Considering his size and strength, it would have been quite a sight to see if Paul Wight (formerly known as The Big Show in WWE) had made the move over to mixed martial arts at some point in his career. Instead, he chose to stick to wrestling, with some acting thrown in for good measure. Speaking to Gareth A. Davies for an interview, the AEW star discussed that decision.
“Humbly, I didn’t need to,” Wight said. “I got into wrestling very early, 21, when I met Hogan and started in WCW. So financially it was a lottery ticket for me, and I’ve never really been a person who feels like I have something to prove.”
Wight did note that he spent some time doing boxing training during a break from WWE in 2007, and shared that he has a great deal of respect for anyone who engages in combat sports. The wrestler stated that it takes plenty of courage to step between the ropes while knowing that the person you’re facing is trying to hurt you.
“What was it my boxing trainer said? ‘Fatigue makes cowards of us all,'” Wight continued. “There’s a big difference in fight conditioning versus other conditioning. That 10 months of boxing I did with Artie Artwell, a boxing trainer, changed the game for me.”
In the same interview, Wight discussed his current status as a wrestler. Although he hasn’t wrestled publicly in several years, Wight is not yet retired, with several AEW stars that he remains excited to possibly work with.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Gareth A. Davies and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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