Editing Gorilla Monsoon

{{short description|American professional wrestler (1937–1999)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
| name        = Gorilla Monsoon 
| birthname   = Robert James Marella
| image       = Gorilla Monsoon - Wrestling Program WWWF n.74 1977 (cropped).jpg
| caption     = Monsoon in 1977
| names       = Gino Marella<ref name=wwebio/><br>Gorilla Monsoon<br>Bob Marella<br>Manchuria Giant
| height      = 6 ft 7 in<ref name=wwebio/>
| weight      = 401 lb<ref name=wwebio/>
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1937|6|4|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1999|10|6|1937|6|4}}
| death_place = [[Willingboro Township, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_cause = Complications of [[diabetes]]
| billed      = [[Manchuria]]<ref name=wwebio/><ref name=Legends/><br />[[Willingboro Township, New Jersey|Willingboro, New Jersey]]
| spouse      = {{marriage|Maureen Marella|1959<!--As marriage ended by death of Marella, not by death of his spouse, the year 1999 is omitted here. See instructions on [[Template:Marriage]] for more info-->}}
| children    = 4, including [[Joey Marella]] and [[Víctor Quiñones]]
| trainer     = [[Stu Hart]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Hornbaker |first=Tim |title=Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Headlocks, Body Slams, and Piledrivers |page=[https://archive.org/details/legendsofprowres0000horn/page/252/ 252] |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing|Sports Publishing]] |url=https://archive.org/details/legendsofprowres0000horn |url-access=registration |isbn=978-1-61321-075-8 |date=July 2, 2012 |access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref>
| debut       = 1958
| retired     = 1997
| alma_mater  = [[Ithaca College]]
}}
'''Robert James "Gino" Marella''' (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his [[ring name]] of '''Gorilla Monsoon''', was an American [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]], [[Sports commentator|play-by-play commentator]], and [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Book|booker]].

Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyweight main eventer, and later as the voice of the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF), as commentator and backstage manager during the 1980s and 1990s. He also portrayed the on-screen role of WWF President from 1995 to 1997.

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.

== Early life ==
Marella attended [[Thomas Jefferson High School (Rochester, New York)|Jefferson High School]] in [[Rochester, New York]], becoming a standout athlete in [[American football|football]], [[Scholastic wrestling|amateur wrestling]], and [[track and field]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Von Slagle|first=Stephen|date=June 4, 2020|title=Gorilla Monsoon|url=https://historyofwrestling.com/gorilla-monsoon/|access-date=November 19, 2021|website=History of Wrestling}}</ref> At the time, he weighed over 300 pounds (136&nbsp;kg) and was affectionately called "Tiny" by his teammates.

Marella was also a standout athlete after [[high school]] at [[Ithaca College]] in [[Ithaca, New York]]. He continued to wrestle, now weighing over 350 pounds, and took second in the [[1959 NCAA Wrestling Championships]]. He also held several school athletic records, including an 18-second wrestling pin, and several track-and-field distinctions.<ref name=":0" /> During the summers he was at Ithaca College, he was a construction worker in Rochester. One of the buildings he helped construct was the [[Rochester War Memorial Arena]]. 

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. Gorilla was 6'5" and weighed around 330 pounds when he first started wrestling professionally. By the end of his career, he was up around 375 pounds, although he had weighed as much as 440 pounds at points.{{Citation needed|reason=Citation required per [[WP:V]]|date=November 2022}}

== Professional wrestling career==
===Early career===
Marella debuted in 1958, originally billing himself as Gino Marella,<ref name=wwebio>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwe.com/superstars/gorillamonsoon |title=Gorilla Monsoon's Hall of Fame profile |publisher=[[WWE]] |access-date=6 November 2013}}</ref> a proud [[Italian American]] [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] who would sing in Italian prior to his matches. 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. He would work in Toronto, Calgary, St. Louis and Japan. Marella garnered moderate popularity but soon realized that fans paid more attention to outlandish monster [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] [[gimmick (professional wrestling)|gimmick]]s, and they, therefore, made more money. Marella totally revamped his image, growing a long beard and billing himself as Gorilla Monsoon, a terrifying giant from [[Manchuria]]. 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. The story given on WWWF television was a bit different: his first manager, Bobby Davis, claimed to have discovered Monsoon in Manchuria wading nude in a mountain stream. The Monsoon character was far more successful, and fans were genuinely afraid of him, sparking a huge financial windfall for Marella. In the ring, Monsoon dominated opponents with vicious chops, the dreaded Manchurian Splash, and his signature move, the Airplane Spin.<ref name=":0" />

