Big John Studd

John William Minton (February 19, 1948 —- March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. He was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Career
Big John Studd was trained by wrestling legend Killer Kowalski. Together Studd and Kowalski, as the masked Executioners, would win the WWWF Tag Team titles in 1976.

After leaving the WWWF, Studd would become known as Chuck O'Connor, Captain USA, and The Masked Superstar II at certain points in the Mid-Atlantic. In 1978, Studd teamed with Ken Patera to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles.

Studd would also make the occasional trips to Canada to wrestle in Emile Duprée's Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling.

On May 25, 1980, Masked Superstar II was unmasked after a match with Blackjack Mulligan in Toronto. After this, Studd was brought into Florida by J.J. Dillon and feuded with Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, (the son of Blackjack Mulligan), and Sweet Brown Sugar.

Studd, who was a heel at this point, had a gimmick of bringing a stretcher to the ring as he would beat his opponents so badly that they'd be taken out on the stretcher.

Early on in 1982, Studd gained several unsuccessful title shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was held by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at the time. This was Studd's most legendary feud until the mid-1980s, when he rejoined the WWF and feuded with André the Giant. The feud would reach its high point at the first WrestleMania, when Studd and André had a $15,000 bodyslam challenge match, which André won. Because of Studd's enormous stature, he was one of the few wrestlers that could compare to the size of André in the ring, which was one of the reasons why their feud was so successful.

After the André feud died down, Studd would feud with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, unsuccessfully challenging him for the championship on numerous occasions. In the late 1980s, Studd turned face, and won the 1989 Royal Rumble, which many consider to be the crowning achievement in his WWF career.

Studd died from liver cancer and Hodgkin's disease in 1995. He is survived by his son John Minton, Jr., who accepted his plaque upon his posthumous induction to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Minton, Jr. also participated in the fourth series of MTV's reality show WWE Tough Enough.

Finishing and signature moves

 * Backbreaker
 * Reverse bearhug
 * Double arm suplex
 * Heart punch
 * Low-angle chokeslam

Managers

 * Freddie Blassie
 * Bobby Heenan

Quotes

 * "I'm the real giant!"

Championship and accomplishments

 * European Wrestling Union
 * EWU World Super Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * National Wrestling Alliance
 * National
 * NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Super Destroyer
 * NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)


 * Regional
 * NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jimmy Garvin
 * NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buddy Rose
 * NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times) with Ric Flair (1), Ken Patera (1), and Masked Superstar #1 (1)
 * NWA Tennessee Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bull Ramons


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI ranked him # 60 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.


 * '''World Championship Wrestling
 * WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)


 * World Wrestling Association
 * WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ox Baker


 * World Wrestling Entertainment | World Wrestling Federation | World Wide Wrestling Federation
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
 * WWF Royal Rumble 1989 winner
 * WWWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Killer Kowalski


 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Most Overrated Wrestler award in 1984

Filmography

 * Micki + Maude (1984) as himself
 * The Protector (1985) as "Huge Hood"
 * Double Agent (1987) as "Igor"
 * Hyper Space (1989) as "Psycho"
 * Caged in Paradiso (1990) as "Big Man"
 * Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) as "Jack Daniels"
 * Shock 'Em Dead (1991) as "Officer Meak"
 * The Marrying Man (1991) as "Dante"

Television series appearances

 * The A-Team (November 12, 1985) in episode "Body Slam" as himself
 * Hunter (January 10, 1987) in episode "Bad Company" as "Randy"
 * Beauty and the Beast (March 18, 1988) in episode "To Reign in Hell" as "Erlick"

Trivia

 * In the 1999 song N 2 Gether Now by Limp Bizkit Ft. Method Man, Studd is mentioned in the lyrics: "They call me Big John Studd"