Giant Haystacks
Martin Austin Ruane ( born October 10, 1946 in Camberwell, London, England; † November 29, 1998 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England), better known as Giant Haystacks, was since the mid-1970s until his illness in 1996 one of the best known European wrestler. In addition, he appeared in several TV movies and shows.
Life
Ruane was born in 1946 as the son of an Irish immigrant family in Camberwell, a district of London. His father had to take a job as a migrant worker, and so the family moved around often in the early years, before they finally settled in Manchester in Salford. Already as a teenager was Ruane very large and bulky for his age and often had to endure the ridicule of his classmates. After leaving school he worked in a furniture factory, but there broke off and then worked among other things in a tire depot preparation. After marrying and by 1970 had three children with his wife, he was looking for a job with regular income. After he was fired as a bouncer once, he also worked as migrant workers.
Wrestling career
Coincidentally, the British part-time wrestler Billy Graham in 1967 attention to Ruane and hit him a career as a wrestler before. Despite small initial problems and after appropriate training, you Ruane eventually gave the ring name Haystacks Calhoun (a tribute to the American super heavyweight ), resulting in Giant Haystacks developed. His real name he gave, in order to keep his family from the public, and later with Luke McMasters. 1975 Ruane received an invitation from the British wrestling promoter Max Crabtree, who brought him to the television for the first time. With a height of 2.03 m and a weight of about 200 kg, it was at that time by far the largest and heaviest wrestlers of England and therefore an audience favorite. Especially his disputes with Crabtree's brother Shirley, aka Big Daddy, who was with 170 kg also quite heavy, guaranteed high ratings.
Also other wrestling organizations were aware of the British giant and made such Ruane 1980, a tour and came here for different organizations on every continent. A special highlight here were his performances against his French counterpart Andre the Giant in Australia.
In the 1980s, Ruane had reached cult status in England and was the top heel in Crabtree's joint promotion. He appeared in various TV movies and shows, but maintained frequently, to the benefit of his family, on lucrative offers from the United States. Mid-1990s, the British Wrestling disappeared from the scene and Ruane had to find other earning opportunities. He ran unsuccessfully a used car business and eventually opened a collection agency.
In 1996, he received an offer from World Championship Wrestling and went to America. He was given the gimmick of Loch Ness, under which he had begun already in Stampede Wrestling and he was in the Hulk Hogan pursuing Dungeon of Doom integrated. Ruane was now about 260 kg and was initially booked against The Giant, but should work in the future with Hogan. In summer 1996, Ruane came close to the U.S. return to WCW when he was diagnosed with cancer. His wrestling career was over, and so on November 29, 1998 Ruane succumbed to his illness.
Others
- Ruane played in the film Broad Street by Paul McCartney a minor role.
- As usual in the wrestling business, even Ruane was advertised bigger than it actually was. Advertised with 2.10 m, he really was about 2.03 m tall. In WCW his weight was given even with up to 310 kg.