Trash Talking: The Big Show

Article by: @Robbie_G_CH

Whilst catching up on general wrestling news I came across an interview by ESPN which was promoting WWE 13; this years annual update of the WWE game; and the interviewee was WWE World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show. With the game being set in WWE's 'Attitude Era' I gave the article a quick read and something really annoyed me, not the fact that that Show himself add's himself onto a 'dream card' in a match against Mark Henry in a match nobody really want's to see, but when asked a question about what the atmosphere was like when guys were switching between WWF and WCW he responded with:  

It wasn’t really chaotic, it was more of competition and a place to go. If you’re talent, it’s better to have options, and you had more freedom to experiment with things. Now, it’s very structured, very rigid, and basically, we’re the only game in town. In terms of the talent, if you don’t make it here, you have no place else to go. If you had competition, if it didn’t work out for you here, at least you still might make it somewhere else. So I think there’s a lot more pressure on guys to be successful now, because if you don’t make it here, there’s really no where else to go.

I know this is WWE's stance that they are the only Wrestling company in the world but it saddens me when their talent tries to reinforce the point, whilst kissing company ass it is totally disrespectful to the whole business and especially his ex colleagues and friends such as Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Bully Ray and one of the all-time greats who has never set foot inside a WWE ring, Sting. 

Which Way Did He Go?

I've never been much of a fan of Paul Wight and that is mainly down to his gimmick being that of a giant and flipping between a serious and a comedy character when creative had nothing for him yet you have to respect the fact he is a multi-time Heavyweight Champion, but not even acknowledging other promotions such as TNA and ROH as viable options for talent to make a name for themselves is a low blow, I'm sure the pay cheque isn't in the same league but then again did anybody really buy Wrestlemania to watch Show win the Intercontinental Championship?

I can't help but think 'Slow' has a bit of bitterness about him, when he left WWE in 2007 he had a few shots at the company stating that 'Big Show' was his slave name and he didn't want to be owned by anyone, yet a year later he returned to WWE under that very name. There isn't much documenting any interest between TNA and Wight in this period but rumours persisted, did Wight think they were to non league for him or did TNA think that there was nothing they could do with a 7 ft tall worker who has very limited in ring ability? I'm guessing it's a mix of both. 

WWE want to ignore the rest of the wrestling business and only focus on the 'WWE Universe' which is not only narrow minded but an insult to the fans, Bully Ray referred to his and Devon's past on this weeks Impact yet when any WWE's talents pasts get mentioned they are usually as the 'minor leagues' unless WWE owns the rights. When WWE want Jeff Hardy or RVD back will they have been seen on TV on a weekly basis and held multiple titles or will they have been doing nothing for the past few years? Most likely the latter in the eyes of Vince McMahon.

As a company stand point it is understandable but for employees to follow suite and disrespect the business is totally wrong, I for one will not be caring about Big Show's current run with the World Heavyweight Championship even if this reign has surpassed his record breaking 45 second stint last December.

The interview with Big Show can be found at ESPN.