King Kong Bundy, Gargantuan Professional Wrestler, Dies at 63

King Kong Bundy, a colossal professional wrestler who tangled with stars like Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker in the 1980s and ’90s, died on Monday at his home in Glassboro, N.J. He was 63.

His death was confirmed by his sister Noreen Watson.

Professional wrestlers tend to be sizable, but Bundy, whose birth name was Christopher Pallies, was massive even by wrestling standards. A bald, scowling goliath, he stood about 6 feet 4 inches tall and was said to weigh 450 pounds or more in his prime.

His fellow wrestler Gorilla Monsoon called him a “walking condominium,” and an announcer at a 1985 match sponsored by the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) said that colliding with Bundy’s outstretched arm was like “running into a Sherman tank.”

Bundy brought his bulk and surprising agility to bear in his matches. He relied on moves like the avalanche, which involved launching his chest at a standing opponent’s face, and the splash, which involved belly-flopping onto an opponent on the mat.

In one memorable match at the first WrestleMania, in 1985 at Madison Square Garden, Bundy snatched Special Delivery Jones in a bear hug, slammed him into the turnbuckle, hit him with an avalanche and then finished him with a splash, pinning him in a matter of seconds.

Though Bundy held his own in the ring, he never became a WWE champion. The closest he got was at WrestleMania 2 in Los Angeles in 1986, when he lost a championship steel-cage match to Hulk Hogan.

Bundy left professional wrestling in the late 1980s, but returned for a time in the ’90s and continued wrestling into the 2000s. He also had an acting career of sorts, appearing on two episodes of the Fox sitcom “Married With Children” and one episode of the USA sitcom “Weird Science.” And he had a small role in the film “Moving” (1988), which starred Richard Pryor.

Christopher Alan Pallies was born on Nov. 7, 1955, in Woodbury, N.J., to Donald and Margaret (McCarthy) Pallies. His father was a railroad freight agent, and his mother worked part time at a department store.

He grew up in Washington Township, N.J., and graduated from Washington Township High School before embarking on his wrestling career.

In addition to his sister Noreen, Bundy is survived by another sister, Kate Pallies; his father, Donald; three brothers, Donald, Jeff and Tim; and a son, David.