While reports of the Big Show’s retirement have been doing the rounds for years, the World’s Largest Athlete has told us on many occasions that the end of his WWE career is nigh, and that’s a darn shame.
Having been a significant part of WWE since 1999, the 45 year old is undoubtedly a wrestling legend. And his impending retirement is unfortunate, because the giant superstar has really reinvigorated his career lately. Let’s take a look at what he has left to give the company and why he should maybe hold off on retirement for a little longer.
He May Be Better Than Ever
From a creative standpoint, the Big Show has been stuck for quite some time. He often found himself playing the role of the veteran tweener just waiting on his inevitable face turn — or shocking heel turn. WWE had run out of ideas for the giant and like so many times before, the legendary superstar was placed in storylines of a much lower standard than he deserved. At one point, it got so predictable that fans often chanted “Please retire”. But the Big Show didn’t listen. In fact, he turned things around in a huge way.
He took some time away from the company and hit the gym harder than ever, slimming down while toning up. While many believe he was working out in hopes of getting that match with Shaquille O’Neal at WrestleMania that never materialized, you can’t fault the World’s Largest Athlete’s commitment. And when he returned to WWE, he was much slimmer and healthier looking. In fact, the 70 lbs weight loss made him seem even taller and more intimidating.
Arguably in the best shape of his entire career, the Big Show is more agile and passionate in the ring than he has been in years. His two recent matches with fellow giant Braun Strowman were really great. And bare in mind that this was a match few people wanted to see last year. But when they got together, they did things in the ring that two giants should never have been able to.
The Big Show’s amazing new shape has literally reinvigorated the legend in the ring, and I certainly hope we are granted more opportunities to see him excel before his well-earned retirement. He’s always performed well against smaller athletes, so could you imagine him taking on one of the exceptional young athletes now? Hopefully we’ll get the chance to see it.
He Deserves A Real Send-Off
Over the years, the Big Show has been placed in many questionable storylines by the powers that be in WWE. And it seems like they are destined to do the same thing with his eventual retirement. Despite the company’s hopes that he would take on Shaquille O’Neal at WrestleMania 33 — and probably lose — he ended up in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the kick-off show and didn’t win. None of those options were what Show should have been doing in his potentially final year in WWE.
Read Also: Big Show on Why His WrestleMania Match Against Shaq Did Not Happen
The World’s Largest Athlete has entertained fans for decades and should be respected for doing so — especially in his final run with the company. Thus, he should have faced Braun Strowman in one of the many WrestleMania events. As they proved on RAW, they can put on one hell of a show and somehow manage to avoid the slow stereotype that many giant vs. giant matches became. And it would have made a great addition to the Mania card, and something the fans would have wanted to see. But the long-waited match was demoted to a secondary rivalry between the two while Strowman feuded with Reigns. And the same thing happened again this week.
But more than that, the Big Show is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time. And he deserves so much more than to just out in a secondary rivalry against an opponent who’s busy with someone else on a random episode of RAW.
When his contract expires, we will witness the end of one of the most successful careers in the WWE history. So with that in mind, Big Show should definitely be involved in more main event storylines. The matches with Strowman are proof of this. Whether he goes after a title or continues the feud with the Monster Among Men, the World’s Largest Athlete deserves to be featured more prominently and featured in the main event whenever he decides to finally hang up his boots.
