← The High Performance Podcast
The High Performance Podcast
7ft Tall and Fighting To Survive: WWE & AEW Athlete Paul Wight's Incredible Story (E409)
01:42:09
Loading summary
Transcript260 lines
- [00:04]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Hi, guys. Let's do it. I feel like Gandalf walking into Frodo's house.
- [00:12]
Damien Jake
Are you sure you're comfy enough?
- [00:13]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, yeah, I'm great. This is awesome. I wear spandex. I entertain people. Occasionally, I make people laugh. If I can get a good joke. That was your chance to laugh. Okay, I'll work on my material. I mean, I was 6:2 at 12. I was 6:8 at 14. They were like, well, if you don't get this surgery, you'll probably be dead by the time you're 45. I've always had people stare. I'm not going to let them determine who I am and how I'm going to interact with someone else.
- [00:36]
Jake (Co-host)
How do you learn to do that?
- [00:37]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
A lot of pain. I didn't expect to live a long time. You don't see old giants. I've had a major surgery the past seven years. Every freaking year. Back was bad. Knees were bad. I was 537 pounds, I think. Didn't want to wrestle anymore. I was just. I was miserable.
- [00:52]
Damien Jake
What was your calorie intake in your wrestling peak?
- [00:54]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Over 10, 12,000 calories a day, easy. When I look back now, I'm like, God, I used to eat that much. Like, why? Well, I keep myself right at 26, 20, 700 calories a day. Got into shape and lost some weight and cleaned my act up and fell in love with wrestling again. I'm in people's living rooms. They've grown up watching me. It takes 30 seconds to be nice, take a selfie, say hello. You don't know what someone else is going through. I see you. You matter.
- [01:19]
Damien Jake
We'd love him back in the ring. Is there any chance.
- [01:22]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It's not that I want to go out, some big retirement thing or tell my story or some other kind of horseshit like that. I just want to have fun. That's all.
- [01:32]
Damien Jake
Welcome to the show.
- [01:33]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Thank you guys for having me. This is awesome. Thank you for the tiny chair.
- [01:36]
Damien Jake
It's our pleasure.
- [01:37]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
This is great. Was this a side bet? Say, how big of an ass can we fit in? How small of a chair? Is there a side pool bet somewhere? Oh, there's no way he'll fit that.
- [01:45]
Jake (Co-host)
Listen, YouTube viewers hate these chairs, so guarantee the comments will be.
- [01:50]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, do they hate the chairs? Well, as a guest, I'm very happy to be here. However, I am slightly terrified I'm gonna go home with this chair. You know, one sneeze and it's perf gonna be mine.
- [02:02]
Damien Jake
Well, you might as well Stay here. Cause AEW all in is in the UK anyway, in a few months.
- [02:07]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
You know what? Yesterday you could have talked me into it. Yesterday I came over here and it was beautiful and sunshine and London was majestical with the sun out. And I was like, wow, I'm not used to this, it's so pretty. And so then I got up today, I was like, oh yeah, here's the London I remember. Yeah, there you go. Shame on me for having a positive attitude about the weather. I should have known better.
- [02:28]
Damien Jake
What are the London wrestling fans like?
- [02:30]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
What do they like? Rabid, I guess is a good word. It's amazing. You know, if you have two opponents and a referee, there's three people. And then you have the fourth player, which is the fans. And you know, you guys have your songs. The ole, ole, ole, ole. Which is great in the matches. And you know, I think Sweet Caroline, Sweet Caroline. My favorite chant was, you fat wanker. That was one of my favorites.
- [02:55]
Jake (Co-host)
That's nice.
- [02:56]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah.
- [02:56]
Damien Jake
Who was that at?
- [02:58]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
That was an O2 arena in London one year. It was like, you fat wanker. And I, of course my characters on the inside, I'm like, yes, I love you guys. And then I came back a year later and they're like, you still got it. I'm like, yes, I love you guys. You know, it's just a great relationship. I think that's why I wanted our talent to experience that. Because if you I had to do it harder, like. And of course it's all. I had to walk uphill both days in the snow and all that other stuff, being an old timer. But you didn't have all the digital media to help your exposures of talent. So my first trip over here with WWF at the time I came over with a rock a couple weeks in wwe. They didn't know who I was, even though I was a champion in wcw. We had TV in Germany, but we didn't have TV in the uk. WCW wasn't a real presence. So everyone was like, are you the rocks body guy? Are you the rocks body guy? You know, and it's like, no, I just signed with wwf. I don't even think I was the biggest. I think I was still Paul Wight. And then over the years I developed that relationship and earned it with him. And I think it's a great invention, tool for the talent now with social media and everything and all the platforms between like the all AEW and places where fans can see the events, that they can learn the characters because you guys know the ring music you know, the signature moves, you know the sayings. And that really builds a talents, confidence and sense of what they're doing. Because sometimes it's hard when nobody knows who you are and you're trying to do these things and everybody's like, yeah, mate, you want to hurry up and do something. We're not impressed. You know, I think you had to work a little bit harder for it back in the day. That might be just me being older and better that the kids have all them new fangled tools. It's one of the first conversations I had with Tony when I became a part of AEW and signed my contract. Literally minutes after inking the deal. We were talking about his ideas for AEW and how I can contribute. I says, man, we've got to get to London. We've got to get to O2 Arena. It's going to be great for our talent to experience that kind of crowd, the energy. We need to do some tours over here, hit all the places, Birmingham, Sheffield, London. All those places that I've hit over the years. And he took my advice and went right around 02 and went right to Wembley Stadium. There you go.
- [05:24]
Damien Jake
Wembley Stadium.
- [05:25]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah. I mean, I didn't even think that was a possibility when I was giving my sales pitch of what, yeah, we can do O2 Arena. He's like, yes, I'm a billionaire. We'll go to Wembley Stadium. All right. Well, there you go. Rock on, sir. Rock on.
- [05:37]
Jake (Co-host)
Brilliant. So what's the most fans you've ever performed in front of?
- [05:43]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I think Dallas, Hundred and something. Thousand, right? Yeah, I think that was one of the bigger ones.
- [05:50]
Damien Jake
My son was depressed the other day. Cause he's 10 and loves football, so assumes Wembley's the biggest stadium on the planet. And then he said, I'm gonna find out the biggest stadiums in the world. And like 8 of the top 10 are all in the US aren't they? They're all football stadiums in the United States.
- [06:02]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah, they're huge. Well, that's what I'm excited too, the World cup coming over. That ought to be great too. Fill those big stadiums up. Yeah, you guys spend a lot of money on sports over here, footballers and stuff, you know, like, it's massive how it's done. But the NFL now has just gone insane with some of these stadiums, like just even the service for the people in the seats, you know, some of these stadiums, you know, they have the digital pads there to order stuff. They don't have to leave their seat. Like it's starting to get, you Know, you know, follow the money. There's money being made somewhere because there's money being spent, so it's there.
- [06:38]
Jake (Co-host)
But when you perform in front of big crowds, like, you're going to do it Wembley, like, does it. Like, how do you prepare for that? Do you do anything differently?
- [06:46]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It is different. It's a difference between being on a nice lake or being in an ocean. You can feel a nice lake in a big arena, you can feel the people. When you're in a stadium show, it's an ocean of people. The reactions are a little slower coming back because we're very intuitive of what we're doing in the ring and communicating with the crowd. When you're in those big stadium shows, I think personally, you want to slow things down a little bit, let things. Because you've got people so far away, and yes, they can see on Titantrons and stuff like that, but you want to feel the ebb and flow and they have different rhythms.
- [07:31]
Damien Jake
This is a really interesting area that we love to talk about on this show. We've often had people who sit in the chair you're sitting and not squeezing into smaller people. Smaller people generally who spent their lives having to be somebody else.
- [07:42]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Right.
- [07:43]
Damien Jake
Yet what we love is a conversation with a real person. So do you like having conversations where you're Paul White rather than the big show?
- [07:51]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, you're talking to me now. Yeah, I mean, my character on tv, I mean, God knows if you've watched wrestling, I've had more turns than nascar. You know, I used to confuse myself. Am I a good guy or a bad guy? Am I smiling or frowning when I go down the ramp, what am I doing? Am I angry or am I happy? Am I high fiving or am I ignoring everybody? I think over time, I've learned to let that character go. Once I'm done, once I leave the building, I'm not that character anymore. When I go home, I'll change the occasional litter box occasionally. It's not my duties. I don't bend tall. It's too tall. You have to find a happy balance. My character is what I do for a living. It's not who I am.
- [08:41]
Jake (Co-host)
But you said you've had to learn that.
- [08:42]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I had to learn that because it was a different industry when I started. When I started, Hulk Hogan was Hulk Hogan all the time. Randy Savage was Randy Savage all the time. These guys were their characters in public because just like social media today, back then, those guys did a lot of word of mouth. So Hulk Hogan would go out with Yellow boots and Hulkster tights on and all these things. Like he, his, he had a Viper with Hulkster on it. Like everywhere he went, he was that gimmick. Randy Savage ran around all the time with Macho Man T shirts on. And I mean, these guys are always on that self promoting level and they were always in character. It was too much work for me. And I'm glad the business is involved because my character's been a bad guy a lot of times in my career. I'm not a bad guy. I like people. You know, I mean, sure, I have days where I don't want to be sociable. Yeah, I grab a book, I grab my basketball shorts, I got a cat. I chill that day. You know, I'm human too. But most of the time I try to take advantage of the success that I've had and just be nice to people, interact with them because I like people. I tell the younger talent now in a kind way, because with social media you start to judge your worth on likes and tweets and all the other garbage that I probably should know and don't know. I go back to the adage is you can't believe everything you read, good or bad about you, because no matter what you do, people are going to have an opinion. You have to know who you are as a talent and as a person. You can be a character on TV and play that character and do that character after that character is done. Who are you as an individual? And I think that's important to carry forward because you want to give people, I think, a positive experience. It's a great, I mean, it's not like Spider man, but it's a responsibility. You know, like I'm in people's living rooms. They've grown up watching me. They grew up watching with their parents or they're watching with their kids. Now they run across me. It takes 30 seconds, 45 seconds to be nice, take a selfie, say hello, be kind. You might be the only person they meet in their entire life. To me, it's every day. It happens hundreds of times a day. I'm grateful for it because of that same fact that I have a chance to maybe have someone make a good experience. One, you're building your brand because you build a fan for life. Two, you don't know what someone else is going through. You don't know what kind of day they've had. Just you acknowledging them. I see you. You matter. I'm engaged in talking to you. Even sometimes when I get hit with some I Bet I can take you. Take me where? Out to dinner. Like, come on, we don't want to fight. What are we doing? But people are just looking for interaction. They want to have a moment. They want to have that mem. And I think especially with wrestling, it's okay to give them a real moment and be a real person.
- [11:39]
Damien Jake
One of the things you said was that it became too hard for you to be the big show all the time rather than be yourself. Can you tell us more about that?
