A Closer Look At…King Kong Bundy vs SD Jones, Wrestlemania

The original Wrestlemania event was one of the most successful wrestling cards of all time. Headlined by the team of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T taking on Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorf, the show sold out Madison square Garden and was seen by over a million people on closed circuit television, the largest closed circuit audience ever at that time. With such a huge audience, the WWF needed to put on a great show with their biggest stars.

All of the WWF’s top talent at that time was at the event. Besides the ultra popular Hogan and celebrity partner Mr. T and the hated Piper and Orndorf team, the event also had matches featuring Tito Santana, Brutus Beefcake, Wendi Richtor, Big John Studd, The Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine and Andre the Giant. All of these wrestlers were big stars for the WWF. However, with an audience this huge seeing a show this hyped, WWF took the opportunity to not only showcase it’s stars, but to create a new one.

A recent addition to the roster in 1985, King Kong Bundy was an imposing physical specimen. Often referred to as a “walking condominium” by Gorilla Monsoon, Bundy stood six oot four inches tall and weighed well over 400 lbs. With his black singlet and hairless body, Bundy had an unforgettable look. He was enormous, he was strong and he got a reaction from the crowd. He was a perfect fit for Vince McMahon’s WWf and an ideal opponent for WWF champion Hulk Hogan. However, before he could challenge Hogan for the belt, Bundy needed to be built up as a credible challenger. Wrestlemania was the perfect platform to start that build-up.

In the second match of the huge show, King Kong Bundy has his chance to shine in a match against veteran grappler SD (Special Delivery) Jones. Jones had been around the wrestling world for almost 15 years by the time Wrestlemania occurred. While he was not a main event wrestler, SD jones was a solid mid-carder for most of his career, challenging for several titles and even winning tag team championships on three separate occasions. SD Jones was a good opponent for Bundy. While he normally lost against top tier talents, Jones always looked tough in defeat and even scored a number of big wins at smaller shows against mid-card opponents. A win against SD Jones at a show of the magnitude of Wrestlemania would be a good step up the ladder for King Kong Bundy.

As it turns out, King Kong Bundy didn’t just defeat SD Jones, he completely mauled him in one of the most famous squash matches in wrestling history. The time that was officially announced to the crowd was 9 seconds, although the actual time from bell to bell was closer to 22 seconds. No matter what the actual time of the match was, the fact is that Bundy completely destroyed Jones, who was seen as a tough guy. With Bundy’s utter destruction of Jones at Wrestlemania, he achieved instant respect from the fans as a force to be reckoned with in the WWF.

With a total annihilation of his opponent at Wrestlemania behind him, the following year saw Bundy’s stock continue to rise. For the rest of the year, Bundy feuded mostly with Andre the Giant, one of the all time biggest stars in wrestling and a man that was considered just as physically imposing, if not more so, than Hulk Hogan. Bundy delivered several splashes to Andre in one match, the story line being that Bundy had fractured the sternum of Andre. By injuring the legendary Andre the Giant, Bundy had truly arrived as a monster heel in the WWF.

After teaming with Big John Studd to feud with Andre and a series of partners, King Kong Bundy reached the top of his profession, working a program with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan in a feud that culminated in a steel cage match at Wrestlemania 2.

Fans believed King Kong Bundy was a dangerous man. Bundy had injured Hogan’s ribs leading up to the huge showdown and was seen as a real threat to the champion. Before the match, Bundy had physically manhandled Hogan in several televised assaults. Before that, he had spent almost a year being a physical match for Andre the Giant. Rarely has a challenger for the WWF title been given such a prolonged build-up.

It was a build-up that began a full year earlier, with a squash match against Special Delivery Jones.