Roundtable: 20 Years Of The Big Show

How has Big Show lived up to the Andre the Giant comparisons?

David Gibb: It’s like comparing Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds, which is to say it’s impossible to do in a way that’s fair to both athletes and the eras in which they participated. Andre was a game-changing attraction in the era of relatively small-scale touring; Big Show was a full-time TV character during the peak of national TV.

John Corrigan: He hasn’t, which is fine because there is only one Andre. And even though he was unfairly thrust into wrestling as the second coming of Andre, the powers that be ruined any chance of Big Show living up to their lofty expectations. While Andre was booked as a dominant force until the last few years of his career, Big Show was immediately booked as a buffoon when he entered WWE – Mr. McMahon’s secret weapon ultimately screwed up. On his first night!

Juan Bautista: He lived up to Andre as he was able to keep his own identity by being the “World’s Largest Athlete,” just like Andre was deemed the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” They didn’t blend into the pack like other big guys have done. The Andre comparison has also been a curse because if there was a category of a wrestler you wouldn’t want to be included in, it’s the giants. Andre is the most beloved giant and most importantly, he was the first.

Steven Jackson: I don’t think anyone can live up to the legacy of André the Giant. It has been even harder for Big Show given the immediate physical similarities. But he has definitely been the most imposing big man since André, and like André, has been a focal figure of each promotion he has wrestled for.

Neal Wagner: Big Show gets compared unjustly to Andre the Giant too much and has created his own legacy in the wrestling industry. He has in certain ways surpassed Andre while making himself a great character for this generation, especially in a different time compared to the 80s and early ‘90s with Andre.

Chad Gelfand: Big Show has cemented his own legacy and I know it’s a meme about all of his heel/face turns, but Show is legitimately one of the greatest big men of this generation.

Jack Goodwillie: Not great, but those are not reasonable expectations. Andre was this completely larger-than-life entity and in many ways a legend walking among common men. Big Show is the “World’s Largest Athlete,” which while a spectacular moniker, is something else entirely. When Andre came to America, he was constantly protected, whereas while Big Show was protected in WCW, he has filled so many different roles on the card over his career and I think preferred to work a more regular style. He probably ended up selling more than a giant should in his career, but it’s also what allowed him to put Andre comparisons on the back burner, and in doing so, become the first Big Show.

What’s Big Show’s greatest match?

Gibb: I’m a big fan of Show’s WrestleMania XX match with John Cena. It felt like a wrestler in their prime doing everything in their power to get the next guy over.

Corrigan: vs. Braun Strowman on Raw, April 17, 2017. The battle of the giants was built up throughout the night with Strowman on a warpath and Big Show stepping up to defend the locker room. The match itself had a little bit of everything, showing how versatile these two hosses are. Of course, we all know how the match ended, and it felt like a passing of the torch.

Bautista: His WrestleMania 24 match against Floyd Mayweather. He was the perfect guy for this role and the build to the match and the match itself surpassed expectations.

Jackson: It’s quite hard to think what Big Show’s greatest match has been, given I’m not a massive fan of Big Show’s style of wrestling. Having to choose one, though, will probably be his match against Brock Lesnar from Survivor Series 2002. The MSG crowd was electric from start to finish, the match was a great big man sprint and Big Show won back the WWE Title, so it has historical significance as well.

Wagner: I always enjoyed Survivor Series 2002 with Brock Lesnar. This match showed how Big Show could work with a smaller guy (yes, I know I just said smaller guy and Brock Lesnar in the same comparison), and still be thrown around the ring, while at the same time, he treated Brock like a cruiserweight. Great storytelling from both men.

Gelfand: I was a big fan of his chairs match against Sheamus at Hell in the Cell 2012. I remember that match really surprising me with how good it was considering the competitors and the low expectations going in.

Goodwillie: I’m of two schools of thought here: Big Show’s matches with JeriShow are critically some of my favorites of his. But personally? I always go back the Barbed Wire Steel Cage match with JBL. NO. WAY. OUT. The nature of a gimmicked steel cage allowed Big Show to feel, at the time, like JBL’s greatest threat to the WWE Championship. It was a barbaric encounter and the finish was flawless. Big Show did not walk out as the champion, but was made to look more like a menace than ever before. Chokeslamming JBL through the ring, only for JBL to roll out onto the floor before Big Show could get out of the ring was brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDykCxXZYkE

Has turning face and heel so frequently over the years damaged his credibility?

Gibb: Yes. Duh.

Corrigan: Turning so frequently wouldn’t be such an issue if the reasoning and follow-up for his character changes were better. Big Show has suffered through a ton of silly storylines over the past 20 years, perhaps more than anybody in WWE history. But the worst thing to ever happen to his cred is when he cried…several times. Nobody wants to see a giant cry.

Bautista: Yes, because the fans have lost interest and have been burned out. We’ve seen when positioned as a sympathetic babyface against Big Boss Man fans cheered. On the other hand, fans booed him when he was Paul Heyman’s chosen one. It also has hurt that sometime there was no build to a turn. He randomly jumped onto the Daniel Bryan train, but also knocked out John Cena at Survivor Series 2014…when they were on the same team.

