Episode 34 of The Mike O’Hearn Show, published on Generation Iron‘s YouTube channel on Feb. 24, 2023, was a change of pace for the bodybuilding training and nutrition interview series. Pro wrestlers Paul Wight and Monty “Kip” Sopp, better known by their in-ring personas “Big Show” and “Billy Gunn” during their careers at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), joined O’Hearn to talk about their experience in the wrestling business.
This is not the first time that O’Hearn and Wight have crossed paths. The 7-foot-tall wrestling legend was previously featured on O’Hearn’s YouTube channel for a biceps workout, wherein O’Hearn guided Wight on training around Wight’s nagging shoulder injuries. Check out their full interview on The Mike O’Hearn Show below:
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You have to save space for yourself.
Work from the finish backward.
The psychology of wrestling has had to evolve as the action in the ring grew to those new heights. The logic of leaving an opponent in the ring to climb to the top turnbuckle and perform a stunt on them feels absent from Wight’s point-of-view, but he understands why the sport has gone in the direction it has.
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They wrestle now for Instagram and likes.
Staying Relevant
Sopp’s strategy to build his ongoing career as a relevant wrestler was to capture the audience’s intrigue before he did any wrestling rather than wrestling to capture the audience’s intrigue. By focusing on the experience of the crowd, he didn’t need to put himself in dangerous situations of over-the-top spots to draw a crowd’s reaction.
Wight and Sopp recognize that although they aren’t as spry as they were early in their career, they are still excited to work in the ring. They believe that passing on their knowledge to younger athletes and lifting those around them will continue to increase their stocks.
It’s never about just you.
Sopp and Wight maintain training routines that allow them to continue working effectively to make themselves and those in the ring with them look good.