The Ponce City Hall, in the city of Ponce, is the seat of the government for both the city and the surrounding barrios making up the municipality.

A municipality is usually an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. The term municipality can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality.^[1] A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French "municipalité" and Latin "municipalis".^[2]

Generic term[link]

The term "municipality" is a generic term, and can describe any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, or a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York.

The territory of a municipality may encompass

• only one populated place such as a city, town or village
• several of such places (e.g., Municipalities of Mexico)
• only parts of such places, sometimes boroughs of a city like the 34 municipalities of Santiago, Chile.^[3]

Political powers[link]

The power of a municipality range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state. Municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state.

In various countries[link]

In various countries, a municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision to have democratically elected representation. Municipalities are sometimes referred to as "communes" (for example, French commune, Spanish comuna, Italian comune, Romanian comună, Swedish kommun and Norwegian/Danish kommune). The term derives from the medieval commune.^{[citation needed]}

• In Australia, the term local government area (LGA) is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the "LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia. Incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility."^[4]

• In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, usually within general municipal statutes.^[5][6] Types of municipalities within Canada include cities, district municipalities, municipal districts, municipalities, parishes, rural municipalities, towns, townships, villes, and villages among others.^[6] The Province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers.^[7] Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities.^[7] Nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units.^[8]

• In the United Kingdom, the term was used until 1974 in England and Wales, and until 1975 in Scotland and 1976 in Northern Ireland, "both for a city or town which is organized for self-government under a municipal corporation, and also for the governing body itself. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, and of superior members, as aldermen and councillors".^[9] Since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status.

• In the United States, "municipality" is usually understood as a city, town, village or other local government unit, formed by municipal charter from the state as a municipal corporation.^[10] In a state law context, some U.S. state codes define "municipality" wider, from the state itself to any political subdivisions.^[11][12]

Municipalities as lower-level governance structures[link]

• In Albania, a municipality is either part of a city (bashki) or a province (komunë).
• In Algeria, a municipality (baladiyah) is part of a daïra, which is part of a wilaya; there are 1,541 municipalities in Algeria.
• In Argentina, a municipality (municipalidad) is the institution in charge of local administration. The provinces organize the municipalities for each city in their territories according to their own municipal regime.
• In Austria, a municipality (Gemeinde) is part of a district (Bezirk), which is in turn part of a state (Bundesland).
• In Bangladesh, a municipality (Pouroshobho) is part of a upazila or subdistrict, which is in turn part of a district.
• In Belgium, a municipality (gemeente/commune) is either part of a province (provincie/province) or of the Brussels-Capital Region
• In Bolivia, a municipality (municipio) is part of a province, which is part of a departamento.
• In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a municipality (općina or opština) is part of a canton (kanton)
• In Brazil, states (estados) are directly divided into municipalities (municípios), which are the smallest political-administrative divisions; there is no equivalent to a county level. A city (cidade) is defined in Brazilian law as the urban seat of a municipality, and a municipality always has the same name as the corresponding city. Brazilian law establishes no difference between cities and towns; all it takes for an urban settlement to be called a "city" is to be the seat of a municipality, and some are very small. Other settlements have no form of local government and are under the authority of the municipality they are in, although in some cases the municipal government may set up local administrative offices there. The Federal District (the area of the national capital city, Brasília) has special status and is not divided into municipalities. The Fernando de Noronha and St. Peter and St. Paul archipelagos together comprise a unique case of a "state district" under the direct administration of the state government of Pernambuco. Apart from these exceptions, all land in Brazil, even the remotest wilderness areas, is in the territory of some municipality, and, hence, technically under the jurisdiction of a "city." No point in the country is in a non-incorporated area, and which explains why some municipalities in sparsely populated areas such as the Amazon region can be larger than many sovereign countries.

