As the Giant or as the Big Show, Paul Wight has dominated the scene in both of the “Big
Two” organizations, capturing both World Heavyweight Titles within a very short period of
time.  He made his professional wrestling debut in 1995 in World Championship Wrestling.  
Wight was known as the “Giant” and was billed as the son of Andre the Giant.  Many thought
it was preposterous.  He took Jimmy Hart as his manager, along with Kevin Sullivan, the
leader of the Dungeon of Doom.  The Giant also mastered the powerful chokeslam.

In his first pay-per-view on Sunday, October 29, 1995 in Detroit, the Giant beat Hulk Hogan
by disqualification.  The next day during Nitro, Jimmy Hart announced that according to the
contract, the WCW World Title would change hands on a disqualification.  The Giant was the
World Heavyweight Champion.  He was only weeks out from his professional debut.  It was an
astonishing accomplishment.  On November 6th during Nitro, officials announced that the
World Title would be declared vacant and put up for the winner of the 60-man, three-ring
battle royal later in the month.  The Giant joined several others in attacking Hogan, Sting and
Randy Savage on November 20, 1995.  The group had ended Hogan’s first encounter with
Sting.  The Giant chokeslammed Savage before being chased off by the other two favorites.

World War III was held on November 26th and the three-ring battle royal would decide a new
WCW Champion.  After being eliminated, the Giant decided it would be a good idea to take
someone with him.  He reached up and pulled Hulk Hogan from the match and title
contention.  Randy Savage ended up taking the title.

The Giant broke up an interview segment with Savage and Hogan during the November 27th
edition of Nitro.  He chokeslammed the new champion on the rampway before being stopped
by an invading Sting.  The Giant did enough damage to leave a mark.  He took a big pinfall
win from Scott Norton on December 4th.  In Johnson City on December 18th, he wrestled
Randy Savage until Hogan interfered.  The Giant won by disqualification.  He was very close
to winning the title.  Perhaps, too close in the minds of many.  If it weren’t for Hogan, he would
have walked away as the titleholder.

The Giant teamed with Flair at the Clash on January 23rd and got a win over Hogan and
Savage.  He received a World Title Shot against Savage on January 29, 1996 during Nitro.  
He won by disqualification after being hit by the belt.  He continued the fight.  The Giant was
ready to chokeslam his opponent before Hogan ran out.  The Giant chased out the
commentators at the end of the show.  He lost a special cage match to Hogan on February
11th in St. Petersburg during SuperBrawl.  The Giant faced the Lock Ness Monster at
Uncensored on March 10th in Tupelo and won in less than 3-minutes.

During the March 18th edition of Nitro, the Giant brawled with the Monster.  The brawl caused
the Lock Ness to be counted out in his TV Title match against Lex Luger to begin the show.  
He fought Ric Flair on March 25th.  The bout ended in a no contest after Arn Anderson and
Sullivan joined in.  He teamed with Flair on the 15th of April on Nitro against the World Tag
Champions, Luger and Sting.  The Giant and Flair got into several altercations, one notably
was a Flair chop on his partner.  Luckily, the match ended in a no contest amidst controversy
on both teams.  A rematch was signed for a week later.  It was more of the same.  Flair
accidentally tossed coffee into the Giant’s face.  The feud was on.

The two had words for each other before the night was over.  When the camera’s went off for
the national audience on April 22nd, the card continued, taping for the April 29th Nitro.  The
match was signed and the Giant was going to receive a shot at Flair’s World Title.  Using a
chokeslam in the bout, the Giant pinned Flair and captured his second WCW World
Heavyweight Title.  He gave Luger a title shot on May 13th and the Giant slammed the
challenger through a table outside the ring.  The match ended there.  Sting ran out to
prevent any further damage to his partner.  He successfully defended his World Title against
Sting on May 19th in Baton Rouge at Slamboree.  The following night on Nitro, the Giant
pinned Arn Anderson.

Dallas Page won the right to meet the Giant for the belt at Slamboree, but officials recoiled on
their initial decision and gave the shot to Lex Luger.  On June 16th, Luger and the Giant
locked arms in Baltimore.  The Giant pinned his foe to retain the belt.  On the 17th on Nitro,
the Giant received the challenge of Scott Steiner.  Pinned Steiner with a chokeslam.  
Challenger after challenger was entering the ring against the Giant, but all of them were
tumbling south.  He  teamed with Kevin Sullivan at the Bash at the Beach show in Daytona
Beach on July 7, 1996.  Their opponents were Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit, the
Horsemen.  Giant pinned Anderson to win the bout after his finisher.

