I need you to be more specific with what you are getting at, in order to issue a response. I do chide Vince and WWE for not thinking long-term anymore, yes.
Are you referring to Big Show and Undertaker for being put into a long-term feud?
I was referring more to the fact that you knocked WWE for not thinking long term (something I agree with by the way) and then in the next paragraph seemingly knocking them for booking Edge into a 9 month feud. To me it just seemed like weird wording when in one instance you condemn them for not thinking long term, then you knock them for the one really long term angle they have done in the next breath.
That was one of the characters I definitely took exception to Big Show playing. I am not a big fan of monsters taking part in comedic angles like that, and that definitely took Big Show down several notches.
This angle was insanity to put the Big Show in. Having him dress as Hogan and Piper? I just don't get it. Same can be said for his Wrestlemania "Sumo" match with Akibono. Things that just do not make sense.
I've always thought that as much as Vince loves Big Men, he has no idea how to really book GIANTS. Sure, there are exceptions (Andre and Big John Studd in the '80's and I guess the argument can be made for 'Taker too), but for the most part, Vince seems oblivious as to how to book a giant. Giant Gonzales? Earthquake/Tugboat? Tiny Lester? KANE? Vince seems to bring these monsters in, tries pushing them as monsters, when that fails (as it always does), he loses interest in them and they're put into insane story lines.
Well, if he is lazy and un-motivated, then why did WWE sign him to that long-term a deal? If he is lazy and un-motivated, then why does WWE push him, then not push him, then push him to the Main Event, then turn him into a comedic character?
I don't know. I wish they hadn't re-signed him. He wasn't doing anything just before he left (yes, I know he held the ECW title, but that brand has been so mismanaged that it really doesn't register to me). Maybe they re-signed him to keep him from going to TNA? Maybe they re-signed him just to say they had "the biggest athlete in the world" under contract? Who knows. I've stopped trying to figure out why some people are still employed with WWE. Big Show is definitely one of those people.
Either way, this is ultimately WWE's fault. Not Big Show's fault. Keep in mind that Big Show left the WWE. They were the ones that took him back. Whether they contacted him or if he contacted them, they still brought him back. So that is all on them, as far as I'm concerned. So if that is the case, then they need to book the guy properly leading into a Mania Title feud. I am willing to bet that they did not have plans for Big Show to be part of a title match, and Vince said he wanted him added to the World Title Match right after No Way Out. If that is the case, then no, he did not plan this in advance, like he should have. Then, he could have properly started building Big Show up around late last year, to be taken seriously. Nobody takes Big Show seriously as a Heavyweight Title contender anymore.
I'd say it's WWE's fault for re-signing him and also their fault for not clamping down and trying to motivate Show more. Maybe I'm a romantic or an optimist, but I'd also like to believe that people should put forth an effort and show some pride in their work, which I don't see with Big Show.
They could have booked him to be more like Andre in terms of personality. But when they give him comedic characters to mimic other superstars over the years, and allow him to show him as having a sense of humor over the years ... then, what can you say?
I don't know. I had such hope for Big Show for a fleeting moment, one year ago. The night after Wrestlemania. Big Show in the ring "congratulating" Floyd Mayweather for Wrestlemania, then starting to cry as he spoke about Ric Flair telling him he was the best big man in the business. Show talking about how he's going to turn into the dominate man in wrestling. Such a great way to start Show out as a dominate monster....then what happens? He's thrown into an angle with KHALI. Waste, waste, waste.
Blame goes all on WWE and Vince for this one. They were the ones that brought him back, after working with the guy for 10 years.
Again, I agree with you, to an extent. If WWE had no faith in the man, then they shouldn't have re-signed him, I agree completely. But I still maintain that if Show (pardon the pun) showed more effort and pride in what he does, then maybe he wouldn't have been so mismanaged all these years.