Big John Studd

[The Brain]

Yep, it's another one of my threads about a random old school wrestler that doesn't get much attention here. This one is a little different though. I can't give much of a history lesson here and don't have much to contribute with my own opinions. This time I'm looking to be educated on someone I've always liked despite not seeing that much.

Big John Studd was on his way out of the WWF when I started watching in 1986. What little I did get to see of him was thanks mostly to Coliseum Video tapes and most of the matches I saw him in were against either Andre The Giant or Hulk Hogan. Always going against those two guys I thought Big John Studd was a pretty big deal. Of course he always lost to those two but Studd seemed pretty bad ass to me. I was happy to see him come back to the WWF late in 1988 but even as a kid that still hated all the bad guys I was disappointed to see Studd was now a good guy. I just thought he was better when he was bad. Despite winning the 1989 Royal Rumble Studd didn't really do much in his comeback. He did the house show tour with Akeem and kind of rekindled the rivalry with Andre with the roles reversed but he was out of the WWF again shortly after WrestleMania V. In fact he didn't even get a match at mania instead serving as special referee for the Andre vs. Jake Roberts match.

Does anyone have any thoughts and memories of Big John Studd? Any feuds or matches stand out? I don't expect many responses in a thread about a guy that's been gone for so long but I look forward to reading what anyone has to say about Big John Studd.

 

[closet_fan]

When I was younger, there was a line of rubber wrestlers with a WWF wrestling ring. One of the figures I had was Big John Studd. He didn't do much during my beginning years, like you, but he was one of the first wrestlers I'll always remember during my youth. I also think I had the thumb wrestler of him when they had those ridiculous toys.

I remember the slam challenge with Andre at WM1 and he was also one of the characters in the Rock N Wrestling cartoon.

I feel the same way as you. He seemed much more important to us around that time in the WWF Universe, but he really wasn't. But I still liked him. I think being managed by Heenan made him seem more important.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

I wish I could remember more of Big John Studd, but my memories of him are fuzzy because I was very young when I first watched him. Despite this, he was one of my classic favourites along with Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Iron Sheik and Ricky Steamboat. I used to call him the white giant because of his tights with the three blue stars going down each side. Aside from his body slam challenge match against Andre the Giant at WrestleMania and his Royal Rumble '89 win, the only match I still remember of his is this one -->

[youtube]DuYEifKOU7A[/youtube]

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I have seen a little of the old footage of him pre Hogan era but there isn't much out there. He's definitely a guy with 2 "careers" his return in 89 being the second and perhaps the biggest mistake.

The thing that helped about Studd was he was a pretty strong worker and not just a stereotypical "Giant". He was trained by Killer Kowalski and won the tag straps with him as the Executioners, so he had a great grounding in how to work as a brawler and a heel, learning from one of the best. Nikolai Volkoff was also in that team/stable and all 3 guys had a similar vibe about them... bad ass without being flashy.

There is a match on Youtube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qTfhts8lHI

Everyone remembers him for his Hogan era stuff and feud with Andre first and foremost but he was never really a player. Everyone was above him in reality during that Hulkamania era, he could have easily have faced Hogan at Mania 2 instead of Bundy... but he just wasn't considered "that level".

His downfall perhaps and the thing that stands out most is how much he illustrates how the business changed in such a short space of time that Studd was considered a "Giant" from 85-89, yet within 4 years of then you had Undertaker, Hogan, Razor Ramon and Kevin Nash, Sid and Giant Gonzales all coming onto the roster, all the same size or bigger than Studd. In the 70's he was something special, there were fewer true "big men" out there, and the same through the early 80's. But once the Mania era truly kicked off, suddenly there were a lot more guys who could do what Studd did and who either had better looks, better skills and time/youth on their side.

Studd was never truly a "Giant" in the way he was portrayed, he was just taller than average. But he did have a great "thick" physique that helped play to that description and a hard hitting, brawling style. Would it have worked without the managers he had, Blassie and later Heenan? No and that's the main reason he bombed in 89, even with the Rumble win (what WERE they thinking? Big Bossman winning that was so obvious and a wasted chance.), For his abilities as a brawler he didn't suit being a face and didn't have the mic skills that Hogan, Savage, Warrior and even guys like Duggan and Jake had who were taking the midcard spots.

