Pro Wrestling Legend King Kong Bundy Passes Away
|More sad news to report tonight as legendy wrestler King Kong Bundy has passed away at the age of 61.
Chris “King Kong Bundy” Pallies was an iconic figure during WWE’s “Rock N Wrestling” era of the 80s as one of the top “bad guys” that battled the likes of Hillbilly Jim, Andre the Giant, and most notably Hulk Hogan. Bundy’s initial WWE run saw him perform in the first three WrestleManias before going on hiatus and then returning to take part in WrestleMania 11 where he faced The Undertaker, thus becoming part of the infamous “streak.”
While he began his career as “Big Daddy Bundy” and worked numerous territories in the early 80s, his run in the WWF really defined King Kong Bundy. At the first WrestleMania he defeated S.D. Jones in just a few seconds, establishing that he was set for big things in the company. By the next year’s WrestleMania, Bundy had joined Bobby Heenan’s “family” and was headlining the event as he took on Hulk Hogan in a memorable steel cage match. While his role was lessened by far at WrestleMania 3, Bundy still created quite the moment as he attacked midget wrestler Little Beaver, which as the time seemed like a criminal offense.
Bundy continued his WWF run through 1987 and 88 as he participated in the first ever Survivor Series and had more memorable matches with Hogan on Saturday Night’s Main Event. During his hiatus from wrestling, you may have caught Bundy in numerous other TV and movie appearances such as “Married with Children” and the film “Moving.”
It’s sad to think that King Kong Bundy was one of the guys that couldn’t work out a deal to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before his passing because he made a major impact during WWE’s formative years and was more than deserving of a spot.
Below is video of Bundy taking on Andre the Giant at Madison Square Garden’s “Colossal Jostle” – definitely the height of the giant monster era in WWE: