John William Minton, better known as Big John Studd, was a well-known American professional wrestler and actor
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John William Minton, better known as Big John Studd, was a well-known American professional wrestler and actor
Big John Studd born at
He married Donna Conklin in 1978 with whom he had three children – Janelle Minton, John Minton Jr., and Sean Minton. His son, Sean Minton Studd, is also trying to make a mark in the field of wrestling. He currently wrestles for ‘MCW’.
Minton passed away on March 20, 1995 at the age of 47. Prior to his death, he suffered from Hodgkin’s disease and liver cancer. He reportedly used steroids, which might’ve led to several health issues that he faced.
Big John Studd was born John William Minton on February 19, 1948 in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA. He was raised by his mother, Helen Hayden.
John started his training at the age of 18. He was trained by Killer Kowalski, a Hall of Famer. John made his wrestling debut in 1972 at Los Angeles’ independent circuit. In the beginning, he used the stage name ‘The Mighty Milton.’
He continued wrestling at various events, until he got an opportunity to showcase his skills at ‘World Wide Wrestling Federation’ (‘WWWF’).
He made his ‘WWWF’ debut with Kowalski as his tag team partner. John became an instant crowd-puller and, along with Killer Kowalski, went on to win the ‘Tag Team Championship’.
He was also known as ‘the masked executioner’ as he sported a mask while making his appearance with Kowalski. While fighting without his partner, he was known by another stage name, ‘Chuck O’Connor.’
On September 12, 1972, he challenged the Puerto Rican wrestler, Pedro Morales, for a Heavyweight Championship match, but Pedro Morales managed to defeat him.
He then faced wrestlers like Gorilla Monsoon and Chief Jay Strongbow during his association with ‘WWWF’. He then left the federation in February 1973. However, he continued wrestling using his stage name Chuck O’ Connor and later made his ‘Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling’ debut in 1974.
He was partnered with Ken Patera, and eventually won the ‘Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship’.