The Associated Press felt the need to report on a death hoax involving The Big Show, originally started by an unknown wrestling blog back on December 10th. A WWE spokesperson responded to The AP and confirmed that Show is alive and well. Below is The AP’s story:
AP FACT CHECK: WWE wrestler Big Show not dead
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A story reported by a blog called “WWE” that claimed professional wrestling star “Big Show” had died in a car accident is false.
Chris Bellitti, a spokesman for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., (WWE) said Tuesday that the “Big Show,” whose real name is Paul Donald Wight II, is alive and well. He also said the blog site is not affiliated with the legitimate WWE site.
On Dec. 10, the short, poorly written blurb claimed the star had been admitted to a hospital and died.
On Monday, the 44-year-old tweeted a photograph of himself training in the gym. The tweet was reposted by WWE’s official Twitter account.
– In addition to The Undertaker being backstage at last night’s RAW, his wife Michelle McCool and her daughters watched the show from ringside.
– After RAW went off the air, Rusev came to the ring to cut a promo on Enzo Amore and Big Cass. This brought out Cass, who cleared the ring and sent fans home happy.
– Trish Stratus revealed on Lilian Garcia’s latest podcast that she and her husband are expecting their first baby girl soon. Trish previously gave birth to a baby boy. Trish announced her second pregnancy back in the fall but is just now revealing the gender.
– Charlotte and Big Show are on their way to Afghanistan to meet troops. Footage from the trip will air on the WWE Tribute to the Troops next week. No word yet on if Vince McMahon is with them.
WWE Superstar Big Show was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet from WSVN-TV out of Miami and revealed that he’s lost 70 pounds and currently weighs 396 pounds. Big Show said it’s the lightest weight he’s been since 1995, with his highest weight topping out at over 530. He was asked if he’s really 7-foot-4 and admitted he’s actually “over 7 feet” but not as tall as his billed height.
Regarding his supposed match against Shaquille O’Neil at WrestleMania 33, Big Show says a deal is not in place just yet and he can’t confirm it will actually happen. “We’ll see what happens between now and then,” he said. Both he and Shaq have “a lot of little people” that have to sit down and hammer out a deal. “The invitation is there. Show up and get smacked up.” Now there’s an offer.
Other topics discussed include Jon Cena being the strongest WWE Superstar to ever pick him up, the next generation of Superstars he’s got his eye on (Baron Corbin, Big Cass, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks and Charlotte) and his upcoming match against Shaquille O’Neil at WrestleMania 33 in April.
– It looks as though production is getting ready to begin once again on WWE Studios’ “The Fall Guy.” The film, which will be the first WWE Studios project to star Dwayne Johnson, was originally optioned in July 2010 and went through continuous revisions for four years. The Rock signed on to star in the film in September of 2013. The film features a Hollywood Stuntman by the name of Colt Seavers, who moonlights as a bounty hunter using his unordinary abilities. According to IMDB, Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz—of X-Men: First Class—are writing the script and the director will be McG, who’s directed blockbuster films like Charlie’s Angels and Terminator Salvation.
– To celebrate 700,000 subscribers on his “UpUpDownDown” YouTube channel, WWE Tag Team Champion Xavier Woods plays Destiny with Big Show:
– The newest WWE Top 10 features Cruiserweight Classic exclusive maneuvers, seen here:
– Below are photos of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella from Sunday night’s 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. As noted, Bryan and Brie worked the E! Entertainment Television pre-show before the ceremony:
Fans in attendance at Friday night’s WWE live event from Manila, Philippines were treated to quite a spectacle. During a match between John Cena and the Big Show, the ring ropes snapped when Big Show was in the corner setting up for a Vader bomb. Check out the footage, courtesy of @ryansongalia:
– WWE Total Divas is filming a lot of footage for next season in New York City during SummerSlam weekend. Paige was featured prominently until news of her suspension broke. Next season will reportedly focus on Paige’s rehab and return to wrestling.
– WWE was on hand at the New York Stock Exchange this Friday, as Kane, Big Show, and Intercontinental Champion the Miz rang the closing bell. Below are photos courtesy of the Big Show:
– Below is the first part of Finn Balor’s multi-part SummerSlam Diary. Cameras will follow the “Demon King” around New York this weekend as he prepares for his Universal Championship match against Seth Rollins.
