Jorge Herrera/Associated Press

Paul Wight Debuts in AEW After 22 Years as Big Show in WWE

Mike Chiari

Paul Wight made his AEW debut Wednesday at AEW Dynamite after shockingly signing with the company in February.

Wight kicked off the second hour with AEW play-by-play commentator Tony Schiavone, who interviewed the wrestler formerly known as Big Show while he wore a "No More BS" T-shirt. Wight then made a big reveal, saying that a Hall of Fame-worthy talent would be signing a contract with AEW during the Revolution pay-per-view.

Wight, 49, previously spent 22 years in WWE, but he jumped ship to AEW after being unable to reach financial terms on a new deal with the company, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com.

When AEW announced the signing of Wight, it noted that he was being brought in to serve as a commentator for a new YouTube show called AEW Dark: Elevation. It was also announced that The World's Largest Athlete would wrestle for AEW.

During his 22 years as Big Show in WWE, Wight put together one of the most impressive resumes in the history of professional wrestling.

He held the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships two times each in addition to being an eight-time Tag Team champion, one-time Intercontinental champion, one-time United States champion, one-time ECW champion and three-time Hardcore champion.

Also, during his four-year run in WCW before signing with WWE, Wight held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the WCW World Tag Team Championships three times.

In Wight, AEW signed someone who has seen and done it all in the realm of professional wrestling, meaning he has no shortage of knowledge to pass on to the younger members of the roster.

Wight should be a great fit in AEW in terms of being an announcer, as well as a mentor, but AEW President Tony Khan and Co. will have to be careful about how they deploy him as an in-ring competitor.

It is fair to say that the viewing audience tired of Wight in WWE regardless of what he did over the last 10 or so years he was with the company. Perhaps that was a result of fatigue from seeing him in the same environment for so long.

A change of scenery could be great for Wight in that regard, but if AEW truly wants the fanbase to embrace him when he competes in the ring, getting creative and doing something new will be of the utmost importance.

     

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