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Paul Wight, Jr. (born February 8, 1972 in Aiken,
South Carolina, now residing in Tampa, Florida), best known by his ring names,
The Giant, and, later, The Big Show, is an American professional wrestler,
currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand.
* * * *
Statistics
****
Career
World Championship Wrestling
Paul Wight became involved in professional
wrestling when Danny Bonaduce introduced him to Hulk Hogan at a charity
basketball event in early 1995. Wight trained at Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory
for seven months and then signed with World Championship Wrestling. He polished
his skills at the WCW Power Plant, where at one point he possessed the ability
to perform a moonsault.
Wight debuted in WCW at the 1995 Bash At The Beach.
He introduced himself as The Giant, claiming to be the son of the late André the
Giant, and blaming Hogan for the death of his "father." He joined the Dungeon of
Doom, who were at war with Hulk Hogan and his allies, and immediately began a
heated feud with Hogan. At Fall Brawl 1995, Wight attacked Hogan while he was
fighting the leader of the Dungeon of Doom, "Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan, in a
cage match. After Wight destroyed Hogan's Harley-Davidson Motorbike using a
monster truck, Hogan challenged him to a "Monster Truck Battle" at Halloween
Havoc, which was to be held, fittingly enough, in Detroit.
On October 29, 1995, the Battle took place atop
Cobo Hall, with each man driving a monster truck and trying to force the other
truck out of a circle, as in a Sumo Wrestling Contest. Hogan won the match when
Wight descended from his vehicle and appeared to fall from the roof. Later that
night, Wight came to the ring with The Taskmaster and challenged Hogan for the
WCW World Heavyweight Championship in what would be his WCW in-ring debut. Wight
was awarded a victory by disqualification after interference from Jimmy Hart,
Hogan's manager. Hart then revealed that the contract Hogan had signed (which he
had written) had a clause stating that the title would change hands on a
disqualification, and, as Hart had intentionally caused a disqualification,
Wight was the new World Heavyweight Champion. The title was held up one week
later as a result of the controversial decision.
Wight tried to reclaim the title at World War 3 but
was foiled by Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage won the vacant title. He
teamed with Ric Flair to defeat Hogan and Savage at the 1995 Clash of the
Champions, but was decisively beaten by Hogan in a cage match at SuperBrawl.
After a short feud with The Loch Ness Monster,
Wight eventually became a face, winning the World Heavyweight Championship a
second time by defeating Ric Flair. After Hulk Hogan turned heel by forming the
New World Order, he defeated Wight for the Championship at Hog Wild 1996
following interference from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Wight would join the nWo
eighteen days later, citing Ted DiBiase's money as his primary motivation. He
feuded with Lex Luger and the Four Horsemen.
After being thrown out of the nWo on December 30,
1996 after asking Hogan for a World Heavyweight Championship title shot, Wight
fought against the nWo along with Sting, Scott Hall and Lex Luger, winning the
WCW World Tag Team Championships twice. In 1997 he began a feud with nWo member
Kevin Nash, who constantly dodged Wight, failing to appear for their scheduled
match at StarrCade 1997. In 1998 at Souled Out the two finally met in the ring,
but Nash accidentally broke Wight's neck when he botched a Jackknife Powerbomb.
When Nash left the nWo and formed his own stable, the Wolfpac, Wight rejoined
the nWo to oppose Nash and his allies. Nash would eventually end Wight's WCW
career when he defeated him following interference from Scott Hall and Eric
Bischoff. He left WCW in 1999 for the WWF.
World Wrestling Federation
Wight signed a multi-year contract with the WWF in
early 1999. He debuted as a member of Vince McMahon's heel stable, The
Corporation, at the February 1999 St. Valentine's Day Massacre event. During the
McMahon versus Stone Cold Steve Austin cage match, Wight came from under the
ring and attacked Austin. However, he cost McMahon the match when he threw
Austin into the side of the cage and the cage broke, spilling Austin outside to
the floor and granting him the victory. This meant that Austin would face The
Rock at WrestleMania XV for the WWF Championship.
Wight was renamed The Big Show and acted as
McMahon's bodyguard. McMahon wanted to ensure that Corporation member The Rock
would retain his title at WrestleMania, so he faced Mankind at WrestleMania for
the right to referee the main event. Wight incapacitated Mankind, but
disqualified himself in the process, meaning that neither man would be referee.