- [11:47]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
When I came in, I was billed as the son of Andre the Giant because that's the way the business was done then. Even to get into wrestling, when I started, there wasn't the Internet. You had to know someone to vouch for you that would. Someone then would train you. It was like a closed club to get into. It's not the spectacle that is now. With the opportunities that a lot of younger people have now to get into the industry, it was very hard to get in. And they were very protective of the gimmick. So my thing was, is like, yeah, my dad was a mechanic. My mom was a cop. Like, you know, like, I love watching your dad. I'm like, yeah, he could work on a car, buddy. I'm telling you, he was a good mechanic. But they were talking about Andre and I always hated that in the back of my mind because it's like, you know, because they come at you with such sincerity and such heartfelt. It means something to them, you know, that character does. And I just. I never like that part of calling myself Andre son. It's no disrespect to Andre in any way, shape or form. I wanted a better relationship with my fans. So, yeah, I say a lot of goofy things when I do interviews and I poke fun at myself, but I'm that way anyway. I'm a guy that self deprecating humor is. I love it. I'll pick on myself all day long. I love it. I love making people be comfortable. I like making people laugh. So that for me is more natural to do that. And I'm happy now that with our fans being smarter and having more access to things, they can definitely differentiate between me as a character and me as a person.
- [13:25]
Damien Jake
So few people know what it's like to live with acromegalia because very few people have that.
- [13:30]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
That's a weird one. That's a weird one.
- [13:32]
Damien Jake
Could you explain for us what it is like, daily?
- [13:36]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Well, I had the tumor fixed. The only thing now that's tough is just time, Bones. I mean, you know, like it's a lot of the thing that gives you your gifts and your strength when you're younger, the amazing athleticism and power and all that stuff. You know, in time you can't carry that size and mass around. So you have to find a way to make yourself healthier. And for me, I'm at 383 now. 350, 340. Looks really healthy for me now, you know, another 30, 40 pounds off. It's easier, move, walk more, do things like, yeah, I want to be able to, you know, say, I will make people laugh that know me. I'd love to be able to go on a hike through the mountains like you hike. I'd love to know that I could if I wanted to. You know, I'm lucky in the fact that because the acromania I didn't have any other real bad side effects. My heart is good, everything is good that way. I mean, the joints are fine now. I've had two knee replacements. Both knees are done, both hips are done. So joints are fine. I don't have joint pain anymore. I don't have any joints, so they don't hurt. Imagine that. You know, I don't have any of the sinus problems because the pituitary gland controls a lot of your sinuses and tear ducts. And there's a lot of, lot of important things that are done with the pituitary gland that I don't have problems with. So I'm very lucky in that aspect at this point. But I think it's just being able to deal with the freakiness. Like gloves, you know, it's very hard for me to find gloves that fit. You know, it's like, oh, we've got four XL gloves. Okay, great. I order them. Yeah, they don't fit, you know, watches. Like I'm running around with an apple watch now. That's like two watch bands put together to go around, you know, like I have a beautiful, beautiful panerai watch that I absolutely love. I ordered the biggest band they could get for it. It's still about that far from being able to work. So I have this beautiful eight day Panerai. I can't get a band to fit it so it looks good in the case. Can't wear it, so now we're stuck with an apple watch.
- [15:36]
Damien Jake
How old were you when you were told you had this condition?
- [15:39]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I was 19. I went my whole life.
- [15:45]
Damien Jake
You must have been wondering.
- [15:46]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No, I just thought I was. You know, it's funny, I thought I was just gifted Because I had incredible endurance and I ate whatever I wanted and I could run all day and strong and all that. And then I went to Wichita State and the doctor there had worked at the Mayo Clinic and was familiar with. He looked at my hands and there's different things, like the roof of my mouth is. The roof of my mouth is very high and jawline and sinuses and stuff like that. He says, the answer is, I think you have acromegalia. I'm like, what? You know, and then within a week, I was at the Mayo Clinic, you know, and they're telling me they gotta do this pituitary surgery. And like, what? I had a tumor. This is why I'm this way.
- [16:28]
Damien Jake
I mean, that's scary, right?
- [16:29]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah, I mean, I probably would have been a. I probably where I'm lucky is I would have been big anyway. I would have been probably 6, 7, 6, 8 anyway, because my family's big. So I didn't. I got the benefits of it, but I didn't have a lot of the trauma that a lot of people that get acromegaly that go through because they weren't made to be bigger people. So they really got the bad end of the deal for the bone growth and other problems.
- [16:58]
Jake (Co-host)
And was it at that age where they said that life expectancy was.
- [17:03]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
That was just a figure that I was told because I almost didn't get the surgery. And they were telling me, they were like, well, if you don't get this surgery, you'll probably be dead by the time you're 45. Because this will shut down. This will happen, this will happen. You know, And I remember thinking, like, ah, 45 is a long time away. I don't know. I mean, you know, I'm gonna start my sophomore season at Wichita State. I don't know, maybe I should just, you know, not get the surgery. And I remember my, My sister was very adamant at the time, no, you're getting the surgery, so. Which was a funny rib. Cause I had the surgery done. And they go through the front of your nose to do the surgery. But if you intersect through the ear and through the front of the nose, and where they intersect under the front lobe of the brain is a pituitary glands and a little pocket. Well, they go in there, chip the bone out, they laser out the pituitary gland, and they pack it with a little bit of fat till the bone grows back. But you have this big bandage on your nose and your sinuses are packed with gauze and they tell you, no bending over no straining. If you suddenly get a really wet nosebleed, try to call 911 because the synovial fluid just dumped out of your brain. It's going to ground out. So then you have like, okay, thanks. So you're like this. But I couldn't taste anything. And the only thing I could taste at the time was the mushroom and Swiss burgers from Hardee's. I could kind of taste it if I move, you know. So I sent my sister to what do you want? I said, four mushroom and Swiss burgers from Hardee's. And my sister at the time was. Was really heavy. And she goes, can you please order something else? Because I've gone in there for five days in a row and ordered four mushrooms and Swiss burgers. She says, I know I'm fat, but now they're starting to look at me like she's so judged. Yeah, she was like, we know why you're fat, lady. You know what I mean? And she was eating good and trying to. She was on her own program to lose weight. Can you please, please just order somewhere else? Please?
- [18:58]
Damien Jake
Well, make sure you stay where you are because in a moment, Paul's going to explain to us why Steve Austin changed his career. We'll be right back after a quick word from our partners.
- [19:12]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Traffic may be locked, but savings isn't. Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile with unlimited wireless for just $25 a month. Forever. No contracts, no hikes, and you keep your phone. Unlock the savings@boostmobile.com Unlock $25 forever requires customers to remain active on Boost Unlimited wireless plan. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com this summer. Don't squeeze in. Spread out. Find homes big enough for your whole guest list on vrbo.
- [19:35]
Damien Jake
From family reunions to trips with friends,
- [19:38]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
VRBO has spacious summer stays for every group size and budget.
- [19:43]
Damien Jake
That's vacation rentals done right.
- [19:45]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Start exploring on VRBO and book your next day now.
- [20:00]
Jake (Co-host)
But some of those qualities you're describing about being kind and being empathetic and giving people that special moment, it sounds like it might have come from your own circumstances.
- [20:11]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Anyway, 100% I've had in a good way. I mean, I was six two at 12. I was six eight at 14. I mean, I was seven foot as a senior high. I've always had people stare and take pictures and, oh, my God, you're so. I'm tall. I never knew that. Thank you for telling me. Like, yeah, early in my teens. Of course, as most teenagers when they're younger, you're angry and bitter. About it. And everything's in a front. It took time to understand, to get out of your own head space. And it's not all about you. These are just natural interactions for other people that haven't seen anything like you. And when you get a platform and a blessing to, like, you know, be a part of AEW or the other companies that I've worked for, that was a blessing to use the size and use the spectacle that I am to also be kind, you know, and I'm not out trying to save the world and anything that's not it. I can control the three feet around me. And I try to make anyone that has interaction with me have a good interaction. I mean, I get it. I'm sure I failed. I'm human. I'm sure sometimes I've been a grumpy jackass. I don't remember it offhand, but I'm sure there's someone out there who said that. One time in Louisiana, and I tried to stop you and you were getting on the plane. I mean, I don't know could have happened. But my general rule is kind of like a doctor, do no harm. Mine's just be kind.
- [21:39]
Jake (Co-host)
But I find that remarkable. When you talk about, like, the height you were at that young adolescent stage.
- [21:45]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It was brutal.
- [21:46]
Jake (Co-host)
Yeah. Because it makes you an object of curiosity. And at that age, nobody wants to stand out for the wrong reasons.
- [21:52]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Well, you don't want to stand out for the wrong reasons. And I didn't grow up with a lot of, like. I got in a lot of fights when I was a kid. A lot of fights. And I wasn't fighting kids my age. I was fighting older kids and adults.
- [22:04]
Damien Jake
Why
- [22:07]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I didn't older kids? Mainly because they picked on me. I didn't. I mean, I remember going to school with one blue shoe and one green shoe in the wintertime because my feet were growing so big. I was blowing my shoes out faster than my parents could buy them. But they were only two shoes that didn't have holes in them. So then I told everybody I was colorblind. Oh, I didn't know. I'm colorblind. Then they made fun of me for being colorblind. I wasn't colorblind. I just didn't want to tell him I was poor. So then I went to that school for a year, and it was like, oh, what color is this? And then I had to learn about being colorblind of what colors you can't see and what you can't see. So I could fake it. And I was like, you know, those are the things you go through as a youth where you put this pressure on yourself and you think everyone's coming after you, and you get wrapped up in your own bubble. In time, I was gracious enough to have grace from other people, to explain to me that I'm human, too, and to give other people patience. I think the biggest thing is I learned to adjust what affects me, because everything that comes at you, whether it's love or anger or humiliation, all those things that come at you, it's how you take it in. You have to know your own value and your own worth. You know, they can call me a freak. They could say I'm ugly, they could say I'm dumb. Whatever those things were. It's how I feel about me. I'm not going to let them determine who I am and how I'm going to interact with someone else.
- [23:46]
Jake (Co-host)
That's a remarkable level of awareness and emotional control. Like, how do you learn to do that?
- [23:52]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
A lot of pain. A lot of pain. You would think with that size and athletic ability and whatnot, that the world would be my oyster. And this is not a pity me thing. But I can remember even being a young teenager trying to date. Okay, we're 14, 15. You get freshman high school or eighth grade. There's the dance, there's the girl you really like, you have a crush on. It's natural, okay? Yeah, but when you're 6, 8, 240 pounds, you've got hair on your chest and shaving. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. Girls that age look at you like you're a freak. They'll call you a freak. Ew. Why are you talking to me? Those are things you had to adjust and learn. You know, you would get summer jobs. A lot of times I would get summer jobs. And some of the jobs are available, like, I'm not going to bag groceries. You know, I get construction jobs that paid better. Well, then I'm on construction jobs with grown men, and I'm 16, I'm 6, 10. And then you got grown men that these guys drink and they smoke and they've got bad marriages and they're angry and they're, you know, and then they would ride you to a certain point. And you're young and you're humble and you're trying to be nice and you have respect and they lip off, and then you end up beating the 11 tar out of the whole work crew. And, you know, you're 16, and there's your whole work Crew in the ditch, beat up, you know.
- [25:15]
Damien Jake
So were you unhappy at this time?
