@@Brhoward31 back in the days , USWA bill Dundee banged takers wife and taker cried. Jay cee ice Jamie Dundee mentioned it in his kayfabe commentary shoot
Giant Gonzales apparently was one of the nicest guys ever. So nice of a guy even tho he was so bad in the ring even a guy like Cornette didn't criticise him because he was so nice to him
@@radioVHS149he was from Argentina. He was in WCW for a little while as El gigante and that's where Cornette knew him and he always calls him Jorge which was his name and that he was a sweetheart of a guy even tho he couldn't speak much English at all lmao. Harvey whippleman his manager also loved him and would send money to him in argentina every month to help him out after his wrestling career because he had pretty bad health problems for a long time afterwards.
@@arostwocents Correct. If you notice Bill Alfonso is the referee in all his matches because he translated for Gonzalez. (Yes, ECW fans, _that_ Bill Alfonso.)
Giant Gonzalez was not meant to be a wrestler. He was a Argentinian basketball player. Ted Turner signed him to WCW after his bad knees and diabetes forced him to retire from that sport. He didn't speak the language and worse couldn't move. Simple as that
The crazy thing is that González was actually a real athlete; he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1988 NBA draft. You don’t get to the NBA just because you’re tall. It’s so strange that he couldn't at least be a decent wrestler.
I would imagine it was due to lack of training, and the obvious fact he was signed on because he was really tall. Andre, Big show, couple others in their more youthful days could, and would do off the rope moves and do them well. So Gonzalez could’ve done it decently.
WM9 was my first Mania, it has a special place in my fandom but yeah looking back it wasn't good, however that entrance with the vulture to me was the best at 9 years old. So many good memories of Taker's career.
bash at the beach 98 was my first and holds a special place in my heart. i saved up my allowance. i got into wcw bc my friend had the world tour game. i picked sting bc he looked cool. but my friends lil brother who was a wrestling fan, told me "hate to break it to you, but youre fake" ill never forget that . sting became my favorite wrestler bc of a game. i never even watched the sport then became the biggest fan.
@@Jahn_Pah_Jonz it ruined his Eric Draven cosplay by joining the Wolfpack. So much better when he was making Hogan piss himself every chance he got. That's all I'm going to say about that.
I DONT GIVE A F🤬K how awful that match is in retrospect as an adult but that shit was captivating to me as a 9 year old lol the size difference,seeing undertaker having to look way up at this dude was crazy ..I only noticed how goofy Gonzalez outfit was as I got older 🤣🤣
I feel Giant Gonzales was better used in WCW as El Gigante. Wasn't a great worker by no means but was very believable. I still remember one of the greatest matches I ever saw for a championship abd it wasn't on ppv was the WCW heavyweight championship match between Ricky the Dragon and Vader. It was a lumberjack match and El Gigante was a face and you couldn't help but not cheer when he'd help. Ultimately, Dragon lost to Vader after a Sid powerbomb while the refs back was turned but yeah. One of my favorite El Gigante/Giant Gomzales memories and times.
BUT here is the thing.....IF Taker had wrestled YOKO at Mania that year, would THE STREAK have even become a thing? PROBABLY NOT, as Taker being Taker would have, if asked, done the job and put Yoko over and make Yoko look like a million bucks in beating Taker CLEAN at Mania. Instead of going 3-0, TAKER could have and probably would have LOST that match going 2-1. The Streak never would have happened. So as bad as this match was, at least having Taker go over (albeit it by the stupid DQ finish) it at least kept THE STREAK intact and allowed it to grow. If Taker had faced Yoko instead of Gonzales this year, and King Kong Bundy the next year---who's to say the Streak would have even reached 3-0 let alone 21-0.
@@MikePhotoGuy666 bro all i did was quote the deadman himself, it's not my fault Mark hated working with Gonzalez lmao. don't matter what might've been, it's not like history changes when expressing opinions about past matches.
he and yoko had good chemistry in the ring. the matches were not top quality, but the story was great. yoko was thought of as fearless and menacing...then he saw the grim reaper.
@@lighthadoqdawglet him have his fun some people enjoy speculating about butterfly effects .. but yeah yoko taker should’ve absolutely happened but I also can’t help but wonder if taker turns into the taker we know if he does face yoko
I remember watching giant gonzales vs the undertaker at londons Wembley arena in 1993, it was the worst match of the night. At the end of the match, I was standing in the balcony just above the doors to where the dressing rooms and giant was looking almost eye to eye with me.what a tall guy he was. On the positive side I'm a really big undertaker fan here in the UK 🇬🇧 and I'm loving this channel.
I want to hear how Mark flipped out about the pyro going off in his face 2-3 times and proceeded to finish the Elimination Chamber taking Jericho's walls all the while with his burnt face and chest rubbing the mat.
I absolutely agree that Giant Gonzalez was a terrible wrestler. But I loved that Caesar's Palace WrestleMania match. After Gonzalez "chloroformed" Taker, necessitating him being wheeled out on a stretcher, the crowd was yelling for Hulk Hogan to come out and save the day. But what happened next was even better. The Undertaker's funeral gong rang and the crowd erupted with cheers. Then Undertaker rushed back to the ring and layed the smackdown on the Giant.
Eight year old me was in awe of this match because it was insane someone made Taker that small. I can still tap into that sentiment now though, I could watch it anytime without giving a fuck about 'work rate', or any of that shite Meltzer dogshit star ratings nonsense. That was Godzilla vs Kong. I rewatched WM9 tonnes, and even the SS93 match a tonne as well.
