10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Big Show

2. He Was Sent To Minors And Not A Part Of WrestleMania 18

Big Show signed with WWE 1999 as previously mentioned. A year later he was in the main event of WrestleMania 16/2000 although he was quickly eliminated in the match. Later in that same year he was sent down to Ohio Valley Wrestling to work on his conditioning and his attitude. He had about five years of experience by that point, but he still had a lot to learn. During the 2001 Invasion storyline that featured the WWE vs. WCW/ECW angle, Show was a key figure on WWE's side and was the first guy eliminated in the ten man tag at Survivor Series 2001 that year. Then he was put in a reduced role and was left off of WrestleMania 18 in 2002 entirely. They did actually mention that he spent WM18 at WWF New York during his feud with Cody Rhodes a couple of years ago. However, they didn't mention that he was there because he had to improve on his work and his cardiovascular health. There were also many instances where people on the roster criticized Show for not being in good shape. The announcers would say it too. It was likely direction from Vince McMahon, who probably saw a lot of potential in him and was frustrated that he wasn't in better shape. By the end of 2002 he seemed to have figured things out as he won the WWE Title and became a more permanent fixture on the roster going forward.