Robert Otto Marella (June 4, 1937 - October 6, 1999), better known by his stage name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker. He is famous for his run as one of the great super-heavyweights, and later as the voice of the World Wrestling Federation as announcer, on-screen President, and backstage manager during the 1980s and 1990s. In professional wrestling, the staging area just behind the entrance curtain at an event, a position which Marella established and where he could often be found during WWF shows late in his career, is named the Gorilla Position in his honor. is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Willingboro Township highlighted in Burlington County. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... A stage name, also called a screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musicians, djs, clowns, and professional wrestlers. ... For the video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ... Play-by-play, in broadcasting, is a North American term and means the reporting of a sporting event with a voiceover describing the details of the action of the game in progress. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Continuity announcer. ... Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of slang, in-references and jargon. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ...

Career

Amateur career

Marella attended Jefferson High School in Rochester, New York, becoming a standout athlete in football, amateur wrestling, and track and field. At the time, he weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg), and was affectionately called "Tiny" by his teammates. This article is about the city of Rochester in Monroe County. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Scholastic wrestling is a modification of collegiate wrestling. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ...

Marella was also a standout athlete after high school at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. He continued to wrestle, now weighing over 350 pounds, and took second in the 1959 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He also held several school athletic records, including an 18-second wrestling pin, and several track-and-field distinctions. He was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973. [1] For other uses, see High school (disambiguation). ... Ithaca College is a private institution of higher education located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. ... The City of Ithaca (named for the Greek island of Ithaca) sits on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, in Central New York State. ... The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced N-C-Double-A or N-C-Two-A ) is a voluntary association of about 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ...

Marella's size and athletic ability attracted the attention of New York promoter Pedro Martinez, and he went to wrestle for Martinez after graduating from Ithaca in 1959.

Early career

Marella originally billed himself as Gino Marella, a proud Italian-American babyface who would sing in Italian prior to his matches. Even after changing his stage name, "Gino" stuck as Marella's nickname among friends and colleagues, including Jesse "The Body" Ventura, who would call Marella "Gino" on the air. Marella garnered moderate popularity, but soon realized that fans paid more attention to outlandish monster heel gimmicks, and they therefore made more money. Marella totally revamped his image, growing a long beard and billing himself as Gorilla Monsoon, a terrifying giant from Manchuria. Supposedly born on an isolated farm, "Monsoon" traveled across the countryside with a gypsy caravan wrestling bears, spoke no English, ate raw meat, and drank his victims' blood. The Monsoon character was infinitely more successful, and fans were genuinely afraid of him, sparking a huge financial windfall for Marella. In the ring, Monsoon dominated opponents with vicious chops, the dreaded Manchurian Splash, and his signature move, the Airplane Spin. Language(s) American English, Italian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, other (predominantly southern) Italian dialects and languages of Italian historical minorities Religion(s) Roman Catholic An Italian American is an American of Italian descent. ... In professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analagous to villains. ... A stage name, also called a screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musicians, djs, clowns, and professional wrestlers. ... Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos on July 15, 1951), also known as The Body, The Star, Governor Turnbuckle, and The Governing Body, is an American politician, retired professional wrestler, Navy UDT veteran, actor, and former radio and television talk show host. ... In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. ... Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of slang, in-references and jargon. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

WWF career

In 1963, Vincent J. McMahon reformed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation into the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known as World Wrestling Entertainment), breaking his territory away from the National Wrestling Alliance in an attempt to create a new national powerhouse. At the time, the WWWF was the dominant wrestling promotion in the Northeast U.S. Marella formed a friendship with McMahon, and became a 1/6th shareholder in the WWWF, controlling bookings in several WWWF territories. He also became one of the promotion's top heels, feuding with popular babyface champion Bruno Sammartino in sellout arenas across the country. Despite his huge size, which was now in excess of 400 pounds, Monsoon had great agility and stamina, often wrestling Sammartino to one-hour time-limit draws. Vincent J. McMahon Vincent J. McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984) was a U.S. professional wrestling promoter. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... National Wrestling Alliance logo The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is the largest governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships. ... Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (born October 6, 1935), is a former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), holding the title across two reigns for over 12 years in total, as well as the longest World Heavyweight Championship reign in...

