8 Reasons Why Big Show Should Never Wrestle On TV Again
'Move along please, nothing to see here, Show's over'
It's been 18 years since The Big Show since burst through the ring and onto WWE screens as Mr McMahon's secret weapon against Stone Cold Steve Austin, and 22 since he was similarly unveiled as a Giant-sized threat to Hulkamania in WCW during the summer of 1995.
That Paul Wight's debuts in the two biggest organisations in wrestling history involved him assaulting the two all-time top babyfaces highlights just how safe a bet the seven-footer always was to promoters from the moment he decided to step over the top rope.
Occasionally a victim of his own poor attitude, The Big Show wasn't always booked as the killer he perhaps should have been. As he observed the mutual disinterest between WCW and Wight in 1998, Vince McMahon allegedly pledged to do so much more with the prolific star to those in his inner circle, but a mythically brilliant run as the industry's top star never quite materialised.
All that said, Show was often unfairly maligned. His size and stature allowed for instant reboots whenever a heel or babyface required an stopgap opponent, which made outcomes predictable but contests no less intriguing. A recent programme with Braun Strowman served the same purpose. Responsible for two of the best matches on Monday Night Raw in 2017, the pair collectively crafted a new raised platform for the 'Monster Among Men' to launch from as he continues his inexorable rise.
This should mark Show's final contribution. Going out on his back, he'd paradoxically be going out on top.
8. Going Out On Top
The standout performance on this week's edition of Monday Night Raw, Big Show and Braun Strowman's steel cage war was smartly presented as a payoff to an epic war that has, in reality, been kept on the back-burner during the 'Monster Among Men's astonishing tear through the flagship show in 2017.
The April contest between the two mammoth stars that destroyed ring and referee alike offered a memorable visual, but this week's variant saved that for Braun's post-match exclamation mark. The best action occurred bell-to-bell, as the pair rattled off top rope moves, enormous spots and legitimately thrilling sequences not ordinarily associated with men their size.
Few bouts have allowed The Big Show to play an equal-or-smaller foe, but the caged affair permitted the airborne action in a way he could never convincingly unleash against 99% of the roster. Only a handful of his matches in the past decade will have been remotely as memorable, if even on par with such an encounter.
Even in defeat, a retiring legend should always want to leave audiences wanting a little more. In exiting stage left here, The Big Show may have remarkably managed the rare feat.