It's a sad reality that he would probably have been better staying retired, although it may have been a case of he knew he was sick (Apparently he also had Lou Gehrigs as well as Hodgkins) so he needed the last run for his family. Not having the manager in his corner hurt him though and it was pretty much a flat return. Even his ref stint at Mania seemed forced and detracted a little from the match.

For Mania I he deserves a lot of credit and he was one of the WWF's better tag team "specialists", any one who can go from working with a great partner like Kowalski to making a team with Bundy work deserves some kudos... but he was never going to be a singles star in the same way... today he'd be called a "jobber to the stars" or maybe a "solid B" but the reality his his best stuff happened long before Wrestlemania I and very few will seek it out or review his career in it's full context.

 

[OutsiderDX]

Does anyone know the story behind why John Studd was picked to win the Rumble?

Was he in line for a push?

Was it actually picked at random in those days?

It never made sense why he was chosen.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

A character from my childhood that always catches my attention when I see his name in print. The size of him, the outfit, the team with Bundy...he was great in the mid-80s. Fans today piss on those days and say things like he wasn't important or relevant. You don't know what you're talking about. He was perfect for that era...an era full of Hogan beating big men matches.

One memory I have is a skit of him crushing a cue ball into powder. I went down to my pool table and tried like crazy to do the same. I couldn't believe he could do it--it was so impossible. haha! Things like that...innocent childhood memories. That is what wrestling should be to people. Not something they hold on to throughout their lives and look at like real life.

8" LJN figure, thumb wrestler, bendies...had them all of BJS. And, as was mentioned, he was on the Rock N Wrestling cartoon, which I loved. I loved loved loved wrestling back then. I enjoy DVDs and tapes of those days and occassionally watch Raw for the hell of it. But I wish people would grow up and stop diminishing eveything that isn't a 5 star match or all-time great in the ring. This is why you will never be happy...you want every piece of wrestling to be perfect. The lower- and mid-cards are what made the main events so great. You people just don't get it and it's sad.

Loved Big John Studd and the era he represented. ..because I was a kid. Adult wrestling fans, for the most part, are the saddest people around.

Not those, like me, who love the nostalgia and still watch for memories and to see where the business is going. I mean the guys in their 30s and 40s I see in the arenas on TV chanting "What?" and holding IC belts and big neon signs...what a bunch of blanks.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Does anyone know the story behind why John Studd was picked to win the Rumble?

Was he in line for a push?

Was it actually picked at random in those days?

It never made sense why he was chosen.

Perfect example. He didn't go on to win a title, so it doesn't make sense to people. Ugh, you people are so foolish. Not everything has to lead to a title win or a "push"--which is the most overused term on this forum.

He was a big guy and since Hogan and Macho were eliminated and they wanted to send the fans home happy---and the title wasn't involved back then---they gave the win to him. No big deal...get over it!

 

[justtxyank]

Little known fact: John Studd did not retire after leaving the WWF in the late 1980s. He worked in various promotions throughout the 90s. I think he may have had a stint in the UWF, but he definitely did some work in a Carolina independent promotion in 1991, even working as a color commentator.

 

[sdelfin]

Does anyone know the story behind why John Studd was picked to win the Rumble?

Was he in line for a push?

Was it actually picked at random in those days?

It never made sense why he was chosen.

Like HeenanGorilla already said, one reason Studd was picked to win that Rumble, which didn't have quite the same ramifications as it does now, was to send the fans home happy since Studd was a good guy at that point. They were clearly building to another Studd/Andre program which they began after Wrestlemania on house shows. Andre was always a big deal, so Studd won the Rumble to give him momentum going into it. Too bad it didn't work out.