Exactly, the people who cry about work rate is why wrestling is niche entertainment now. Only hardcore obsessives want to watch a whole show of 25 minute matches. No wrestlers have gimmicks and there are barely storylines even. TNA i loved for years after wwf sucked from late 00 but now its just a mini aew , basically an indie not a proper show like it used to be 😢
@@arostwocentsand those same people always scoffing at Gonzalez Nash Sid and Kahli are always the first to yell at Lance Storm "boring" and to sleep through Steven Regal or Dean Malenko matches..
im enjoying this way to much. idk if he ever reads the comments but im feeling like a little kid again who stayed awake late watching smackdown on this awful tube tv hoping the undertaker would make an apperance. Can hardly put into words how happy i am that i can just tune into this podcast listening tho these stories
People who have spent so much time in the wrestling business, I think, have some of the most interesting stories in any entertainment media. It is too bad Vince McMahon probably won't be giving out his because I feel he has some whoppers of his own.
I got to see Taker vs. Gonzalez in '93 Binghamton arena NY state. House show. I had just seen the most recent royal rumble and loved Giant Gonzalez lol. But I loved undertaker more of course. The crowd by the barrier got yelled at by the announcer because none of us were supposed to be down there 😂. Other people there that night were ted DiBiase with Mr. Hughes and the Steiner brothers, who were my favorites at the time. I cant really remember who else was there, but it was a great show.
I was a kid at the time, and I loved it. I didn't care about the matches. I loved the characters, the entrances, the costumes, the vignettes ....back then I didn't notice how bad someone was. But thats what WWF was selling at the time was over the top cartoonish stuff, fun for kids...and it was. So I don't care what these guys say about that time in the business, it worked most of the time for the audience they were selling this stuff to. and I'm thankful for it. I had a blast
in def of Khali, 1 should have seen him in Japan, the things he was able to do, I mean he was a COP bacck in the day before pro wrestling, his leg injuries made him immobilized while the time he debuted in WWE against The Undertaker none the less
i dont think Gonzales's reputation would be nearly as low as it is, if they didnt put him in that cheap-looking Spirit Halloween bodysuit...i mean, neither Andre nor BigShow had a "visible 8-pack" either, but they got to strut their Natural hugeness with maybe a strap (or two) over the shoulder...theres a difference between the "Giant characters" vs 'cosplaying as a Skyrim Giant'...
As bad as Khali was, at least he looked the part of the monster but Giant Gonzalez was downright horrible and that furry bodysuit was hideous. He was without a doubt the worst opponent Undertaker ever faced and to have a Wrestlemania match against him after facing Jimmy Snuka and Jake Roberts who were both true legends in their own right was insulting to The Undertaker. He deserved a better opponent, someone like Razor Ramon. No fault of Undertaker but those matches against Gonzalez were terrible. Those early years were truly dark days (no pun intended)
That fur suit was by far the most astonishingly terrible getup of any wrestler ever. It had fucking PUBES on it. I can imagine the airbrush artist on the suit saying "are you fucking joking?"
Just went back to watch their match at mania. And holy shit Taker is right. Gonzalez kept hitting him hard across the back of the neck! Never hit the right spot. You wouldn’t notice unless you hear this clip first. Then it becomes very obvious. Poor Taker. I’d be pissed too if someone you are supposed to trust keeps fucking you up.
I was 7-8 when this match happened. Gonzalez was terrifying to me. I remember him being so powerful that he didn’t even have to punch right to hurt taker😂lol. Little did I know he just couldn’t punch
Being "limited to what you can do" is way fucking different than being actively unsafe. You can be 7 feet tall and manage to NOT hit someone in the back of the neck.
Makes me wonder if Gonzalez had vision problems. Kept thinking he hit the shoulder blades because he just couldn't see worth a damn. I mean, dudes that size tend to end up with a lot of health problems when they aren't in a physically demanding profession. Being a wrestler probably tore decades off the guy's life.
I started watching WWE in 2003/2004. For what it's worth, whenever I'd watch old school promo packages of Giant Gonzales vs. Undertaker, I'd get the chills and be super intrigued as a kid. That visual of the giant in a muscle costume versus the dead man was just something else man.
Jorge Gonzalez was an abysmal performer. Couldn't wrestle convincingly, no promo abilities, terrible facial expressions with body language to match. But I don't put all the blame on him. He was a fish out of water, for sure. But he was trained by both WCW and WWF, and both companies were satisfied enough with his progress to put him in the ring. Ultimately, the blame rests on the companies and their decision makers for signing him to a contract and putting him in front of a camera.
Understandable reaction. Some people just can't be explained things. That said, GG by all accounts was a nice guy but clumsy and had a bad knee(s). He just wasn't a wrestler, he was a novelty.
Taker, got a question. Something I've always really wanted the answer to. It was Smackdown 2000. The big promo before the six man Hell In A Cell Match at Armageddon. Mick Foley was cutting the promo and i believe HHH was up on the ramp as well. You were in the ring with a few of the other wrestlers as well, and this included Stone Cold Steve Austin. You were standing there with your hands on your hips and you and Austin were both looking at eachother. The hard camera just caught Austin having to turn away smirking, barely able to contain his laughter after you said something to him 😂 i gotta know, can you remember what you said to him to get him to laugh?