After a furious McMahon slapped Wight, he punched McMahon and was arrested,
turning face. Wight concluded his feud with Foley in a Boiler Room Brawl before
joining Mankind, Test and Ken Shamrock in a stable known as "The Union" who
fought against the Corporation, then later the Corporate Ministry. Wight and
Undertaker later formed an unlikely alliance against X-Pac and Kane, with Wight
turning heel in the process. Wight and The Undertaker twice won the WWF Tag Team
Championships.
When The Undertaker was sidelined with injuries,
Wight set his sights on the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, turning face
once more. He participated in the Six Pack Challenge for the belt at Unforgiven
1999, but failed to win. After Steve Austin was run-over at the 1999 Survivor
Series, Wight was given his place in the triple threat match for the WWF World
Heavyweight Championship, where he defeated Triple H and The Rock to become
champion.
At the same time, Wight feuded with The Big Boss
Man. After it was announced that Wight's father was terminally ill with cancer,
the Boss Man had one of his crooked police colleagues (falsely) inform Wight
that his father had died. He then mocked Wight's tearful reaction. Several weeks
later, when it was announced Wight's father had actually died (in reality,
Wight's father had passed away years before), the Boss Man first interrupted the
ten bell toll, then later invaded the funeral and used a chain to couple the
coffin to the hearse, towing the coffin away with a grief stricken Wight
clinging on to it. He also visited Wight's mother and forced her to reveal that
Wight's father was a different man, leading Boss Man to refer to him as a
"bastard" on every possible occasion (this would later become one of Wight's
nicknames, with a piece of WWF merchandise even bearing the slogan "Big Nasty
Bastard"). At Armageddon 1999, the Boss Man faced Wight for the title, but even
the presence of his protege Prince Albert did not offset Wight's considerable
size advantage, and Wight defeated him to retain the title.
On the January 3, 2000, episode of RAW Triple H
defeated Wight for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, using a title shot
that he had won from Vince McMahon at Armageddon. Trying to regain the title,
Wight participated in the 2000 Royal Rumble, and was the runner up, losing to
The Rock. Wight was convinced that he had won, and eventually produced a video
tape that showed The Rock's feet striking the ground first. He was given a match
with The Rock at No Way Out, with the WrestleMania title shot on the line. Wight
defeated The Rock when Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock out with a
chair shot. The Rock was desperate to reclaim his title shot, and eventually
agreed to a match with Wight on the March 13 episode of RAW - if he won, the
WrestleMania title match would become a triple threat match, and if he lost, he
would retire from the WWF. Shane McMahon, now actively supporting Wight's bid to
become champion, appointed himself guest referee. However, The Rock triumphed
when Vince McMahon assaulted Shane and donned the referee shirt, personally
making the three count following a Rock Bottom.
On the March 20 episode of RAW, Triple H agreed to
defend the title against The Rock and Wight on the condition that the match
would not take place at WrestleMania. Triple H managed to pin Wight, but Linda
McMahon forced him to defend the title at WrestleMania in a fatal four way
elimination match, with Mick Foley as the fourth man. Wight was the first man
eliminated from the match at WrestleMania 2000 after the other three competitors
worked together against him.
After WrestleMania, Wight began to turn face once
more. He would wrestle his matches while mimicking other wrestlers, lampooning
Rikishi as Showkishi, The Berzerker as Shonan The Barbarian and Val Venis as The
Big Showbowski. He faced Kurt Angle at Backlash 2000, and came to the ring
dressed like his friend and role model Hulk Hogan. "The Showster" defeated Angle
with ease.
Wight began feuding with his former manager Shane
McMahon after Shane was shown mocking Wight as slow, stupid and highly
suggestible. At Judgment Day 2000 on May 21, Shane defeated Wight in a falls
count anywhere match folowing interference from Big Boss Man, Bull Buchanan,
Test and Albert. Wight returned two months later, apparently intending to gain
revenge on Shane, but instead sided with him and formed a short-lived stable
known as "The Conspiracy" with Shane, Chris Benoit, Edge, Kurt Angle and
Christian. After Undertaker threw Wight through a table, he disappeared for some
time (he was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to lose weight; WWF management was so
unhappy with his inability to lose weight and sharpen his skills that they did
not include him in the Nintendo 64 game WWF No Mercy, requesting that his
character be replaced with that of Steve Richards).