===WWWF/WWF career===
[[File:Gorilla Monsoon in the ring.png|thumb|Marella in the ring]]
In 1963, [[Vincent J. McMahon]] reformed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation into the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known as [[WWE|World Wrestling Entertainment]]), breaking his territory away from the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] in an attempt to create a new national powerhouse. At the time, the WWWF was the dominant wrestling promotion in the Northeast U.S.. Marella formed a friendship with McMahon, and became a one-sixth shareholder in the WWWF, controlling bookings in several WWWF territories. He also became one of the promotion's top heels, feuding with popular babyface champion [[Bruno Sammartino]] in sellout arenas across the country. Despite his huge size, then in excess of 400 pounds, Monsoon had great agility and stamina, often wrestling Sammartino to one-hour time-limit draws.

Monsoon first wrestled [[Bruno Sammartino]] for the WWWF World Championship on October 4, 1963, at Roosevelt Stadium, in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]] Monsoon qualified by winning a partially televised Ring Wrestling Magazine tournament, where he pinned Killer [[Buddy Austin]] in about a minute.
Monsoon's disqualification win over Sammartino in NJ triggered a series of rematches at [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]], and they would renew the feud again there in 1967.<ref name=":0" /> At the end of the Jersey City match, as Monsoon was sitting on the mat, a fan (not part of the show) jumped into the ring and broke the back of a wooden chair over Monsoon's head.

Monsoon teamed up with [[Killer Kowalski]] with success. In November 1963, they defeated [[Skull Murphy]] and [[Brute Bernard]] to win the [[WWWF United States Tag Team Championship|U.S. Tag Team Championship]].<ref name=":0" /> The following month, the duo lost the belts to the Tolos Brothers (Chris and John) in [[Teaneck, New Jersey]].<ref name=Legends/> Monsoon and Kowalski reunited in the late 1960s to defeat champion Bruno Sammartino and [[Víctor Rivera (professional wrestler)|Victor Rivera]] 2 falls to 1 in Madison Square Garden in a main event, marking the first, and possibly only, time that Sammartino & Rivera lost as a tag team.

Monsoon also teamed with [[Professor Tanaka|Professor Toru Tanaka]] in 1967, and they had a number of tag matches in Madison Square Garden. They won a main event on disqualification over Sammartino and [[Spiros Arion]] and later lost a Texas Death rematch to the same team. A year later, after defeating teams such as [[Al Costello]] & [[Dr. Bill Miller]] and [[Bobo Brazil]] and [[Earl Maynard]], they went on to lose a main event to Sammartino and Victor Rivera. Monsoon had semi main event matches with [[Spiros Arion]] as well as Bobo Brazil in his key heel years.

Also in 1968 he won the [[IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Australia)]] defeating [[Mario Milano]] on February 2 and dropped the belt to Spiros Arion.<ref name=":0" />

In 1969, Monsoon became a babyface, befriending his former arch-rival when Sammartino rescued him from an attack by "Crazy" [[Luke Graham (wrestler)|Luke Graham]], a former tag team partner of Monsoon.<ref name=":0" /> The stage was set for Monsoon to become a fan favorite of the 1970s and feud with top heels of the decade, including champion [[Superstar Billy Graham]]; he then began to speak English.<ref name=":0" /> He turned heel for a short time in 1977 and feuded with [[André the Giant]], and the two engaged in a special [[boxing]] match in [[Puerto Rico]] (where Monsoon owned stock in the territory), with André winning the match. As a face, he had major wins in Madison Square Garden, including over Killer Kowalski as well as [[Ernie Ladd|"Big Cat" Ernie Ladd]].