Does Austin still do his podcast? Maybe send it in to him. But I wouldn't suspect he would remember it, even by the rare chance that he addressed the question.
While Giant Gonzalez was never going to have the match of the year he could have been booked better and situations like this could have been avoided. When he left Wrestling he was an actor for a brief stint. He was in one of the Hercules tv movies before Hercules became a tv show called Hercules and The Underworld. His look in that is what he should have looked like in WWF. It actually made him look threatening. But he wasn't a monster who was more animal than man. He was portrayed as a cruel bully who thought no one, not even Hercules, could take him, and to his credit he does beat the crap out of Hercules to the point where you think he might actually lose to him making it more than bravado but something he can back up. But he does so by boxing, by hip tossing, by kicking, basically making him appear as a strategic fighter with good defense even if his offense wasn't the best. That's how they should have used him. Not have him attack, but wait for his opponent to attack, and he uses his reach as defense against them to lure them into a trap. Think Kareem Abdul Jabbar in Game Of Death when he's sitting in the rocking chair not moving much but making any movement he does do count. And also by catching Hercules fists when he would try to punch him trying to break both his hands and arms by using his strength and leverage due to his greater height and weight pushing down with his whole body with his literal giant hands holding them in a vice like grip. If he had tried to do something like that as a submission hold, or something to make the ref stop the match for safety reasons, that could have gotten over big time. But instead they booked him as an unthinking animal who clobbered people which is how you end up with stories like this. A waste and an example of bad booking. Playing to a wrestlers weaknesses instead of strengths.
I honestly liked Giant Gonzalez i am a fan of his however I don’t think he’s the best wrestler of all time but he was a solid Giant I mean he was pretty intimidating
I know this is an older video, but I wanted to say this. Seeing the highlights of this match is what made me a life long Undertaker and wrestling fan. My first exposure to wrestling was the still image of The Undertaker with the vulture and I was hooked ever since.
I rewached the old Manias this year before WM40 & one thing that stood out to me with that match is that the top of the giant's head was basically level with the top rope ... when standing outside the ring. Whippleman & Paul Bearer, as proxies for normal men, stood with the bottom rope at about mouth/chin height.
I read a story where Taker was watching Yoko from Gorilla and loved what he saw. Vince was passing and he said to Vince, "You gotta let me work with this guy!" Vince responded something like, "In time. For right now I have got THE guy for you!" And the guy he was talking about was Gonzalez. Taker said his heart sank because he had worked with him a bit in WCW if I remember correctly.
You know you’re getting old when you don’t remember what year WrestleMania 9 is. In his defense wrestling or any job ages you for better or worse. I’m just glad we’re getting these stories from him. Crazy how Undertaker’s been booked to lose to guys like Triple H and Brock Lesnar yet his feud with Giant Gonzalez and his match with Goldberg were the only times he was visibly irritated (on the latter especially).
Funnily enough, from a fan's perspective, I didn't think the Mania IX match or the Summerslam match were that bad. They weren't mat classics by any means, but there were enough theatrics to get around the limitations of Gonzalez. By the end of their Mania match, I popped when Taker stormed back down to the ring and clotheslined him to knock the giant down, and at Summerslam, I went nuts when Paul Bearer came back and took the Urn. So as far as the television audience goes, I felt like they managed to get out of it mostly okay. For the performer though, I feel for Undertaker. That must have been a rough 8 months.
5:01 I am very grateful to be able to see the Undertaker live at a house show and too bad Kevin Nash didn't show up I truly think that dude's a scumbag but instead of The Undertaker fighting Kevin Nash in a cage match which was the fight that happened on Raw this is when I found out that house shows are basically practiced for what's going to happen on Raw. Because everything that I saw at the show was on TV so it was like wait a second I saw this last week. But Kevin Nash no show obviously so actually the show that I went and saw was kind of special because he wasn't fighting Kevin Nash he fought Farooq instead which was a really cool fight I never got to meet the Undertaker but standing next to him I ran down the show was at a college in New Hampshire and it wasn't like a packed show somebody did horrible promotion for this because I found out the day of the show because my friend was going and I was like the Undertaker is going to be there and he was the reason why I got in the wrestling that's why I liked it I was a horror fan and here is the character that is almost horror like. So anyways when the Undertaker came out we were able to run down next to the gate or whatever you call it that keeps the fan separated from the wrestlers and just standing next to him and also not being fully grown yet I was really short looking up at him it was like oh my God this dude is huge it was pretty cool definitely something that I'll never forget. So yeah screw Kevin Nash
Taker requested to work with Yoko to Vince, but Vince said he had already chosen Taker's next opponent and introduced him to Gonzalez. Taker thought Yoko was great for a man his size, which he was, and was quite anxious to wrestle him. Vince just out ahead of him, and as Taker said, he had no stroke at that point.
Poor gonzalez probably tbought he was hitting right spot. RIP, he sucked as a wrestler, and if i recall, think he was also already sick at that point, died couple years later
If it makes Mr. Calaway feel any better, i was a kid when i saw wrestlemania 9 , his match against giant gonzalez to me were amazing as a kid, it was really like the undertaker was struggling for the first time, it worked, but this is a fucking halarious story
2:34 I feel like they could have done a lot better for him I'm not sure how good he was at wrestling but I feel like they could have did a better storyline or something but with someone that size I mean they could have made him a champion if they wanted. That's the thing about wrestling it's the story they can build anyone up to be amazing or they can make anybody one of the worst I mean obviously you need to have some wrestling skill obviously but you could build up anybody
Retirement is suiting Taker, looks so healthy and relaxed.
