WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker has had several classic WWE matches against various opponents. However, his fights against Gigante González (Jorge González in real life) are not always fondly remembered. Matt Hardy recently spoke about why The Undertaker had no choice but to take on Giant Gonzalez even though he didn’t like one thing about his wrestling.
Standing at 8 feet tall, Giant Gonzalez was by far the largest performer to step foot inside the ring. He spent just one year in WWE before leaving the company in 1993.
Prior to his departure, however, the Argentine giant had a highly-hyped show with The Undertaker as they wrestled a series of matches, including matches at WrestleMania 9 and SummerSlam 1993. While González was blessed with a uniquely intimidating look, unfortunately, he was not. he couldn’t deal with the ring side of professional wrestling.
AEW star Matt Hardy recalled the The extreme life of Matt Hardy podcast about how The Undertaker often complained about Gonzalez’s hard work. He added that González legitimately hurt The Deadman on multiple occasions.
“Someone who would say that as a character he was probably universally despised, maybe the route they took with Giant Gonzalez when he was there. I remember ‘Taker kept saying that he hurt him so often. It’s a lot of fun if you’re ever with ‘Taker, and You make him talk about stories working with Gigante González, with Jorge’. [23:18 – 23:39]
Matt Hardy clarified that while Giant Gonzalez was a great person outside of the world of wrestling, he always struggled when it finally came to working inside the ring.
Hardy further stated that The Phenom was forced to face González as WWE lacked credible opponents for him who could make him look like an underdog.
“As good as he [Gonzalez] Could possibly be, but he had no idea [in the ring] and also very strong and rude, constantly hurting ‘Taker and beating him up. “Taker was forced to work with him because he finally had someone who was bigger than him and made him look like an underdog from a size perspective.” [23:40 – 23:54]
Matt Hardy on how he reacted when The Undertaker’s former rival Giant Gonzalez made his WWE debut
Giant Gonzalez was no stranger to the wrestling universe when he came to WWE, having previously appeared in WCW as El Gigante.
WWE repackaged the superstar and had him wear a full body suit with airbrushed muscles and hair sticking out from his shoulders. The bizarre appearance made González an instant attraction, as WWE fans had never seen a wrestler quite like him before.
While Giant Gonzalez’s introduction gave WWE a strong reaction from the start, The Hardy Boyz didn’t like how the newly debuted star presented himself. Speaking on the same episode of the podcast, Matt Hardy recalled how the brothers reacted when The Undertaker’s old nemesis made his WWE debut.
“I remember, like, oh my gosh, Jeff and I actually had the opposite reaction when Gigante González showed up. We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s El Gigante, um, but what is he wearing?'” [23:55 – 24:16]
Giant González ended his professional wrestling career in 1995 before returning to Argentina where he spent the remaining years of his life until his sad passing in 2010 at the age of 44.
What are your opinions on the forgotten giant? Share them in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from this article, please H/T Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcript and credit for The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast.