Bruiser Brody was an American professional wrestler. He was born on June 18, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan. He wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), World Wrestling Council (WWC), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and All-Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Brody played college football for West Texas A&M University.

On July 16, 1988, Brody was stabbed by fellow wrestler Jose Huertez Gonzales during an altercation in Puerto Rico. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/bruiser-brody.html The following night, Brody passed away from the stabbing incident. Gonzales was found not guilty of murder due to self defense. http://pwinsider.com/article/52415/standing-up-for-wwe-the-bruiser-brody-murder-criticism-of-wwe-being-pg-and-more.html?p=1

In 2010, WWE.com voted Brody as the 16th greatest big man in professional wrestling history. http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwefeaturepage/features/top25bigmen/ Wrestlers who were at least 6’5 and over 300 pounds were considered for the list.

Brody began his wrestling career in 1973. http://wrestlingmuseum.com/homeie.html He wrestled in the Tri State region of the NWA. In October 1974, Brody teamed with Stan Hansen to win the United States Tag Team Title. Brody then wrestled for the WWE. He feuded with WWE World Champion Bruno Sammartino over the championship. http://wrestlingmuseum.com/homeie.html Brody returned to the NWA in 1975. He had notable feuds with Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Jr., Ric Flair, Harley Race, and Rocky Johnson, On October 17, 1975, Brody defeated Ray Candy to win the NWA Western States Heavyweight Title. In 1977, Brody started wrestling for WCCW. He won the American Heavyweight Title, Texas Heavyweight Title, Texas Tag Team Title, American Tag Team Title, and Texas Brass Knuckles Title while wrestling for WCCW. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/bruiser-brody.html Brody’s top rivals in WCCW were Abdullah the Butcher, Kamala, Fritz Von Erich, and the Freebirds.

In the early 80’s, Brody began competing in Japan. He wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. While wrestling for New Japan, he feuded with Antonio Inoki. In 1981, Brody teamed with Jimmy Snuka to win the All Japan Real World Tag Team Tournament. On April 21, 1982, Brody won the All Japan International Heavyweight Title defeating Dory Funk, Jr. Brody won the title two more times defeating Funk, Jr. and Jumbo Tsuruta.

On March 27, 1988, Brody defeated Jumbo Tsuruta for the All Japan International Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/int-h.html The title win made Brody a three-time International Champion. The International Title was regarded as the top title in Japan. Brody and Giant Baba are the only wrestlers to hold the International Title on three occasions.