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Before he became a professional wrestler,
John Minton worked as a bouncer at a bar frequented by
wrestlers. He was discovered by one of the wrestlers and
and trainined with the legendary Killer Kowalski.
Minton began working as a preliminary wrestler on the
West Coast under the name "The Mighty Minton." For
several years, he honed his skills as a preliminary wrestler,
working in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) as
"Chuck O'Connor" and later on In World Class Championship
Wrestling (WCCW) wrestling under a mask as Captain America
(where he was later unmasked and rechristened John
Studd). Studd wrestled as a masked wrestler in several
promotions. He returned to the WWWF, wrestling under a
mask as the Executioner #2, teaming with the Executioner to
win the WWWF Tag Team Titles from Gino Brito and Tony Garea.
The Executioners held the belts for five months until they
were stipped for using Nikolai Volkoff to defend the
titles. The Executioners failed to win the three team
tournament held to crown new champions.
Studd then wrestled in Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling where he found sustained success in tag
team competition from August 1977 through part of 1979.
Studd teamed with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship twice from
Ricky
Steamboat and Paul Jones.
Studd continued his war with Jones and Steamboat over the MACW
tag titles, this time allying with Ken Patera. The two would defeat Steamboat and Jones before
dropping the belts back to them.
Studd disappeared from MACW or so fans
thought. The Masked Superstar introduced a new partner,
Masked Superstar #2, a huge wrestler who helped the Superstar
in his feud with Blackjack Mulligan. Superstar #2 helped
the Masked Superstar break Blackjack Mulligan's hand and to
beat Mulligan in the finals of the Mid-Atlantic TV Title
tournament. However Mulligan didn't any of this lightly
and he defeated the Masked Superstar #2 in a Texas Death
Match, unmasking him, and revealing his identity as John
Studd.
After his campaign in MACW, Studd wrestled
in Georgia Championship Wrestling, where he feuded with the
Fabulous Freebirds and Leroy Brown before moving to Florida
Championship Wrestling (FCW). In FCW, Studd was managed
by James J. Dillon, adopting a gimmick where he brought a
stretcher to each of his matches and beat his opponent to the
point where he was carried out on the stretcher. Studd
teamed up with Jimmy Garvin and won the Global Tag Team
Championship in a tournament held to determine the belt's
first champions. Studd and Garvin dropped the
titles to Ron Bass and Barry Windham shortly after winning
them.
The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was
Studd's next home. With "Classy" Freddie Blassie
managing him, Studd quickly earned title matches against WWF
champion Bob
Backlund but he was unsuccessful.
Blassie then promoted a $10,000.00 bodyslam in which any
wrestler who bodyslammed Studd would win the cash prize.
Numerous WWF wrestlers tried but no one was able to lift the
massive competitor up, no one that is until Andre the
Giant showed up. A
panic-stricken Fred Blassie held onto Studd's leg when Andre
tried to press him. Seeing Blassie's chicanery, Andre
grabbed the money from him and distributed some of it to the
crowd before Blassie and Studd stole it back. This
incident launched the biggest feud of Studd's career. For the
remainder of his career, Studd would battle Andre the Giant at
one point or another, both as a heel and a
babyface.
Andre and Studd battled throughout WWF
arenas, their feud culminating in a steel cage match where
Andre defeated Studd as well as bodyslamming him. In
1984, Studd took on the mangerial services of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan (Blassie had
all but retired from managing by now) and joined "the Bobby
Heenan Family". Heenan led Studd against WWF Champion
Hulk Hogan in a rugged series of matches in Madison Square
Garden. The first encounter ended when Studd stunned
Hogan and won the match by count-out. Heenan and Studd
had riled Hogan to the point where he agreed to a stipulation
match where the WWF Title could change hands on a
countout. Studd was unable to carry his momentum into
the next match and Hogan retained his championship.
Heenan reformed the Studd/Patera tag team
and the two began tearing their way through the tag team
ranks. With his feud against Andre never dormant for
long, Studd challenged Andre to a tag team match.