I would say he looks more comfortable doing this podcast
Bill Dundee stole takers wife and he cried
@@Losersz What happeneed?!
@@Brhoward31 back in the days , USWA bill Dundee banged takers wife and taker cried. Jay cee ice Jamie Dundee mentioned it in his kayfabe commentary shoot
@@Brhoward31bill Dundee took his wife in uswa and taker cried
“That big black vulture was there to pick the bones of that sorry match” 😭💀🤣
I was there. Perfectly said
Saw it on PPV and yeah it was a really bad match
“Giant Gonzalez made Khali look like Lou Thesz.”
☠️☠️TOMBSTONED☠️☠️
😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂
💀 💀
What a line 😂
To be fair, Khali was a somewhat decent wrestler in his earlier years.
Bro dug him up, tombstoned him than buried him again! 😂
Taker to Bruce for 30 years…
“You booked me with the Giant Gonzalez…”
Taker told Vince he wanted to work with Yoko but Vince said no I want you to work with this guy pointing to Gonzalez lol.
😮😮
It was difficult
Giant Gonzales apparently was one of the nicest guys ever. So nice of a guy even tho he was so bad in the ring even a guy like Cornette didn't criticise him because he was so nice to him
Shame he couldnt speak a lick of english. Rip in peace big man 😢
@@arostwocentswhat was Gonzalez nationality?..
Was he Mexican?..
@@radioVHS149He was born in Argentina
@@radioVHS149he was from Argentina. He was in WCW for a little while as El gigante and that's where Cornette knew him and he always calls him Jorge which was his name and that he was a sweetheart of a guy even tho he couldn't speak much English at all lmao. Harvey whippleman his manager also loved him and would send money to him in argentina every month to help him out after his wrestling career because he had pretty bad health problems for a long time afterwards.
@@arostwocents Correct. If you notice Bill Alfonso is the referee in all his matches because he translated for Gonzalez. (Yes, ECW fans, _that_ Bill Alfonso.)
Taker never gonna let go of the trauma of having to work with Giant Gozalez😂😂😂
Like Bret Hart and Bill Goldberg 🤣
"I should've been me & Yoko 😭😭" rip
Can you imagine if it had been Bret Hart instead? He'd still be doing entire podcasts complaining about it.
Neither would you. 💯
@@j-manhoosier7373Everyone hates working Goldbergs SORRY ass.
Always remember Paul Bearer mentioning this in a Shoot. Taker absolutely hated working with Gonzales.
Who wouldn't? The guy was almost 8' tall
@@michaelkrolewski7406.Not to mention that Giant Gonzalez was the drizzling shits in the ring
I remember Gonzalez. Legendary
I used to think of Giant Gonzales as "The Inside Out Man" bc that muscle suit looked like he didnt have any skin to my 5 year old brain
Who the hell thought that was a great idea?! Oh yeah, Vinny Mac. 😂
Hahahaha same, it weirded me out so much.
I dunno what my 9 year old brain was thinking befor mom turned the tv off saying "the hell you watching boy Cinemax?!"
I did, too. Remember watching it live because my friends father brought us to a bar, and we had to sit in the back.
That suit was so stupid 😂😂he wasn’t even built like that he was just tall
Giant Gonzalez was not meant to be a wrestler. He was a Argentinian basketball player. Ted Turner signed him to WCW after his bad knees and diabetes forced him to retire from that sport. He didn't speak the language and worse couldn't move. Simple as that
I’m shocked taker really spoke this way about him too
Yes, everyone knows. Thanks for repeat stuff we've all heard million times.
@@sobbyhasselhoffyou don't know IF "EVERYONE" has heard this story. Don't assume shit
Face me in the octagon. I'll slap you up easy days, son. @@sobbyhasselhoff
FAX
The crazy thing is that González was actually a real athlete; he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1988 NBA draft. You don’t get to the NBA just because you’re tall. It’s so strange that he couldn't at least be a decent wrestler.
I would imagine it was due to lack of training, and the obvious fact he was signed on because he was really tall.
Andre, Big show, couple others in their more youthful days could, and would do off the rope moves and do them well. So Gonzalez could’ve done it decently.
WM9 was my first Mania, it has a special place in my fandom but yeah looking back it wasn't good, however that entrance with the vulture to me was the best at 9 years old. So many good memories of Taker's career.
bash at the beach 98 was my first and holds a special place in my heart. i saved up my allowance. i got into wcw bc my friend had the world tour game. i picked sting bc he looked cool. but my friends lil brother who was a wrestling fan, told me "hate to break it to you, but youre fake" ill never forget that . sting became my favorite wrestler bc of a game. i never even watched the sport then became the biggest fan.
@@H.H.Hoosierso you picked the nwo Sting?
It was my first Mania as well. I'm shocked it wasn't my last...
@@Jahn_Pah_Jonz it ruined his Eric Draven cosplay by joining the Wolfpack. So much better when he was making Hogan piss himself every chance he got. That's all I'm going to say about that.
My first mania memory also I was 7 at the time. The entrance on the cart and Bret vs yoko with hogan. I believe Tatanka had a match at that mania too
Gonzalez sold like he was being knocked around by a strong wind.