On June 1, 1976, a famous incident occurred in [[Philadelphia]] involving boxing great [[Muhammad Ali]] during a taping for the syndicated WWWF TV show.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gross |first1=Josh |title=Ali vs. Inoki: The Forgotten Fight That Inspired Mixed Martial Arts and Launched Sports Entertainment |date=2016 |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1942952190 |edition=Kindle}}</ref> Ali, preparing for his upcoming crossover bout with [[Antonio Inoki]] in Japan later that month, jumped into the ring as Monsoon (who rarely appeared as a wrestler on their TV shows) was concluding a short match against Baron [[Mikel Scicluna]].<ref name=":0" /> Ali removed his shirt and started dancing around Monsoon while gesturing and throwing jabs at him, to which Monsoon responded by grabbing Ali in his Airplane Spin and slamming him to the mat.<ref name=":0" /> Marella would never reveal whether the incident was preplanned. In an interview, he commented, "I never saw him before and haven't seen him since."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ithaca.edu/icq/1999v4/ssgoril.htm |title=Farewell to Wrestler Gorilla Monsoon |publisher=Ithaca College Quarterly 1999/No. 4 |access-date=6 November 2013}}</ref>

A kind of torch bearer of the Vincent J. McMahon-era WWWF, Gorilla Monsoon was rabidly supported by New York audiences. On June 16, 1980, a young and up-and-coming [[Hulk Hogan]] was booked to face him at [[Madison Square Garden]]. At the time, Hogan was a widely followed heel character, while Monsoon was still a babyface. However, in order to push the new talent, McMahon told Hulk Hogan to beat Monsoon in under a minute. Upon that outcome, the crowd became livid and chased Hogan when he was leaving the arena, turning over his car. Policemen on horses had to be summoned to quiet the mob.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

As the 1980s began, Marella's in-ring career wound down. On August 23, Monsoon put his career on the line in a match against [[Ken Patera]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Professional Wrestling: Vol. 1: WWF 1963–1989|last=Cawthon|first=Graham|pages=310|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4928-2597-5}}</ref> Monsoon lost and only wrestled a few more matches, retiring several weeks later. Following this he fought only four times: wrestling a six-man tag team match at Madison Square Garden in 1981, a match in 1982 as a substitute for André the Giant where he defeated [[Swede Hanson (wrestler)|Swede Hanson]], taking part in [[Big John Studd]]'s "Body Slam Challenge" in 1983, and wrestling at [[World Wrestling Council|WWC]]'s tenth anniversary show in a loss to Abdullah Tamba in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], Puerto Rico (also in 1983). The next phase of his career began, as the voice and backstage manager of WWF.<ref name=":0" />

====After in-ring retirement====
[[File:Gorillamonsoon.jpg|thumb|Gorilla Monsoon in later years]]
In the early 1980s, Vincent J. McMahon's son, [[Vince McMahon|Vincent K. McMahon]], began assuming the reins of the promotion from his father. The elder McMahon asked his son to take care of long-time employees who had been loyal to him. The younger McMahon agreed, and in 1982, Vince bought Marella's shares in the company in exchange for a guarantee of lifetime employment. As he had been to his father, Marella became a close confidant of the younger McMahon, and assumed a prominent backstage role within the then WWF. Marella would then become an announcer for the WWF starting in 1982.<ref name=":0" /> In addition, McMahon needed a new commentary team to head up his television programming, and installed Marella with the recently retired [[Jesse Ventura|Jesse "The Body" Ventura]] in 1985.<ref name=":0" />

Marella and Ventura had great chemistry, with Ventura as the pro-heel color commentator and Marella as the pro-face "voice of reason". Marella and Ventura called five of the first six [[WrestleMania]]s together (the notable exception was [[WrestleMania 2]], where Marella commentated on the [[Allstate Arena|Chicago]] portion of the event with [[Gene Okerlund]], [[Cathy Lee Crosby]] and [[Ernie Ladd|Ernie "The Cat" Ladd]] while Ventura commentated on the [[Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena|Los Angeles]] portion with [[Alfred Hayes (wrestler)|Lord Alfred Hayes]] and [[Cassandra Peterson|Elvira, Mistress of the Dark]]).<ref name=":0" />

