The world of Professional Wrestling is full of surprisingly compelling true stories: not those fictional back-stories that are designed to add depth and mystique to the characters but the real zero to hero journeys that take ordinary Joes to the pinnacle of Wrestling success.
The Big Show's story is just one of those tales, and
A Giant's World looks at his rise from car salesman to one of WWE's brightest and most recognisable star properties- and it's
available to buy now on DVD. A Giant's World tells of how Big Show- otherwise known as Paul Wight, started out playing basketball (turning out for Wichita State Shockers at one point) but left the world of sport to become a car salesman, before being discovered and handed the opportunity of a lifetime in the squared circle universe. The documentary takes in the highs and lows- exploring Wight's meteoric and ridiculously swift rise to superstar as well as how he came to terms with his acromegaly- the "handicap that became his asset" in the words of the doc- and the relatively few career lowpoints he has faced.
This is a celebration of The Biggest Athlete Ever To Walk The Face Of The Earth- in fact it's the first time we've ever had a showcase reel for Wight- and to that end it succeeds. It features a plethora of excellent in-ring footage that confirm Big Show's right to be considered an icon of the sports entertainment universe, including his
face-off with motor-mouth boxer Floyd Mayweather and the infamous occasion when
Brock Lesnar superplexed the giant and collapsed the ring in the process. All wonderfully staged, but no less entertaining- just look at the crowd reaction on that second video. That's palpable excitement right there. But it's important to remember that this is a WWE branded release: so it will never go into vast depth if such an exploration might be deemed counterproductive to the asset-concerns of the corporation. That means there is little digging below the surface- if you were to consider it like a review of his work it doesn't work because it only offers mostly narrative detail, and not evaluation or analysis in any real depth. Of course it's a fluff piece, because The Big Show is still on-roster, but despite the short run-time and those constraints there is a lot of worthwhile footage (the WCW section is very good, and I wish they'd given it more focus) and even some quality insight into being a wrestler from an inside perspective. No controversy though, and that's usually what makes a good documentary great.
It's a must for fans of Big Show, and of Professional Wrestling in general, and it is staged in an entertaining enough way that casual viewers may be able to get something out of it as well. Just don't expect an awful lot of digging- it's more an attempt to debunk the myth of the Giant, to make him an accessible character, and a champion for the people- which is always what Big Show has aimed for with his variously humorous on-stage skits. Aside from the documentary, we get a plethora of additional material, though it isn't really Extras, since it all combines to produce a showcase of the big fella. These two additional discs are very good- comprehensive in fact- and they show off Big Show's range (he is definitely the most mobile and broad-ranging of all huge-stature wrestlers). Overall, it's a good celebration of material, but it is the documentary itself that holds the most draw here. Here's the list of additional material in full: MEET THE PARENTS YOU'RE THE BIG SHOW THE ROCK IS FIRST CLASS SMACKDOWN - OCTOBER 28 1999 BIG SHOW VS. THE DUMPSTER SMACKDOWN - NOVEMBER 11 199 DEARLY DEPARTED RAW - APRIL 3 2000 BIG SHOW THE ENTERTAINER THE BIG FATHER SMACKDOWN - APRIL 15 2004 BIG SHOW VS. TORRIE WILSON'S CAR SMACKDOWN - MARCH 24 2005 BIG SHOW VS. THE JEEP TRIPLE H ROASTS BIG SHOW KENNY IN KNUCKLEHEAD LIFESTYLE CHANGE BIG SHOW VS. EVERYONE HALLOWEEN HAVOC - OCTOBER 29 1995 THE GIANT VS. HULK HOGAN MONSTER TRUCK SUMO MATCH HALLOWEEN HAVOC - OCTOBER 29 1995 THE GIANT VS. HULK HOGAN - WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH NITRO - APRIL 29 1996 THE GIANT VS. RIC FLAIR - WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SLAMBOREE - MAY 19 1996 THE GIANT VS. STING - WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH GREAT AMERICAN BASH - JUNE 16 1996 THE GIANT VS. LEX LUGER - WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH RAW - MARCH 22 1999 BIG SHOW VS. "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN RAW - JUNE 7 1999 BIG SHOW VS. THE UNDERTAKER - WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SURVIVOR SERIES - NOVEMBER 14 1999 BIG SHOW VS. TRIPLE H VS. THE ROCK - TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP BACKLASH - APRIL 30 2000 BIG SHOW VS. KURT ANGLE SURVIVOR SERIES - NOVEMBER 17 2002 BIG SHOW VS. BROCK LESNAR - WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH BACKLASH - APRIL 27 2003 BIG SHOW VS. REY MYSTERIO NO MERCY - OCTOBER 19 2003 BIG SHOW VS. EDDIE GUERRERO - UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SMACKDOWN - SEPTEMBER 9 2004 BIG SHOW RETURNS NO MERCY - OCTOBER 3 2004 BIG SHOW VS. KURT ANGLE TABOO TUESDAY - NOVEMBER 1 2005 BIG SHOW & KANE VS. LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH - WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION - JANUARY 8 2006 BIG SHOW VS. TRIPLE H ECW - JULY 4 2006 BIG SHOW VS. ROB VAN DAM - ECW CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SUMMERSLAM - AUGUST 20 2006 BIG SHOW VS. SABU - ECW CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH RAW - MARCH 10 2008 THE OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN FOR WRESTLEMANIA XXIV WRESTLEMANIA XXIV - MARCH 30 2008 BIG SHOW VS. FLOYD MAYWEATHER - NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH SMACKDOWN - APRIL 10 2009 BIG SHOW VS. KOFI KINGSTON RAW - APRIL 20 2009 BIG SHOW VS. REY MYSTERIO HELL IN A CELL - OCTOBER 4 2009 BIG SHOW & CHRIS JERICHO VS. BATISTA & REY MYSTERIO - UNIFIED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH RAW - FEBRUARY 8 2010 TRIPLE THREAT ELIMINATION MATCH FOR THE UNIFIED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP = BIG SHOW & THE MIZ VS. TRIPLE H & SHAWN MICHAELS VS. CM PUNK & LUKE GALLOWS SUMMERSLAM - AUGUST 15 2010 BIG SHOW VS. CM PUNK, LUKE GALLOWS & JOSEPH MERCURY - 3-ON-1 HANDICAP MATCH EASTER EGG: THE END OF JERISHOW