100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
76. Floyd Mayweather KOs Big Show (WrestleMania XXIV)
Full blown celeb matches are always a risk. Mr. T did it (more on him to come), Johnny Knoxville was on top form and Lawrence Taylor surprised everybody by doing the basics well, but add boxing into the mix and things can get dicey. By 2008, the infamous 'Brawl For All' guff was still relatively fresh in the memory. Sure, it'd been a decade or so, but few were going to let WWE forget the time they thought having pro wrestlers punch each other in the head for real would be top tier television.
Thankfully, the incoming Floyd Mayweather was a renowned pugilist who brought huge casual interest over from the boxing world. He matched up with Big Show at 'Mania XXIV, and WWE cleverly tacked on a 'No Disqualification' stipulation to ensure this wouldn't be some dry spectacle that'd leave fans feeling punch drunk. In fact, everyone was in for a treat whether they were a boxing fan or not - Floyd and Show would make sure of it.
Together, they produced a banter-filled and distraction-laden bout that included Floyd bashing Show with a steel chair and removing his gloves so he could grab some brass knuckles to fell the giant. Mayweather had legitimately broken Show's nose during the build, so it was believable that he'd knock the big man out if he had the chance on pay-per-view.
That's exactly what went down. Or, more accurately, it was Big Show who went down. Orlando liked every bit of it, and no wonder. This was a rip-roaring success of a celeb vs. WWE star match that everyone involved could be proud of.