I DONT GIVE A F🤬K how awful that match is in retrospect as an adult but that shit was captivating to me as a 9 year old lol the size difference,seeing undertaker having to look way up at this dude was crazy ..I only noticed how goofy Gonzalez outfit was as I got older 🤣🤣
Love the hear the stories from the wrestlers point of view. Taker was my favorite growing up and will always be my favorite.
LMFAO: when ya know Mark is a nice guy. "He's like 7 foot 8, 400 pounds and here I am feeling bad for kicking his overgrown ass."
I feel Giant Gonzales was better used in WCW as El Gigante. Wasn't a great worker by no means but was very believable. I still remember one of the greatest matches I ever saw for a championship abd it wasn't on ppv was the WCW heavyweight championship match between Ricky the Dragon and Vader. It was a lumberjack match and El Gigante was a face and you couldn't help but not cheer when he'd help. Ultimately, Dragon lost to Vader after a Sid powerbomb while the refs back was turned but yeah. One of my favorite El Gigante/Giant Gomzales memories and times.
"I should have been in the ring with Yoko"
that's all you need to know about Taker v. Gonzalez
BUT here is the thing.....IF Taker had wrestled YOKO at Mania that year, would THE STREAK have even become a thing? PROBABLY NOT, as Taker being Taker would have, if asked, done the job and put Yoko over and make Yoko look like a million bucks in beating Taker CLEAN at Mania.
Instead of going 3-0, TAKER could have and probably would have LOST that match going 2-1. The Streak never would have happened. So as bad as this match was, at least having Taker go over (albeit it by the stupid DQ finish) it at least kept THE STREAK intact and allowed it to grow.
If Taker had faced Yoko instead of Gonzales this year, and King Kong Bundy the next year---who's to say the Streak would have even reached 3-0 let alone 21-0.
@@MikePhotoGuy666 bro all i did was quote the deadman himself, it's not my fault Mark hated working with Gonzalez lmao. don't matter what might've been, it's not like history changes when expressing opinions about past matches.
he and yoko had good chemistry in the ring. the matches were not top quality, but the story was great. yoko was thought of as fearless and menacing...then he saw the grim reaper.
Compared to Gonzalez, yoko was as nimble as Rey mysterio.
@@lighthadoqdawglet him have his fun some people enjoy speculating about butterfly effects .. but yeah yoko taker should’ve absolutely happened but I also can’t help but wonder if taker turns into the taker we know if he does face yoko
I remember watching giant gonzales vs the undertaker at londons Wembley arena in 1993, it was the worst match of the night. At the end of the match, I was standing in the balcony just above the doors to where the dressing rooms and giant was looking almost eye to eye with me.what a tall guy he was. On the positive side I'm a really big undertaker fan here in the UK 🇬🇧 and I'm loving this channel.
I want to hear how Mark flipped out about the pyro going off in his face 2-3 times and proceeded to finish the Elimination Chamber taking Jericho's walls all the while with his burnt face and chest rubbing the mat.
I absolutely agree that Giant Gonzalez was a terrible wrestler. But I loved that Caesar's Palace WrestleMania match. After Gonzalez "chloroformed" Taker, necessitating him being wheeled out on a stretcher, the crowd was yelling for Hulk Hogan to come out and save the day. But what happened next was even better. The Undertaker's funeral gong rang and the crowd erupted with cheers. Then Undertaker rushed back to the ring and layed the smackdown on the Giant.
I loved that scene too because it was one of the few times where 'Taker refused to listen to Paul Bearer.
“Giant Gonzales made Khali look like Lou Thesz” is the greatest quote in wrestling I’ve heard in a minute 😂
Well, it's true. LOL. Khali was terrible but Gonzales was even more so
@@scottbreon9448 Khali was decent before WWE but then in 2005 his surgery wasnt fixed properly
When you came out with the vulture was the coldest entrance ever 👌🏾 Salute
Yoko vs Undertaker at WM? Yeah, that is a dream match I never thought of before.
Can't be a dream match if we had taker vs yoko plenty of times
Rumble 94 and Survivor Series 94.
They had several matches
I always fought as Yoko vs the Undertaker in my WrestleMania game. It was 95 I think. I remember picking Doink and Bam Bam a lot too
You are a one of a kind talent, thank you for telling these stories!!
Undertaker is a real legend of wrestling. Who doesn’t love that character specially in the early 90’s undertaker.
Eight year old me was in awe of this match because it was insane someone made Taker that small. I can still tap into that sentiment now though, I could watch it anytime without giving a fuck about 'work rate', or any of that shite Meltzer dogshit star ratings nonsense. That was Godzilla vs Kong. I rewatched WM9 tonnes, and even the SS93 match a tonne as well.
So have I. Used to be my favorite WM. Luna scared the shit outta me too as a kid
Exactly, the people who cry about work rate is why wrestling is niche entertainment now. Only hardcore obsessives want to watch a whole show of 25 minute matches. No wrestlers have gimmicks and there are barely storylines even. TNA i loved for years after wwf sucked from late 00 but now its just a mini aew , basically an indie not a proper show like it used to be 😢
@@arostwocentsand those same people always scoffing at Gonzalez Nash Sid and Kahli are always the first to yell at Lance Storm "boring" and to sleep through Steven Regal or Dean Malenko matches..
I wish gimmicks came back in a modernized form. Instead of just ordinary guys.
Exactly. Gonzalez was a visual spectacle. And Vince McMahon would cream himself screaming "8-feet! 8-feet!" on commentary. That made it worth it.
