Paul Wight was lucky enough to have a long and successful career with WWE, but his numerous heel turns are one of the things that fans often talk about when it comes to his run with the company.
The former WWE Champion turned heel so many times that his turns became a running joke in the wrestling community, and during an interview with Inside The Ropes Paul Wight admitted that the character changes were frustrating.
“Oh, I think it’s super frustrating. One of the things that turning did is made it hard for me to develop a consistent identity, you know, to sell merch. Merchandise is a huge part of our industry and you either have to have a solid run as a really dominant heel where people want to buy your stuff because you’re the antihero and they like it, or you need to have a solid run as a babyface where they love your stuff and everybody wants to buy it. When you’re flip-flopping, a lot of times you’re pissing people off—you’re constantly dividing your audience.
On one hand, it’s a nod to your ability to work in the ring, to be able to switch gears, and sometimes people have problems shifting gears between heel and babyface. So, yes, it showed that I was able to do well in any situation that I was put in character-wise, but at the same time, it was tough for the brand. It was tough for building that consistency where I could sell T-shirts.”
Earlier this year Paul Wight made the jump to All Elite Wrestling where he now works as a commentator, as well as an in-ring performer. So far he has yet to turn heel in AEW. Stay tuned for updates.
