The big man himself paved the way for a lot of other giants in the industry. With his time in WCW and WWE, he collected many belts in his tenure at both of those companies. But since making his debut at AEW, Paul Wight has certainly been a tad quiet. And that doesn’t mean he hasn’t spoken, as he serves as commentator on Dark: Elevation alongside Tony Schiavone. It just means he hasn’t gotten physical, as of yet.
As he gets ready to face one of AEW’s rising stars and heels in QT Marshall, he looks forward to the future…
The fact that he hasn’t laced up the boots yet in AEW is of course going to change very soon, as all of us saw on Dynamite last night. He will be facing none other than QT Marshall at AEW’s All Out event on September the 5th.
Yet as we also saw on Dynamite, he has indeed suffered a lot of injuries in his long and decorated professional wrestling career and QT brought up a valid point: Is Paul Wight okay to wrestle? Can he do it?
Well, in his patent thunderous manner, Wight let QT and anyone watching know that he is in fact ready and willing to go into battle with the young heel, and will indeed come face-to-face with him at All Out, as I already mentioned.
Many are wondering—myself included—if Wight plans on wrestling a lot more in the future?
He answered that in an interview with The Ring Report; he mentioned a few others he’d like to get in the ring with in this most recent run in a game he’s been playing for the greater part of 27 years. He said:
“…For me, I see a lot of potential line-ups. It’s funny that you ask that, but there are a lot of guys I’m ticking off in my head I want to wrestle. I can keep myself busy for the next three or four years…”
“…Kenny Omega is amazing…Just to watch him work in the ring and the way he hustles…the guy is really next-level talent, especially as a heel with the way he works. The Young Bucks are brilliant…Hangman Adam Page is just a red hot babyface in the making. This guy can definitely carry that AEW Championship and do something with it…Lance Archer. He’s really, really come into his own with that whole Murderhawk gimmick. He’s intense in the ring and wrestles a lot bigger than he is…Darby Allin is probably my top pick if I was a heel. Anyone who is a heel right now that has a chance to work with Darby…He exemplifies what a babyface is today. He’s a little eccentric, a little different, but he’s just in your face every time coming back for more…”
via The Ring Report / Wrestling Inc (Transcription)
He went even further to state:
“…Jungle Boy is another babyface (I’d) love to work with. I always tease him and call him ‘grizzled’ because I think he’s had the most matches in AEW. It’s like 53 or 54 so far which is crazy when he’s as young as he is, but he’s got really good ring presence and he’s another one I think in the right program could really accelerate to that next level superstar babyface with the right heel behind to push him…”
via The Ring Report / Wrestling Inc (Transcription)
And Wight wasn’t done yet. He ticked off quite a few more names:
“…There’s a lot of younger talent there I’ll hopefully get chance to work with like Hobbs and Luchasaurus, this incredibly athletic big monster. For me, I see a lot of potential line-ups…”
via The Ring Report / Wrestling Inc (Transcription)
Three years, as he mentioned above, is definitely a long time and that would definitely bring him to a whopping 30 total in an industry that was a lot less forgiving to many other performers, who had shorter careers.
But Wight has kept himself in shape. He’s much lighter than he was even 10 years ago; he’s had the appropriate surgeries needed to keep going, and he is probably one of the best at managing his pace in the ring, which undoubtedly helped him with his longevity—not to say that it didn’t hurt every time he took a bump. He was just better with his pace than a lot of guys in the ring over the years.
“It’s funny, one of the things I tell the younger guys and gals is ‘when you’re alone doing stuff, whether you’re cleaning or doing laundry, driving down the road, or sitting on the couch; have matches with people in your head you might be working with someday.’ That’s one of the secrets to being a success later is having scenarios in your mind about people you want to work with. You have to be excited about the product, the talent. Having those matches in your head where one’s a heel and one’s a face, the spots that will happen, and the finishes are always good things to put in your mind so if you do end up in a program with someone, you already have an idea of what they do and you understand them and how to compliment yourself with them and tell a better story…”
via The Ring Report / Wrestling Inc (Transcription)
Priceless words from a legend like him. The AEW roster would do well to listen to him and essentially be a sponge around him. No matter what he decides to do with the company, though, he’s a priceless piece to have at that company for the success of AEW for sure.
