Paul Wight isn’t chasing one last championship run in AEW, but that doesn’t mean fans have necessarily seen the last of him inside the ring.
While speaking to TMZ’s Inside the Ring, Wight talked about why he ultimately left WWE and joined Tony Khan’s company. The former Big Show admitted the past several years have been brutal physically, including knee and hip replacements, and even joked that he would have fired himself years ago. Tony Khan apparently sees things differently.
“I’ve had knee replacements, hip replacements, and I’ve been through hell the past six years. I would have fired me three years ago, if you want to be honest about it. But Tony Khan still sees value in me and sees value that I can give to younger talent.”
Wight then confirmed that getting back into an AEW ring remains a possibility. However, anybody expecting some big comeback story ending with Wight holding championship gold can forget about it.
“There’s also the potential to get back in the ring. Yeah, I’m not going to get back in the ring and win championships and have one last title run or tell my story or some short-sighted shit like that. It’s not about doing that.”
Instead, Wight wants to wrestle in situations where he can actively teach younger talent.
“It’s about me being able to do something that’s important to my heart and still contribute in a positive way. Like, I can get in the ring in tag situations. There’s a lot of teaching that I can do in the ring which is hard for me to teach outside of the ring.”
Wight explained that some aspects of wrestling simply can’t be taught by talking backstage. He wants younger wrestlers to actually experience timing, crowd reactions and pacing while they’re in there with him.
“I can tell someone in the back, ‘We’re going to do this, this and this.’ When I go out and execute it, I’ll say, ‘Do you hear that? Did you feel that? Did you see the timing on that?’ Because there’s a different pace to working things.”
That desire to wrestle again is also part of the reason Wight has put so much work into changing his body.
“Those kind of things I’m excited about. That’s why I’ve gone through all the hell I’ve gone through to lose weight and be under 360 pounds and do all the fucking drills that I’m doing now at my age.”
Wight stressed that none of this is about another payday or getting his name back in the spotlight.
“It’s not for money. It’s not to be more famous. It’s because of love I have in my heart to get in the ring and help those kids and help them be stars and help them be successful. And it’s fun. Let’s be honest. It’s fun because if it wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t be doing this shit.”
Wight clearly isn’t trying to turn AEW into the Paul Wight retirement tour. If he gets back in the ring, his goal is helping the next generation understand things that can only be learned once the bell rings.
Would you like to see Paul Wight wrestle again in AEW, especially in tag matches designed to help younger talent? Let us know what you think in the comments.
