Big show

Paul Donald Wight II, or famously known as Big Show, is a feared competitor who can intimidate opponents with his size and stare alone. Born on 8th February 1972, Wight II is a famous American professional wrestler and actor. The 383 pounds boasting a 64-inch chest, Big Show is among the World’s Largest Athlete’s measurements.

Starting his career in 1994, Wight made a surprise entrance in the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1995. The Giant or initially introduced as ‘the son of André the Giant’, his ring-name in WCW for his large frame, defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Championship, leaving a crater-sized impression in WCW. From the moment he stomped into WWE in 1999, he ripped through the competition to amass a giant collection of titles, including the WWE Championship.

Between WWF (now WWE) and WCW, he is a seven-time world champion – twice claiming the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, twice the WWF/WWE Championship, twice WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship and winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship one time. The big show is the only man to have held all the four of these particular titles in wrestling history.  Having claimed the 60-man battle royal at World War 3, he has also won the 30-man Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31.

Apart from the single titles, Wight has also been successful in the tag team divisions – winning an 11 World Tag Team Championships and also holding the WWF/World, WWE and WCW World Tag Team Championships multiple times with various tag team partners. He has also won the Intercontinental, United States and Hardcore championships. Wight is the 24th Triple Crown and the 12th Grand Slam winner in the WWE history. Wight has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WCW and WWF/WWE since 1995, including the 2000 edition of WWE’s premier annual event, WrestleMania.

Having knocked heads for over two decades after his in-ring debut, Big show remains as the monstrous threat for the other wrestlers. Apart from the successful professional wrestling career, Wight has also appeared in feature films and television series such as Jingle All the Way, The Waterboy, Star Trek: Enterprise, and two USA Network’s comedy-drama – Royal Pains and Psych, along with the action-drama, Burn Notice. In 2010, Wight played his first lead role in the comedy film – Knucklehead that was produced by WWE Studios.

Early life

Born on February 8, 1972, in Aiken South Carolina, Wight had acromegaly, a disease of the endocrine system. This led him to grow at a usual rate in comparison to the normal boys. By the time he was 12-years-old, Wight was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall, weighing 220 lb (100 kg), and had chest hair. In 1991, as a member of the Wichita State University basketball team at age nineteen, Wight was listed at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m). But in the early 1990s, Wight underwent a successful surgery on his pituitary gland, which halted the progress of his condition. Wearing shoes of 22 5E size, Wight’s ring size is recorded 22 and his chest as 64 inches (1,600 mm) in circumference. In 2005, Wight leased a bus and hired a bus driver because of the practical problems his size presents to air travel and car rental.

Before he went on to pursue wrestling, Wight played basketball and American football in high school at Wyman King Academy in Batesburg-Leesville of South Carolina. He played as a standout centre for his basketball team while being a tight end for the football team. After his freshman year, Wight started having some disputes with the football coach and had to quit it. He continued to support the team by joining the cheerleading squad as a sophomore, partly from spite. He later called it “the greatest experience of my life… everybody else was riding a bus with sweaty equipment and I’m in a van with seven cheerleaders who are all learning about life”. The van (a Ford Econoline) was driven by “a mom who was deaf in her right ear and chain-smoked”.

Wight attended Northern Oklahoma Junior College in Tonkawa, Oklahoma where he competed on the basketball team. Following his team in the basketball team at the Junior college, Wight continued playing basketball at the Wichita State University. At Northern Oklahoma, he earned the all-conference honours for his averages of 14 points and 6.5 rebounds which in turn helped the team win the Western Division of the Oklahoma Bi-State Conference. Wight also attended the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 1992 to 1993 while also was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Cougars basketball team. He is a member of the Xi Beta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. During his one year at SIUE, Wight scored a total of thirty-nine points for the Cougars in limited action.

Personal Life

Wight married his first wife, Melissa Ann Piavis, on 14th February 1997 and had a daughter together before they got separated in 2000. And two years later, their divorce was finalized on February 6, 2002. On February 11, 2002, Wight married his second wife, Bess Katramados and now has two children together.

On the other hand, in March 1999, Wight was charged with assault by Robert Sawyer. He alleged that Wight had broken his jaw during the summer of 1998 in the course of an altercation at Marriott Hotels & Resorts in Uniondale, New York. However, in his defence, Wight claimed that Sawyer had verbally abused, threatened, and shoved him at which he had responded by punching Sawyer. Three days later, Judge Thomas Feinman delivered a verdict of not guilty.

Professional Wrestling Career

Early career (1994–1995)

After school, Wight would work at various jobs such as bouncing, bounty hunting, and answering phone calls. While he was working for a karaoke company and answering phone calls, he met Danny Bonaduce in a live microphone amateur contest on his morning radio show. Bonaduce introduced Wight to his friend, Hulk Hogan. The two of them had an informal basketball game, as part of a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion for an upcoming show at the Rosemont Horizon. Hogan was impressed with the way Wight worked the crowd and recommended him to Eric Bischoff, the vice president of the World Championship Wrestling. Wight went to the Horizon show and was invited into the locker room, where he met Ric Flair, Arn Anderson (his boyhood hero) and Paul Orndorff.

Later, he met Bischoff there and came to a deal. Wight had previously wrestled one match: on December 3, 1994, at a World Wrestling Association show in Clementon, New Jersey, he lost by countout to WWA Heavyweight Champion Frank Finnegan.

Wight had earlier attempted to inquire about joining the WWF, also at the Horizon, during an autograph session but he was turned down by the promoter and scout – Bob Collins after he admitted that he had no experience. He paid Larry Sharpe’s Monster Factory $5,000, but due to Sharpe’s gout at the time, he was only very minimally trained where he also learned the collar-and-elbow lockup from Johnny Polo. While there, he made an audition tape and gave it to Mike Chioda, whom he had met in a Philadelphia bar. Chioda forwarded it to Pat Patterson, who did not bother watching it because he assumed Wight was another wrestler, Kurrgan. However, he realised his mistake, much to Vince McMahon’s displeasure, when he saw The Giant debut in WCW.

World Championship Wrestling

WCW World Heavyweight Champion (1995–1996)

In 1995, Wight signed with WCW and appeared at Slamboree for the first time before he was billed as the son of Andre the Giant. Thereafter using the ring name The Giant as a member of Kevin Sullivan’s Dungeon of Doom stable. Wight made his professional in-ring debut at Halloween Havoc against Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The Giant went on to defeat Hogan as his manager, Jimmy Hart, purposely got Hogan disqualified and turned on him.

The following night The Giant showed up on WCW Monday Nitro wearing the championship belt. Hart, who became The Giant’s manager, revealed that he had put a stipulation in the contract for the match that if Hogan lost via disqualification, he would lose his championship. However, WCW responded on it by nullifying the title change because of the circumstances surrounding it and thus, the championship was vacated.

