Giant Gonzalez is a former Argentinian professional wrestler and basketball player.
He was a successful man when he was still alive, having made famous in two different sports.
He was a top-class professional athlete who could engage in two sports during his active career.
Table of Contents
Giant Gonzalez Biography
He was born January 31, 1966, in Argentina. He perished at 44 in 2010.
He would have hit a year older today, 2023 if he was alive, clocking 57 years old with his family and loved ones.
He comes from South America, where he and his family were just average people surviving in their country.
| Name | Jorge González |
|---|---|
| Age | 44 Years Old |
| Date Of Birth | 1966 |
| Wife | N/A |
| Children | N/A |
González, who stands at nearly 7.5 feet 2.3 meters, is due to a health condition tagged as giantism.
He comes from El Colorado, Formosa, a place in Argentina that he called his home when growing up.
His condition was already an issue as of age 14. He was already as tall as 6.9 inches but grew into his height as he got older.
Giant Gonzalez came from a place where basketball and Wrestling were small traditions.
Gonzalez Career
Giant Gonzalez had a career in basketball and Wrestling. He enjoyed so much success in both career paths.
He was promoted as the tallest WWE superstar who was a former Argentine basketball player.
In reality, he measured only 7’7″, but he still holds both records at the age of 16 and is already 2.19 m 7 ft 2 in tall. He began his career with the youngsters of the Hind Club de Resistencia.
Former Argentine national team coach León Najnudel encouraged Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata to add the player to the club’s roster for the Argentine second division.
Giant Gonzalez was a key contributor in 1986 for Gimnasia, a year in which the club made it to Argentina’s top league.
After that, he joined Sports Club Caadense but was injured and missed nine months of play.
Gonzalez was explored by the Atlanta Hawks after partaking in the 1985 South American Basketball Competition.
He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks at pick 54 in the third round which was in 1988.
Together, they made history as the first Argentine players ever selected in an NBA draft, together with Hernán Montenegro.
The Hawks paid his former club in Argentina thirty thousand Argentine pesos to get his services.
His major knee injury contributed to his inability to adapt to the NBA’s physical standards.
The Hawks’ owner, Ted Turner, also controlled the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion and offered González a job there in 1989.
After a year of preparation, on May 19, 1990, during the pay-per-view Capital Combat, González was officially unveiled to the public as El Gigante.
Favorites and touted as being close to eight feet tall, he battled in shorts and was a crowd-pleaser.
He was also involved in a fight against the 6’9″ Sid Vicious and his One Man Gang. This rivalry was to discover who the authentic “giant of WCW” was.
Ron Reis claims that Gonzalez was scheduled to return to the organization as “The Yeti” for the Halloween Havoc 1995 pay-per-view.
The reasoning behind his comeback was to establish a plot point that the promotion’s booker, Kevin Sullivan, had planned for the upcoming pay-per-view, World War III (1995).
A giant occupied each ring, making for three rings and sixty participants in an over-the-top-rope combat royal.
However, this plan was scrapped after Gonzalez suffered a diabetic episode backstage, forcing him to be replaced by Reis and sending him back to his native Argentina.
During his stint in the WWE, González was managed by Harvey Wippleman and wrestled under the ring name Giant González.
González spotted a thick beard and musculature that looked like it had been airbrushed, and he wore a complete body suit.
Gonzales was disqualified from his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania IX for using chloroform, despite having knocked out The Undertaker.
The feud ended when Gonzalez lost to The Undertaker for the second time at SummerSlam.
After the match, Wippleman criticized Gonzalez, but then Gonzalez turned on Wippleman and turned his face.
A feud between González and Adam Bomb was built for the future, but it never got off the ground.
The 20-man battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship on the October 4 broadcast of Monday Night Raw was his final WWF appearance.
After his contract with WWF expired on October 7, 1993, the business confirmed that Gonzalez had left three days later.
Gonzalez Death
Giant Gonzalez’s death was due to an illness he suffered for a long period before giving up.
The death of González occurred in San Martin, Argentina, where he was born and stayed at a young age.
After retiring, Gonzalez settled on a ranch farm in Argentina before his illness worsened.
Gonzalez began using a wheelchair regularly on October 29, 2009 and began undergoing dialysis for renal failure the following day.
An OWW radio interview with Harvey Wippleman revealed that Gonzalez had diabetes while employed with the WWF.
Wippleman added that they were also good friends before he passed away.
Gonzalez was 44 years when he passed away in San Martin, Argentina, from diabetes-related complications on September 22, 2010.
The autopsy revealed that diabetes-related complications were the ultimate killer.
Due to his sickness, González was a wheelchair user and had been for quite some time.
Giant Gonzalez’s Net Worth
Giant Gonzalez’s net worth was $5 million before his death. He had a successful career in NBA and WWE, which made him rich.
Jorge was a well-known and wealthy professional wrestler who had major events during his active days.
Research shows that Jorge Gonzalez was valued at $5 million, as Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider reported.
READ MORE – Kerry Von Erich Bio Career Death
His wealth made it to other family members after his death was confirmed to the whole world.
He had a lot of side jobs that fetched him more income, and it was mostly based on his difference in appearance.
Giant Gonzalez is now part of history as he didn’t have much time to be alive due to his death.