– This week’s WWE Power Rankings were headed up by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose at #1, and finished with AJ Styles at #20:
– Cody Rhodes is back in the ring. He returned to action last night at EVOLVE 66 in Maryland against WWE Cruiserweight Classic Competitor Zack Sabre, Jr. Rhodes defeated Sabre in the main event with the “American Nightmare.” After the match concluded, the two shook hands and Cody discussed his passion for the professional wrestling business. He noted that he’ll continue working with EVOLVE, but will not be joining Drew Galloway’s faction.
– TMZ Sports recently spoke with the Big Show regarding UFC Fighter Conor McGregor and anti-professional wrestling statements made last week. Big Show says he’s still a fan of Conor, and respects what he’s done “in the ring.” He says Conor is a trash-talker and wishes him the best with everything he does, noting that he’s not sure if Conor was shooting an angle or not. Full video from the impromptu interview can be seen below:
– The clip below features former NXT Champion Finn Balor discussing his upcoming Universal Title match against Seth Rollins tomorrow night at SummerSlam:
– Big Show says he plans to retire after next year’s WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view from Orlando. During an appearance on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket (Miami) earlier this week, WWE’s largest athlete confirmed that he’s currently training for his match against Shaquille O’Neal. At 44, he feels better than he did ten years ago. His goal is to get into the best shape he possibly can for the match with Shaq and then ride off into the sunset.
– Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustlewebsite has published an exclusive video of the recent Bikini Invitational pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley was right in the middle of the action, along with NFL star Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, former OVW wrestler Jen Thomas and a bunch of super models.
– With a WrestleMania 33 showdown against Shaquille O’Neal still 8 months away, the Big Show looks to be getting himself in tremendous physical shape. Show tweeted the following picture on Monday showing off his weight loss:
– Reddit user dvizzle with knowledge of WWE championship belts in the past has indicated that WWE’s new Universal Championship will be a variation of the current WWE World Championship held by Dean Ambrose. To match the color scheme of the belts’ respective brands, the Universal Championship will have a red background while Ambrose’s belt will be updated with a blue background. The user noted last week that he’s awaiting confirmation on this mock-up:
The first-ever WWE Universal Champion will be crowned at SummerSlam on August 21st when Seth Rollins faces the “Demon King” Finn Balor.
Big Show recently spoke with Shanghai Daily while doing WWE promotional work in China and confirmed that he’ll be facing NBA legend Shaquille O’Neil at next year’s WrestleMania 33 event from Orlando, Florida.
“We’ll have one heck of a match and we’ll see what’s up,” he said. “We’ll give the fans a treat.”
WWE has been teasing a high-profile singles match between the two giants for many years now, with Shaq even making a surprise appearance in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania earlier this year. Now, it seems this special attraction is officially a go.
Big Show also commented on his eventual retirement from the ring, which he says will be happening sooner than later.
“I’ve had a 21-year career,” he reflected. “I’m looking forward to retirement actually. It’d be nice to actually see my family. I’ve earned my limited schedule and now it’s the twilight for me. I get to do media, talk to fans, and tour the world and go out with a nice casual wave goodbye; and I’m happy with that.”
As seen on last night’s SmackDown Live, Commissioner Shane McMahon confirmed WWE Backlash on 9/11 from Richmond, VA will be the first brand-exclusive PPV of the new Brand Extension era.
It’s worth noting that John Cena is not being advertised for Backlash, as he’s scheduled to compete in a WWE live event in Shanghai, China the prior night.
On a related note, John Cena is working at least one RAW brand event in the coming months. He was just added to the 9/9 RAW live event in Manila, Philippines, where he’ll face Big Show.
It looks like the Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal match is actually happening at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando next year.
After Shaq and Show did battle at WrestleMania 32 earlier this year during the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, they have gave various interviews on possibly having a singles match with each other.
The two just met on the red carpet of the ESPN ESPY Awards tonight in LA and as seen below, WWE is hyping a match between them:
The Miami Herald ran an interview with The Big Show today where he speaks on the new era of talent in WWE, and seems to hint that he’s contemplating retiring from in-ring action.
“I came in as the youngest in the locker-room by 10 years in 1995, and now I’m one of the old ones still out there,” said the former World Heavyweight Champion. “We’ve got a lot of young, new, great talent deserving of TV time; they’re building their brand. New storylines for them. It’s a changing of the guard.”
