Big John Studd John William Minton ( February 19 , 1948 – March 20 , 1995 ) was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler , Pennsylvania , better known by his ring name , Big John Studd . Career . Big John Studd was trained by wrestling legend Killer Kowalski . Together , Studd and Kowalski won the WWF Tag Team Championship in 1976 as the Masked Executioners . After leaving the WWF , Studd became known as Chuck O ' Connor , Captain USA , and The Masked Superstar II at certain points in the Mid - Atlantic territory . In 1978 , Studd teamed with Ken Patera to win the Mid - Atlantic Tag Team titles . Studd was actually in the WWWF before his stint as Executioner # 2 in 1976 . He was then known as Chuck O ' Connor and he feuded with El Olympico . Studd also made occasional trips to Canada to wrestle in Emile Duprée ' s Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling . On May 25 , 1980 , Masked Superstar II was unmasked after a match with Blackjack Mulligan in Toronto . After this , Studd was brought into Florida by J . J . Dillon and feuded with Dusty Rhodes , Barry Windham ( the son of Blackjack Mulligan ) , and Sweet Brown Sugar . In early 1982 , Studd gained several unsuccessful title shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , which was held by " The Nature Boy " Ric Flair at the time . WWF ( 1982 – 1986 ; 1989 ) . First run ( 1982 – 1986 ) . Studd jumped to the World Wrestling Federation in late 1982 , and was paired with manager " Classy " Freddie Blassie . Studd quickly became a monster heel , adopting a gimmick of bringing a stretcher to the ring and beating his opponents so badly they would be taken out on the stretcher . While Studd became a top challenger for the WWF World Championship , held by Bob Backlund , it was his feud with Andre the Giant that earned him main event status . Studd and Blassie had issued a " Bodyslam Challenge , " offering $ 10 , 000 ( and later , $ 15 , 000 ) to any wrestler that could slam him before boasting that he ( Studd ) could not be slammed . After several wrestlers were unsuccessful in answering Studd ' s challenge , Andre accepted and was about to slam Studd before Blassie attacked Andre from behind ( as Studd grabbed the ring ropes to prevent himself from being slammed ) . The Andre - Studd feud raged throughout 1983 , and although Andre got the upper hand and slammed Studd several times , Studd declared himself the " True Giant of Wrestling , " all while continuing to insist he could not ( and had never been ) slammed . By 1984 , with his feud with Andre still raging , Studd was challenging then - new champion Hulk Hogan for the title ; Hogan was also successful on several occasions in slamming Studd . Studd was also paired with Bobby " the Brain " Heenan , who helped take the Andre - Studd feud to new heights . This happened during a televised tag team match featuring Studd and fellow Heenan Family member Ken Patera against André the Giant and S . D . Jones . The match ended by disqualification after persistent rulebreaking by Studd and Patera , who attacked André afterwards and cut his hair . André set out for revenge and accepted Studd ' s challenge to a " $ 15 , 000 Bodyslam Challenge " match at the first WrestleMania , whereby if Andre failed to slam Studd before the time limit ( or Studd managed to slam Andre ) , Andre would be forced to retire from wrestling . André won the match ( although Studd protested ) , and the highlight of André bodyslamming Studd to win the match is one of the most iconic images in wrestling history . After WrestleMania , Studd formed an alliance with the 468 lbs ( 212 kg ) King Kong Bundy . The two attacked André at a WWF house show in the summer of 1985 , injuring Andre ' s sternum . The Studd - Bundy alliance and André continued to feud for the rest of that year and into 1986 , with Andre often recruiting faces such as Hogan , Tony Atlas , Junkyard Dog and Hillbilly Jim to team with him . Studd participated in the well - publicized 20 man over - the - top battle royal that took place at WrestleMania 2 . The battle royale also featured stars from the National Football league . Although André the Giant was also in the battle royale , Studd set his focus on eliminating William " The Refrigerator " Perry , who was fresh from a Super Bowl victory that year . Studd successfully eliminated Perry during the match , only to have Perry to eliminate Studd while the two were shaking hands . André went on to win the battle royale . The Andre - Studd feud took on a new dimension in 1986 , when — in the wake of Andre ' s increasing health problems related to gigantism and acromegaly , and his planned tour of Japan — a storyline was developed to have Andre compete in a tag team called The Machines . The " Machines " angle began when Andre failed to show up for a tag team match against Bundy - Studd at a television taping . Heenan successfully campaigned to get Andre suspended , only for Andre to reappear shortly thereafter in a mask and billing himself as the Giant Machine . Studd , along with Bundy and Heenan , insisted that Andre and the Giant Machine were one and the same , and set out to prove their point by vowing to unmask the Giant Machine during a series of tag team matches ; the Giant Machine ' s partners included Blackjack Mulligan ( as " Big Machine " ) and Bill Eadie ( as " Super Machine " ) . However , neither Studd , nor Bundy or Heenan , were able to unmask the Giant Machine . The Bundy - Studd team also feuded with other established WWF tag teams in 1986 , including The Islanders , and contended for the WWF Tag Team Championship held by The British Bulldogs . During a televised match in late 1986 , Studd and Bundy began arguing after they lost a match to the Bulldogs , and although that seemed to foreshadow a feud between the two , nothing ever came of it . Studd ' s last match during his original 1980s WWF run came on the November 15 , 1986 , episode of " WWF Superstars of Wrestling " , where he teamed with Bundy to defeat The Machines ( a match that did not involve the Giant Machine ) . Despite leaving the WWF , Studd ' s presence was still made known in a " WWF Magazine " article published shortly before WrestleMania III , where he supported Andre in his upcoming match against Hogan ( contending that Hogan ' s friendship with Andre was a ruse , to duck him as a potential challenger to the title ) . Second run ( 1989 ) . After retiring for two years , Studd announced his return to the WWF on the " Brother Love Show " in late 1988 . An elated Bobby Heenan appeared on the set to welcome Studd back to the Heenan family . Studd however rejected the offer and ran Heenan off the " Brother Love " set , thus turning face . Studd went on to feud with several members of the Heenan family , including his nemesis André the Giant , who had turned heel during Studd ' s absence . Studd won the 1989 Royal Rumble , which many consider to be the crowning achievement in his WWF career . Studd then served as a special guest referee in the match between Jake " The Snake " Roberts and André the Giant at WrestleMania V . Studd ' s last match with the WWF was June 4 , 1989 , with Hillbilly Jim wrestling in Studd ' s place later that month . Death . Minton died from liver cancer and Hodgkin ' s disease on March 20 , 1995 . He is survived by his son John Minton , Jr . , who accepted his plaque upon his posthumous inductions to both the WCW Hall of Fame in 1995 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 . Minton , Jr . also participated in the fourth season of " WWE Tough Enough " . Studd is referenced in the Limp Bizkit song " N 2Gether Now " featuring Method Man .