10 Most Unexpectedly Great WWE Matches-1

1. Floyd Mayweather Vs Big Show (WrestleMania 24)

WWE.com

We’ve all seen celebrity interactions in pro wrestling before. Some were good (Cyndi Lauper helping to usher in the “WrestleMania Era” with Rock-N-Wrestling), some were bad (Kevin Federline’s appearances for WWE), and some were downright ugly (David Arquette becoming the WCW World Champion).

Right at the top of the heap of celebrity interactions in pro wrestling is what we saw with Floyd Mayweather and WWE in 2008. What made Mayweather’s feud with Big Show so memorable was the sheer size difference. Show is listed at 7’0″ tall and anywhere between 400 and 500 pounds. Floyd Mayweather, on the other end of the scale, is 5’8″ tall and at his heaviest, he was fighting in the Light Middleweight division, which has a weight cap of 154 pounds. That’s an astronomical difference. While Floyd is slightly taller than Rey Mysterio, Mysterio weighs more after bulking up for his WWE run, just to put the size difference in perspective.

That size difference let you know what the roles of both men would be. When Mayweather boxes, he uses his world class speed and elusiveness to avoid damage from his opponents, while popping in and out with punches. He’s not the Mike Tyson-like fighter that is looking to knock you out in seconds. He wants to wear you down, mentally and physically, peppering you with punches in every round. It works, as his fights are often incredibly lopsided in his favor. That would certainly be his style against Big Show. Avoid Show’s size and power, and “stick and move” with offense. Show, of course, would be taking that Tyson role, not wanting to get into a Benny Hill segment, chasing Mayweather around in circles. He wanted to get his hands on Floyd at the opening bell, and break him down in seconds.

It’s exactly what we got when the match came. Both men played their roles to perfection. Even though he was, technically, the face in the feud, Mayweather’s style pissed wrestling fans off, and they wanted to see Show snap him like a twig. That got the crowd into things right away, and they stayed into it for the duration of the match. Being a showman, Floyd kept playing to the crowd, fitting in to the world of wrestling better than people thought. Even the match ending made sense, with Floyd needing to compensate for his lack of size by putting on some brass knuckles and knocking Show out. Both men deserve praise for their performances and what they were willing to do. Floyd let Show stand on top of him multiple times, and Show took a brass knuckles-assisted punch from the best boxer in the world right in the mouth. Overall, they took a match that had no business being anything worthwhile, and they made it very entertaining.