The Bigger, the Better? Not Really
Will The Great Khali follow in Big Show's footsteps?
In the wake of The Great Khali's World Heavyweight Championship victory, this article compares the Indian giant to WWE's last monster, The Big Show.
Over the years, professional wrestling has been considered a sport for the big, bad and brawny. Pipsqueaks need not apply.
And the World Heavyweight championship victory by The Great Khali seems to reinforce this point. WWF Chairman Vince McMahon has always had an affinity for larger-than-life characters. (Is this a shock, considering that his on-air persona of "Mr. McMahon" is arguably one of most outlandish, arrogant characters on TV???) And he's always loved the big guys, from Andre the Giant to Hulk Hogan. From the Ultimate Warrior to Sid Justice/Vicious, McMahon has always harbored big aspirations for the big guys.
But, with the exception of Hulk Hogan, McMahon has almost always mismanaged his bigger, badder talent and had to rely on the more "average" sized workers to be the backbone of his company. Even the Undertaker's been saddled with poor luck...it's a testament to Mark Calloway's talent and passion that we've been watching a wrestling zombie for over 15 years. And, yes, I know the "average" pro wrestler is still a very large person, but we're speaking comparatively here.
When looking at The Great Khail, it certainly appears Vince has just invested in another dud. A big (very big) man--listed at 7'3" and 420 pounds--with limited mobility and a sparse offensive, Khali relies on his sheer size advantage in the ring and little more. In addition, Khali has no ability on the microphone and all the charisma you would get from a toaster oven. Frankly, he's a poor choice for a champion.
This is in stark contrast to a former WWE wrestler who has a lot in common in Khali physically. Listed at 7'4 and anywhere from 450 to 550 pounds, Paul Wight, or the Big Show, was, until recently, the WWE's resident massive monster. Wight had it all for such a big man. He could wrestle just about any other style, from the powerful slug-it-out style during his battles with Kane or the Undertaker, to faster paced affairs against Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio. And Wight was a good talker too; he could intimidate or charm, be funny or deadly serious with no problem.
But was Wight used correctly? Of course not. The big man should've been the most unstoppable grappler since Andre the Giant, but instead, was up and down during his time in the WWF/E, never holding the company's top prize for long, although he did manage three championship reigns (plus two stints as WCW's top dog). His matches with Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker were all top quality bouts, but it always seemed Wight came up on the wrong end.
While that does help establish the smaller opponent as a force and wrestling fans love the "David vs. Goliath" storyline, it never really gave Wight the dominant image he should have projected as the "Largest athlete in the world." Face it: Wrestlers as large as Wight and Khali should dominate everyone, like Andre did. Why they aren't booked as such is a mystery.
Given McMahon's fascination with size, it's amazing how poor his track record with larger wrestler has been since Andre. It's just not believable to see a man over 7-feet tall losing to much smaller opponents as often as Wight did as Big Show. Vince's big guy obsession has given Khali the ball, but I really don't think, in the long run, Khali will do much running with it.
