10 WWE Big Men Who Were Surprisingly Good Wrestlers

7. Earthquake

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Earthquake and his Natural Disasters partner Typhoon enjoyed some pretty terrible creative direction throughout their careers (Golga, The Shockmaster, Tugboat… ugh), but ‘Quake was a particularly underrated wrestler. Coming to the business with a background in Japanese sumo wrestling, he entered pro-wrestling through AJPW in 1987 and debuted in WWE two years later.

He had the size of a sumo wrestler, but Earthquake was shockingly technical and agile. His sumo experience gave him a perfect base to build-on, and Earthquake’s unique skillset saw him regularly pull-off running leg drops, dropkicks, and corner splashes. Weighing in at 468lbs, you can only imagine how Earthquake’s pancaked opponents felt after receiving one of those moves.

It’s an old wrestling cliche, but Earthquake legitimately moved around like a man a fraction of his size. His skills and look made him a perfect villain to battle Hulk Hogan, and he famously engaged in a sumo match with Yokozuna on an early episode of Raw.

Moving to WCW in 1994 saw his career derailed by a series of typically questionable gimmicks, and his abilities had diminished significantly upon his 1998 WWE return, but Earthquake remains one of WWE’s all-time great spectacle athletes.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.