After the remarkable in-ring debut against Hogan, The Giant entered the 60-man battle royal that was contested for the vacant championship at World War 3 in November 1995. He was one of the final six combatants before he was simultaneously eliminated along with Sting and Lex Luger by Hogan. However, The Giant did not leave the ring even after being eliminated and pulled Hogan underneath the ropes while Randy Savage was eliminating the One Man Gang from the match. The referee did not see The Giant’s actions, only that Hogan was on the floor, which resulted in Savage winning the match and the title.

The Giant then teamed with Ric Flair to defeat Hogan and Savage at Clash of the Champions XXXII but was decisively beaten by Hogan in a cage match at SuperBrawl VI. After a short feud with Loch Ness, The Giant regained the World Heavyweight Championship as he defeated Flair. After Hogan formed the New World Order (NWO), he defeated The Giant for the title at Hog Wild following interference from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

New World Order – nWo (1996–1999)

Citing Ted DiBiase’s money as his primary motivation, The Giant joined the New World Order (nWo) 23 days later and started feuding with Lex Luger and the Four Horsemen. After winning the battle royal at World War 3, The Giant asked Hogan for a World Heavyweight Championship title match and rather ended up being thrown out of the nWo on December 30. He fought against the nWo along with Sting and Luger, winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice.

In 1997, The Giant started feuding with the nWo member – Nash, who constantly dodged the Giant, even at the no-showing which was scheduled at Starrcade. The two of them finally met at Souled Out in 1998, where Nash accidentally injured The Giant’s neck when he botched his signature ‘jackknife powerbomb’ finishing manoeuvre. The botch was worked into a storyline, according to which Nash had intentionally dropped the Giant on his head in order to break his neck. When Nash left the nWo and formed his own stable named – the nWo Wolfpac, The Giant rejoined the original nWo to oppose Nash and his allies. After rejoining the New World Order, The Giant won two more Tag Team Championships – one with Sting as an unwilling partner as the match was signed before The Giant returned to the now, and the second one with Scott Hall. However, in the interim between those two reigns, The Giant also lost his half of the titles to Sting in a singles match where only the winner would remain champion and could choose a new partner.

On the October 12, 1998 episode of Nitro, Bill Goldberg defeated The Giant in a no-disqualification match. In a show of strength, Goldberg executed a delayed vertical suplex before executing the Jackhammer on The Giant. In January 1999, the now Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac stables merged again. Following this merger, Hogan declared that there was only room for one “giant” in the group, forcing Giant and Nash to wrestle for that spot. Nash defeated Giant following a run-in by Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff. The Giant was then attacked by the entire nWo. On the “Building An Army” episode of the Monday Night War feature from the WWE Network, Wight stated that he was making a fraction of what the main eventers were making and his salary was not increased after he requested it be by Eric Bischoff. Thereafter, Wight allowed his WCW contract to expire on February 8, 1999 – his 27th birthday and joined the rival organization of WCW – the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

WWF Champion (1999–2000)

After celebrating his 27th birthday, Wight signed a ten-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) the following day on February 9, 1999. He debuted under the name of Paul Wight as a member of Vince McMahon’s stable – The Corporation, at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: In Your House. During McMahon’s cage match against Steve Austin, Big Show tore through the canvas from underneath the ring and established himself as a heel while attacking Austin. He threw Austin into the side of the cage which broke and Austin fell outside to the floor, meaning he won the match. Meanwhile, Wight subsequently served as McMahon’s enforcer.

Wight was renamed as The Big Show as he made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania XV against Mankind for the right to referee the main event scheduled between Austin and The Rock, Corporation’s WWF Champion. However, The Big Show incapacitated Mankind and was disqualified in the process, losing the match. But the drama did not end there as McMahon slapped The Big Show after the match was over, who then, punched McMahon, turning face in the process. After being defeated by Mankind in a Boiler Room Brawl, they formed a stable with Test, and Ken Shamrock is known as The Union, who fought against the Corporation and later The Corporate Ministry. On the June 7 episode of Raw, Big Show faced The Undertaker for the WWF Championship, but the match was ended by referee stoppage and as a result, Undertaker retained his title. Big Show and The Undertaker later allied to wrestle against X-Pac and Kane, winning the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.

The Undertaker was later sidelined with injuries after which Big Show turned face once again and started feuding with the Big Boss Man around the death of Big Show’s father (in reality, Wight’s father had died years before). During his feud, they taped a segment where Big Boss Man invaded the funeral and used a chain to steal the coffin. After this, Big Show took on Big Boss Man, Prince Albert, Mideon and Viscera at Survivor Series in a 4-on-1 elimination match. His feud was poorly received and won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Worst Feud Award, while he won the match after Big Boss Man was counted out. Later that night, Big Show looked for something new and fresh and won the WWF Championship in a Triple Threat match against The Rock and the champion, Triple H. On the other hand, he defeated the Boss Man at Armageddon, retaining his WWF Championship.

On the January 3, 2000 episode of Raw, Triple H defeated Big Show for the WWF Championship. Wight participated in the Royal Rumble match to retain his title but was last eliminated by The Rock. After this, Show and The Rock started a storyline where Big Show produced a videotape in which it was clearly showed that The Rock’s feet had struck the ground first.

This led to a match with The Rock at No Way Out, with the WrestleMania title shot on the line. Big Show defeated The Rock after Shane McMahon interfered, knocking out The Rock with a chair shot. Rock was desperate to reclaim his title shot and eventually agreed to a match with Big Show on the March 13 episode of Raw on the stipulation that if he won, the WrestleMania title match would become a Triple Threat match, and if he lost, he would retire from the WWF. Shane McMahon, who was actively supporting Big Show’s bid to become champion, appointed himself as the special guest referee. However, The Rock triumphed when Vince McMahon assaulted Shane and donned the referee shirt, personally making the three counts. On the March 20 episode of Raw, Triple H defended the title against The Rock and Big Show on the condition that the match would not take place at WrestleMania, pinning Big Show.

Linda McMahon stated this match would not occur at WrestleMania as Triple H would defend the title there in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match, with Mick Foley as the fourth man. Big Show was the first man eliminated from the match at WrestleMania 2000 after the other three competitors worked together against him.

Championship reigns (2000–2003)

After WrestleMania, Big Show turned face again and took on a comical gimmick where he started mimicking other wrestlers. He lampooned Rikishi as Showkishi, The Berzerker as Shonan the Barbarian, and Val Venis as The Big Showbowski. At Backlash, Big Show dressed like Hulk Hogan as the Showster with complete skullcap/wig and yellow tights and defeated Kurt Angle. Shane McMahon voiced out his disappointment over Big Show’s comical gimmicks which later started a feud between McMahon and Big Show. At Judgment Day, Shane defeated Wight in a Falls Count Anywhere match after the interference from Big Boss Man, Bull Buchanan, Test, and Albert.

Two months later, Wight returned with the intension to gain revenge on Shane. Instead, he turned heel again and attacked The Undertaker and sided with Shane once more, thereafter, forming a short-lived stable known as “The Conspiracy” with Shane, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Edge and Christian. After The Undertaker threw Show off the stage through a table on the August 7, 2000, episode of Raw, he was removed from WWF television for the remaining year. Big Show was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling, a WWF developmental territory, to lose weight and improve his cardiovascular fitness.

