WWE Money in the Bank: What's Next for Big Show After Losing to Mark Henry?

Mark Henry defeated The Big Show at WWE Money in the Bank on Sunday night, July 17th.

The match, featuring two of the company’s premier behemoths, was a high-impact match, and while Henry’s star seemingly continues to rise, the question now is what happens next for Big Show?

Show has been featured fairly heavily in the past couple of years; the days of him doing the job for every worker thrown in the ring against him appear to be over. The fact is, considering his size and what he has accomplished in the business, he never should have been buried in any way at all from the day he set foot in a WWE ring.

Every time Big Show was made to look foolish, every time he came up short in a big-time main event match, I was always left shaking my head.

Not because he lost. Winning and losing happens every day in the business; it’s part of the deal. I never expected Show to go undefeated by any means. But to be hoisted up off his feet as many times as he has through the years and to be pinned as much as he has in spite of his massive size, is simply unacceptable.

However, it does seem that perhaps Show has finally been allowed to inhabit a pretty comfortable space in the company and in the eyes of the fans.

Much like Mark Henry, Show is somewhat of a nostalgic character, a guy that not only survived, but flourished, during the Monday Night War. Show represents one of WWE’s last remaining links to WCW, and he has more than paid his dues despite the criticism he often receives.

For a guy the size of Big Show, it is very hard to get over with fans in the ring. The truth is that while he has been in some pretty big main event matches during his career, his in-ring work has never been confused with Ricky Steamboat or Shawn Michaels.

It’s an unfair move, attacking a guy because of his size. While it’s true that the more mass a worker has, the harder it is for him to move quickly, this has not quite been the case for Big Show.

He is deceptively agile, very athletic for his size and obviously takes pride in what he does. He is a professional, and undoubtedly, kept a straight face every time he was told that he was going to be picked up by a man half his size. By all rights, Show could have left WWE at some point, frustrated that he was not being used properly and pulled a LeBron James, ‘taking his talents elsewhere.’

But at this point in his career, Show is WWE through and through. He is one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the world and in American pop culture. Even if you don’t know anything about Big Show, when you see him on a talk show or in a movie role, you instantly know who he is. WWE, at the end of the day, has done a fairly good job of publicizing the world’s largest athlete.

So, what happens now for Big Show? At the end of the match, Mark Henry sandwiched Show’s leg in a steel chair and came crashing down on it from the second rope. Show was carted off like an NFL player, so it is a safe bet that this injury will be sold, perhaps by some time off.

If this happens, it does not necessarily mean that he will lose his spot on RAW. As a guy gets a little older and gets some mileage on him, the need to slow down becomes important. It’s a way to keep a worker fresh, and healing up helps prolong his shelf life.

Then, there’s Big Show’s aforementioned place in Hollywood. If there was ever a guy custom made for the bright lights, it is Big Show. Perhaps, his time in the ring is drawing to a close, and a new chapter is beginning.

Unlike some other wrestlers who have gone before him, Show is a natural in front of the camera. He could very well carve out a nice place for himself among other Hollywood heavyweights, much like he did in WWE.

If Show indeed does return to the fold in WWE as we all expect him to, the fact is he has already accomplished everything a wrestler can. He is a former champion at every level and has a Hall of Fame career under his belt. There is always the possibility that he could be placed back in the World Title picture, and there is the little matter of Alberto Del Rio and the unfinished business with that feud.

No matter what happens next with Big Show, he is an important cog in the WWE machine. He loves what he does, and fans love to watch him when he does it.

Big Show not only belongs in WWE, he is WWE.