• In Bulgaria, a municipality (Bulgarian: община, obshtina) forms the first tier of local government and is part of an oblast. There are 264 municipalities grouped in 28 oblasts (provinces) in Bulgaria.
• In the Kingdom of Cambodia, a municipality (ស឵ល឵ក្រុង) refers to city hall. Example, if they say Phnom Penh Municipality it means Phnom Penh City Hall,but sometimes a municipality refers to the capital city which is Phnom Penh City.
• In Chile, a municipality (municipalidad) is a legal entity which administers one or more communes (comuna) which are the third-level division of the country. The first division are regions which a next divided into provinces (provincia). These provinces are next divided into comunas which are assigned to a municipality for administration. In almost most cases the municipality and the comuna have the same name, but the constitution permits a single municipality to be responsible for more than one commune.
• In Colombia, a municipality (municipio) is part of a department (departamento). It is also subdivided into Corregimientos and Veredas.
• In Croatia, a municipality (općina) is part of a county (županija)
• In the Czech Republic, a municipality (obec) is part of a kraj (kraj)
• In Denmark, a municipality (kommune) is part of a region. Counties (amter) were abandoned in Denmark on January 1, 2007.
• In the Dominican Republic a municipality (municipio) is a subdivision of a province (see municipalities of the Dominican Republic).
• In Estonia, a municipality (omavalitsus) is the smallest division of local government. Municipalities can be both towns (linn) and parishes (vald).
• In Finland, a municipality (kunta) is independent and constitutes local government; each co-operates with municipalities nearby in a sub-region (seutukunta) and region (maakunta). A municipality can freely call itself a "city" (kaupunki).
• In France, a municipality (commune) is part of a department (département) which is part of a region (région)
• In Germany, a municipality (Gemeinde) is part of a district (Kreis). Larger entities of the same level are called towns (Stadt). In less populated regions, municipalities are often put together into collective municipalities (Verbandsgemeinde)
• In Greece, a municipality is either demos (δήμος, pl. δήμοι) or kinotita (κοινότητα, pl. κοινότητες) with lesser population, which are then part of a prefecture (nomos, νομός) and then a larger region known as a periphery (περιφέρεια, pl. περιφέρειες). Municipalities are third-level administrative divisions and their heads (mayors in demi, presidents in kinotites) are appointed via popular vote held every four years.
• In Greenland, a municipality (kommunea) is the first-level administrative division of country.
• In Haiti, a municipality (commune) is part of an arrondissement, which is part of a department (département).
• In Honduras, the municipality (municipio) was in 1895 originally the subdivision of the district (distrito), but as districts have fallen into disuse, it is now the subdivision of the department (departamento). There are 298 municipalities. (See Municipalities of Honduras.)
• In Hungary, a municipality (települési önkormányzat) is part of a county (megye). There were 3,168 municipalities in 2005.
• In Iceland,a municipality is a town concil. It can also be a village with population from 300 to 18,000 people. (see Municipalities of Iceland)
• In India, a municipality (Nagar palika) is often referred to as a town. It is neither a village nor a big city. Usually, a municipality would have 20,000 or more people, but if it exceeds 500,000 it becomes a municipal corporation. Ward councillors of municipal corporations are nominated by the subdivisional officers and elected by people. The chairman is also a nominee of the subdivisional officer who is a government officer in India.
• In Israel, a municipality generally takes one of three forms: city councils, which governs a large municipality, local councils, which governs a small municipality, and regional councils, which governs a group of communities, often but not necessarily of a rural nature.
• In Italy, a comune is part of a province (provincia) which is part of a region (regione). The term "municipality" is reserved for subdivisions of larger comuni (in particular, the comune of Rome).
• In Japan, a municipality is the sphere of government within the prefectures, the sub-division of the state. Municipalities of Japan include shi (cities), cho (towns), and son (villages).
• In Kenya, a municipality is one of four types of local authorities. Nearly 50 major towns are given the municipality status.
• In Latvia, a municipality (sing.:novads, plur.:novadi). A municipality normally consists of amalgamated parishes (sing.:pagasts, plur.:pagasti).
• In Lebanon, a municipality is part of a district (Arabic: Qadaa‎) which is part of a Governorate (Region or Province, Arabic: Mouhafazah).
• In Libya, the municipality level is that of the Basic People's Congress. Large cities are subdivided.
• In Lithuania, a municipality (savivaldybė) is a part of a district (apskritis) and is subdivided into elderates (seniūnija).
• In Luxembourg, communes are the lowest divisions.
• In Mexico, a municipality (municipio) is a subdivision of a state (estado) and a borough (delegación) is a subdivision of the Federal District (see municipalities of Mexico and boroughs of the Mexican Federal District).
• In Nepal, a municipality is a town not large enough in population or infrastructure to qualify as a sub-metropolitan city. After the census in 2001, there were 58 municipalities across the country.
• In the Netherlands, a municipality (gemeente) is part of a province (provincie).
• In New Zealand, a municipality is part of either a "city" (mostly urban) or a "district" (mostly rural). The term "municipality" has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status. (See territorial authorities of New Zealand.)
• In Nicaragua, a municipality (municipio) is subdivision of a department (departamento) or of one of the two Autonomous Regions, Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur.
• In Norway, a municipality (kommune) is part of a county (fylke). There are 430 municipalities in Norway (2009).
• In the Palestinian National Authority, municipalities are localities with populations over 4,000 and have 13-15 council members. There are 105 municipalities in the PNA.
• In Pakistan, municipalities are subdivisions of a tehsil/taluka or sub-district of a "district". (See Local government in Pakistan).
• In Paraguay, a municipality (municipalidad) is part of a departament (departamento).
• In Peru, a municipality (municipio) is another term for district (distrito) and is the lower-level administrative subdivision. It is part of a province (provincia), which is part of a department (departamento). As of 2002 a department is now called a region (región).
• In the Philippines, a municipality (bayan or munisipyo) is a town with a popularly elected administration including a mayor and is part of a province (lalawigan or probinsya) (except for the independent municipality of Pateros, Metro Manila in the National Capital Region). Municipalities are not the smallest division of local government and are composed of barangays.
• In Poland, a municipality (gmina) is a part of a county (powiat).
• In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ. When referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal and some of its former overseas provinces, but it’s no longer in use in Brazil. In Portugal, a municipality is a directly elected local area authority generally consisting of a main city or town and surrounding villages, with wide-ranging local administration powers. Apart from the municipality of Corvo, however, concelhos are not the smallest administrative unit in Portugal, that being the freguesia (civil parish). For central government purposes, Portuguese municipalities are grouped into districts (distritos).
• In Puerto Rico, a municipality (municipio) consists of an urban area (termed a city or town) plus all of its surrounding barrios comprising the municipality. It has a popularly elected administration and a municipal mayor. The seat of the municipal government is located in such urban area and serves the entire municipal jurisdiction.^[13][14]
• In Romania, a municipality (municipiu) is a town or a city ranked by law at this level. A commune is the lowest subdivision of a judeţ.
• In Russia, several types of municipalities ("municipal formations") exist; see subdivisions of Russia
• In San Marino, there are also eight minor municipalities, castelli.
• In Serbia, a municipality (opština) is part of a district (okrug)
• In Slovakia, a municipality (obec) is part of a district (okres). There are 2,891 municipalities in the country.
• In Slovenia, a municipality (občina) is part of a region (regija). There are 211 municipalities in the country.
• In South Africa, district municipalities and metropolitan municipalities are subdivisions of the provinces, and local municipalities are subdivisions of district municipalities.
• In Sweden, a municipality (kommun) is self-governing according to the Swedish constitution and constitutes local government. There are 290 municipalities in the country. Before 1971, a municipality could be called a town (stad), a köping or a rural municipality (landskommun); present muncipalities which used to be towns are still commonly called towns. Sweden is also divided into 25 counties (län), each containing one or more of the municipalities.
• In Switzerland, a municipality (commune/Gemeinde/comune) is part of a canton (canton/Kanton/cantone) and defined by cantonal law.
• In Ukraine there are two types of municipalities (or rada — council): urban and rural. Both are types of lower administrative division in the country. Urban municipalities could be city or settlement (town). Cities always carry special status: national (two), oblast (at least one in each region), and raion (the rest). Urban municipalities often consist of several other smaller ones. Bigger cities are divided into number of city raions (districts). Rural municipalities are much smaller and may combine several villages and rural settlements (smaller villages).
• In the United Arab Emirates, a municipality is part of an emirate, and is defined by the law of the specific emirates.
• In Turkey, a municipality (belediye) is a local government authority and there are two types of municipalities: metropolitan (büyükşehir) municipality, district (alt/ilçe) municipality.
• In Venezuela, a municipality (municipio) is part of a state, as well as a subdivision of the Capital District (estado).

First-level entities and other forms of municipalities[link]

• In the People's Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality (直辖市 in pinyin: zhíxiáshì) is a city with equal status to a province: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing (see Municipality of China)
• In Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 Parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of regional government in this jurisdiction.
• In Macedonia, 84 municipalities (opštini; singular: opština) were established in 2004, reduced from 123 created in 1996.
• In Portugal, a municipality (município/concelho) is the primary local administrative unit. Although it is a part of a district (distrito) for certain national administrative purposes, the municipality is not subordinate to the district and decentralization is doing away with the districts. A municipality contains one or more freguesias.
• In Puerto Rico, there are no first order administrative divisions, and the municipalities (municipio) serve as second-order administrative divisions.
• In Montenegro, a municipality (opština) is the topmost regional division
• In Slovenia, a municipality (občina) is the primary local administrative unit. There are 210 of them, 11 of which have a special "Urban" status with additional autonomy.
• In Spain, a municipality (municipio) is the primary local administrative unit. It is a part of a province (provincia) for all national administrative purposes. In the Galicia region, the municipalities are called concellos, and in the Principality of Asturias region, a municipality is called conceyu. In these two regions a municipality contains one or more parroquias. See municipalities of Spain.
• In Taiwan (Republic of China), a special municipality (直轄市 in Wade-Giles: chih-hsia-shih) is a city with equal status to a province: Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Taipei. (see Special municipality of Taiwan)
• In Ukraine two cities Kiev and Sevastopol are organized as special municipalities that are independent from their regional government (oblast / republic) within they are located.