The Ventura/Monsoon duo of heel and babyface were the original broadcast duo, setting the standard which all who followed would attempt to emulate, especially Ventura's charismatic pro-heel character which was a first of its kind as previous wrestling commentators had almost always been in favor of the fan favorites.<ref name=":0" /> The pair commentated on all the [[WWF pay-per-view]]s together with the exception of the first two [[SummerSlam]]s and the [[Royal Rumble (1990)|1990 Royal Rumble]] (at [[SummerSlam (1988)|SummerSlam 1988]] Ventura was the guest referee for the main event so Monsoon commentated with "Superstar" Billy Graham, while Ventura was paired with [[Tony Schiavone]] at both [[SummerSlam (1989)|SummerSlam 1989]] and the Royal Rumble). When Ventura left the WWF in mid-1990, he was replaced in commentary by Monsoon's ''[[WWF Prime Time Wrestling|Prime Time Wrestling]]'' co-host, heel manager [[Bobby Heenan|Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]], another duo that subsequent wrestling commentary teams have often tried to emulate. Though the pair were frequently at odds on screen — with Monsoon regularly yelling, "Will you stop?" in response to Heenan's denigration of fan-favorite wrestlers — in real life they formed a close friendship that Heenan often recalled fondly. In his [[WWE Hall of Fame]] induction speech at the [[WWE Hall of Fame (2004)|2004 ceremony]], Heenan finished by saying that only one thing was missing – that he wished Monsoon was there. Other people who were often paired with Monsoon in the broadcast booth included Lord Alfred Hayes, [[Johnny Valiant|Luscious Johnny Valiant]], [[Johnny Polo]], [[Billy Graham (wrestler)|"Superstar" Billy Graham]], [[Hillbilly Jim]], [[Tony Schiavone]], [[Jim Neidhart]], [[Randy Savage]] and [[Jim Ross]].<ref name=":0" />

Monsoon called the first eight WrestleManias from 1985 to 1992. Monsoon was the lead commentator on the syndicated show, ''[[List of former WWE programming#All-Star Wrestling (1970–1986)|WWF All Star Wrestling]]'', its successor ''[[WWF Wrestling Challenge]]'', and the [[USA Network]] weekend show, ''[[List of former WWE programming#All American Wrestling (1983–1994)|WWF All American Wrestling]]'', as well as hosting the WWF weeknight show, ''Prime Time Wrestling''. Monsoon also served as co-host of ''[[Georgia Championship Wrestling]]'' on [[TBS (U.S. TV channel)|WTBS]] during McMahon's short-lived ownership of the promotion.

====Later career====
Marella stepped down as the WWF's lead commentator at [[WrestleMania IX]] (where he was Master of Ceremonies) to make way for [[World Championship Wrestling|WCW]] recruit [[Jim Ross]]. He was phased out of ''Wrestling Challenge'' with Bobby Heenan and was moved to ''All-American Wrestling'' with [[Lord Alfred Hayes]] on April 11, 1993. He commentated with Jim Ross on WWF Radio for the broadcasts of [[SummerSlam (1993)|SummerSlam 1993]], [[Survivor Series (1993)|Survivor Series 1993]] and [[Royal Rumble (1994)|Royal Rumble 1994]]. He returned to the television broadcast team to call the [[King of the Ring (1994)|King of the Ring 1994]] with [[Randy Savage]] as well as covering a few episodes of ''[[Monday Night RAW]]'' in 1993 and 1994 whenever Vince McMahon was unavailable. He was also called upon sporadically to return to ''Challenge'' from 1993 to 1995, calling action with [[Stan Lane]], [[Ted DiBiase]], and Ross again. Monsoon also did various work for [[Coliseum Video]]. Marella's last pay-per-view commentary was for the [[Survivor Series (1994)|1994 Survivor Series]], with Vince McMahon on play-by-play. Marella remained in his backstage role and appeared on-air frequently, becoming the storyline WWF President in the summer of 1995 (replacing [[Jack Tunney]]). The WWF President's role was to arbitrate disputes between wrestlers and make matches, similar to later WWE "general managers".<ref name=":0" />

In January 1996, Monsoon was attacked and ([[kayfabe]]) severely injured by [[Big Van Vader|Vader]]: [[Roddy Piper]] became interim WWF President until [[WrestleMania XII]], when Marella assumed the position again. Health concerns forced him to relinquish this role during the summer of 1997.<ref name=":0" /> Instead of naming a replacement, the WWF decided to retire the role of "President" and introduced [[Sgt. Slaughter]] as the new WWF Commissioner in August 1997. Marella's health deteriorated from there. In late 1998, Marella returned briefly to call the international version of ''[[WWF Superstars of Wrestling|WWF Superstars]]''. In 1999, Marella appeared in a WWF Attitude commercial featuring [[Freddie Blassie]], [[Ernie Ladd]], [[Pat Patterson (wrestler)|Pat Patterson]] and [[Killer Kowalski]]. He appeared as one of the three judges for a ''[[WWF Brawl for All|Brawl for All]]'' contest between [[Mike Plotcheck|Bart Gunn]] and [[Eric Esch|Butterbean]] at [[WrestleMania XV]]. Because of his frail appearance and rapidly declining health, the camera only focused on Monsoon during his introduction as a judge, for which he received a standing ovation.<ref name=":0" /> His final occasion on television with WWF would be as a guest commentator on the August 29, 1999 international version of ''[[WWF Superstars of Wrestling|Superstars]]''.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1342239352206860288|user=maskedwrestlers|title=This may be the latest footage...|date=24 December 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Marella was married to his wife, Maureen, for more than 40 years and had three children: Sharon (born 1960), [[Joey Marella|Joey]] (1963–1994), and Valerie (born 1966). [[Víctor Quiñones]] (1959–2006) was listed in Gorilla's obituary as his son as well.<ref name="NYT">{{cite book|title=The New York Times Biographical Service|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXgoAQAAIAAJ|date=October 1999|publisher=[[Arno Press]]|page=1,552|first=Nick|last=Ravo}}</ref>

