I was a 7ft 2ins Olympian and MMA submission fighter but my biggest fame came as the WWE star you forgot
Professional wrestling has always been the proverbial Land of the Giants. Irate grandmas might not be hurtling to the front row to clobber the villains of the piece as they so often did way back when, and the action now moves at a pace far faster than the grunt and groan era of the 1960s and 1970s. The Oddities were a popular Attitude Era act in WWE in 1998 and 1999. Silva (rear) was its tallest memberWWE Some traditions, though, have stood the test of time. More often than not, matches are built around a villain and a good guy and, even in 2025, the bigger athletes remain a remarkable attraction. Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman stand out as two of the tallest and most powerful members of the WWE roster in an environment when size still does very much matter. Over the decades, this has shone through thanks to Vince McMahon’s obsession with larger-than-life performers – Kane, The Undertaker, The Big Show, Andre The Giant, Earthquake, Typhoon, Yokozuna and The Giant Gonzalez and Kurrgan all became big stars under his watch in the 1990s alone. The Attitude Era was, to that point, full of them, and some made a bigger and longer lasting impression than others. So while Taker and Kane, for instance, are household names, Paulo César da Silva or, Giant Silva as he wrestled in WWE, might be a figure for whom you have to reach deep into the memory to find. Silva wouldn’t have been hard to spot in a crowd, however, standing a whopping 7ft 2ins and with a frame that seemed to naturally lend itself to sport and athleticism. In the late 1980s, the Brazilian represented his country at the Summer Olympics as a member of their basketball team but, a decade later, was immersed in the wild world of professional wrestling. After working his formative matches with independent companies in the US, the São Paulo born star wrestled for WWE in June 1998 in an off-air match. Clearly they liked what they saw – he made his in-ring debut at one of the biggest events of the era months later, at SummerSlam at Madison Square Garden. Thrust into a group of misfits known as The Oddities, Giant Silva was the biggest of a big group, and would regularly torment smaller, villainous members of the roster with his immense size and power. Silva may not have stayed long in WWE but few stood above him in the ringWWE Giant Silva went from the storyline world of WWE to the brutal arena of MMAPRIDE Having danced, waved and bashed his way through a relatively short stint in WWE, he disappeared from screens and exited the company within a year of arriving. His wrestling career didn’t end there, though, Silva wrestled all over the world and settled in Japan where he not only continued his grappling but also moved into legitimate fighting in PRIDE. The towering powerhouse fought in eight matches in Japan over the course of three years, winning twice via submission and, perhaps surprisingly, losing four by KO. Now 61, he continued to dabble in wrestling until 2010, his time in WWE the peak of his fame for many of the fans who remember him for his enthusiasm and charisma. Though his immense size naturally reduced his mobility compared to the high-flying wrestling stars of smaller stature, he’s fondly remembered by some. One fan said online: “He was actually a great athlete for his size, had a solid arsenal for a giant, and could run circles like a lightweight.” Silva transitioned into MMA and won two fights by submissionPRIDE Another wrote: “He was also charismatic enough and had a good presence. Overall, he was never amazing, but he was fun as an undercard wrestler. Perfectly okay in my books.” The list of wrestlers who towered over opponents in the ring having also performed at the Olympics and gone on to submit fighters for real is mighty short one, and it has Silva’s name at the top.
Professional wrestling has always been the proverbial Land of the Giants.
Irate grandmas might not be hurtling to the front row to clobber the villains of the piece as they so often did way back when, and the action now moves at a pace far faster than the grunt and groan era of the 1960s and 1970s.
Some traditions, though, have stood the test of time. More often than not, matches are built around a villain and a good guy and, even in 2025, the bigger athletes remain a remarkable attraction.
Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman stand out as two of the tallest and most powerful members of the WWE roster in an environment when size still does very much matter.
Over the decades, this has shone through thanks to Vince McMahon’s obsession with larger-than-life performers – Kane, The Undertaker, The Big Show, Andre The Giant, Earthquake, Typhoon, Yokozuna and The Giant Gonzalez and Kurrgan all became big stars under his watch in the 1990s alone.
The Attitude Era was, to that point, full of them, and some made a bigger and longer lasting impression than others.
So while Taker and Kane, for instance, are household names, Paulo César da Silva or, Giant Silva as he wrestled in WWE, might be a figure for whom you have to reach deep into the memory to find.
Silva wouldn’t have been hard to spot in a crowd, however, standing a whopping 7ft 2ins and with a frame that seemed to naturally lend itself to sport and athleticism.
In the late 1980s, the Brazilian represented his country at the Summer Olympics as a member of their basketball team but, a decade later, was immersed in the wild world of professional wrestling.
After working his formative matches with independent companies in the US, the São Paulo born star wrestled for WWE in June 1998 in an off-air match.
Clearly they liked what they saw – he made his in-ring debut at one of the biggest events of the era months later, at SummerSlam at Madison Square Garden.
Thrust into a group of misfits known as The Oddities, Giant Silva was the biggest of a big group, and would regularly torment smaller, villainous members of the roster with his immense size and power.
Having danced, waved and bashed his way through a relatively short stint in WWE, he disappeared from screens and exited the company within a year of arriving.
His wrestling career didn’t end there, though, Silva wrestled all over the world and settled in Japan where he not only continued his grappling but also moved into legitimate fighting in PRIDE.
The towering powerhouse fought in eight matches in Japan over the course of three years, winning twice via submission and, perhaps surprisingly, losing four by KO.
Now 61, he continued to dabble in wrestling until 2010, his time in WWE the peak of his fame for many of the fans who remember him for his enthusiasm and charisma.
Though his immense size naturally reduced his mobility compared to the high-flying wrestling stars of smaller stature, he’s fondly remembered by some.
One fan said online: “He was actually a great athlete for his size, had a solid arsenal for a giant, and could run circles like a lightweight.”
Another wrote: “He was also charismatic enough and had a good presence. Overall, he was never amazing, but he was fun as an undercard wrestler. Perfectly okay in my books.”
The list of wrestlers who towered over opponents in the ring having also performed at the Olympics and gone on to submit fighters for real is mighty short one, and it has Silva’s name at the top.