When asked about his role and future with WWE, Show commented that “all great things come to an end.” He indicated that he’s looking for projects outside of the the company, but that his “heart is with WWE.”
“I love helping the younger talent. I love representing WWE like with Make-A-Wish, Be a STAR, Special Olympics. I think I’ll always have a home in WWE,” he said. “I’ve had a great career and had a lot of fun. So whatever happens in the future, I’m gonna take it. If I get a phone call tomorrow, and Vince [McMahon] says, ‘Thank you very much. I appreciate everything you’ve done.’ Well, that said, I can hold my head high and go on and do other things.”
Big Show concluded by saying he’s thankful for still having his health, and being able to step into the ring every now and then to do what he loves. You can read his entire interview here.
– WWE stock closed at $17.43 per share today, up 2.17% after the First Quarter financial results.
– Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, Kane and Big Show were reportedly not brought to WWE TV tapings this week but they did work weekend live events, according to PWInsider. Sheamus mentioned on Twitter yesterday that he was given the day off.
– Rosa Mendes has penned a blog about being a new mother for WWE.com.
– John Cena co-hosted NBC’s Today show again this morning. He’ll be back on Friday.
Thanks @TODAYshow ! Headed now to #InvictusGames but will be back Friday. Any requests for suit color choice? (Unleash interweb humor here)
– The Third-Edition of the WWE Encyclopedia will be released on 10/24, with several of the biggest Superstars in history are featured on the cover. Noticeable omissions include Hulk Hogan and Triple H.
Big Show and Shaquille O’Neal continue to tease a one-on-one match for next year’s WrestleMania.
Shall spoke to TMZ Sports this week and said he’s ready to throw down against WWE’s giant – but whether or not the match happens is entirely up to Vince and Shane McMahon. Shall things Big Show is scared and really wants the match to happen.
Meanwhile, Big Show was in Dubai this week for WWE’s overseas tour and spoke with radio personality Myles about the potential battle of the bohemouths. Big Show said Shaq’s involvement in the Andre Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32 made the event extra special. Shaq has been dying to do something in the ring and he hopes they can work something out for next year. Like Shaq said, the decision will be made by people ‘above his pay grade.’ Show talked a little trash about Shaq but clarified that he was just joking and apologized.
After making a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 32 in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal continues to push for a singles match against the Big Show.
WWE.com posted a clip of Shaq talking about his Mania appearance, noting that he came to Dallas to knock Big Show out. He thanked the McMahon family for their hospitality and said next time he faces Big Show, he’s going to bodyslam him over a table. He Added that it’s “going down next year in Orlando” – host city of WrestleMania 33.
WWE also released a video of Big Show backstage at WrestleMania, where he first issued the challenge to Big Show.
Yesterday, we reported on how Chris Smith at Forbes had put together a list of WWE’s highest paid wrestlers. While lists of this kind have gone around for years, they’re usually of some nebulous origin or an incredibly unreliable source like CelebrityNetWorth. This is different, however: Not only is it from Forbes, the magazine of record for finance, but it’s also an actual Forbes staff writer as opposed to their larger contributor network. Nothing against them, but they weren’t hired with the financial angle in mind. Since it’s a Forbes article from a Forbes staffer, the list is being taken a lot more seriously than these things usually are.
In his article, Smith claims that “Over the last year we’ve pored over court documents, SEC filings and WWE’s booking contracts and spent hours speaking with industry sources, allowing us to construct the first ever FORBES list of WWE’s Highest-Paid Wrestlers.” Let’s take a look at the list again:
John Cena: 9.5 million
Brock Lesnar: 6.0 million
Triple H: 2.8 million
Randy Orton: 2.7 million
Seth Rollins: 2.4 million
Roman Reigns: 2.1 million
Undertaker: 2.0 million
Big Show: 1.5 million
Kane: 1.3 million
Dean Ambrose: 1.1 million
So, what do we know about the numbers on Smith’s list for Forbes?
The only one whose pay would come up in SEC filing is Triple H, since he’s an executive officer of WWE under his real name of Paul Levesque. This does appear to be correct: If you don’t include stock awards, and Smith didn’t, he made $2,812,629 in 2015. That’s broken down as $573,269 in salary for his executive role, $526,000 in incentive plan compensation, and $1,713,360 for his pay as talent, $1 million of which is his contracted downside guarantee. There’s a note that “Mr. Levesque has out-earned this minimum guarantee in each of the past several years.”
