Wrestling Deja Vu 07.06.09: Larger Than Life

Posted by Joseph Martinez on 07.06.2009

The Big Show has made a career out of being big and bad just like his “dad,” Andre The Giant. These big men enjoyed long careers and are considered to be the best big men of their industry, but how do they match up with one another? The only way to get the scoop is in the latest Wrestling Deja Vu.

Hey yo. Welcome to the column. I hope you all enjoyed the 4th of July weekend and all the festivities that accompanied it. Rarely do I do much for the 4th of July and this year was no exception. I understand why some individuals celebrate the occasion but I just spent my day watching some good baseball. It was a fine weekend for the Texas Rangers as they showed the Tampa Bay Rays how a real offense looks like. The squad is still in the race for the AL West and the year is halfway done.

As with most holidays, the wrestling week was fairly quiet. The only thing of note that I can remember is the injury to Edge. It is a shame that Edge could be facing months of rehab and won't be back until next year at the earliest but it comes with the territory. Luckily for the Smackdown roster, the program has more than enough talent to hide the hole that Edge leaves.

Anyways, the column for today focuses on two giants in The Big Show and Andre the Giant. Show has drawn comparisons to Andre since he began wrestling and while there are differences, both have done many of the same things. Both giants are impressive in their own ways. Andre helped pave the way for big guys and he was a mega-draw when he was at his peak. The Big Show has never done anything like that but he's definitely had memorable moments.



Last week's column was a look at how John Morrison matched up with Shawn Michaels and the reviews were mostly favorable. I made an error when I said Morrison and Michaels only crossed paths during the DX mini-feud and a commenter pointed that out. Here is the rest of the feedback from last week.

Looking back

MacDollarz: He needs to tighten up the promo's and he'll be the next big money maker.

He has the style ,the moves, the looks but his promos are either funny and great or line by line," let me get this over with"...almost benoit like at times..

I definitely agree with this. When Morrison goes line by line, he sounds really awkward. If I had to pick one spot where he had to improve it would be the mic. That segment with Teddy Long was scary bad.

KanyonKreist : Also, I expected you to at least mention the OTHER wrestlers who were tagged with the title "the next HBK". I mean, at one time or another, people were saying that about Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and even Billy Gunn! That's what interested me, actually. That's why I read the article, to tell you the truth. Regardless, I still enjoyed it, for a by-the-numbers sort of piece.

While doing some research on Shawn Michaels for the column, I came across some of the "Billy Gunn as the next HBK" chatter. It just never came to my mind to include that in the column. I do admit that both RVD and Jeff Hardy had the moniker and failed to live up to expectations but watching Morrison's career could be a treat.

Guest : you forgot about Billy Mays

Yeah, last Sunday was my birthday, so I had the column written up before he passed. It's a shame. I was watching a Pitchmen marathon the other day and it was a pretty solid program. Steve McNair also died on the 4th of July. Seems like there are a ton of high profile deaths this year.

AND INTRODUCING THE PARTICIPANTS

Andre The Giant was brought into the WWF in 1973 as a major attraction and he did not disappoint. Because of the different era, The Giant's massive size was all he needed to be noticed across the country. It didn't hurt that he had a great personality and connected with the fans. Of course, he is most well known for his participation in the epic Wrestlemania III match with Hulk Hogan. The match has been played over and over again and Hogan's slam of Andre is a memorable moment for sure. The slam didn't end Andre's career as he had a pretty decent run after as a heel, but age and size took a toll on the giant.



WHERE IS HE NOW?: He died in 1993 and was entered into the WWE Hall of Fame shortly after.



"The Giant" debuted for WCW in 1995 and immediately made an impact by claiming Hulk Hogan was responsible for the death of his kayfabe father, Andre The Giant. The two feuded and The Giant immediately won the World Heavyweight Championship. This early success was just an example of what the future Big Show would enjoy during his career. In 1999, he joined the then WWF and was in an alliance with Vince McMahon. Over the years, he feuded with many individuals and established the main event foundations of several wrestlers. He went on a short hiatus, but eventually returned and was trusted to work with superstar athlete Floyd Mayweather. Show is still with the WWE and still enjoying a ton of success. The man is 37 so he probably won't be wrestling for much longer, but he's certainly built a potential hall of fame career.

LARGER THAN LIFE




Depending on how you feel about life, being as big and tall as Andre The Giant or The Big Show is a blessing or a curse. I'm not sure how either of these individuals felt about their height advantage, but they made the most of it and created wonderful wrestling careers. There really isn't much to say about these guys being tall since it's a given but it isn't the only thing they have in common. They've both employed a single black singlet for the majority of their career and engaged in similar activities. An example of this could be a feud built on great fears. The Big Show feuded with The Undertaker and one of the catalysts was Show's fear of coffins. Andre and Jake "The Snake" Roberts engaged in a feud with snakes as the Andre's "kryptonite." There's only so much one can do with men as large as this, so it's only obvious that bookers would try the same thing after a seven year (or so) period.

