Christopher Pallies, the WWE wrestler known as King Kong Bundy, has died. WWE confirmed the New Jersey native’s death in a statement, though no cause of death is known at this time. He was 61.
A dominant heel for much of his career, Pallies’ moniker was a combination of Hollywood’s most notorious ape and serial killer Ted Bundy. He performed at the first two Wrestlemania events, the second of which he main-evented in a cage match with Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Though he left the WWE (then WWF) in the ‘80s, he returned in 1994 as part of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation. As a sign of his dominance, Bundy was known for forcing referees to count to five instead of three during pinfalls.
Pallies also lent his gargantuan frame—6-foot-4 and 458 pounds at the height of his career—to films, including Richard Pryor’s Moving and TV shows, including Married…With Children, in which he played Peggy Bundy’s brother, Irwin. The creators, big wrestling fans, reportedly named its central family after the wrestler.
WWE stars of today and yesteryear have shared their condolences to social media. See several of them below.