Paul Wight spoke with TMZ prior to AEW Dynamite to discuss a variety of topics, including Xavier McDaniel being the first one to tell him he should get into the wrestling business. The former Big Show said,
“X was always pestering me, and he kept telling me I should go into wrestling. I said ‘Man, listen, I’m gonna play in the NBA. That’s what I’ve trained for since I was a kid. This is what I do.’ [Xavier] says, ‘Man, you’re gonna be the only 7-foot dude who gets cut by the Japanese team. He goes, ‘I’m telling you what you need to do. You need to go into pro wrestling and be Andre The Giant’s son.’ He says, ‘Man, you look like Andre. That’s what you need to do.’”
He added, “Xavier McDaniel saw the vision on the wall long before it ever happened.”
In other news, Chris Hero has nothing but high praise for Darby Allin these days.
Speaking on a recent edition of The Ringer’s “Masked Man Show,” Hero commented on Darby Allin’s character and how it resonates with the fans. He said,
“We get in the wrestling bubble and we only see what’s in front of our face and we only reference what’s in our recent memory and what we remember historically. It’s very easy in pro wrestling to be self-cyclical. It’s not always about the bell-to-bell and the promos. It is larger than that.”
He continued, “When I look out into the arena and see these kids with their face painted up like him, these are five, six, seven year old children that are going to grow up and have lives. This is connecting with people on a deeper level. Darby, wrestling fans are like, ‘It’s Darby, we’re going to see something crazy, he’s great and creative.’ This dude is in a skit with Tim Robinson. This dude is hanging out with JPEGMAFIA and Tony Hawk. Darby’s crossover is incredible, and it’s not this phony studio-made. These are things that Darby likes and is interested in. You see him and it’s like, ‘I wonder what that dude is about.’ He did Nitro Circus. It’s not even about the pro wrestling, it’s about the butterfly effect of who else he meets in the world. People like Darby, when they crossover to different areas of entertainment, it affects the business as a whole, it’s not just about the rating he gets or the false finish. Some wrestlers are bigger than that and I think Darby is one of them.”
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The wrestling world is filled with fascinating stories of how wrestlers got their start in the business. One such story involves Paul Wight, better known as the Big Show. In a recent interview with TMZ, Wight revealed that former NBA player Xavier McDaniel was the one who first suggested he should pursue a career in wrestling.
According to Wight, McDaniel was persistent in his belief that Wight had what it took to succeed in the wrestling industry. At the time, Wight had his sights set on playing in the NBA, but McDaniel saw something in him that others didn’t. He told Wight, “You need to go into pro wrestling and be Andre The Giant’s son. Man, you look like Andre. That’s what you need to do.”
Wight initially dismissed McDaniel’s suggestion, as he had been training for basketball since he was a child and saw it as his true calling. However, McDaniel’s words stuck with him, and eventually, Wight realized that he could have a successful career in wrestling. Looking back, Wight acknowledges that McDaniel saw the potential in him long before anyone else did.
In other wrestling news, former wrestler Chris Hero recently praised current AEW star Darby Allin for his unique character and connection with fans. Hero spoke highly of Allin’s ability to resonate with people on a deeper level and connect with them outside of the wrestling ring.
Hero noted that Allin’s crossover into different areas of entertainment, such as appearing in skits with Tim Robinson and hanging out with celebrities like JPEGMAFIA and Tony Hawk, has a significant impact on the wrestling business as a whole. He believes that wrestlers like Allin, who have a broader appeal beyond just their in-ring performances, can influence the industry in meaningful ways.
These stories highlight the diverse paths that wrestlers take to achieve success in the industry. Whether it’s through the encouragement of a friend or by forging their own unique path, wrestlers like Paul Wight and Darby Allin demonstrate that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to making it in the wrestling business.
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