Wight returned at the 2001 Royal Rumble, but was
eliminated by The Rock. He then began competing for the Hardcore Championship,
which he lost to Kane in a triple threat match which also included Raven at
WrestleMania X-Seven.
Throughout the Invasion later that year Wight
remained loyal to the WWF. He faced Shane McMahon, the onscreen owner of WCW, in
a last man standing match at Backlash 2001, and was defeated following
interference from Test. He was part of the victorious Team WWF at Survivor
Series 2001, though he was eliminated early in the proceedings.
World Wrestling Entertainment
At the March 25, 2002 Roster Split, Wight was
drafted to RAW by Ric Flair. He turned heel by betraying Steve Austin in the
course of a match and rejoining the newest incarnation of the New World Order,
but the stable disbanded after Kevin Nash was injured. Wight achieved little
success on RAW after this, not wrestling at WrestleMania X8, and at one point
even losing to the much smaller Jeff Hardy.
SmackDown!
Wight was eventually traded to SmackDown! in
exchange for Ivory, Maven, D-Von Dudley and Val Venis. Wight immediately
challenged WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, who he defeated at Survivor Series 2002
following interference from Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman, thus becoming a two
time World Champion. He lost the title to Kurt Angle a month later.
In January 2003, Wight lost a Royal Rumble
qualifying match to Lesnar. He then began feuding with The Undertaker, leading
to Wight and his partner A-Train losing to The Undertaker and Nathan Jones at
WrestleMania XIX. He then began a feud with Eddie Guerrero, who he defeated for
the WWE United States Championship. Wight became an associate of Brock Lesnar,
but abandoned Lesnar immediately before WrestleMania XX. At WrestleMania XX,
Wight dropped the United States Championship to John Cena.
On the April 15, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, Wight
promised to quit if he failed to defeat Eddie Guerrero that night. He lost to
Guerrero, and, believing that Torrie Wilson had laughed at him for losing,
upended her car and threatened to throw her off a ledge. Kurt Angle ascended to
the ledge to try and talk some reason into Wight, but Wight chokeslammed him
from the ledge, concussing Angle and breaking his leg. He was fired as a result.
In mid-2004, Wight was reinstated by new General
Manager Theodore R. Long, and at No Mercy 2004, Wight, once more a face, fought
Kurt Angle. In the weeks before the match, Wight claimed to have "lost his
dignity" when Angle tranquilized him in the middle of the ring using a dart gun
and shaved his head (in reality, Wight was beginning to go bald, and has since
maintained the bald look).
In 2005, Wight began pursuing the WWE Championship
once more, challenging John Bradshaw Layfield to a barbed wire steel cage match
at No Way Out 2005. After Wight chokeslammed Layfield through the ring, Layfield
managed to crawl to the outside, winning the match and retaining his title.
On April 3, 2005, at WrestleMania 21, Wight faced
Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono in a worked sumo match that was added to
the show to attract a strong pay-per-view audience in Japan, where Akebono is
considered a sporting legend. In the weeks preceding the match, Wight pushed
over a jeep driven to the ring by Luther Reigns to show that he was capable of
moving the marginally heavier Akebono. Wight jobbed to Akebono in a match poorly
received by many fans.
In May 2005 Wight suffered "injured ribs" on the
right-hand side of his torso and was temporarily sidelined after Carlito
Caribbean Cool's bodyguard Matt Morgan used the F-5 to drive him through the
announcers' table (Carlito was displeased by Wight's refusal to become his
bodyguard). On June 16, Wight and Morgan fought in a singles match. Following a
distraction by Carlito, Morgan was able to knock Wight out of the ring. He then
attempted to drive Wight through the announcers' table once again after Carlito
hit Wight with a steel chair, but Wight managed this time to reverse the F-5 and
shove Morgan into Carlito, then chokeslam Morgan through the table, gaining a
measure of revenge. Wight's feud with Morgan continued on June 23 when Muhammad
Hassan was drafted from RAW to SmackDown! and immediately booked by Theodore
Long to face Wight as a punishment for his arrogance. Before the match, Morgan
came to ringside, ostensibly to serve as a guest commentator. When the referee
was knocked unconscious by an errant blow, Morgan attempted to hit Wight with a
steel chair, but failed. As Wight dispatched Morgan, Hassan struck him in the
head with Morgan's chair, enabling him to secure a victory.
