Professional wrestling legend and future WWE Hall of Famer The Big Show Paul Wight who is a former five times World Champion in WWE recently look back at getting to know about his WWE ring name after joining the promotion back in 1999 and how he felt about it.
The Big Show was a big star in the WCW during the famous Monday Night Wars. He was one of the biggest stars of the promotion during the time as he won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship two times in total.
The Big Show Reveals How He Felt After Getting To Know His WWE Ring Name
He was famously known as the Giant in WCW. The promotion could not raise a lot of new talents during the time, but Wight was one of the biggest talents they produced during the Monday Night Wars.
He made his WWE debut during the last In Your House pay per view event of WWE which was St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon had a one on one match inside a steel cage. Wight appeared during the match and in this event he was addressed as Paul Wight by the commentators. This was the beginning of Wight in WWE.
After a number of weeks he was first given his iconic ring name which was the Big Show. WWE had major plans for the seven foot tall athlete as he want multiple World championships and other championships in WWE.
He worked in WWE for nearly two decades. Right now he is working on the newly founded professional wrestling promotion AEW. Wight is indeed one of the biggest legends of professional wrestling.
The Big Show Paul Wight who is a former five times World Champion in WWE recently spoke to where he look back at getting to know about his WWE ring name after joining the promotion back in 1999 and how he felt about it. He said;
“That was Vince. What was Vince. When I first came into WWE I was Paul Wight, you know? And I just don’t think Vince liked the spelling of my name or liked my name. I mean, what would Vince know about marketing, you know what I mean?
“But he walked by me one day and he goes ‘So how’s the Big Show today?’ I go ‘I’m good but who the hell is The Big show?’ He goes ‘You! You can walk, you can talk, you’re an athlete. You’re The Big Show.’”
“He walked off and I thought, ‘Oh dear God, I hope that is not my wrestling name.’ And it was. But I do think back then it was the Attitude [Era], it was the Monday Night Wars. ‘The Big Show,’ also TBS. So you know, there’s a lot that went into it. And that’s okay. I mean, over the years, just like anything, if you do it long enough, it’s all in what you do and you can make it your own. Just as, as uncomfortable as it was to be known as The Big Show for so many years, and I’m grateful for that opportunity.
“Now to rebrand, to restart as myself, it’s a little hard. Because I mean, I have a great Big Show autograph. My real autograph is good, but I don’t want to put my real signature out there for document forging. Next thing you know, I’ll end up owning a bunch of timeshares in the Bahamas or something But you know, right now [I’m] just trying to figure out that new identity. And for once, I actually have a little but of input on my character. So hopefully it won’t be as schizophrenic as it was the past four decades, heal one day, babyface the next.”
H/T and transcribed by 411 Mania