Former WWE Superstar Paul Wight (f.k.a. The Big Show) shared a humorous yet humbling memory from the Attitude Era during a recent appearance on Going Ringside, recalling the moment he learned just how big of a merchandising machine The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin were compared to everyone else.
Wight, who jumped to WWE from WCW in 1999, revealed that merchandising was an entirely new world for him.
During a conversation with longtime WWE marketing executive Jimmy Miranda, he asked how his shirts had sold following a sold-out house show at the Arrowhead Pond (now Honda Center) in Anaheim. “Jimmy goes, ‘Oh, you did really good. You sold about 300 shirts today,’” Wight recalled.
Initially encouraged, Wight then asked how many shirts The Rock and Stone Cold had sold that same night: “Rock sold about 9,000… Stone Cold sold right around 11,000.”
The numbers put things into perspective fast. “Out of a possible 19,000 people, some bought a Rock and a Stone Cold shirt, and a few people felt sorry and also bought a Big Nasty shirt,” he joked. “That’s the last time I ever asked about merchandise numbers.”
“The Real Big Show” Shirt? Vince Loved It
Wight also brought up his now-infamous shirt that read “The Real Big Show” with an arrow pointing down, a cheeky design that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon came up with himself. “‘I got this new merchandise idea for you: The Big Show. Get it?’” Vince told him, laughing.
Wight admitted he didn’t love it, but: “What do you say? ‘I hate it?’ No, it’s smart. It actually sold pretty well. It was one of my better-selling shirts.”
From selling a few hundred shirts to being part of WWE’s merchandise boom, Wight looks back on those early days in WWE with appreciation and humor, understanding that, in the world of Attitude, everyone wanted to smell what The Rock was cookin’ and crack open a cold one with Austin.
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