Big Show says he will seek medical clearance from WWE doctors in Brooklyn this weekend ahead of SummerSlam -- after almost a year out of action with a legitimate hip injury -- with the hope of getting cleared as soon as Monday night for Raw, he told ESPN on Tuesday.
"Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I will be back in the ring," Big Show said in an interview at a charity event at the Hackensack Meridian Health Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday. "That's the main goal. I'm actually going to try and get cleared Sunday, by [WWE's] doctors; moving around the ring a little bit. I could be back as soon as the Monday Night Raw after SummerSlam, if they have something for me. Just because I'm healthy, doesn't mean our creative team is healthy for me yet."
The 7-foot wrestler has been out of action since Sept. 4, 2017, after he faced off against Braun Strowman in a steel cage match on Monday Night Raw. Big Show, 46, said on Tuesday that he had been experiencing pain and severe hip damage for a number of years prior to getting driven through the cage by Strowman and put out of action.
Big Show underwent a hip resurfacing surgery -- a procedure that serves as an alternative to a total hip replacement -- in which a doctor inserts a hollow, mushroom-shaped metal cap over the femur and connects it to the pelvis socket. The surgery was performed by Dr. Edwin P. Su at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York shortly after the September match versus Strowman.
Big Show said that following the procedure, he experienced complications including a post-surgical infection that caused a slower recovery. Throughout his rehabilitation, he's documented on social media his journey and routine to achieving what he said is the "best shape of his life."
"It's been good for me, because it's taught me a lot of patience and a lot of endurance," he said. "I was able to maintain my training, weight loss and diet and everything, through that immense struggle of everything I had to deal with."
Big Show previously told Sports Illustrated in March 2017 that he planned on retiring after the expiration of his WWE contract in February -- but would consider working in some other role in the company, such as that of an ambassador.
However, on Tuesday he reneged on those comments and told ESPN that he's more competitive than ever and that, given the chance, he absolutely wants to step back into the ring.
"All you can do is get yourself as prepared as you can and then when the opportunity is given, make the most of it. I've been around this business a long time. Trust me, if they give me the opportunity, I'm going to knock the freaking crap out of it."