Giant Gonzalez in a faux naked suit was something that nobody asked for, and something nobody wanted
Pretty sure you also are something nobody asked for and something nobody wanted, based on yo profile picture 😂🤮
Only Vince wanted to see that.
The suit had fucking PUBES lol. It was so incredibly stupid
2nd WORST gimmick (next to Shockmaster)
@@stephen9302 nah. Shockmaster was bad. But he wasn't "PUBES, 5 feet off the ground at eye level" bad.
I went back and watched the match, and yeah, Giant Gonzo is definitely smashing his neck.
I'd like to imagine he's trying to hit him in the shoulder blades, but his arms are too long and he keeps overshooting
im enjoying this way to much.
idk if he ever reads the comments but im feeling like a little kid again who stayed awake late watching smackdown on this awful tube tv hoping the undertaker would make an apperance.
Can hardly put into words how happy i am that i can just tune into this podcast listening tho these stories
**too
I love hearing Takers thick southern accent. It’s like sitting at a camp 🔥 in a 🏜 hearing your southern war vet uncle telling stories!
People who have spent so much time in the wrestling business, I think, have some of the most interesting stories in any entertainment media. It is too bad Vince McMahon probably won't be giving out his because I feel he has some whoppers of his own.
thats not a thick southern accent, are you kidding me?
@@jiujitsumonkey1compared to "The Undertaker", with his dark edgy 'king of the dead' voice, "Mark Calaway" has a bit of drawl in his natural voice...
Thick accent WTF?😂😂😂
@@nygreek743 Yes. He has a thick southern accent. Just like Taz has a thick Brooklyn NY accent. There’s nothing wrong with that.
I saw The Undertaker at Fremantle Prison. This story here was better than anything I heard that night. He talked 3 stories on Midian before Q & A
I got to see Taker vs. Gonzalez in '93 Binghamton arena NY state. House show. I had just seen the most recent royal rumble and loved Giant Gonzalez lol. But I loved undertaker more of course.
The crowd by the barrier got yelled at by the announcer because none of us were supposed to be down there 😂.
Other people there that night were ted DiBiase with Mr. Hughes and the Steiner brothers, who were my favorites at the time. I cant really remember who else was there, but it was a great show.
George the Animal Steele calling Undertaker "kiddo" is the best detail in this story.
Can listen to Taker all day long
the two hours at deadman show went so quick for me lol
🤓
Train by day Taker podcast by night! 😅
That match scared the shit out of me
I was a kid at the time, and I loved it. I didn't care about the matches. I loved the characters, the entrances, the costumes, the vignettes ....back then I didn't notice how bad someone was. But thats what WWF was selling at the time was over the top cartoonish stuff, fun for kids...and it was. So I don't care what these guys say about that time in the business, it worked most of the time for the audience they were selling this stuff to. and I'm thankful for it. I had a blast
Trying to making chicken salad out of chicken shit . Best line ever 😆 🤣 😂. Howling .
in def of Khali, 1 should have seen him in Japan, the things he was able to do, I mean he was a COP bacck in the day before pro wrestling, his leg injuries made him immobilized while the time he debuted in WWE against The Undertaker none the less
Taker’s one liners are so damn good 👏
i dont think Gonzales's reputation would be nearly as low as it is, if they didnt put him in that cheap-looking Spirit Halloween bodysuit...i mean, neither Andre nor BigShow had a "visible 8-pack" either, but they got to strut their Natural hugeness with maybe a strap (or two) over the shoulder...theres a difference between the "Giant characters" vs 'cosplaying as a Skyrim Giant'...
As bad as Khali was, at least he looked the part of the monster but Giant Gonzalez was downright horrible and that furry bodysuit was hideous. He was without a doubt the worst opponent Undertaker ever faced and to have a Wrestlemania match against him after facing Jimmy Snuka and Jake Roberts who were both true legends in their own right was insulting to The Undertaker. He deserved a better opponent, someone like Razor Ramon. No fault of Undertaker but those matches against Gonzalez were terrible. Those early years were truly dark days (no pun intended)
A Razor vs Taker match at Mania WOULD'VE BEEN 🔥🔥🔥
@thedudenamedz yeah but they already had 2 matches in early 90s. Great match but undertaker won
And he had a somewhat decent match with Khali, too. At least imo, Taker vs Khali last man standing match
I agree, Khali Vs Undertaker was actually a pretty good last man standing match, just wished that it happened at Summerslam instead of Smackdown
That fur suit was by far the most astonishingly terrible getup of any wrestler ever. It had fucking PUBES on it. I can imagine the airbrush artist on the suit saying "are you fucking joking?"
Just went back to watch their match at mania. And holy shit Taker is right. Gonzalez kept hitting him hard across the back of the neck! Never hit the right spot. You wouldn’t notice unless you hear this clip first. Then it becomes very obvious. Poor Taker. I’d be pissed too if someone you are supposed to trust keeps fucking you up.
I was 7-8 when this match happened. Gonzalez was terrifying to me. I remember him being so powerful that he didn’t even have to punch right to hurt taker😂lol. Little did I know he just couldn’t punch
It got the job done especially to us kids back in the day .. we all loved it
I love Takers interviews but still find it funny hearing him talk in his normal voice lol
Being "limited to what you can do" is way fucking different than being actively unsafe. You can be 7 feet tall and manage to NOT hit someone in the back of the neck.
Different times, didn't break takers neck did he?
but he could have if Taker's neck wasn't strong he would have break it @@nomercy4life
Makes me wonder if Gonzalez had vision problems. Kept thinking he hit the shoulder blades because he just couldn't see worth a damn.
