Big Show, the surly 7ft, 450lb goliath, is due to step into the ring at the Shanghai Expo Cultural Centre in late August. As he does so, his sponsor, World Wrestling Entertainment, will take a big swing at a market that has brought more muscular media giants to their knees.
WWE will host its first live event in China as part of a campaign to demonstrate its willingness to invest long-term to develop the country's interest in what it calls “live sports entertainment”.
US media companies, which once rushed to expand in China, have retreated in recent years as complaints of a mercurial regulatory environment and the threat of censorship have soured their ambitions. Notably, Google remains on the brink of exiting China.