On July 4, 1994, his son, Joey Marella, fell asleep at the wheel and died in a car accident on the [[New Jersey Turnpike]], while returning from refereeing a WWF event in [[Ocean City, Maryland]]. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.<ref name=":0" /> Fellow WWF employee [[Mike Chioda]] later commented that Marella was "heartbroken" about his son's death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://itrwrestling.com/news/mike-chioda-gorilla-monsoon-his-sons-death/|title = Mike Chioda Recalls Helping Gorilla Monsoon Following His Son's Death|date = 27 October 2021}}</ref>

In early 1994, Marella co-hosted the short-lived morning variety/game show ''Bingo Break'' on [[WBFF]] in Baltimore, Maryland, which also featured fellow WWF on-air personality [[Sean Mooney]] as the bingo caller. The program did not acknowledge Marella's wrestling career, and as such he was billed on-camera as Bob Marella rather than as Gorilla Monsoon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wrestlecrap.com/inductions/bingo-break/|title = Induction: Bingo Break - and Bob Marella was his name-o|date = 14 May 2019}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Marella died on October 6, 1999, of [[heart failure]] brought on by complications of [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]], at his home in [[Willingboro Township, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/1999-10-07/news/25507679_1_killer-kowalski-santa-claus-ithaca-college |title=Robert Marella, 62, Wrestler Known As 'Gorilla Monsoon' |author=S. Joseph Hagenmayer |publisher=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=October 7, 1999 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 November 2013 |quote=Robert "Gorilla Monsoon" Marella, 62, a professional wrestler whose demeanor in the ring resembled Atilla the Hun's but whose deeds and personality were more akin to those of Santa Claus, died yesterday at his Willingboro home after being ill for the last month.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629041815/http://articles.philly.com/1999-10-07/news/25507679_1_killer-kowalski-santa-claus-ithaca-college|archive-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> He was 62 years old. His body was buried next to his son, Joey Marella, at Lakeview Memorial Park in [[Cinnaminson, New Jersey]].

Nick Ravo of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Monsoon as "legendary" and "one of the most famous athlete-entertainers ever to don tights".<ref name="Ravo">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/08/nyregion/gorilla-monsoon-62-villainous-pro-wrestler.html|title=Gorilla Monsoon, 62, Villainous Pro Wrestler|last=Ravo|first=Nick|date=October 8, 1999|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 20, 2020}}</ref> Longtime industry journalist [[Bill Apter]] remarked, "He was one of the best [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heels]] – what wrestlers call a bad guy – in the business... the Gorilla Monsoon image was genuinely frightening."<ref name="Ravo"/> Todd Martin of the ''[[Wade Keller#Pro Wrestling Torch|Pro Wrestling Torch]]'' commended Monsoon's physical agility, and noted that he became "a significant star in a lot of different places and had a very nice career". Martin reported that fellow wrestlers "generally speak pretty highly" of Monsoon, with particular praise for his movement and portrayal of his character. WE described him as "one of the most feared competitors" in professional wrestling, adding, "Whether in the ring, at the mic or behind the scenes, Robert 'Gorilla Monsoon' Marella will always be remembered as one of the greatest of all-time."<ref name=wwebio/> He has been inducted into various wrestling halls of fame, including the [[WWE Hall of Fame|WWF Hall of Fame]] in [[WWE Hall of Fame#Class of 1994|1994]].

