The problem with golden ages is that you usually don’t realize you’re living in one until it has already passed you by. I know that, at the time, I didn’t know I was growing up in a golden age of pro wrestling, when the WWF (back when it was the WWF) was really spreading its wings and taking over Saturday mornings.
I didn’t realize until I was much older that, as much as Hulk Hogan led the charge, pro wrestling was never going to fully catch on without a good villain or two. And when it came to playing the heavy, there was only one King Kong Bundy.
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Apart from Andre the Giant, few wrestlers matched up against King Kong Bundy’s 6-foot-4, 458-pound frame.
With his shaved head and ever-present sneer, he was a natural at playing the intimidating, invincible heel, and so it came as a bit of a shock when the WWE announced that Bundy, real name Chris Pallies, had passed away at age 61.
It didn’t take long for tributes to start coming in from a saddened wrestling community.
Mick Foley tweeted out his appreciation for the way the legend welcomed him into the pro wrestling community back when he was trying to make his way in the business.
One of his contemporaries, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, also weighed in.
The respect is real! And it’s a nice touch to note that Bundy’s nasty persona in the ring didn’t match his temperament outside the ring.
And of course Hulk Hogan paid tribute to his former on-screen nemesis.
As much as they battled it out back in the ’80s, with a classic bout in Wrestlemania 2, Hogan has “only great memories” of Bundy.
For some of the younger folks out there who might not have had the chance to see King Kong Bundy in action, here’s a classic.
“The Colossal Jostle” pitted two of the biggest men the WWF ever saw against one another: King Kong Bundy vs. Andre the Giant.
