Paul Heyman
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| Paul Heyman | |
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Paul Heyman Paul E. Dangerously Paul E. Heyman |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in |
| Born | September 11, 1965 |
| Resides | Madison, New York |
| Debut | 1985 |
Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is a professional wrestling manager, on-air talent, and former promoter. He is best known for being the creative force behind Extreme Championship Wrestling's rise to prominence in the 1990s, and shortly thereafter he became a personality in World Wrestling Entertainment. He has also worked with WWE's ECW brand where he was recognized as the ECW Representative.
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Professional wrestling
Early career
Paul Heyman made his managerial debut on March 18, 1985, initially appearing on the Northeast independent circuit before moving to a more high-profile stint with Florida Championship Wrestling in 1986. There he joined forces with Kevin Sullivan and Oliver Humperdink and first became known as Paul E. Dangerously (many still refer to him as "Paul E.") because of his resemblence to Michael Keaton in the movie Johnny Dangerously in both of their younger days. From there, he travelled to Memphis and the Continental Wrestling Association to manage Tommy Rich and Austin Idol in a heated feud with Jerry Lawler, a war which later carried over to the American Wrestling Association (AWA) -- with the Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) taking over for Idol and the face-turned Rich). Heyman's gimmick was basically an extension of his personality - a brash New Yorker who was often seen holding a mobile phone; which was occasionally used as a "foreign object" (it was quite large, due to the technology of the late 1980s). After departing the AWA, Heyman went to the Alabama-based Continental Wrestling Federation and first became allied with Eddie Gilbert in Gilbert's Hot Stuff Inc. stable.
World Championship Wrestling
In 1988, Heyman jumped to Jim Crockett Promotions, where he again managed the Original Midnight Express in a feud with the new Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) and their manager, Jim Cornette, as well as managing "Mean" Mark Callous. Before long he settled into the role of an announcer, joining Jim Ross to call the matches on WTBS' World Championship Wrestling and other programming. During his role as an announcer, he feuded with Ross, Missy Hyatt, and her storyline boyfriend, then-The Wonder Years star Jason Hervey.
After stepping off-camera for a brief period in 1991, he returned as the manager of the Dangerous Alliance; with Madusa as his assistant, managing Bobby Eaton, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, WCW TV Champion Steve Austin and Larry Zbyszko. Heyman lead Rude to the United States title and the Anderson-Eaton tag team to the Tag Team titles. The Dangerous Alliance dominated WCW through most of 1992, meeting their biggest foes in Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes and The Steiner Brothers (Scott and Rick Steiner). Later he fired Madusa and became sexist about her firing which lead to a match against him and her. In the match Heyman had to where one hand tied behind his back.
Political problems backstage in WCW made Heyman's tenure with the company a miserable one, which was made even more miserable when WCW president Bill Watts, who was not fond of Heyman's style, fired him in late-1992, putting the final nail in the coffin of the Dangerous Alliance (which had been in a downward spiral for some time beforehand, beginning with their loss to Sting's Squadron in a WarGames cage match at Wrestle War 1992) in WCW.
Extreme Championship Wrestling
After departing WCW, Heyman ended up being hired by Tod Gordon to book his Eastern Championship Wrestling promotion, beginning with their Ultra Clash show in September 1993. Eventually Heyman became owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling and helped it take off and become a viable number 3 promotion in America. (For more information see History of Extreme Championship Wrestling)
Because of Heyman's love for wrestling, combined with his ability to book matches that the crowd would love, he earned the nicknames "The Evil Genius of Wrestling" and "The Mad Scientist of Wrestling".
Heyman introduced several new types of matches to the American audience, such as a "Barbed Wire Match" and "The Three Way Dance." Such matches were never before seen in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) or WCW, thus solidifying Heyman's reputation as an "outlaw" in the world of pro wrestling. Heyman also brought lucha libre wrestling to American TV, an event which inspired the WWF and WCW to follow suit.