See also[link]

Look up municipality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Council of European Municipalities and Regions
• Council-manager government
• Creature of statute
• Lists of municipalities
• Mayor-council government
• Municipal corporation
• Municipal government

References[link]

{{Infobox professional wrestler | name = Captain Insano | names = Captain Insano^[1][2]
The Giant^[1]
Paul Wight^[3] | image = Big-Show-T4.jpg | caption = | height = 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)^[4] | weight = 441 lb (200 kg)^[4] | birth_date = (1972-02-08) February 8, 1972 (age 40)^[1] | birth_place = Aiken, South Carolina^[5] | resides = Tampa, Florida^[1] | trainer = Larry Sharpe^[1]
Jim Duggan^[1]
Glenn RuthCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag; see the help page

Professional wrestling career[link]

World Championship Wrestling (1995–1999)[link]

Wight made his first appearance at Slamboree in 1995 as an unknown giant at three foot seven man during the main event of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage versus Ric Flair and Vader. Wight debuted in WCW at The Great American Bash on June 18, 1995 as a plant during the match between Arn Anderson and The Renegade, who was accompanied by manager Jimmy Hart. Nearly a month later at a Main Event show, prior to Bash at the Beach, Wight interfered in an interview between Hulk Hogan and "Mean" Gene Okerlund. Wight introduced himself as The Giant, and claimed in the storyline to be the son of André the Giant and blaming Hulk Hogan for the death of his "father". The Giant joined the Dungeon of Doom, who were at war with Hogan and his allies, and immediately began a heated feud with Hogan. At Fall Brawl, after his team won a WarGames match, Hogan earned five minutes fighting the leader of the Dungeon of Doom, "The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan, in the cage alone – at this point, Giant attacked Hogan, saving Sullivan.

After The Giant destroyed Hulk Hogan's Harley-Davidson Motorcycle using a monster truck, Hogan challenged him to a "Monster Truck Battle" at Halloween Havoc.^[6] On October 29, the battle took place atop Cobo Hall, with each man driving a monster truck and trying to force the other truck out of a circle, as in a sumo wrestling contest. Hogan won the match when Giant descended from his vehicle and appeared to fall from the roof. Later that night, The Giant came to the ring with The Taskmaster and challenged Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, making his WCW in-ring debut.^[7] Giant was awarded the victory by disqualification after interference from Jimmy Hart, Hogan's manager. Hart then revealed that the contract Hogan signed (which he had written) had a clause stating that the title would change hands on a disqualification, and, as Hart had intentionally caused a disqualification, the Giant won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. At 23 years old, The Giant became the youngest WCW World Heavyweight Champion. The title was vacated one week later as a result of the controversial finish.^[6][8][9]

The Giant tried to reclaim the title at World War 3 but was foiled by Hogan, who helped Randy Savage win the vacant title.^[10][11] The Giant teamed with Ric Flair to defeat Hogan and Savage at Clash of the Champions XXXII,^[12] but was decisively beaten by Hogan in a Cage match at SuperBrawl VI.^[13][14]

After a short feud with Loch Ness,^[15][16] The Giant won the World Heavyweight Championship a second time by defeating Ric Flair.^[9] After Hogan formed the New World Order (nWo), he defeated The Giant for the Championship at Hog Wild following interference from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.^[17][18] The Giant joined the nWo twenty three days later, citing Ted DiBiase's money as his primary motivation, feuding with Lex Luger and the Four Horsemen.^[6][8] The Giant was thrown out of the nWo on December 30 for asking Hogan for a World Heavyweight Championship title match. He fought against the nWo along with Sting and Lex Luger, winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice.^[6]

In 1997, The Giant began a feud with nWo member Kevin Nash, who constantly dodged Giant, failing to appear for their scheduled match at Starrcade. In 1998 at Souled Out the two finally met in the ring, with Nash accidentally injuring Wight's neck when he botched a Jackknife Powerbomb.^[19][20] When Nash left the nWo and formed his own stable, the nWo Wolfpac, The Giant rejoined the original nWo to oppose Nash and his allies. While back with the nWo, The Giant won two more Tag Team Championships, once with Sting as an unwilling partner (as the match was signed before The Giant returned to the nWo) and once with Scott Hall. In the interim between those two reigns, he lost his half of the Tag Team Championship to Sting in a singles match where only the winner would remain champion and choose a partner for the second half of the team.

On the October 11, 1998, episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Goldberg defeated The Giant in a no-disqualification match; in a show of strength, Goldberg executed a delayed vertical suplex before hitting the Jackhammer on The Giant.^[21][22][23] After the nWo Hollywood and the nWo Wolfpac merged together again in January 1999, Hogan declared that there was only room for one "giant" in the group, and forced Giant and Nash to wrestle for that spot. Nash defeated him following a run-in by Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff. The Giant was then attacked by the entire nWo. Wight allowed his WCW contract to expire on February 8, 1999 at his 27th birthday.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment[link]

Debut and WWF Champion (1999–2000)[link]

Show entering arena on the SmackDown entrance way in 1999.

Wight signed a ten-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation on February 9, 1999,^[8] debuting as a villainous member of Vince McMahon's stable, The Corporation, at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House. During the McMahon versus Steve Austin cage match, Wight tore through the canvas from underneath the ring and attacked Austin. However, Wight cost McMahon the match when he threw Austin into the side of the cage and the cage broke, spilling Austin outside to the floor and granting him the victory. Wight subsequently served as McMahon's enforcer.^[6]

Wight performed as "Big Nasty" Paul Wight for several weeks before being renamed "Big Show" Paul Wight.^{[8][not in citation given]} He then gradually dropped his real name, eventually being referred to simply as (The) Big Show. McMahon wanted to ensure that Corporation member The Rock would retain his title at WrestleMania, so he had Wight wrestle Mankind at WrestleMania XV for the right to referee the main event. Wight incapacitated Mankind, but got disqualified in the process, meaning that he could not be referee. Mankind won the right to be the official but was taken to a hospital following the match with Wight (although he eventually returned during the Championship match). After a furious McMahon slapped Wight, he punched McMahon. Wight concluded his feud with Foley in a Boiler Room Brawl before joining Mankind, Test, and Ken Shamrock in a stable known as The Union who fought against the Corporation, and later against The Corporate Ministry. On the May 10 episode of Monday Night Raw, Show was pitted against The Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer. On the June 7 episode of Raw, Big Show faced The Undertaker for the WWF Championship. Undertaker attempted a clothesline from the top turnbuckle, however Wight caught him and delivered a chokeslam, which sent Undertaker crashing through the ring mat; the referee was forced to stop the match so The Undertaker retained his title. Following the match Bradshaw, Faarooq, and Mideon all ran down to attack Big Show and were all subsequently chokeslammed as well. Big Show and The Undertaker later formed an unlikely alliance, wrestling against X-Pac and Kane. As a team, Show and The Undertaker won the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.^[6] After The Undertaker was sidelined with injuries, Big Show began a feud with the Big Boss Man. After it was announced that Big Show's father was terminally ill with cancer, the Boss Man had one of his crooked police colleagues inform Show that his father has died, and then mocked Show's tearful reaction. Several weeks later, when it was announced Big Show's father had actually died (in reality, Wight's father had died years before), the Boss Man interrupted the ten-bell toll by reciting an offensive poem. Later, Boss Man invaded the funeral and used a chain to couple the coffin to the hearse, towing the coffin away with a grief stricken Big Show clinging on to it. Big Show then took on Big Boss Man, Prince Albert, Mideon and Viscera at Survivor Series in a 4-on-1 elimination match. He eventually won the match after Big Boss Man left the match and was counted out. Later that night, Wight took the injured Steve Austin's place in the Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship. In that match, which also featured The Rock, he pinned Triple H to become WWF Champion.^[6][8] At Armageddon 1999, Show defeated Boss Man to retain his WWF Championship, despite interference by Prince Albert.^[24]