Show returned at the Royal Rumble but was eliminated by The Rock. Angered by his quick elimination, Show proceeded to chokeslam The Rock through the broadcast table before he left the arena. After this, he started competing for the WWF Hardcore Championship and went on to defeat Raven at No Way Out, winning the championship. He lost the title to Raven on the March 19 episode of Raw. And then, at WrestleMania X-Seven in a Triple Threat Match for the Hardcore Championship, Kane defeated Show, also including Raven. Throughout The Invasion, Big Show remained loyal to the WWF. He faced Shane McMahon, the on-screen owner of WCW, in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash and was defeated following interference from Test. He turned face again soon after.

Show was also part of the victorious Team WWF at Survivor Series, though he was the first man eliminated.

Shortly after WrestleMania X8, Big Show was drafted to the Raw brand of WWE. On the April 22 episode of Raw, Show turned heel once again as he chokeslammed Stone Cold Steve Austin during a tag team match against X-Pac and Scott Hall, joining the nWo in the process. At Judgment Day, Big Show and Ric Flair were defeated by Austin in a Handicap match. The stable disbanded after Kevin Nash was injured following which, Show achieved little success on Raw and lost matches against Jeff Hardy, Booker T, and The Dudley Boyz.

In October, Big Show was traded to the SmackDown brand where he immediately challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. During this time, Big Show adopted new attire, donning black jeans and taking on a new hairstyle and facial hair. Big Show won the WWE Championship as he defeated Lesnar at Survivor Series, ending Lesnar’s undefeated streak with help of Paul Heyman. A month later, Show lost the title to Kurt Angle at Armageddon. After this, the SmackDown general manager – Stephanie McMahon made an announcement that Show would wrestle Chris Benoit on the December 26 episode of SmackDown to determine the one who would face Angle at the Royal Rumble, where he lost to Benoit after Benoit pinned him. After the match, Benoit was brutally attacked by Big Show and Kurt Angle. At the Royal Rumble, Big Show lost a Royal Rumble qualifying match to Lesnar.

Then, Big Show started feuding with The Undertaker, after Big Show threw him off the stage and injured his neck, leading to Big Show and his partner A-Train losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XIX. In the meantime, he renewed his feud with Lesnar and wrestled him four times for the WWE Championship (including a Stretcher match at Judgment Day), but remained unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the title. On the June 12 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar perplexed Big Show off the ropes and the ring imploded, two ring posts moved and three rows of ropes came down. The referee called for the event physician Dr. Burke, EMTs, medics, trainers, and even more referees.

This kept the title in Lesnar’s hands and both went to the hospital. On the June 26 episode of SmackDown, Big Show, Shelton Benjamin, and Charlie Haas defeated Mr. America (a disguised Hulk Hogan), Lesnar, and Angle in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned Mr. America. This was Hogan’s last appearance as Mr. America. Several months later, WWE hyped up Big Show as the man who retired Hogan.

Various feuds (2003–2005)

At No Mercy, Big Show defeated Eddie Guerrero for the WWE United States Championship and then allied with the then-WWE Champion – Brock Lesnar. He was eliminated by Chris Benoit at the Royal Rumble, while Big Show abandoning a departing Lesnar immediately before the WrestleMania XX. At WrestleMania XX, Big Show lost the United States Championship to John Cena. On the 15th April 2004 episode of SmackDown, Big Show promised to quit if he failed to defeat Eddie Guerrero that night. He lost to Guerrero after Guerrero performed a Frog Splash, and then upended Torrie Wilson’s car, who he believed had laughed at her for losing, and threatened to throw her off the ledge.

The then-General Manager of SmackDown – Kurt Angle, ascended the ledge trying to talk some reason into Big Show, but he got choke slammed off the ledge by Show, receiving kayfabe concussion and a broken leg while the back of Angle’s head bled. After this, Big Show was neither seen nor heard from on WWE television for months while he had knee surgery on April 24.

On the 9th September episode of SmackDown, Big Show interfered during a Lumberjack match held between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle. After this, he was reinstated by the new General Manager Theodore Long. At No Mercy, Big Show was given a choice to face either Guerrero or Angle and, predictably, he went on choosing to fight Angle, turning face in the process. Big Show defeated Angle at No Mercy. In the weeks before the match, he claimed to have “lost his dignity” when Angle tranquilized him in the middle of the ring using a dart gun and shaved his head on the fifth anniversary episode of SmackDown. At No Way Out, he faced John “Bradshaw” Layfield (JBL) for the WWE Championship in the first-ever Barbed Wire Steel Cage match. Show chokeslammed JBL through the ring, breaking the lock on the door but JBL crawled from under the canvas and won. After this, he attacked JBL but The Cabinet attacked Big Show until Batista attacked The Cabinet and John Cena attacked JBL while he crawled away.

At WrestleMania 21, Big Show faced Sumo Grand Champion Akebono in a worked sumo match which was added to the show to attract a strong pay-per-view audience in Japan, where Akebono is considered a sporting legend. In the weeks preceding the match, Big Show pushed over a jeep driven to the ring by Luther Reigns to show that he was capable of moving the marginally heavier Akebono before he lost to Akebono at WrestleMania 21. Big Show subsequently feuded with Carlito and his bodyguard, Matt Morgan, losing a match to Carlito at Judgment Day after Morgan interfered.

On the June 27 episode of Raw, Big Show was drafted to the Raw brand in the 2005 WWE draft lottery. This prevented him from participating in a scheduled Six-Man Elimination match for the SmackDown Championship. He successfully pinned Gene Snitsky in a tag team match, which turned into a singles match when both men’s partners brawled backstage. After squashing his scheduled opponents for several weeks, Wight returned to his rivalry with Snitsky. On the August 22 episode of Raw, he foiled Snitsky’s harassment of backstage interviewer Maria. The following week, Snitsky hit Big Show with the ring bell immediately after Big Show had won a match. As a result, Big Show and Snitsky were placed in a match at Unforgiven, where Big Show defeated Snitsky. On the September 26 episode of Raw, Big Show once again defeated Snitsky again in a Street Fight.

Teaming with Kane (2005–2006)

On the October 17 episode of Raw, Big Show defeated Edge and thereafter, entered in an online opinion poll where the winner of the poll would face John Cena and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship at Taboo Tuesday. However, the poll was won by Shawn Michaels which meant that the other two wrestlers competed for the World Tag Team Championship. At Taboo Tuesday, Big Show teamed with Kane to defeat Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship.

In the weeks preceding Survivor Series, Big Show involved in the rivalry between the Raw and the SmackDown brands. Big Show and Kane invaded the November 11 episode of SmackDown and, along with Edge, attacked Batista and inadvertently injuring him in the process. On the November 14 episode of Raw, Big Show and Kane defeated SmackDown wrestlers and the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions MNM in an inter-brand, non-title match. On November 21, Big Show and Kane delivered a double chokeslam onto the windshield of a car and “injured” Batista in the process. At Survivor Series, Show, Kane, Carlito, Chris Masters, and team captain Shawn Michaels represented Raw in a match with Team SmackDown that comprised of JBL, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, and Batista. Ultimately, Team SmackDown won the match where Orton was the sole survivor.