I've been revisiting some old wrestling lately from 1984. Studd was a very big deal. First, he may have legitimately been the closest thing to a giant after Andre, as he was a bit bigger than Blackjack Mulligan who was also huge. Studd's career highs aren't as well remembered because a lot of his work at the top of the card came before Wrestlemania and the big TV deals. House shows were the most important thing then. He worked with Andre and Hogan, the top two babyfaces, many times on house shows. He was involved in the Andre hair cutting angle as well as the angle to set up Wrestlemania 2's main event. They kept him strong though, and he was involved in another big house-show program for much of 86 with he and Bundy against the Machines(Bill Eadie, Blackjack Mulligan, Andre and a few of their friends) which lasted a while and was also the slow build to Andre's heel turn. Studd and Bundy vs. the Machines looked to be the main event on the house show loop Hogan wasn't on.

I don't remember the year, but Studd once came to where my grandfather worked. I loved wrestling so much that it was still cool even if he was a bad guy. It's quite amusing to see in the photo how much bigger he was than everybody else.

 

[JJ15776]

When I was younger, there was a line of rubber wrestlers with a WWF wrestling ring. One of the figures I had was Big John Studd.

I loved those things! Big John Studd and Junkyard Dog were my two favorites, for some reason.

Does anyone know the story behind why John Studd was picked to win the Rumble?

Was he in line for a push?

Was it actually picked at random in those days?

It never made sense why he was chosen.

Let's remember that this was only the second Royal Rumble, and the first ever on PPV. It wasn't the huge deal it is today. Studd had just come back from his retirement, just turned face, and would go on to a decent feud with Bobby Heenan. I'm not sure how much of a push they planned for him, but it was definitely a cool moment for a popular veteran that had done so much for the business and never had a chance to win a World title. It was his last great moment in the sun. Nothing wrong with that.

A character from my childhood that always catches my attention when I see his name in print. The size of him, the outfit, the team with Bundy...he was great in the mid-80s. Fans today piss on those days and say things like he wasn't important or relevant. You don't know what you're talking about. He was perfect for that era...an era full of Hogan beating big men matches.

One memory I have is a skit of him crushing a cue ball into powder. I went down to my pool table and tried like crazy to do the same. I couldn't believe he could do it--it was so impossible. haha! Things like that...innocent childhood memories. That is what wrestling should be to people. Not something they hold on to throughout their lives and look at like real life.

8" LJN figure, thumb wrestler, bendies...had them all of BJS. And, as was mentioned, he was on the Rock N Wrestling cartoon, which I loved. I loved loved loved wrestling back then. I enjoy DVDs and tapes of those days and occassionally watch Raw for the hell of it. But I wish people would grow up and stop diminishing eveything that isn't a 5 star match or all-time great in the ring. This is why you will never be happy...you want every piece of wrestling to be perfect. The lower- and mid-cards are what made the main events so great. You people just don't get it and it's sad.

Loved Big John Studd and the era he represented. ..because I was a kid. Adult wrestling fans, for the most part, are the saddest people around.

Not those, like me, who love the nostalgia and still watch for memories and to see where the business is going. I mean the guys in their 30s and 40s I see in the arenas on TV chanting "What?" and holding IC belts and big neon signs...what a bunch of blanks.

Ah, the blissful ignorance of nostalgia. So short sighted, so out of touch with reality. It's like the bright eyed innocence of youthful ignorance, except it's sad instead of cute. And it makes you want to kill yourself before you get to that point in life instead of wishing you were still at that stage of your life.

Who are you to tell people what wrestling should be to them? Who are you to tell other people how they should feel about wrestling? The saddest people around? The saddest people around, by far, are old fogies who have no idea what the world is like today, can't handle it, and get pissed off at people for changing around them. Don't you have somebody to tell to get off your lawn?

Anyway...

Big John Studd is a Hall Of Famer, and rightfully so. His career was fading just as the WWE was exploding in popularity, which is a shame. And like somebody else said, the influx of guys similar in size to him in the years after he left also overshadows what he was. He was a pioneer in many ways, and helped pave the way for all the big guys like Undertaker and Diesel and Sid that followed in the 90s. Andre was bigger than Studd, but Andre was a freak of nature. Nobody will ever be like him. Studd showed that big guys didn't just have to get by on their size, they could wrestle too. He had so many great moments with Backlund, Andre, and Hogan. He never won, because in that time heels didn't win, but he surely would've been World champion multiple times if they had a weekly live TV show and monthly PPVs and the more frequent title changes that came along in the early to mid 90s.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Does anyone know the story behind why John Studd was picked to win the Rumble?

