Not many of us remember the giant Big Show from his early days in WWE. Black jeans, a tight black t-shirt, long hair and an innocent smile that wasn't really befitting for a man of his size. The most contrasting fact being that he wasn't really the bully in the locker room but in fact was the one to be bullied.
Speaking to WWE Network's Table For 3, he recounts his early days in the organisations. Sitting with the veterans and fellow giants of the industry Kane and Mark Henry he recalls his debut, feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin and discovering 'The Giant' he was.
'The World's Largest Athlete' starts off with his feud with Austin. He says that the latter would work real stiff and stern with him, “He would yell at me all the time.”
Austin would stun him out cold.
“He's the man, beats the crap out of me for 7 minutes. Bam! Stunner..” and then the smashing of beer cans “He drinks beer and salutes the crowd for another 10 minutes!”
Backstage, his fellow roster mate Fit Finlay would say “Why do you let him do that to you?”
To which the Big Show says he had no reply because as he puts it “He's Steve Austin. What am I supposed to do?” He continues by saying that Finlay would tell him to “Be the giant!”, but he had no clue how to be one.
Big Show’s debut:
However, the tables turned soon. Fast forward to London.
Big Show recalls his revelation “Something happened and I knocked Steve on the floor. I got out of the ring and threw him back in by his trunks. He had only one pair of trunks which he rinsed out every night. They were his lucky trunks. I hauled them up in his ass and he got mad, so I got into the ring and he punched me thrice, hard as hell. He went 'off the tights you son of a b***h'. I got mad and grabbed him by his face and bent him over the turnbuckle.”
The Big Show all heated and pumped up, finally had a reply, he continues, “’Hey motherf****r’, to which Austin replied 'here you go kid. Way to fire up'..”
This was his epiphany or as he puts it, “I learned something that night...That's when it all clicked that night”
Remembering his debut on St Valentine's Day Massacre in Memphis, Tennessee, he recalls getting caught smoking in Vince's office.
Smoking Marlboro Lights with Jack Lanza and Pat, he says “Lanza's talking to me and Pat takes a couple of puffs and flushes it down the toilet, Lanza did the same while I'm puffing away and talking. Vince walks in a room full of smoke and I'm the only one smoking.”
Big Show continues, “I didn't want to be a stooge and rat my buddies out. I went, sorry Sir, I didn't know. And then later I was like 'them sons of bi****s set me up!”
Big Show sure wasn't the bully as we know him but a more progressive gentle giant in his early days. He is set to retire in 2017 after having his final match at Wrestlemania 33.
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