Worrying update regarding Paul Wight ahead of AEW Dynamite return – Reports
WWE legend Paul Wight, formerly known as the Big Show, is set to make his in-ring return in the coming weeks for AEW, but a recent appearance has left people worried about his condition.
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega accepted a challenge laid out by Don Callis on the November 1st edition of Dynamite for an eight-man tag team street fight, which will take place on the November 15th edition of the Wednesday night show.
Jericho and Omega stated that they would have Kota Ibushi on their side for the match, but after Callis teased them for being a team member short, Jericho revealed that the final member of their team would be Paul Wight.
Wight last wrestled in AEW on the April 4th, 2022 edition of Dark: Elevation and has never wrestled on Dynamite but, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, maybe it's for the best that Wight hasn't been active in recent years.
"I heard that when Paul Wight was back in OVW just a couple of weeks ago. And you know, I think guest ring announcer or something like that, [he] made a guest appearance. And I heard that his movement was not good. And, you know, he stood there, he had big braces on his knees. Yeah, he’s a big guy, and he’s 51 years old. And he’s had, you know, all kinds of knee problems and other problems." [H/T: Inside The Ropes]
Meltzer explained that it's not the end of the world putting Wight in such a match, as the abilities of his partners and opponents will be able to limit the amount of things Paul does in the ring.
"But, you know, I mean, again, he probably only has to come in for, you know, I mean look who he is teaming with, he’s probably only going to have to come in for short spurts and everything, but I mean he did throw the one punch, but that was it, but he was not moving." [H/T: Inside The Ropes]
Will Paul Wight knock out anyone with a chokeslam like he did to Shane McMahon?
Despite not being as agile as he once was, Paul Wight is still far and away one of the biggest men in the AEW locker room, and his chokeslam still has a lot of power behind it when he's able to execute it.
So much so that during a recent appearance on "The Babyfaces" podcast, Wight revealed that he once knocked Shane McMahon out cold when performing his famous finishing move. Not only that, but he actually knocked Shane out twice!
Wight explained that he wanted to differentiate his version of the move from the likes of The Undertaker, Kane, and ECW cult hero 911, by dropping to the mat with his opponent. However, he stated that it was so deadly that many wrestlers who had to take the move on a nightly basis left the ring extremely sore.
Are you excited to see Paul Wight wrestle again? Let us know in the comments section below!