411mania Inteviews: The Big Show

Big Show (real name Paul Wight) has been a star in the world of professional wrestling since 1995 and is currently with the WWE on Smackdown, which makes its Syfy network premiere tonight at 8 pm. He has also done some acting, including a guest spot this past summer on Royal Pains and a starring role in the upcoming family comedy Knuckleheads.

Al Norton: What was the locker room reaction when it was announced that Smackdown was moving to Syfy?

Big Show: I think in the locker room there was excitement. We’re going to a full HD network that’s part of a huge collection of other networks. There’s going to be a lot of changes to the show. I don’t know if they are changing the set or if they are changing talent. Friday night’s our first night on Syfy and we’re going live. WWE has a way of making things new and fresh so I’m excited about it. We’re on the road 300 days a year and you do the same thing over and over and over again so any time you get the chance to do something new, to start fresh, you get excited about it. I definitely am.

Al Norton: Do the guys in the locker room pay attention to things like negotiations for new TV deals?

Big Show: I think so. We’re all affected by it. Most all of us are shareholders in the company as well as talent so we’re always focused on how the company is doing as far as how we’re doing in the stock market, what networks we have contracts with, how we’re doing in the ratings, how our talent is performing in and out of the ring…for some of us it’s a very intense process. It’s all part of the synergy that helps propel the WWE machine forward to becoming an even great worldwide media authority than it is. I was just in China a few weeks ago and that was the first time WWE had ever been in China. We got to perform in Shanghais and that was quite an experience.

Al Norton: Obviously you can’t speak for everyone but do some guys have a preference in terms of being on Raw or Smackdown?

Big Show: I don’t know. I think some of the talent looks at it that way. You look at RAW with 900 episodes, live TV, yadda yadda yadda…I look at it like I am part of the WWE. I don’t have to be on RAW, I can be on Smackdown. I can be on NXT, I can be on Superstars, it doesn’t matter. Our fans are going to watch our product and as I far as I’m concerned personally, whatever show I’m on is the best show. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way by any means, I mean that I’m going to go out and put my best foot forward no matter what brand I’m on, to put on the best matches I can and entertain our fans the most.

Al Norton: When you first came into WCW back in 1995 did you have any idea you were starting out on what has turned in to a 15 year and counting career with what I think is 19 different championship belts?

Big Show: No, I didn’t know all that (laughing), and I certainly didn’t have those aspirations. Actually, when I first started in WCW there was talk that it was a one-off program with (Hulk) Hogan with no guarantees I’d have a career after that. I was lucky enough to get that opportunity and I made the best of it, impressed the right people, and moved forward. A lot of times in this industry guys come in and they’re a flash in the pan; they cook really hot for 30 or 40 seconds and then they’re well done. It takes a while for guys to make an impact and then continue to make an impact every week.

It filters down to your attitude personally and what kind of competitor you are. I don’t rest on laurels, I’ve never kept track of how many championships I’ve won, I don’t have pictures up on the wall in my office. I pretty much am always looking for a better show tomorrow or the next day. I’m always looking to do better. As far as I’m concerned, I still haven’t had my greatest match yet.

Al Norton: Have you started to think about where down the line you might say enough is enough, especially because of the physical toll on your body?

Big Show: It plays in the back of your mind. The travel is more the issue; I’m gone 289 days a year. I have a nice home and a family and I hardly get to see them. I still have a lot of that nomadic spirit in my heart so I can’t sit still very long and as long as I have that drive I’m going to work. As long as I can contribute and be a solid factor in our show I’m going to do it.

I think eventually my career will evolve where I can still be part of the show but not have so much of a workload. I’d really love to sit down with Jim Ross and have him show me the intricacies, the ins and outs, of doing commentary. I think of Gorilla Monsoon, Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Jesse Ventura, I think that’s a place I’d like to go in my career.

Al Norton: This is a two part question; who would you pay to see wrestle and what young talent do you think will be the major superstars 4 to 5 years from now?

Big Show: Who would I pay to see wrestle? I’d like to see Jessica Alba versus Milla Jovovich (laughing). I’d love to see that.

Guys who I think are going to be the big time main eventers…I’m a huge fan of Randy Orton. I like Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler…These are guys who are getting it together and showing something that takes them above and beyond the initial impression. Randy is without a doubt one of the smoothest wrestlers I’ve seen in ring ever. I don’t think there’s been a superstar other than Shawn Michaels that’s been as fluid and as coordinated in the ring. Seamus is just this transparent powerhouse. I call him transparent because he’s so white you can almost see through him. He’s going to be fantastic.

There’s a lot of young talent that has the potential to be great superstars but my old trainer used to tell me potential was a French word for “you ain’t worth a darn yet.”

Al Norton: Why is there such a love-hate relationship between wrestling and the internet?

Big Show: I don’t know. I think there’ a lot of guys on the internet who are armchair quarterbacks, just like there’s a lot of fantasy sports team owners that complain about how if they were the coach they would run things different. The only thing I can say is that I appreciate them being fans, whether it’s good press or bad press. We’re going out and putting our heart and soul into what we do. Trust me, there’s a 1000 things I would do different if I could look at a match I was in and then go back and change things, but in the heat of the moment you do as much as you can, the best you can. Until they lace up a pair of boots and step into the ring to face me…(laughing).

Al Norton: You seem to have been bit by the acting bug. Is it tough to get casting people to think of you for a part that doesn’t specifically call for a 7 foot tall man?

Big Show: Exactly. You do get put into the mold of always being the big guy; you can be angry, you can be a bodyguard, you can be a villain. I’ve steered away from those roles. One of things that’s helping me out is Knuckleheads because it’s a family comedy and I’ve given people who cast those parts the chance to see a different side of me. I hope it will open up the doors for me to do some other things. I don’t necessarily want to always be characters specifically written to be large. I’d love to play a tech nerd that a normal actor would play where I can bring some size and add some more humor to it. I’m just looking for parts that are funny right now. Of course, the right bad guy part comes along, I’ll take that, too, don’t kid yourself.

Don’t miss the season premiere of Smackdown – now on Syfy – tonight at 8 pm