off any technical masterpieces anytime soon, but he's capable of putting on a decent match (see: Cena v. Khali). Of course, the majority of matches that involved these two were duds. It's just the nature of the beast.

WDV FACE-OFF

The obligatory stare down between the two giants starts the match off. The Great Khali tries to end it early with his Brain Chop, but Gonzalez's mighty strength keeps the maneuver from being landing. Gonzalez tries to Irish whip Khali into the ropes, but Khali won't move. The two grapple for a bit with Khali gaining the advantage and bringing the Giant Gonzalez down to the mat. Khali slowly picks Gonzalez up, but the slow movement of Khali gave Gonzalez enough time to muster up the strength to lock on the Claw. Khali almost falls to his knees, but powers out of the Claw, shoves Gonzalez back and locks in the Khali Vice Grip. After 15 seconds of struggle, Gonzalez is out and Khali is crowned the winner.

The Rundown

So, basically these two figures were brought in the WWE to provide the end for The Undertaker. Gonzalez wasn't apart of the WWE long enough to do anything else, but Khali has gone to feud with guys like the Batista, John Cena and The Big Show and even got a World Title reign when Edge went down with an injury. Big guys like these two don't last long in the wrestling world because they lose their aura. These two (and other big men) should be used as special attractions, not regular competitors, but it doesn't look like it'll be that way in any American promotions. Some people think The Great Khali and Giant Gonzalez are two big wastes of space, but in reality, they provide a great story and are more than serviceable for any booker.

In Case You Missed It

Miss any columns posted over the weekend? No problem, here's everything that was done.

Lansdell's Saturday Brunch News Report

Contemplating CHIKARA

The Wrestling Bard

Column of Honor Pt. 1

Column of Honor Pt. 2

The Bell to Bell News Report

For the Record

Against the Grain

The Triple Threat

Goodnight, Travel Well

- Opening week was a mixed bag. The Texas Rangers started off the year going 3-0, but then lost three straight to the Tigers. The pitching is horrible so far and rookie Chris Davis hasn't produced yet. It's really early in the year, so hopefully things go more like the 3-0 start. My fantasy team is doing well. I dodged a huge bullet when I traded Alex Rodriguez before the steroid stuff and his injury were made public, plus getting Hanley Ramirez for him was great.

- It's draft night tonight! The draft is always one of the more exciting programs for me because I always like a good draft, no matter the occasion. With the NFL draft in around 2 weeks and this WWE draft, it's a good time for draft fanatics (that just so happen to watch wrestling). 12 superstars are rumored to switch programs tonight and I hope WDV favorite John Morrison gets switched to one of the bigger shows.

- Next week on Wrestling Deja Vu: Reader's request. I think every third Monday will be requested items. I'd do them all in a row, but that would only last a month or so. First up is a comparison between the Glamazon Beth Phoenix and Chyna. So until then, have a good week.