Later in the night, the balance of tides seemed to sway.  Hulk Hogan shocked the world by
becoming the mystery partner of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.  The three formed a new alliance
called the “New World Order.” Where it didn’t seem immediately important to the Giant, he
needed to keep an eye open.  One of those three athletes might secretly plan to get his belt.  
It was sooner than anyone thought.  A match between Hogan and the Giant was signed for
the Hog Wild pay-per-view on August 10th in Sturgis, South Dakota.  The Giant was smashed
with the title belt and pinned.  He lost the World Championship.  The New World Order had
taken the title.  He fought Chris Benoit in Denver at the Clash.  The Giant got a much needed
victory.  He also pinned Jim Duggan on August 26th during Nitro.

On September 2nd, the Giant appeared from the back as the NWO’s fifth member, joining
Hogan, Nash, Hall and Ted DiBiase.  They brawled with a number of wrestlers, including
Randy Savage.  During Fall Brawl on Sunday, September 15th in Winston-Salem, the Giant
pinned Savage.  He beat Jeff Jarrett by disqualification on October 27th in Las Vegas.  The
Giant became a double-winner at World War III on November 24th.  The Giant eliminated Lex
Luger and Kevin Nash to win the 60-man, three-ring battle royal.  Earlier, he pinned Jarrett in
a rematch before the 10,000 looking on.  He earned a World Title shot against Hollywood
Hogan, the NWO Leader, with his main event victory.  Giant lost to Luger at Starrcade on
December 29th in Nashville.  The Giant was pinned.

The Giant was fired from the New World Order on December 30, 1996 for refusing to
chokeslam Roddy Piper after being ordered to by Hogan.  He was then attacked by the group
when he said that he deserved a title shot against Hogan for his World War III win.  The Giant
met the members of the NWO on January 6, 1997 in the ring.  He fought them off for all he
was worth, but in the end, he was taken down.  Sting joined him in the ring and spoke to him
before leaving the bat he carried behind.  The Giant did get to chokeslam Vincent.

On January 13th, Eric Bischoff and Hogan conspired to take the Giant’s World Title shot
away.  The WCW Executive Committee were going to review the situation and make an
announcement later in the program.  They announced that it wasn’t going to be taken away.  
The Giant was the rightful owner of a WCW World Title shot and on January 25th in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, he went to the ring as the challenger.  He was cheered by the fans.  The match
was ruled a no-contest.  His popularity began to grow more and more.

The Giant formed a tag team with Lex Luger and challenged The Outsiders for the WCW
World Tag Title on February 23rd in San Francisco at SuperBrawl.  He pinned Scott Hall and
captured the belts.  The final decision was later reversed.  He participated in the three-way
tag team elimination match at Uncensored.  Teamed with Luger and Scott Steiner.  Rick
Steiner was injured and unable to compete.  On April 6th in Tupelo, the Giant met Luger,
Booker T and Stevie Ray in a match in which the winner would receive a future title shot.  
Luger made Booker submit.  He reformed his team with Luger on July 13th at the Bash at the
Beach pay-per-view in Daytona Beach, Florida.  The two met Hollywood Hogan and Dennis
Rodman in the main event of that show.  His partner made Hogan submit to his torture rack.  
The fake Sting got involved in the bout, hitting the Giant from behind with a baseball bat.

The Giant beat Randy Savage with a pin on August 9th in Sturgis.  The Giant beat Scott
Norton in Winston-Salem, North Carolina during Fall Brawl on September 14th.  The Giant
was a finalist in the 1997 World War III pay-per-view on November 23rd in Auburn Hills.  He
lost out to Scott Hall, who received some outside assistance from Kevin Nash.  He wrestled
Nash at Souled Out on January 24, 1998 in Dayton, Ohio.  The Giant chokeslammed Nash,
and then Eric Bischoff, who had been ringside with Hollywood Hogan.  The Giant was
splashed with a container of hot coffee, handed to Nash by Hogan.  In turn, he was pinned.  
The Giant beat Kevin Nash by disqualification after he was hit by a baseball bat on March
15th in Mobile, Alabama.

