Paul Wight Says WWE Wanted To Send Him To The Retirement Home
WWE almost put the former Big Show out to pasture before he left for AEW...
Paul Wight has revealed that WWE were essentially trying to send him to the retirement home prior to his decision to leave the promotion earlier this year.
Speaking with Renee Paquette on her Oral Sessions podcast, the former Big Show revealed his frustration at not being offered anything by creative during his last run with the company (h/t WrestlingNews.co for the transcription):-
"I think the biggest thing was the let down for me of not being able to get something going creatively. I’ve known Vince for a long time and he gets focused and gets blinders on and he’s doing what he’s doing. It’s real hard to be that squeaky wheel that gets the grease. If you’re not at TVs and you’re just sitting there, it’s like, ‘Hey, Paul Wight is still alive. Paul Wight is cleared. He can work.’"
Wight was used only sporadically in his final few years in WWE. Have sat idle for 2019, 2020 saw him join forces with Kevin Owens' crew to feud with Seth Rollins' gang of heels, wrestle Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title after WrestleMania 36, then get into it with Randy Orton during the same, as part of Orton's new Legend Killer run.
The last WWE fans saw of Wight was the 4 January 2021 Raw Legends Night show, on which he was emasculated by Orton.
Wight also told Paquette of his frustration at WWE trying to put him out to pasture:-
"It got frustrated trying to knock on the door. They were trying to use me for other things. They wanted me to do the community relations thing which is something I love to do anyway, but they were trying to do me a favor I think by putting me out to Shady Pines. I don’t want to be in Shady Pines. I tried to tell them, ‘Look, don’t put me in Shady Pines.’"
Shady Pines is the retirement home from Golden Girls.
Wight signed with All Elite Wrestling on 24 February, having been unable to come to terms on a new WWE contract. His primary role will be as a commentator on AEW Dark: Elevation, which debuts on Monday, though he has already made several onscreen appearances.