Gorilla Monsoon

Inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010.

In what would be his final WWF appearance, he was a ringside judge in the Brawl-For-All at WrestleMania XV (1999).

Became the interim WWF President after Jack Tunney retired from the position in 1995.

Had one son, Joseph A. Marella, a WWF referee who died in a car accident in July 1994.

Robert James Marella was born in Rochester, New York, USA. After being a WWF Champion and President, he became known for his work on WWE Raw (1993), WWF Challenge (1986) and WWF Prime-Time Wrestling (1985). He also hosted many Wrestlemanias with Jesse Ventura. He was married to Maureen Hess for 40 years.

Longtime commentator for the WWF in the 1980s, then acted as WWF President in the early 90s

Inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973.

For the first four years of his wrestling career he wrestled under his own name. Despite his size and skill, he was just another Italian-American wrestler. He realized that "heels," especially those with a gimmick, drew more attention and therefore made more money. In 1963 he grew a beard and became "Gorilla Monsoon." The character's backstory was that he was born on a isolated farm in Manchuria. He made a living traveling with gypsy caravans and wrestling bears. He arrived in the U.S. speaking no English and eating raw meat which he would wash down with the blood of his victims. The gimmick worked and he became a very famous main event caliber wrestler facing the top champions like Bruno Sammartino.

He finished second in the 1959 NCAA wrestling championships. An 18 second pin remains a school record.