He rejoined the New World Order on May 11, 1998 in Kansas City, running out to back
Hollywood Hogan in his war with the NWO Wolfpack.  He teamed with Sting on May 17th in
Worcester to beat the Outsiders and win the WCW World Tag Title.  Hall turned on his
partner and helped the Giant get the winning pin before 11,000 fans at the Centrum.  Their
tag team broke up on June 4th during Thunder.  The duo went their own ways when the
Giant remained a member of NWO Hollywood and his partner joined NWO Wolfpack.  He
decided to take his own course of action and picked Brian Adams to be his new partner as
the champs.  They lost to Dallas Page and Lex Luger later in the evening in Peoria.  James J.
Dillon later ruled that the change was not official because the Giant did not have the power to
determine who was going to be the tag champs after he broke up with Sting.  The Giant
would have to wrestle his former partner in a singles match to see who would get the belts on
June 14th in Baltimore.

The Giant made an announcement that the Disciple would be his new World Tag Team
partner on June 11, 1998 in Buffalo, New York.  He was obviously confident that he would
beat Sting at the Great American Bash.  The Giant should have been preparing.  He lost to
Sting at the Baltimore Arena at the Bash.  He went to the ring with a cigarette in his mouth
against Chris Adams in Uniondale on June 15th.  Before that single stick was out, Giant had
chokeslammed the former American Champion and pinned him with one foot.  He assisted in
the attack of Kevin Greene on June 22nd with Curt Hennig and Rick Rude during the football
player’s interview with Gene Okerlund in Jacksonville.

The Giant and Brian Adams teamed against Sting and Lex Luger, who were defending the
WCW World Tag Team Title on June 24, 1998 in Orlando.  Adams submitted to Luger’s
torture rack.  The Giant won over Greene on July 12th in San Diego at the Cox Arena during
the Bash at the Beach presentation.  He teamed with Hall on July 20th in Salt Lake City to
beat Sting and Nash for the tag belts during Nitro.  On August 3rd in Denver, Bret Hart
teamed with Sting to beat the Giant and Hall for the belts, but the decision was altered after
officials learned that Sting had used a baseball bat.  He entered a nine-man battle royal on
August 8th in Sturgis.  Giant was the last eliminated by Bill Goldberg.

The Giant took Scott Steiner as a replacement partner for Hall on October 25th in Las
Vegas.  The champs were scheduled to meet Rick Steiner and Buff Bagwell, but Bagwell was
attacked by Steiner and knocked him out of the MGM Grand Garden Arena match.  Steiner
fought the Giant and his brother alone.  They lost the tag title in the handicap bout before the
estimated 10,000 fans in attendance.  He won a match over the Disco Inferno in St. Louis on
December 21, 1998.  At Starrcade on December 27th in Washington DC, the Giant lost to
Dallas Page.  He was hit with a chair by Bret Hart, who was attempting to level Page.  The
Giant was leveled with a top rope Diamond Cutter and then pinned.

Paul Wight left WCW and signed with the World Wrestling Federation.  He made his debut on
February 14, 1999.  Wight appeared during Steve Austin’s match with Vince McMahon from
under a caged ring.  He helped Austin get the victory, whether by accident or on purpose,
Austin won.  Fans learned that his name was not the Giant, but the “Big Show.” He lost to
Mankind in a special Boiler Room Brawl at Backlash on April 25th in Providence.  Show joined
the Corporation with Ken Shamrock, Mankind, Test, Big Bossman and The Rock.  

On May 23rd in Kansas City, Show teamed with Ken Shamrock, Mankind and Test to beat
members of the Corporate Ministry.  He pinned Faarooq in the bout, but was counted out
during a brawl with Viscera.  Mankind ended up winning the match after he forced the Big
Bossman to submit.  Big Show entered the 1999 King of the Ring Tournament.  He was
eliminated in the quarterfinals with a loss to Kane on June 27th in Greensboro, North
Carolina.  The Big Show beat Kane at Fully Loaded on July 25th in Buffalo.  He joined with
the Undertaker to attack Kane and X-Pac after they captured the World Tag Title on August
9th in Chicago during Raw.  They secured a tag title shot for August 22nd at SummerSlam in
Minneapolis.  Show and Undertaker won the belts in front of 17,000 fans.

The Big Show began to feel the wrath of  the Undertaker.  The ‘Taker walked out on him
during their August 30th match against The Rock and Mankind in Boston and he lost the
belts in the handicap match.  He did chokeslam the Rock through an announcers table.  In
Albany on September 7th, Show and Undertaker regained the tag title at a television taping.  
The Undertaker did commentary during their tag bout with the Rock and Sock Connection in
Houston on September 20th.  Rather than allow the Big Show to wrestle alone, he enlisted
Viscera and Mideon to wrestle in his place.  And due to the bout being under “Dark Side
Rules,” anything was permitted.  He lost the tag title.  The Big Show was attacked by Kane
during the Raw match.

