Paul WIght reveals that Vince McMahon believes he will be a huge asset for AEW and called to congratulate him on his signing.
When it was announced that the former Big Show signed on with AEW, a major consensus from fans and performers was that it was a large surprise because it was believed that Paul Wight would be with WWE for life.
Speaking on a media call following AEW Revolution, Paul Wight explained his decision to join AEW and reveals that Vince McMahon actually called to wish him luck and congratulate him on the next phase in his career.
“Vince actually called me the day that it was announced that I signed with AEW, wished me a lot of luck, I agree that I'm a huge asset at AEW, thank me for all the years that I worked in WWE. There's no animosity, there's no anger, there's no dirt, so to speak. It just came down to contract negotiations and opportunities. Let's face it, and over 20 years at WWE I have done everything there is to do and WWE. I needed a fresh start. For me, I think Vince understands that and understands that for me, as a talent, this was the opportunity to do that. But, you follow the rules.
“I couldn't reach out to Tony Khan or AEW while I was still under contract. I came to terms with a mutual dissolution of services when I left WWE. There's no anger. I needed the freedom to pursue different opportunities and when that contract came to an end, that was the thing where I took the leap of faith and hoped that my reputation and the industry in the work that I've done, would earn me a meeting with Tony Khan and just to be able to talk to him and hope that he would understand that I can be an asset for AEW and when I contract expired, I had a chance to drive up to Jacksonville and Tony and I had a meeting at 10:00 at night in his office and we talked about wrestling and psychology and what I want to do in AEW and one of the big passions that I've had for a long time is getting into color commentary and trying to bring my experience from the ring, like Gorilla Monsoon or Jesse Ventura would bring to commentary to bring the talent in the ring forward and help tell the stories, and also the opportunity for me to compete with some fresh talent, some people I haven't had the opportunity to work angles with oh, some people that I can also help get better. Also, a new environment, a new place to work, helps reinvigorate yourself.”
Despite his happiness to be in a new environment, Wight says there was some trepidation on his behalf about leaving WWE.
“Believe me, leaving WWE was a little bit scary because I had so much tenure there and so much experience and had basically already paid every due that I needed to pay in WWE. To leave that stock and to put a lot of faith in yourself and say, ‘hey, if you're really passionate about this and you want to do this,’ then you have to put your big boy pants on and give it a shot. I'm very grateful and very thankful that it all worked out.”
Paul Wight had promised a major surprise debut at AEW Revolution and that surprise turned out to be Christian Cage. Learn more at this link.
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