- [25:17]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yes and no. I think I masked a lot. Wow. This is a damn therapy session. I think I masked a lot of my unhappiness by going overboard the other way. To be funny, to be witty, to
- [25:33]
Jake (Co-host)
be,
- [25:35]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I think, approachable and safe. Cause if I'm not outgoing, if I'm just me, I know I'm scary. Like, people say, oh, my God, I hate to meet you in a dark alley. My reply to that is, why I might know the way out. And it disarms people because you can't expect people. And I had to learn this in wrestling, too. Like, when I first started wrestling, there were a lot of guys that didn't know how to work with someone my size. So it was up to me to learn how to help them work with me. Because I was doing things I shouldn't have been doing in my career. And the other old timers were like, oh, you shouldn't do this and you shouldn't do that. Like, I'm just trying. I'm trying to say, oh, be a giant. Well, what does that mean? You know, what does that mean? What does that mean? What does that mean? I had to learn how in my career to understand that a lot of guys that are great talents are used to working with guys their size. They're not used to working with some of my size. So how do I make myself valuable? By being able to tell a story in the ring, working with them where it looks like they legitimately have a chance to beat me or legitimately do beat me and tell that story, the David and Goliath story, if I'm a bad guy, or how do I create a situation if I'm a good guy where they have to beat me up? How do I get myself in situations where I could have had something happen to my knee or they poked me in the eye, or like the Princess Bride when Kerry Eules choked Andre. You know, how do I create those scenarios where it's believable? You know, those were things that I had to learn along the way to tell that story, to understand that it's not their fault. They don't know.
- [27:16]
Jake (Co-host)
But I love that line that you used before about, I learned grace. I'm interested in who helped you learn it and what were the specific lessons that just reflection.
- [27:28]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I didn't have. Like, I lost. I played basketball. I lost my grandfather, my father, and my coach. My coach that recruited me for Wichita State, Coach Cohen, he lost his job. So three men that had real positive influences on me. And, you know, my father was older and he wasn't a, you know, give you a hug, cookie kind of guy. He was a hard working man that I learned respect from. And, you know, if you're going to do a job, you do it. Your words, your bond, you know, that kind of grief. I call it grief now. But he was a stickler. I lost access to those guys and it was a tough time. Where's my place in the world? Because when you have this immense size, everybody's got an opinion on what you should do. Oh, you should play football, you should play basketball, you should do this, you should do that. Well, why aren't you doing. Why are you a doorman at this club? You should be doing this. Well, that's great. Those opportunities aren't there. I'd love to. How do I make that happen? I think just over the constant barrage of stuff, I had two choices I could make. I could have became very bitter. And I don't want to say violent because I don't think that's in my nature, but surely there's potential for that with enough. Or I could learn to manage it where I could live with it. And there's a funny saying, even when I'm in a grumpy mood because I'm human too. Fake it till you make it. And I learned that on days where I am grumpy and I don't want to see anybody, I don't want to talk to anybody, I don't want any comments on my height. I don't want to hear how big I am. Like now I'm older. Yeah, I just had a surgery. I don't want to be asked why I'm limping, you know, but people don't know, so you have to understand. I'm letting them wind me up, expecting other people to know everything that bothers me. And I expect them to know about it, though they don't know me. You're supposed to know what makes me upset. It's your fault, because. No, it's my fault for how I'm reacting to it. If there's a way to explain it in a way so they understand, good. If there's not, it's how I take it in. What am I taking in? And I think that's just over time, I learned to not be offended by people that were sometimes rude. There's. There's another one. Like people come up to me all the time and they're fans. But when you think about it, when I say this you're gonna laugh. They'll ask for a picture. Then they'll say, hey, can you grab me by the neck? I'm like, no, that's your kink. I'm not. Grabbing strange men I don't know by the neck is not my kink, dude. Like, oh. Oh, yeah. Cause they're just excited. They don't mean to be rude about it. They're just excited for an experience. Well, I'm not comfortable grabbing people I don't know by the neck. Not my thing. You know what I mean? So how do we work around that where I'm not offended by it, I'm not unnecessarily mean to them. And how do we have a good interaction and everybody has a better day? Because when you put yourself in a bad mood because someone else made you upset, it messes your day up, too. So why are you doing that? Why are you letting someone. It's not that you have to be arrogant and live in your own world and, oh, I'm bulletproof. No, I have feelings, too. Sure. And I have. Even those situations you pull back out of and go, what's going on here? You know, what's really happening? Am I upset at them? Or is there something else that's bugging me? Let's figure this out. Because I like being happy. I get mad about things in life. Here's my reset. I'll get pissed off about opportunities, parts I read for. I didn't get matches, I didn't get that I wanted angles, those things that, as a competitive professional, things that you want, they don't happen. That's life. Not everything goes your way, princess. Sorry. I'll get mad. I'll go in the pantry. I'll open the pantry. Food. I'll open the fridge. Food. I'll turn the lights on and off. They work. I'll open the garage. Nice car. You're all right. What are you bitching about? You got a roof over your head. You know, a lot of people don't have that. You have food in the fridge. A lot of people don't have that. You've got nothing to be upset about.
- [31:50]
Jake (Co-host)
Stop.
- [31:51]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
And that's the mental check that I do to myself when shit starts bothering me, because the rest of it's immaterial. It doesn't matter. So that's why, like, people ask me, and I know this is kind of leading on, and sorry, but I don't have a lot of wrestling stuff up in my house. I mean, I have a storage unit full of stuff, you know, but I have one title up in my house. I have one AEW chair in my office folding chair. That's pretty cool. And I have one picture on my desk. And that's all I have. Because I don't live in yesterday. I'm in what's today, what's tomorrow. I can't go back in time and live in those great moments where I was on top of the world. I can't go back in time and change the mistakes that I made. It's gone. But I can control what I do today and what I'm going to do tomorrow. That's where I'm at. Those are my black and white options right here. And I try to control. I don't try to control how you think, how you think. I can control my interaction with you. I can defend myself. I can protect myself as far as my boundaries and all that. But it's not up to me to blame or get mad at you because of what you're doing. You want an interaction? Okay, well, we'll calm it down and we'll have a good interaction. And if you can't, well, then I'm gonna move on, do my own thing. Plus, breaking a guy's jaw in New York in your 20s and spending a couple hundred grand in attorney's fees teaches you to be calm. We'll just throw that in there.
- [33:17]
Damien Jake
Would you please tell us the story?
- [33:20]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It's on the Internet. You can find it. Come on. I had a fan years ago that got really obnoxious in a hotel, and there was no security there, and it was a lobby full of people, and he was just being a complete jackass. And I went over to say, look, dude, calm down. Wrestling's not real. Slow your roll. And I was wound up, too, because it's embarrassing. This guy's yelling and screaming, and I've done some bouncing and bars and been in some situations, so you always have to keep your situational awareness going. And he made a move. And I honestly thought, with my peripheral vision down low, I thought he was going to stab me in the stomach with something. I didn't know if he had a knife or if he had a pen. He was making a flinch move, but at the time, I thought he was going to stab him. So I cracked him in the jaw. It's fine. Not really, because it took me, you know, a lot of money to go to court and defend myself and all that. And it was just like, you know, being older, I could have prevented that whole situation, you know, how. Not getting involved.
- [34:26]
Damien Jake
Yeah.
- [34:26]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
What does it matter if he's screaming? You want to scream obscenities at me and okay, knock yourself out. I'm going to get my free pint of ice cream at the front desk and go to my room and have my little fat party and enjoy my ice cream and feel sorry for myself. I'm kidding. I don't do that. But with youth is wasted on the young. I think with wisdom comes those things where you learn to budget a lot of that stuff. I have friends now that are older, they're still grumpy, they get hot really quick. Because when you're a bigger guy, people want to come up and slap you on the back really hard to say hello. Okay, I don't like it. But I'm not going to react as aggressively as other people. I'm like, oh, you slap everybody you don't know. Like that. Like, we'll have fun with it. I try to, because that's an easier mechanism for me now, if you came up and slapped my kid or my cats or my family, something like that. Well, we're gonna have. You're gonna get a different interaction, I promise you. But me, I'm fine. I have one of my friends. If you did that to him, he'd rip the skin off of you. You know, Mark Henry. Mark Henry. And then I've seen people do it, and I've been there. I'm like, why in the world would you come up and slap Mark Henry on the back and you don't know him? Like, Mark Henry is literally the world's strongest man. Like, what in your brain made you think. And I've done it. I said, what in your mind told you that was a good idea? Because Mark gets mad. He doesn't like that. And that's his thing. And Mark's a sweetheart. He's beautiful guy from Silsby, Texas. Beautiful human being. But I've seen guys come up and slap Mark Henry real hard on the back. Hey, Mark doesn't know you. Like, where did you think, well, this is a good idea. You know, obviously people don't think.
- [36:17]
Damien Jake
It's a reminder, I think, that people see the size, they just see the size. And what's really interesting about the, you know, the conversation that we're having is you. There's a few things that leap out to me. For a start, you're a stoic, right? Secondly, you're an empath. So I only think you become empathetic if you had the experiences that you've had when you're young, and they are painful. And they're horrible. And you wouldn't wish them on anyone else. But there's also a moment in your life where you have to look back on those experiences and be grateful for
- [36:45]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
them because they've made you 100% everything that is uncomfortable or annoying again. That's why we go to the pantry. That's why we turn the light on and off. That's why we look at the fridge. Because of all those things that aggravate me. I have all these blessings. I'm a small town kid from South Carolina. Okay. I'm not a great student, you know, I'm not going to do anything worthwhile to help mankind. I've got none of those things to offer. I wear spandex. I entertain people occasionally. I make people laugh. If I can get a good joke. That was your chance to laugh. I work on my material. There you go. Gratuitous laugh. There you go.
- [37:25]
Damien Jake
I guess. Edit it in and no one will ever know.
- [37:27]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No one will ever know. Magic of editing. You go through those things and you have to learn to handle it. The pain and the insults and the gawking and the staring and the comments where people talk just loud enough that you can hear them, but they can't help themselves. Oh, my God, look at the size of him. It's like, yeah, that's frustrating. But also I have all these blessings. I'm a small town kid from South Carolina. I've been everywhere in the world. I've been fortunate enough to stand at the great pyramids and even, you know, I've been through uk, London, England. I've been all the world. Japan, China, South America, South Africa, Australia. I've got to see all these places that with my upbringing and educational background I'd only ever seen in magazines or books or on tv. But I've been given this wonderful gift and opportunity because of my size, certainly not because of my talent, but because of my size. To travel the world and to do all these amazing things and, and meet people that are heroes and people that I grew up watching on television or movies or wrestling or music even. And I get to meet these people and it's like, you know, we got a pretty good gig. I've got nothing to be upset about.
- [38:49]
Jake (Co-host)
But I've noticed in like, even in our interaction here, Paul, that there's an element of self deprecation that you engage in 100%. So how do you do that? And I get why. I think you do it to put
- [39:00]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
people at ease and also keep myself humble.
- [39:03]
Jake (Co-host)
But how do you do that without making yourself feel diminished by doing it.
