WWE: Reflections on Pro Wrestling's Worst-Booked Monster

In recent months, The Big Show has had a few things happen to him:

 -          After years of doing jobs at WrestleMania (he had only ever won a tag-team match, never a singles match), Show got his WrestleMania Moment by beating Cody Rhodes to win the Intercontinental Title.

-          A month after winning the IC Title, Show lost it back to Rhodes in embarrassing fashion; then, he was made to cry on TV and get “fired” by John Laurinaitis.

-          Big Show, after teasing a team-up with Cena and a beat-down of Big Johnny at Over the Limit, he turned on Cena and the WWE audience by aligning with Laurinaitis.

-          He has been booked as Johnny’s new henchman, a guy who will fight John Cena at No Way Out.

A little while back, I wrote about the years and years of John Cena-Big Show feuds and how Cena is always made to look like the underdog, but yet Cena always comes out victorious.

Now that I look at it again, I’m not so sure.

Looking at the way Big Show has been booked recently, I feel like Big Show is going to defeat John Cena at No Way Out in convincing fashion (perhaps giving Cena some much needed time off). Then, as much as it pains me to say this, I see Big Show being the guy who ends CM Punk’s long title reign by (or at) Summerslam.

If you look closely, you’d see that the way WWE is booking Big Show now much resembles the way they were booking Mark Henry a year ago and Kane two years ago.

Big Show is currently in the midst of a “Thank You” push, where Show is given one last big push as a dominant performer, and a nice world title reign, as an appreciation of all those years of service, sometimes while being a part of insidiously insulting angles and not complaining.

When you think about it, it all makes sense: Paul Wight is 40 years old, his athletic ability is declining, his promos are still good but are not as good as they once were, and he has always been a guy who will do what he’s told and do it with a smile.

Why shouldn’t they go to him and say: “You know what, Show? You’ve been a model employee for almost 15 years now. You deserve one last big push.”

As a wrestling fan, if this is truly the case, then I am happy for Big Show. He has always been entertaining and has always been good at his role. But let’s look a little closer at that role over time; when we do, we’re going to see some curious (if not downright disturbing) things.

Looking back on the career of Big Show, one can see that he is arguably the worst booked performer in modern WWE history.

Sound shocking?  It isn’t really.

Big Show is…hold on, let me channel WWE’s announcers…“over 7 feet tall, weighing at 500 pounds”…and has been made to look like a glorified jobber when it really counts.

If Hulk Hogan was the Michael Jordan of wrestling, then Big Show has been Karl Malone: great talent, always makes it to the playoffs/championship round, then chokes and goes down with ease.

Big Show’s infamous WrestleMania record is a microcosm of this problem as a whole: he always gets a great build as this unstoppable giant who is meant to be feared, but when he finally makes it to the finale, he does the job. Without fail.

Paul Wight’s stage name is a term commonly used to describe the grandest stage in a sport (i.e. making it to Major League Baseball, going to the Super Bowl, etc.), but whenever Big Show makes it to, uh, the “big show,” he can’t buy a clue.

Perhaps this is done on purpose; he is always the obstacle to be overcome, that guy you can prove yourself against. The thing is, when you’ve proved yourself against a guy over and over again, he no longer becomes a stepping stone to greatness. He becomes a cliché.

Who was the last guy to really make his name by beating Big Show? John Cena back in 2004? Despite being booked as the biggest, baddest dog in the yard, Big Show has never followed through, at least not since the company became WWE.

The Big Show has never had a dominant world title reign, despite holding the belt a few times. He has always been the unstoppable force who is stopped cold when the lights are on bright.

There is no reason this should have been: Big Show is a huge, athletically capable performer who cuts excellent promos. He has been, throughout his whole career, exactly what Vince McMahon covets, and yet Vince has never been able to really figure out how to book him.

I’m not saying that Big Show should have had Andre the Giant’s career or Hulk Hogan’s career, but he deserved better than he got.

And therein lies a sad fact: when Big Show ultimately gets his title reign, and perhaps his last big monster push, it will have been too little, too late.