On the November 29 SmackDown Special, Big Show wrestled Rey Mysterio in an inter-brand promotional match, where Kane interfered which resulted in the match being declared as a no-contest. Following the match, Big Show and Kane attacked Mysterio until The Undertaker chased them from the ring. Big Show and Kane returned to SmackDown on December 2, defeating Mysterio and JBL after JBL abandoned the match, claiming that the referee had poked him in the eye. After the match, Big Show and Kane had attempted to assault Mysterio but their plan was once again foiled when Batista ran in to see them off. As a result, on the December 16 episode of SmackDown, Big Show and Kane were booked were booked to face the WWE Tag Team Champions – Batista and Mysterio, at Armageddon which they eventually won the match.

On the December 12 episode of Raw, Big Show participated in a qualifying match to get a shot at the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution. However, Big Show lost to his opponent – Shawn Michaels, by disqualification after Triple H would hit Michaels with a chair, that intentionally cost Big Show the match and the title shot. Later that evening, Wight cost Triple H his qualifying match with Kane in retaliation. On the December 26 episode of Raw, during the contract-signing for the match between Big Show and Triple H at New Year’s Revolution, Triple H struck Big Show in the hand that Big Show favoured while using the chokeslam with his sledgehammer. The following week, Big Show attacked Triple H even though he was wearing a cast on his hand, using the padding of the cast to punch a hole in a chair held by Triple H, destroying a monitor from the broadcast table that Triple H intended to throw at him, and chasing Triple H away from the ring. At New Year’s Revolution, Triple H defeated Big Show after striking him in the head with his sledgehammer and a Pedigree.

Big Show was one of the eight participants in the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, where the winner of would receive a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22. On the February 13 episode of Raw, Big Show faced Triple H in the semi-finals of the tournament in a match that ended in a double count-out. This resulted in Big Show and Triple H facing Rob Van Dam (the winner of the opposing semi-finals) in a Triple Threat match to determine the winner of the tournament on the February 20 episode of Raw. The match was eventually won by Triple H after he pinned RVD.

Weeks after the tournament, Big Show and Kane feuded with Chris Masters and Carlito that led to a World Tag Team Championship match to be scheduled for WrestleMania 22. Big Show marked his first victory at the WrestleMania as he and Kane defeated Carlito and Masters. On the following night, Big Show and Kane lost the World Tag Team Championship to Kenny and Mikey – the Spirit Squad members, after the copious interference from the other members of the Spirit Squad. A week later, they faced two other Spirit Squad members – Johnny and Nicky in a rematch, but lost via disqualification after Kane “snapped” and left the ring to attack the other members of the Spirit Squad. This resulted in a feud between Kane and Big Show, culminating in a match at Backlash that ended in a ruling of no-contest.

ECW World Champion and departure (2006–2007)

At WWE vs. ECW Head-to-Head on June 7, Big Show was drafted to the newly debuted ECW brand. It was revealed when Big Show removed his Raw shirt to reveal an ECW shirt during a 20-man battle royal that included the members of the Raw and SmackDown rosters against members of the ECW roster. Big Show won the match for ECW as he eliminated Randy Orton. Then he appeared at ECW One Night Stand, where he attacked Tajiri, Super Crazy and The Full Blooded Italians after their tag team match.

On the July 4 episode of ECW, Big Show beat Van Dam to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in Philadelphia as ECW’s General Manager Paul Heyman declined to make the three-count for Van Dam after Van Dam performed the Five Star Frog Splash on Big Show. After denying the three-count to Van Dam, Heyman then instructed Big Show to chokeslam Van Dam onto a chair, before making the three-count and helping Big Show win the title. The fans almost rioted when Big Show won the title, throwing drinks and empty cups into the ring as Heyman and Big Show celebrated, turning heel in the process. Meanwhile, this victory made Big Show the first-ever professional wrestler to hold the WWE Championship, WCW World Heavyweight Championship and ECW World Heavyweight Championship in the wrestling hisotry. He is also the first non-ECW Original to hold the title.

Over the following several weeks, Wight defeated many other wrestlers from other brands, such as Ric Flair and Kane to retain the now renamed ECW World Championship, before he lost to Batista and The Undertaker by disqualification. And then, he lost to The Undertaker at The Great American Bash in the first-ever Punjabi Prison match where The Undertaker was supposed to wrestle against The Great Khali who was removed by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long. He replaced Khali with Big Show as punishment for an attack on The Undertaker shortly before the match. Big Show also had a brief feud with Sabu, whom he defeated at SummerSlam. Also at SummerSlam, Big Show was one of the “resources” used by Vince and Shane McMahon in their match against D-Generation X (DX). He became further involved in the McMahons’ feud with DX when he teamed with Vince and Shane against Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a 3-on-2 handicap Hell in a Cell match at Unforgiven, which was won by DX. During the match, DX shoved Vince’s head up Big Show’s buttocks in a mockery of Vince’s Kiss My Ass Club.

At Cyber Sunday, Big Show faced John Cena and King Booker in the Champion of Champions match. The fans voted for King Booker’s World Heavyweight Championship to be on the line. However, Big Show failed to win the match, which was won by King Booker after pinning Cena following interference from Kevin Federline, who was just beginning a feud with Cena himself at the time. At Survivor Series, Big Show competed in the traditional 10-man Survivor Series tag team match and lost it after he was pinned by Cena, the final survivor of the match apart from Bobby Lashley. Show then feuded with Lashley, who left SmackDown to join the ECW brand to take part in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match at December to Dismember for the ECW World Championship. At December to Dismember, Lashley won the title as he defeated Big Show after one of the plexiglass pods was smashed on his face by the busting Big Show. Following an unsuccessful rematch on December 5, Big Show took a brief hiatus from the ring to heal injuries he had sustained on ECW. After two months of inactivity, Wight’s contract expired on February 8, 2007.

Memphis Wrestling (2007)

After a two-month departure from WWE, Wight replaced Jerry Lawler when the WWE withdrew him from a match with former nWo partner Hulk Hogan at the PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007. Wight was introduced as Paul “The Great” Wight. He stated that “Big Show” was his slave name and that he didn’t want to be owned anymore. Hogan won the match after he bodyslammed Wight and pinned him following the leg drop.

Return to WWE

Unified WWE Tag Team Champion (2008–2010)

On February 17, 2008 at No Way Out, Big Show returned to WWE television when he attempted to attack Rey Mysterio following his World Heavyweight Championship match with Edge. However, he got into a physical confrontation with boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. after Mayweather came from the crowd to challenge Big Show. The confrontation ended with Mayweather breaking Big Show’s nose with a punching combination. Later at WrestleMania XXIV, Big Show lost to Mayweather by knockout after a shot to the jaw with brass knuckles, turning face soon after.

