10 biggest matches that were given away on free television

#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Big Show (RAW, March 1999)

When Paul Wight signed with WWE and debuted in February 1999, early plans for WrestleMania XVI (or WrestleMania 2000 as it would be called) were for the newly-named Big Show to headline against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Considering WWE's history of pushing big men to the moon, this seemed like an incredibly intriguing match-up when the former Giant signed with WWE. Although Big Show did make it to WrestleMania 2000's main event, it was not the one-on-one contest that was loosely pencilled in.

Instead, Austin vs. Big Show was given away for free on WrestleMania XV's go-home edition of Monday Night RAW. On March 22, 1999, Austin delivered five chair-shots (including three to the head) and a Stone Cold Stunner to pin "The Big Show" Paul Wight in the middle of the ring.

Surely, Austin vs. Big Show could've headlined any Pay-Per-View in 1999, but WWE opted to give this away at no cost on RAW six days before WrestleMania XV. It's since been rumoured that this was a political demand made by a paranoid Austin who simply wanted to cement his position as the company's top star — future plans be damned.