Paul Wight wanted to capitalize on his name outside of WWE, but in order to do that, he would have owed WWE plenty of cash.
Wight was able to use The Big Show name in successful Hollywood ventures with "The Big Show Show," but when he tried to enter the world of food, he was met with some resistance in the form of royalties he would owe WWE.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho, Wight recalled his failed Big Show Burger idea.
"There was a couple of business deals I tried to do, using my brand. It was incredible to me that after 20 years of building a brand. I wanted to do a Big Show Burger. A half-pound burger, no hormones, anywhere in the US in 36 hours. You order online. I set it up and reached out to Wolfgang Puck and we were going to do a meatloaf together to promote it on an infomercial. You would've thought that I was some guy that walked off the street with the numbers they hit me that they wanted me to use a brand that I helped build. We're talking seven-figures up front, 18 months later, another seven-figures, 30-something percent of profit. That's what they wanted from me. It killed the whole deal for me. I wanted to get some food trucks, wrap em in Big Show Burger trucks, and at WrestleMania I would sell them to fans and interact. It turned me off so bad and put things in perspective. I've been playing The Big Show for 20 years, but as far as they are concerned, anyone can play the Big Show. The writing on the wall was either, 'we don't want you to do this' or 'we see this is a cash grab,' like they are doing me a favor," he said.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Wight discussed WWE setting up the deal with Netflix that led to "The Big Show Show." You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Wight currently serves as a commentator on AEW Dark: Elevation.
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