On the January 3, 2000 episode of Raw, Triple H defeated Show for the WWF Championship. Trying to regain the title, Wight participated in the Royal Rumble match where he antagonized The Rock. The Rock eliminated him to win the Royal Rumble. Wight was convinced that he had won, and eventually produced a video tape that showed The Rock's feet striking the ground first.^[6] He was then given a match with The Rock at No Way Out, with the WrestleMania title shot on the line. Wight defeated The Rock when Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock out with a chair shot. Rock was desperate to reclaim his title shot, and eventually agreed to a match with Wight on the March 13 episode of Raw – if he won, the WrestleMania title match would become a Triple Threat match, and if he lost, he would retire from the WWF. Shane McMahon, now actively supporting Wight's bid to become champion, appointed himself as the special guest referee. However, The Rock triumphed when Vince McMahon assaulted Shane and donned the referee shirt, personally making the three count following a Rock Bottom.

On the March 20 episode of Raw, Triple H defended the title against The Rock and Wight on the condition that the match would not take place at WrestleMania, pinning Wight. Linda McMahon stated this match would not occur at WrestleMania as Triple H would defend the title there in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match, with Mick Foley as the fourth man. Wight was the first man eliminated from the match at WrestleMania 2000 after the other three competitors worked together against him.^[6]

Various feuds, nWo and Championship reigns (2000–2004)[link]

Show competing for the Raw brand.

After WrestleMania, Big Show became a fan favorite again by starting a comical gimmick where he began mimicking other wrestlers, lampooning Rikishi as Showkishi, The Berzerker as Shonan the Barbarian, and Val Venis as The Big Showbowski. He defeated Kurt Angle at Backlash dressed like his friend and role model Hulk Hogan as the Showster, complete with skullcap/wig and yellow tights.^[6] Show began feuding with Shane McMahon after Shane voiced his disapproval of Big Show's antics. At Judgment Day 2000, Shane defeated Wight in a Falls Count Anywhere match following interference from Big Boss Man, Bull Buchanan, Test, and Albert.^[25] Wight returned two months later, apparently intending to gain revenge on Shane. Instead, he attacked The Undertaker thus siding with Shane once more, forming a short-lived stable known as "The Conspiracy" with Shane, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Edge and Christian. After The Undertaker threw Show off a stage through a table, he was removed from WWF television for the remainder of the year. Big Show was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling, a WWF developmental territory, to lose weight and improve his cardiovascular fitness.^[6][8][26]

Show returned at the 2001 Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by The Rock.^[27] Angered by his quick elimination, Wight proceeded to chokeslam The Rock through the announcer's table before leaving the arena. He then began competing for the WWF Hardcore Championship, which he lost to Kane in a Triple Threat match that also included Raven at WrestleMania X-Seven.^[28]

Throughout The Invasion, Big Show remained loyal to the WWF, which made him a fan favorite again. He faced Shane McMahon, the on-screen owner of WCW, in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash and was defeated following interference from Test.^[29] Show was also part of the victorious Team WWF at Survivor Series, though he was the first man eliminated.^[30]

Show was drafted by Ric Flair (representing the Raw brand) in the 2002 draft. He then turned on Steve Austin during a tag team match. At Judgment Day, Big Show and Ric Flair were defeated by Austin in a Handicap match. Wight once again joined the New World Order, but the stable disbanded after Kevin Nash was injured.^[6] After the nWo disbanded, Show achieved little success on Raw after losing matches against Jeff Hardy, Booker T, and the Dudley Boyz.

Show as United States Champion.

In late 2002, Big Show was traded to SmackDown!, immediately challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. During this time, Big Show adopted a new attire, donning black jeans and taking on a new hairstyle and facial hair. Big Show became a two-time WWE Champion defeating Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. He lost the title to Kurt Angle a month later at Armageddon. At the Royal Rumble, Big Show lost a Royal Rumble Qualifying Match to Lesnar. He then began feuding with The Undertaker, after Big Show threw him off the stage, injuring his neck, leading to Big Show and his partner A-Train losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XIX. He renewed his feud with Lesnar, wrestling him four times for the WWE title (including a Stretcher match at Judgment Day) but was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the title. On the June 26, 2003 episode of SmackDown! Big Show, Shelton Benjamin, and Charlie Haas defeated Mr. America (a disguised Hulk Hogan), Brock Lesnar, and Kurt Angle in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned Mr. America. This was Hulk Hogan's last appearance as Mr. America. For several months afterwards, WWE hyped up Big Show as the man who retired Hogan. At No Mercy, Big Show defeated Eddie Guerrero for the WWE United States Championship and then formed an alliance with the then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.

Big Show abandoned a departing Lesnar immediately before WrestleMania XX. At the pay-per-view, Big Show lost the United States Championship to John Cena.^[6] On the April 15, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, Big Show promised to quit if he failed to defeat Eddie Guerrero that night.^[31] He lost to Guerrero (Guerrero had snuck a wrench in the back of Big Show's boot, which got Big Show disqualified), and, believing that Torrie Wilson had laughed at him for losing, upended her car and threatened to throw her off a ledge.^[31] Then General Manager of SmackDown!, Kurt Angle ascended the ledge to try to talk some reason into Big Show, but he chokeslammed Angle off the ledge, kayfabe concussing him and breaking his leg, as well as causing the back of Angle's head to bleed.^[31] After the show, Big Show was neither seen nor heard from on WWE television for months.

Various storylines and teaming with Kane (2004-2006)[link]

Show at Tribute to the Troops.

In mid-2004, Big Show was reinstated by new General Manager Theodore Long, as he interfered during a Lumberjack match between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle. Big Show had a choice to face either Guerrero or Angle at No Mercy, choosing to fight Angle, thus becoming a fan favorite. Big Show defeated Angle at the event.^[32] In the weeks before the match, He claimed to have "lost his dignity" when Angle tranquilized him in the middle of the ring using a dart gun and shaved his head.^[6]

On April 3, 2005 at WrestleMania 21, Big Show faced Sumo Grand Champion Akebono in a worked sumo match;^[33] the match was added to the show to attract a strong pay-per-view audience in Japan, where Akebono is considered a sporting legend. In the weeks preceding the match, Big Show pushed over a jeep driven to the ring by Luther Reigns to show that he was capable of moving the marginally heavier Akebono. Big Show lost to Akebono at WrestleMania 21.^[33] Big Show subsequently feuded with Carlito Caribbean Cool and his bodyguard, Matt Morgan.^[34] preventing him from participating in a scheduled Six-Man Elimination match for the SmackDown! Championship. He successfully pinned Gene Snitsky in a Tag Team match, which turned into a singles match when both men's partners brawled backstage. After squashing his scheduled opponents for several weeks, Wight returned to his rivalry with Snitsky. On August 22, he foiled Snitsky's harassment of backstage interviewer Maria.^[35] On August 29, Snitsky hit Big Show with the ring bell immediately after Big Show had won a match.^[36] As a result, Big Show and Snitsky were placed in a match at Unforgiven, in which Big Show defeated Snitsky.^[37] On September 26, Big Show defeated Snitsky again in a Street Fight.^[38]

