Paul Wight has revealed the seemingly minor interaction with Vince McMahon that made him realize WWE no longer viewed him primarily as an active in-ring performer.
Speaking on TMZ’s Inside The Ring, the former Big Show recalled McMahon referring to him by his real first name during the COVID era. After decades of being called either “Show” or “Big Show” by McMahon, Wight immediately recognized the significance of the change. “I’ll tell you when I knew I was done with WWE, Vince called me Paul one day during the COVID era. In all the years I knew Vince McMahon he never called me Paul. He always called me Show or Big Show, he never called me Paul.”
Wight believes the moment occurred while WWE was working on his storyline with Randy Orton. “We were doing something—I think it was during the Randy Orton angle—and Vince said, ‘Paul can do an interview here,’ and in my brain I died a little bit in my soul, because I knew my opportunities to compete in the ring were pretty much done, because Vince didn’t see me as a talent anymore.”
According to Wight, WWE was preparing to transition him toward ambassadorial and other non-wrestling responsibilities. While there was no animosity over the company’s plans, Wight wasn’t ready to accept that his days as an active performer were effectively over. “Vince was going to start moving me into ambassador roles and all these other things that at the time I didn’t want to be a part of.”
That realization ultimately played a role in Wight deciding to leave WWE and join Tony Khan’s AEW. “There was nothing mean or malicious about it, I could have rolled into that nice role, but at the time I wasn’t ready to give up competing. That’s when I went to Tony Khan.”
Wight also acknowledged the physical difficulties he has endured in recent years and joked that, from a business perspective, he might have made the same decision himself. “Yeah sure I’ve had knee replacements, knee replacements, I’ve been through hell the last six years, I would have fired me three years ago if you want to be honest about it.”
Wight ended a WWE tenure spanning more than two decades when he joined AEW in 2021. In addition to occasional in-ring appearances, he has worked in commentary and other roles for the company.
