Paul Wight talks the differences between wrestling in a arena and in a stadium.
Many fans are still buzzing from All Elite Wrestling's pay-per-view events, All In and All Out. All In was the most successful event in company history, as it was held in Wembley Stadium in London in front of 80,000+ fans. All Out was also a successful event for the promotion, as it featured some of the best in-ring performances in company history.
Fightful recently interviewed Paul Wight and asked about him if he prefers to wrestle in a stadium, or in a smaller arena-type venue.
"I just prefer a crowd that’s really into the show. I mean, I’ve had some matches in front of 8,000 / 9,000 / 10,000 people, a smaller crowd, that was just unreal with the intensity and the environment. I’ve had some shows in 20,000 seat buildings that were unreal. I competed one time in France in a coliseum that was outdoors that was built in 300 AD. It was so friggin’ intense. It was unreal just ‘cause the acoustics in that old coliseum. It was like standing in the ocean. You could feel the waves when the people got into it. Stadium shows, bigger shows like this, you have to, I think, do a combination of tunnel vision in the immediate, but keep your outside open and feel it. It’s just a sea of people. It’s really hard. You gotta stick within your first four or five rows with some of your interactions and keep your moves bigger so everyone can see them. If you try to take in all of that, for me, I think it’s just overload. It’s more of a thing like if you listen to a really good classical concert and you close your eyes and feel it. You kinda have to do that with your brain a little bit. Close it and just feel it, and if you feel the energy of that big stadium, it’s unlike anything in the world."
Wight went on to continue talking about the way a big stadium can make a wrestler feel and how he was happy for the talent that got to work in a stadium for the first time at All In.
"The biggest shows like this, your heart beats fast. Everything has such presence and impact when you’re doing stuff in the ring, you can feel the focused attention of 80,000 people when they’re focused on you, and you’re an entertainer and you feel it, and you want to grasp it and hold onto it. I know I got a little metaphysical and everything, but you do kinda have to grasp it and feel it and run with it, and you can steer it. I think that’s the fun part of wrestling. You can steer that big energy around and play with it. It’s an amazing experience. It’s one thing I’m really happy for the AEW talent who’s never had the chance to work in front of crowds like that. It’s gonna make them better. They’re gonna really understand what being a performer is about after working in front of a crowd of this capacity. You really start to sink in and get it that you’re doing what you’re meant to do."
Fans can see Fightful's full interview with Paul Wight linked above.
In a separate recent interview, Wight said that he believed that MJF isn't capable of having real friends. Fans can learn more by clicking here.