On October 17, Big Show defeated Edge and was thus entered in an online opinion poll, with the winner of the poll facing John Cena and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship at Taboo Tuesday 2005.^[39] The poll was won by Shawn Michaels, meaning that the other two options would wrestle for the World Tag Team Championships.^[40] Big Show teamed with Kane to defeat Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the Tag Team Championships.^[41]

In the weeks preceding Survivor Series 2005, Big Show became involved in the rivalry between the Raw and SmackDown! brands. Big Show and Kane invaded the November 11 episode of SmackDown! and, along with Edge, attacked Batista (inadvertently injuring him in the process).^[42] On the November 14 episode of Raw, Big Show and Kane defeated SmackDown! wrestlers and reigning WWE Tag Team Champions MNM in an inter-brand, non-title match.^[43] On November 21, Big Show and Kane "injured" Batista by delivering a double chokeslam onto the windshield of a car.^[44] At Survivor Series, Show, Kane, Carlito, Chris Masters, and team captain Shawn Michaels represented Raw in a match with Team SmackDown!: JBL, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, and Batista.^[45] Team SmackDown! won the match, with Orton being the sole survivor.^[45] On the November 29 episode of SmackDown!, Big Show wrestled Rey Mysterio in an inter-brand promotional match, however, Kane interfered, resulting in the match being declared a no-contest.^[46] Following the match, Big Show and Kane attacked Mysterio until The Undertaker chased them from the ring.^[46] Big Show and Kane returned to SmackDown! on December 2, defeating Mysterio and JBL after JBL abandoned the match, claiming the referee had poked him in the eye.^[47] Following the match, Big Show and Kane's attempt to assault Mysterio was once again foiled, this time when Batista ran in to see them off.^[47] As a result, on the December 16 episode of SmackDown!, Big Show and Kane were booked to face Batista and Mysterio, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, at Armageddon 2005.^[48] They won the match, which pitted the Tag Team Champions from each brand against one another.^[49]

On the December 12 episode of Raw, Big Show took part in a qualifying match for a shot at the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution 2006.^[50] Big Show lost to his opponent, Shawn Michaels, by disqualification after Triple H hit Michaels with a steel chair, intentionally costing Big Show the match and the title shot.^[50] In retaliation, Wight cost Triple H his qualifying match with Kane later that evening.^[50] On the December 26 episode of Raw, during the contract-signing for the announced match between Big Show and Triple H at New Year's Revolution, Triple H struck Big Show in the hand that Big Show apparently favors when using the chokeslam with his sledgehammer.^[51] The following week, Big Show attacked Triple H while wearing a cast on his hand, using the padding provided by the cast to punch a hole in a chair held by Triple H, destroying a monitor from the announcers' table that Triple H intended to throw at him, and chasing Triple H away from the ring.^[52] At New Year's Revolution, Triple H defeated Wight after striking him in the head with his sledgehammer.^[53]

Subsequently, Big Show was one of eight participants in the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, the winner of which would receive a shot at the WWE Championship.^[54] On the February 13 episode of Raw, Big Show faced Triple H in the tournament semi-finals in a match that ended in a double count-out.^[55] As a result, Big Show and Triple H faced Rob Van Dam (the winner of the opposing semi-finals) in a Triple Threat match to determine the winner of the tournament on the February 20 episode of Raw.^[56] The match was won by Triple H after he pinned RVD.^[56]

In the weeks following the tournament, Big Show and Kane feuded with Chris Masters and Carlito, leading to a World Tag Team Championships title match being scheduled for WrestleMania 22.^[57][58] Wight and Kane defeated Carlito and Masters, marking Big Show's first victory at WrestleMania after suffering six defeats.^[59] On the following evening, Big Show and Kane lost the World Tag Team Championships to Spirit Squad members Kenny and Mikey following copious interference from the other members of the Spirit Squad.^[60][61] They faced Spirit Squad members Johnny and Nicky in a rematch one week later, but lost via disqualification after Kane "snapped" and left the ring to attack the other members of the Spirit Squad.^[62] The ensuing feud between Kane and Big Show culminated in a match at Backlash 2006 that ended in a ruling of no-contest.^[63]

ECW Champion and departure (2006–2007)[link]

At WWE vs. ECW Head to Head on June 7, Big Show was drafted to the newly debuted ECW brand; he removed his Raw shirt to reveal an ECW shirt during a twenty man battle royal including members of the Raw and SmackDown rosters against members of the ECW roster.^[64] Big Show won the match for ECW by eliminating Randy Orton.^[64] Big Show then appeared at One Night Stand, attacking Tajiri, Super Crazy, and the Full Blooded Italians after their tag team match.^[65]

On the July 4 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Big Show beat Van Dam to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on an ECW show in Philadelphia with the assistance of ECW's General Manager Paul Heyman, who declined to make the three-count for Van Dam after Van Dam hit his finisher Five Star Frog Splash on the Big Show.^[66][67] Heyman then instructed Big Show to chokeslam Van Dam onto a steel chair, before making the three-count.^[66] The fans almost rioted when Big Show became the ECW World Champion, throwing drinks and empty cups into the ring, as Heyman and Big Show celebrated.^[68] The victory made him the first ever professional wrestler to hold the WWE Championship, WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and ECW World Heavyweight Championship.^[69] He is also the first non ECW Original to hold the ECW title. Over the next several weeks, Wight defeated many other wrestlers from other brands, such as Ric Flair and Kane to retain his championship but lost to Batista and The Undertaker by disqualification.^[69][70][71] He lost to the Undertaker, however, at The Great American Bash in the first ever Punjabi Prison match;^[72] he was a substitute for The Great Khali, who was removed by SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long and replaced with Big Show as punishment for an attack on The Undertaker shortly before the match.^[72] He also had a brief feud with Sabu, whom he defeated at SummerSlam.^[70][71][73]

At Cyber Sunday he faced John Cena and King Booker in a Champion of Champions match.^[74] The fans voted for King Booker's World Heavyweight Championship to be on the line.^[74] Booker won the match following interference from Kevin Federline, who was just beginning a feud with Cena at the time.^[74] At Survivor Series, Cena wrestled Big Show in a traditional 10-Man Survivor Series Tag Team Match, with Cena and Bobby Lashley leaving as the sole survivors of the match after Cena pinned Big Show to claim the victory due to a double team with Lashley.^[75] Big Show then began a feud with Lashley, who left SmackDown! to join the ECW brand to participate in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match at December to Dismember for the ECW Championship.^[76] After busting Big Show open by breaking one of the plexiglass pods with his face, Lashley speared and pinned him to claim the ECW Championship. On December 6, 2006 following an unsuccessful rematch, WWE.com announced that Big Show was taking time off from the ring to heal injuries he had sustained on ECW.^[77] After December to Dismember, Big Show told the WWE and he said "I'm a raw boned bastard that breaks things and moves the immovable objects. When I'm injured, I can't do those things," the Big Show told the official WWE website. "I'm much more valuable healthy both mentally and physically, and this hiatus will help me to get there." WWE announced that Wight's WWE contract had expired on February 8, 2007, at his 35th birthday.

