The Big Show Reveals Original WrestleMania 24 Plans And Why They Were Changed
On the first installment of WWE Film Room, WWE Monday Night RAW play-by-play commentator Michael Cole caught up with former world champion, well, it's The Big Show! In this episode, The Big Show talked about his WrestleMania 24 match versus boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Notably, The Big Show said he knew about the match within a few weeks of shooting their initial confrontation angle at No Way Out (2008).
"I think this came about within a couple of weeks after that incident went down." Big Show continued, "Vince [McMahon] got together with Mayweather's crew and they put together a plan and this is something that Mayweather wanted to do."
The Big Show shared that the WrestleMania match was originally supposed to be a tag team match.
"It's funny," The Big Show said, "the original thing was supposed to be a tag. It was supposed to be, I think, Batista and Rey against Floyd and myself. Rey got hurt. Batista got hurt. And then, it manifested into 'Giant vs. Boxer'."
On the subject of his WrestleMania 24 entrance, 'The World's Largest Athlete' admitted that he was did not see his pyro coming, but he promised he knew he was excited.
"That was amazing for me because I remember throwing up that chokeslam, that signal there, and the pyro went. I didn't even know I was getting pyro, so when the pyro went off, like, I'm hyped now, pacing back and forth right now. I mean, I could pull the trunk off a Buick right now, I'm telling you. I'm excited."
Also, Big Show noted that Mayweather's ring attire probably cost more than his first house.
"I think his outfit that he's wearing right there cost more than probably the first house I bought." The Big Show added, "I'll be honest with you, that's full mink or something like that. It's liike mink and some kind of exotic lizard leather or something."
When Cole asked if The Big Show was jealous of the attention Mayweather received during their angle, 'The Giant' joked that he noticed that 'Money' got "more pyro" in his WrestleMania entrance after responding in the negative.
"I've never been jealous of anyone outside of our business coming in and being a part of our business and exuding success or confidence because I always look at everyone else that does well as an opportunity for myself."
The Big Show said he tells the younger talent today to have presence and command a room and that is something Mayweather understood immediately.
"[Mayweather] understands the one part of our business that's very important for characters and I tell the young guys all the time, 'you've got to have a presence. You've got to be able to walk into a room and command a room. You've got to be able to walk down that entrance and command the entrance. Mayweather, you could tell, he just ate it up."
Apparently, The Big Show caught a "chewing" from Mayweather's grandmother during the match and the undefeated boxer had to calm her down.
"His grandmother was just really upset with me for that chop on Floyd," The Big Show recalled. "She was severely upset. She basically gave me a chewing like I was a six-year-old that was trampling her flower garden for slapping her grandbaby and I didn't do anything but [reply] 'yes, ma'am. Uh-huh. Yes, ma'am. Mm-hmm.' It was Floyd who actually calmed her down and said, 'no, mama. It was in the battle. It was okay.' And then, she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek."
The Big Show complemented Mayweather, claiming the boxing great was a better "pro" than many performers with whom he has shared a ring.
"I didn't know how Floyd was going to work in front of 70,000 people." The Big Show continued, "I didn't know if he'd go into business for himself. He was a better pro in the ring than some guys that I've been in the ring with that have trained for this and done this for years."
While The Big Show does not care about winning or losing, in his view, the match was one of the most memorable things the big man has done in professional wrestling.
"I lost, which I don't really count winning and losing." The Big Show said, "I care about trying to tell good stories and have good matches. It was one of the best things I've been a part of in my career."
Check out the big bad show tonight in the video above. If you use any of the quotations from this article, please credit WWE Film Room with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.