Gorilla Monsoon

Photo credit: Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Real name: Robert Otto Marella
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 400 lbs.
Date of birth: June 4, 1937
Date of death: October 6, 1999
From: New York, NY
Pro debut: 1959
Trained by: Stu Hart
Finishing move: Airplane spin

Biography

– Marella excelled in various sports at high school level, but specialised in wrestling at Ithaca College, placing second in a 1959 NCAA Championships
– He was recruited by New York promoter Pedro Martinez and made his pro wrestling debut in 1958, working under the name ‘Gino Marella’
– In 1963, Marella debuted for the WWWF under the name ‘Gorilla Monsoon’, a monster heel character
– On November 14, 1963, Monsoon & Killer Kowalski defeated Skull Murphy & Brute Bernard to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On November 28, Monsoon & Kowalski defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello & Roy Heffernan) to retain the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On April 8, 1965, Monsoon & Bill Watts defeated Waldo Von Erich & Gene Kiniski to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On April 22, Monsoon & Watts defeated Bruno Sammartino & Haystacks Calhoun to retain the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On April 30, Monsoon & Watts defeated Bobo Brazil & Wahoo McDaniel to retain the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On May 24, Monsoon & Watts defeated Bruno Sammartino & Argentina Apollo to retain the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On June 10, Monsoon & Watts defeated Bruno Sammartino & Haystacks Calhoun to retain the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On July 24, Monsoon & Watts defeated Bobo Brazil & Haystacks Calhoun to retain the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
– On November 3, Monsoon & Luke Graham defeated The Kentuckians (Jake Smith & Luke Brown) to win the WWA Tag Team Titles, but would lose them back soon thereafter
– On January 23, 1966, Monsoon & El Mongol defeated Luke Graham & Lonnie Mayne to win the WWA Tag Team Titles
– On February 3, Monsoon & Mongol defeated Jack Lanza & Bob Kappel to retain the WWA Tag Team Titles
– On March 18, Monsoon defeated El Mongol to win the WWA Brass Knuckles Title
– On June 4, Monsoon defeated Bill Watts to win the AWA San Francisco United States Title, but would lose it back two weeks later
– On February 2, Monsoon defeated Mario Milano in Sydney, Australia to win the IWA World Title
– On February 16, Monsoon defeated Spiros Arion to retain the IWA World Title
– Monsoon was involved in a famous incident on June 1, 1976, when, following a match against Mikel Scicluna, he got into an altercation with Muhammad Ali. Monsoon evaded Ali’s jabs, then grabbed him into his signature Airplane Spin and slamming Ali to the mat
– On July 30, 1977, Monsoon defeated Hartford Love to win the WWC North American Title, lost it to Bruno Sammartino the following May, then regained it in July, before losing it to Carlos Colon in March 1979. These were the only recorded matches Monsoon worked in Puerto Rico during this time period
– Monsoon opted to retire from the ring in 1980 and lost a Retirement Match against Ken Patera on August 23 of that year. He would occasionally return to the ring for one-off appearances through to his final match in September 1983
– Monsoon became an announcer for the WWF in 1982, shortly after Vince McMahon Jr took over the company
– Monsoon partnered with Jesse Ventura as the new WWF television announcers in 1985
– Following Ventura’s leaving the WWF in mid-1990, Monsoon was paired with Bobby Heenan, the duo becoming one of the most iconic commentary teams of all time
– Monsoon was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994
– Monsoon stepped away from announcing beginning with WrestleMania IX, making way for the newly-hired Jim Ross, though he would continue making occasional appearances at the desk through to late 1995
– In the summer of 1995, Monsoon became the on-screen President of WWF. He left this role due to declining health in August 1997
– Monsoon appeared as a judge for the Brawl For All Match at WrestleMania XV between Bart Gunn and Butterbean. Monsoon looked notably frail during this appearance and cameras did not capture him again after his introduction
– With his health continuing to decline, Monsoon made his final WWF appearance as a guest commentator on the August 29, 1999 episode of WWF Superstars
– Monsoon passed away due to complications from diabetes on October 6, 1999
– Marella was voted into the GERWECK.NET Hall of Fame on March 28, 2010, receiving 90% of the vote.