WWE star Cody Rhodes revealed a major AEW name who was influential in his career. The star being discussed is Paul Wight, aka Big Show. He is currently a member of the ROH Board of Directors. He worked in WWE for years and has been part of the All Elite roster since 2021.
The reigning Undisputed WWE Champion had a mediocre first run in the WWE. He was one of the many stars who got lost in the shuffle. Big Show was involved in many tag team matches against The American Nightmare in 2012. The duo also battled at WrestleMania 28 for the Intercontinental Championship.
Cody Rhodes praised Paul Wight for helping him during the early days of his career in an interview with Adrian Hernandez.
“It’s fun to pull back the curtain on this one now because I do think this person deserves credit for it and didn’t get any ’cause so many people thought, ‘Oh, maybe that wasn’t supposed to happen’ — the Big Show. Big Show was so influential in my career and doesn’t even realize it because I was going through it when I was going up against him, and man, I’m lucky to have had that experience with him," he said. [H/T - WrestleTalk]
Cody Rhodes had a funny story about Paul Wight
When The American Nightmare was in a rivalry with Paul Wight, the duo was involved in multiple fun matches, which created many memorable moments.
While speaking with Stone Cold Steve Austin on Broken Skull Sessions, Cody Rhodes revealed that he had a conversation with Paul Wight ahead of their contest about how he would like to be presented in the ring. However, the AEW star beat him with a rubber chicken.
“That night, he [Big Show] found a rubber chicken in the crowd and beat me half to death with that rubber chicken, and the crowd loved it,” Rhodes said. “I, in one night, kind of wrapped my head around, ‘Yeah, this is part of the process of getting over.’ This was a very fun time to experiment," he said.
It will be interesting to see if the duo ever reunite in WWE in the future.