I mean, dudes that size tend to end up with a lot of health problems when they aren't in a physically demanding profession. Being a wrestler probably tore decades off the guy's life.
@@TimedRevolver i think taker is just to nice to say that Gonzales was not that bright
@@Zozo806 I was thinking he might have been possibly alluding to a language barrier?
Well this is auspiciously timed. I've started rewatching old wrestling episodes and am at the lead up to wrestlemania 9
I started watching WWE in 2003/2004. For what it's worth, whenever I'd watch old school promo packages of Giant Gonzales vs. Undertaker, I'd get the chills and be super intrigued as a kid. That visual of the giant in a muscle costume versus the dead man was just something else man.
Jorge Gonzalez was an abysmal performer. Couldn't wrestle convincingly, no promo abilities, terrible facial expressions with body language to match.
But I don't put all the blame on him. He was a fish out of water, for sure. But he was trained by both WCW and WWF, and both companies were satisfied enough with his progress to put him in the ring. Ultimately, the blame rests on the companies and their decision makers for signing him to a contract and putting him in front of a camera.
He should have been a bodyguard
The old, "Oh he's big, we gotta use him!"
Understandable reaction. Some people just can't be explained things. That said, GG by all accounts was a nice guy but clumsy and had a bad knee(s). He just wasn't a wrestler, he was a novelty.
Still cant believe i used to be scared of Giant Gonzalez when i was little......
Why can't you believe it? He was pretty scary for a kid. Anyone that makes the Undertaker look small is scary.
I like how Taker stayed quiet about this stuff throughout the years, but at some point the stories have to be told
Taker, got a question. Something I've always really wanted the answer to.
It was Smackdown 2000. The big promo before the six man Hell In A Cell Match at Armageddon. Mick Foley was cutting the promo and i believe HHH was up on the ramp as well. You were in the ring with a few of the other wrestlers as well, and this included Stone Cold Steve Austin. You were standing there with your hands on your hips and you and Austin were both looking at eachother. The hard camera just caught Austin having to turn away smirking, barely able to contain his laughter after you said something to him 😂 i gotta know, can you remember what you said to him to get him to laugh?
Foley Said just before that...Kurt Angle Screwing The Undertaker, something like that.
@@jakobbraumann256yeah it was Kurt angle screwing the undertaker Kurt angle screwing the rock etc etc etc
Does Austin still do his podcast? Maybe send it in to him.
But I wouldn't suspect he would remember it, even by the rare chance that he addressed the question.
Mark Callaway is a legend aka The Undertaker from 1990 to 2020 ,Enjoy retirement Mark 👍🏻His Match against Giant Gonzales was legendary.
For me this was the debut match of mark"undertaker" since then he became one of my fave.
That fact the undertaker felt bad for snapping at him was so wholesome
One Man Gang has also said he hated working with Giant Gonzales/El Gigante and described wrestling him as “pulling teeth”
03:00 that TUF chicken salad line reference from Brock 😂
I have heard that from Mick a lot too
Brock didn't come up with it. It's a common phrase among country folk.
While Giant Gonzalez was never going to have the match of the year he could have been booked better and situations like this could have been avoided. When he left Wrestling he was an actor for a brief stint. He was in one of the Hercules tv movies before Hercules became a tv show called Hercules and The Underworld.
His look in that is what he should have looked like in WWF. It actually made him look threatening. But he wasn't a monster who was more animal than man. He was portrayed as a cruel bully who thought no one, not even Hercules, could take him, and to his credit he does beat the crap out of Hercules to the point where you think he might actually lose to him making it more than bravado but something he can back up.
But he does so by boxing, by hip tossing, by kicking, basically making him appear as a strategic fighter with good defense even if his offense wasn't the best. That's how they should have used him. Not have him attack, but wait for his opponent to attack, and he uses his reach as defense against them to lure them into a trap. Think Kareem Abdul Jabbar in Game Of Death when he's sitting in the rocking chair not moving much but making any movement he does do count. And also by catching Hercules fists when he would try to punch him trying to break both his hands and arms by using his strength and leverage due to his greater height and weight pushing down with his whole body with his literal giant hands holding them in a vice like grip.
If he had tried to do something like that as a submission hold, or something to make the ref stop the match for safety reasons, that could have gotten over big time. But instead they booked him as an unthinking animal who clobbered people which is how you end up with stories like this. A waste and an example of bad booking. Playing to a wrestlers weaknesses instead of strengths.
I honestly liked Giant Gonzalez i am a fan of his however I don’t think he’s the best wrestler of all time but he was a solid Giant I mean he was pretty intimidating
They set him up to fail unfortunately
That character had potential but his height ended up hurting how much he could do in the ring.
I think the phrase Taker is searching for when talking about this match is "the drizzling shits"
Mark was trying so hard not to disrespect a dead man. He’s a good dude.
I know this is an older video, but I wanted to say this. Seeing the highlights of this match is what made me a life long Undertaker and wrestling fan.
My first exposure to wrestling was the still image of The Undertaker with the vulture and I was hooked ever since.
6:30 "He'd _shake his head_ like he understood me."
Um, Mark, I don't think that's how _understanding_ works 😂
The last years of Giant Gonzalez' life were tragic.
I rewached the old Manias this year before WM40 & one thing that stood out to me with that match is that the top of the giant's head was basically level with the top rope ... when standing outside the ring.
