• Big Show Comments On The Awkward Angle Of Being Andre The Giant’s Son In WCW
During a recent appearance on The Steve Austin Show, Big Show talked about how he and Andre The Giant had different ways of interacting with fans, being Andre The Giant’s kayfabe son being awkward and crappy trick to play on fans & more.
Below are the highlights:
On how he and Andre The Giant had different ways of interacting with fans:
“I’ve learned to handle things differently. I engage people. I make them laugh. Andre went the other way with it. Andre was kind of bitter. He didn’t want to sign autographs. He didn’t want to deal with people. He didn’t want to deal with the attention. There are two ways you can deal with that. Some days I don’t want to deal with people, so I stay home. I know I’m going to be a grumpy ass, so I stay home. I don’t want people to have a bad day by interacting with us. Do you know what I mean? I mean, if you’ve been around me, you know I can be a real a$$hole to people sometimes. I am. I mean, I’m a human being. Some days, I’m grumpy. Some days, I’m introverted. I get it. I’m a human being.
But, usually, out-and-about, I try to be nice and patient with everyone. And, luckily, there are cellphone cameras, so I don’t have to find a pen or piece of paper or stuff we did back in the day. Do you know what I mean? Now, it’s a selfie, it’s 25-seconds, and everybody has a good experience, and life goes on. You have to understand people, in their position, they’ve never seen anybody like me. As long as some of those people live, they’ll tell the story about the one time they saw The Big Show in Tim Hortons or 7-11. Do you know what I mean? Buying a cup of coffee. Or they saw Big Show in the airport.”
On being Andre The Giant’s kayfabe son being awkward and crappy trick to play on fans:
“It was awkward. It was very awkward because [Hulk] Hogan and [Eric] Bischoff came up with this idea and that’s why Hogan latched onto me right away. That’s why I got a career and opportunity. I’m thankful that he noticed me because, [Austin] know[s], back then, just going to a wrestling school or signing up on the internet wasn’t an option. You had to know somebody to get trained! It was a very select business to get into back then and it wasn’t quite as ‘open door policy’ as it is now. And, the fact that Hulk took the time and set this up, and here I’m making in WCW, even compared to a lot of guys, I’m still making more money than my father ever made. Do you know what I mean? So I’m happy to be here.
To go as the son of Andre, yeah, it gave me credibility with the fans. It was kind of a real crappy trick to play on the fans because everybody loved Andre so much and it cornered me into a position because I still have fans that come up to me to this day that tell me how much they loved my dad.”
On not being satisfied with the attraction gimmick that Hogan wanted him to have, wanting to be like Arn Anderson:
“From a working standpoint, it was tough on me too because, if you remember what kind of athlete I was back then, I could do some really ridiculous stuff and you guys used to b—h at me all the time for doing too much stuff because the [pro wrestling] business wasn’t ready for someone my size to be doing the stuff I did, but it also pigeonholed me into a gimmick that I think Hogan wanted for me. I think Hulk wanted me to have that attraction gimmick.
That’s where Hogan saw money with me, it was as an attraction, but with my enthusiasm and athleticism, I never wanted to be Andre The Giant. For lack of better words, I wanted to be Arn Anderson. I wanted to be a great worker. I wanted to be able to bump and feed babyfaces. Do you know what I mean? But it is completely asinine for someone who is 7-feet-tall to want to be Arn Anderson!”
• WWE In Talks With NJPW & ALL IN Talent?
According to The Wreslting Observer, the WWE is reaching out to talent who are associated with both New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and Cody Rhodes’ and The Young Bucks’ “ALL IN” show.
WWE has apparently opened their “lines of communication” with multiple talents, whose names are still unknown as of this writing.
It’s important to note that a throwback video of Kenny Omega was posted by WWE shortly after his IWGP Heavyweight championship win at NJPW Dominion, and that the WWE’s very own New Day have also faced The Elite in a Street Fighter showdown at E3, which the WWE promoted. Triple H also hasn’t been shy to talk about building a closer relationship with them.