Perhaps Andre underestimated Studd's tag team partner
Ken Patera for his partner was Special Delivery
Jones, a wrestler with an uneven
win record. S.D. Jones put in his always spirited
best but he was knocked out after being thrown out of the
ring. This led to Patera and Studd brutalizing Andre and
cutting his hair. In an attempt to anger Andre, and keep him
off his game, Studd and Patera paraded around WWF arenas with
a bag of the hair they had cut from Andre.
Andre was furious and he made short work
of Patera in return matches. However Studd's size and
power made it certain that Andre would be in for a
battle.Heenan realized that Andre's humiliation would make him
do anything for revenge against Studd. With that in mind,
Heenan put up $15,000 in cash as a prize if Andre slammed
Studd. However if Andre lost, he would have to retire
from professional wrestling. Andre agreed and the match
was signed to the first ever Wrestlemania. At
Wrestlemania, Studd gave it his all but a determined Andre
proved to be too much and he bodyslammed him in the ring,
winning the $15,000 to the fans at ringside. In a scene
that was reminiscent of Andre's previous bodyslam challenge
win, the money was stolen by Studd's manager as he and Studd
hightailed it to the dressing room.
Studd formed a tag team with the monstrous
King Kong
Bundy. Bobby Heenan hailed
the two as the team that "can't be slammed, can't be
pinned" and offered $100,000.00 to the team that did.
Studd and Bundy were like a force of nature in the WWF.
They were capable of taking it to any team. Studd used
his partnership with Bundy to continue his vendetta against
Andre the Giant. The titantic twosome gave
Andre the Giant some
of his most brutal matches ever as they destroyed Andre's
partner Hillbilly Jim and
gave some of the same punishment to his next partner, Hulk
Hogan.
At Wrestlemania II, Studd competed in a
battle royal against some of the WWF's toughest wrestlers as
well as National Football League players. Studd was
outraged that football players were allowed to compete in the
battle royal and he did everything possible to eliminate
them. In the end, Studd was eliminated when William
Perry tricked him into shaking his hand and pulled Studd out
of the ring.
Studd continued to team with Bundy.
The WWF Tag Team Championship eluded the team despite their
best efforts. Bundy and Studd were signed to a match
with Hulk Hogan and Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff. Fans
speculated if the incredible team of Hogan and Orndorff would
be the team to defeat Studd and Bundy. From the start of
the match it was obvious that there was friction between
Orndorff and Studd. After a DQ win, Orndorff
clotheslined Hogan and piledrived him, joining Studd and the
rest of the Bobby Heenan Family.
With the bodsylam challenge still open,
Studd was stunned when King Tonga bodyslammed him on national
television. Studd denied that he had been slammed though
and Tonga competed with Studd for months, attempting to
duplicate his feat.
The continuing war with Andre took a
strange turn when Andre was suspended from the WWF. Studd and
Bundy were scheduled to meet Andre and Hillbilly Jim in a
match on national television. However, the match
was not to be as Andreno-showed it for unknown
reasons. As a
result WWF President Jack Tunney suspended Andre the
Giant. While Andre served his suspension, a masked
wrestler called the Giant Machine began appearing in Japan,
leading Bobby Heenan (the man who had petitioned for
Andre's suspension) to grow suspicious. The Giant
Machine and his partner the Super Machine came to the United
States and squared off against Studd and other members of the
Heenan Family.
Studd left the WWF for over two years,
returning in 1989 and winning the Royal Rumble. Things
had changed in the WWF. Andre the Giant was now a member
of the Bobby Heenan Family and Studd was now a babyface.
One thing remained constant though, the animosity between
Studd and Andre continued. Studd special refereed a match
at Wrestlemania V between Andre and Jake "The Snake"
Roberts. During the match, Studd
struggled to maintain control but even the
giant-like Studd found it next to impossible to keep Andre's
conduct within the rules of the match. A frustrated
Andre attacked Studd after the match. Before the feud
could continue though, Studd was gone from the
WWF.
During the 90's, Studd wrestled less and
less frequently, appearing occasionally on the independent
circuit. Studd was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease and passed
away at the age of 45. In 2004, John
Studd was inducted into the WWE Hall of
Fame. | 
