10 Giants Who Failed In WWE
WWE can't love every big man
Like a version of that Mika song, WWE often see a big man and think they are beautiful.
Even now, as sports entertainment has evolved to place more emphasis on athleticism and craftsmanship over height and weight, if WWE see a big meaty man, they’re going to be interested in seeing what they can do.
Giants are special and, unless you work in the circus, you’re not going to come across them too often. Seeing them do their thing in the squared circle is a true novelty, whether it’s Andre the Giant, Big Show or Great Khali dwarfing their opponents who, much of the time, aren’t small blokes themselves.
A giant will probably get more opportunities than those of more ‘normal’ proportions, too, because they are a rare breed and the belief for a long time was that bigger is better and that the biggest of the big boys draw money and attract interest.
It doesn’t always work out, however, and the bigger they are, sometimes the harder they fall.
Size alone cannot guarantee success, of course, and many different things can result in someone who looks like they were made in a laboratory for the sole purpose of headlining pay-per-views not living up to their enormous potential, ending up as a giant failure.
These are 10 Giants Who Failed in WWE.
10. Nathan Jones
Vince McMahon took one look at this Australian behemoth and saw a future WrestleMania main eventer in the making.
Nathan Jones was a physical specimen the likes of which you don’t see every day and, better still, he had a built-in backstory that could be exploited as part of his wrestling persona.
The colossus had spent time in an Australian prison for armed robbery, before leaving and becoming a champion powerlifter.
He tried his hand at MMA and then turned to wrestling, working on the indies and in Japan before being signed by WWE. His original, Hannibal Lecter-type character was nixed and he was instead put with The Undertaker, positioned as the Deadman’s on-screen protégé.
He was brought up too soon, however, and was actually taken out of a planned tag bout at WrestleMania 19 (though he did make it out for the finish), before being sent to OVW for further training.
He returned months later as a heel aligned with Paul Heyman and fellow freaks of nature Big Show, A-Train, Matt Morgan and Brock Lesnar.
Before it could take off, however, Jones abruptly quit the company while on tour in his home country, citing the relentless travel schedule and mental stress caused by the cutthroat backstage politics.
Fortunately more Jones, he has forged a strong movie career and appeared in two Mad Max movies as Rictus Erectus.