Randy Orton and John Cena both had divorces, though only Orton’s finances went public as a result. TMZ reported that at the time of the July 2013 divorce, Orton was making $291,666 a month, or just $8 short of $3.5 million in a year. It’s not clear if that was his total 2012 pay or what, as the belief is that WWE’s downside guarantees never top $1 million. Cena did have his annual earnings pegged as about $10 million by Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer in January, while Meltzer has also reported Brock Lesnar’s pay in the past because he gets a flat fee per appearance. In the past, Meltzer has said something to the effect of how these days, it’s understood that The Undertaker’s $1 million guarantee is considered his WrestleMania payoff. With additional appearances headlining SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell last year, $2 million sounds reasonable.
It gets hazier after that as you move further down the line.
In a deposition that I cited in my January article for SBNation about Big Show’s flirtation with boxing, Big Show said that when he returned to WWE in 2008, he asked for $1.25 million and a $250,000 signing bonus…but that was eight years ago and it’s not clear in the public filings if he even got what he wanted. A deposition with his wife, who apparently handles their finances, had her testifying that she didn’t think he made any bonuses on top of his base salary. That would be unusual for a full time WWE performer, but it could also have to do with confusion over the nature of WWE contracts. WWE pay works two ways: You can just take your per-event pay and royalties as they come, or you can take your downside guarantee as a salary and get a balloon payment at the end of the year for what goes over the guarantee. Since he has little merchandise, $1.5 million doesn’t sound outrageously low, though.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kane, and Dean Ambrose all have little to no information out there about their pay. Kane recently put his home up on the market and it was huge, sprawling property with a house customized to his specific needs as a very tall man, but because he’s based in Knoxville, Tennessee, the price was dramatically less than you’d think, coming in under $1 million. The rest seem realistic enough.
What do you think of the list? Let us know in the comments.
It appears that Big Show may have suffered a knee injury at Sunday’s WWE live event in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
WWE’s largest athlete teamed up with Dolph Ziggler against The Wyatt Family’s Braun Strowman and Luke Harper. Towards the end of the match, Show landed bad on his knee and appeared to be hurt. They were able to finish the match, but he was clearly favoring his other leg and was putting as little weight on the bad knee as possible. After the match, Big Show carefully left the ring by crawling under the bottom rope and he was helped to the back while Ziggler celebrated the win at ringside.
It’s possible Big Show was just selling, but a few live correspondents said it looked like a legit injury. We’ll post an update when more information is available.
– Steve Austin’s Stone Cold Podcast returns to the WWE Network this coming Monday. Immediately after Monday’s RAW goes off the air, Stone Cold will interview The Big Show live from from Anaheim, CA.
– WWE will be returning to New Zealand for the first time in over 5 years on August 10th from the Vector Arena in Auckland. Tickets go on sale Monday morning at Ticketmaster New Zealand website. Top stars advertised to appear include Roman Reigns, Sheamus, New Day, Kevin Owens, Ryback, Naomi, Tamina, and Sasha Banks.
– Just weeks after neck fusion surgery, Nikki Bella is already working out in a neck brace.
For those who aren’t familiar with Lip Sync Battle, it’s a show on Spike TV hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen where celebrities…do battle in a lip syncing competition. Produced by John Krasinski (Jim on the American version of The Office) and Stephen Merchant (one of the creators of The Office), it’s become a legitimate hit for Spike both in the Nielsen ratings and in terms of videos from the show going viral online.
Last night’s show featured a showdown between Kevin Hart (doing “Slam” by Onyx) and Olivia Munn (performing “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift). As part of the show’s wacky choreography (which everyone learns that day, amazingly enough), The Big Show wandered out as part of her dance troupe for some reason. As you can see at about the 2:09 mark of the above video, he didn’t really do anything other than wear a goofy outfit, but it was all in good fun and a nice surprise.
– WWE announced this weekend that Curtis Axel has declared his entry into the 30-man over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble match, joining Big Show as the only two WWE Superstars to officially enter the annual match, which takes place on pay-per-view on Sunday, January 24, 2016 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
WWE.com wrote the following about Axel, who is still claiming he was never eliminated from the 2015 Royal Rumble match, in their RAW Five-Point Preview:
“With the 2016 Royal Rumble Match less than three weeks away, the entire WWE Universe is buzzing about which Superstars will declare their entry in WWE’s iconic over-the-top-rope tradition. Big Show emerged on Raw to become the first competitor in this year’s 30-man melee, and we’ve since learned that Curtis Axel — who claims he was never eliminated from last year’s Royal Rumble Match — will also enter the fray (even though he evidently never left it). Which other Superstars will announce their participation in the weeks ahead? Expect more Royal Rumble news on Raw.”
