Of all the behemoths to come through the World

Wrestling Federation, Kane and Big John Studd are two of the biggest and strongest. In the mid - 1970's, Studd was half of the dreaded masked tandem known as the Executioners. Alongside the legendary Killer Kowalski, the duo laid waste to all competition on their romp to the Federation's Tag Team Championship. By the early 1980's, Studd teamed with the 450-pound King Kong Bundy, and led by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, the duo destroyed every tag team who dared stand in their path of devastation. 

Now, nearly two decades later, the Brother's of Destruction are scouring the competition, looking for a real challenge in the tag team division. Kane and his brother Undertaker not only conquered every team in the WWF en route to winning the WWF Tag Team titles, but every team in the WCW as well, becoming the first tag team in history to unify the prestigious titles.

If Kane and Studd were to have ever stepped into the same ring at the same time, which of these monsters would have emerged victorious? Would the Studd have dominated  Kane to stand atop the Federation as its best big man, or would the Big Red Machine have made short work of the mighty Studd? Let's just hope that they would have reinforced the ring for this colossal edition of "Fantasy Warfare."

Big John Studd

Strengths
Studd was trained by Walter "Killer" Kowalski, the same man responsible for instructing Triple H, Albert and Perry Saturn, among others. Stud was quite an adept grappler, although with his immense size and brute strength, he rarely needed to use his scientific skills. The big man would usually look to gain an early advantage and pummel his opponent until they were barely able to stand. Many opponents were simply intimidated competing with an athlete as large and powerful as he was.

Weaknesses
Against smaller opponents, Studd was virtually unstoppable, but when facing someone as big and powerful as himself, Studd often struggled--as he did against the legendary Andre the Giant.

Studd liked to manhandle opponents, pausing in between moves to gloat and catch his breath. When challenged intensely, Studd frequently wore out and resorted to unfair tactics. Often, his manager would have to coax him into continuing against formidable opponents.

Key Wins
Despite challenging legendary champs like Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair for their respective titles, Big John Studd was never able to capture a major heavy-weight championship in his career. One huge victory came late in Studd's WWF tenure, when he was the last man standing at the 1989 Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, Studd never fully capitalized on the victory and disappeared from the Federation later that year.

Key Losses
Perhaps Studd's most infamous defeat was at the first WrestleMania, where he was beaten by his arch nemesis Andre in a $15,000 Bodyslam Match.

Studd had been out to show the world that he was the "real giant" of professional wrestling, but came up short. Another embarrassing loss came at WrestleMania2, where Studd entered a 20-man Battle Royal as an odds-on favorite, but fell short when NFL star William "The Refrigerator" Perry pulled him out of the ring with a handshake after being eliminated, costing Studd an important victory.

Finishing Move(s)
After wearing down an opponent with bodyslams and mighty blows, Studd would wrap his massive arms around his adversary and squeeze the life out of him with a massive bearhug.

Within a few minutes of being locked in such a hold, an opponent's arms would fall limp, signaling o the referee that the match was over.

Strategy
In order to defeat Kane, Studd would need to physically wear down the Big Red Machine by softening him up with his 10-pound "hamhock" fists and repeatedly slamming him to the mat. If that punishment wasn't enough, Studd's manager, Heenan, would need to summon members of the Heenan Family to assist the self-proclaimed "real giant."

Just as Studd and Ken Patera once embarrassed Andre by cutting his hair, Stud would attempt to disgrace Kane by either ripping off his mask or cutting his long, flowing locks.

KANE

Strengths
First and foremost, Kane is much faster and more agile than Studd. For someone who is seven feet tall, Kane is blessed with the agility of a cruiser-weight. Frequently climbing to the top turnbuckle and leaping into mid-air, Kane covers more that three-quarters of the ring in a single leap. His size and raw power makes him one of the most dangerous--and feared--men in the WWF. Many times, Kane has shown almost superhuman strength by throwing around large opponents as if they were children.

Weaknesses
Equipped with a mean streak and rarely showing emotion, Kane is seemingly unstoppable. The only fatal flaw he has shown since joining the WWF is his childlike manner and sincere compassion. Kane has been misled a number of times by friends, family and even love interests. A cerebral opponent who does his homework can devise ways to manipulate Kane and possibly even defeat him.

Key Wins
Kane won the Intercontinental Championship at Judgment Day 2001 by defeating Triple H in a chain match. He also held the WWF Tag Team Championship six different times. But to this day, the biggest win in Kane's career took place at the 1998 King of the Ring.

It was at this event that the Big Red Machine--with the help of Undertaker--defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship in a First Blood Match.

Key Losses
Unfortunately for Kane, his title reign was short-lived, as he lost the WWF Championship back to Austin the next night on RAW. Since joining the WWF in 1997, Kane has suffered a few major defeats to Undertaker, the biggest coming when his brother defeated him at WrestleMania XVI. While Kane has yet to win the Royal Rumble like Studd did, his efforts at the 2001 Royal Rumble were nothing short of remarkable, tossing out 11 opponents and lasting 58 minutes before being the last man eliminated.

Finishing Move(s)
When Kane feels he has dished out enough punishment, he will wrap his oversized hand around an opponent's neck, throwing a flailing arm over his shoulder, and chokeslam his rival straight to hell. If by some chance a foe is courageous enough to kick out of this maneuver, Kane is more than happy to oblige by dropping his opponent headfirst onto the hard canvas with a devastating Tombstone.

Strategy
To defeat Studd, Kane would need to use his speed and agility to catch him off-guard with a flying lariat for the top rope, grounding the big man. Another sure-fire way to wear down Studd would be to get him out of the ring so that Kane could implement steel chairs and ring steps into the match. As tough as Studd was, he did all of his work in the ring and rarely went outside unless to feign forfeit.

If Kane were to make the match a little more hardcore and take the fight to the bully, he would surely tire out Studd and set him up for the Chokeslam from Hell, a move Kane probably wouldn't have too hard of a time executing.

Final Analysis
Even the most successful oddsmaker in Las Vegas couldn't accurately predict a victor in this battle. There are so many variables that would make it almost impossible to pick a winner. In their respective eras, both men struck fear into the hearts of countless opponents while challenging men their own size to be named the best big man in the business.

There is no doubt that if Studd were to have competed in this day and age, on of his first targets would have been Kane. The self-proclaimed "real giant" would have begged for an opportunity to humiliate the Big Red Machine and put him on the shelf so that he could stand alone atop the mountain. Unfortunately, we'll never know who would have won this battle of epic proportions, but both men will go down in the history books as two of the greatest big men the sports entertainment world has ever seen.

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