Early career (1972–1973) Minton was trained for a career in professional wrestling by
Killer Kowalski and Charlie Moto in
Los Angeles. He formed a
tag team with
"Superstar" Billy Graham, facing the Tolos Brothers (
Chris and
John) in a series of matches.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1974–1983) , As Chuck O'Connor, Minton joined
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in January 1974. In 1977, he got the ring name Big John Studd from promoter
Paul Boesch, who said "My God, you look like a stud." Studd left the WWWF once more in early 1977.
American Wrestling Association (1975–1976, 1980–1981) From 1975 to 1976, Studd performed for the
American Wrestling Association. He returned in 1980 and feuded with
Mad Dog Vachon and
The Crusher before leaving in 1981. at
WrestleMania in March 1985 While Studd became a top challenger for
Bob Backlund's WWF World Championship, it was his feud with ,
André the Giant over who was professional wrestling's 'true 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 who could slam Studd before boasting that he 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 the slam). The AndreStudd feud raged throughout 1983, and Andre got the upper hand and slammed Studd several times, once with enough force to collapse the entire ring. Several times the two met inside a steel cage, where André not only slammed Studd, but used a
sitdown splash from the top rope onto his chest to knock him out. Despite this, Studd began declaring himself the "True Giant of Wrestling" while continuing to insist he could not be (and had never been) slammed. By 1984, with his feud with Andre still raging, Studd was challenging then-new champion
Hulk Hogan, who was also successful in slamming Studd, for the title. Studd then formed an alliance with fellow
Heenan Family member
King Kong Bundy, injuring André's
sternum in August. Their feud continued for the rest of that year and into 1986, with André recruiting faces such as Hulk Hogan,
Tony Atlas,
Junkyard Dog and
Hillbilly Jim to team with him. and
Hillbilly Jim facing
King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd in an October 1985 tag team match at
Madison Square Garden|leftThe AndreStudd feud took on a new dimension in 1986, when, in the wake of Andre's increasing health problems related to
gigantism and
acromegaly, his role as Fezzik in the movie
The Princess Bride, and his planned tour of Japan, a storyline was developed to have André compete in a tag team called
The Machines. The "Machines" angle began when André did not show up for several tag team matches against Bundy and Studd. Heenan successfully campaigned to get André suspended, only for André to reappear shortly thereafter in a mask, billing himself as a Japanese wrestler called 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"), with Studd and Bundy saying in interviews that they knew who The Machines were and had never heard of Japanese wrestlers with a South-
Texas accent (Mulligan/Big Machine) or a South-
Florida accent (Eadie/Super Machine), while Heenan repeatedly claimed that no Japanese wrestler or person was 7'4" and over 500 lbs and spoke with a French accent. However, neither Studd, Bundy, or Heenan, could unmask The Machines, and their true identities remained a secret. Despite leaving the WWF, Studd's presence was still made known in a
WWF Magazine article published shortly before
WrestleMania III, where he supported André in his upcoming match against Hogan (contending that Hogan's friendship with André was a ruse, to duck him as a potential challenger to the title). Studd retired from wrestling to focus on his acting career. Studd went on to feud with several members of the Heenan family, including André, who had turned heel during Studd's absence, and
Haku. He then served as a special guest referee in the match between
Jake "The Snake" Roberts and André at
WrestleMania V on April 2, which Roberts won when he disqualified André, who attacked Studd from behind. Studd's last match with the WWF took place on June 4, with Hillbilly Jim wrestling in Studd's place later that month. Studd quit the WWF over a financial dispute with
Vince McMahon. He also came out with his own line of workout and vitamin supplements. Studd was responsible for training
Ron Reis, who he had tagged with as the "Giants of Wrestling". In tribute, Reis would make his WCW debut as Big Ron Studd. Studd wrestled his last match in October 1993 at a show promoted by Killer Kowalski against
The Honky Tonk Man, filling in for
Jimmy Snuka, who could not make the event. After the match, Studd collapsed due to low stamina. In 1994, he was called as a prosecution witness at the
Vince McMahon steroid distribution trial in
Long Island, New York, but due to his declining health, Studd, under oath, admitted to using steroids via telephone from his home. ==Personal life==