10 Wrestlers Who Personify Why WWE Had To Scour The Indies

4. The Big Show

One of the biggest (literally) examples of why WWE needed to go further afield and expand their recruitment search is The Big Show. Signed in 1999 from under the nose of WCW, the gigantic grappler was someone Vince McMahon must have been licking his chops over booking. At the time, McMahon even said that WCW didn't have a clue how to book a giant, but he would make Paul Wight one of the biggest names on the wrestling planet. In fairness, after a stuttering start, Big Show did go on to become a staple of the company. Even today, he's somebody they can rely on when they need to plug a gap and insert someone into the main event picture at short notice. Unfortunately, that fact is also part of the problem. There isn't much that Show hasn't achieved in WWE, so fans have no real desire to see him main event these days. It's a case of 'we've seen it all before'. The chants of 'Please Retire' aren't being done in an ironic way. People have simply had their fill of Big Show. The man has turned from heel to babyface, and vice versa, with such regularity that it has no real impact anymore. There aren't really any physical specimens like Big Show on the independent scene, so WWE had to expand their searches and find talent which harnessed other qualities.