- [39:09]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I keep a good. That's a good question. That's really inside. Jesus. I feel like I'm going through therapy here. I do it to keep myself. I keep the monster in check. Because you don't know how hard it is to not be a monster. With the amount of success that I attained early in life, you know, it's tough. I think when you throw a lot of success on someone, they're in their teens and twenties and expect them to be put together, you know what I mean? You're gonna make bad decisions, you're gonna do things that aren't good for you, you're gonna make bad interactions with people, you're gonna make mistakes. I don't know if your brain hasn't grown up yet or mine hadn't grown up yet. The self deprecating humor. For me, if I don't take myself so seriously and I don't put myself on a pedestal, then I'm never going to be upset if somebody else doesn't. You know what I mean? I know my value. I know my worth. If someone doesn't see my worth, okay, they don't see it. Then either my work needs to improve so they can see my worth or they're not gonna see my worth. And that's okay too. You know, I've read for some parts, for some movies that I knew I can do this, I didn't get the part. Now that's, that's. If I was an actor and had to make money on being an actor, I'd be starving. I'm lucky enough that I had the opportunity to read for parts, have the opportunity to try and have the opportunity to improve at that craft. But there's a lot of rejection in it. They don't care how many followers I have on social media. They don't care about how many shows I've already done. What are they looking at? They're looking for the right fit for this character. They're looking for the right performance. Now I can get mad and say, oh, well, it's because of this. What's the line, everyone? Oh, it's politics. It's not politics. It's one thing I've learned. Yes, being in the right place at the right time is very important. Agree. But also there's a thing called talent. You know, if you have talent, you put the right performance out there, it's going to get noticed. How many people do we know that came out of not nowhere Stars overnight impress people with a song or A performance in a film is because they hit that groove and had that talent to make that work. You can't be jealous of that or mad about it. You have to look and say, okay, they found a way. I can find a way to. So that's the Kool Aid that I'm sipping now. So talk to me. In 10 years, if things didn't work out, I'm going to. Might be bitter as hell, but right now I think that's just what I keep rolling. I mean, keeping my own peace is what's important now and not letting anything else destroy that peace. And being honest with yourself. Because if you have people telling you how great you are all the time, oh, you're amazing, you're great, you're a legend, you're this, you're that, you suck that up all the time. Where's your perspective? Where's your perspective on what's going on? Some of those things may have been true at one time. Some of those things are great. Where are we now? What are we doing today? Where are we at today? How's our body feeling today? How are we doing? Where's our head at for our productivity? What do we got going on? What's our goals? What's our ambitions? How do we stay motivated? Because, yeah, right now I'm at the stage I could sit on my ass and never leave my house again and be fine. Is that the person that I want to be? No. I want new challenges, I want new goals. And these goals are attainable. Some of them will take a lot of hard work. Some of them might not be possible, you know, and those are things we have to accept. But in the meantime, I can get up every day, lace my shoes up tight and move forward, onward and upward.
- [42:51]
Damien Jake
I'm interested in the moment where the condition that could have killed you if it wasn't treated well, I would have been.
- [42:59]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It would have caused long term health issues. Like I probably wouldn't have made it to my age now because with acromegalia and the growth hormone, pituitary gland, it will enlarge the heart. It will grow the bones to where joints stop moving, fusing them. Organs will grow. Your liver, your intestines, all that stuff will overgrow and you'll probably be dead by, I think, late 40s is probably a good estimate.
- [43:25]
Damien Jake
Like Andre.
- [43:26]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah, Andre. God bless Andre. He had it rougher than I did. Because when Andre was Andre, you didn't have the. People couldn't see social media and see pictures of all these different kinds of people. These tall people, these big people, you know, Andre was literally that spectacle which made him one of the most impressive draws in the world. When Andre the Giant was on a card, you got off your butt, you went down, you bought a ticket, you went to the show because you had to see this thing. And I think Andre dealt a lot of that. Like, he drank a lot, you know, And I think that was the thing that. That really got to Andre by the end was just the. The pain of having the acromegalia, the. The joint pain and stuff like that, which comes, you know, I think that he didn't do the right things to take care of himself. And I didn't when I was younger either. I didn't expect, you know, and it sounds morbid, but I didn't expect to live a long time. You don't see old giants. You know, my 20s, I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. You know, I would drink, you know, a bottle of Jack Daniels in a setting, you know, like, I didn't play around. Like, I. I drank, I smoked, I ran hard. And I had a lot of friends that would get mad at me, like, you know, well, don't say that. It's so morbid. Don't say that. I'm like, dude, I'm not here.
- [44:45]
Jake (Co-host)
Say what?
- [44:46]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No, because I say. I wouldn't. I wasn't. I wasn't gonna live long. I said, I'm not here for a long time. I'm here for a good time. That was my line, and I meant it. And then as I started getting old, I was like, you know, you got responsibility. You got people that count on you. You're being very selfish, I guess is a way to put it. And then over time, I was like, hey, time's kind of flying by. Maybe I ought to straighten up and, you know, lose some weight, not be 530 pounds, not smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, you know, not eat 10 hot dogs at a setting. Maybe you ought to eat better and take care of yourself because, you know, life is pretty good.
- [45:23]
Jake (Co-host)
What was the catalyst for that?
- [45:29]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Just obviously there was a lot of depression involved with it as far as just not happy with myself, not happy with way things were going. I needed to make a change. And that was around 2006. I was hurt really bad. I just come off a run as an ECW champion. Back was bad, knees were bad. I was 537 pounds, I think, and my contract had ended with WWE. I didn't want to sign a new one. I didn't want to Wrestle anymore. I was just. I was miserable. I didn't like traveling. I was too big for planes, I was too big for cars. I just. Nothing. My career was going nowhere at the time. I was still being used as a talent, but I knew there wasn't. There wasn't any opportunities for me because I was stuck in a spot. And I took that year off and. And got into shape and lost some weight and quit smoking and. And cleaned my act up and fell in love with wrestling again. Fell in love with it's fun again. I'm healthy. I'm able to breathe in the ring, I'm able to move. I'm able to get in there and earn the respect of my peers and stuff. And that. I think that 2008, when I came back was when things really, I think, took a real positive turn for my career.
- [46:44]
Jake (Co-host)
Did you have a moment, you know, like when you've been told that 45 is a likely life expectancy? Did you have a moment when you did start to approach that age where it had an impact on you?
- [46:55]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I think I really started paying attention to stuff around 35, you know, 34, 35. I was like, wow, 40 is getting here kind of quick. I think Andre died at 46. I think that's how laundry was. So you start looking around these things, it's like, you know, I need to get my stuff together, you know, and that was just one of those kind of things. Like, I had some really close friends that I would make the jokes, hey, I'm not here for a long time, just a good time. And, you know, and they would get upset, you know, and not because the joke was bad, but it's because they were really sad that that was my attitude on things, you know, And I started reflecting on that a little bit. It's like, yeah, you know, you're being an idiot. Like, maybe you should take some accountability and grow the F up, you know. So then we started doing it. It's not an easy process. It was a battle, you know, even dieting. Now, I make the joke on dieting. The first three letters in the word diet is die. You know what I mean? When you. You like food, it's. It's tough to get through that, that precursor, that hang up, that, you know, food's your escape. And I think that was a lot of stuff, too. With everything that happened, that food became like an emotional outlet because, you know, it's a reward. There's dopamine that drops in your brain when you eat, how food that you want and stuff like that. And then even a while after you've eaten clean and done well, you'll see all the commercials for the foods on tv. Then you're like, oh, so sneak off and get it. Then you're getting like, God, this tastes like crap. Because it's your brain playing with you. You know, you don't really need it. And you got to get to a point where you realize that that's not who you are or what you need. You can still have good foods. I mean, I do my thing now is I just watch my calories, you know, I mean, I eat sensibly, but hey, if I want a meatball sub, I'm gonna get one. That's my calories for the day.
- [48:44]
Damien Jake
You in a deficit because you're trying
- [48:45]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
to suffer a deficit right now. I'm burning. According to Mr. Fitbit, I run about 3,400 calories a day doing nothing because I was sick one day and I had this on and I took less than 500 steps and didn't move all day, and I burned 3,400 calories existing. So I'm like, okay, well, that's our bottom end. So how do we. What do we go from there? So then I try to keep myself, and I give room for error because who knows with my size how accurate it is? So I keep myself right at 26, 2,700 calories a day and try to give myself between 3,500 and 5,000 calories deficit at the end of the week for every seven days. And that runs about a pound a week right now. And I've lost a lot of weight faster before, but those were when I was a lot more active. I was doing 15, 20 miles a day on a bike. I was going to the gym. I didn't have two fake knees and two fake hips, and I was, you know, 11 years younger.
- [49:44]
Damien Jake
What was your calorie intake in your wrestling peak?
- [49:46]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, dude, it was over 10, 12,000 calories a day, easy.
- [49:52]
Damien Jake
What were you eating to get that amount of calories?
- [49:54]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Name it. I ate whatever I want. Like, it was nothing for me to do. Like two double meat meatball foot long subways. I'd eat two of them, you know, right there.
- [50:07]
Damien Jake
What was breakfast?
- [50:09]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Pancakes, chicken fried steak? Just. It's absurd. When I look back now, there's no way right now I could come close to eating some of the foods that I used to eat. I'm like, God, I used to eat that much. Like, why? You know what I mean? Now it's like, you know, I run pretty good now. My thing is now I pretty much got into a rhythm. I know what I'm eating during the day and how much to eat. And sometimes things don't work out so I'll have to eat something that's not very skosh, you know, I'm like, okay, well that's going to be a big hit on the calories today. So we'll be trimming the rest of the day, you know, but most of the time right now it's just, just roll with the punches and roll with the flow.
- [50:52]
Damien Jake
Stay where you are because in a moment we're going to go deep into the world of wrestling. What was the behavior from John Cena that left Paul open mouthed? Stay where you are. We'll be right back after a quick word from our partners. What if the real question isn't where you're going but the adventures you experience along the way? It's time to set your sights higher on peaks still to be climbed, rivers still to be crossed, and greater dreams to pursue. It's time to embrace the impossible with Defender, a family of vehicles built around capability, durability, tested on some of the most difficult terrain. Defender defines tough luxury and I should know. I've driven one for the past three years. I have the Defender 130. But from the compact confidence of the Defender 90 to the versatility of the 110 through to mine, the Defender 130 with seating for up to eight, there's endless potential. You feel it in the details as well. The rugged body design, the robust materials all working together so you can head out with confidence. And inside Clearsight technology helps you see the world around you in a new way. While the PV Pro keeps your navigation routes and playlists flowing seamlessly as you go. And with up to 89 cubic feet of cargo space, there's room for everything you need on your journey. Explore the full Defender lineup@land roverusa.com I don't know about you, but I really love keeping my money where I can actually see it. Unfortunately, traditional big wireless companies seem to like hanging onto my money for me. For years I was overpaying for wireless simply because it's what I used to do. I didn't really question the high monthly bill, the extra fees, or those free perks that somehow end up costing me. Eventually I realized it didn't make sense, so I switched to Mint Mobile. Most people just accept overpaying for their phone bill, but you don't have to, thanks to Mint Mobile. With premium wireless plans Starting at just 15 bucks a month, you still get high speed data and limited talk and text, all on the nation's largest 5G network. Honestly, the wireless service is just as good as the traditional big carriers. It's easy to switch too. Keep your phone, your number and get set up in minutes with esim. No contracts, no hassle. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans@mintmobile.com HPP that's mintmobile.com HPP upfront payment of $45 for three months. Five gigabyte plan required equivalent $15 a month new customer offer for first three months only. Then full price for plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.
- [53:08]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile and save up to $600 a year. I've been scouting these big carriers for a minute now and I've seen them pull the same play a thousand times. They promise you the world, then hit you with a price hike right when the game gets tight. But boost mobile, their $25 a month unlimited wireless plan is the most consistent player on the floor. No contracts and no price hikes. Unlock the Savings today@boostmobile.com Unlock based on average annual single line payment of AT&T, Verizon and T mobile customers compared to 12 months of the Boost Mobile unlimited wireless plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit Boost Mobile.com
- [53:41]
Damien Jake
right, we're going to talk wrestling.
- [53:44]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I love the therapy session though. Nice trick. As great as all over to London and have therapy. Like, geez, okay, you know, it still
- [53:52]
Damien Jake
might be slightly therapy. Ish. You never know. When was the moment that you did something as a wrestler and thought, hold on. The thing that I thought was gonna be the bane of my life when I was younger is gonna give me the greatest gifts that I could ever have imagined.
