10 Times WWE Picked The RIGHT Wrestler At The WRONG Time

Ah, just look at Paul Wight in the above photo. Young. Fresh-faced. Full of hope.

If only he knew what the next 20 years would have in store for him.

Paul Wight - better known as The Big Show - is the ultimate example of a wrestler who never got the push they needed when they needed it. After being brought into the WWE in 1999, Wight spent his first year being routinely humbled by The Rock and Austin (especially The Rock), resulting in the fans immediately viewing him as an overweight, overpaid putz. Even when he won the WWF championship at the end of the year, he almost immediately lost it to Triple H on free TV.

This started a trend that would haunt Big Show throughout his WWE career. Whenever he was presented as a threat - such as when Paul Heyman sided with him against Brock Lesnar because he thought Show was the stronger wrestler - it was always preceded by months of him being made to look like a goof. (Before this, Show had suffered under a WrestleCrap-worthy gimmick of impersonating other wrestlers). This constant flip-flopping between goofy midcarder and monster heel made it impossible to take Show seriously in either gimmick, which in turn made it impossible for him to get over.

Big Show had the size, presence and mainstream appeal to become one of WWE's greatest stars. But a career comprised entirely of false starts and uncertain booking instead turned him into a two-decade example of wasted potential.