Paul Wight has zero patience for wrestlers who treat losing a scripted match like somebody just destroyed their career.
While speaking to TMZ’s Inside the Ring, Wight discussed some of the lessons he would give younger wrestlers about surviving in the business. One of his biggest pieces of advice was simple: show up on time, be dependable and do the job you agreed to do. Wight said wrestlers can create unnecessary problems for themselves when they start taking creative decisions personally. That includes following through when a promoter asks you to lose.
“I think the best thing that you can do as a talent is be on time and be dependable and be a man of your word.”
“If you sign a contract and say you’re going to do a job, whatever the promoter asks you to do, it’s not personal. Like, I mean, I’ve heard some guys, ‘Oh, I refuse to put so-and-so over. I refuse.’ Why? Doesn’t matter. The shit’s not real. Like, what are you getting upset about?”
Wight admitted protecting wins and losses may have mattered more decades ago when individual wrestlers had their own established brands they could carry from territory to territory. He doesn’t believe the modern wrestling business operates the same way.
“I think maybe 35, 40 years ago, maybe it was more important because guys had more independent brands that were established and whatnot. Maybe. The business has changed now. Hardly anybody owns their own brand anymore.”
Wight used WWE as an example, noting that performers may be given characters and names that ultimately belong to the company. Wight believes wrestlers are better off focusing on their personal value, professionalism and reputation backstage instead of obsessing over whether they won or lost.
“If you go to WWE, you’re not going to get to keep your name. They’re going to give you a name and then they’re going to market it and own it. No matter how many years you spend building it, it’s their intellectual property. So you’re just an actor playing Captain America. You were Captain America for that time as that character.”
“Keep your values strong, your value strong, and be somebody that’s not an asshole to work with, somebody that’s nice to everyone, somebody that’s not a drama queen.”
Earlier in the same conversation, Wight made his opinion of wrestling egos even clearer while looking back on his own years in WWE. His solution was pretty straightforward.
“Business is good. Checks cash. What are we worried about? Shit’s not real. We wear spandex and fake fight. Like, why are we getting upset over what somebody else does?”
“Let’s all do business. Let’s all make the fans happy and let’s all continue to make money and retire.”
After more than 30 years in the business, Wight clearly doesn’t think anybody should be blowing up their career over a scripted loss. For him, getting paid, being dependable and helping the entire show succeed matter a hell of a lot more than whose shoulders are on the mat for three seconds.
Do you agree with Paul Wight that wrestlers take wins and losses too seriously, or can refusing to put someone over sometimes be justified? Let us know what you think in the comments.
