The Story Of Floyd Mayweather Breaking Big Show’s Nose In WWE, Explained
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WWE has been a place in which there has been a lot of mainstream, pop culture, and sports crossover throughout the years. In the past, the likes of Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali have made their presence known at WrestleMania - professional wrestling’s biggest annual show. In 2008, it was Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s turn to make an appearance in WWE, with him even stepping foot inside the ring for a match against “The World’s Largest Athlete," The Big Show. In the build up to that match, things got heated in their feud with one another, with Mayweather legit breaking Big Show’s nose after a flurry of punches in what was a very notable moment.
Floyd Mayweather Was A Ringside Guest At WWE’s No Way Out PPV
Floyd “Money” Mayweather is in contention for being the greatest boxer of all time, with an unmatched undefeated professional record of 50-0, something which may never be replicated on the type of scale he accomplished. He became the ultimate prizefighter, winning titles and making an unspeakable amount of money. At the height of his notoriety, especially following a massive victory against Ricky Hatton just a few months prior, WWE capitalized by striking a deal to have him compete at WrestleMania 24, which was a huge newsworthy story at the time.
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Things started for Mayweather at the No Way Out PPV event in 2008, which took place in Las Vegas - a place in which Mayweather has had massive box office fights. It initially seemed as though Mayweather was simply yet another celebrity name to appear in a WWE audience - something which has happened countless times over the years. However, this time it would see Mayweather get involved in a big way.
Floyd Mayweather Confronted Big Show And Broke His Nose
Following a World Heavyweight Championship match between Rey Mysterio and Edge, Big Show made a huge return after being out of action for a little while. He looked happy to be there, cutting a babyface promo, until he noticed an injured Mysterio at ringside. He snapped, exiting the ring and grabbing Mysterio by the throat, turning heel in the process. He mocked Mayweather at ringside, goading him to come and save Mysterio.
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At first, Mayweather’s team managed to hold him back, but he eventually got loose, jumping the barricade and hopping over the top rope with ease. The crowd popped at this, and clearly loved seeing these two incredible athletes stand face-to-face. The pair stood in front of each other, with Mayweather showcasing zero fear. To further mock Mayweather, and to make fun of their size difference, Show lowered himself down to one knee. Mayweather didn’t hesitate, delivering electric shots to Show’s face before scarpering and running away. Show’s nose was immediately busted up, with blood pouring down into his mouth. Mayweather had legitimately broken Show’s nose during this segment, adding further fire to this feud which would carry forth to WrestleMania.
It Was Big Show’s Idea For Floyd Mayweather To Break His Nose
Whilst this seemed like nothing more than a mishap or a botch on the part of Mayweather, this was actually planned all along. Show spoke about the situation in an interview with Submission Radio, that he had asked Mayweather to break his nose for real, stating, “It was a shoot. He punched me in the nose, I told him to break it. I mean, I don't know how you work that. I guess I said, 'Yeah, go ahead and punch my nose'. I said not to shove it down the back of my head, but if you can tap it, go ahead.” Show said that this was due to wanting something big to happen to push the angle and their feud, and it certainly worked.
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Show’s bloodied face was a great image, and it definitely added to their rivalry to make it intense, real, and personal straight from the off. They would further build their match, with it being billed as “The Biggest Vs The Best," and gaining some mainstream attention given who was involved, despite it being a completely different field for Mayweather.
The match at WrestleMania 24 was a very well worked bout which played to both men’s strengths, making it prime sports entertainment. It lived up to the billing, with Mayweather clearly in tune with the role he needed to play in order to make the match a success. It is up there with Big Show’s best WrestleMania matches, even if he did get knocked out to lose the match (though this time, it was a worked punch). The visual of seeing Mayweather break Big Show’s nose was a crazy one, especially as fans had no clue for a while that it was Show’s idea rather than an overzealous Mayweather acting on his boxing instinct.