- [54:08]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Hmm. In wrestling. That's an interesting context to try to put that into play. I don't think I've had any of those kind of hits. I've had some moments where I've been like, wow, I can't believe I'm here doing this. Like, wow, this is pretty amazing. I've had some moments in the ring with some opponents, whether it's Hogan or Savage or even Undertaker. Some of those moments where I've been in the ring and realized like, wow, I'm really doing this. This is pretty awesome.
- [54:44]
Damien Jake
What was the turning point from just being another wrestler to actually having like, what you think was a key moment in your career?
- [54:53]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I think a good one was there's an event where I Figured out my character and what I brought to the table was working with Stone Cold actually over here on a UK tour. And early in my career, everyone was like, oh, be a giant. Be. What does that mean? What does that mean? Because if you work strong and, you know, sell, it just looks like you don't know how to sell and the other guy doesn't know how to punch. And I had a. I had a match with Stone Cold. We had a dark match after a raw TV over here. And they wanted. Vince wanted me to beat Steve. And I remember Steve had his little dip cup. And Vince goes, read the. Like you to put show over tonight. Want to get him up and running. And Steve goes down. Vince, these people paid a lot of money to see Stone Cold hit a few stunners, drink a few beers, not do a job to the big show. And I'm standing there and I'm like, hey, you know this is fake, right? Like, I can sling your guts all over the place. In my brain, I never do that because I have respect for Steve. But in my brain I'm like, dude, it ain't real. Like, what's the problem? I'm such a pos that you can't put me. And Steve was right. I did not have the talent or the presence at that particular time to beat him.
- [56:14]
Damien Jake
Looking back now with wisdom in front of you to say that.
- [56:17]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Well, yeah, but it was business. That's the thing about wrestling that you've got to learn not to be so sensitive about your feelings because you're going to hear a lot of stuff you don't want to hear because it's business. That's the entertainment world anyway. You guys are entertainment. You hear a lot of things. Like, you would never say that to anyone else, but you've heard it, you know. So Vince goes over to talk to Steve. They have a conversation, they come back. Steve's got a point. Well, yeah, he does. He's one of the top merchandise sellers at the time. He's one of the biggest stars. I'm sure he does make a good point. So we go out and wrestle. And I had bumped Steve out to the floor. I went out to get him, I went to throw him back in the ring and I pulled his shorts up his butt by accident. And didn't do it on purpose. I wasn't being a smart ass. I just mistimed it. I got in the ring, he was like, bang, bang, bang. He hit me three times right in the chin, hard. It's got big burly knuckles on him too. He goes, off the tights, you big son of a bitch. Like, he was mad, and I got mad and I grabbed him by the face and I ran him over in the corner. I was like. Like, I got mad. And him being the wily veteran that he is, he goes, there you go, kid. Way to fire up. So everything he did after that, I beat the snot out in a working way, in a safe way. But I worked like my size. And he hit me with a stunner. And I'm like, okay, well, match is over. That's his finish. And he covers me. He goes, kick out. And now I'm thinking he's trying to get me fired because no one kicks ass with Stunner. No one does. But although this is all happening while the three count's going down, I'm like, okay, well, the referee heard it, and I know that the ring posts are microphone. Okay, I'll do what he says. So I kicked out. The arena went, no one. Kicked out of the stunner. No one. And granted, he wouldn't have done this if this was on tv, and I understand that, but this is a live event kind of thing. This is just for the crowd. This is after. After tv, get up, hit me with another stunner, covers me, kick out. He hit me with seven of them. The last one, he goes, all right, I'm blowing up. Let's go home. So he covered me, and every stunner got louder and louder and louder. And something clicked in my brain about what everybody was trying to do, because there wasn't anybody like me. I wasn't as good as Undertaker. I wasn't as good as Cain. I wasn't Andre. I was a weird hybrid of the three. So how do I work and maintain a career and work with other talent and become a legitimate, dependable talent, not just something that you get featured, you make some money off of, but you can't really do anything else with a talent you can rely on. Then I got it. I can sell anything. It's how I respond. It's how I respond. And that changed my career as far as the way I approach my matches, what I would do with other guys, what I could do, what I wouldn't do. It really helped me come into my own on that one. And that moment was. I attribute 100% to Stone Cold. He was great for doing that.
- [59:21]
Jake (Co-host)
See, what stands out for me when I'm listening to you, Paul, is that one. You seem like a sponge. You're open to new ideas and physical.
- [59:28]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I'm a Sponge art goes in one ear, right out the other, kind of like a sieve.
- [59:31]
Damien Jake
Not true.
- [59:32]
Jake (Co-host)
See, again, there's the self deprecation. But I also think that you spoke about being in an entertainment industry where some of the conversations are pretty brutal about you. So that interaction with Steve, that fight, sounds like it's somebody that's taking you under their wing and showing you how to utilize what you've got.
- [59:50]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, 100%. Here's the thing. Stone Cold was right. And let me explain this, Steve was 100% right. Because in our business, you have to really earn through work presentation to be in certain positions. You'll get opportunities. Whether you stay in that position or go past that position or succeed in that position is on you. There's no politic. Oh, it's polit. No, that's not it. It's your work rate. If your work rate is there, you'll get opportunities on your looks. Sure, you'll get that opportunity because of size or a look that you have or charisma that you have. Sure you'll get. But to stay there, it's how you perform and you're given the opportunity. And if you succeed and come through the opportunity, you'll get more opportunities. What Steve's point was, I hadn't done anything up to that point, really, to be competitive in that league at that time. I wasn't the draw that I should have been. I wasn't drawn like Andre. I wasn't as talented as Undertaker had the respect that Undertaker had. I wasn't a reliable worker as Kane, and you know what I mean. So who am I? Yeah, I'm just another big guy. Why in the hell would I put him over? Why did I diminish what he brought to the company, what he delivered to the fan base? Why he would diminish that on the hope that, oh, maybe I'll do better. Maybe I'll get my act together. Once I proved I could get my act together, well, then we had a great relationship because that was the thing about Steve. We were great friends before that. We laughed, we bs. We talked about watches and cars and trucks and guns. Like we that way in the ring, working with him. He treated me like I was a pos. Because I didn't step up and take care of myself and give him. It wasn't for him to work down. It was for me to work up. That was the thing. And that was the thing when I finally stepped up and worked up to it. Yeah, he's. Yeah, we're rocking and rolling, kid. Now. We're making money now you're doing what you should do. Now. You're being who you should be.
- [61:51]
Jake (Co-host)
So there's very much a before and after moment. So what were you doing differently after that moment? Like, mentally, what was the adjustment made?
- [62:00]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
In my career, I was always trying to be safe, and I was always waiting for other people to do things. I was waiting for them to attack me, and then I would react. And a lot of times there's dead space. So it doesn't look like they don't know what they're doing. It looks like I'm not aggressive enough, and I don't know what I'm doing, you know, or I was trying to be too fancy or too careful with things. And a lot of stuff I did was sloppy and slow, and I wasn't crisp with a lot of the things that I did. And it's hard for me to watch some of my older stuff because I just want to gouge my eyes out and stab myself in the forehead with, like, you know, that moment for me. And I'll steal a line from Glengarry Glen Ross, abc. Always be closing. After that night, if they weren't closing, I was. If they weren't coming after me, I could give it right back to them. Like, if they had that, they weren't coming. Boom. Cut them off, throw them, pick them up, drop down, clip me in the knee. I could give it right back to them. But we kept the flow going. So there wasn't this massive dead spot with this big guy who's standing there looking at you and not doing anything, and the other guy looking at you like, I don't know what to do with him either. He's huge. That was the mistiming on a lot of things. I think that was wrong. The way I approach things now, it was like, I can sell anything. I can register. I can sell my head can snap. I can do all that. I can come right back and get you. That was what changed for me, if that makes any sense. It's a real intricate part of the business to try to explain. But that was the thing that clicked in my brain, was, if they're not closing, I am. And I think that was what made a difference in my ability to work with other talent. Because, let's face it, my character is not to be a champion. You don't want a giant as a champion. Like, okay, well, who's going to beat him? What am I good at is being an attraction and also being an obstacle for someone that you're trying to build that should be a champion. That obstacle they have to overcome. I needed to be that respected, feared talent that like, if they got past me, they were on their way to something else. You know, I mean, I was that hurdle that they had to cross in their career. And if they got to me and didn't get past me, then they had to reboot and start over again. So I think that was the ability that I was able to earn that position, have a career for a long time.
- [64:23]
Damien Jake
You don't still believe that you shouldn't have been a champion though, do you?
- [64:28]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Honestly? Yeah, I don't think, I don't think it's, it's. And it's not a self deprecating human thing, I don't think. I think it's good to be a transition champion, which I was in a lot of things. I would take the title off in someone, take it off on one baby face and then put it on another baby face a month later. You know, that, that's, that's fine, that's good. But as far as being like a champion, holding the title for 360 days or four years or whatever, the thing is that everybody talked. No, that's not the thing. Because I don't mean some people need a championship to help them where they're at in the card and how they're perceived. And some people are treated as champions even though they have talent and all that stuff. Ric Flair is a great example. Ric Flair is an amazing talent. Amazing promos, best promos of all time. Worked with everybody and everybody in the world. But you always look at Ric Flair as being a champion. Not that Ric Flair isn't amazing without being a champion, but Ric Flair is icing on the cake. Being a champion, I'm fine being a giant. It's cool if I'm a champion, but it doesn't really change anything. Whereas myself is my character, my gimmick, my attraction. What I bring to the table, me alone is just as good. Does that make sense?
- [65:39]
Damien Jake
Yeah, I think it's so interesting because I think again, it comes back to the fact that you said at the very start of this conversation in your own words, but you kind of made the point that you're not a wrestler, you're a human being who wrestles. Your self worth wasn't wrapped up in what you did in the ring.
- [65:54]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No, no, no. I think. I didn't want it to be. I think there were chances where it could have been. Cause it's a slippery slope. But I was very conscious of not Sliding down that road of being in character or gimmick all the time. Cause there was a lot of those guys when I started, they were in character all the time.
- [66:14]
Damien Jake
But you also saw people who became so much more than just being a wrestler, which I think is, I mean, a really great example is the Rock or John Cena. They've transcended that sport. How do you think they've done that?
- [66:28]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Talent. I mean, here's the thing. Rox has always, and I'll say this about Dwayne, always had amazing talent and amazing gravitational pull of character. When he walks into a room, it's a magnet. Everybody can't help. But that's his gift.
- [66:47]
Damien Jake
Did you feel that when you first met him?
- [66:49]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No, no, I'm kidding. Of course I did. Of course I did. Yeah. I thought I was like, wow, this guy's got a thing, you know, he's got that welcoming personality and charisma. Like he's entertaining to watch. You want to watch him talk to you, you want to watch what he does. He's engaging. John Cena is the same way in also a different way. As talented as John is, and John is charismatic, John's also very, very disciplined. I mean, I have not met anyone in my entire career as disciplined as he is. I mean, here's a guy that literally, if he says he's going to do something, he's going to do it.
- [67:32]
Damien Jake
You should give us an example.
