How Strong Was Big Show?

For over two decades, the WWE's resident giant Big Show has haunted the squared circle. Over that time, the massive athlete has become so synonymous with unbelievable power that when Bleacher Report listed greatest feats of strength by WWE superstars, Show featured on six of the 10 entries. Five of them were about other pro wrestlers managing to toss him around. One was about him doing the same to a Jeep. 

A lot of Big Show's appeal has obviously always been his massive, massive size. However, his level of strength is also extremely impressive. When some of the WWE superstars revealed their best bench press results, notable powerhouses like John Cena and Roman Reigns landed in the 445-to-465-pound region, while outright monsters like Kane, Brodus Clay, Titus O'Neil, and Ryback were somewhere around 525 to 550 pounds. The biggest bench press result (which Cena incidentally witnessed and called the best he's ever seen) belonged to Big E, who pressed a whopping 575 pounds. Oh, and then there was Big Show, who casually admitted to pressing "just" 500 pounds. Only, he did 12 reps.   

As strong as Big Show was in his heyday, there's a chance his true power level has always remained untapped thanks to the biggest weight he's been lifting all his life: himself. In an interview with CBS Local's Chuck Carroll, Show reveals that he spent many long years deliberately overeating and under-exercising, because he felt pressure to be not only the tallest wrestler (at 7'0"), but the biggest one. This meant that he did his best to weigh 500 pounds which, combined with the strenuous lifestyle of a pro wrestler, has put massive stress on his body. 

In recent years, he has undergone a dramatic body change. He attributes this change to a single conversation with fellow WWE superstar John Cena. The two have a backstage habit of watching the show together from the monitor whenever they're not in the ring themselves, and one day, Show admitted that he was concerned about his weight, but that he worried that no one would want to see a man his size with actual abs. Cena looked him in the eyes and said: "Yeah, a giant with abs. Who would want to see that?" Then, he walked away.

Both men being veterans, Show recognized a challenge being laid down. He cleaned up his act on the spot, and over a year, he lost 90 pounds and acquired six-pack abs in the process. Who knows how strong the former talented high school athlete could have been if he'd trained more and maintained the impressive physique of his recent years throughout his career?