Big Show's 5 Biggest Career-Defining Matches with WWE

Few WWE Superstars have accomplished as much as Big Show, one of the most decorated competitors in pro wrestling history. He has wrestled the greatest stars to ever grace the squared circle and captured every major championship available to him.

Since his debut in 1995, he has consistently been a top name in the industry. He has weathered numerous storms to remain relevant, which is easily one of his best and most underrated traits.

With a two-decade career under his belt, Big Show has been part of a number of defining matches. The following bouts tell the story of his career and reveal the heart of his character. They may not necessarily be his best, but they are the contests one can show non-fans to give them a solid understanding of who Big Show is.

In celebration of the former world champion and Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, relive these five matches that best tell the story of this generation's greatest giant. 

5. Last Man Standing Match: Big Show vs. Roman Reigns (Extreme Rules 2015)

Big Show, for his size (7 feet, 441 pounds) and physicality, has never been above putting talent over when the situation arises. He is among the most unselfish talents on the WWE roster, working with young stars and making them look like a million bucks on their way to a championship run.

That was the case in April 2015, when he found himself engaged in a rivalry with Roman Reigns. It was the latest chapter in the juggernaut's war against The Authority.

At Extreme Rules, they clashed in a Last Man Standing match that few had high expectations for. As Big Show had made a habit of for years, he meshed well with the high-impact style of Reigns, and the result was the hottest match on the card, a brawl that left both men beaten and battered.

In the end, Reigns definitively defeated Big Show in a phenomenal match that not only continued his hot streak, but reaffirmed the value of the giant to the company.

4. WWE Championship Match: Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series 2002)

Over the course of his career, Big Show has demonstrated an ability to come back from the brink of irrelevancy and return to the main event scene in dramatic fashion. Such was the case in October 2002, when he made a jump to the SmackDown brand and targeted WWE champion Brock Lesnar.

After weeks of overwhelming the seemingly unstoppable young star, Big Show found himself opposing him at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Lesnar had yet to lose a match, and most figured he would bowl over the giant inside the historic Madison Square Garden. It was not to be, though, as manager Paul Heyman betrayed his client and assisted Big Show to victory.

The win was a massive upset. Despite his size and strength, Show had spent the previous three months jobbing out to Booker T, Goldust, Rob Van Dam and other Raw midcarders, and suddenly, he was supposed to be taken seriously as the world champion of SmackDown.

The match not only represents Big Show's ability to rise to the occasion, it also symbolizes the inconsistencies with which he has been booked during his tenure with the company.

3. World Heavyweight Title Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus (Hell in a Cell 2012)

After a few years of complacency, Big Show turned heel in 2012 and engaged Sheamus in a feud over SmackDown's world heavyweight title.

What appeared on paper to be a lackluster program turned out to be an intense rivalry between two heavyweights that exhibited tremendous in-ring chemistry with each other.

Fans would get a taste of that chemistry at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, when The Celtic Warrior defended his title against the biggest, baddest man in WWE.

What ensued was the most unexpected four-star match in company history, a beautifully brutal battle for championship superiority that included countless dramatic near-falls and generated a "this is awesome" chant from fans in attendance.

Late in the match, Sheamus tried for a Brogue Kick, but Big Show dodged it and blasted him with the WMD punch to score the clean victory.

It was the first time in years that Big Show was allowed to look like the dominant giant he was, and the result was his most effective run as a heel to date, not to mention one of his greatest championship reigns. 

2. Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship (Survivor Series 1999)

The first year of Big Show's WWF career was not without its bumps in the road. He had been turned heel and babyface so many times that it was hard to figure out which role he was playing in a given week. A few nonsensical losses did not help matters.

As the fall months approached, though, he found himself embroiled in a deeply personal feud with Big Boss Man in which the veteran performer mocked his terminally ill father. Then, when the giant's dad passed away, Boss Man continued the emotional assault on the big man.

At the 1999 Survivor Series, just days after his father passed away (in storyline only), Big Show tore through his rival's team by himself in one of the most dominant showings in event history. His night was not over, though. After Steve Austin was run over in the parking lot, taking him out of the night's Triple Threat match for the WWF title, Big Show was tapped to fill his position.

Coming off the most emotional week of his career, the World's Largest Athlete flattened Triple H with a chokeslam and pinned him to capture the top prize in the industry for the first time in his career.

The storyline allowed Big Show to showcase his emotional range for the first time, and the Survivor Series win was the first real feel-good moment for the big man in WWF.

1. The Biggest vs. the Best: Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather (WrestleMania XXIV)

The most important match of Big Show's career came at WrestleMania XXIV. On that night in 2008, he would battle professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the marquee match of the evening. With everyone from the worlds of wrestling and boxing watching, it was up to the giant to carry the match and deliver a performance that would ensure the success of the bout.

He did.

With the support of the WWE Universe, Big Show pummeled Mayweather, chopping his chest and tossing him around the squared circle like a rag doll.

Of course, Mayweather would go over after using a steel chair and a pair of brass knuckles to floor his opponent, but there was no denying that the star of the match was the World's Largest Athlete.

Fresh off a two-year hiatus that allowed him to freshen up and get into the best shape of his career, Big Show turned in an epic performance that evening in the highest-profile match he would ever compete in.