Paulo César da Silva (born July 21, 1963) is a Brazilian former national

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the Brazilian national basketball team and later

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Giant Silva. He stands and weighs . A super-heavyweight wrestler, he was both a

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

and a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

in several

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...

s. Known for his great height, in 2014 he was described as the sixth tallest professional wrestler in history.

Basketball career

In the 1980s, Silva was originally a professional

player. He played with the senior

Brazilian national basketball team The Brazil national basketball team is governed by the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (), abbreviated as CBB. They have been a member of the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA), since 1935. Brazil's national basketball team remain ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

with the nickname "Paulão" (Big Paulo). Very much like El Gigante/Giant Gonzales, who also started as a basketball player, the tall Silva played as a reserve center on Brazil's national team, wearing the #13 jersey.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation (1998–1999)

After turning pro in late 1997, Silva signed with

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. After debuting he was given the name: "Giant Silva" and was a member of the Oddities stable. For most of his WWF tenure, Silva was a cornerman for the Oddities and his matches on TV were tag matches, teaming up with Golga and/or Kurrgan. His only highlight was at

SummerSlam 1998 The 1998 SummerSlam (marketed as SummerSlam: Highway to Hell) was the 11th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on August 30, 1998, at Madison S ...

when he, Golga, and Kurrgan defeated

Kai En Tai Kai En Tai (also spelled Kaientai) was a professional wrestling stable made up of Japanese wrestlers Shiryu, Dick Togo and Men’s Teioh, later joined by Sho Funaki and Taka Michinoku. The group was managed by Yamaguchi-San when they were in ...

in a 3 on 4 Handicap match. During his time in WWF, Silva was not used as much. Silva was released around February 1999. He would return only once with long hair on the July 4, 1999 episode of

WWF Super Astros The following is a list of all WWE television programs. It also includes programming produced under the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Wrestling Entertainmen ...

in a victory over

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1999–2003)

After his WWF tenure, Silva joined Mexican promotion

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

and was renamed Gigante Silva. He was introduced by midget wrestler

Tzuki Tzuki (sometimes spelled Tsuki or Tzuky) is a Mexican '' Luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, who works as a ''Mini-Estrella'' or "Mini" division in Mexico. Throughout his career Tzuki has worked under various ring names, mos ...

and soon became an ally to ''tecnicos'', often teaming up in tag team matches against numerically superior ''rudos''. Silva struck an occasional team with fellow superheavyweight

Brazo de Plata José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican '' luchador'' best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Por ...

and had part in a feud with Gigante Kurggan, who was brought by Los Capos (the faction led by Apolo Dantes and

Universo 2000 Andrés Reyes González (April 18, 1963 – May 1, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler, or luchador, who was best known under the ring name Universo 2000. Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1985 and worked for Consejo Mundial de ...

) in order to oppose him. In November 2003, Silva turned ''rudo'' himself and allied with

Pierroth Jr. Norberto Salgado Salcedo (born March 10, 1958) is a retired Mexican ''Lucha Libre, luchador'' (professional wrestling, professional wrestler), primarily known under the ring name Pierroth Jr. Salgado made his professional wrestling debut on July ...

and his valet

La Comandante Norma Martínez (born April 23, 1978), known by the ring name La Comandante, is a Mexican '' luchadora'', or female professional wrestler and manager working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) po ...

before leaving Mexico for Japan full time.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Hustle (2001–2008)

In 2001, Silva joined

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

. He originally debuted on August 12, 2001, as a member of Masahiro Chono's stable: Team 2000Strong Style Spirit
Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on November 8, 2012. where he was paired up with another Giant: Giant Singh (better known as The Great Khali) as the tag team: Club 7. Silva made his in-ring debut for New Japan when he took part in the G1 World Climax tournament where he finished in 4th place with 4 points. He and Singh made their debut as a tag team at Indicate of Next on October 8, 2001, where they defeated

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...

Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), in Mexico with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...

Yutaka Yoshie was a Japanese professional wrestler, who worked as a freelancer in Japan, performing most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was a former World Tag Team Champion. He had previously worked for promotions such as New Japan Pr ...

, &

Wataru Inoue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Professional wrestling career Inoue made his debut on New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1999. He aligned himself with New Japan Junior Seikigun, a face stable creat ...

in a 4 on 2 handicap match. In the fall of 2001, Silva teamed with Chono in the 2001 G1 Tag League with the team finishing in 7th place with 6 points. In 2002, Silva took part in several tournaments. In February he was part of the a tournament for the vacated

IWGP Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IW ...

but lost in the first round to eventual winner:

Tadao Yasuda is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (''rikishi''), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the ''shikona'' of , achieving the rank of ''komusubi'', and afterward turned to professional wrestlin ...

.Strong Style Spirit
Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on November 8, 2012. Two days later on February 3, Silva, Singh, and Chono won the Teisen Hall Cup 6 Man Tag Team Tournament. In March, Club 7 then entered a tournament for the vacated

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. T ...

