Paul Wight Says He’s Feeling Good, Knows He Has a Short Window Left In Wrestling

Paul Wight knows his window for how long he can keep wrestling is coming up, and says he’s feeling good on a physical level. The AEW star has had a 30-plus career in the pro wrestling business, albeit one that has wound down a little in recent years. Wight hasn’t competed since 2024, when he had a match on Chris Jericho’s Rock & Wrestling Rager at Sea.

Wight has said he’s not ready to retire, and following a small back surgery late last year he’s hoping to get back in the ring. He spoke on Insight With Chris Van Vliet about how he’s feeling and how much longer he wants to keep wrestling, noting that it’s partially a matter of keeping his weight under control. You can see highlights below:

On How He’s Feeling:

“I’m feeling real good. I think my main thing now is I understand there’s a short window left, and listen, I’m not in any way, shape or form delusional that I’m going to go out and compete for championships and pull the wagon, those days are done. Also, in fairness to the younger talent that’s digging and striving now, they don’t need to see my ass every week, taking up TV time and ring time. There’s nothing I can do that’s going to make my career any bigger or better. All I can do is enjoy some of the last years that I have under contract with AEW and hopefully have some fun with some of the younger talent and teach them some of the lessons that have been passed down to me and just, you know, have a little bit of fun. I’m in a really good spot. I got a good boss that believes in me, supports me, and gives me an opportunity to be a part of the business.”

On If He Knows How Much Longer He Wants To Keep Wrestling:

“It’s funny, with wrestling, I think for me to get back in the ring and compete, I’m going to have to be a certain level. I’ll never be what I was. Got two fake knees and two hips. The proprioception is different. The connection between your joints is different. You feel different as an athlete, so I have to accept what am I now, and does that enhance the product that I’m doing? Sure, I’m smart enough and old enough. There are certain things that I can do that will still give a little kickback to nostalgia, will still look like a big, dangerous giant that is my character and teach. But at the same time, if it looks like, oh, put a bullet in [him], well, I’m not going to do that. So that’s what all this hard work now is, okay, what’s the one thing that I can really control? That’s conditioning and weight. I don’t need to be 500 pounds anymore. I need to be about 350.”

On His Heaviest Weight:

“537. But I’m doing it right. It’s not rocket science, I’ve tried to shortcut so many ways with it. This gimmick, we’ll do carb cycling, and we’ll do keto, and we’ll do this. Dude, it comes down to the same thing. You have to take in less calories than you burn, and it takes 3,500 calories to burn a pound of fat. So in a week, I have to at least minimally create a 3,500-calorie deficit. Right now, I’m almost a 7,000-calorie deficit a week, so that puts me right at a pound and a half, two pounds a week. It’s slow. It sucks. You look worse before you look better. There are some days I get in the gym and I’m like, Oh, all right, something’s happening. And then, you know, a couple of pounds change, I go, wait, I went down in weight and look worse. WTF? But that’s just part of the cycle. Your body changes and grows. And unfortunately, fat is not targeted. It’s like, okay, yeah, well I’ve got two, three abs on one side. They’re coming in really good. Then I got one side that’s just smooth. It’s like the other side didn’t show up.”