He entered the “Six Pack” match on September 26th in Charlotte at Unforgiven.  The winner
of the bout would be awarded the vacant WWF World Title.  Steve Austin was the referee of
the contest, which saw Show wrestle Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Kane, The Rock, Davey Boy
Smith and Mankind.  Helmsley pinned the Rock for the belt.  On October 2nd in England,
Show lost to Kane.  He was a late substitute for the injured Steve Austin.  Helmsley was
defending his WWF World Championship against the Show and The Rock on November 14th
in Detroit.  He had to fight through his two opponents and the members of DX, who decided to
join in the action.  Vince McMahon interjected and lead to a chokeslam by Show on
Helmsley.  He scored the pin and captured the World Title.

The Big Show became the sixth man in history to have captured both the NWA/WCW and the
WWF World Titles.  Show put his name among Buddy Rogers, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Randy
Savage and Kevin Nash.  He accomplished the feat before Bret Hart and Sid Vicious.  Quite
an achievement for a man who had only been in the business since ’95.  He lost the title to
Helmsley on January 3, 2000 in Miami, Florida.  X-Pac helped Triple-H get the victory on
Raw.  The Show entered the 2000 Royal Rumble at number 26 on Sunday, January 23rd in
New York City.  He remained until the end, but was tossed over the top rope by The Rock at
the 51:47 mark.  The bell rang and the match was over.  He pinned The Rock during the No
Way Out pay-per-view on February 27th in Hartford.

The Rock hosted Saturday Night Live on March 18, 2001 in New York City.  The Big Show
helped open the show with Vince McMahon, Triple H and Mick Foley.  Fans applauded his
comedic skills and it was quite amazing how a chair fit perfectly behind his back without being
seen.

The Show entered the four-corners elimination match for the WWF Title at WrestleMania XVI
on April 2nd in Anaheim.  He was seconded by Shane McMahon.  The Rock pinned Show
and eliminated him first.  Mick Foley was ousted second and the Rock third.  Hunter Hearst
Helmsley retained the championship.  Show pinned Shane McMahon in a falls-count-
anywhere match on May 21st before 16,000 fans in Louisville.  After the event, he left active
duty in the WWF during the summer and began to wrestle for Ohio Valley Wrestling to further
his wrestling skills.  He was still one of the youngest wrestlers in the top tier of professional
wrestling.

Show made his big return to compete in the Royal Rumble on January 21, 2001 in New
Orleans.  During the main event of No Way Out on February 25th, the Show attacked both
Kurt Angle, the WWF World Champion, and The Rock.  He chokeslammed both wrestlers and
the referee.  In the end, a second referee counted the Rock’s pinfall attempt.  The title
changed hands.  Earlier in the pay-per-view, Show pinned Raven to capture the WWF World
Hardcore Title.  On April 29th in Chicago, the Big Show wrestled Shane McMahon in a “Last
Man Standing” Match.  It was a tough match for both competitors.  McMahon won in the end.

During the summer, Show worked with several different partners including Billy Gunn and
Spike Dudley.  It was his team with Kane which made many notice.  The two big men were
one of the top contenders to the Dudley’s WWF World Tag Team Title and as Vengeance
rolled around, the duo seemed odds on favorite to win the straps.

There is no question that the Big Show will always be apart of the “show” and will be
scheduled for the last match of wrestling programs for a very long time to come.

[Updated through 2001]


Championships and accomplishments from Wikipedia

* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
   o PWI Rookie of the Year (1996)
   o PWI Wrestler of the Year (1996)
   o PWI ranked him #2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1996
* World Championship Wrestling
   o WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
   o WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Lex Luger (1), Sting (1), and
         Scott Hall (1)
   o WCW World War 3 (1996)
   o King of Cable (1996)
* World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
   o ECW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
   o World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
   o WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
   o WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Chris Jericho (1), The Miz (1), and
         Kane (1)
   o WWE United States Championship (1 time)
   o WWF/E Championship (2 time)
   o WWF Hardcore Championship (3 times)
   o WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with The Undertaker (2), Kane
         (1), Chris Jericho (1), and The Miz (1)
   o Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year (2009) – with Chris Jericho
   o Slammy Award for Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2011) – with Mark Henry
   o Twenty-Fourth Triple Crown Champion
   o Twelfth Grand Slam Champion
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
   o Rookie of the Year (1996)
   o Worst Feud of the Year (1999) vs. The Big Boss Man
   o Worst Wrestler (2001, 2002)
   o Most Embarrassing Wrestler (2002)






Research by Tim Hornbaker
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