Whippleman & Paul Bearer, as proxies for normal men, stood with the bottom rope at about mouth/chin height.
That match was so exciting for me as a kid! I couldn’t wait to see those 2 giants face off
Taker keeps it real upfront straight to the point man can't get no realer than that king mable was hard to work with as well
I read a story where Taker was watching Yoko from Gorilla and loved what he saw. Vince was passing and he said to Vince, "You gotta let me work with this guy!" Vince responded something like, "In time. For right now I have got THE guy for you!" And the guy he was talking about was Gonzalez. Taker said his heart sank because he had worked with him a bit in WCW if I remember correctly.
Taker did work with him (Gonzales) in WCW
I think Undertaker is avoiding calling Gonzalez an idiot
You know you’re getting old when you don’t remember what year WrestleMania 9 is. In his defense wrestling or any job ages you for better or worse. I’m just glad we’re getting these stories from him. Crazy how Undertaker’s been booked to lose to guys like Triple H and Brock Lesnar yet his feud with Giant Gonzalez and his match with Goldberg were the only times he was visibly irritated (on the latter especially).
I have fell back in love with wrestling
"Giant Gonzalez made Great Kali look like Lou Thesz"...........ouch.
I think the whole notion was also that it was someone bigger and taller than the undertaker at the time which was the gimmick.
You should do a watch along for all your wrestlemania matches! Would really love to hear your commentary
Undertaker is such a cool dude man 😭
But you have to admit, the flying clothesline that Taker finished Gonzales with at Summerslam 93 looked SWEET!
Taker is such a great storyteller, love to hear him talk
dig the production guys, looks better all the time
Man I laugh now but as a kid I was totally enthralled with that storyline.
Imagine how hard those blows had to be to make Taker feel it in his fingertips. A guy that big could cripple you easily.
Giant Gonzalez HOF inductee 2025!
Funnily enough, from a fan's perspective, I didn't think the Mania IX match or the Summerslam match were that bad.
They weren't mat classics by any means, but there were enough theatrics to get around the limitations of Gonzalez. By the end of their Mania match, I popped when Taker stormed back down to the ring and clotheslined him to knock the giant down, and at Summerslam, I went nuts when Paul Bearer came back and took the Urn.
So as far as the television audience goes, I felt like they managed to get out of it mostly okay. For the performer though, I feel for Undertaker. That must have been a rough 8 months.
You mention Giant Gonzales to Taker and he instantly gets the PTSD look in his eyes.
The sad part is Gonzalez was such a nice guy. Cornette, JR, even Harvey Wippleman loved the guy. Guy just couldn’t wrestle if his life depended on it
Undertaker is awesome 😎!!! Favorite wrestler of all time.!
5:01 I am very grateful to be able to see the Undertaker live at a house show and too bad Kevin Nash didn't show up I truly think that dude's a scumbag but instead of The Undertaker fighting Kevin Nash in a cage match which was the fight that happened on Raw this is when I found out that house shows are basically practiced for what's going to happen on Raw. Because everything that I saw at the show was on TV so it was like wait a second I saw this last week. But Kevin Nash no show obviously so actually the show that I went and saw was kind of special because he wasn't fighting Kevin Nash he fought Farooq instead which was a really cool fight I never got to meet the Undertaker but standing next to him I ran down the show was at a college in New Hampshire and it wasn't like a packed show somebody did horrible promotion for this because I found out the day of the show because my friend was going and I was like the Undertaker is going to be there and he was the reason why I got in the wrestling that's why I liked it I was a horror fan and here is the character that is almost horror like. So anyways when the Undertaker came out we were able to run down next to the gate or whatever you call it that keeps the fan separated from the wrestlers and just standing next to him and also not being fully grown yet I was really short looking up at him it was like oh my God this dude is huge it was pretty cool definitely something that I'll never forget. So yeah screw Kevin Nash
He look exactly the same as when he was American bad ass..over 20years ago
Guess it was good thing every month ppv weren't a thing yet. Imagine working a 12 week program with Giant Gonzalez
Taker requested to work with Yoko to Vince, but Vince said he had already chosen Taker's next opponent and introduced him to Gonzalez. Taker thought Yoko was great for a man his size, which he was, and was quite anxious to wrestle him. Vince just out ahead of him, and as Taker said, he had no stroke at that point.
Poor gonzalez probably tbought he was hitting right spot. RIP, he sucked as a wrestler, and if i recall, think he was also already sick at that point, died couple years later
He died in 2010
If you're old enough to remember the Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez matches, your childhood was awesome! 😊
Taker can say what he wants, but that entrance with the black chariot and vulture was badass.
If it makes Mr. Calaway feel any better, i was a kid when i saw wrestlemania 9 , his match against giant gonzalez to me were amazing as a kid, it was really like the undertaker was struggling for the first time, it worked, but this is a fucking halarious story
2:34 I feel like they could have done a lot better for him I'm not sure how good he was at wrestling but I feel like they could have did a better storyline or something but with someone that size I mean they could have made him a champion if they wanted. That's the thing about wrestling it's the story they can build anyone up to be amazing or they can make anybody one of the worst I mean obviously you need to have some wrestling skill obviously but you could build up anybody
The only thing good about that Match was TAKERS Entrance with the Black Vulture! One of the Top 5 Taker Entrances IMO
Dude I loved that match!
Undertaker beat up Giant Gonzalez😂😂. Thats such a flex.