Was he in line for a push?

Was it actually picked at random in those days?

It never made sense why he was chosen.

A couple reasons.

The Rumble wasn't really the same thing back then as it became. It was really just a fancy battle royal. The winner got nothing special out of it (the previous winner was Hacksaw Duggan, and his Rumble win meant nothing).

There were plans for a big Andre/Studd feud and having Studd win the new style of battle royal was a good first step towards that, since Andre was the king of the battle royal. Plus, since the Rumble wasn't really more than just a battle royal at the time, traditional booking of having a giant win was in place.

They had started working the feud post WM5, doing the house show circuit either in singles (with Studd typically going over by DQ), or in tags (with Studd teaming with Duggan against Andre and Haku). Rumour has it though, that once Studd got his WM5 payoff check, he was upset with how low it was and quit the company at that point. Whether that's the truth, or whether it was more likely that it was due to his failing health (after leaving the WWF, he worked one show at a high school gym a year later and that was it), who knows?

He absolutely did pack up and leave in the middle of that run against Andre though in any event... because they had Hillbilly Jim replace him for the remainder of the scheduled matches.

Studd was a pretty important figure in the early expansion WWF though. Sure in hindsight he wasn't booked to win big matches, and he didn't hold any titles, but that wasn't his role. WWF booking at the time was to have the top babyfaces win and the more credible the heel, the better the top babyface was. When the WWF was expanding nationally and crushing the life out of the territories, Studd's feud with Andre was one of the keys to that success. Once Andre stopped being a travelling attraction and was working full time for just one company, you needed a believable opponent for him... and that guy was Studd. The $15,000 bodyslam challenge match was one of the main matches they sold the first Wrestlemania on, and the idea was that Studd was so big, that not even Andre could slam him. You could put Studd in with Hogan, and he was one of those guys at the time that you believed could beat Hogan.

Fans are smarter today, so you could never sell a Big John Studd like you could back then... but for the time, he had an awesome heel run. Few could lay claim to the fact that they got to work with both Hogan and Andre... and still come across as a bad ass despite losing to both.

 

[HBsam31]

Very interesting reading about Big John Studd. I starting watching at the tail end of his run, but I do remember the slam challenge with Andre, and Andre throwing the money everywhere. His face run was definitely disappointing, but I was a kid, and he always seemed like a real big deal to me. I love Brain's random oldschool wrestler thread because I always learn something about a star I knew as a kid, but never really got to see much of their primes.

 

[waylonmercy]

I remember Big John Studd was one of the main eventers back in Hogan's WWF title run. Him and King Kong Bundy always were facing Hogan and Andre and it made sense to have the two biggest guys physically in the WWF face off against the faces two biggest physical stars. I don't remember him losing much to anyone besides Hogan and Andre. When he had the last run, he just wasn't the same. He was much slower, heavier, and older and as a child I didn't understand why he was a babyface in the first place. It was kind of neat to see him though as a face since all my memories perviously were that of him as a top heel.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Little known fact: John Studd did not retire after leaving the WWF in the late 1980s. He worked in various promotions throughout the 90s. I think he may have had a stint in the UWF, but he definitely did some work in a Carolina independent promotion in 1991, even working as a color commentator.

If he had a stint in the UWF it was before 1987, that was the last year they were in existence before Jim Crockett Jr bought them out, by the 1990s they were long gone (as was Crockett, who sold out to Turner Broadcasting in 1988)

 

[THTRobtaylor]

A character from my childhood that always catches my attention when I see his name in print. The size of him, the outfit, the team with Bundy...he was great in the mid-80s. Fans today piss on those days and say things like he wasn't important or relevant. You don't know what you're talking about. He was perfect for that era...an era full of Hogan beating big men matches.

One memory I have is a skit of him crushing a cue ball into powder. I went down to my pool table and tried like crazy to do the same. I couldn't believe he could do it--it was so impossible. haha! Things like that...innocent childhood memories. That is what wrestling should be to people. Not something they hold on to throughout their lives and look at like real life.