Monsoon's announcing has garnered both praise and derision.<ref name="torchfix">{{cite episode |title=The Fix Mailbag w/Todd Martin & Wade Keller |url=https://vip.pwtorch.com/2020/11/20/vip-audio-11-19-the-fix-mailbag-w-todd-martin-wade-keller-origin-of-omegas-cleaner-monicker-nakamura-undoing-a-hall-of-fame-career-gorilla-monsoon-legacy-on-mic-and-in-ring-reigns-brandi-c/ |access-date=November 20, 2020 |series=[[Wade Keller#Pro Wrestling Torch|Pro Wrestling Torch]] |first=Wade |last=Keller |date=November 19, 2020 |minutes=9}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="eck2007">{{cite web|url=http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2007/11/more_of_the_best_and_worst_wrestling_announcers.html|title=More of the best and worst wrestling announcers|last=Eck|first=Kevin|date=November 29, 2007|website=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]]|access-date=March 26, 2015}}</ref> In the ''[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]''{{'}}s annual awards poll, readers voted Monsoon [[List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Worst Television Announcer|Worst Television Announcer]] a record six times between 1985 and 1995.<ref name="eck2007"/><ref name="observer2011">{{cite journal|last=Meltzer|first=Dave|author-link=Dave Meltzer|date=January 26, 2011|title=Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue|periodical=[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]|publication-place=Campbell, California|pages=1–40|issn=1083-9593}}</ref> Appraising his commentary in 1988, journalist [[Stately Wayne Manor]] remarked, "Monsoon is aptly named after a counterproductive wind storm that nobody welcomes."<ref>{{cite journal|date=1988|title=Worst Television Announcer|journal=Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Yearbook|pages=44}}</ref> Writer [[Dave Meltzer]] referred to conversations with "irate wrestlers in the 80s who hated Monsoon killing their [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#ring psychology|psychology]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Martin|first=Fin|journal=[[Power Slam]]|issue=211|title=What They Said (supplement)|publisher=SW Publishing|date=March 2012|page=7}}</ref>

Todd Martin of the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' noted that some regard Monsoon as "one of the all-time great announcers", while others feel he was "self-indulgent" and "dismissive of certain wrestlers", and had a tendency to "undermine the drama" by questioning the effectiveness of particular maneuvers.<ref name="torchfix"/> ''[[The Baltimore Sun|Baltimore Sun]]'' journalist Kevin Eck wrote that "a lot of people have fond memories of [Monsoon] from the 1980s boom period in WWF, especially his work with [[Bobby Heenan]]". Eck acknowledged the criticism of Monsoon among sections of the audience, but defended his use of absurdity and cliché as "entertaining", and argued that "he sold the angles well and got the characters [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#over|over]]".<ref name="eck2007"/> ''PWInsider''{{'}}s [[Dave Scherer]] said of Monsoon, "I did love him as an announcer".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pwinsider.com/article/141362/sasha-on-the-mandalorian-aew-debuts-waiting-to-send-out-tweets-and-more.html|title=Sasha on The Mandalorian, AEW debuts, waiting to send out tweets and more|last=Scherer|first=Dave|author-link=Dave Scherer|date=November 16, 2020|website=PWInsider|access-date=November 17, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s Joseph Hudak reported that Heenan and Monsoon "are regarded as the greatest color-commentary team in pro-wrestling history", and "had a [[Martin and Lewis|Martin-and-Lewis]] like chemistry behind the mic".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/bobby-the-brain-heenan-his-five-best-bits-with-gorilla-monsoon-195562/|title=Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan: His Five Best Bits With Gorilla Monsoon|last=Hudak|first=Joseph|date=September 19, 2017|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref>

Heenan consistently named Monsoon as his favorite announcing partner.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=davemeltzerWON|number=1212509574311202816|date=1 January 2020|title=Bobby loved Gorilla. Always said he was his favorite...}}</ref> In contemplating his "[[Mount Rushmore]] of wrestling announcers", veteran commentator [[Jim Ross]] stated, "[[Gordon Solie]], [[Bob Caudle]], [[Lance Russell]], Gorilla Monsoon would be four off the top of my head that I would put on there."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/jim-ross-names-his-mount-rushmore-pro-wrestling-announcers|title=Jim Ross Names His Mount Rushmore of Pro Wrestling Announcers|last=DeFelice|first=Robert|date=April 11, 2020|website=Fightful|access-date=November 20, 2020}}</ref>

===Tributes===
In a tribute that aired on October 7, 1999, on an episode of ''[[WWE SmackDown|WWF SmackDown!]]'', McMahon described Marella as "one of the greatest men I have ever known." WCW commentator [[Tony Schiavone]] acknowledged Marella's death on the October 11, 1999, episode of ''[[WCW Monday Nitro]]''. Bobby Heenan insisted on doing a tribute to Marella, even though Marella never worked for WCW. Heenan said on-air: "Gorilla will be sadly missed. Now he was one big tough man. He was a decent honest man. And we're all gonna miss him very much. And you know the pearly gates in heaven? It's now gonna be called 'the Gorilla position.' Goodbye, my friend."