In 1969, Monsoon became a babyface, befriending his former arch-rival when Sammartino rescued him from an attack by The Sheik. The stage was set for Monsoon to become a fan favorite of the 1970s and feud with top heels of the decade, including champion "Superstar" Billy Graham. He also feuded with André the Giant, and the two engaged in a special boxing match in Puerto Rico (a territiory which Monsoon co-owned at the time) in 1977, which André won. Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1924 - January 18, 2003) was a professional wrestler best known as The Sheik (or The Original Sheik to distinguish him from the wrestler the Iron Sheik of the 1980s). ... Superstar Billy Graham Eldridge Wayne Coleman, better known by his stage name Superstar Billy Graham (born September 10, 1943), is an American professional wrestler. ... André the Giant was the stage name of André René Roussimoff, (May 19, 1946 – January 27, 1993) a French professional wrestler and actor. ... For other senses of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer (disambiguation). ...

On June 2, 1976, a very famous incident occurred in Philadelphia involving boxing great Muhammad Ali. Ali, preparing for his upcoming crossover bout with Antonio Inoki in Japan later that month, jumped into the ring as Monsoon was concluding a short match against Baron Mikel Scicluna. Ali removed his shirt and started dancing around Monsoon while gesturing and throwing jabs at him, to which Monsoon responded by grabbing Ali in his Airplane Spin and slamming him to the mat. Marella would never reveal whether the incident was preplanned. In an interview, he commented, "I never saw him before and haven’t seen him since."^[1] is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... For other persons named Muhammad Ali, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation). ... Antonio Inoki (アントニオ猪木), real name Kanji Inoki (猪木寛至 Inoki Kanji, born February 20, 1943) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides in New York City. ... Mikel Scicluna (nicknamed Baron Mike Scicluna) was a professional wrestler from the Isle of Malta, who now lives in Pennsylvania, who gained his fame during the 1960s and 70s. ...

A kind of torch bearer of the Vincent J. McMahon-era WWWF, Gorilla Monsoon was rabidly supported by New York audiences. On June 16, 1980, a young and up-and-coming Hulk Hogan was booked to face him at Madison Square Garden. At the time, Hogan was a widely followed heel character, while Monsoon was still a babyface. However, in order to push the new talent, McMahon told Hulk Hogan to beat Monsoon in under a minute. Upon that outcome, the crowd became livid and chased Hogan when he was leaving the arena, turning over his car. Policemen on horses had to be summoned to quiet the mob. is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Terrence Gene Bollea (born on August 11, 1953) is an American actor and semi-retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan. ... Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. ...

As the 1980s began, Marella's in-ring career wound down. On August 23, Monsoon put his career on the line in a match against Ken Patera. Monsoon lost the match and stayed true to his word, retiring several weeks later and returning just three times: wrestling a match in 1982 as a substitute for André the Giant, taking part in Big John Studd's "Body Slam Challenge" in 1983, and participating in a special "old timers" battle royal in 1987 which was won by Lou Thesz. The next phase of his career began, as the voice and backstage manager of the WWF. is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... John Minton (February 19, 1948 —- March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

After in-ring retirement

In the early 1980s, Vincent J. McMahon's son, current WWE owner Vincent K. McMahon, began assuming the reins of the promotion from his father. The elder McMahon asked his son to take care of long-time employees that had been loyal to him. The younger McMahon agreed, and in 1982, Vince bought Marella's shares in the company in exchange for a guarantee of lifetime employment. As he had been to his father, Marella became a close confidant of the younger McMahon, and assumed a prominent backstage role. In addition, McMahon needed a new announcer team to head up his television programming, and installed Marella with the recently retired Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the new announcing team. Marella and Ventura had great chemistry, with Ventura as the pro-heel color commentator and Marella as the pro-face "voice of reason." Marella and Ventura called five of the first six WrestleManias together. Monsoon was also paired with villainous manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, a duo that subsequent wrestling commentary teams have often tried to emulate. The two also formed a real-life friendship which Heenan recalls fondly. One of Monsoon's catch phrases was his (mis)use of the word "literally", such as "the fans are literally hanging from the rafters in here!". Presumably, this was done for humor, as Monsoon's announcing character was quite entertaining and popular. Monsoon to this date holds the record for most consecutive WrestleMania events on the commentary team, calling each event from 1985-1992. Monsoon was the lead announcer on the syndicated show, WWF All Star Wrestling, its successor WWF Wrestling Challenge, and the USA Network weekend show, WWF All American Wrestling, as well as appearing often on the WWF weeknight show, WWF Prime Time Wrestling. Vincent Kennedy McMahon (born August 25, 1945) is an American wrestling promoter, occasional professional wrestler, on-screen personality, former play-by-play announcer, and film producer. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos on July 15, 1951), also known as The Body, The Star, Governor Turnbuckle, and The Governing Body, is an American politician, retired professional wrestler, Navy UDT veteran, actor, and former radio and television talk show host. ... Official WrestleMania logo WrestleMania is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment since 1985. ... Bobby The Brain Heenan (born Raymond Louis Heenan on November 1, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American professional wrestling manager and commentator. ... WWF Prime Time Wrestling (also known to fans as simply Prime Time or PTW) was a TV wrestling program that aired on the USA Network from 1985-1993. ...