At One Night Stand, Show defeated CM Punk, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero, and Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane match. During the bout, he received a black eye and deep gash alongside the eyebrow that required stitches after Morrison swung a Singapore cane to his knee, causing Show to fall with the steps. As he fell, the steps accidentally moved to the right, hitting Show in the eye. The win gave him contention to face Kane and Mark Henry at Night of Champions for the ECW Championship that was won by Henry as he pinned Kane.

Big Show was then assigned to the SmackDown brand where he once again turned heel and sided with Vickie Guerrero in her ongoing feud with The Undertaker. He attacked The Undertaker at Unforgiven and later went on to interfere in several matches of Undertaker on SmackDown. Show defeated Undertaker by knockout at No Mercy before losing to him in a fan-voted Last Man Standing match at Cyber Sunday and a Casket Match at Survivor Series. And then, on the December 5 episode of SmackDown, Show lost a Steel Cage match against The Undertaker, eventually ending the feud. In March, John Cena revealed that the Big Show was having secret relations with Vickie Guerrero. At WrestleMania XXV, Show was involved in a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship featuring champion Edge and eventual winner Cena.

On April 13, Big Show was drafted to the Raw brand as a part of the 2009 WWE draft. At Backlash, Big Show interfered in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Cena and Edge when he threw Cena into a spotlight, helping Edge to win the title while Cena got seriously injured. He continued to feud with John Cena, losing to him at Judgment Day by pinfall and at Extreme Rules in a submission match, before defeating Cena on the June 22 episode of Raw to end the feud.

Championship pursuits and reunion with Kane (2010–2011)

After the title loss, Big Show attacked The Miz with a knockout punch and hugged Teddy Long, turning face in the process. Later that night as part of the 2010 WWE draft, Big Show was drafted back to the SmackDown brand of the company. Upon his return to the brand on the 30th April episode of SmackDown, Big Show was subsequently named as the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, he interrupted Jack Swagger, then-World Heavyweight Champion, who was giving his “State of Championship Address” before Show arrived and knocked him out with a WMD. On the May 7 episode of SmackDown, Big Show sat ringside during the Swagger/Kane main event. After Swagger was disqualified, Show choke slammed him through the announce table. He also crashed Swagger’s achievement celebration, costing him his match with Kofi Kingston in the next week. Finally at Over the Limit, Big Show defeated Jack Swagger via disqualification, but he didn’t win the title. On the May 28 episode of SmackDown, General Manager – Theodore Long scheduled qualifying matches for the World Heavyweight Championship match at Fatal 4-Way. Meanwhile, he also announced that Big Show had already qualified for the fatal 4-way match when he defeated Jack Swagger via disqualification at Over the Limit. At the Fatal 4-Way, Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Championship as he defeated Big Show, CM Punk and Swagger for the title. On the following episode of SmackDown, Swagger introduced his new finishing manoeuver – The Ankle Lock which he applied on Big Show and injured his ankle as they continued their feud. Two weeks later on SmackDown, Big Show saved Rey Mysterio, whose ankle was injured by the same move, from Swagger. And then later that night, Show fought Swagger to a double count-out.

Soon after this, he started feuding with CM Punk and his Straight Edge Society. And then the Friday night before the Money in the Bank event, Big Show confronted Punk, unmasking him to reveal his bald head. After failing to win the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match, he fought the mysterious masked member of the SES, also unmasking him as Joey Mercury. Even though he defeated the Straight Edge Society in a 3 on 1 Handicap match at SummerSlam and CM Punk at Night of Champions, Show continued his feud continued with them. On the October 8 episode of SmackDown, Big Show was made the captain of the Team SmackDown for Bragging Rights. At the event, Show was counted out with Sheamus during the match but his team ultimately won with Edge and Rey Mysterio left on the team. He was on Rey Mysterio’s team for Survivor Series where he was a survivor along with Mysterio. The following episode of SmackDown, he was unsuccessful in qualifying for the King of the Ring tournament as he was defeated by Alberto Del Rio by count-out thanks to interference by his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez.

On the January 7, 2011 episode of SmackDown, Big Show participated in a fatal 4-Way match to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, losing due to interference by former Nexus leader Wade Barrett. The next week, Show faced Barrett and won via disqualification when former Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel attacked him. Moments later Ezekiel Jackson appeared to help him but instead attacked Big Show. The next week, Barrett, Slater, Gabriel and Jackson informed that they had formed the Corre. In the following weeks, the Corre continued to assault Show, due to the size and power of Ezekiel Jackson. At Elimination Chamber, Show participated in the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, eliminating Wade Barrett before being eliminated by Kane. Big Show feuded with The Corre in the following weeks.

On the March 4 episode of SmackDown, Big Show faced Kane in a confrontation until the Corre interfered on Kane’s behalf, however, a miscommunication led to Kane turning on the Corre. Big Show and Kane thus reunited to take on the Corre. At WrestleMania XXVII, Big Show and Kane teamed with Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston to beat The Corre. On the April 22 episode of SmackDown, the duo defeated Corre members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, their second championship win as a team. Big Show was drafted back to the Raw brand as a part of the 2011 WWE draft. He and Kane then started feuding with the New Nexus. After defending the titles against Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson at Extreme Rules and CM Punk and Mason Ryan at Over the Limit, Kane and Big Show lost their titles to Michael McGilligutty and David Otunga on the following night on Raw. After losing the titles, Big Show was run over by Alberto Del Rio’s car, driven by his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez, and was sidelined with an injury for almost a month. He returned during a match between Kane and Del Rio, attacking both Del Rio and Rodriguez.

On the June 17 episode of SmackDown, Big Show attacked and injured Mark Henry as Big Show’s frustrations and anger towards Del Rio was redirected unintentionally to Mark Henry and as a result, the two started feuding with each other. Henry retaliated by attacking Big Show during his match at Capitol Punishment and attacking him with the World’s Strongest Slam through an announce table, causing Big Show to lose to Del Rio by knockout. Henry did the same thing on Kane through the broadcast table the next night on Raw after their arm wrestling match, and again on the June 27 episode of Raw when Henry then broke the cage door during the steel cage match between Big Show and Alberto Del Rio, allowing Del Rio to escape. He then attacked Big Show with the cage door, breaking the cage viciously. On July 17, 2011, at Money in the Bank, Henry defeated Big Show. After the match, Henry fractured Big Show’s fibula, keeping him out of action for almost three months.

World Heavyweight Champion (2011–2013)

On the October 7 episode of SmackDown, Show returned and became number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship after he attacked Mark Henry and choke slammed him through the broadcast table. At Vengeance, Big Show fought Henry to a no-contest after the ring collapsed following a superplex from Henry, similar to his match with Brock Lesnar in 2003. This time, less damage was done, and the damage mainly occurred around the lower right-hand ring post. Show ended up being taken out on a motorized cart with a flatbed. Show faced Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship once again at Survivor Series winning via disqualification when Henry hit Show with a low blow, afterwards he leg dropped a chair on Henry’s leg, much like what Henry did to Show months before.

