Would Big Show have been pushed differently if Andre didn't exist?
 

After watching the Show/Andre fantasy match up in the YouTube thread I got to wondering if Big Show would have gotten a bigger push and especially more celebrity if Andre hadn't come before him?

I think Show would be seen as having a more important role in wrestling overall if a huge wrestler like him hadn't been done before him on WCW's and WWF's level.

So what do you think? Would Show have been a bigger star if Andre hadn't existed? Did Show come into the business too late for him to be seen as a spectacle equal to the status Andre was seen?

Here's the video, thanks to Gerard for posting it:

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Are we also ruling out El Gigante since he was a shit wrestler with no lasting legacy?

Everyone else existed except Andre, so no, I'm not ruling him out.

We could expand this to giants over all if we're so inclined.

If Show were the first true "giant" then I think absolutely he would have been pushed differently. I think he probably would have gotten Andre's push if not something similar. At the time Andre came about you had some big men but Andre was in a class of his own. Show, however, came in during a time where there were more than a couple of 7+ footers, and though most of them sucked donkey dick, it took away from Show's uniqueness. Now he is just one of many tall men and while occasionally getting a push, is no where near as respected and revered as Andre.

I always thought it was dumb for WCW to originally bill him as Andre's son. He didn't need that really. Just be billed as a monster, especially since he was in the Dungeon of Doom (he was probably the only one that made sense in that stable)

Show was a spectacle as the Giant in WCW. He was so f'n big, but he was ripped as well. He was scary. With all the weight he has gained he doesn't look nearly as imposing IMO. But back in the day he was fierce. I think Wight is everything Andre should have been, and Andre had the situation that Paul Wight needed to get to that level of legend.

Brooklyn Brawler is full of shit. Big Show is def. stronger than Andre. Watch the video. When Andre tries to bodyslam a normal sized guy he struggles and looks like his legs are going to give out on him at any moment. Big Show is undoubtedly stronger and 100 times more agile..

I was eight or so when that happend, but I remember thinking that it is only possible for this to be the child of Andre. It didn't enter my mind that it couldn't have been.

THIS. Very well put. :y:

Confidential was the best wrestling show with no wrestling on it ever produced.

Indeed!

Yeah, have to agree there.

I doubt it. You have to look at era's. Big Show came along in post kayfabe. People knew it was fake. Big Show pretty much was pushed to the moon and debuted in a time when wrestling was down.
Andre came along when the vast majority thought wrestling was real, and was marketed in a way where people truly believed he was a monster. Also, Andre came along when only dirtsheets were available and it was an event when Andre came to town, as the WWF wasn't on a national scale like they were during the Rock n Wrestling era.

Acromegaly fucked Andre's legs and back up and ultimately contributed to his death. It was a known fact in wrestling that Andre was always supposed to be slammed near the ropes so he could use them to get up because of the effects of the disease. It's amazing that despite that, he still had so much success. Show on the other hand seems to have gotten complacent the past few years.

Last few!? Last 10 more like!

But would it have been if Mean Gene Okerlund hadn't been the host?

lol at the kayfabed video

Yeah don't forget the big man was sick for many years due to this but loved to entertain us... However, doesn't sway my vote that the SHOW would have excelled faster and character might have been given more light to shine... I have always thought they've misused his talents... He is hilarious on the mic, and I think they could have always used him much better than in the past...