In the long history of professional wrestling, one of the most impressive aspects is that of the big men- or giants. Many have come and gone, tried to make an impact and just fallen short and hard- as rock band We As Human would say- the bigger they are, the harder they fall and in many cases it’s true.
However, when a true giant comes in and makes an impact, it’s not just powerful, it’s devastating and WWE has released a DVD set to commemorate some of the most memorable and destructive giants in pro wrestling history-
True Giants.
As always, the first disc is a documentary-style film which features a block for each giant listed below:
- Big Show
- Gorilla Monsoon
- One Man Gang
- Haystacks Calhoun
- Giant Gonzales
- Big John Studd
- Kevin Nash
- Ernie Ladd
- Mark Henry
- King Kong Bundy
- Sycho Sid
- Vader
- Yokozuna
- Great Khali
- Andre the Giant
Each giant is either interviewed personally (Big Show, One Man Gang, Kevin Nash, Vader, Sycho Sid, Ernie Ladd) or presented by a close friend and those influenced by them, telling stories and whatnot.
It’s interesting to hear some of these legendary big men talk about what made them want to become wrestlers and to hear people who have been in the business talk about how different it was for big men in the past.
Hearing stories from Vader about getting hurt playing football and going into wresting or being disappointed in his WWE run and then getting redemption in the form of an appearance on RAW, defeating Heath Slater; Bill Apter talking about Haystacks Calhoun’s legendary run in the territory days; Jimmy and Jey Uso talking about growing up with their uncle Yokozuna and letting him give them the famous Yokozuna leg drop and more shed a new light on some of the legendary giants and put them in a new perspective.
Of course, the DVD ends with the most famous giant of them all- Andre the Giant, with the bulk of the stories coming from former WWE referee Tim White, who was one of the closes friends Andre had in the wrestling business.
Accompanying the collection is two discs of some of the biggest matches from Big Show, Gorilla Monsoon, One Man Gang, Haystacks Calhoun, Giant Gonzales, Big John Studd, Kevin Nash, Ernie Ladd, King Kong Bundy, Mark Henry, Sycho Sid, Vader, Yokozuna, Great Khali and Andre the Giant.
This is a beautifully planned-out DVD collection. There’s just enough of the present day giants to appeal to the current generation of WWE fans and a good number of legendary giants from the Golden Age of wrestling that will appeal to the older generation and teach today’s fanbase about what came before.
-Reggie Edwards