On December 18 at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Big Show finally defeated Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Chairs Match. Afterwards, Henry knocked Big Show out with DDT onto a chair and Daniel Bryan immediately cashed his Money in the Bank contract on Big Show to win the title. This gave Show the shortest-ever World Heavyweight Championship reign, 45 seconds. Show challenged Bryan for his world title on the January 6, 2012 episode of SmackDown, but Bryan retained his title by disqualification when he goaded Mark Henry into attacking him. The next week on SmackDown, Show received a rematch for the title contested under no disqualification, no count-out rules. Bryan again retained his title as the rematch ended in a no-contest after Show accidentally crashed into AJ (Bryan’s storyline girlfriend) at ringside, injuring her. At the 2012 Royal Rumble, Show faced Bryan and Henry in a triple threat steel cage match for the world title, but Bryan escaped the steel cage to retain his title.[144] At the Elimination Chamber event, Show failed again to capture the World Heavyweight Championship after he was eliminated second by Cody Rhodes.

In the following weeks, Show began a feud with Rhodes after Rhodes highlighted Show’s embarrassing moments in previous WrestleManias, often costing Show to lose matches in the process. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Big Show defeated Rhodes to win the Intercontinental Championship. With this, Big Show became the twenty-fourth wrestler to win the Triple Crown Championship and the twelfth Grand Slam Champion in the WWE, and is currently the most recent wrestler to complete the original Grand Slam format. Show then began highlighting embarrassing moments in Rhodes’ career. After a four-week reign, Show lost the title back to Rhodes at Extreme Rules in a Tables match. Show received his rematch on the May 7 episode of Raw, where he defeated Rhodes via countout after he walked out on the match. After a series of confrontations with Raw and SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis, he was fired by Laurinaitis for making fun of his voice on the May 14 episode of Raw.

Six days later, Big Show returned at Over the Limit, seemingly to help John Cena in his match against John Laurinaitis; instead, he knocked Cena out with a WMD and allowed Laurinaitis to win the match by pinfall, turning heel in the process. The following night on Raw, Big Show explained that his actions were of necessity to keep his job in the WWE, therefore resulting in Laurinaitis re-signing him to an “ironclad contract with a big fat bonus”, also stating that nobody showed him any sympathy when he got fired. Over the next few weeks, he attacked Cena, Brodus Clay, Alex Riley, R-Truth, Santino Marella, Zack Ryder, and Kofi Kingston because of the terms of his contract. On the June 11 episode of Raw, he accidentally knocked out Vince McMahon after McMahon decided that Laurinatis would be fired if Show lost to Cena at No Way Out in a steel cage. Show went on to lose that match and as per stipulation, Laurinaitis was fired. At Money in the Bank, Show faced Cena, Kane, Chris Jericho, and The Miz in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, but was unsuccessful as the match was won by Cena. On July 23 at Raw 1000, Big Show attacked Cena during his WWE Championship match against CM Punk causing a disqualification. He continued the attack on Cena until The Rock made the save. The following week on Raw, a WWE Championship number one contenders match between Show and Cena ended in a no-contest due to interference from Punk. Following this, both Show and Cena were entered in the championship match at SummerSlam by Raw General Manager AJ Lee. At the event, however, Show was unsuccessful as Punk retained the title.

Show returned on the September 24 episode of Raw, attacking Brodus Clay and Tensai during their match. Four days later on SmackDown, Big Show defeated Randy Orton to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. Show received his title opportunity on October 28 at Hell in a Cell, where he defeated Sheamus to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On November 18 at Survivor Series, Show lost a title rematch to Sheamus via disqualification and retaining the World Heavyweight Championship as a result. After the match, Sheamus attacked Show and repeatedly hit him with a chair. This led to a Chairs match on December 16 at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, where Big Show defeated Sheamus to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. On the December 24 episode of Raw, Show was defeated by Sheamus in a non-title lumberjack match. On the December 28 episode of SmackDown, Show defended his title against Alberto Del Rio, however, the match ended in a no-contest after Sheamus interfered and attacked Show. Three days later on Raw, Show defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Del Rio’s ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez and defeated him via disqualification after Del Rio attacked Show from behind. On January 8, 2013, at the tapings of the January 11 episode of SmackDown, Show lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Del Rio in a Last Man Standing match, ending his reign at 72 days. Show received his rematch for the title in another Last Man Standing match on January 27 at the Royal Rumble, but was again defeated by Del Rio when Rodriguez used duct tape to stop Show from getting up. After Show repeatedly attacked Del Rio and Rodriguez, Del Rio defeated Show via submission on February 17 at Elimination Chamber to again retain his title.

On the March 1 episode of SmackDown, Big Show knocked out Roman Reigns of The Shield with the KO Punch after Reigns was shoved into him during an attack on Randy Orton and Sheamus. After the March 4 episode of Raw went off-air, Show was attacked by the Shield. Four days later on SmackDown, Show again assisted Sheamus and Orton in warding off The Shield, though he hit Sheamus with a KO Punch and was hit with an RKO by Orton in return. On the March 11 episode of Raw, Show defeated Shield member Seth Rollins via disqualification after the rest of The Shield interfered. Orton and Sheamus were then allowed to pick a third partner to face the Shield in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania 29 and originally chose Ryback. However, on the March 18 episode of Raw, Ryback was booked in another match at the event, leaving the spot open. Later that night, Big Show saved the two from an attack by The Shield and was immediately recruited as their partner. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Show, Orton and Sheamus were defeated by The Shield, after which, Show knocked out both of his teammates. The following night on Raw, Orton and Sheamus faced off in a match to earn a match with Big Show, however, the match ended in a no-contest after Show interfered. Show was then defeated by Orton and Sheamus in two handicap matches, first on the April 12 episode of SmackDown via count-out, and second on the April 15 episode of Raw via pinfall. On the April 19 episode of SmackDown, Show teamed up with old rival Mark Henry to defeat Orton and Sheamus in a tag team match, with Show pinning Orton for the win. The feud between Big Show and Orton led to an Extreme Rules match on May 19 at Extreme Rules, which Show lost. After Extreme Rules, Show took a hiatus from WWE television.

The Authority (2013–2015)

After a three-month hiatus, Show returned to WWE on August 11 at a house show in Oakland, California. Show made his return on the following night on the August 12 episode of Raw, and helped Mark Henry and Rob Van Dam from an attack by The Shield, turning face in the process. On the August 16 episode of SmackDown, Show, Henry, and Van Dam defeated the Shield in a six-man tag team match.

On the August 19 episode of Raw, as a result of speaking out against COO Triple H, Show was placed into a three-on-one handicap tornado tag team match against The Shield, which Show lost. Additional punishment followed with Show being forced to sit ringside and watch his friends being attacked by the Shield and Randy Orton at the risk of being fired. Following this, The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) claimed Show was broke, and in order to save his job, forced him to knock out his friends including Daniel Bryan, Dusty Rhodes, and The Miz.

When Show attempted to revolt on the September 30 episode of Raw, he was almost arrested for threatening to knock out Triple H but Stephanie McMahon came to his aid and insulted him afterwards. At Battleground, Big Show interfered in the WWE title match between Bryan and Orton and knocked out both of them, ending the match in a no-contest. During November 2013, Show started a feud with WWE Champion Orton, who was part of the Authority, but failed to win the title at Survivor Series.