PMG Clash of Legends (2007)[link]

After two month departure from WWE, Wight replaced Jerry "The King" Lawler when the WWE withdrew him from a match with former nWo partner Hulk Hogan at the PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007. Wight was introduced as Paul "The Great" Wight. He stated that "Big Show" was his slave name and that he didn't want to be owned anymore.^[78] Wight lost the match after Hogan picked him up and bodyslammed Wight and pinned him following the leg drop.

Return to WWE[link]

SmackDown (2008–2009)[link]

The Big Show arguing with referee Scott Armstrong.

A noticeably slimmer Wight returned to WWE under his last used ring name (The) Big Show, at No Way Out, on February 17, stating that he has lost 108 pounds, previously weighing at least 500 pounds^{[citation needed]} when he took time off from injuries. Wight then attempted to attack Rey Mysterio after his World Heavyweight Championship match with then champion Edge but got into a physical confrontation with boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. after Mayweather came from the crowd to defend his friend Rey. The confrontation ended with Mayweather breaking Wight's nose with a punching combination.^[79] Big Show was then assigned to the SmackDown brand.^[80]

Big Show lost to Mayweather at WrestleMania XXIV via knockout after a shot to the jaw with brass knuckles.^[81] Shortly after, Big Show entered a feud with The Great Khali, concluding at Backlash, where Big Show defeated Khali pinning him after executing a chokeslam.^[82]

At One Night Stand, Show defeated CM Punk, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero, and Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane match. During the bout, he received a black eye and deep gash along the eyebrow, which required stitches after John Morrison swung a Singapore cane to his knee, which caused Show to fall with the steps. As he fell, the steps accidentally moved to the right, which hit Show in the eye. The win gave him contention^[83] to face Kane and Mark Henry at Night of Champions for the ECW Championship, which Henry won by pinfall.^[84]

Big Show sided with Vickie Guerrero in her ongoing feud with The Undertaker by attacking him at Unforgiven, and later interfering in many of Undertaker's matches on SmackDown, most notably against Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Chavo Guerrero, and The Great Khali. He went on to defeat Undertaker by knockout at No Mercy. However, Show lost to him in a fan voted Last Man Standing match at Cyber Sunday and a Casket Match at Survivor Series. Show would then go on to lose a Steel Cage match against The Undertaker on SmackDown, ending the feud. At No Way Out, Show wrestled in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship, but lost after being the third person eliminated by Triple H.^[85] In March, it was revealed by John Cena that the Big Show was having secret relations with Vickie Guerrero. At WrestleMania XXV, Show was involved in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship featuring champion Edge and John Cena. Once again, he was unsuccessful as Cena won.^[86]

Raw and Unified Tag Team Champion (2009–2010)[link]

Big Show and Chris Jericho as the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, forming an alliance known as JeriShow.

On April 13, Big Show was drafted to the Raw brand as a part of the 2009 WWE Draft.^[87] At Backlash, Big Show interfered in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Cena and Edge when he threw Cena into a spotlight, thus resulting in Edge winning the title and Cena being seriously injured.^[88] He continued to feud with John Cena, losing to him at Judgment Day by pinfall and at Extreme Rules by submission by Cena's submission known as the STF,^[89][90] before defeating Cena on the June 22 episode of Raw to end the feud.^[91]

In the weeks prior to Night of Champions, Big Show constantly attacked U.S. Champion Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne among others. He would go on to develop a feud with Kingston for the U.S. Title and earn himself a spot in the six-pack challenge at Night of Champions. At the event, Big Show was announced as Chris Jericho's new tag team partner due to Edge needing time off to tend to an injury, thus taking Show out of the six-pack challenge for the U.S. Title. Together, Jeri-Show were able to successfully defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship against The Legacy.^[92] Jeri-Show would successfully defend their titles against Cryme Tyme at SummerSlam, MVP and Mark Henry at Breaking Point and also Rey Mysterio and Batista at Hell in a Cell.^[93][94][95] At Bragging Rights, Big Show represented Team Raw, but he betrayed and attacked his team-mates, which led to Team SmackDown winning, so that he could receive an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship.^[96] Big Show received his title shot at Survivor Series in a triple threat match against the Undertaker and Jericho, but the Undertaker successfully retained his title.^[97]

The 140 day reign of Jeri-Show as Unified Tag Team Champions came to an end at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view at the hands of D-Generation X (DX).^[98] As a member of the SmackDown roster, Jericho could only appear on Raw as a champion and so DX intentionally disqualified themselves in a rematch to force Jericho off the show.^[99] Eventually the teams had a match with a definitive finish, though DX still won, signalling the end of Jeri-Show.^[100]

Big Show during his second Unified WWE Tag Team Championship reign with the Miz (collectively known as ShoMiz) before their title defense at WrestleMania XXVI.

On the February 8 episode of Raw, Show regained the title from DX with his new tag team partner The Miz in a Triple Threat Tag Team Elimination match, which also included the Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows).^[101] On February 16, he and Miz successfully defended the title against Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust on the final episode of ECW.^[102] On the March 1 episode of Raw, Show and Miz defeated DX in their rematch.^[103] At WrestleMania XXVI, Show and Miz defeated John Morrison and R-Truth to retain the title again.^[104] At Extreme Rules ShoMiz was in a tag team gauntlet match where the tag team that beat ShoMiz would get a tag title match the next night on Raw. ShoMiz managed to beat the first two teams in the gauntlet match, the first team of John Morrison and R-Truth and the second team of MVP and Mark Henry. However, the third team, the Hart Dynasty managed to beat ShoMiz and thus they earned their title shot.^[105]

On the April 26, 2010 episode of Raw, Show and Miz lost the Unified Tag Team Titles to The Hart Dynasty.

Various feuds and reunion with Kane (2010-2011)[link]

After the title loss, Big Show struck Miz with a knockout punch and hugged Teddy Long.^[106] Later on in the night as part of the 2010 WWE Draft, Big Show was drafted back to the SmackDown brand.^[107]

Show at Tribute to Troops 2010.

