Paul Wight says Vince McMahon spent years making sure no rival wrestling company could take root, and he credits the Khan family with breaking that pattern.
Speaking live on News4JAX’s Going Ringside with Scott Johnson on Monday, two days before AEW Blood and Guts in Jacksonville, Wight said WWE’s long run as the only major brand in the US was no accident.
Paul Wight returns on AEW "Blood and Guts"
“For so many years, there was only one dominant brand and that was created by design,” Wight said. “Vince McMahon… was intent on crushing any competition and not letting anything sprout. That was his mantra and he was able to do that because he had the bucks to support that endeavor.”
Then the Khans arrived. “Along comes the Khan family who are passionate about pro wrestling and weren’t intimidated at all by that,” he said. “Tony has built this thing from the ground up.”
Wight has worked both sides of that history. He came up in WCW, spent years in WWE as the Big Show, and has been with AEW since 2021.
Why Wight Says Wrestlers Win
For Wight, the biggest beneficiaries of a second major promotion are the wrestlers sitting across the table at contract time.
“You want viable competition. You want competition. If there’s only one brand in town, it’s not good for the talent because if you’re not successful in one company… you have nowhere else to go in the US,” he said. “Now you have a viable alternative. It’s better for the talent negotiating. It’s better for the companies because talent go back and forth. Just like any business, you want good competition in wrestling.”
The back-and-forth he describes is playing out right now. Over the weekend, Jake Roberts said he has re-signed with WWE months after his AEW run ended, and used the moment to say Tony Khan needs to loosen up the reins.
Wight has been outspoken about how talent gets treated this year. In August, he called “paying your dues” a cover for veterans bullying younger wrestlers.
Head To Head On Wednesday
The competition is literal this week. NXT moved to Wednesday, November 4 to avoid election preemption, putting it directly opposite Blood and Guts. That NXT episode features John Cena’s visit and Michael Chandler as special guest enforcer.
AEW counters with a men’s Blood and Guts main event pitting AEW World Champion Will Ospreay, Adam Copeland, Steven Borden, The Young Bucks and Darby Allin against the Don Callis Family’s Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, Wardlow, Kevin Knight, Mark Davis and Jake Doyle at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Wight Isn’t Done In The Ring
Wight also made clear he still considers himself an active wrestler, even after a long list of repairs.
“I haven’t stepped away. I mean, dude, I’ve had 11 surgeries in the past seven years, both knees, both hips,” he said. “I’m not in any pain… I’m working on losing weight and getting my stuff together. It’s a little bit harder at 54.”
He’s also clear he won’t come back until he’s ready. “The biggest thing for me is I don’t want to go out there and be like Old Yeller like, ‘Oh god, that’s really bad. Please shoot it,'” Wight said, adding that he’s working on fixing “years of wear and tear.”
