UPDATE: As we reported earlier today here on eWn, AEW has signed The Big Show to a long-term contract. According to a report from Fightful, numerous people within WWE had no idea that he was leaving, and there wasn’t a lot in the way of “goodbyes.”
With that being said, several WWE higher-ups claim they knew The Big Show was leaving earlier this month but it was kept quiet among those “in the know.”
As far as the AEW roster is concerned, very few people knew he was being signed and were said to have been shocked when the news was announced earlier today. There is said to be a lot of excitement backstage as he brings plenty of knowledge to the table and was very well-liked among his peers in WWE.
According to a source close to Wight, they believed that a major career move was happening for him, as he has had some “major life events” in recent months. In addition to selling his home and his WWE contract expiring, his “The Big Show Show” sitcom on Netflix was cancelled in August 2020. For those unaware, the show was co-produced by WWE Studios.
When it came time to renegotiate his contract with WWE last month, the two sides were unable to come to terms financially. Also, there was a segment with Randy Orton on the January 4th “Legends Night” episode of RAW where Orton mocked him for being ‘retired’. Wight was said to have been “very open” about being unhappy about that segment and his status in the company. While WWE didn’t publicly announce his departure or wish him well, he was quietly moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com on February 19th.
ORIGINAL: AEW announced today that they’ve signed a multi-year deal with Paul Wight, formerly known as The Big Show.
The Big Show was seen as recently as January 4th on the Legends Night edition of WWE RAW.
Wight will have an extensive role within AEW, and on top of his return to the ring, he will serve as a commentator on AEW’s newest show, AEW Dark: Elevation.
The reason why The Big Show departed from WWE was due to them not being able to come to terms on a new deal financially. Thus, his contract expired last month.