He returned to the brand on the April 30 episode of SmackDown, and was subsequently named the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, later on in the night he interrupted World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger as he was giving his "State of Championship Address" and knocked him out with his signature punch. On the May 7 episode of SmackDown, Big Show sat ringside during the Swagger/Kane main event. After Swagger was disqualified, Show chokeslammed him through the announce table.^[108] He would also crash Swagger's achievement celebration and cost his match with Kofi Kingston in the following weeks. Big Show defeated Jack Swagger via disqualification at Over The Limit.^[109] On the May 27 episode of Smackdown, General Manager Thedore Long announced that qualifying matches were going to take place that night for the World Heavyweight Championship match at WWE Fatal 4-Way. Long then announced due to Jack Swagger losing his match with Big Show via disqualification at Over the Limit, Big Show qualified automatically, but was unsuccessful in.^[110] At WWE Fatal 4 Way he faced Rey Mysterio, CM Punk and Swagger for the World Heavyweight Title, but Mysterio won the title. The following night, Swagger debuted his new finishing move The Ankle Lock applied the submission move on Big Show, thus injuring his ankle and continuing their feud. Two weeks later on Smackdown, Big Show saved Rey Mysterio, whose ankle was injured by the same move, from Swagger. Later that night, Big Show fought Swagger to a double count-out. Soon he began a feud with CM Punk and his Straight Edge Society confronting him the Friday night before the Money in the Bank event and would unmask Punk revealing his bald head. After failing to win the ladder match for the Money in the Bank contract,^[111] he fought the mysterious masked member of the SES also unmasking him revealing Joey Mercury as the masked member. Show's feud with the Straight Edge Society continued after he defeated them in a 3 on 1 Handicap match at SummerSlam^[112] and CM Punk at Night of Champions.^[113] Big Show was announced as Team SmackDown's captain for Bragging Rights on the October 8 episode of SmackDown. At the event, Big Show was counted out with Sheamus during the match but his team ultimately won with Edge and Rey Mysterio left on the team.^[114] He was on Rey Mysterio's team for Survivor Series where he was a survivor along with Mysterio.^[115] The following episode of SmackDown, he was unsuccessful in qualifying for King of the Ring as he was defeated by Alberto Del Rio by count-out thanks to interference by his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez.

At the SmackDown tapings on January 4, Big Show participated in a Fatal 4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. He lost due to interference by former Nexus leader Wade Barrett. The next week, Show faced Barrett, and won via DQ, when former Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel attacked him. Moments later Ezekiel Jackson appeared to help him, but instead attacked Big Show. The next week, Barrett, Slater, Gabriel and Jackson informed that they had formed the Corre. In the following weeks, the Corre continued to assault Show, due to the size and power of Ezekiel Jackson. At Elimination Chamber, Show participated in the Elimination Chamber match, eliminating Wade Barrett before eliminated by Kane.^[116] Big Show would feud with the Corre in the following weeks.

On the March 4 episode of SmackDown, Big Show faced Kane in a confrontation until the Corre interfered on Kane's behalf.^[117] However, a miscommunication led to Kane turning on the Corre. Big Show and Kane thus reunited to take on the Corre. At WrestleMania XXVII, Big Show and Kane would team together with Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston to beat the Corre.^[118]

On the April 22 episode of SmackDown, the duo defeated Corre members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, their second championship win as a team.^[119] Big Show was drafted to Raw as a part of the 2011 WWE Draft. He and Kane then started feuding with the New Nexus. After defending the titles against Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson at Extreme Rules^[120] and CM Punk and Mason Ryan at Over the Limit,^[121] Kane and Big Show lost their titles to Michael McGilligutty and David Otunga on the following day on Raw.^[122] After losing the titles, Show was run over by Alberto Del Rio's car, driven by his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez, and was sidelined with an injury for almost a month. He returned during a match between Kane and Del Rio, attacking both Del Rio and Rodriguez.^[123]

Show then began feuding with Mark Henry after he attacked and injured him on the June 17 edition of SmackDown, as Big Show's frustrations and anger towards Del Rio was redirected unintentionally to Mark Henry. Henry retaliated by attacking Big Show during his match on Capitol Punishment and hitting him with the World Strongest Slam through the announce table, thus costing Show his match against Del Rio.^[124] Henry did same thing on Kane through the announce table the next day on Raw after their arm wrestling match, and again on the June 27 episode. Henry then broke the cage door during the steel cage between Big Show and Alberto Del Rio, allowing Del Rio to escape. He then attacked Show with the cage door, breaking the cage viciously. On July 17, 2011 at Money in the Bank, Henry defeated Big Show. After the match, Henry fractured Show's fibula, keeping him out of action for almost four months.^[125]

World Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion (2011–2012)[link]

Show after winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII.

On the October 7 episode of SmackDown, Show returned to SmackDown and became number-one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship after he attacked Mark Henry and chokeslammed him through the announcer table.^[126] At Vengeance Big Show fought Mark Henry to a no contest after the ring collapsed. Big Show faced Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship once again at Survivor Series winning via disqualification when Henry hit Show with a low blow, afterwards he leg dropped a steel chair on Henry's leg, much like what Henry did to Show months before.^[127] TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Big Show finally defeated Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Chairs Match. However, Henry would knock Big Show out with a DDT onto a steel chair and Daniel Bryan immediately cashed his Money in the Bank contract on Big Show to win the title from him causing Show to have the shortest World Heavyweight Championship reign lasting 45 seconds.^[128] Show challenged Bryan for his world title on the January 6, 2012 episode of SmackDown, but Bryan retained his title by disqualification when he goaded Mark Henry into attacking him.^[129] The following week on SmackDown, Show received a rematch for the title contested under no disqualification, no count-out rules. Bryan again retained his title as the rematch ended in a no contest after Show accidentally crashed into AJ (Bryan's storyline girlfriend) at ringside, injuring her.^[130] At the 2012 Royal Rumble event, Show faced Bryan and Henry in a triple threat steel cage match for the world title, but Bryan escaped the steel cage to retain his title.^[131] At the Elimination Chamber event, Show failed again to capture the World Heavyweight Championship after he was eliminated second by Cody Rhodes.^[132]

In the following weeks, Show would begin a feud with Rhodes after Rhodes would highlight Show's embarrassing moments in previous WrestleManias, often costing Show to lose matches in the process.^[133] At WrestleMania XXVIII, Big Show defeated Rhodes to win the Intercontinental Championship. With this, Big Show became the third wrestler to win every active men's championship in the WWE (after Kurt Angle and Edge).^[134] Show's feud with Rhodes would continue with Show highlighting embarrassing moments in Rhodes' career.^[135][136] After only a four week reign, Show would lose the title back to Rhodes at Extreme Rules in Tables match.^[137] Show received his rematch on the May 7 episode of Raw SuperShow, where he defeated Rhodes via countout after he walked out on the match.^[138]

Feud with John Cena (2012)[link]

After a series of confrontations with General Manager John Laurinaitis, Big Show was fired by Laurinaitis for making fun of his voice on the May 14 episode of Raw.^[139] Big Show returned at Over the Limit, appearing to help John Cena in his match with Laurinaitis. However, he hit an unsuspecting Cena with a WMD, allowing Laurinaitis to win the match by pinfall.^[140] The following night on Raw, Big Show explained that his actions were out of necessity to keep his job in the WWE, therefore resulting in Laurinaitis re-signing him to an "ironclad contract with a big fat bonus", also stating that nobody showed him any sympathy when he got fired.^[141]

Other media[link]

Show has been featured in infomercials for Stacker 2 with NASCAR drivers Kenny Wallace, Scott Wimmer, and Elliott Sadler, crew chief Jeff Hammond, and 2002, 2005, and 2011 Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart. In addition, Wight made a cameo appearance on the "Thong Song" remix music by Sisqó and Foxy Brown. Wight was featured on the game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, winning $15,000 for his chosen charity, United Service Organizations Inc.