At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Show teamed with Rey Mysterio to unsuccessfully challenge Cody Rhodes and Goldust for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a four-way match which also involved RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel), and The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger). On the January 6 episode of Raw, Show confronted Brock Lesnar after Lesnar attacked Mark Henry. There was a short physical confrontation between the two, starting a feud which was settled at the Royal Rumble where Show lost to Lesnar after being brutally assaulted with numerous chair shots before the match started.

Big Show participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX, being the last person eliminated by winner Cesaro. On July 26, 2014, Big Show made his return at a live event, defeating Cesaro. He made his television return on the August 8 episode of SmackDown, teaming with Mark Henry to defeat RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel). On the September 26 episode of SmackDown, Show started a feud with Rusev when he defeated Rusev by disqualification. At Hell in a Cell, he was defeated by Rusev via submission. The following night on Raw, Henry turned on Show and attacked him, during their match with the WWE Tag Team Champions Gold and Stardust. On the November 3 episode of Raw, he defeated Henry via disqualification when he was slammed onto the steel steps by Henry.

Although he was a part of Team Cena, Big Show turned on and knocking out Cena at the Survivor Series, causing his elimination. However, Show shook hands with his former rival Triple H and left intentionally getting himself counted out, turning heel in the process. The following night on the November 24 episode of Raw, Big Show explained his actions, stating he has a family to care for and the Authority had created issues for him in the past, thus he had to make that tough decision. He was interrupted by Erick Rowan who referred to him as a bully and igniting a feud for turning his back on the team. Big Show faced Rowan in a first-ever Steel Stairs match at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view, which he won. Later in the event, Show attacked Cena during his match with Seth Rollins but was then confronted by Roman Reigns, leading to Cena winning the match.

This started a feud between Show and Reigns, which resulted in Reigns defeating Show multiple times by count-out and disqualification. On January 25, 2015, at the Royal Rumble, Big Show entered the Royal Rumble match at #29, eliminating five superstars before being eliminated by Reigns, the eventual winner. At Fastlane, Big Show, Seth Rollins and Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback when Kane pinned Ziggler. Big Show won the 2nd Annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31. Show later reignited his feud with Roman Reigns after attacking him during his triple threat match against Ryback and Randy Orton on the April 6 episode of Raw and chokeslamming him on a taxi cab on the April 13 episode of Raw. However, Show lost to Reigns in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules.

Various storylines (2015–2016)

After a brief hiatus, Big Show returned on the June 1 episode of Raw, he knocked out The Miz and confronted Intercontinental Champion Ryback, beginning a feud with him for the title. During this time, Big Show quietly distanced himself from The Authority, but still remained loyal to the group. Big Show challenged Ryback for the title at Money in the Bank, winning the match by disqualification after The Miz attacked Big Show. A triple threat match for the title was scheduled for Battleground, but due to Ryback suffering a knee injury at the time, the match was moved to SummerSlam, where Ryback retained the title. On the August 31 episode of Raw, Big Show received another championship match against Ryback, which he lost following a distraction from The Miz, ending the feud.

Big Show later became involved in The Authority’s feud with Sting. On the September 14 episode of Raw, Big Show would become Sting’s first-ever opponent on the WWE’s A show. However, the match would result in a disqualification after interference from Seth Rollins. This led to John Cena storming the ring and the match becoming a tag team match with the team of Cena and Sting defeating the team of Big Show and Rollins.

It was later announced Big Show would be Brock Lesnar’s opponent for the upcoming WWE Network special, WWE Live from Madison Square Garden. Before the event, Big Show would pick up victories over the likes of Cesaro (September 18 episode of SmackDown and September 21 episode of Raw) and Mark Henry (September 28 episode of Raw). On October 3 at Live from Madison Square Garden, Big Show was defeated by Brock Lesnar. On the November 9 episode of Raw, Big Show entered the 16-man tournament to crown the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion and lost to Roman Reigns in the first round. Big Show’s rivalry with Ryback would later carry on into December with the duo trading victories. The feud would end with the pair ultimately joining forces on the January 6 episode of Raw after being levelled by the Wyatt Family during their match.

On the January 18 episode of Raw, Big Show defeated Heath Slater to gain entry into the Royal Rumble match. At the Royal Rumble, Big Show entered the Royal Rumble match at #15 and eliminated Ryback and Titus O’Neil before being eliminated by Braun Strowman. On the January 28 episode of SmackDown, Big Show turned face by helping Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Chris Jericho fend off all the members of The Wyatt Family, whom he, Kane and Ryback defeated at Fastlane after several singles matches against the likes of Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman, mostly in winning efforts, leading up to the event. However, the next night on Raw, The Wyatt Family would defeat the Trio in a rematch. Following Fastlane, Big Show would become involved in a feud with Kevin Owens.

After losing to Owens via count-out – after being caught on the ring rope – on the February 25 episode of SmackDown, Big Show would go on to defeat Owens via count out – with Owens losing in the same fashion – on the February 29 edition of Raw. Leading up to WrestleMania, Kane and Big Show would enter a feud with the recently re-formed Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. Big Show and Kane would go on to defeat the duo in tag team matches on the March 22 episode of Main Event and the March 28 episode of Raw. At WrestleMania 32, Big Show participated in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal where a future feud between Shaquille O’Neal was teased. Big Show and O’Neal were eliminated from the match-up simultaneously as the other participants ganged up on the two powerhouses, while the debuting Baron Corbin won the match.

Kane and Big Show would once again reunite on the April 18 taping of Superstars after Big Show defeated Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a handicap match. A night later, on Main Event, the duo would team together in winning fashion against Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan, ending their feud the Wyatt Family in the process. On the May 30 episode of Raw in a backstage segment, Big Show was seen advising the recently signed Apollo Crews, on Sheamus.

On the July 4 episode of Raw, Big Show was part of the main event, where he teamed with “Team USA”, which consisted of himself, Kane, Apollo Crews, Mark Henry, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger and The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley), facing off against “The Multinational Alliance”, which consisted of Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) in a 16-man elimination tag team match, with Big Show and Ryder being the sole survivors.

Part-time appearances (2016–present)

On July 19, Big Show was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft. Big Show begun competing mostly on the live event circuit rather than Raw and SmackDown, as he transitioned into a part-time role as WWE officials wanted to focus on the new era of WWE programming. On the December 5 episode of Raw, Big Show was revealed as Seth Rollins’ surprise opponent, chosen by Kevin Owens. During the match, Owens would interfere, leading Big Show to chokeslam him, and intentionally counting himself out. On January 29, 2017, at the Royal Rumble, Big Show entered the Royal Rumble match at number 9 but was eliminated by Braun Strowman. At Fastlane, Big Show defeated Rusev. On April 2 at WrestleMania 33, Big Show competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, from which he was eliminated by Braun Strowman.

On the April 17 episode of Raw, Big Show wrestled Strowman, where the ring collapsed after Strowman executed a superplex on Big Show, resulting in the match going to a no contest, similar to his matches with Brock Lesnar in 2003 and Mark Henry in 2011, respectively.

