Former WWE Champion reveals Arn Anderson is his "mentor"
Paul Wight (formerly known as The Big Show in WWE) has revealed he considers wrestling legend Arn Anderson to be his mentor.
In a recent interview with Michael Morales Torres of Lucha Libre Online, the former WWE Champion listed several names who helped him make the decision to sign with AEW. One of the names on that list was none other than The Enforcer Arn Anderson, who Wight would describe as his "mentor" during his time in WWE.
Wight explained how Anderson helped him improve aspects of his performance when the pair began spending more time together in 2008. Wight says Anderson aided him in perfecting his "giant" persona and shifted certain elements of his move set accordingly.
"I just I had some friends working there (AEW). Chris Jericho is there, Cody Rhodes is there, Dustin (Rhodes) is there, Billy Gunn, Arn Anderson is my mentor. I don't know if a lot of people know that, but Arn was very instrumental in my career. Especially after 2008. Arn and I spent a lot of time together. Just kind of honing in on what made The Big Show, The Big Show, back then. Because I tried for so many years to try to do pretty things like drop kicks and nip-ups and all these pretty athletic things. Arn used to tell me: ‘You're a giant. You don't do pretty. You do ugly. Just go do ugly.' Once I found out the best for me, we honed in on that."
Now that Paul Wight has jumped ship from WWE to AEW, he has once again been reunited with his old mentor, Anderson. Time will tell as to whether or not they will be working closely together in the future, on-screen or behind the scenes.
Arn Anderson can currently be seen in AEW programming
Arn Anderson has become a regular face on AEW Dynamite, where he acts as personal advisor to The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes as part of The Nightmare Family.
On top of this, The Enforcer is also the host of his own popular podcast, 'ARN,' where he delves into some of the most memorable and important moments from his career as well as the history of professional wrestling.