Big Daddy versus Giant Haystacks: A Super Heavyweight Story | POST Interview
POST Wrestling
POST Wrestling
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 March 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John Pollock speaks with author Steven Bell about his new book covering the rivalry between Shirley “Big Daddy” Crabtree and Giant Haystacks and the legacy of British Wrestling on ITV.
The book documents the rise of the Crabtree family through Joint Promotions, the impact of Saturday afternoon television on ITV, the arguments for and against Big Daddy’s legacy, and his rivalry with Giant Haystacks, culminating in their 1981 match at Wembley Arena.
Big Daddy versus Giant Haystacks: A Super Heavyweight Story is available on Amazon
Clips courtesy: ITV, When Wrestling Was Golden on BBC
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The President on my right and in the red corner |
| 0:05.0 | The 6-3 inch 24 stone, the famous television personality, the |
| 0:11.0 | the ones of their favorite, Billing Garland! |
| 0:14.0 | There's no runs, no submissions, no forms. The boat would go go on so the knockout has occurred the count of |
| 0:25.9 | ten will decide this bout by mutual agreement unlimited time the final showdown match |
| 0:32.1 | big daddy on the left of course his usual white gear, and there is giant hairstyles from |
| 0:42.2 | Salford-Lakisham as a point. |
| 0:44.4 | Six foot 11 of it. |
| 0:49.6 | It's June 18, 1981, and Wembley Arena is sold out for the showdown between Shirley, Big Daddy Crabtree, and Martin Rueyne, better known as Giant Haystacks. |
| 0:59.9 | Days later, the match airs on television, and chances are that if you were in the United Kingdom, your eyes were glued, along with 16 million of your neighbors. |
| 1:07.7 | For many, it was the height of British wrestling where joint promotions was the |
| 1:11.2 | dominant player and Big Daddy, a cultural institution. By the end of the 80s, ITV pulled the plug on |
| 1:17.3 | joint promotions. The two behemists were breaking down physically, and the World Wrestling Federation |
| 1:21.8 | had its sights locked on the market. The debate over Big Daddy's legacy has been one of the most |
| 1:26.9 | contentious, cultural icon, or one of the most contentious, cultural |
| 1:28.2 | icon, or one of the men responsible for British wrestling's demise. Wherever you land, |
| 1:33.7 | the story needs to be examined further, and that's what author Stephen Bell has undertaken |
| 1:37.6 | with his latest book, Big Daddy versus Giant Haystacks, a super heavyweight story. And today, |
| 1:43.8 | he joins us on Post Wrestling. |
| 1:47.9 | We'll not be to heaven. |
| 1:51.0 | We shall not be good. |
| 1:53.2 | We shall not be good just like a tree. |
... |
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