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Andre The Giant is one of the biggest legends in wrestling history. He was arguably the top attraction in the business during his run in the territories, and then played a pivotal part in the WWE becoming a national juggernaut during their expansion under Vince McMahon. He was also the first man ever to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In recent years, big men have struggled to get over in wrestling, as a lot of the focus has shifted towards work rate and moves. Someone like Omos could have been over as a huge star in the past due to his sheer size, but these days, not many fans seem to care.

Big Show is an exception in that regard and has enjoyed a brilliant career in the business. In fact, there are many fans who believe that he is Andre The Giant's son, and that has nothing to do with his size but instead a storyline.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Forget About The Giant In WCW

Big Show's Unconventional Start In Professional Wrestling

Considering his size, it is safe to say that it does not take much for Big Show to be noticed. He was introduced to Hulk Hogan during a promotional basketball game and managed to impress The Hulkster immediately.

Hogan would end up encouraging him to attend a Nitro taping and also recommended him to Eric Bischoff. Ultimately, WCW ended up signing him. At that point of time, he had only wrestled one match on the independent scene.Thus, it is pretty clear that it was his incredible look and personality that got him into the business.

Lex Luger, World Champion the Giant, Kevin "Taskmaster" Sullivan and Jimmy Hart of the Dungeon of Doom give Tony Schiavone an interview in WCW

That is not to say that he was not athletic though. In fact, some of Big Show's early work in WCW was an incredible display of athleticism for a man of his size, even though he was not the most polished worker in the ring.

Interestingly, he had tried to get into the WWE before he was signed by WCW. But as legend goes, a mix-up in identity led to Pat Patterson never even watching his tape and he only realized his mistake after seeing Big Show debut in WCW.

Big Show Was Introduced As Andre The Giant's Son In WCW

Big Show debuted in WCW in 1995 under the ring name 'The Giant' and he was introduced as the son of Andre The Giant. Considering their similarities in size, it is not hard to see why they would try to do that. The Giant wore a similar attire to Andre as well.

The Giant WCW

It made storyline sense as there was the connection between Hogan and Andre. As a result, it allowed for The Giant to immediately start out in the main event scene in a feud with Hogan and establish himself as a top star.

The storyline relationship with Andre ended up putting unnecessary pressure on him as well though. He had the look to be a top star in the business anyway. Ultimately, the idea would end up being dropped silently and never mentioned again.

The Giant Would Win The WCW World Heavyweight Championship In His Very First Match

WCW put the rocket on The Giant's back from the very beginning. He would have his debut at Halloween Havoc 1995, for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

It proved to be an overbooked mess, as a lot of things in WCW were, but ultimately, The Giant ended up walking out with the belt on the night following a win by disqualification, as Jimmy Hart turned on Hogan.

Thus, it was very clear that WCW already saw The Giant as a top star and a legitimate threat to Hulkamania. Unfortunately, they would end up dropping the ball on him pretty soon.

RELATED: 10 Pictures Of Big Show Like You've Never Seen Him Before

WCW Dropped The Ball On The Giant

It would not take long for WCW to drop the ball on The Giant though. They would strip him off the WCW World Heavyweight Championship as a result of the controversial circumstances behind his win.

The Giant would end up climbing back to the top of the mountain soon, but unfortunately for him, the timing was not right. The NWO would end up forming a few months after this and everybody else on WCW television became an afterthought immediately due to the group's incredible popularity.

The Giant was also never placed as the primary threat to the NWO and would never win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship again. Instead, he ended up leaving the company for WWE in 1999. There, he was repackaged as the Big Show and found his greatest successes in the business.