Paul Wight Details Idea For Television Show Outside Of AEW With Mark Henry
AEW broadcaster and star Paul Wight was recently on Charlie Marlow & 590 THE FAN KFNS Radio St. Louis. Wight is a veteran of over 20 years, and he talked about which wrestlers he thought were best to travel on the road with.
"So many different guys that I've spent so much time with over the years have had such great, great stories with Kurt Angle, who was amazing to travel with," Wight said. "I rode with probably one of the greatest athletes and greatest entertainers in Kurt Angle. He was amazing. He was so amazing in the ring but so humble and an absolute klutz outside of the ring. He would trip and fall all the time and spill food on his shirt, but just a genuinely good human being, who also was a badass and won an Olympic gold medal with a broken frickin' neck.
"He was a legit badass, but he never acted like he was a badass. He was just Kurt. Billy Gunn was great. Billy Gunn was the one guy that never needed a map anywhere we went. He always knew where the gym was, knew where the restaurant was, knew where the building was, where the hotel was. This guy had his own GPS in his head and just knew where everything was. He's probably one of the best 'wheelmen', as we call in the business, ever.
"And just laughed to my stomach was probably riding with Paul Heyman. I have literally had to pull a car over in tears laughing to catch my breath because Paul Heyman, for years, made me laugh harder than anyone. There's a lot of great, great stories, and great guys and great car rides out there, and that's the thing that really helps, I think, the the younger talent grow is getting in those car rides, and telling stories and lying, and it helps build your character and build who you are as a talent. It's good stuff."
Wight debuted in AEW at Revolution 2020, which was deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, even as AEW were welcoming in a small percentage of fans. Now things are opening up a bit more, and AEW is back traveling on the road. Wight talked about how that will help out the younger talent in AEW.
"Well, it's been great. I mean, the past year with COVID has been actually a really good reset for everyone, I think, in the entertainment industry," Wight stated. "It's allowed a lot of entertainers to really appreciate their fans a lot more, and I think it's given the fans a chance to really appreciate the gift that we have in this country of having the live entertainment that is available to everyone. Getting out and being part of that energy, it's great for the younger talent now because they worked so hard during COVID.
"They worked very hard to put a product on TV, but they weren't getting that emotional feedback from the audience, and that feedback is very important to really gauge on how you're doing and how you're making your connection with the audience. So for our younger talent, this is exciting times for them because they have the energy and the enthusiasm, and they're starting to make that connection. And it's great to see the fans come out to be a part of AEW, as ravenous as they are about AEW and as ravenous as they are for the new, young talent.
"It's a great time to be in pro wrestling. It's great time to be in sports entertainment. CM Punk's back, Bryan Danielson is with us now, and his work that he did a couple weeks ago with Kenny Omega was just an absolute clinic, as far as wrestling. You put on a 30-minute draw and no one's upset, that's a clinic. So to have those kinds of talents that are so incredible to influence our younger AEW talent and help lead the way for them and just to be part of that great crowd, this is a great time to wrestle, and people are excited about wrestling and they're excited about WWE. They're excited about AEW. There's a lot of things happening, and it's a good time to be part of the product."
Wight and fellow AEW broadcaster Mark Henry both do color commentary on Dark: Elevation along with Tony Schiavone. Wight recalled a time when he tried to console Henry in the WWE locker room, thinking he was having a bad day. But he revealed what Henry was really fretting over.
"I love Mark Henry. He's my brother from another mother," Wight expressed. "So I think, in all of wrestling, Mark Henry is probably my best friend. So to embarrass Mark Henry, there's too many stories, but I won't tell tales out of school. But I will say this one, I came into the locker room one time, and he was kind of hunched over and I thought he was upset and crying. So I put my bag down and sat down next to him, and I put my arm around him. I said, 'Are you alright,' because I was worried something happened to him or kids or something.
"Mark sits there, and he goes, 'Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I've been trying to tear this quarter for about 30 minutes and all I can do is bend it.' He had bet a quarter with his fingers, and I just patted him on the back and said, 'Okay, man, glad you're okay,' but that's just one of those things where I've never seen a human being bend a quarter with their fingers, and he did, but he was upset because he couldn't tear it. So that's my best friend."
Wight also praised Mark for his abilities as a chef, and revealed that he wants to start a cooking TV show with "The World's Strongest Man".
"He can cook his ass off. I'm telling you right now, he's a hell of a cook. People may not know that. He's a hell of a cook. I'm trying to get his ass into doing a cooking show with me. So, we'll see."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Charlie Marlow & 590 THE FAN KFNS Radio St. Louis with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.