He was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973.<ref name=Legends>{{cite book|title=WWE Legends|last=Solomon|first=Brian|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wwelegends00solo/page/57 57–61]|publisher=[[Pocket Books]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7434-9033-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/wwelegends00solo/page/57}}</ref> 

When Heenan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in [[WWE Hall of Fame#Class of 2004|2004]], he ended his acceptance speech with, "Only one thing's missing: I wish Monsoon was here." In 2007, when [[Santino Marella|Anthony Carelli]] made his debut with WWE, he was given the ring name "Santino Marella", as a tribute.

Marella 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://armdrag.com/hof?org=fow |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626022414/http://www.armdrag.com/hof?org=fow |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |title=Section Five Wrestling Hall of Fame |work=Armdrag.com: Western New York Scholastic and Collegiate Wrestling |quote=2010 – Bob Marella – Jefferson |access-date=November 6, 2013}}</ref>

Gorilla Monsoon was posthumously honored at the 50th anniversary show of the [[World Wrestling Council]].

== Championships and accomplishments ==

=== Amateur wrestling ===
* '''[[Ithaca College]]'''
**Athletic Hall of Fame (1973)<ref name=Legends/>

=== Professional wrestling ===
* '''[[Cauliflower Alley Club]]'''
**Other honoree ([[Cauliflower Alley Club#1994|1994]])<ref name="OtherHonorees">{{cite web|url=http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/list-of-cac-award-winners/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302100849/http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/list-of-cac-award-winners/ |title=List of CAC Award Winners |publisher=[[Cauliflower Alley Club]] |archive-date=March 2, 2014|access-date=February 13, 2019|url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''[[George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame]]'''
** Class of 2011<ref name=":0" />
* '''[[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum]]'''
** Class of 2010<ref name=":0" />
* '''[[World Championship Wrestling (Australia)]]'''
** [[IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Australia)|IWA World Heavyweight Championship]] ([[IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Australia)|1 time]])
* '''[[WWE|World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation]]'''
** [[WWWF United States Tag Team Championship]] ([[WWWF United States Tag Team Championship#Title history|2 times]]) – with [[Killer Kowalski]] (1) and [[Bill Watts]] (1)
** [[Slammy Award]] (1 time)
*** Most Evolutionary ([[Slammy Award#1994 Slammy Awards|1994]]) – {{small|Tied with [[King Kong Bundy]]}}
** [[WWE Hall of Fame|WWF Hall of Fame]] ([[WWE Hall of Fame (1994)|Class of 1994]])<ref name=":0" />
* '''World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)'''
** [[NWA Americas Tag Team Championship|WWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[NWA Americas Tag Team Championship#Title history|2 times]]) – with [[Grady Johnson|Luke Graham]] (1) and El Mongol (1)<ref name=F4WJan23>{{cite web | url=https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/daily-pro-wrestling-history-0123-hulk-hogan-defeats-iron-sheik-wwf-title-302441 | title=Pro wrestling history (01/23): Hulk Hogan defeats Iron Sheik for WWF title| date=January 23, 2020 | access-date=January 25, 2020 | first=Brian | last=Hoops | work=[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]}}</ref>
* '''[[World Wrestling Council]]'''
** [[WWC North American Heavyweight Championship]] ([[WWC North American Heavyweight Championship#Title history|2 times]])
* '''''[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'''''
** [[List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Worst Television Announcer|Worst Television Announcer]] (1985, 1991–1995)<ref name="observer2011"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{wwe superstar|gorillamonsoon|Gorilla Monsoon}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0546422|name=Robert Marella}}
* {{professional wrestling profiles}}
* [http://www.ithaca.edu/icq/1999v4/ssgoril.htm Robert Marella's Ithaca College Quarterly obituary]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[WWE Raw|Monday Night Raw Lead Announcer]] | before=[[Vince McMahon]] | years=1994| after=[[Jim Ross]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{WWE Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monsoon, Gorilla}}
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