10 Things Fans Forget About King Kong Bundy's Career

Among the list of wrestling giants, King Kong Bundy was one of the best. Bundy was a hit in the mid-1980s WWE with his hulking build, bald head, an imposing manner. Bundy had famous moments such as facing Hulk Hogan in a cage at WrestleMania 2. He was also known for insisting on a "five-count" when pinning an opponent and a popular heel.

Yet while most think of Bundy as another big star of 1980s WWE, there was a lot more to his career than that. It went back before WWE and had a surprising afterlife when he left the company. There are also touches from his look to unknown success folks may not be aware of. Rather than just being "the Walking Condominium," as Gorilla Monsoon called him, here are 10 things about his career fans may not know that helped make King Kong Bundy a legend.

10 He Was Part Of The Worst Wrestling PPV Ever

Nearly three decades later, 1993's Heroes of Wrestling is considered the worst pay-per-view event of all time. This horrendous show has been slammed for terrible talent and matches, so it makes sense that the main event saved the worst for last. It was to be Bundy vs Yokozuna in a conflict between giants.

Then Jake Roberts showed up to face Jim Neidhart in shape to compete, so it was changed to a tag match. The bout was horrendous, with Roberts acting up and being pinned by Bundy despite not being the legal man in the ring. It's a part of wrestling history Bundy would have preferred avoiding.

9 He Was In The King Of The Ring

Before it was a major PPV, the King of the Ring was just an annual tournament to give someone a mild push. As amazing as it sounds, Bundy did great in the 1987 version. He first defeated One Man Gang by countout, then S.D. Jones before getting a bye into the finals thanks to a Rick Martel/Haku draw.

In the finals, Bundy and Randy Savage had a wild fight ending with Savage getting the pin. It was one of Bundy's last major events in WWE, yet it was fun how he got a big push in a top tournament.

8 He Had Acting Credits

King Kong Bundy on Married With Children

While his Hollywood career was hardly Dwayne Johnson's status, Bundy did have a few fun acting gigs. With his huge build, it made sense to cast him in roles as a giant strongman. That included the 1988 Richard Pryor comedy Moving as a bulky mover who has a bad habit of breaking stuff with the payoff of Pryor knocking Bundy out in a fight.

It also turned out the producers of Married With Children named the family the Bundys as they were fans of the wrestler. King Kong thus repaid them by guest-starring on a few episodes. He even worked in a stand-up career to show his funny chops.

7 His Original Manager

Most associate King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenan, who managed him against Hulk Hogan and other heroes. He also later was part of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. So many forget that when he began in WWE, Bundy was managed by "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart.

It was an odd pairing with Hart yelling away on his megaphone while Bundy just crushed guys. Hart "traded" Bundy to Heenan, who was better suited to promos on Bundy's power and pushing him against Hogan at WrestleMania 2.

6 He Once Held A Wrestlemania Record

Bundy's most famous WrestleMania moment was crushing Little Beaver at WrestleMania III. Yet for over three decades, he held the official WWE record for the shortest match in WrestleMania history.

Bundy and poor jobber S.D. Jones faced off at the first WrestleMania where Bundy hit one charging splash to pin him. The official line was it was only nine seconds long, although arguable it lasted from 17 to 24 seconds. Regardless, that line of the shortest Mania match held until the Rock-Eric Rowan WrestleMania 32 match, even with a few other fast ones as Bundy was recognized as a record holder.

5 He Started As A Babyface

With his imposing build and seeming mean streak, Bundy was terrific as a heel. Yet when he began his career, he was actually a babyface as "Chris Cannon" then "Big Daddy Bundy."

He was pushed in World Class Championship Wrestling as an ally of the Von Erichs in jeans and cowboy boots. He turned on them to team up with Gary Hart. He also took on both the "King Kong" moniker and the black singlet that would be his signature look for the rest of his career. It's hard to imagine Bundy was ever cheered.

4 He Was On The First ECW Supercard

It's forgotten how ECW was originally Eastern Championship Wrestling, just another indie promotion trying to get by in the early 1990s. In 1993, the company held its first-ever November to Remember supercard event.

King Kong Bundy was in the main event as the surprise partner for Terry Funk against Road Warrior Hawk and Sabu. While a tag match, it also had Sabu's ECW Heavyweight Title and Funk's TV Title on the line. Bundy turned on his partner, crushing him with a splash to allow Sabu to win both belts. Thus, Bundy was part of one of the first shocking ECW twists.

3 He Was Part Of The Legion Of Doom

When folks mention The Legion of Doom, they usually think of only Hawk and Animal. But originally, The Road Warriors were only part of a much larger LOD stable. Paul Ellering organized the group in Georgia with the Warrior, the Spoiler, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Bundy.

The group had potential, but a combination of egos and the Warriors getting a big offer from the AWA led to them breaking up. And yes, the team name came from the old Superfriends cartoons.

2 He Held A Few Titles

Bundy often shows up on lists of the biggest WWE stars to never hold gold in the company. But Bundy didn't go his career without any championships. In Memphis, in the early 1980s, he held the Continental Tag Team Titles with Rick Rude and was the Southern Heavyweight Champion. In World Class, Bundy was a two-time American Heavyweight Champion and held the tag titles with Bill Irwin and Bugsy McGraw.

He and the Masked Superstar were Georgia Tag Team Champs and Bundy was also the AWA Superstars of Wrestling Champion for over a year in 1999. So while he was beltless in WWE, Bundy did add some gold over the years.

1 He Had Hair

Mention Bundy and most remember that bald pate that always got attention. So it may be surprising to know that when he started out, Bundy actually had hair. That lasted a bit into his run with World Class Championship Wrestling when he faced Fritz Von Erich in a special challenge match.

Bundy lost and was shaved bald but quickly realized this made him look more imposing. He thus kept the bald look for the remainder of his career to stand out as a classic monster.