.Strong Style Spirit
Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on November 8, 2012. In the first round, they defeated fellow Team 2000 members:

Scott Norton Scott Norton (born June 15, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and author. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, in which he was a member of the New World Order and n ...

and Super J, but lost to

Yuji Nagata is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Considered one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers ...

and

Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-t ...

in the semi-finals. In the spring of 2002, Club 7 broke up and began feuding shortly afterwards. The two were scheduled to face each other at Toukon Memorial Day on May 2, 2002, but an injury to Singh prevented the match from taking place. The two finally fought at Cross Road on August 29, 2002, with Silva defeating Singh. From 2004 to 2008, Silva wrestled for HUSTLE where he took part in a variety of matches and formed teams with

Toshiaki Kawada (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In the promotion, he was a five-time Triple Crown He ...

, and

Mark Coleman Mark Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first List of UFC champions#Tournament ...

Independent circuit (2008–2010)

Silva also competed in National Wrestling Superstars mainly working in handicap matches.

Mixed martial arts career

Pride Fighting Championships (2003–2006)

After his career in NJPW, Silva was signed by

Dream Stage Entertainment Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) was a Japanese company that promoted various wrestling and mixed martial arts events, most notably mixed martial arts Pride Fighting Championship and Hustle professional wrestling events. Company history Allegat ...

and competed in

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

, a defunct

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

organization based in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Although at one time he trained with members of the

Gracie family The Gracie family () is a family of martial artists originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil, whose ancestors came from Paisley, Scotland. They are known for promoting the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie jiu-jitsu, commonly kn ...

, most notably Ricardo Gracie and

Ralek Gracie The Gracie family () is a family of martial arts, martial artists originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil, whose ancestors came from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Scotland. They are known for promoting the self-defense martial arts syst ...

, he only had a crash course in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when he had his debut at

Pride Shockwave 2003 The year 2003 was the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 25 - Body Blow''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follo ...

against 250lbs

Heath Herring Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC, K-1 and Rizin. Background ...

. Silva led the more experienced fighter to the third round, absorbing repeated leg kicks and taking Herring down once, but Heath capitalized and reversed it into a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

for the win. In April 2004, Silva took part in the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, whose first round saw him facing

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler Henry "Sentoryu" Miller, only 85lbs lighter. Sentoryu accomplished a takedown on Silva and attacked his guard, only for Silva's height to neutralize his

ground and pound Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the solid terrestrial surface of the Earth * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical circ ...

attempts, as the sumo wrestler could not reach his head. Miller finally got side control, but then Silva reversed him with a

Kimura lock An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock tha ...

and made him tap out. The pro wrestler then advanced to the second round, being pitted against former world judo champion

Naoya Ogawa (born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), an ...

, who won the fight by ground and pound TKO. Silva would then face another professional wrestler, Pro Wrestling NOAH's

Takashi Sugiura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestl ...

, who used his wrestling acumen to take Silva down and land knees and punches for the stoppage. The match had some controversy, as a brawl erupted after the bout and Silva had to be restrained by several ring crew men. On December 31, 2006, Giant Silva finally faced a heavier opponent, the former yokozuna

Akebono Tarō was an American-born Japanese professional sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining sumo in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching t ...

, at K-1 Premium 2006. The sumo wrestler clinched Silva and pressed him against the ropes, until Silva broke the hug and transitioned to a

on the ground, submitting Akebono for his second and last win.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 2–6 ,

Akebono Taro Akebono is a Japanese word meaning ''dawn'' or the color of the sky at dawn. It may refer to: Science * ''Akebono'' (fly), a fly genus in the family Sciomyzidae or Phaeomyiidae * Akebono (satellite) Akebono (known as EXOS-D before launch) is a ...

, Submission (kimura) , K-1 PREMIUM 2006 Dynamite!! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–6 ,

Ikuhisa Minowa is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently competing in IGF as . A professional MMA competitor since 1996, he was a longtime veteran of PRIDE and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotion ...

, TKO (knees) , Pride – Bushido 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–5 , James Thompson , TKO (soccer kicks) ,

PRIDE Shockwave 2005 The year 2005 was the 9th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2005 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 29 - Fists of Fire''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters Th ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–4 , Choi Mu-Bae , Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

PRIDE Shockwave 2004 The year 2004 was the 8th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2004 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 27 - Inferno''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follow ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:47 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

PRIDE Bushido 4 Below is a list of mixed martial arts events scheduled and held by the Pride Fighting Championships. Events Event locations Seven cities in two countries have hosted a total of 68 events: * Japan (66) : Saitama, Saitama, Saitama – 25 : To ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 ,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

, Submission (kimura) , PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

PRIDE Shockwave 2003 The year 2003 was the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 25 - Body Blow''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follo ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:35 , Saitama, Japan ,

Championships and accomplishments

**Torneo de Trios (2001) – with

La Fiera Arturo Casco Hernández (March 17, 1961 – September 12, 2010) was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name La Fiera, which is Spanish for "The Wild Beast". Hernández was a second-generation wrestler, ...

**Teisen Hall Six-Man Tournament (2002) – with

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese retired Professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of New World Order (professional wrestling), nWo Japan, Tea ...

and Giant Singh

References

External links

Giant Silva at Sherdog.comPride FC Archive Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Giant 1963 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian male professional wrestlers Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for Brazil Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Living people Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Basketball players from São Paulo People with gigantism Centers (basketball) Professional wrestlers who competed in MMA 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen