Everyone’s heard of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and real fans know that It’s always fun and exciting to watch your favorite wrestler in the ring.
Amongst this cut-throat environment, the competition between professional wrestlers is intense. Usually, it seems like the safest bet is to root for the taller and stronger wrestler.
Of course, John Cena and Rey Mysterio are legends, but in comparison to people like The Undertaker, The Big Show, or The Great Khali, they looked puny. So, does height in wrestling really matter?
Read ahead to see whether height even gives an edge against an opponent in the ring. We’ll also go over the professional wrestling careers of the 5 tallest wrestlers in the world.
How Important Is Height in a Professional Wrestling Ring?
Height is an important characteristic in most sports. However, being extremely tall could be a disadvantage even in sports like basketball where being tall is one of the biggest requirements.
Similarly, height is not the only thing you need in a professional wrestling ring. Having a tall frame has its own sets of advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages of being taller include greater body weight, reach, and visibility.
Another advantage is the huge hands that help tall wrestlers catch, throw, and sprawl their opponents and defend from attacks. Moreover, shorter limbs and a bigger torso results in a huge block of body mass that helps the opponent dodge you and run away.
However, bigger bodies may mean weaker bodies, which can give shorter opponents in the same weight range an edge in strength.
Some of the Tallest Wrestlers in the World
Some of the names in the following list of the tallest wrestlers may be well-known, while others never reached professional wrestling stardom. For the latter, they lacked other characteristics that would make them incredible wrestlers and had only their towering selves in professional rings.
Often, they were slower to respond and were defeated by their smaller but quicker opponents. Therefore, few of the tallest professional wrestlers had incredible careers.
Tallest Wrestler in the World: Jorge Gonzalez
Jorge Gonzalez, popularly known as Giant Gonzalez and El Gigante, tops the list by being the tallest wrestler in the world. You may not have heard his name before; however, at 8 feet tall (2.4 m), Giant Gonzalez made sure to hold everyone’s eyes and attention.
Giant Gonzales was born in Argentina and was brought to America to try his luck as a professional basketball player in the NBA, but his continuously growing height could not allow him to pursue a career in basketball.
Between 1989 and 1992, he fought as a professional wrestler in the World Championship Wrestling. In 1993, he was introduced at the Royal Rumble in the World Wrestling Federation. In an unforgettable face-off at a Royal Rumble Match, he eliminated the Undertaker.
He left WWF after a year of fighting as a professional wrestler and participated in Japanese wrestling competitions until he announced his retirement 3 years later. His wrestling career was short-lived, as he moved back to Argentina in 1995 after facing serious health issues.
His giant figure brought many ailments. He was not able to walk in his last years and had failing kidneys. Finally, Giant Gonzales was laid to rest in 2010 in his hometown of San Martin at the age of 44.
André René Roussimoff
André René Roussimoff is just behind Giant Gonzalez in height. Standing at a magnanimous 7 feet 4 inches (224 cm), Andre was the second tallest wrestler in the world. His huge height was caused by gigantism, which is a result of excess hormone growth.
With his gigantic figure and a body that weighed 236 kgs, he was nothing short of a giant. Rightly so, he was called “The Eighth Wonder of the World.”
He was born in France but later moved to North America. He joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and would wrestle across the United States as a special attraction. He continued fighting as a professional wrestler. After several matches, rivalries, controversies, and drama, he fought his last match for WWF in 1990.
He continued his in-ring career with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for a few more years. He fought his final match in December of 1992.
Apart from his career in wrestling, Andre did some acting in movies. He is part of more than 10 movies and is best remembered as Fezzik in the film The Princess Bride. His last movie was released in 1994, a year after his death.
He died due to heart failure at the age of 46 in Paris in 1993. He was flown to the United States to be cremated.
Tolulope Jordan Omogbehin
Tolulope Jordan Omogbehin is a Nigerian-American professional wrestler who became the center of attention for his unusually tall figure.
At 7 feet 3 inches, he is the third tallest wrestler in the world.
He was a basketball player in college and came into wrestling in January 2019 by signing with WWE. His in-ring debut was in July 2019, which he won.
He went on to fight in the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, SummerSlam, and Extreme Rules. He continues to fight as Omos in all types of events.
At age 27, he has earned himself a name largely due to his towering figure.
Ronald Allen Reis
Ronald Allen Reis is a fairly well-known name in the world of wrestling. He is an American professional wrestler who fights under the ring names The Yeti and Reese.
Currently, Reis is the fourth tallest wrestler in the world. He is 7 feet 2 inches (218 cm) tall and weighs 166 kg.
Reis made his professional debut in March 1994 at the age of 24. For World Championship Wrestling, he debuted in 1995 against The Giant and Hulk Hogan.
Like many other wrestlers, Reis also toured Japan but came back to the United States to participate and ultimately win the Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championships.
He has also appeared in the film Shadow Warriors II: Hunt for the Death Merchant.
Paulo César da Silva
Paulo César da Silva is the fifth tallest wrestler in the world.
Previously, he was a basketball player for the Brazilian national basketball team. Eventually, he became a martial artist and then a popular professional wrestler.
At nearly 7 feet 2 inches, he is almost the height of Omos, but Silva has far more years of experience.
He signed with the World Wrestling Federation in late 1997.
He debuted as “Giant Silva,” which became his ring name. For most of his tenure, he would team up Golga and Kurrgan for tag matches.
He went on to join the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and the New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Although very tall, Silva does not have the best track record when it comes to wrestling. He has won only two out of eight matches he participated in.
Silva announced his retirement in 2011.
Special Mentions
Dalip Singh Rana
Dalip Singh Rana, popularly known as The Great Khali, is one of the tallest professional wrestlers. He is 7 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 157 kg.
He had an outstanding undefeated streak between 2006-2007 and has a largely successful career. The Great Khali played his last WWE match at the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018.
He has retired from wrestling and makes a cameo in movies and television dramas.
Mark William Calaway
Mark William Calaway has had a tremendous career as a professional wrestler. At a whopping height of 6 feet 10 inches, he is lesser known for his height and more for his horror-themed Deadman gimmick under the name “The Undertaker.”
After a three-decade-long professional wrestling career, he retired in November 2020.
Conclusion
Now you know about the five tallest wrestlers as well as their general characteristics and wrestling careers.
While it is true that solely height cannot guarantee a wrestler’s performance in the ring or his career as a professional wrestler, it is usually a plus. Towering figures with huge hands help wrestlers to hold, throw, cradle, and sprawl their opponents with mighty fury. However, huge height comes with a price.
All of the tall wrestlers we’ve listed were seen to have slightly slower responses and required more energy to move around. Their smaller opponents are swifter in their responses and quick to move.
Regardless, the audiences and opponents are surely intimidated by the monstrous figures of these wrestlers once they’ve entered the ring.