Marella stepped down as lead announcer in 1993 for WCW recruit Jim Ross, though he would help commentate the 1994 Survivor Series with McMahon. Marella remained in his backstage role and appeared on-air frequently, becoming the storyline WWF President in 1995 (replacing the retiring Jack Tunney). The WWF President's role was to arbitrate disputes between wrestlers and make matches, similar to the current RAW and SmackDown! General Managers. Health concerns forced him to relinquish his role in 1997 (as Marella was subsequently replaced by Sgt. Slaughter), and Marella's health deteriorated from there. He returned to call the International version of WWF Superstars until soon before his death. He made his last public appearance as a judge for the Brawl for All at WrestleMania XV. For the Australian professional wrestling promotion, see World Championship Wrestling (Australia). ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... Survivor Series 1994 was the eighth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ... Jack Tunney (b. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For the video game series based on the show, see WWE SmackDown! (video game series). ... This article is about the wrestler Robert Remus. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... WrestleMania XV was the fifteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ...

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves:

• Manchurian Splash
• Airplane spin
• Gorilla press slam
• Backbreaker
• Giant swing

Attacking maneuvers in the kayfabe of professional wrestling are mainly used to wear down an opponent for a submission hold or as a set up for a throw. ... Professional wrestling throws are the application of techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming him or her down, which makes up most of the action of professional wrestling. ... Professional wrestling throws are the application of techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming him or her down, which makes up most of the action of professional wrestling. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Professional wrestling throws are the application of techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming him or her down, which makes up most of the action of professional wrestling. ...

Championships and accomplishments

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Gorilla Monsoon

• International Wrestling Alliance

• IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)

• WWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Luke Graham (1) and El Mongol (1)

• World Wrestling Council

• WWC North American Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

• World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation

• WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Killer Kowalski (1) and Bill Watts (1)
• WWF Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship started out in 1964 as the top professional wrestling tag team title in the Los Angeles, California-based World Wrestling Association as the WWA World Tag Team Championship. ... Grady Johnson, better known as professional wrestler Crazy Luke Graham, is a member of the legendary Graham family, a storyline family of wrestlers. ... The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Ricos two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association. ... The WWC North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title defended in the Puerto Rican promotion, the World Wrestling Council. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1963 until 1967. ... Wladek Killer Kowalski (born October 13, 1926) is a retired Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. ... Bill Watts, (born May 5, 1939 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a former American professional wrestler and promoter. ... WWE Hall of Fame logo, 2004-present. ... The WWE Hall of Fame is an event held annually to honour the greatest wrestlers in World Wrestling Entertainment history. ...

Personal life

Marella's personalized license plate read "KAYFABE", a reference to pro wrestling's code of secrecy. In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced KAY-fayb; IPA: ) refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as real, that is the portrayal of professional wrestling as not staged or worked. ...

He was one of the first inductees into the WWF Hall of Fame on June 9, 1994. Twenty-five days later on July 4, his son Joey Marella (a WWF referee) was killed in an automobile accident. Friends say that Marella never fully recovered from the event. WWE Hall of Fame logo, 2004-present. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Joey Marella (February 28, 1963 - July 4, 1994) was a professional wrestling referee and the son of legendary wrestler and announcer Robert Marella (aka Gorilla Monsoon), though their relationship was never acknowledged on television. ...

Marella passed away on October 6, 1999 of heart failure brought on by complications of diabetes. He is survived by his wife Maureen, two daughters Sharon and Valerie and another son Victor. Also surviving was his mother Connie, three sisters and four grandchildren. In a tribute that aired on WWF television after his death, McMahon described Marella as "one of the greatest men I have ever known". is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

References

External links

• Gorilla Monsoon's WWE Hall of Fame Profile
• Robert Morella at the Internet Movie Database
• Marella's Ithaca College Quarterly Obituary