The 4 Greatest Superheavyweights in Wrestling History

[IrishCanadian25]

Since I have carved out a niche as the Superheavweight Advocate here on the WZ Forums, as well as having become somewhat of an expert on the subject in that time, I felt it was time to lay out some of the groundwork insofar as who I feel are the greatest ever. And what their rank is.

Here for your reading / viewing / debating pleasure are the four greatest superheavyweights of all time.

#1 - Big Van Vader

In professional wrestling history, no SHW has accomplished what Vader has. And no man in the history of the business has so flawlessly incorporated size, power, strength, endurance, agility, speed, prowess, killer instinct, and smarts into an arsenal the way Leon White has.

Vader has won world titles in the US, Japan, Mexico, Germany, etc. He holds a winning record against Sting, including several title wins and a "White Castle of Fear" strap match from SuperBrawl 3. He defeated hardcore legend Cactus Jack in a Texas Death Match just months after the infamous powerbomb onto the concrete. He popped his own eye back into its socket in the middle of a match with Stan Hansen. He defeated 4 Japanese Legends in one night to win the IWGP World Championship. He pinned legend Antonio Inoki in less than 3 minutes, causing a Riot at the arena in Japan. He may be the most feared man in wrestling history.

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#2 - Andre the Giant

Possibly the most larger than life creature in professional wrestling history, save for MAYBE Hulk Hogan. Even still, Hogan had fits trying to defeat this man. Andre was the old-school version of what Undertaker is now - the man who held the most respect in the back - the guy who made sure you did right by the company. He's the guy you didn't want to see waiting for you backstage if you "went into business for yourself" in a match.

Andre was a WWF Champ, Tag Champ, and held numerous titles in the NWA, IWA, and Stampede. He's one of the few men to win both PWI's "Most Hated" and "Most Popular" awards. He's the first inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame. Aside from putting together an impressive performance on "The Princess Bride."

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#3 - Bam Bam Bigelow

The man with the tatooed head is actually one of the greatest SHW's who ever lived. A former 2-time NJ State High School Amateur Wrestling Champion in the Heavyweight Division for Neptune High School, Scott Bigelow went on to headline a Wrestlemania (the only man Vince trusted to work a main event with Lawrence Taylor), win the ECW World and TV Titles, WCW Tag and Hardcore Titles, an IWGP Tag Title with Vader, as well as several indy championships.

Bigelow was as technically and athleticially gifted as any man who has ever graced the ring, able to perform seemless to rope maneuvers as well as brutalizing his opponents on the mat. He also wrestled a classic Big Man vs Small Man match with Bret Hart in the finals of the 1993 King of the Ring tournament.

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#4 - Paul Wight

Though most people probably expected me to say Yokozuna here, for the sake of changing it up, I selected Paul Wight. Why? Well, he has amazing size and power, of course, but he's also just as agile as Yokozuna ever was, along with the ability to work a crowd and get people riled up. Yokozuna is a slightly more dominant athlete, but Wight is a more complete professional wrestler.

Paul is the only man ever to win the WWE, WCW, and ECW Titles. You also have to respect a man who's breakthrough role was a feud with Hulk Hogan, and he played his role very well despite the sudden entry into such a spotlight. His WWE debut was equally auspicious, as he debuted as Mr. McMahon's guy to attack Steve Austin. He's feuded with the best in the business, has main evented many Wrestlemanias (including last night) and despite his immense esize, is showing terrific longevity.

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[jmt225]

Bam Bam and Show are my two favorites from that list.

I've been a fan of Bam Bam's work since I first became a fan of the sport in the late eighties. He had a face run in the WWF at the time with Oliver Humperdink as his manager, and I was just drawn to his unique look and how he was so agile, yet so big. Then fast forward... his work in ECW was fantastic. I love his matches against RVD, Shane Douglas, and Taz... and those matches are the ultimate reason why he's my favorite 'Superheavyweight' in the history of pro wrestling. And what's so amazing, is that by the time he had all those incredible matches, his agility was gone for the most part. There were no high spots from him in them. He just learned how to work as a monster and tell tremendous stories while doing so. Then you add on to the incredible work he did with Vader in Japan that I was able to get my hands on a couple of years ago... and the guy just surpasses everyone in the 'Superheavyweight' category as far as I'm concerned.

As far as Big Show... I just think he’s a great, very entertaining worker. Not only can the guy have great matches, but he's one guy who has always been able to get a laugh out of me whenever that his job. He's so hilarious. His promos are always great. Doesn't matter if he's being funny or serious... you either laugh or just buy into the "You don't want to fuck with that guy" feel he presents when he's pissed. And his matches... man, I hated him at the time, but he headlined Slamboree 1996 against Sting, and I was there live for that one, and to this day I've never had my heart broken more in pro wrestling then when Sting lost that match. Yeah.. my love for Sting had a lot to do with it, but Show's performance that night was incredible and when you watch that match today, you can tell there was nothing more the audience wanted then for Sting to beat the motherfucker, and that's speaks highly of Giant's work as a heel. Show would have more great matches against Sting (like the one at The Great American Bash 1998), was able to carry Goldberg to some decent stuff, and so and so on. He was very good in WCW. And in WWE... he's been that much better. I LOVED his feuds against Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar on Smackdown, and his Triple Threat match against them both from The Great American Bash 2003 still remains a personal favorite of mine. He's also had great matches/feuds against The Rock, Foley, Eddie Guerrero, Cena, and many more during his time in WWE. And even today, I still find his work highly entertaining. His match against Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania 24 was my favorite match from that night. I thought it was incredible, and most of that is thanks to the fact that Big Show is such an amazing wrestler.

And as far as Andre and Vader are concerned... I like them both. Andre was good for a while way back in the day from what little I've seen, and Vader was of course very good. I especially liked his work against Sting.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Good list IC. I too am a fan of SHWs. I guess it's because I'm a heavy guy myself so it just amazes me whenever I see them do such agile moves in the ring. When reading this I fully expected to see Yokozuna, but Wight is a good choice also. For me, Yokozuna was probably my favourite SHW. I just loved watching him wrestle and he was the first SHW that I was exposed to and when I saw him fly off the ropes or do a jumping heel kick or whatever it was, I was shocked. To me, SHWs are a great thing for any promotion to have since they are used so much to build up budding stars (aka Andre for Hogan).

 

[Jersey Wannabe]

Vader was incredible.
His work with Sting in the early 90s was awesome and i think that played a big part in elevating Sting.
Vader was the Andre and Bundy to Stings Hogan.
And the match where he powerbombed Foley onto the concrete was brutal.
Its a shame that the WWE turned him into a little bitch.