Hulk Hogan was planned to wrestle Loch Ness – also known as Giant Haystacks – in a huge match in WCW. However, the match was cancelled for reasons you might not expect.
Loch Ness Was Signed By WCW
After years of battling it out with Big Daddy on World of Sport on ITV, Giant Haystacks retired from the ring. Taking up a number of jobs, including bailiff and security, he got the itch to wrestle again when he was contacted by a top wrestling promotion in the United States.
At the age of 50 and nearly 600lbs, he was well past his prime but jumped at the chance. He signed for World Championship Wrestling in 1996, as a new member of the hilariously bad stable “The Dungeon of Doom”. This band of monsters and misfits led by Kevin Sullivan terrorised Hulk Hogan for months in WCW. It led to one of the most hilarious moments in wrestling history, as Hogan discovered just what went down in the Dungeon of Doom’s lair.
Giant Haystacks was revealled as part of this group, although he was renamed to Loch Ness (as if the idea of him being a monster wasn’t clear enough). Give that nobody knew who Giant Haystacks was in the US (according to Jim Cornette), so the name change actually did no harm to him. WCW were preparing for a match between Loch Ness and Hulk Hogan but it was soon cancelled for disastrous reasons.
Hulk Hogan vs Loch Ness
Loch Ness vs Hulk Hogan was planned by WCW as a big-money match when they signed British legend Giant Haystacks to a contract in 1996.. WCW bosses planned to bring in new heels weekly to take on Hogan, trying to recreate his success in the WWF in the 1980s. Being nearly seven feet tall and weighing 500lbs, Haystacks was a sight to behold and somebody could only add to the legendary run of Hulk Hogan.
However, once Hulk Hogan saw Loch Ness working, he put a stop to their planned match. He had Haystacks kicked from the Dungeon of Doom, the supernatural group he was feuding with at the time, and kicked him out in the cold. He did manage one pay per view match against The Giant but his run in the United States was ultimately a failure, never getting the Hulk Hogan match he was originally promised.
Instead, he left the Dungeon of Doom and began to feud with The Giant (later known as The Big Show in WWE). He faced off in his final ever match in WCW (and wrestling in general) in 1996 when the pair wrestled in a number one contenders match – the winner facing Ric Flair for the WCW Championship.
In a short match that lasted barely two minutes and very little action, The Giant picked up the win in Loch Ness’ only PPV match. The Giant nailed Haystacks with a leg drop to seal the win and send him packing from WCW and win the match, setting up a match with Flair down the line of the world championship.
He Died Two Years After Leaving
After losing to The Giant at WCW Uncensored 1996 and having the dream match with Hulk Hogan cancelled, even worse news would befall Loch Ness. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma ( a form of cancer) in 1996 and promptly returned home to the United Kingdom for treatment. However, he would not respond well and it wouldn’t be long until the former Giant Haystacks passed.
Giant Haystacks died on 29 November 1998 after suffering a two-year battle with Lymphoma. He succumbed to the cancer in his home in Prestwich, near Manchester and was surrounded by his wife and three children at the time of death. He died in his bed aged 52, his size almost certainly a factor of his death.
His last ever match in wrestling was the loss against The Giant. The match was his pay per view debut and put two men of similar stature against each other, reminiscent of the Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks bouts of the peak of British wrestling. Sadly, this match did not live up to those, lasting only two minutes before The Giant nails Haystacks with a leg drop to seal the win and send him packing from WCW.