- [67:37]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
We would fly to Australia and those are 15 hours flights. Like we do a Monday night raw in la and we would fly straight into Australia and we'd land at 11 in the morning. By the time you get a baggage and customs and everything, it's a little after 12, 40, 5 minute bus ride to the hotel. By the time you get in your room, it's at 1, you gotta leave for the building at 4pm because the shows are earlier. So you've got about two and a half hours to, you know, go to the bathroom, take a shower, get ready to rock and roll for the show. John would pay for his own van to pick him up at the airport to take him to the gym. Cause he knew how to get a workout in even on that flight. And we've already been on the road for seven, eight, nine days before we've gone on this tour. He always made the gym, he always treated everybody with respect. He knew everybody's name. He talked to everybody, from cameraman to sound people to the T shirt guys like John acknowledged everybody and outworked everybody and he never was confrontational. About it. He never lost his cool. He never got into. Oh, yeah. That's not John's mo. John's MO is literally like a giant snowplow. He puts his head down and he does the work. And he doesn't seek accolades, he doesn't seek praise. He just works. And he's just one of the only people ever. And he's solid. Prime example. I was fortunate enough when I put the US Title on Jon. Vince came to me. I was the US Champion. Somebody screwed up somewhere, and they ended up putting the US Title on me because somebody else got in trouble. So I was the US Champion for a while. And he comes to me. Vince comes to me, he says, we're going to take the US Title off you, man. Who do you want to work with? And I'm like, I'll work with Cena. And he goes, how's he going to beat you? I said, he's strong. He'll beat me with his finish. I think he called it the fu. Then I said, he'll beat me with his fu. He goes, no, he can't pick you up. I said, the hell he can. So we went to the ring, and I got out of crash pad and I had John hit me with his finish. And everybody was freaked out because nobody picked me up back then, you know, And John's like a machine. And so I put John over for that. And John had. I just thought it was good business, but because I saw how hard John was working. Like, John stayed on the road 60, 70 days in a row, like, guys were flying home. John didn't have a family. John stayed on the road. He'd take the rental car to the next town. He would do local radio, local tv, promote the shows coming up. He just stayed on the road. They had to tell him, no, you need to go home. He had that kind of work because he wanted to be successful. He had a vision. This is what he wanted to do. This is all he wanted to do, was be a pro wrestler. He had the opportunity. He literally maximized every opportunity that they gave him. He took in a very voracious way that I've never seen any talent ever do. And so I was, yeah, I'm happy to put the title on him. Good for him. Let him rock and roll. Years later, we're in Peru and WrestleMania is coming up. I think we were in there in January, and we got off the plane and we're on the bus, go in the hotel. I said, hey, I don't know if you know John, but I don't have an opponent for WrestleMania. And I'm pretty good at taking finishes, you know, so, you know, if you need an opponent. And he looked at me and smiled and just gave me the nod. We got back on the bus that night and go the arena. He says, hey, it's going to be me, you and Edge at WrestleMania. It's going to be a triple threat. And thank you for what you did for me at WrestleMania 20 when you put the US title. He remembered me like, that's class, you know, he put a really good payday in my pocket for WrestleMania that he didn't have to do that, nor was I expecting a return on that investment or favor. But that just shows the kind of character and dude he was. You remember that? The only thing he did is he did break my balls a little bit. He says, listen, I'm gonna. I'm gonna AAU and Edge at the same time. He says, I need you to be under 450. Can you get under 450? 50 for me? Because Edge can't lose any more weight. And I'm like, for you? Yes. And I came in that day at 4. 46. He says, okay, we're good. I can do both of you then. That was. He had worked it out in the gym what the weight was to do, to do both of us, and I had to be under 450.
- [71:58]
Damien Jake
I love the intricacy of sort of these conversations that are. Because you imagine in your head as a wrestling fan, you're sitting, watching it, and you think, man, this must have been like multiple production meetings and loads of comments, conversations and contract negotiations and all this drama. And the reality is you did something for him years before and said one word to him, and it ended up impacting what happened.
- [72:19]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Nor did I say that. I was making a joke.
- [72:21]
Damien Jake
Yeah, exactly.
- [72:21]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
You know what I mean? Because he, at the time was Johnson, the biggest star in the company. Like, hey, hey, buddy, let me just throw my name in the hat. And then it did the whole angle with Edge and Vicky and. And it was great. And I had nothing going on. I had nothing going on. And that gave me an opportunity to be on tv, shot some life in my character, and I got a great WrestleMania main event at the payday.
- [72:47]
Damien Jake
Would you earn more if you were
- [72:49]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
more central to main event at WrestleMania? Yeah, that's a pretty good payday. Yeah. And no, I'm not giving you numbers, so don't ask, but it was good.
- [72:59]
Damien Jake
Was it?
- [73:00]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah. That's good. Well, that's what you competed for back then. I think things have changed on how pay scales are done. But you. You would get paid for your live events. You didn't get paid to do Raw or Smackdown. What? No. With TV you got an opportunity because if you were on tv, then you got booked for the live event.
- [73:19]
Damien Jake
Someone's making money from Raw and smackdown.
- [73:21]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Sure. But also there's a television production cost anyway. That's the. There you go. Yeah. So, okay, but if you're on TV and you had an angle, then you would be on the live events and then where you are on the card of live events is how you made money. And then if you were on a pay per view, then you made money on the pay per View. Where you are on the pay per View, depending on SummerSlam Survivor Series, then you made more money on that, depending on where you were on the card in there. So back then, there was always a lot of jostling to be on a big pay per View, to have a good match on a pay per View. Like, it was very.
- [73:53]
Damien Jake
And how would that jostling happen? Was it people going up to Vince and having quiet.
- [73:57]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
There were people pitching ideas to writers, people. People pitching ideas to Vince. Yeah, it was a very competitive, competitive cycle. That's why I always loved Chris Jericho as my favorite tag team partner, because Chris Jericho was relentless when we were tagging together on all the minute details.
- [74:15]
Jake (Co-host)
Okay.
- [74:16]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Like, oh, Chris was a. Chris Jericho should be Esquire. He should be a lawyer. Like, Chris does not let anything slide. He got every minor detail. This is what we're doing. This is what's going on, you know? And like, it was great for me as a partner because all I had to do was like, what do you want me to do? Okay, got it. And that's all. I just. Whatever Chris said, that was it.
- [74:34]
Damien Jake
Well, it's business as well, right? As well.
- [74:36]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Very much a business. Very much a business. So things have evolved and changed now. And I know that contracts have changed over time and sponsors are different and, you know, there's a. There's a lot more things to be done, a lot more opportunities to be made, but yeah, that was the business back then. It was very cutthroat and very sharky.
- [74:50]
Jake (Co-host)
Can I share it about Vince? Because you've referenced him a couple times.
- [74:54]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Sure. I'd rather talk about AEW and Tony Khan, but sure, let's talk about Vince.
- [74:58]
Jake (Co-host)
No, no, but we wouldn't come back and talk about that. But I'm interested in the character he was. You worked with him. You've referenced some of Those meetings where Steve was there or when he's come and questioned whether you were going to hand over the title to John. So what was he like to work with business?
- [75:16]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I never had any problems with Vince. I always knew. Here's the thing about Vince. I never got confused. I never thought Vince was my friend. I knew Vince was my boss, right? I never was disillusioned myself and thought that we were friends. I knew he was my boss. I knew he was running a company and I knew he was going to make the decision that he thought was best for the company. I know I would pitch him ideas on stuff sometimes. And I knew when to stop pitching. When he said, I'll take it under advisement, which means, I've heard your stupid idea. Stop bothering me. Go away. Got it, boss. You know, but he would take your. When he asked for your opinion, he generally wanted your opinion. Okay, what do you think about this? What are you thinking? Other times he didn't ask for your opinion, this is what you're going to do. He's my boss. I understood that. I never got to the point of, oh, I'm here for life, I got it. I never took that for granted. I always knew that, yeah, we'll clown around and joke and I've done a lot of trips overseas and, you know, Vince has busted my balls and we've had some laughs and had dinners and that's our. But I always knew for a fact he was my boss, you know, and it kept things very, very, very straightforward and simple for me because I could pitch my ideas, I could vie for things. Can I do this, can I do that? You know, and he was my boss and that was the final say. And I rolled on for him. I signed a contract. I work for my boss. Prime example, Nick Cage, years ago had a chance for me to be in Gladiator with Russell Crowe. And I'd just come to the WWE and no one knew that Russell Crowe was going to be Academy Award winning actor and all this other stuff. And Nick Cage was cool. His son at the time was a fan. And mine says, hey, man, my buddy's doing this movie. You'd be great in it. So I go to Vince said, hey, I got a chance to be in this movie, but I got to be in Spain for six months. And Vince looked at, and I just signed an amazing contract with wwe. He says, here's your choice. I'm paying you to be a wrestler. Do you want to be a wrestler? Do you want to be an actor? You choose. And he walked Off. And I went, okay, well, sorry, Mr. Cage. Unfortunately, I'm going to stay right where I am because at the time it was. I was very fortunate to have the deal that I had. And it was a lot longer term. And it was the egg in hand, bird in hand, bird in the bush. Like, I took the bird in hand. So there you go. I'm a coward. It's okay.
- [77:41]
Damien Jake
How does that leadership compare to Tony Khan in aew?
- [77:46]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Tony Khan is much, much more open. Tony Khan has a vision for what he likes for aew. He is super, super collaborative on ideas, but at the same time, he's also someone that really encourages the talent to come from more of an authentic place. He's not going to micromanage the talent. Like, a lot of things were done, you know, where I came from, they were very micro. You're going to walk down the ramp here, you're going to make your entrance here, you're going to pose to this camera, you're going to talk to this. Like it was very, very structured, you know, and I think that was a product of the environment because, you know, they had dealt with a lot of lunatics in the past, the Hogans, the Warriors and all those guys. So they had to have a structured environment with a massive amount of egos that were going on them. Business has evolved since then, you know, and Tony has evolved with it. And I think that's the one thing about working with Tony. He's very collaborative on these. He's very excited. He's very pro positive for the talent, treats the talent amazing, you know, but he also gives the talent to really express themselves. Like when a talent has a promo in aew, that's the talent doing that. There wasn't a writer that wrote it for him. It wasn't an overall. This is an idea of what your character should be from a company standpoint. No, your talent. I trust you as a talent. It's up to you. Go out there and get it done, succeed. And I think that's a really cool thing, which helps me because then I get a chance to help some of these kids on the way. So there's. There's actually like, I have value inadvertently to some of these talents because I can help them navigate some pitfalls and mistakes that I've made in the past. I can help them not make the same ones, hopefully.
- [79:30]
Damien Jake
And I get. That's valuable to young wrestlers, but what's valuable to the audience is still seeing you in the ring. And I was on the train. Me in the ring, yes.
- [79:39]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Hey, if you're in the big guys and Spandex, we've got another show for you.
- [79:43]
Damien Jake
Let's talk about that, though, because on the train down here today, a couple of guys were like, oh, you do that podcast High performance? Yeah. Who are you interviewing? I you told. And the first thing they said is, we'd love him back in the ring. Is there any chance?
