If like me you were a big fan of pro wrestling back in the early 90s, you might sometimes think of potentially great matchups that you don’t remember ever watching but would have loved to see. So, you first want to find out if the match ever took place and, if it did, discover if the match is available to watch anywhere online.
Well, one of those contests that many of us fans of that era of WWE, which of course was then known as WWF wrestling, is Hulk Hogan vs Giant Gonzalez, who despite not quite being the 8 feet tall he was sometimes billed as being, wasn’t far off at an incredible 7 ft 7 in tall.
So it turns out that the official WWE YouTube channel WWE Vault just uploaded long-lost film footage of Hulk Hogan in the ring with Giant Gonzalez as part of a match that was filmed in June 1993 for a taping of Superstars, with Coliseum Video logos seen on the banners and video wall. It was never broadcast on TV either as part of regular programming or as part of a special pay-per-view event like Summer Slam or WrestleMania.
Featuring no commentary, the 3-minute video shows the closing stages of what appears to be a tag team lumberjack match where the Hulkster and his good friend, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, are taking on Money Inc., who were the team of “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and “I.R.S.” Irwin R. Schyster. And featuring as one of the lumberjacks outside the ring is, you guessed it, Giant Gonzalez, or Giant Gonzales as his name is spelt in the YouTube video title.
After Hogan, who appears to be in a very relaxed and fun mood, strikes DiBiase with IRS’ briefcase while the ref isn’t looking, comically then bouncing off his own head in the process, Hogan pins The Million Dollar Man 1, 2, 3. This is then quickly followed by all the lumberjacks entering the ring and a huge brawl breaking out.
Hulk then clears the ring of all the heel wrestlers while Gonzalez does likewise with the babyfaces. Hulk then begins celebrating like he’s alone in the ring until he finally turns around and spots the giant, who absolutely towers over him.
At this point, the fans in the arena get understandably excited at the prospect of the biggest star in professional wrestling, the seemingly fearless and almost unbeatable Hulk Hogan, going one-on-one with man-mountain Giant Gonzalez.
Now, for those of us long-time wrestling fans who’ve seen how fueds work by teasing us with encounters in order to build up to a big pay-per-view match, the pair were never likely to get into a full match at this point. But what is surprising is the way Hogan openly shows his fear of the giant, even to the point where he escapes Gonzales’ clutches by rolling out of the ring under the bottom rope with help from Brutus Beefcake, and then leaves the arena.
It was incredibly rare to see any face back down or run away from a heel, let alone Hulk Hogan. And given how much Hogan appeared to dislike ever losing a match clean to anyone, it’s all the more surprising he agreed to work the angle this way.
As Hulk then walks down the isle to return backstage, it sounds as if some of the WWF fans boo him for running away, which would be kind of understandable. After all, Hogan was a hero to many wrestling fans back then, especially the youngsters. But it turns out that the crowd was in fact booing Giant Gonzales as he taunts them from the ring while Hogan is leaving.
After all that, Hogan basically put Gonzales over here by backing down for nothing, as a feud never really developed, and no big main event match between them ever took place.
In reality though, even if the Hulkster had stuck around in the WWF longer to allow the match to take place, if the giant’s matches with The Undertaker were anything to go by, Gonzales Vs Hulk probably wouldn’t have made for a great wrestling match from a technical or pureist’s point of view. It would, however, have still made for a great spectacle, and it would have been fascinating to see if and how Hulk would have triumphed.