![]() ![]() The story given on In the ring, Monsoon dominated opponents with vicious chops, the dreaded Manchurian Splash, and his signature move, the Airplane Spin. 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. Marella totally revamped his image, growing a long beard and billing himself as Gorilla Monsoon, a terrifying giant from Manchuria. Marella garnered moderate popularity but soon realized that fans paid more attention to outlandish monster heel gimmicks, and they, therefore, made more money. Even after changing his ring name, "Gino" stuck as Marella's nickname among friends and colleagues, including Jesse Ventura, who would call Marella "Gino" on the air. Marella debuted in 1958, originally billing himself as Gino Marella, a proud Italian American babyface who would sing in Italian prior to his matches. ![]() Professional wrestling career Early career By the end of his career, he was up around 375 pounds, although he had weighed as much as 440 pounds at points. Gorilla was 6'2" and weighed around 330 pounds when he first started wrestling professionally. 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. He was inducted into the Section V Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010 along with longtime childhood friend Frank Marotta who gave a speech on his behalf. One of the buildings he helped construct was the Rochester War Memorial Arena. During the summers he was at Ithaca College, he was a construction worker in Rochester. He was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973. He also held several school athletic records, including an 18-second wrestling pin, and several track-and-field distinctions. He continued to wrestle, now weighing over 350 pounds, and took second in the 1959 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Marella was also a standout athlete after high school at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. At the time, he weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg) and was affectionately called "Tiny" by his teammates. Marella attended Jefferson High School in Rochester, New York, becoming a standout athlete in football, amateur wrestling, and track and field. 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. ![]() He also portrayed the on-screen role of WWF President from 1995 to 1997. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyweight main eventer, and later as the voice of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), as commentator and backstage manager during the 1980s and 1990s. Robert James Marella (J– October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. 4, including Joey Marella and Víctor Quiñones ![]()
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