– Also featured in the official WWE.com RAW preview for the first 2016 episode of RAW this coming Monday night is what appears to be a tease for another John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio match for the WWE United States Championship. Cena made his WWE television return at last week’s RAW after taking several weeks off to film and promote some television and film work. He went one-on-one against Del Rio for the U.S. title he coincidentally lost to Del Rio in his last match with WWE before taking the hiatus, and if the following blurb from the RAW preview for Monday is any indication, we could be seeing it again.
The official WWE website wrote the following about a potential Cena-Del Rio U.S. Title rematch from last week’s RAW:
“John Cena made his anticipated return to WWE last Monday night, goading United States Champion Alberto Del Rio into a title bout and coming incredibly close to recapturing his star-spangled prize. Were it not for The League of Nations, we’d all be eagerly anticipating one of the Cenation leader’s exciting U.S. Open Challenges this coming Monday night.
“With his last encounter with The Essence of Excellence ending in a disqualification, might Cena make another attempt at Old Glory early in the New Year? Even better, will Cena head to SmackDown on USA Network next Thursday night with the U.S. Title slung around his shoulder?”
Headlined by a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Roman Reigns and Sheamus, with Vince McMahon serving as the special guest referee, the first WWE RAW show of 2016 takes place this coming Monday evening, January 4th, at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Join us here at SEScoops.com this coming Monday night for live WWE RAW results coverage!
– There has been some confusion regarding Big Show announcing himself for the 30-man Royal Rumble match in January. While the belief was he was announcing himself as the man with the number one spot in the match, WWE has since confirmed that is not the case. Big Show was simply making it clear that he is the first man to throw his name in the hat for the match. Big Show is expected to shoot another segment to clear up the confusion among fans.
– TNA’s Jeremy Borash is the guest on the latest edition of the Jim Ross “Ross Report” podcast, which is available now at PodcastOne.com. The official description for the show reads:
“Jeremy Borash is talking all about TNA Impact Wrestling’s move to Pop TV next Tuesday, January 5th! He’s also sharing stories about the last day of Nitro & turning off the lights in the building, how he met Vince Russo & what it was like working with him, his take on Russo’s feud with Bill Goldberg, how Jeremy ended up at TNA, and why he loves producing programming with Food Network star chef Robert Irvine.”
– Rapper and noted WWE fan Wale was in attendance at the WWE SmackDown television tapings on Tuesday night in his hometown of Washington, D.C. Below is a photo of the hip-hop star with The New Day.
Big Show was Jonathan Coachman’s guest this week on ESPN SportsCenter. You can watch video of the appearance at ESPN.go.com.
Show talked about WWE’s Tribute to The Troops special and his recent visit to Afghanistan with Vince McMahon, R-Truth, Alicia Fox and Eva Marie. Coach said did Tribute to the Troops with Big Show back in 2005 and they told some stories from their trip overseas.
Show also talked about his long career, saying that he’s been blessed to work with so many top talents from multiple generations. Coach brought up that Big Show was shot right into the main events with Hulk Hogan upon joining the wrestling business.
Big Show named Neville as a guy he’d like to team with and put over his WM24 opponent Floyd Mayweather as the smartest guy in boxing.
– On Monday’s RAW, a second title match was announced for this week’s live edition of WWE SmackDown on Tuesday night in Des Moines, Iowa. In addition to The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons tag-team title match we reported earlier this evening, Dean Ambrose will be defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship in a triple-threat match against Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler.
– It was also announced on Monday’s RAW that Big Show will be Jonathan Coachman’s guest for the WWE segment on ESPN SportsCenter tomorrow evening to promote Wednesday’s WWE Tribute To The Troops special.
Vince McMahon, Big Show, R-Truth and Alicia Fox made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to meet with some of the United States Troops on Friday night.
Below is a photo that was re-tweeted by Triple H last night, along with an earlier photo posted by Vince McMahon, which also appears to be from this week.
Footage of WWE’s trip to Afghanistan will likely air as part of this week’s WWE Tribute To The Troops special on the USA Network.