8" LJN figure, thumb wrestler, bendies...had them all of BJS. And, as was mentioned, he was on the Rock N Wrestling cartoon, which I loved. I loved loved loved wrestling back then. I enjoy DVDs and tapes of those days and occassionally watch Raw for the hell of it. But I wish people would grow up and stop diminishing eveything that isn't a 5 star match or all-time great in the ring. This is why you will never be happy...you want every piece of wrestling to be perfect. The lower- and mid-cards are what made the main events so great. You people just don't get it and it's sad.

Loved Big John Studd and the era he represented. ..because I was a kid. Adult wrestling fans, for the most part, are the saddest people around.

Not those, like me, who love the nostalgia and still watch for memories and to see where the business is going. I mean the guys in their 30s and 40s I see in the arenas on TV chanting "What?" and holding IC belts and big neon signs...what a bunch of blanks.

That's a little disrespectful, after all it's the WWE who have conditioned people to expect wins at the Rumble/KOTR/MITB to lead to push, not the fans themselves. I said in 93 it was a bad idea and still do think so. Nostalgia is great but rose tint isn't...and Studd may hold personal memories but he was not a main level player, look at the guys above him in the Hulkamania era far smaller, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, JYD, Tito Santana, Bundy, Harley Race, Ted DiBiase, Duggan, Big Bossman, Honky Tonk Man, Adrian Adonis... all those guys were higher up the card and promoted as more important than Studd.

The biggest reason he won wasn't anything more than building his next feud. It was clear by then that Andre was struggling physically and was going to move into the tag division post Mania 5, not somewhere they wanted Studd. I know someone said he walked out, and he may have but the plan was to put him with Ted DiBiase rather than Andre and this whole tail end of the the Rumble was geared to that. How Dibiase had "bought" #30 to win and Studd was the one who stopped it from occuring.

Classic WWE feud building, for whatever reason they didn't pull the trigger and I think they may have got wind of Studd's health issues or Hogan politicked for Brutus to face Ted as part of a push. Like I said earlier, Studd didn't really fit in that Jake/Andre match, to the point it threw things off kilter.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Sorry, posts keep duplicating for some reason... mods can you check the 30 second filter cos not sure it's working.

 

[ohh you didnt know]

I know in the 70's he was in the NWA hanging with the likes of Ric Flair.
He had fights against Ricky Steamboat,Blackjack Mulligan,SD Jones and Mad Dog Vachon (think this one was in WWWF).
I did come across quite a few videos on YouTube if you want me to post a few?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

My thoughts on John Studd are this: Ted Dibiase should've won the Royal Rumble.

I only know Studd from the tail end of his career in WWF. And he was a plodding big guy who appeared to have the charisma and personality of of a pot plant. Maybe he used to be a good big man, just like people claim Andre was, but I doubt it.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

The biggest reason he won wasn't anything more than building his next feud. It was clear by then that Andre was struggling physically and was going to move into the tag division post Mania 5, not somewhere they wanted Studd. I know someone said he walked out, and he may have but the plan was to put him with Ted DiBiase rather than Andre and this whole tail end of the the Rumble was geared to that. How Dibiase had "bought" #30 to win and Studd was the one who stopped it from occuring.

Classic WWE feud building, for whatever reason they didn't pull the trigger and I think they may have got wind of Studd's health issues or Hogan politicked for Brutus to face Ted as part of a push. Like I said earlier, Studd didn't really fit in that Jake/Andre match, to the point it threw things off kilter.

I never heard anything before about him and Dibiase before now. Interesting.

Part of the whole problem was the health of both guys... especially Andre. After WM5, they did start their feud on the house show circuit up until June... alternating between singles matches (where Andre would usually get DQ'd), and tags adding Duggan and Haku onto each side. Since they never used a Studd/Duggan team on TV to the best of my recollection, I'd agree that's not how they really wanted the feud to come off.

It's probably best that we didn't get a big PPV match between Studd and Andre in 1989. I doubt either could have held up their end of the deal, or lived up to their previous feud 5 years earlier. It would have been a disappointment, and today would be held up as proof by guys who simply don't know any better that neither guy was anywhere near as good as those of us who actually got to see them in their primes states.

