Many new school fans of wrestling probably don't remember much of Billy Jack Haynes. He was one of the strongest, best physical specimens in the wrestling world in the 1980's. He wrestled briefly in the WWF and feuded with Hercules. He was also a favorite on World Class Championship Wrestling, but his home was in the Pacific Northwest where he dominated the region.
Fast forwarded a few years to the early 1990's and BJH surfaced in WCW, but under a hood and wielding a giant axe. He was known as Black Blood and was under the tutelage of the demonic Kevin Sullivan. I think he was supposed to be an executioner type character, but I'll be honest, other than a few squash matches on WCW Saturday Night and reading about him briefly in the Apter Magazines, I don't remember much of this character.
Scary!
This character just never clicked with me. But I'll be honest, many of the early 90's WCW guys didn't. PN News, Big Josh, and El Gigante are just a few to add with Black Blood. Most of the time when you're an established star in other companies and show up somewhere else under a mask, chances are you're not going to be climbing the ladder of success. Like I said, I enjoyed BJH's work in WCCW and Portland. He just never really was able to break through on the national stage.
I went back and watched his match against Big Josh (aka Matt Bourne, aka Doink the Clown) from the Great American Bash 1991. It was appropriately enough a lumber jack match. I can't find anything definitive about his time in WCW, but I'm all but certain his tenure there was brief. According to Wikipedia he injured his knee as Black Blood and left the company.
Another death in professional wrestling. Jorge Gonzalez, aka the Giant Gonzalez (and El Gigante in WCW) passed away the other day. He was only 44 years old.
Gonzalez spent about two years wrestling in WCW, where he made his debut in 1990. He had been playing basketball in his home country of Argentina. Scouts from the Atlanta Hawks liked what they saw on the court, but owner Ted Turner offered the big man a job in his "wrasslin' company." The rest is history.
At 7 feet 7 inches tall he truly was a giant. Just look at how he towers over the Undertaker in the above picture. Gigante was a babyface in WCW and teamed with the likes of Sting and took on the 4 Horsemen group. He battled Ric Flair for the WCW title, but never won the gold belt. I think he may have picked up a non title win over the champ. I also remember him battling Sid Vicious in Sid's final match before leaving for the WWF in 1992. It was a stretcher match, and I don't it lasting long.
Since Sid was leaving, Gigante needed another "big" man to feud. The One Man Gang and Kevin Sullivan attacked him after the match, setting up a new feud. Gigante beat the OMG in a match that cost the Gang his hair. Sometime in between his time with WCW and WWF, he was in an episode of Baywatch. Although I don't think he wore the little red swimsuit.
When he arrived in the WWF, he changed his attitude, his name, and his look. No longer was he the popular and lovable El Gigante. Now we had the Giant Gonzalez, a monster heel complete with full body, flesh colored unitard with hair in the right places. He took on Harvey Wippleman as a manager and the big man's first target was the Undertaker.
Gonzalez eliminated the Dead Man from the Royal Rumble in 1993. That set up a match between the two at Wrestlemania 9 in Las Vegas. This was 'Taker's third Wrestlemania, so his streak was in its infancy. Undertaker won the match by disqualification. If I remember correctly, GG delivered a low blow to trigger the DQ. Fun fact: Giant Gonzalez is the Undertaker's only Wrestlemania opponent not to be pinned.
Months later at SummerSlam 93, the Undertaker defeated the Giant in a "rest in peace" match. Basically there were no countouts and no DQ's allowed. Harvey and Giant had previously stolen the "powerful" urn owned by the Undertaker and Paul Bearer prior to this match. After the defeat, Gonzalez was supposed to turn face and feud with Wippleman and his new charge Adam Bomb, but that never really materialized. Gonzalez left the WWF after spending less than a year there.
He wrestled off and on in Japan until retiring in late 1995. In the years that followed, he spent his life in his home country of Argentina. He spent the last year or so in a wheelchair, suffering from the side effects of diabetes.