A three disc DVD set focusing on Show's career titled The Big Show: A Giant's World was released on February 22, 2011.^[142]

On March 31, 2012, Big Show won the first ever Slime Wrestling World Championship at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, defeating The Miz after throwing him into a tub of slime.

Filmography[link]

• Reggie's Prayer (1996) as "Mr. Portola"
• Jingle All the Way (1996) as "Huge Santa"
• McCinsey's Island (1998) as "Little Snow Flake"
• The Waterboy (1998) as "Captain Insano"
• Little Hercules in 3-D (2006) as "Marduk"
• MacGruber (2010) as "Brick Hughes"
• Knucklehead (WWE Studios Production) (2010) as "Walter Krunk"

Television appearances[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2009)

• Thunder in Paradise (1994)
• Figure It Out (1998)
• Cousin Skeeter (March 18, 1999) in episode "Skeeter's Suplex"
• Shasta McNasty (October 5, 1999) in the pilot episode (as himself, wearing a pizza delivery guy's uniform)
• Sisqó's "Thong Song" remix music video (2000)
• The Cindy Margolis Show (September 8, 2000)
• The Weakest Link (November 12, 2001) – WWF Edition (First one voted off 6 votes)
• Saturday Night Live (March 18, 2000)
• TV total (April 29, 2002)
• One on One (November 25, 2002) in episode "Is It Safe?" as "Miles"
• Player$ (2004) in episode "Barenaked Players"
• MADtv (March 13, 2004)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (October 29, 2004) in episode "Borderland" as "Orion Slave Trader #1"
• Hogan Knows Best (2004–2005, 2007)
• Late Night with Kevin (September 27, 2005)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2008, 2009)
• Attack of the Show! (October 2, 2008)
• VH1 Top 20 Countdown (2009)
• Are You Smarter than A Fifth Grader? (Australian version) (August 10/17, 2009)
• The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (August 26, 2009)
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (April 11, 2010)
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (June 16, 2010)
• Royal Pains Season 2, Episode 3 "Keeping the Faith" (June 17, 2010)
• Supah Ninjas "Two Ton Harley" (April 23, 2011)
• 2011 Kids Choice Awards as himself/stunt driver
• Burn Notice' (2011) as "Griffin Black"^[143]
• The 2011 American Country Awards (December 5, 2011)
• 2012 Kids Choice Awards as himself/Wrestler against The Miz (March 31, 2012)

Video games[link]

Wight has appeared in every WWE video game since WWF Wrestlemania 2000 except for WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role ,WWF No Mercy where his story line character was replaced with Stevie Richards during the Right To Censor story line, and SmackDown vs Raw 2008 when he left WWE in 2007. Most recently, Wight has appeared in WWE All Stars and WWE '12.

Personal life[link]

Like André the Giant, Wight used to have acromegaly, a disease of the endocrine system. By the age of twelve, Wight was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall, weighed 220 lb (100 kg), and had chest hair. In 1991, as a member of the Wichita State University basketball team at age nineteen, Wight was listed at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m).^[144] He underwent successful surgery in the early 1990s on his pituitary gland, which halted the progress of this condition. His shoe size is 18 5 E, his ring size is 22, and his chest is 64 inches (160 cm) in circumference. Prior to attending Wichita State University, Wight attended Northern Oklahoma Junior College in Tonkawa, OK, competing on the basketball team. In 2005, Wight leased a bus and hired a bus driver because of the practical problems his size presents to air travel and car rental.^[145][146] Wight played basketball and football in high school at Wyman King Academy in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina.^[8] He was a standout center for the basketball team and a tight end for the football team. While at Wichita State University, Wight played basketball. Wight also attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 1992 to 1993, was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Cougars basketball team, and is a member of the Xi Beta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. During his one year at SIUE, Wight scored a total of thirty-nine points for the Cougars in limited action.^[147]

In December 1998, Wight was arrested and detained for allegedly exposing himself to a hotel clerk in Memphis, Tennessee. Wight was later released due to a lack of evidence.^[148]

Wight married his first wife, Melissa Ann Piavis, on February 14, 1997. They separated in 2000 and their divorce was finalized on February 6, 2002. Together, they have a daughter named Cierra.^[149] On February 11, 2002,^[149] he married his second wife, Bess Katramados. Together they have two children.^[150]

In March 1999, Wight was charged with assault by Robert Sawyer, who alleged that Wight had broken his jaw during the summer of 1998 in the course of an altercation at Marriott Hotels & Resorts in Uniondale, New York. Wight claimed that Sawyer had verbally abused, threatened, and shoved him, and that he had responded by punching Sawyer. After three days, Judge Thomas Feinman delivered a verdict of not guilty.^{[151][152][153]}

In wrestling[link]

Big Show performing a Chokeslam.

Big Show delivers a open-hand chop to Alberto Del Rio in the corner.

• Finishing moves
  • Chokeslam^[4]
  • Cobra clutch, sometimes from a cobra clutch backbreaker^[154] – 2006
  • Colossal Clutch (Camel clutch)^[4] - 2009-2010
  • Showstopper^[155] (Inverted leg drop bulldog)^[150] - 2002-2006; used as a signature move thereafter
  • WMD – Weapon of Mass Destruction (Right-handed knockout hook)^[4] – 2008–present

• Signature moves
  • Abdominal stretch^[156]
  • Bearhug^[157]
  • Big boot^[1][156]
  • Fallaway powerbomb^[1]
  • Final Cut (Inverted headlock spinning elbow drop)^[1][150] - 2001-2007
  • Headbutt^[158]
  • Military press slam^[1]
  • Open-handed chop to a cornered opponent's chest^[158]
  • Sidewalk slam^[150]
  • Spear^[159]

• Managers
  • Jimmy Hart^[160]
  • Shane McMahon^[161]
  • Paul Bearer^[161]
  • Paul Heyman^[161]
  • Joy Giovanni^[161]

• Nicknames
  • "The World's Largest Athlete"^[162]

• Entrance themes
  • "Big" by Jim Johnston^[163] (April 1999–May 29, 2006)
  • "Unholy Alliance" by Jim Johnston (1999; Used while teaming up with The Undertaker)
  • "Big (Remix)" by Mack 10, K Mac, Boo Kapone, and MC Eiht^[164] (May 2000)
  • "Crank the Walls Down" by Maylene and the Sons of Disaster^[163] (July 31, 2009–January 2010; Used while teaming up with Chris Jericho)
  • "I Came to Crank It Up" by Downstait and Brand New Sin^[165] (February 8, 2010–April 25, 2010; Used while teaming up with The Miz)
  • "Crank It Up" by Brand New Sin^[163] (June 7, 2006-December 6, 2006, February 17, 2008–present)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Big Show as the ECW World Heavyweight Champion

The Big Show as WWE Intercontinental Champion in April 2012.

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Rookie of the Year (1996)^[7][166]
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year (1996)^[7][166]
  • PWI ranked him #2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1996^[166][167]