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Vince McMahon formed close relationships with many WWE Superstars during his 40 years in charge of the company's creative direction. In 2021, the WWE Executive Chairman even called one of his longest-tenured talents, Paul Wight, after he joined rival promotion AEW.
Wight, known in WWE as The Big Show, worked for McMahon for a combined 21 years over two spells between 1999 and 2021. The seven-foot giant decided to take up a commentary position and ambassadorial role in AEW because he felt he had nothing left to accomplish in WWE.
On a 2021 episode of Talk Is Jericho, Wight clarified that he and McMahon left things on good terms:
"There's no animosity, there's no heat there at all. He called me, he said, 'Congratulations, you're gonna do fantastic over there. You're really gonna help their company. You have a lot to help here.' It was a very classy, classy move."
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Wight won several titles during his full-time in-ring career, including the WWE Championship twice, WWE World Heavyweight Championship twice, and WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice.
When Paul Wight's relationship with Vince McMahon changed
The former WWE Champion only competed in six matches during his final year with the company. His last WWE encounter took place on July 20, 2020, when he lost an Unsanctioned match against Randy Orton on RAW.
Looking back on his last 12 months in WWE, Wight recalled how things changed when Vince McMahon started calling him by his real name:
"I knew the writing had changed for me and Vince in our relationship because for years I was always Show. In the last year it's been Paul, so that's a subtle thing in his mind where he's already shipping me off to Shady Pines [retirement home], you know what I mean? Paul's just a guy, Paul's his friend."
The 51-year-old has not competed in a match since defeating Austin Green on the April 4, 2022, episode of AEW Dark: Elevation. However, he still plans to return to the ring one day.
What did you make of the way Vince McMahon booked Paul Wight? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Talk Is Jericho and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
