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. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced one of their inductors for the upcoming ceremony on March 29 and that will be members of Duran Duran, Simon LeBon and John Taylor who will be enshrining Roxy Music.  

Duran Duran always pushed the video medium and the artistic side of music, which was the textbook of Roxy Music.  In countless interviews the members of Duran Duran (especially LeBon and Taylor) have put Roxy Music on a pedestal and we think this is an excellent choice as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductor.

We will certainly be watching!

The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 continues to take shape with the announcement today that Torrie Wilson will be inducted into this year’s crop.

Wilson was a fitness model who was discovered by WCW and in early 1999 she would begin appearing as an on screen character (named Samantha) and would later appear under her own name in an angle with David Flair.  Over the next two years like so many personnel in World Championship Wrestling she would bounce around from alliance to alliance and following the sale of WCW to the WWE (then named the WWF) she was one of the first former WCW talent to appear on WWE television when she appeared on an episode of Smackdown asking Vince McMahon for work.

Like all of the former WCW talent she was a heel and along with Stacy Kiebler would feud with Trish Stratus and Lita.  Wilson was much better served as a face and she would align with Tajiri until the Japanese Buzzsaw would grow jealous of the attention she received.  Late 2002 would see her entire her most high profile feud when she was paired against Dawn Marie who married her father who was later killed during rigorous sex (seriously, that was the storyline).  Wilson would defeat Dawn Marie at the 2003 Royal Rumble, which thankfully ended the feud.

Wilson would appear in Playboy in May of 2003 and would manage Billy Gunn.  She would appear at Wrestlemania when her and Sable (who she also had a program with) would defeat Miss Jackie and Stacy Keibler in a Playboy Evening Gown Match.  She would later have programs against Hiroko and Melina before being drafted by Monday Night Raw where she would form a short lived heel stable with Candace Michelle and Victoria.  Wilson was never a great heel and she switched back to being a babyface and was paired with Carlito, which would be the last significant program of her career.

Wilson would retire in 2008 but would return sporadically at Wrestlemania 25 for the Women’s Battle Royale, the first Women’s Royal Rumble and was also a participant at the Battle Royale at the recent all female WWE Pay Per View, Evolution.

While we are not talking about a woman who was necessarily a great wrestler or a former champion, she was a character who was with the WWE for a long period of time and was very well liked by her peers and by fans alike.  In our latest rank, Wilson was slotted at #169on our Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame.

This induction means that for the first time ever there will be two women inducted as Chyna is going in with D-Generation X.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Torrie Wilson for earning this honor.

Keith Flint, the frontman of the influential band Prodigy was found dead inside his home in London today.  Police were doing a welfare check on Flint and it is believed at this time that he took his own life.  He was 49 only years old.  

Along with Liam Howlett, Maxim, Leeroy Thornhill and Sharky, Flint formed The Prodigy who formed during the rave scene of the 1990’s.  The underground group broke through to the mainstream in the mid-90’s and they were at the forefront of what would be called the Big Beat sound. They would have two number one hits in the United Kingdom with “Breathe” and Firestarter” and they had two albums reach the top, the latter being 1997’s “The Fat of the Land”, which was successful on an international level.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Keith Flint at his time.