Arn Anderson looks back at the career of El Gigante, also known as Giant Gonzalez, on the latest edition of his ARN podcast.
The Enforcer discussed how Gigante came into the business with little training and never really had the proper time to sharpen his skills, which is why all of his offense and selling looked poor. Check out what else Anderson had to say on the subject in the highlights below.
Says Gigante was not supposed to be in the wrestling industry:
I hate to speak ill of the dead, I really do. I’m sure there is something that God put that big fella on the Earth to do… wrestling wasn’t it. This is not easy to do at all; it certainly it is not easy to do well. And it certainly is not easy to excel if you’re not meant to be in it. [Jorge] was not meant to be in this business. He was just like a deer in headlights. He was just frozen.
Says Gigante did not know how to properly fall:
He probably would’ve needed more time at the school [WCW Powerplant]. Just so you can at least put a few things together for him. Here’s something we never even addressed; forget about the fact that his offense was very week cause he just didn’t know. He couldn’t fall down! So he can’t fall down, his offense looks like shit, what does that leave us? I guess just powerwalk up on him and stick my nose in his belly button. Get some ha-ha out of it or something, I wish I’d have been smart enough to consider some stuff.
Talks the limited training Gigante might have had:
They probably taught him to do a clothesline, obviously the claw and the big hammer across the back. Which you always tell what a guy’s got in his toolbelt when he starts repeating himself. If he does something more than once, pretty good chance that’s about all he’s got. Now you go back to the school. Buddy Lee Parker’s a good trainer, great trainer. But if you can’t bump a guy down, and this guy can’t drop something on you…? What if he could just drop a big elbow on you? You can’t trust him to do that. Would probably hurt you, would probably hurt himself. Knock his hip out and kill the guy that he landed on!
Remembers a night when Flair pissed Gigante off with a big chop:
When [Jorge] got mad, he could certainly clean your clock. We were in Philadelphia, it was a six-man or something. [Ric] Flair came in with the big man and did whatever he could do, and [Ric] finally got behind Jorge and he chopped him right between the shoulder blades. Pretty good one, it cracked. But then Flair in his infinite wisdom (laughs) came over and tagged me. Now, not knowing that Jorge was steaming, I step in. I was going to give him a couple big shots in the chest with a forearm. Brother, he just accelerated and he clotheslined me; I swear I thought I broke my neck again!
(H/T and transcribed by 411 Mania)