RAW
On June 27, 2005, Wight was traded back to Raw in
the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, preventing him from participating in a scheduled
six-man elimination match for the SmackDown! Championship. He sucessfully pinned
Gene Snitsky in a tag team match which degenerated into a singles match when
both men's respective partners brawled backstage. After squashing his scheduled
opponents for several weeks, Wight approached Chris Masters on July 18,
volunteering to try and break Masters' Master Lock, after Masters boasted that
no-one, no matter how big, could break free from the hold. Masters refused to
accept Wight's challenge and retreated up the ramp and away from the ring. In
the following weeks, Wight faced Masters in many tag team matches. On August 15
he defeated The Heart Throbs in a handicap match, easily overpowering his
smaller opponents throughout the brief match. The following week, he continued
his rivalry with Gene Snitksy by foiling Snitsky's harassment of backstage
interviewer Maria. On August 29, 2005, the Big Show won his match on WWE RAW.
Following this match, Gene Snitsky ran to the ring and nailed the Big Show with
the ring bell. It is belived that Big Show will face Gene Snitsky at WWE
Unforgiven at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City on September 18, 2005. Following
the Pay-Per-View, Big Show will take a hiatus from wrestling for a few months.
Personal life
Wight is well-known behind the scenes and in the
media for his easygoing, affable nature and his sharp sense of humor.
In October 2004, Wight made a well-publicized cameo
appearance as an alien slave trader in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode
"Borderland."
Wight is married, and his wife, Bess, is of average
height.
Wight has numerous tattoos, including a lion on his
right bicep and his wife's name on the back of his neck.
While in WCW, Wight was arrested and detained for
allegedly exposing himself to a hotel clerk. He was later released due to a lack
of evidence.
Wight is a former member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon
fraternity.
Played a giant Santa Clause in the movie Jingle All
The Way.
Trivia
Like his famous predecessor, André the Giant, Wight
had acromegaly or "gigantism." However, he underwent successful surgery in the
early 1990s on his pituitary gland, which halted the progress of this condition.
By the age of twelve, Wight was 6'2" (188 cm),
220lbs (100 kg) and had chest hair.
In 2005, Wight leased a bus and hired a bus driver
because of the practical problems his size presents to air travel and car
rental.
Paul Wight won his first WCW World Heavyweight
Championship in 1995 at the age of twenty three, becoming the youngest man to
become World Heavyweight Champion in either the WWF or WCW.
He has never won at WrestleMania, losing each of
his six matches.
He had a fight scene against Hulk Hogan in a
Thunder in Paradise episode where he was credited as "The Giant Paul Wight".
Wight's character was initially seen to be winning the fight, surviving all of
Hogan's attacks, but was eventually rendered unconcious by a stone which was
thrown at his head.
Finishing / Signature maneuvers
Showstopper
Final Cut
Alley-Oop
Running Leg Drop
Open Hand Slap
Hoglock
Sidewalk Slam
F-5
Previous Managers
The Taskmaster
Jimmy Hart
Shane McMahon
Paul Heyman
Joy Giovanni
Titles and Accomplishments
World Championship Wrestling
2-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion
2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (1-time with
Scott Hall, 1-time with Sting)
World Wrestling Entertainment
2-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion / WWE
Champion
1-time WWE United States Champion
3-time WWF Hardcore Champion
2-time WWF World Tag Team Champion (with The
Undertaker)
Pro
Wrestling Illustrated
PWI ranked him as the 137th Best Singles Wrestler
of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
PWI Rookie of the Year Award (1996)
PWI Wrestler of the Year Award (1996) - The first
rookie to be named Wrestler of the Year.
|
WWE Championship |
|
Preceded by:
Triple H |
First reign |
Followed by:
Triple H |
|
Preceded by:
Brock Lesnar |
Second reign |
Followed by:
Kurt Angle |
* *
* *
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