Heyman is known as a genius not just for having the innovation of bringing unique and refreshing elements to wrestling, but also for his ability to write captivating, edgy, and realistic wrestling storylines that made sense with few plot holes. Heyman was the king of having long, drawn-out feuds build for months (or sometimes years) until a series of matches took place to determine a winner.
One of his most notable mid-90s storylines included the infamous The Sandman vs. Raven feud where Raven "brainwashed" Sandman's seven-year-old son into calling Raven his father, at one time reducing The Sandman in tears. Another of his big mid-90s feuds involved Sabu and Taz, possibly the two biggest draws in ECW history, which was built up for years until finally culminating at ECW's first pay-per-view Barely Legal, on April 13, 1997. For the remainder of ECW's tenure, Taz and Sabu continued to feud on-and-off, but their match at Barely Legal was, without a doubt, the most heavily built up.
Many feel that ECW's latter years (1998 and later) saw Heyman's storylines weaken a bit. Many of ECW's stars had defected to the "big two", and Heyman himself was feeling an incredible amount of stress at the time with ECW's financial situation. However, he could still captivate his audience and always had a loyal audience to entertain. In the latter years, Heyman built a huge, year-long feud with the company's top star, the aforementioned Taz, and ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas. Douglas had been injured and insisted on dropping the title earlier than expected, but Paul had a better idea. He built a drawn-out storyline where Taz chased the title for a year and destroyed all the opposition (including his old nemesis Sabu) to finally capture the title at ECW's Guilty As Charged pay-per-view in January 1999.
In the final year of ECW Heyman wrote a huge feud between the loyal ECW wrestlers and "The Network," a stable that represented TNN, which Heyman had notably been having real-life issues with. The storyline never took off like he expected and couldn't save ECW, mainly due to the lack of funds that ECW was bringing in, as well as the fact that most of its top stars were leaving for WWF (Taz, the Dudley Boyz), WCW (Mike Awesome, Shane Douglas), or were injured (Rob Van Dam).
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
After ECW folded, Heyman became a broadcaster for the WWF, replacing Jerry Lawler as color commentator for RAW in early 2001. (Lawler quit the WWF in protest when then-wife Stacy Carter was released by the company.) He would later turn heel by creating the ECW Alliance during The Invasion. He was (kayfabe) fired following the 2001 Survivor Series, but returned to television as manager of Brock Lesnar.
He led Lesnar to the WWE Undisputed Championship when Lesnar beat The Rock at SummerSlam 2002. Then at Survivor Series 2002, Heyman turned on Lesnar and helped Big Show take the title from him. Just before Lesnar's title match against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XIX, Lesnar challenged his former manager to a steel cage match. After his defeat, Heyman left for a while, returning to assume the on-camera role of General Manager of the Thursday night show SmackDown!, realigning himself with Lesnar until March 22, 2004, when he was drafted to Eric Bischoff's RAW, and promptly (kayfabe) quit rather than work for arch-nemesis Bischoff, the man who he blamed for killing ECW by raiding its talent.
During Heyman's tenure on SmackDown!, he served as the head writer, and is credited with being the creative force behind the successful Smackdown Six; Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero. He placed them in a "triple threat tag team feud" (Angle & Benoit, Edge & Mysterio, Los Guerreros) over the WWE Tag Team Championship.
At the 2003 No Way Out PPV it was reported that Heyman was removed from the SmackDown! writing team, mainly because of backstage political issues between him, Creative Director Stephanie McMahon and RAW writer Brian Gewirtz.
During 2004, Heyman's on-camera role was again as a manager, this time to The Dudley Boyz (not including Spike Dudley; Heyman's role in that regard disappeared just as Spike became "the boss" of his "big brothers"), and Heidenreich. In these managerial roles, he mainly led his stars in feuds with the Undertaker.
Heyman's last appearance on SmackDown! saw him sealed in a coffin by The Undertaker during a handicap match which featured Heyman and Heidenreich against The Undertaker on January 6, 2005.
