Paul Wight explains how he signed for AEW

AEW Dark: Elevation commentator Paul Wight is set to make his in-ring return at AEW All Out. To many, it seemed impossible to imagine the former Big Show stepping away from WWE. But it happened and the World's Largest Athlete has since explained how it went down.

Paul Wight aka Big Show joining AEW is a big deal. He's the first of any, including Jericho, to join AEW who I felt was a WWE lifer. Even if that meant not wrestling but being an ambassador. I'll talk more on this live 10:15 pm ET on @WrestlingInc YouTube/Facebook/Twitch.
— Justin LaBar (@JustinLaBar) February 24, 2021

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Paul Wight, while speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vilet, revealed former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho asked him to speak to Tony Khan. Upon speaking to the AEW boss, Wight was excited.

"I had some conversations with Jericho and he told me to talk to Tony and I met Tony a long time ago. So, I spoke to him for a couple hours," Paul Wight said. "Tony Khan keeps weird hours, he's up from 1 am to 4 am but that conversation was interesting because we talked about the future of wrestling and helping younger talent and character building and he got me super excited on the phone which I hadn't got in a long time. I had the passion, I had the desire. Then for the owner of a company to inspire you further, I am the luckiest man on the planet right now. I have a chance to be a part of an organization that's growing and I get to help building something. Oh, and I get paid too."

At AEW All Out, Wight will look to settle his differences with QT Marshall in his first in-ring appearance since losing to Randy Orton in July 2020 on Monday Night RAW.

What prompted Paul Wight's WWE exit and AEW move?

Paul Wight felt he wasn't being pushed in the right direction in WWE. He harbored no negativity, though, accepting that this is the way business works. Still, he sought greener pastures.

"For me, I wasn't ready to be in the position I was being pushed into. This was the only opportunity available for me [in WWE], to go this way. I just felt like that's not for me. I didn't leave mad or pissed off, it's a business. You have to do what's best for you, they have to do what's best for business. I didn't know if I was gonna get a job after leaving WWE. I was working on some TV stuff and some movie stuff, so I didn't talk to nobody," Paul Wight added.