Jackson: Turning babyface or heel frequently is bound to affect a wrestler’s credibility. I would not say it has damaged Big Show’s credibility, but a lot of times it has been highly unnecessary for him to turn, leading to a lot of nonsensical storylines and feuds keeping him in the limelight.

Wagner: Big Show’s credibility has suffered slightly from the constant changes between heel and babyface. Show himself has even referenced that he would wake up in the morning and wonder what he was for that given day. If the story fit, then of course it makes sense, but those instances were far too few.

Gelfand: It definitely has. Sadly, now people don’t take him that seriously anymore because he’s flip flopped so much.

Goodwillie: Depends! I wouldn’t have had such an issue with it if his booking on the card wasn’t so volatile. But it’s when they pushed Big Show down to the midcard, then tried to bring him back up to the main event where they lost me. I would also say that his “knockout punch” finisher really hurt him. A closed-fist punch, in theory, is such a lazy move. I’ll never forget how triggered I was when he used it in that infamous 2015 Royal Rumble where he dumped all the fan favorites over the top rope.

What’s Big Show’s greatest moment/angle?

Gibb: There were multiple moments in Big Show’s career where it felt like his greatest, most impactful moment was just about to happen, but when you look back at things, it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly the peak was. The lead-up to his match with Floyd Mayweather stands out as perhaps the specialist, most unique thing he did in the WWE.

Corrigan: The Showster!

Bautista: ECW Champion. During this stint, we saw a more aggressive and mean Big Show. If the ECW relaunch wasn’t snake bitten and Heyman had more control, this could’ve been even greater.

Jackson: Once again, this particular choice involves Brock Lesnar, and it is the superplex heard around the world, causing the ring to explode on SmackDown in 2003. The moment perfectly emphasized Big Show’s size and weight, as well as the destruction he can cause to not only his opponents, but the ring itself. Jaw-dropping!

Wagner: Big Show’s greatest moment was his debut at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. He came up from the ring to help Vince win a cage match against Austin, but Austin won when the cage wall broke loose, allowing the Texas Rattlesnake to escape. Big Show would then join sides with the Corporation for a quick month, until he finally had enough abuse from Vince and punched him out at WrestleMania 15.

Gelfand: The superperlex that Brock Lesnar gave him on that SmackDown in 2003 is ingrained in my mind. I’d never seen anything like it before and any of the recreations that WWE has done since don’t compare to the original.

Goodwillie: Big Show’s sense of humor and charisma always set him apart from other giants. As a face, he had such a likeable personality. As a heel, you loved to see him get humiliated. I always thought Big Show and Kurt Angle were money together. Remember when Big Show threw Kurt off a balcony, got suspended, then returned only for Kurt to seek retribution by shooting him with a tranquilizer gun like some sort of poacher in the Serengeti as a way to shave his head? Yeah, that’s not really one angle or moment but that’s what I’ve got.

What’s Big Show’s legacy?

Gibb: Big Show has had the longest, most consistent run by a true giant in the history of professional wrestling.

Corrigan: Knucklehead. JK JK, Big Show is the most versatile big man in wrestling history. It’s easy to see why he so many acting credits – he can be the scary monster, sympathetic avenger or comedic foil, sometimes all in the same night.

Bautista: The legacy of the Big Show is that he is the modern-day giant and hasn’t been lost in the pack. While giants like Braun Strowman or even big guys like Killer Kross or Moose have at times failed to break away from the pack, Big Show has always maintained status as the giant. He’s a former world champion and for sure a WWE Hall of Famer. Big Show has paved the way for the next generation of giants just like Andre did for him.

Jackson: Big Show’s legacy is one of longevity. He is a key part of the WWE formula, and has been for the past 20 years. He is the measuring stick by which all other giants and big men are measured. A true gent with amazing charisma, who (much like the Undertaker) has been able to reinvent himself throughout his career, he is a man who has earned my respect, and I hope the respect of everyone else!

Wagner: Big Show’s legacy is being the greatest big man of our generation. He has created his own path and has reinvented himself when it mattered, such as his return in 2008. I hope he can one day get one more major title run because he has missed having that major, memorable World Heavyweight Championship reign.

Gelfand: It should be as one of the best big men of his generation, who carved out his own path even with the obvious Andre the Giant comparisons.

Goodwillie: I sort of alluded to this above, but I always thought Big Show took early comps to Andre and down the line became the very first Big Show. When he debuted in WWE, they weren’t really sure what to call him. When “Big Show” came up, Vince McMahon was always skeptical if it would work, but very soon “The Big Show” became “Big Show,” which I think is unprecedented, if not a little silly on the surface. He’s one hell of an athlete who reinvented himself multiple times, sometimes through new moves, other times through a new look or weight loss. His entire career was always a journey towards stepping out of Andre’s shadow, and he definitely accomplished that.