By Jeremy Maes, The DEJ District

So, um, who’s the guy in the Big Show costume?

It can’t be Paul Wight out there looking motivated, cutting stellar promos, and acting like the, um, big deal he was supposed to be in 1999. It has to be an actor on stilts in side a large husk of skin portraying Big Show. It is the only thing that can explain this sudden resurgence in intensity and character.

When Paul “Big Show” Wight left WWE at the end of 2006 he left behind a lackluster near ten year run with WWE. In that time he put on a gross amount of weight and it limited his in ring ability as well as his marketability. When he left WWE he looked broken down and exhausted.

When he started in WCW in 1995 he was a young, skinny Giant and was billed as unbeatable. He was the closest thing to Andre the Giant that wrestling has ever had. He had charisma and conducted himself correctly. He didn’t say much and let his stature and, in the ring, his charisma carry him to a successful run for his first few years in the business. He was so unbeatable that he survived a fall off of Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan in a monster truck and returned that same night to defeat Hulk Hogan for the World Heavyweight Title. Sure it was by disqualification but who cares. He survived falling off the top of an arena to wrestle the same night.

It helped having Hulk Hogan as an ally. His success early on was dependant on Hogan needing a “big” threat instead of the smaller WCW workers Hogan had been fed after he ran out of the guys he brought in. He joined the NWO and the wheels slowly started grinding to a halt. He gained a tremendous amount of weight and just looked bored. Having friends in high places certainly helps and his job security was never in question. The thought of Hogan letting Bischoff fire him were slim since it would mean Vince would scoop him up and make him a star.

When Show’s contract with WCW was up he considered his options and his good friend, the Hulkster told him WWF was the best place to be. Hogan’s business sense was dead on as Paul Wight should have flourished in to a huge star. It was rather interesting Hogan would lose such an ally and a wrestler who could make money for WCW. It was bad business for WCW but good business for Big Show.

When Paul debuted for WWF, tossing Steve Austin in to the side of a steel cage, he made a solid statement. He was a tad trimmer, his hair more unkempt and he wore slimming black. It seemed like he would be pushed straight to a main event slot with Steve Austin. It became clear very soon though that WWF had inherited an uninspired talent with a sense of entitlement. He was Hogan’s buddy and Hogan made WWF. Vince clearly saw through this and did not alter plans for WrestleMania and instead, Paul jobbed clean to Austin on Raw and then lost to Mankind at WrestleMania What should have been a fortuitous career move quickly fell apart.

He was then constantly ridiculed about his weight and was taken off of the WWF product for a long spell and sent to OVW for conditioning. WWF signed him to a rumored ten year contract and they had to put him in development to get in shape.

It wasn’t as if he did not have political allies in WWF to keep him straight. He routinely would lose some pounds but then upon his return to the roster gain it back. Jim Ross would constantly mention him in his “Ross Report” as having weight issues that need addressed. As soon as Ross would post that Big Show was sent to developmental again.

After yo-yoing around for two years Show finally found a solid spot in WWF. He flourished for a while on Smackdown and his run in ECW was inspired as well. It helped that he was in the ring with some great wrestlers such as Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately for fans, his contract was coming up and he declined a renewal. He dabbled in a possible boxing career and even had a match, sorry, a rematch of WrestleMania 3 with Hulk Hogan in Memphis, TN. How it was a rematch? I don’t know.

Apparently the time off has done him some good though. He looks inspired again. He looks like the guy, if a decade older, who debuted with WCW. It is once again evident why he could have been a huge star instead of a star wrestler.

The bags under the eyes are much, much smaller. The gut has receded and his posture has improved. The reduction in weight is the key to Big Shows revival. The added weight made him look like on oaf in the television. In person he was a huge man and legitimately intimidating. The problem is that the audience for a television program is much larger on a weekly basis than a house show audience. The television show, be it Raw or Smackdown, are the catalyst for WWE’s product.

How many times does the audience need to hear just how big the Big Show is before it falls on def ears. Apparently Shane McMahon figured it out and remedied the situation before Big Show came back.

There is a clear booking directive behind big Show right now. This is probably the clearest view of him sine his initial debut in WCW. WWE is using him as a true giant much like thirteen years ago. Instead of imitating other wrestlers because he was funny on Saturday Night Live or fighting over his fake dead dad, WWE has taken him and made him intimidating.

During his return, the argument can be made he looked weak. Floyd Mayweather “broke” his nose. Yes Big Show gave him a free shot, or three, but allowing Big Show to take punishment and show he is human should have been a wrong choice. Instead, after taking the blow, he stood up while the boxer fled and he shook off the pain. I have been punched in the nose and your eyes water instantly. You don’t feel like continuing really but Paul Wight did just that. He took a shot to the nose from a boxer, pulled punch or not, and then chased him away. WWE made him look superhuman instead if a lethargic, overweight man. This was the moment where Big Show returned.

Even though the build up for Mayweather-Big Show has been suspect the blame cannot be pinned on Paul Wight. He has done stellar work on the mic showing skills no one thought he had. He was a decent promo before but they usually depended on him yelling, grunting and snarling instead of articulating points. Also the words either chosen for him or ad-libbed by Big Show have been straight and to the point. He is huge. He can beat anyone he pleases without much effort. It is the exact thing people who see him think. They see this large man and wonder how anyone can beat him. It does not matter the athletic ability or toughness of others. Since Big Show is so large e is the obvious choice to win in a fight. WWF/E tainted that before. Couple that with Big Shows failing health and desire and his character were ruined. He looked average but not any longer

It also helps having Big Show being featured with an average man. Yes, Floyd Mayweather is athletic and in much better shape than anyone reading this but he is not a bulked up wrestler like Big Show usually faces. The contrast of their two sizes is another large part of this Big Show resurgence. The weight loss is much more noticeable now. If he was in the ring with a significantly bulkier wrestler like Triple H or Umaga the difference would not be as grand. Big Shows presentation has improved significantly.

Feeding Jericho to Show last Monday helped in the fact that Jericho is an established star. He is not a faceless jobber going against Show in a fake MMA fight or whatever. Jericho put a tad bit of doubt that Big Show will roll over Mayweather but it comes at the idea that Jericho is a champion. It was established how good Jericho was and just how much more physically dominate Jericho is than Mayweather.

If WWE plays out WrestleMania they will have a motivated, healthier and physically talented big Show that they can insert on Smackdown and challenge the Undertaker, Edge, Batista ,Umaga (Wait till WrestleMania, you’ll see.), Kane and whoever else they want to throw at him. Big Show has no place on Raw as they have the undersized talent compare to the muscle and girth on Smackdown. All of that is for another time.

What we have right now is a resurgence of someone that was not living up to the potential mark and the mark of impending success. Hopefully Big Show can keep himself at this healthy standard. He could still lose some additional weight and make him more durable and slow down the eventual wearing down on his knees and back. A healthy Big Show makes for a better WWE and a better product. It now depends on WWE and himself to make sure it is sustained.

Jeremy Maes is the “J” of the DEJ Audio Experience. You can listen to that group of organized crime perpetrators every Wednesday night on the member’s portion of PWTorch.com. You can read Jeremy’s thoughts every Sunday on PWTorch.com. You can even contact Jeremy or any member of the DEJ faction on the PWTorch VIP Forum, or by email at theaudioexperience@gmail.com.