Wrestling
King Kong Bundy passes away at 61. Wrestling world mourns the loss of a legend.
The wrestling world has just lost another legend, as Christopher “King Kong Bundy” Pallies passed away yesterday. He was 61-years-old. News broke of the 6-foot-4 wrestling legend’s passing last night after wrestling promoter and Bundy’s close friend David Herro broke the news via Facebook.
In the post, Herro thanked Bundy for believing in him, writing:
“Today we lost a Legend and a man I consider family. Rest in Peace Chris. We love you. Thank you for believing in me. #KingKongBundy“
The Atlantic City-native is best remembered for his huge WrestleMania 2 steel cage match against Hulk Hogan. A match in which Hogan won. Trained by Larry Sharpe, the big man made his wrestling debut in April of 1981, under the name “Chris Canyon” for the World Wrestling Federation.
He would take up the Bundy moniker in 1982 while wrestling for World Class Wrestling Association; taking up the name “Big Daddy Bundy”, which was a combo of Shirly Crabtree’s “Big Daddy” moniker and, of all things, Ted Bundy’s surname.
He would, later on, be repackaged as “King Kong Bundy”, after being recruited by “Playboy” Gary Hart; leading to making such a splash on the Texas wrestling scene, that he would be Fritz Von Erich’s final opponent on Fritz’s retirement show.
He lost his hair in a feud, a look he would keep for the rest of his career.
He demanded a “5-Count”…
Having made a name for himself in various territories, Bundy would add something that became his staple in his repertoire. Adopting the “5-count” during his time in Mid-South Wrestling, instead of opting for the traditional 3-count; he would use it after dominating opponents in squash matches.
It wouldn’t be until 1985 that he would appear in the WWE…
Working joint WWF/New Japan Pro Wrestling shows in ’85, he was introduced to the WWE audience on an episode of WWF Championship Wrestling. Managed by Jimmy Hart, he was pushed as a monster heel; dominating opponents along the way.
One of his biggest moments was the quick victory over S.D. “Special Delivery” Jones at WrestleMania 1 in MSG; which lasted all of nine seconds (according to WWE).
In the fall of ’85, he was traded by Hart to Bobby Heenan, joining the Heenan Family in exchange for Adrian Adonis and The Missing Link. Shortly after, he would feud with fellow big man Andre The Giant, famously “breaking” Andre’s sternum to start the feud.
“The Colossal Jostle”…
After facing off in two huge tag matches, which Bundy teamed with Big John Studd against first Tony Atlas, then Hulk Hogan; the two hosses would finally face off in Madison Square Garden on September 23rd, 1985, in a match dubbed “The Colossal Jostle”.
The match ended in disqualification, as Studd ran out and interfered, attacking Andre. During the same time, King Kong Bundy started to target Hogan, having had several matches with the Hulkster.
But, the feud would pick up steam after Bundy attacked Hogan, while Hulk was in a match with Don Muraco. Muraco helped to pummel Hogan, with Bundy hitting avalanches and splashes on him. The attack led to Hogan having “bruised ribs”.
WrestleMania 2
Bundy started to make demands for a match with Hogan, while Hogan wanted revenge. Both agreed to a World Heavyweight Championship match at Mania 2 in a steel cage match. The match was the main event of the Los Angeles portion of the event, which saw Hogan retain.
Bundy would stay in the WWE until 1988, where he would have an on-again/off-again career. He most notably wrestled during this time for ECW (then Eastern Championship Wrestling); main eventing on their inaugural “November to Remember” event in a tag match. He teamed with Terry Funk as Funk’s mystery opponent against Road Warrior Hawk and Sabu.
Returning to the WWE…
In the fall of 1994, Bundy returned to the WWE as part of Ted DiBiase‘s “Million Dollar Corporation” stable. His stay was one that lasted until October of 1995, but during that time, he had one very notable feud. Feuding with The Undertaker, he faced The Phenom at WrestleMania XI in a losing effort.
Before then, he was considered a favorite at the ’95 Royal Rumble but lasted three minutes after being eliminated by Mabel.
He would be released in October of that year, making a return to the indies. He continued to wrestle until 2007, where his last recorded match was against “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.
Bundy also dabbled in acting and stand-up comedy, with appearances on Married… with Children, Weird Science and Boy Meets World.
In July of 2016…
Bundy was named as part of the class action lawsuit that was brought up against WWE. A lawsuit which alleged that the wrestlers incurred “long term neurological injuries” that the company would fail to care for. The suit was dismissed in September of 2018.
The Wrestling World mourns…
After news broke of his passing, many in the wrestling world expressed sadness. WWE was quoted as saying:
“Although Bundy left WWE in the late ’80s, he returned in 1994 as part of The Million Dollar Corporation, once again destroying rivals with the Avalanche Splash and proving that he was one of the greatest and most eye-catching big men to lace up a set of boots.”
Hulk Hogan tweeted:
Overwhelmed by King Kong Bundy’s passing, only great memories,R.I.P. big man until we meet again. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) March 5, 2019
WWE COO Triple H tweeted:
Saddened to hear of King Kong Bundy’s passing. A WrestleMania attraction, a true big man and a fan-favorite of the @WWE Universe. My thoughts are with his family at this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/w8NGxRL9lk
— Triple H (@TripleH) March 5, 2019
Bundy’s last tweet was promoting his appearance at the upcoming WrestleCon hours before his passing.
We here at TSJ101Sports would like to extend our condolences to his friends and family.
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Photo credit to tedtee308, via Flickr
