Big Show Says He’s Been Booked “Horribly” in WWE, Relationship With Hulk Hogan, Dark Days & More

Stone Cold Steve Austin WWE Network Podcast Coverage
2/15/16
Anaheim, CA

Credit: WrestleZone.com

The podcast starts off with Austin tipping his cap to Daniel Bryan, and Austin admitted that Bryan’s retirement last week made him tear up.

Austin also offered well wishes to Bret Hart as he battles prostate cancer.

Big Show then arrives, and brings Austin the Slammy Award he won back in December for best WWE Network Original. Austin then gave Show one of his Broken Skull Ranch beers. Show then admitted he too teared up during Bryan’s retirement speech, but added everyone knows he always cries.

Steve Austin brings up the “please retire” chants, and says he received emails from fans asking him to ask Big Show to retire. Show responds by saying those people don’t understand the way WWE works, and don’t realize what he is doing for the product and the WWE brand. He says he has maybe won 8 matches in the past two years, so how can he be holding other talents down? Show says he must be relevant in the business because has had “more [heel and babyface] turns than NASCAR.” He finally said he will not be retiring anytime soon, barring any injuries.

Austin says he dug Show and Braun Strowman main eventing Raw tonight. Show says Strowman is doing well for himself and has a long way to go but if he keeps his head right, he’ll be a major player. Show says he’s an incredible athlete and gets a little better everyday, and doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Show says it’s not easy being in Braun’s position. Austin asks how Show is feeling, and Show says he was fine in the match but he blew up running down the hallway trying to get to the interview.

Austin then shifts gears and brings up Big Show’s size, and adds that Show was born with acromegaly, which is a form of giantism caused by a pituitary issue. It is a hormonal disorder that results from too much growth hormone (GH) in the body, and Show says when he was younger he was diagnosed with a tumor as a result.

Big Show then says during his sophomore year at Wichita State, which was one of the toughest years of his life, he decided to have the tumor surgically removed. Show also said he lost his grandfather that year, and following that and his surgery he developed a close relationship with the Wichita State basketball coach, who was later fired. Show then said his father was battling cancer at that time, and was very sick at the time.

Show then became very emotional, and recalled living in a home and only had $6 to his name. He recalled cleaning his apartment, and was cleaning his friends gun, and mocked suicide. He said he put the unloaded gun to his head and pulled the trigger to see what it would be like to be dead, and because he needed a “mental reset”.

Show then said he got a good job opportunity, and made the attempt to pull his life back together. He helped load trucks for cash, and was paid $50 per day. Show talked about becoming friends with his boss, and his boss helped him get his introduction to WCW. Show said Danny Bonaduce at the time was doing a regular show, and he knew Hulk Hogan. Show met Hogan in Chicago and that was how he got his start. Show said he did an impression of Hogan for him, and figured that it was a bad idea. Hogan liked it though, and told Show he had a “dollar sign on his forehead.”

Big Show then talks about his days in WCW, and reveals his initial deal was only for one match, and that was to test and see what kind of draw he could be in WCW. The match of course was against Hogan, and was for the WCW World Title. Show says Hogan told him he was going to put him on the map that night, and Show admitted he was terrified of the match and what the WCW Title meant. Show said he knew what the belt represented, but he didn’t know how to handle it and what to do with it.

As for the locker room reaction to his Title win, Show said it was fine with the locker room, and the WCW talents were pulling for him, not rooting against him. He added they really didn’t care because Big Show being in WCW didn’t affect how much they were getting paid because they had the Ted Turner WCW type guaranteed deals.

Show recalled a funny story about Hulk Hogan telling him he had to wear the WCW Title through the airport, and so he did. Show later found out that Hogan and the other talents were just ribbing him, and it was Sting who eventually told him not to wear the title in the airports as it was just a joke. Show then realized that everyone was making fun of him. Austin looks at the camera and calls that Jabroniville, saying you never wear your title in the airport, heel or face. Show says he was proud but may have been a little Markville.

Show then talks about leaving WCW in 1999, which was in the middle of the Monday Night Wars. Show said he wanted to go outside the night DX invaded WCW’s arena and say hello to Triple H, since HHH trained Big Show, but that would not have gone over well with Eric Bischoff.

Show then talks how Scott Hall and Kevin Nash jumping ship to WCW changed the business, and he saw how the locker room changed when The Outsiders came into the promotion. He said before Hall and Nash came in there was a very loose atmosphere in WCW, but when they came in everyone started taking it much more seriously because Hall and Nash were such great talents.

As far as the way WCW was run vs WWE during the Monday Night Wars, he said it was totally different. Show said morale got very bad in WCW because it went from a lax atmosphere to everyone fighting each other over money and negotiating contracts. When he got to WWE, Show said it was all about having the best match of the night, and that really scared Show. Show put over how talented Austin was when he got to WWE, and also put over other talents like HBK and The Undertaker.

Austin and Show talked about a match the two were involved in once back in the day, and it took place in a cage. Austin talked about how hard Big Show threw him into the cage, and Show said he was told by Vince to really manhandle Austin so Austin could sell for him. The two laughed about it, and then Show talked about The Undertaker taking him under his wing. Show said ‘Taker was very hard on him, and always had something to say to him about getting better, but he was very grateful for it.

Taker would always give him pointers on what he needed to work on. He says Taker poured so much knowledge into him, and he didn’t deserve it but he’s blessed to have received it. Show thought everyone in WWE absolutely hated him to the point no one would care if he drove his rental car off a bridge.

As for his relationship with Vince McMahon, Show says it’s almost been like a father son type relationship. Show said Vince has been very hard on him at times, but has given him a tremendous opportunity in WWE and always steered him in the right direction.

Austin asks Big Show what he thinks his biggest accomplishment has been in WWE, and Show responds by saying that it was the fact that he has always been a team player, and earned the respect of his peers. He said when he came to WWE he was a hated man, but now he is told all the time by people he respects that he has earned their respect.

As the interview winds down, Austin asks Show a few last questions, and asks him to be brutally honest in answering the question of how Show thinks he’s been booked in WWE. Big Show responds by saying “horrible.” But Show added that he knew what his role has been in WWE, which is that he is the workhorse that comes in and is a team player and does what he is told to do.