Paul Wight sees great things in the future for two of wrestling’s biggest prospects, but he won’t burden either one by calling them the “next” giant.
In an interview with Muscle Man Malcolm for The Sportster, Paul Wight was asked about Satnam Singh and Omos potentially being the next top giants in wrestling. Wight said that title is one that he doesn’t want to put on anyone, noting how hard it was for his own career while breaking in.
“I remember I used to get stuck with that a lot back in the day. No one wants to be — even though it came out with my character, I was the next Andre, nobody wants that burden. I think Omos is doing a great job with how they introduced him, how they’re bringing him along. I think AJ Styles has done a great job of belong to build Omos. So has Bobby Lashley. Omos just needs to get reps in, that’s the main thing. When you learn to get reps in, you’ll see a difference, and they’re doing a real good job of keeping these guys very within their wheelhouse of what they can do.
“And if fans are patient, these guys will evolve into something else. It’s just a matter of giving them time to evolve. We’ve got an incredible talent in AEW that I’m excited about, Satnam Singh, who’s like 7-foot-2, maybe 360 pounds. He’s an incredible athlete. Ex-basketball player, so he’s got the good footwork, he’s got the big, giant hands and the whole nine yards. I’ve worked with him a little bit the past few weeks in the ring, and he’s picking it up really fast. But again, they’re still green, they need time, they need to get their reps in and get it done.”
Wight added that he had a lot of non-televised training while he was still on WCW Nitro and he hopes that fans will give Omos and Singh the same courtesy too.
“So I don’t think people understand, when I started in WCW, my first match was against Hulk Hogan, but I was out working every weekend on live event house shows with Sting or with Macho or with Ric or with Arn Anderson. So I was working four or five nights a week, and I was only on TV once a week. So the thing is just getting the reps in and getting them done and learning from your teachers. I went to WWE and I was under Undertaker’s tree, call it the learning tree, for probably ten years. I was too stupid to get out from underneath that tree, but it’s about just giving these guys time to adjust and not rush them. You can’t expect Omos and some of these other giant big guys, you can’t expect them to work to the level of like a Kane or an Undertaker or somebody like that right off the bat. You just can’t. You gotta give them time to get their reps in and be patient. And hopefully the audience will do that.
“It’s tough. The business has changed. With mixed martial arts and the way the business has gone to more high spots and higher entertaining bumps and more charismatic characters on the microphone with cutting promos, the business has evolved. So the days of the giants of old, I don’t know. I think those days are numbered. I think you’re gonna have to find somebody that’s big that’s also extremely athletic and mobile.”
Kevin Nash recently said that he worked with Omos at the WWE Performance Center; read more about his approach to sharing his own knowledge about the wrestling business and applying it to today’s product at this link.
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