Top 10 Athletic big men in WWE History

Vince McMahon and his promotion have always loved big men. Professional wrestling was initially considered as a sport for such big men, which is one of the reasons why Vince decided to sign up some guys solely based on their size.When names like the Great Khali and Giant Gonzalez proved to the fans that size is not everything in the squared circle, there were a handful of other wrestlers in WWE who did moves which were well beyond their structure.Seeing these men pull off such moves was an exciting prospect for the fans but apart from all that excitement, they were breaking out of the stereotypes. So here is a look at those men in WWE history who were surprisingly athletic for their size.

#10 Rikishi

Being a mainstay in the Attitude Era is never a cake walk. The competition levels were at the highest and each wrestler had to evolve at every turn if he had to stay in the spotlight. Rikishi belonged to that category.

When his first gimmick started losing the heat, he morphed into a dancing big Samoan. And while having some impressive dance skills to his name, Rikishi was pretty fast in between the ropes as well.

Rikishi had an impressive sell to a clothesline while there were a lot of other moves in his arsenal that looked almost impossible with his size. He didn’t go on to have a spectacular career like most of his other family members, but he was indeed a good performer.

#9 Yokozuna

Another member from the Anoa'i family, Yokozuna was portrayed as a Japanese Sumo Wrestler who made his way into the WWE. Aided by the manager Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna started off his career in the main event scene and went on to win the Royal Rumble and WWE Championship.

Many expected him to be a power based performer in between the ropes but he was not only that. Yokozuna was not afraid to get on the top rope even if it was for a basic move.

Apart from that, he was fast for his size in the ring as well. His career was unfortunately cut short due to health a problem which ironically was because of this size.

#8 Kevin Nash

Some people will be thinking how much crazy I am to include Kevin Nash in the ‘Athletic’ list but if we look back into his prime years, Nash was pretty fast compared to his structure.

Nash had this wide range of power moves like the Jackknife power bomb and even though he rarely got off from his feet, he moved well in between the ropes. The number of surgeries that happened as his career progressed slowed him down and he became the protagonist of many internet jokes.

His current speed is nowhere near what he used to have in the good old days as Nash struggles to barely get into the ring.

#7 Kane

The Big Red monster made his debut in WWE as the brother of Undertaker. Being a big guy who stood seven feet tall, Kane was expected to wrestle around power moves which is exactly what he did.

However, despite the power moves, Kane knew to move around the ring better than most of the other guys in his size category. His quickness was there to be seen during his initial days in the company and though Kane has slowed down considerably in recent years, his longevity in the business should be appreciated.

Retirement might be just around the corner for him now but he has done a lot of things already to earn a place in the Hall of Fame.

#6 Earthquake

The name John Tenta might not be familiar to the fans but his character ‘Earthquake’ would be. He joined professional wrestling career after a stint in Sumo Wrestling and was pushed as a monster heel in the WWE in mid 90s.

He will be remembered for the segment he had with Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts where Earthquake squashed Jake’s snake, Damien. But actually, Earthquake should be remembered for how quick he was in between the ropes.

Earthquake never made it out of the midcard throughout his career and after an abrupt end to the wrestling run, he died in 2006 due to multiple tumors in his lungs.

#5 Umaga

Umaga in case you did not notice is the Third member from the Anoa'i family in the list. He was a special talent and was agile in the ring and the best parts of his career came when WWE gave him a main event run.

He was portrayed as an uncontrollable monster that feuded with the likes of John Cena and many other top names in the company. Umaga also made it to WrestleMania as the representative of Vince McMahon in the memorable McMahon vs. Donald Trump showdown.

The unexpected death of Umaga was a big blow for the entire wrestling business and if it wasn’t for that, he would have stuck around for much longer.

#4 Vader

Vader does not look like an athlete but don’t let his looks fool you. Even though the guy looks like nothing more than a truck driver, he did some insane things when he was asked to wrestle.

Alongside his powerful moves that were a mainstay, Vader used to have this set of top rope moves as well which turned out to be a sure short crowd pleaser. That set included the lights of Moonsaults and slingshot splashes in regular intervals.

Seeing a man as big as Vader go to the top rope and deliver moves like the Moonsault is a bone chilling moment and there hasn’t been anyone so far to fill in his boots.

#3 Bam Bam Bigelow

So what if there was a man who looked like Vader and had a move set of Rey Mysterio. Well, meet Bam Bam Bigelow. Many might recognize him as a crucial figure in the original ECW but he was a WWE talent way before that run.

It will not be these stints that Bigelow will be remembered for; it will be for his athleticism. He had an array of splashes to his name and was never held back before using them.

After holding multiple championships across all the promotions he competed in, Bigelow retired from wrestling in 2006 and died a year later due to heart problems.

#2 Big Show

Big Show is billed as the World’s largest Athlete in the WWE which explains a lot. Back in WCW, he was known for delivering missile drop kicks from the top rope and if that is not athletic, then what is?

Show’s size has been varying over the course of his career and at one point he was bulked up which made him slower in the ring. But while he is toned down a bit, Show pulls off some great overall performance.

He is still going strong despite the character being stale and though WWE is making a mess out of him with the never ending face and heel turns, Show has some ammunition left in him to reach the top level for one last time.

#1 Undertaker

One of the biggest factors that helped Undertaker get over was his gimmick. The idea of the creepy Undertaker was fresh during that time and one thing that contributed to the success was his towering size.

Taker had the big body to intimidate everyone and adding the pinch of mystery and creepiness made him look good. Taker might not be a technician like Daniel Bryan or a high flier like Rey Mysterio but he certainly does fall somewhere in a mixed category.

He knows how to deliver a great brawl match and at the same time is not hesitant to go on top of the ropes to get the fans cheering.