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Big Show PROFILE |
Big Show profile written by
Niko Krommydas
Standing at over seven feet tall and weighing
around the 500 lb mark, professional wrestler
Paul Wight can only be described in one way:
Big. As a result, it is no surprise that upon
his signing with the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) in 1999, the wrestler known as The Giant
in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) changed
his name to The Big Show.
Debuting with
the WWF in February of 1999 after signing a
ten-year contract, Big Show made an immediate
impact at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
pay-per-view by tearing a hole from underneath
the ring and attacking Stone Cold Steve Austin.
This move aligned Show with Vince McMahon and
his stable, The Corporation, who were determined
to remove Stone Cold from the WWF forever.
However, this relationship failed to last
past the end of 1999, as McMahon's high demands
for his personal bodyguard grew increasingly
worse. This prompted Show to form an unlikely
alliance with The Undertaker, who had been
feuding with his brother Kane. While the duo
captured the WWF Tag Team Championship on two
occasions, Big Show still had only one goal in
mind: to win the WWF World Championship.
Following Austin's removal from a triple
threat match scheduled for Survivor Series in
November 1999, Show was booked in his place.
This proved beneficial to Show and his quest for
gold, as he defeated Triple H and The Rock to
become the new WWF Champion. In less than one
year, Show had gone from personal bodyguard to
World Heavyweight Champion.
Although Big
Show defended the belt in a short feud with the
Big Boss Man, who attempted to play mind games
with the champion by poking fun at his dying
father, he ultimately dropped the belt to Triple
H in January 2000.
After losing the
title and failing to regain the championship at
WrestleMania, Show was sent to developmental
territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to work on
his speed, agility, and technique.
Big
Show returned to the WWE in 2001, but spent the
majority of the year in unsuccessful mid-card
feuds. This caused his trade from the Raw brand
to Smackdown, who had fierce competitor Brock
Lesnar as their Champion. Realizing this could
be his last opportunity for a second title
reign, Show called out Lesnar and demanded a
shot at the belt. Lesnar accepted, and the two
faced off at Survivor Series in November 2002.
The grueling match saw Lesnar's manager Paul
Heyman align himself with Show, helping him
capture his second WWE Championship. However,
like his first title run, Show only held the
belt for a short time, losing to Kurt Angle in
December 2002.
Big Show spent 2003
attempting to regain the belt he had lost to
Angle, which was now held again by Lesnar.
Unfortunately, Show was unable to defeat Lesnar
in a series of four matches. Defeated, but not
done, Show continued to climb his way up the WWE
ladder in a quest for gold, setting his sights
now on the United States Heavyweight Champion
Eddie Guerrero. At No Mercy, Show defeated
Guerrero to win his third title since joining
the WWE.
Although he later dropped the
US belt to John Cena at WrestleMania XX, Show
remained a top contender on the WWE roster,
competing in a Sumo match with Japanese legend
Akabono at WrestleMania XXI, and winning the Tag
Team Championship with Kane in late November
2005.
However, it was not until mid-2006
that Big Show would experience the dominance of
his early-WWF days. First, Show turned on the
WWE and joined the newly-established Extreme
Championship Wrestling (ECW) brand during a
battle royal in June. Then what followed has
become known as the infamous "South Philly Screw
job." It was during this night at the ECW Arena
that saw Big Show challenge for the ECW
Championship, which was held by fan favorite,
Rob Van Dam (RVD). Up to this point, Heyman had
been in the corner of RVD, who was a
representation of the true heart and soul from
the original ECW.
However, history has a
way of repeating itself.
During the
match, Heyman aligned himself once again with
the monster Show, turning on ECW original RVD
and costing him the Heavyweight Championship.
The swerve shocked the entire arena and turned
Show into the most hated man on the ECW roster.
Over the next several months, Show
successfully defended the title against Kane,
Batista, Sabu, and even legend Ric Flair. It
seemed as if no wrestler could stop Big Show's
aggressive and dominating power.
That
is, until Bobby Lashley joined the ECW roster.
Calling out The Big Show and securing a
spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber title
match at December to Dismember, Lashley was able
to defeat Big Show (in addition to four other
wrestlers) and become the new ECW Heavyweight
Champion.
The loss combined with nagging
injuries from wrestling over the years caused
Show to take indefinite hiatus from WWE. It
appeared that The Big Show, who intimidated and
dominated almost all of his opponents, no matter
the size, skill, or rank, was gone from
wrestling forever.
Yet perhaps Big Show
had one more fight in him after all.
After a fifteen month hiatus, Big Show returned
to the WWE in February 2008 over one hundred
pounds lighter and hungrier than ever. With a
slimmer frame and renewed sense of focus,
there's no telling who or what The Big Show will
wreak havoc on in the future.
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