Big Show finally did something he hasn’t done in a very long time: he won a high profile match. Big Show beat Sheamus at Hell In A Cell and he did it in dominating fashion. No, the whole match wasn’t a squash but he kicked out of a Brogue Kick and knocked the former champion out twice. (On a similar note, gives props to Sheamus for taking two KO punches)
Big Show finally came through on one of his promises and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I can’t be alone in thinking I was sick and tired of seeing him pushed, only to lose at a pay-per-view. I wrote a few months back that his program with John Cena was going to end the same way, so there’s no real reason to care about him. I will go out on a limb and say Big Show is one of the most horribly misused wrestlers in recent memory. He addressed all of the crap he’s gone through in his career back in June, but he still lost. Big Show got sucked in to a pattern of squashing a few guys leading up to a pay-per-view, then he would take a backseat for a while. I am actually glad he won the title for a few reasons, but most importantly, winning the World Heavyweight Championship gave him back some credibility that I personally believe he was lacking.
Sheamus was a good champion, and some may say he got stale, but I say he was just hard to defeat. Give him credit for being seen as a guy who deserved such a long title reign in the first place. If you want to make any argument against it, the multiple matches against Alberto Del Rio is what got repetitive and stale, not Sheamus himself. I appreciate seeing a dominant face champion, and he got beat by a guy who warned him not to take him lightly. I see a little bit of another Big Show feud in the current storyline, with Sheamus playing the Brock Lesnar role and Show speaking for himself instead of having Paul Heyman as a mouthpiece. Big Show warned Sheamus he wasn’t joking around and would beat him, just like Heyman warned Brock that he couldn’t beat the Big Show. (Heyman made sure he was right by assisting Big Show, and Show did it with his own skills this time, but you can understand the warning was there) Big Show has been involved in both of these programs and I think he will help Sheamus just like he did with Brock several years ago.
Brock Lesnar was booked as an unstoppable monster until he ran into the Big Show, and Sheamus has been on a hot streak but I wouldn’t call him unbeatable eventhough his record would make you say otherwise. Brock learned from his mistakes and his character benefitted from the setbacks, and I see the same thing from Sheamus in the coming weeks. He can still be the Irish Hooligan that is powerful in the ring, but I think we will see him more focused and he really will take Show’s advice of taking things more seriously. Big Show warned him and Sheamus said he believed him, but Show’s win gave him a lot more ammunition to use to argue. Big Show finally got the win he needed and it not helped him, but I see it helping Sheamus‘ persona and the guy who eventually beats Big Show, whether it be Dolph Ziggler, someone new, or Sheamus himself.
I would like to see Big Show have a lengthy dominating run, but I don’t think it’s going to happen considering what time of year it is. The seeds for Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania are already being planted and I don’t see him being in a main event, but I can hope. Big Show is getting a title run similar to Mark Henry’s run where they made him look dominant for awhile, but it was generally accepted as a ‘thank you’ reign. I wish we didn’t think like that, or WWE would reward people for work instead of longevity, but that’s beside the point. Big Show, much like Mark Henry and even Kane, when built up properly, can be a viable asset. I really wanted Henry to take the title through Wrestlemania and keep adding people to the ‘Hall of Pain’, but the plans changed and he got injured.
I hope WWE gives Big Show more of a chance, and I don’t want to see them prematurely pull the trigger on putting someone else over. Make it mean something. Make Big Show’s reign mean something important, and make the guy who beats him have an equally as important win. Big Show’s win was important to reestablishing him as a credible threat, and I hope he gets more time to remind people why he was given a chance in the first place.