- [79:57]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
100%. I've been through hell the past seven years. I've had a major surgery the past seven years. Every fricking year. Do you know what it's like to rehab? Oh, something else breaks. Literally. I equate myself to an old farm truck. Once you get me started, I'll run like hell. But don't shut me off when you go to lunch, because I ain't starting until tomorrow. I've had both knees done. I've had had both hips done. This first hip was the first one I had done. Had five operations on the first hip. I broke the device. There was other complications. Part of being an acromegaliac is my bones are very strong. So my doctor told me we had to cut the old device out. He says once these bone heals, says you can jump out of an airplane with your implants. I don't care. He says, you've got the hardest bones I've ever seen. Took him 3 and a half hours and over 1100 hammer hits to cut the old receptacle out of my hip because my bones are that hard. Serious. But that means you can wrestle 100%. The biggest thing is been getting in shape for it and also getting healing up from all the surgeries and the rehabs, because some of these, like a knee replacement is six to nine months. I had two of those hip replacements, usually six, seven months. All this takes time and rehab and getting stuff together. I was doing really good last year. Something started going wrong in my back. Oh, great. My spine's good. I don't have disc problems, which is amazing. But I had a little piece of bone that was growing right into the spinal cord, so they had to go in and trim the bone out. So that being done, I'm surgied out. We're working hard. I'm working with seniors trainer Rob McIntyre, who's a great, knowledgeable guy, and we're pushing pretty hard. We did over three and a half hours last week of sled time, which is pushing a sled and pulling a sled. We're doing our weight training. We're not trying to be £500 anymore. We're working for functional strength and mobility. And we're getting all that back. It's been a slow process, but I gotta say this much. You know, God bless Tony Khan for letting me have that dream of being like, I could sit at the commentary desk, but Tony and I both are passionate that we want to get me in the ring and get me working. And believe me, it's not to steal any spotlight from the other talent, because that's not my gig. You know, I've had my runs, I've had my time. I want to get in there and have some fun with the talent. You know, mix it up a little bit and just have some fun. You know, these surgeries and stuff. I do feel like part of my career got robbed from me a little bit. Yeah. So, yeah. And it's not that I want to go out in some big retirement thing or tell my story or some other kind of horseshit like that. That's. I just want to have fun, that's all. Just have fun. There's things I can teach some of the kids, being in the ring with them and working with them, some intricate things with timing. You can talk to them on the outside and you can explain and you can watch videotape, but there's a much better way to educate in a live audience, in the crowd for feeling. And that kind of experience I definitely want to give to these kids before it's over.
- [83:12]
Damien Jake
What sort of stuff would you say in the ring then? Are you saying, like, wait, wait, wait, or are you giving them.
- [83:16]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
None of your business. You lace up boots, I'll tell you. Until then, tough.
- [83:19]
Damien Jake
Let's go.
- [83:23]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It's too. And I don't mean to be insulting by any means. It's more of, you have to be in the fire and know what we're doing to understand the timing and stuff that I'm talking about. Because, again, I can talk about it out here and you can think you can understand, but there's a difference in the ring. There's a different feel to it. A lot of what we do is feeling in that relationship with the audience. And a lot of times you can't teach that or coach that. You have to experience it, if that makes any sense.
- [83:50]
Jake (Co-host)
But you also said that you talked to them about avoiding pitfalls in their career. What are the major pitfalls that you've.
- [83:57]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
The biggest thing I tell them all the time is to don't believe everything you read, good or bad, about yourself. That's the biggest lesson I can give you. Because if you only listen to your followers on social media that tell you how amazing you are. That's not a good perspective. If you only listen to the haters on social media, the tell you how terrible you are. That's not a good perspective. Find an honest perspective somewhere in the south of who you are. What do you bring to the company? How am I an asset? Am I good at interviews? Am I good at public relations? Am I good as an in ring talent working with other talent? Am I a good draw? Am I an attraction? What do I bring to the company? Not what can you know, it's jfk. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. It's the same thing. What can AEW do for me? What can I do for for aew? If you have that attitude. Here's my attitude on this is ABCs. Besides always be closing. A, get the match over. B, get your opponent over. C will happen. You'll get yourself over. You take care of the first two things. The third thing's automatically going to happen. It's that simple. There you go. If you were a wrestler, you just got coached.
- [84:57]
Jake (Co-host)
Thank you.
- [84:57]
Damien Jake
I imagine it's a hard world to walk away from and not want to go back to.
- [85:01]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No.
- [85:02]
Damien Jake
Is it not?
- [85:03]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
No. It's a beautiful thing to be a part of. But like everything in life, there's a time when you have to step aside and you have to give others opportunity because that's a change in the guard. There's new audiences, there's new. There's new fans. You know, you have to let them have their experiences. Sure. Is it nice? Do I want to still have fun with that? Do I love experiencing that? Absolutely. But at the same time, I'm also very cognizant of it also being their time to grow. I want to be on the sidelines and nudge them like, there you go, nudge them. Get them off the training wheels. All right, there you go. Downhill, no helmet, bike ramp. Go for it. You know what I mean? I want to see them because I want them to have the joy and the fun that I have. I want them to walk through an airport and have everybody go crazy. You know what I mean? I want them to know what that's like, you know what I mean? And they have the ability to do that even more so now with social media and all the avenues they have now. They have such a great opportunity to build an incredible platform to have a beautiful, successful career.
- [86:02]
Jake (Co-host)
I can imagine though, with all the things we've spoken about here, your ability to Empathize to see the world from somebody else's perspective. And your desire to help and add value, that makes you an incredible coach.
- [86:19]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yes and no. Thank you for the compliment as I'm trying to make sure I don't fall out of your tiny hobbit chair. To me, a good coach is someone like Billy Gunn. I think Billy Gunn's one of the best coaches I've ever met in my life. He understands every mechanical dynamic of what needs to be done and also what they're trying to do mechanically. He's so brilliant and so patient, and he's beautiful to watch, Coach. And I say that in a very loving way. I can tell you what to do. To work with a giant or to be a giant, some of the other intricacies or specializations, if you will. You know, I'm not going to tell you how to do a 450. You know what I mean? Like, eh, you know, some of the holds, there's a lot of guys. William Regal, Fit Finley, Tyson Kidd. I mean, those guys, they know all the holds and stuff. I mean, yeah, I know a headlock, I know a hammer lock, know a wrist lock, probably know a couple or more, but that's not my thing. And I would not try to step in and teach someone the proper way to take this or the proper way to do that. You know, some guys are very good at that, understand that very mechanically, and they're very good at translating that. I work more on the other side of trying to find out who you are and what you bring to the table, because they're all the same moves in my brain. They're all the same moves. Everybody steals stuff from everybody. No one thing is going to make you amazing. It's how you connect with your audience is more important to me. How do you become authentic? Are you out there being your character? Are you out there pretending to be your character? Because the audience sees through it. You know, don't go out there and tell the girl, oh, you guys suck. So they boo you. Okay. That's cheap heat.
- [88:13]
Jake (Co-host)
Yeah.
- [88:13]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
You know what I mean? Okay. Yeah. You insult somebody, yeah, they're gonna boo you. Go out there with your work and attack your opponent in such a way that they hate you because you're a miserable piece of crap because of what you're doing in the ring now. Then we can talk because that's better. And people throw stuff at you, and they throw rocks through your rental cars and cut the tires on your bus and stuff like that. Then, you know, they don't like you, then you're doing your job. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bricks through windows. Yeah. You know they're mad when you get them that mad. It's like, yeah, I gotcha.
- [88:42]
Damien Jake
Yeah. You know you won.
- [88:43]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I know I won. Yeah.
- [88:44]
Damien Jake
Do you think we've seen the end of Brock Lesnar in wrestling?
- [88:48]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I don't know. That's a whole nother company, a whole other guy. I love him. We had some incredible matches together. Always had a great relationship. But for me to try to analyze that is beyond my depth. So, you know, I know who we will see at Wembley. You know, who are we gonna see? Will Ospreay. Come on, he's from London. You guys came to promote your own guy?
- [89:13]
Jake (Co-host)
Will Osprey?
- [89:14]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah.
- [89:14]
Damien Jake
We should get him on, actually.
- [89:15]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
You should. Have you met him yet?
- [89:17]
Damien Jake
No, no.
- [89:18]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
What a lovely, lovely human being.
- [89:21]
Damien Jake
It's because he's British. It's like, it's how.
- [89:23]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Well, I've met a couple of you guys. No, I'm kidding. No, he's just tremendous. Tremendous energy and a great asset for aew. I'm so glad we have him. So excited for him for this Wembley show. Like, I keep making the joke, like, I just want to walk to the ring with you, kid, just, you know, just so I can hear that pop for him and kind of pretend it's for me. Like, yeah, I'm Will Osprey's bodyguard. Yeah.
- [89:44]
Damien Jake
No, I think you'd get a similar reaction.
- [89:45]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah, well, we'll see.
- [89:47]
Damien Jake
You know that you would. You know you would.
- [89:49]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Well, we're, we're. We'll be humbly grateful if we do get it.
- [89:52]
Damien Jake
Can you give us any other little secret tidbits about what we can expect at Wembley come this summer?
- [89:58]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Well, it's, obviously, it's one of our biggest global events, so they're not going to. They're not going to hold anything back from aew. You're going to have championship titles on the line. You're going to have the biggest stars we have in aew. There's probably going to be angles that will end and angles that will start. So if you're a fan of all elite wrestling, that is definitely the night to show up to see it, especially here, because I want to. I mean, I'm a very big proponent about building our international market over here. I want to see us just from a talent perspective. I want to see us do the tours over here and hit the different talents from Sheffield, Birmingham, you know, Glasgow, Dublin. Hit all over here and hit all those great talents because it's good for the talent to experience that and get that feel from the crowd and the energy.
- [90:36]
Damien Jake
I also think an AEW event is a brilliant mix of, like, hardcore wrestling fans, but also, if you've got kids and they've never been to a wrestling night before or a day, like, it's a great thing to bring.
- [90:47]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It's also, and also not, not, you know, picking fights are causing problems, but also you're going to get more bang for the buck. Yeah, you know, this is, this is more, it's more reasonable ticket pricing, considering what you're getting. You're getting a lot of show for a much more reasonable ticket pricing. You know, it's, if you're a wrestling fan, you're going to see great quality wrestling. You're going to see, you know, all the stunts and all the things that go with it and all the pizzazz, so to speak. At the same time, it's gonna be a good value for the family and everybody get out and have a good time. That's great. And you might get to see, you know, a skinny giant in spandex. So there you go.
- [91:29]
Damien Jake
Hey, that's enough. That's enough of a reason.
- [91:32]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
There's always a way, like, who doesn't want to see that?
- [91:37]
Damien Jake
We definitely do. Well, look, thank you to Tony for bringing it to the UK for choosing Wembley, and for you guys for coming over and bringing us a great show.
- [91:44]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
We can't wait to see. Thank you very, very much for having us. I thank you for the therapy session.
- [91:48]
Damien Jake
How was that?
- [91:49]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I don't know. I'll tell you later when I see it.
- [91:51]
Damien Jake
So you're very comfy. I read somewhere, it was on another podcast, actually. I heard you talking about on the set of the film Knucklehead, when you broke down and you said, I cried for the first time in my adult life.
- [92:01]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I did. That's not true.
- [92:03]
Damien Jake
You've just been empathetic, caring.
- [92:05]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Yeah, but that's just after Knucklehead. This is after the movie.
- [92:10]
Jake (Co-host)
So what, what happened that caused that?
- [92:12]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I don't know. I don't know. I, I, I think as an actor, of course, you always try to, they're very eloquent. How? Oh, you broke this channel. You opened this. I don't know what happened. I know that, like, I was thinking about traumatic things to try to get in the right character mindset.
- [92:29]
Jake (Co-host)
Yeah.
- [92:30]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I didn't quite, I feel as though hit it, honestly, because, and then all of a sudden, when I got back to my bus, it was just like hyperventilating. Snot bubbles. I haven't cried like that since I was a kid. I thought I broke something. I really did. I called Mark Forrestey. I was like, I don't know what's wrong with me. You know, it was like one of those. And I didn't understand why. I really didn't understand why I was. Why I was that upset and crying. And Mark told me, he says that's sometimes as an actor, you break through those channels. Like, yes, anger is a great channel for me. I can do angry bang. That's a channel I've had because I've been competitive. I'm in sports. I understand adrenaline. That's a great channel for me. But the vulnerability side of it, I wasn't used to being vulnerable or having access to that vulnerability. That vulnerability was always things we do in private or we do alone. Of course we're vulnerable. But to do that in a performance standpoint, I didn't. I didn't have a channel for that until that moment. And then. Then it was like, okay, well, you know, if we're in a movie where we need to be sad, we can get there.
