Standing at over seven feet tall and weighing around the 500 lb mark, professional wrestler Paul Wight can only be described in one way: Big. As a result, it is no surprise that upon his signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1999, the wrestler known as The Giant in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) changed his name to The Big Show.

Debuting with the WWF in February of 1999 after signing a ten-year contract, Big Show made an immediate impact at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre pay-per-view by tearing a hole from underneath the ring and attacking Stone Cold Steve Austin. This move aligned Show with Vince McMahon and his stable, The Corporation, who were determined to remove Stone Cold from the WWF forever.

However, this relationship failed to last past the end of 1999, as McMahon’s high demands for his personal bodyguard grew increasingly worse. This prompted Show to form an unlikely alliance with The Undertaker, who had been feuding with his brother Kane. While the duo captured the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions, Big Show still had only one goal in mind: to win the WWF World Championship.

Following Austin’s removal from a triple threat match scheduled for Survivor Series in November 1999, Show was booked in his place. This proved beneficial to Show and his quest for gold, as he defeated Triple H and The Rock to become the new WWF Champion. In less than one year, Show had gone from personal bodyguard to World Heavyweight Champion.

Although Big Show defended the belt in a short feud with the Big Boss Man, who attempted to play mind games with the champion by poking fun at his dying father, he ultimately dropped the belt to Triple H in January 2000.

After losing the title and failing to regain the championship at WrestleMania, Show was sent to developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to work on his speed, agility, and technique.

Big Show returned to the WWE in 2001, but spent the majority of the year in unsuccessful mid-card feuds. This caused his trade from the Raw brand to Smackdown, who had fierce competitor Brock Lesnar as their Champion. Realizing this could be his last opportunity for a second title reign, Show called out Lesnar and demanded a shot at the belt. Lesnar accepted, and the two faced off at Survivor Series in November 2002. The grueling match saw Lesnar’s manager Paul Heyman align himself with Show, helping him capture his second WWE Championship. However, like his first title run, Show only held the belt for a short time, losing to Kurt Angle in December 2002.

Big Show spent 2003 attempting to regain the belt he had lost to Angle, which was now held again by Lesnar. Unfortunately, Show was unable to defeat Lesnar in a series of four matches. Defeated, but not done, Show continued to climb his way up the WWE ladder in a quest for gold, setting his sights now on the United States Heavyweight Champion Eddie Guerrero. At No Mercy, Show defeated Guerrero to win his third title since joining the WWE.

Although he later dropped the US belt to John Cena at WrestleMania XX, Show remained a top contender on the WWE roster, competing in a Sumo match with Japanese legend Akabono at WrestleMania XXI, and winning the Tag Team Championship with Kane in late November 2005.

However, it was not until mid-2006 that Big Show would experience the dominance of his early-WWF days. First, Show turned on the WWE and joined the newly-established Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) brand during a battle royal in June. Then what followed has become known as the infamous “South Philly Screw job.” It was during this night at the ECW Arena that saw Big Show challenge for the ECW Championship, which was held by fan favorite, Rob Van Dam (RVD). Up to this point, Heyman had been in the corner of RVD, who was a representation of the true heart and soul from the original ECW.

However, history has a way of repeating itself.

During the match, Heyman aligned himself once again with the monster Show, turning on ECW original RVD and costing him the Heavyweight Championship. The swerve shocked the entire arena and turned Show into the most hated man on the ECW roster.

Over the next several months, Show successfully defended the title against Kane, Batista, Sabu, and even legend Ric Flair. It seemed as if no wrestler could stop Big Show’s aggressive and dominating power.

That is, until Bobby Lashley joined the ECW roster.

Calling out The Big Show and securing a spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber title match at December to Dismember, Lashley was able to defeat Big Show (in addition to four other wrestlers) and become the new ECW Heavyweight Champion.

The loss combined with nagging injuries from wrestling over the years caused Show to take indefinite hiatus from WWE. It appeared that The Big Show, who intimidated and dominated almost all of his opponents, no matter the size, skill, or rank, was gone from wrestling forever.

Yet perhaps Big Show had one more fight in him after all.

After a fifteen month hiatus, Big Show returned to the WWE in February 2008 over one hundred pounds lighter and hungrier than ever. With a slimmer frame and renewed sense of focus, there’s no telling who or what The Big Show will wreak havoc on in the future.

written by Niko Krommydas