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

The story of David versus Goliath is always an interesting one when it comes to wrestling. While it isn't the original, Hulk Hogan versus Andre The Giant is widely regarded as one of the greatest things to ever happen to wrestling. Seemingly everything was perfect for the feud so it's pretty obvious that someone in wrestling was going to do it again. One of these rehashes occurred recently and featured The Big Show and this era's version of Hulk Hogan, John Cena. The battles between Show and Cena had everything the 1987 matchup had except for a stage as large as Wrestlemania III. While it had all that, it's safe to say that it never really clicked. The announcers (Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler) acted as if Cena never lifted the giant before and it became really annoying. Of course, the program was widely over with the fans and thus lasted longer than it should have.

BIG FRIENDLY GIANT



Many people have different preferences when it comes to the heel/face aspect of professional wrestling. Some guys believe that The Big Show, Andre The Giant, The Great Khali and other big men like that should only play the monster heel because that's all they are good far. However, all of these individuals have shown that they have the skills to be the "big, friendly giant" character. I'm not sure where the term came from, but I saw it in a game of Extreme Warfare Revenge and it seemed perfect to describe Comedy Big Show and friendly Andre. As seen in many cases, a friendly giant will always come to the aid of the needy. An example of this (although not related to Show or Andre) occurred this past Friday on Smackdown when the Great Khali came out to save Rey Mysterio from Kane. Even the fiercest big guy can be loved by the fans with a simple gimmick change like this.

WDV FACE-OFF
The Big Show versus Andre The Giant

After the opening bell, the two giants grapple. Show gains an early advantage and shoves Andre back. Show then nails his opponent with a fist towards the shoulder. Andre stumbles a bit but responds with a shove of his own. It doesn't stun Show for long as a clothesline brings Andre down. Big Show positions himself for an elbow drop, but Andre is out of the way at the last moment. "Dre" and Show both get up slowly and Andre is the first to strike with a clobbering blow to the back of the head. Show is down to his knees and Andre elbows him all the way down. A pinfall only gets 2 as Show grabs the ropes to avoid defeat. Andre, believing he won the match, is frustrated to find out that the match has to continue, allowing The Big Show to deliver a powerful punch to the back. With Andre on the ground, Show chokes him down until the referee commands him to break the hold.

This offends Show and the referee is confronted by "The World's Largest Athlete." Big Show taunts a punch but he pulls it back and laughs at the ref. Show turns his attention to Andre who grapples with Show, whips him towards the ropes and nails a big boot. A splash from Andre The Giant ends the match and the comeback edition of the WDV Face-Off.

THE RUNDOWN

Andre The Giant was the first big man to achieve worldwide success. There were individuals before him, but none sold out arenas and got the crowd involved as much as him. The Big Show came years after, but his size and abilities allow him to play a role similar to Andre's. These individuals could play the fierce monster (although Andre didn't play it as much as he should have) or the friendly giant type and be entertaining either way. While some people may argue that these guys are "boring" because they don't have anything flashy, I believe they are solid and bring a necessary part to the table.

WEEKEND IN LINKS

I'm sure some of you readers were busy over the weekend, so here is some of the stuff you should look at if you get bored at work or wherever you are while reading this.

• 411Mania's Squared Circle News Report has the week in review for you, as told by Dustin James.

• Get your CHIKARA fix with Kevin Ford‘s latest Contemplating CHIKARA

• Tons of people (including me) have been singing the praises of Smackdown, but Raw has been on fire lately. Kristopher Rodriguez checks that topic out in For The Record

TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma


Goodnight, Travel Well

• The 4th of July weekend was an eclectic one with Wimbledon, Nathan's Hotdog Eating contest, and of course a bunch of get-togethers and whatnot. I hope you had a good one and celebrated everything that makes America great. Of course, if you're not American, you probably just went on with your regularly scheduled activities.


Jack Swagger certainly enjoyed the 4th of July

• I really enjoyed the big 15 superstar trade between Raw, Smackdown and ECW. I think Raw got the better of the deal as they received Jack Swagger (who can replace the injured Matt Hardy as the up and coming heel), Evan Bourne and Mark Henry. I really expect huge things out of Swagger this year especially when Raw's heel roster isn't exactly stacked. Evan Bourne will also make the midcard more interesting.

• Speaking of Raw, tonight's edition has a "special" main event which features John Cena and Triple H. I get that they have to advertise it like the biggest thing ever since these two are arguably the biggest stars in the company, but it really doesn't feel like anything to me. Raw is also on a tape delay tonight so that's going to take away from some of the excitement the program usually generates.

• Got any feedback or anything? Just let me know via the nice little comment section featured below. E-mails are also good. I'm always open to criticism and suggestions regarding the column so yeah. Next week I'll return with another installment of Wrestling Deja Vu. Thanks for reading and enjoy the week.