Paul Wight Says There Are More Acting Opportunities With AEW, Will Work With TNT On Projects

Paul Wight’s wrestling career might be winding down but he has plenty to give outside of wrestling. 

Wight is set to lend his voice to season four of “Fast & Furious: Spy Racers” and already has an impressive acting resume that includes roles in “Jingle All The Way” and “The Waterboy” along with his own show “The Big Show Show.” 

Speaking to Jeff Ames of Coming Soon, Wight discussed being able to pursue more opportunities outside of wrestling with AEW compared to WWE. 

“Absolutely, absolutely. 110%! There were a lot of projects that I just wasn’t available to do. And WWE had a real strict, especially at the very beginning. They were very strict about what they let their branded talent do. That was one of the conversations I had with Tony Khan when I made the commitment to come to AEW was, ‘Look, I’m going to pursue more television, more film projects.’ And he was extremely excited about it and encouraging about it to the point that when things start rolling around again, we’ll start working with TNT and get some project rolling. So, to know that you have that opportunity is an incredible motivator and also stress relief. Now you can apply all these ideas and all these desires to perform and be a part of all these new projects. Oh, yeah, at seven-foot and 400 pounds, it’s very tough to let people know that, ‘Hey, I am funny!’ Or, ‘Hey, I can carry a part.’ I mean, I can always be bad guy number one or doorman at the bar. Sure, I can do that — and not to say there’s anything wrong with that — but you also want to prove to the audience that you can carry things. So that’s the great thing is to be supported in that endeavor,” said Wight. 

He continued by saying, “And believe me, I thank my stars every day when I think about actors that have had a successful career elsewhere, so they don’t have to depend on their acting to pay the bills, because what a tough job to go out there and go through audition after audition and get rejected again and again. I don’t have that stress. I’m going to keep the lights turned on. So, it’s a lot more fun for me. But my hat really goes off to the actors that have slept in the cars and made something out of themselves because it’s not an easy transition. It’s a very competitive, very ruthless business. If you get a part in a movie and that movie’s depending on you, as an investment, when that part was cast, it was done with who they felt could create the best investment for their character. So, it is a business, but it’s also a very, very tough one. As rewarding as it is, it’s also very tough. And I appreciate that challenge.”

“The Big Show Show” was canceled after one season, which he previously said was a deal he didn’t negotiate what he made for the show. You can find his full comments by clicking here.