WWE News: Big Show talks about how John Cena made him change his life

What's the story?

Wrestling is a profession where Superstars have to put their bodies at risk when performing to entertain the audience. This sometimes may lead to casual disregard of their health, especially for someone who is renowned for his enormous size.

The Big Show is one of the most famous and well-known wrestlers of all time due to the combination of his height and weight. At one point, Big Show was billed at 500 lbs. However, now Big Show is far fitter and even has abs.

In a clip from his WWE Network documentary "Rebuilding Big Show", the Giant talked about how he turned his health around, and why he had John Cena to thank for it.

In case you didn't know...

Big Show is a WWE legend of epic proportions, literally. He startled the world in 2017 when he introduced them to the new Big Show -- one who was no longer 500 lbs, but one who was fit and cared about his weight.

He had clearly visible abs and looked very healthy. While Big Show was always very agile and athletic in the ring, he had never been exceptionally fit. This was an incredible change and one that the WWE giant has maintained.

The heart of the matter

The Big Show revealed in the clip that he had always been worried about his life as he did not want to follow the footsteps of Andre 'The Giant' and pass away alone at an early age. He wanted to take care of himself and had been told to do so by Vince McMahon and referee Tim White numerous times.

"The time I was making this change in my life, I was what - 45 or 44, Andre passed away at 46, I believe. I heard the stories from Timmy White about Andre passing away alone in a hotel, and how it upset Timmy that Andre didn't take care of himself, how it upset Vince that Andre didn't take care of himself. Hulk Hogan will cry talking about Andre and how he wanted Andre to maybe not drink so much, maybe take care of himself a little bit better, but he was the boss, he was The Giant, he did what he wanted to do. He lived his own life. And the same people pressing me how important it was to take care of myself."

He then went on to say how it was at this point that something John Cena said that convinced him that he needed to lose weight. He said that the two were joking backstage when Show said that no one wanted to see a giant with abs with a laugh. At this Cena, reacted by repeating what Show had said with a deadpan expression, sending his message across with just this.

"John and I were joking back and forth, and we were talking about something, training or bodybuilding or something, and I was making a joke about, 'Oh yeah, I'm going to go out and get me some abs, and be a bodybuilder.' I said, 'Who would want to see a giant with abs?' John just looked at me deadpan and goes, 'Yeah. A giant with abs - who would want to see that?' And he walked off. And the way he did it, considering this is coming from a guy who I have the utmost respect for, for his work ethic, his commitment to our industry, his commitment to setting the bar, as far as he's on time, everything's 100%, the way he works his body, the way he takes care of himself, the way he lives by example and the way he gives back. So, this is someone that I respect, and the way John hit me with that comment, for once in 40-something years, lit a fire under my big fat a**, a huge fire, and I went and found Dodd Romero."

H/T Wrestling Inc for the quotes.

Cena clearly wanted to tell Big Show that he needed to make a change and did it in the most subtle manner he could.

What's next?

Big Show is no longer wrestling in the ring, but the change he made to his life has seen him being healthier and an example and inspiration for others to live healthily. The documentary will be released on the WWE Network this Saturday.