- [93:36]
Jake (Co-host)
Well, you've also said that you do an awful lot of reflection. So having reflected on that experience of breaking through that channel, what have you learned about yourself?
- [93:44]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, I'm batshit nuts. I'm crazy. No, I think it's just. It's an interesting talent for acting or for performing to be able to be in touch with those emotions. Because I've done some films and some tv, and I really understand now they're talking about between. What's your motivation? You know what I mean? It sounds like such a. You hear that line, oh, what's my character's motivation? Well, yeah. What do you need out of this scene? What. What does the scene need out of you? What are your goals in the scene? Where are you coming from? Where were you before? Where are you going after? All those things didn't make sense to me years ago. Now I'm really starting to understand what's going on. And it's. If you find out where you are as a character, the words fall into place and it makes sense. You're not pretending to be the part. You are what you're doing. And I think that was one of those little, little tools that you learn in acting. I mean, acting is a completely different skill set. You know, in wrestling, a lot of things are bigger. They're more dramatic, and there's instant gratification because you get a response from the audience. You don't Know when you're acting because you got different takes, different moves, what camera shot are they going to use? Where are your head? Like the real pros that consistently can do that and do that well. It's a whole skill set. Just like we look at some of our talents, like Kenny Omega, you know, will Ospreay how amazing they are to watch them do what they do. And then, you know, you can look the same thing with great actors, how they have that skill set. So, yes. Is it challenging? 100%. Have I read for a lot of roles that I shouldn't be casted for 100%, but at the same time, it's still part of. It's just like learning how to take suplex and hip tosses in wrestling school. You know, you would think as a giant I'd never take them, but there were points in my career I learned how to take them. I used to take Goldbergs. You know what I mean? So it's the same kind of thing. It's just a skill set, and I enjoy it. As far as the emotional lesson from it, I think it's just part of maturing along the way and giving yourself grace to evolve.
- [96:03]
Damien Jake
Amazing. We've got some quick fire questions to wrap up the conversation with.
- [96:07]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Sure.
- [96:07]
Damien Jake
The three non negotiable behaviors that you think are most important in life.
- [96:12]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Non negotiable. Like this or nothing.
- [96:14]
Damien Jake
Yeah.
- [96:15]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Ignorantly rude people is non negotiable. There's no reason to be ignorant. I have a zero, zero tolerance for ignorance. I've had young boys come up and say, hey, give me an autograph. And I'll say, hey, f you say please, I'll check them real quick, hard. And then they usually get home training, and they go, can I please? Honestly, that's better, right? You know, I think that's the thing. Poor hygiene is non negotiable. There was no reason to have bad breath or smell bad. That's just. You're disrespectful to yourself and everybody else around you. That's a big thing. Three. Three is tough. I guess I'm not really that demanding person. I don't know.
- [97:05]
Damien Jake
You can have two.
- [97:06]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I think two is just my thing. Just ignorantly rude. I mean, for no reason other than to be rude. You're in a bad mood, so you're gonna inflict your ill will on everyone. You're so miserable. Look, everybody's got problems, dude. Get over yourself.
- [97:23]
Jake (Co-host)
What's the greatest piece of advice you've ever received and why?
- [97:26]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
My grandfather. I was 13, 14 years old, said, oh, me. The best way to get a second kiss is never tell anybody you got the first.
- [97:35]
Damien Jake
What's your biggest strength?
- [97:37]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
My biggest strength? Forgiveness. I'm able to forgive a lot of people and myself for a lot of things.
- [97:45]
Damien Jake
Lovely.
- [97:46]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Forgiveness, I think is a good one.
- [97:48]
Jake (Co-host)
Your greatest weakness.
- [97:49]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Greatest weakness? Animals. Animals. I love animals. Cats, dogs, ferrets, squirrels. I love animals. Animals are great. I love animals. Especially animals that we take care of as pets. There's such a great relationship where they give nothing but love back and all you have to do is feed them and take care of them and love them. I think they have no idea how much they do for our souls. I know they look at us as everything, but animals are great.
- [98:28]
Damien Jake
And they have no idea how great they are.
- [98:30]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
They have no idea how amazing they are. Even fat Maui.
- [98:33]
Damien Jake
Yeah, definitely fat Maui. And finally, your one golden rule that you'd like to leave people thinking about. To live a high performance life.
- [98:41]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
A high performance life? That's a good question. Why? You guys are hitting me with some good questions. I don't know. I have trouble with that saying high performance life. What is a high performance life? It's subjective.
- [98:57]
Damien Jake
It is.
- [98:57]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
You know, your high performance life, you could be a great woodworker and mill great cabinets.
- [99:01]
Damien Jake
Correct.
- [99:01]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
That could be your high performance. I would say find something. Find something that gives you joy, whatever that is, and find something to do that because you need an outlet. Okay. If you have a job you have to do because you have to live, but that's not your dream. Okay, then find something else that gives you joy. But bring some joy into your life in some shape or form, whether it's friends, people, relationships, you know, find something that gives you joy that you make a priority in your life.
- [99:35]
Damien Jake
Amazing.
- [99:35]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I guess that's the only thing, you know, life is precious and life is all those beautiful things and also so many horrible things. But really life is what you make of it, you know? So find some time to find yourself some joy.
- [99:52]
Damien Jake
Listen, Paul, all of the links so people can get tickets and come and see you wrestle are going to be in the description to this podcast, Live
- [99:59]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Nation UK aewtix.com and I think something all AEW, I think is another one.
- [100:09]
Damien Jake
That's right. But beyond the the event in the summer. Thank you so much for coming on the show.
- [100:14]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Hey, thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm gonna go out in the car and have a nice cry now, so thanks. Appreciate it.
- [100:18]
Damien Jake
But you know, what you went through in 2010, I'm kind of glad Because I think if we'd have had this conversation before that moment of breakdown on the movie set, it might have been. Been a very.
- [100:25]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Oh, yeah, I was a grizzly bastard. Let's talk about wrestling. No, I'm kidding. I don't know. You know, it's the thing too, I think doing interviews like this. Sure, we're here to talk about, promote AEW and stuff like this, but at the same time, you know, this is good, too.
- [100:41]
Damien Jake
So much value for people.
- [100:42]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
I think so, yeah. And what are you trying to do? Yes, we're trying to put on a wrestling show and we're also trying to give them value. And, you know. And what's my mission in life anyway? What gives me joy? That's, you know, making people happy, either through my entertainment work or maybe my little dipshit philosophy. So there you go.
- [100:59]
Damien Jake
Thank you, man. Give Fat Maui our love.
- [101:01]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
Fat Maui. Fat Maui gets all the treats.
- [101:03]
Jake (Co-host)
Well, thanks, Pa.
- [101:04]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
It's been a very brilliant.
- [101:06]
Damien Jake
Really enjoyed that. Damien Jake, a master wrestler, but a master storyteller. And I think what really stands out for me is that I'd never really considered the pain that he went through at a young age actually made him the performer that he became in later life. And I think without the diagnosis, without the pain, without, as he described, the real kind of deep embarrassment, the suffering, then I don't think he would have been able to be such a brilliant performer. Because that's all about tapping into emotion. And his early years meant that he had to go deep on emotion because his life was full of emotion.
- [101:42]
Jake (Co-host)
Yeah, that's. That's incredibly true. And I thought. I thought what he offered us was an insight that any of us can apply if we've got young children or even to ourselves. Do you remember when we had Richard Osmond on and he spoke about his height and he used that funny line where he said he regarded it as a lighthouse for dickheads. That anybody that would choose to lead with that as a comment, he realized that they weren't prepared to look that little bit deeper at the person beneath. And I think what that's led Paul to have to do is reflect on, well, what makes me special, beyond my height, beyond my imposing physique. And that level of reflection has led him to find his talents, which is empathy, kindness, making people feel special, adding value to the world, which is what he's then forged his whole life around.
- [102:26]
Damien Jake
I hadn't thought, actually, before we spoke to him how it must be when you have something going on physically, that everyone judges you based Solely on that. So, you know, like, when he was talking early on, I kind of got this feeling that he wanted people to understand that he's kind, he's thoughtful, he's empathetic. He wants a girlfriend. He wants to just blend in. You know, he doesn't want you to immediately assume because he's big. He might. You must be looking for a scrap or you must be challenging him for his, you know, his muscles or his power or his strength or something. It's like, no. Like, I'm tall, but that's not who I am. That's just what I am. Yeah. Yeah, I really felt that.
- [103:02]
Jake (Co-host)
Yeah.
- [103:03]
Paul Wight (The Big Show)
And.
- [103:03]
Jake (Co-host)
But. But I think that's a good reminder for all of us, isn't it? When we meet people in life, almost do what Charles do told us, just ask those deeper questions beyond making the assumptions that we have for anybody. And it's a good reminder for. For us at our age as much as it is for anyone else watching this.
- [103:19]
Damien Jake
Yeah. And I don't think he was expecting the whole therapy couch thing, was he? It reminded me a bit of Joe Marlow when Joe Marla was like, guys, I'm in a therapy session. And I felt like that with him. He's like, this is like therapy.
- [103:30]
Jake (Co-host)
But what I loved was his willingness to engage on that, though. And, like, he's obviously a deeply reflective man anyway, in his own thoughts. His own life has led him to have to sort of go back and revisit incidents and explore them. But the fact that he was so willing to be candid and share what he'd learned in that reflection and analysis made him a really special guest.
- [103:51]
Damien Jake
It's also worth. Cause I always think this is nice for people, worth sharing what he was actually like off camera when we weren't recording, like, he came in, all he wanted to do was talk about his cats. He was talking about the fact that he had a cat that passed away, didn't he? And. And that the other cats were never allowed in the bedroom. But this cat, right, was given everything you could ever imagine. A cat would want to live an amazing life. And then when that cat died, another cat was allowed in the room. And he said, the cat came in, and he said, if the cat could talk, she would have gone, what? The other cats get this. And I. He's just like. From minute one, he was funny. Yeah, he's definitely a funny guy. I liked it.
- [104:27]
Jake (Co-host)
But then he also told us, didn't he, about his love of reading and he loves, like, fantasy novels. And he spoke about scar that Russian novel he'd read that had traumatized him. I think that gives you an indication of he's a storyteller, but he's also quite an introvert. He's somebody that's had to go deep within and analyze his own inner life as much as the outer life tends to be the one that most people see.
- [104:50]
Damien Jake
First off, thank you, brother.
- [104:52]
Jake (Co-host)
Thanks, mate.
- [104:53]
Damien Jake
And if you enjoyed that conversation, don't forget we've got plenty more conversations with elite wrestlers and people that have really tapped into their emotions on this show. So feel free to check out the back catalog. Of course, as always, you can watch on Apple podcasts as well as listen. You can also watch the conversations on YouTube or enjoy them. Wherever you get your podcasts, please pass these conversations to someone that you think would benefit from it or very, very simply and very quickly. Hit subscribe. It takes moments. Most people that enjoy our show, they don't subscribe. If you do, it honestly changes the game for us. So please subscribe. Hit subscribe and we'll see you again soon for another episode of High Performance.