RIP: King Kong Bundy

It has been reported that former WWE Superstar, King Kong Bundy has passed away today at the age of 61.  The cause of death at this time is unknown.

Born Christopher Pallies, Bundy got his start as Chris Canyon in 1981 in the Northeast where he did mostly enhancement work but at his size it was only a matter time before he would catch the eye of a major promotion who would look to book him in a greater role.  Pallies went to Dallas where he would take on the name of “Big Daddy Bundy” a happy go lucky babyface but that would be short lived as he would join Gary Hart’s stable and would take on the name of King Kong Bundy and would feud with the Von Erichs. It was during this stint that he developed the black singlet and the shaved head (which was the result of a stipulation when he lost a match) and he was the chosen opponent for Fritz Von Erich’s retirement match.  

Bundy would compete in other promotions most notably the AWA, NWA and Mid-South and in early 1985 he would work some shows for New Japan prior to joining the World Wrestling Federation.  With Jimmy Hart as his manager, Bundy would squash S.D. Jones at the inaugural Wrestlemania in 9 seconds (it was actually 24) and shortly after he was traded to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan where he would join Big John Studd and feud with Andre the Giant.  

Bundy would be tagged for the Wrestlemania 2 main event and he would set that up by attacking Hulk Hogan after his defense on Saturday Night’s Event against The Magnificent Muraco. In kayfabe, he would break the champions ribs and Bundy would unsuccessfully challenge Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage.  

The big man would slide down the card predominantly feuding with the Machines and at Wrestlemania III he was in a throwaway match where he team with two midget wrestlers but he would be disqualified when he body slammed and dropped the elbow on Little Beaver, one of the opposing little persons.  He would remain in the WWF and the Heenan Family for the rest of the year where he would again challenge Hogan on two straight Saturday Night Main Events.

For the next six years he was in semi-retirement and he would do the occasional acting and endorsement work, the most notable of which would be when he appeared in a series of ads for IBM.  Bundy would return to the WWF in 1994 as a member of the Million Dollar Corporation and his most notable match was a Wrestelmania XI loss to the Undertaker. He would again leave the WWF in October of 1995.  He would be active in the independent scene for years after.

Bundy was involved in the concussion class action lawsuit against the WWE and had been very critical against the product for the past 20 years, which might be why he was never chosen for the WWE Hall of Fame.  We had him ranked at 36on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the WWE HOF.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of King Kong Bundy.