7ft Tall and Fighting To Survive: WWE & AEW Athlete Paul Wight's Incredible Story (E409)
5/11/20261 hr 42 min
Paul Wight, known to millions as “The Big Show,” is one of the most recognisable figures in sports entertainment history. In this episode, Paul reveals the stark reality of a life lived under a terminal diagnosis, opening up about the decades he spent assuming he wouldn't grow old and the grueling work he is now doing to rebuild a body he never expected to still be using at 53.
He discusses the radical selflessness that defined his thirty-year career, where he viewed himself as the "wall" for others to break through rather than the destination. Paul shares his unique three-step formula for success and explores the hidden psychological weight of consistently prioritising his opponents' glory over his own world-title ambitions.
Paul also reflects on a profound emotional breakthrough that arrived uninvited on a film set, shattering a lifetime of performed toughness.
This is a rare, intimate look at a man finally pursuing a path entirely for himself, trading the wrestling ring for Shakespeare and discovering who he is when he no longer has to make someone else look good.
Paul Wight will be returning to London for All Elite Wrestling’s record breaking show AEW All In: London - taking place over the bank holiday weekend on Sunday 30th August, live from Wembley Stadium. https://www.livenation.co.uk/
Widely regarded as one of professional wrestling’s greatest “big men” of all time, the iconic Paul Wight has done it all in and out of the ring, holding 23 total championships, headlining the world’s biggest shows and appearing in dozens of films and television shows over his 30-year career.
Wight shocked the wrestling world in February 2021 by signing with All Elite Wrestling, and has since served as a coach, mentor, commentator and wrestler in AEW, as well as an on-screen authority figure for AEW’s sister promotion, Ring of Honor. Standing in at 7’0”, Wight is one of the most recognisable figures in wrestling history and has brought decades of knowledge and experience to the blooming AEW roster.
In limited AEW action, Wight has defeated QT Marshall at AEW All Out in 2021, and was a key figure in AEW’s cross-branded Yakuza: Like a Dragon Street Fight in November 2023, where he took a body slam onto a car from Powerhouse Hobbs.
On the silver screen, Wight is known for performances including the legendary Captain Insano in The Waterboy, as well as appearances in Jingle All The Way, episodes of Saturday Night Live, MADtv, Hollywood Squares, The Weakest Link, Psych, Conan and headlined Netflix’s The Big Show Show.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsPaul Wight· Guest0:00
[upbeat music] Hi, guys.
Speaker 20:04
Yeah, we're- We're in here.
Paul Wight· Guest0:05
Let's do it. [upbeat music] I feel like Gandalf walking into Frodo's house, like- Are you sure you're comfy enough, uh- Oh, yeah, I'm great.
Jake Humphrey· Host0:14
All right.
Paul Wight· Guest0:14
This is awesome. I wear spandex. I entertain people. Occasionally, I make people laugh if I can get a good joke. That was your chance to laugh. [laughs] Okay, I worked on my material. I mean, I was 6'2" at 12. I was 6'8" at 14. They were like, "Well, if you don't get this surgery, you'll probably be dead by the time you're 45." I've always had people stare. I'm not gonna let them determine who I am and how I'm gonna interact with someone else.
Jake Humphrey· Host0:35
How do you learn to do that?
Paul Wight· Guest0:36
A lot of pain. I didn't expect to live a long time. You don't see old giants. I've had a major surgery the past seven years every fricking year. Back was bad, knees were bad. I was 537 pounds, I think. Didn't wanna wrestle anymore. I was just... I was miserable.
Jake Humphrey· Host0:51
What was your calorie intake in your wrestling peak?
Paul Wight· Guest0:53
Over 10, 12,000 calories a day easy. When I look back now, I'm like, "God, I used to eat that much?" Like, why? Well, I keep myself right at 26, 2,700 calories a day. Got into shape and lost some weight and cleaned my act up, and fell in love with wrestling again. I'm in people's living rooms. They've grown up watching me. It takes 30 seconds to be nice, take a selfie, say hello. You don't know what someone else is going through. I see you. You matter.
Jake Humphrey· Host1:18
We'd love him back in the ring.
Paul Wight· Guest1:20
Uh, yeah.
Jake Humphrey· Host1:21
Is there any chance?
Paul Wight· Guest1:22
It's not that I wanna go out, some big retirement thing, or tell my story, or some other kinda horseshit like that. That's not... I just wanna have fun. That's all.
Unknown speaker1:29
[whip cracking]