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Big Show barely had time to start trending on Twitter (and it is, which is why Tony Khan wanted to get the news of his latest signing out there to drive interest in tonight’s Dynamite) before we got a report about why he left WWE.
PWInsider is the first with the scoop. Unlike the news of Paul Wight signing with AEW however, it’s not terribly surprising. Show’s WWE deal was up, he didn’t like their offer to re-sign, so he called Vince McMahon’s bluff and bounced.
Negotiations on a new contract are said to have ended days after Show’s last television appearance on the Jan. 4, 2021 Legends Night episode of Raw. A source told Insider “Wight was very open that night about his unhappiness about the situation.“
They also note that while Wight didn’t publicly announce his exit from the company he first joined back in 1999, WWE.com moved him to its Alumni section on Feb. 19. He also changed his Instagram handle to his legal name earlier this month.
So Paul Wight is All Elite. And it’ll be interesting to see how Big Show’s decision to forego a Legends contract, a Hall of Fame berth, WWE side projects, and the usual veteran perks for a bigger on & off-screen role and more money now impacts negotiations with other stars of yesteryear.