On the May 22 episode of Raw, Enzo Amore was found unconscious backstage after being attacked from behind by an unknown assailant, and again the following week. On the June 5 episode of Raw, after Big Cass, Amore’s tag team partner was attacked backstage, Big Show would fill in for him as Amore’s tag team partner to defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

Big Show also appeared a week later, aiding Amore after Cass was once again attacked backstage and forced to face Gallows and Anderson on his own. On the June 19 episode of Raw, general manager Kurt Angle held a meeting about the attacks on Amore and Cass, where Cass admitted that he was behind the attacks on Amore. On the July 10 episode of Raw, Big Show attacked Cass, after he gloated over his attack on Amore. On the August 7 episode of Raw, Big Show and Amore lost to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, after a distraction from Cass. After the match, Big Show giving the KO Punch to Cass, with a match between Big Show and Cass was scheduled for SummerSlam, while Amore was suspended above the ring inside a shark cage. At SummerSlam on August 20, Big Show was defeated by Cass.[221] On the September 4 episode of Raw, Big Show was defeated by Braun Strowman in a steel cage match, being thrown through the cage post-match, and was then aided backstage. It was reported the attack was used to write Big Show off television as he required hip surgery. On April 6, 2018, Big Show inducted his long-time friend and rival Mark Henry into the WWE Hall of Fame.

On October 7, 2018, it was announced that Big Show would return on the October 9 episode of SmackDown Live, against Randy Orton. It served as a qualifier to determine entry into the inaugural WWE World Cup at Crown Jewel event, where he was subsequently defeated by Orton in the main event. The following week, on the 1000th episode of SmackDown, Big Show helped The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) defeat The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, thus turning heel in the process. A week later, Big Show confirmed his alliance with The Bar, later facing Kofi Kingston in dominating fashion after a flurry of chokeslams. At the Crown Jewel event, Big Show helped The Bar retain the titles. On the November 27 episode of SmackDown Live, Big Show and The Bar’s alliance ended, after Big Show performing a KO Punch on Cesaro backstage. Following this, Big Show was written off television due to him suffering a hamstring injury.

On the January 6, 2020 episode of Raw, Big Show returned from injury over a year later, teaming with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe to defeat Seth Rollins and AOP via disqualification, thus turning face in the process. In a match filmed during WrestleMania 36, which aired on the April 6 episode of Raw, Show reverted back to a heel after insulting and challenging newly-crowned WWE Champion Drew McIntyre for his title, Show was subsequently defeated. On the June 15 episode of Raw, Show turned face again by helping The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders fend off the group of ninjas led by Akira Tozawa.

Wrestling Manoeuvers

Finishing Moves

Year Moves
2001 Final Cut (Spinning headlock elbow drop), Hog Log/Showstopper (Inverted leg drop bulldog)
2002 Final Cut (Spinning headlock elbow drop), Hog Log/Showstopper (Inverted leg drop bulldog)
2006 Chokeslam , Cobra clutch backbreaker followed by a spin-out cobra clutch slam
2008 Chokeslam, Cobra clutch backbreaker followed by a spin-out cobra clutch slam
2009 Colossal Clutch (Camel clutch)
2012 Colossal Clutch (Camel clutch), Final Cut (Spinning headlock elbow drop)
2013 Final Cut (Spinning headlock elbow drop)

 

Signature Manoeuvers

  • Abdominal stretch
  • Back kick, as a counter to an oncoming opponent
  • Bear-hug
  • Big boot
  • Corner slingshot splash
  • Elbow drop, sometimes from the second rope
  • Fallaway powerbomb
  • Headbutt
  • Military press slam
  • Open-handed chop to a cornered opponent’s chest, with theatrics
  • Running or standing hip attack to the chest or stomach of a cornered opponent
  • Sidewalk slam
  • Spear
  • Vertical suplex

Legacy

Wight has often been compared to André the Giant throughout his career due to both suffering from acromegaly and having a similar overall body structure to André. Unlike André, who was content with his fate, Wight had surgery to halt his condition. The similarities led to WCW billing him as André’s son early in his career (despite no biological relation) and WWE involving him in similar angles as André. Wight has also stated that many older fans in the Southern United States (where Wight is from and where André made his home in the United States) not aware of kayfabe have often told Wight during autograph sessions how much they “loved his father when he wrestled”, even though Wight’s biological father was a mechanic. Wight would also outlive André, who died at age 46.

Wight is also well-known for his frequent turns between face and heel throughout his career, to the point it has become a running gag among wrestling fans. One wrestling site has estimated that through 2018 Wight has done about 34 turns since his WCW debut in 1995, four of those alone coming during his first year with the WWF. Wight himself acknowledged that while the frequent turns may have hurt his legacy and his mystique, he was also honored with the fact that he can play both roles well and fit in wherever he is needed to put younger talent over.

Other media

  • Big Show has been featured in infomercials for Stacker 2 with former NASCAR drivers Kenny Wallace and Scott Wimmer, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Elliott Sadler, retired crew chief turned Fox Sports broadcaster Jeff Hammond, and 2002, 2005, and 2011 Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart.
  • Wight also appeared on the “Thong Song” remix music video by Sisqó and Foxy Brown.
  • Wight was featured on the game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, winning $15,000 for his chosen charity, United Service Organizations. He is the only contestant to appear on two versions of the game show in two different countries.
  • On March 31, 2012, Big Show won the first-ever Slime Wrestling World Championship at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, defeating The Miz after throwing him into a tub of slime.

Championships and accomplishments

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

  • Rookie of the Year (1996)
  • Wrestler of the Year (1996)
  • Ranked him No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1996
  • Ranked him No. 137 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

World Championship Wrestling

  • WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Lex Luger (1), Sting (1), and Scott Hall (1)
  • World War 3 (1996)

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE

  • WWF/E Championship (2 times)
  • ECW World Championship (1 time)
  • World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • WWF/E Hardcore Championship (3 times)
  • WWE United States Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Chris Jericho (1), The Miz (1) and Kane (1)
  • WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with The Undertaker (2), Kane (1), Chris Jericho (1) and The Miz (1)
  • André the Giant Memorial Trophy (2015)
  • Bragging Rights Trophy (2010) – With Team SmackDown (with Alberto Del Rio, Edge, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio and Tyler Reks)
  • 24th Triple Crown Champion
  • Twelfth Grand Slam Champion
  • Slammy Awards (5 times)
  • Tag Team of the Year (2009) – with Chris Jericho
  • Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2011) – Imploding the Ring after being superplexed by Mark Henry at Vengeance
  • Betrayal of the Year (2012) – Knocking out John Cena at Over the Limit
  • “This is Awesome” Moment of the Year (2013) – Knocking out Triple H on Raw
  • Match of the Year (2014) – Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • Most Embarrassing Wrestler (2002)
  • Rookie of the Year (1996)
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1999) vs. The Big Boss Man
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2013) vs. The Authority
  • Worst Wrestler (2001, 2002)

 

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