Small-town kid has become a Big Show

Paul Wight, all seven feet and 420 pounds of him, is a wrestling giant

By CHRIS DEARING - (Source: TheState.com)

When Paul Wight was a youngster growing up outside of Aiken, he remembers venturing to Columbia’s Township Auditorium to get a view of the professional wrestlers entering the back gates. His family’s modest income seldom allowed him to go inside and watch the matches.

Little did he know that becoming one of those sports entertainers was in his future.

But now the small-town boy is billed as “The Big Show,” the world’s largest athlete for the World Wrestling Entertainment juggernaut headed by Vince McMahon.

“I remember seeing Arn Anderson walking into the back of the Township (and) thinking that was the meanest looking man I had ever seen in my life,” Wight said. “Now, years later, he is one of my dearest friends and a mentor. It’s crazy how things work out.”

The Big Show and his cohorts will be at the Colonial Life Arena Monday night for the WWE Raw Supershow that airs nationally on the USA network. Bill time is scheduled for 8:15 with the action going live on TV at 9 p.m. The Big Show is scheduled to face his nemesis Mark Henry, the world heavyweight champion.

Wight spent Thanksgiving in his home in Tampa but the trip to the Midlands will allow him to visit family and friends he does not see often because his travels sometimes keep him on the road for more than 250 dates a year.

Flying is necessary at times but uncomfortable because of his 7-foot, 420-pound frame, so he has a personalized bus that he travels in mostly. He was scheduled to arrive in town today.

Other than seeing his family and friends, there is another positive about performing in his home state — sweet tea and barbeque.

“I have traveled all over the world and South Carolina is the only place you can get real sweet tea and barbeque,” Wight said. “You would be amazed at the way people look at you when you request hash. It’s almost like you have horns growing out of your head. They just don’t understand what you are talking about.”

The Big Show has been given the opportunity to travel the world and see places and sights that he never dreamed possible when he was growing up in rural Aiken County. After Monday night’s event, he will leave for the WWE Tour of Japan. That is one of several countries he has been able to visit thanks to his career. He almost always is one of the main attractions when the WWE takes its annual show overseas for a Tribute to the Troops special.

“This industry has given me so much to be thankful for,” Wight said. “I’m just a small-town kid from Aiken that is enjoying his time in the spotlight.”

Wight, 39, never considered joining the squared circle as a kid. He was more known for his basketball skills in his younger days and was a regular at then-USC coach George Felton’s basketball camps, and he remains a Gamecocks fan. He starred at W.W. King Academy and was named the 1989 WLTX Male Athlete of the Year. That helped earn a scholarship to Wichita State, where his basketball playing days fizzled.

He burst on the season in 1995 and began wrestling for the now defunct WCW. He was billed as The Giant then and won numerous titles on his way to stardom through his battles with such stars as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and the NWO.

He moved to the WWE in 1999 and was looking for a moniker, something the fans could attach themselves to and either love or hate the character being portrayed.

McMahon suggested he be billed as The Big Show. At first, Wight said, it was somewhat uncomfortable and it took a while to figure out exactly what type of character The Big Show would be. He’s living the role to its fullest and most of his friends call him Show outside of the wrestling business.

“It’s like any nickname you are given as a kid,” Wight said. “You don’t really like it at first but the longer it goes on the more you become accustomed to it. I can’t even think of being called anything else now. I am The Big Show.”

Even though he is The Big Show to millions of people across the world, he loses some of that when he returns home to be around his close family.

“It’s always fun to see everybody and how they are the same,” Wight said. “No matter what I’ve done, I’m still the idiot kid that did stupid things growing up.”