I was the guy who said that he walked out, and like I said, it's just a rumor. A believable one to me considering how he just left in the middle of that house show run and had to be replaced by Hillybilly Jim. There are many examples from ex-workers back then of Vince being cheap or inconsistent on his WM payoffs to the undercard. One that springs to mind is Bret Hart saying he only got $2k for the WM2 battle royal despite being involved in the finish, while others in it got 4 times as much for doing a lot less. I could see Studd expecting a good sized check since he was involved in one of the bigger matches, and getting short changed. At the same time though, he didn't work after that, and died a few years later... so if it wasn't health, it's hard to believe that he wouldn't have picked up some dates somewhere... especially since not too long after that was when WCW was feeding the string of monsters to Sting to get him over as champ. Someone with Studd's name value and size (and WWF background which the Turner guys loved) would have been perfect in that spot.

I could see it being either, or even a combination of both (Studd knew he couldn't keep going due to his health, but used the payoff as an excuse due to pride instead of just saying why he had to quit).

 

[MrMojoRisin]

If he had a stint in the UWF it was before 1987, that was the last year they were in existence before Jim Crockett Jr bought them out, by the 1990s they were long gone (as was Crockett, who sold out to Turner Broadcasting in 1988)

He's talking Herb Abrams UWF. Herb was trying to promote an Andre/Studd match at one point... but to the best of my knowledge it never happened... or even either guy making more than a single appearance at most for him.

Herb was rather unique to put it lightly.

 

[justtxyank]

He's talking Herb Abrams UWF. Herb was trying to promote an Andre/Studd match at one point... but to the best of my knowledge it never happened... or even either guy making more than a single appearance at most for him.

Herb was rather unique to put it lightly.

Yeah I know Andre appeared with Herb a couple of times. In fact, the story is that Vince McMahon got so upset when he found out that Andre was appearing on Herb Abrams (not mad at Andre, but upset that Andre needed to do that to get money) that he reached out Andre and signed him to another contract to keep him off of the UWF programming.

On Studd, I know he appeared there but I don't know if he did a match for them or not. He ended up in the Carolinas working for one of the Carolina indies, not sure if it was the one owned by Paul Jones or Nelson Royal, but he did some commentary for them. Definitely worked at least one more match there.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Yeah I know Andre appeared with Herb a couple of times. In fact, the story is that Vince McMahon got so upset when he found out that Andre was appearing on Herb Abrams (not mad at Andre, but upset that Andre needed to do that to get money) that he reached out Andre and signed him to another contract to keep him off of the UWF programming.

On Studd, I know he appeared there but I don't know if he did a match for them or not. He ended up in the Carolinas working for one of the Carolina indies, not sure if it was the one owned by Paul Jones or Nelson Royal, but he did some commentary for them. Definitely worked at least one more match there.

Good to know. I hadn't heard that about Andre either, but I can definitely see Vince being upset that Andre would have stooped to working for Herb.

As far as Studd after the WWF... I don't doubt at all that you say he did some work in the indies after. Going by his match listing on wrestlingdata.com, the only thing they have for him post WWF was an IWF show in Brockton Mass on April 20, 1990. That site is pretty good, but something like that would be extremely hard to keep 100% accurate.

 

[justtxyank]

Good to know. I hadn't heard that about Andre either, but I can definitely see Vince being upset that Andre would have stooped to working for Herb.

As far as Studd after the WWF... I don't doubt at all that you say he did some work in the indies after. Going by his match listing on wrestlingdata.com, the only thing they have for him post WWF was an IWF show in Brockton Mass on April 20, 1990. That site is pretty good, but something like that would be extremely hard to keep 100% accurate.

Yeah, I'm not sure Wrestlingdata (great site) even has accurate date for the two indies in Carolina then. One was South Atlantic Pro Wrestling I think and the other was maybe Atlantic Coast Wrestling? I think ACW was Nelson Royal and SAPW was run by Paul Jones. I'm pretty sure it was SAPW that he worked. I know for a fact he did one match and he did some commentary for them.

Ricky Steamboat also worked there in 1990/1991.

Little known fact, Ken Shamrock got some of his earliest exposure there working as Vince Torelli.