WWE Hall of Famer claims he made Paul Wight cry after real-life backstage fight
Paul Wight is one of the most intimidating wrestlers of all time. However, a WWE Hall of Famer claims he made the giant cry after a real-life backstage fight.
The Great Khali dominated the ring when he first arrived in WWE. He laid out all his opponents and remained undefeated for a very long time. His size and strength were a head-turner, and he established himself as one of the baddest heels in the company. Eventually, Khali even became the first Indian to win a World Title in WWE.
During his time in the promotion, The Great Khali feuded with all the top stars like The Undertaker, Batista, and even Big Show. In fact, the Indian star got into a backstage altercation with Paul Wight. The incident took place in 2009 during a house show in Puerto Rico when Matt Hardy, Khali, and The Undertaker teamed up against Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and The Big Show (now known as Paul Wight).
During the match, Khali went for his corner chop and got a big reaction from the crowd. However, when Paul went for the same move, the crowd didn't react as he had expected, and this infuriated the giant. When they got backstage after the match, he confronted Khali.
This altercation was even mentioned in Jericho's Best in the World autobiography. The Great Khali recently recalled the incident during an interview with The Lallantop. While most of the details Khali mentioned match Jericho's recollection of that incident, the latter claimed that Wight had tripped over a chair. Khali, however, claims that he knocked out his colleague:
“I started saying things back to him. I took off my shoe, and then he came to punch me. I leaned back. I got up and leaned again for the second punch. When I punched him, he got knocked down and I got on top of him. After 2-3 punches, all the people in the locker room pulled us apart. Afterward, he started crying. He thought he could impress the young talent by taking me out, but it backfired on him.” [H/T SEScoops]
Jim Ross claims WWE mishandled Paul Wight fka Big Show's career from day one
While Paul Wight is one of the most well-known giants in the history of professional wrestling, his booking has oftentimes been poor. This has been baffling over the years, given that the wrestling legend was very athletic for a guy of his size.
This all seemingly started right from the beginning of his run in the Stamford-based promotion when he replaced Stone Cold Steve Austin and won the WWE Championship from Triple H. This was a gargantuan task for the giant as Austin was a massive star, and it was difficult to believe that Big Show could replace him.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross recalled the incident from 1999 and said that WWE mishandled Wight's booking from day one.
"We'd already f****d up Big Show's entire presentation," Ross said. "That was mishandled since day one. It [Big Show replacing Austin] was never gonna work. Did it work? No, it didn't work. Didn't work at all, and that's not on Big Show. That's on the fact that Austin was so damn over that people didn't wanna settle for anything but Steve." [1:58:47 – 1:59:21]
Paul Wight hasn't wrestled since The Jericho Cruise, which took place on January 29, 2024.