ECW One Night Stand
Paul Heyman was heavily involved in the booking and promotion of the June 11, 2005 ECW reunion PPV, One Night Stand. Heyman returned to RAW on May 23, 2005 and confronted former WCW President Eric Bischoff, lauding ECW and criticizing WCW. Among other things, Heyman told him the following: "ECW was a lifestyle, it was anti-establishment, it was counter-culture, and it was up in your face!" Heyman finished it up by setting Bischoff's ECW funeral wreath (made out of barbed wire) on fire.
At One Night Stand, a visibly emotional Heyman came to the ring, got on his knees and bowed to the fans, who chanted "Thank you Paul!" He then cut a shoot promo insulting Bischoff, Edge, JBL, and Triple H. On this show, Heyman was portrayed as a face who successfully prevented the heels, Bischoff and his crusaders, from putting ECW out of business once and for all.
On February 18, 2006, Heyman and Tazz announced that there would be another One Night Stand. The event happened on June 11, 2006 in New York, New York.
Ohio Valley Wrestling
On July 10, 2005, it was confirmed that Paul Heyman took over the position of Head Booker and Writer in OVW, a developmental territory maintained by the WWE. This position was vacated when Jim Cornette was fired for issues with WWE management. Many feel Heyman's work in writing and producing the show is his best since the early days of ECW. Heyman has been instrumental in developing characters and/or improving mic skills for Mr. Kennedy, Armando Alejandro Estrada, Bobby Lashley, Beth Phoenix, The Boogeyman, Paul Burchill, Gunner Scott, Maria Kanellis, and the Spirit Squad. All of these wrestlers had called up to the WWE roster during Heyman's short time in OVW and the majority of them remain there to this day.
Return of ECW
- See also: Extreme Championship Wrestling (WWE)
In 2006 rumors started to swirl throughout the Internet Wrestling Community about the return of ECW as another "brand" under the WWE name. For weeks it was hinted at through WWE programming and made official on May 25 through an announcement at ECW.com.[1]
It was reported that Heyman would have control over the new ECW show, and that both he and Tommy Dreamer will share booking duties. This was confirmed when the news of Heyman having his own office at Titan Towers (for the ECW project) emerged. Names from ECW's past such as Terry Funk, Sabu, The Sandman, Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney and Danny Doring all signed with WWE for the new project as it was getting under way.
On the May 29, 2006 edition of RAW, during a face-off with Mick Foley, Heyman announced that he was granted a draft pick from both RAW and SmackDown! by Vince McMahon. His RAW draft pick was former ECW wrestler (and Money in the Bank contract holder) Rob Van Dam, and his SmackDown! draft pick was Kurt Angle, Angle then came down to the ring and attacked Foley, hitting him with an Angle Slam. Also of note, Heyman predicted that Rob Van Dam would defeat WWE Champion John Cena at ECW One Night Stand 2006 and then declare himself the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. A similar incident occurred on March 26, 1994, when Shane Douglas became NWA World Heavyweight Champion, only to vacate the title and then declare himself the ECW World Heavyweight Champion.
On the June 2, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, Heyman served as a guest commentator for Kurt Angle's last match on SmackDown! with World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio. During the match Heyman announced that Mysterio would face ECW's Sabu in a at One Night Stand "dream match" for the title. He also announced that Kurt Angle had issued an open challenge to anyone willing to wrestle him at the Pay Per View. He hinted at the challenge being answered by a former TNA or UFC competitor, and told play by play announcer Michael Cole to "read between the lines". The challenge was eventually answered by Randy Orton returning to RAW.
At One Night Stand 2006, Van Dam defeated John Cena to win his first World Championship, the WWE Championship. After John Cena knocked an ECW referee unconscious, Edge (in a disguise) appeared and speared Cena through a table, before taking out SmackDown! referee Nick Patrick, allowing Van Dam to hit a frog splash on Cena. With no referee available Paul Heyman ran down the aisle to count the pinfall. The next night on RAW Heyman confirmed that because the championship match was contested under "ECW rules" (which means, essentially, there are no rules) that the decision stands and RVD is the "Undisputed" WWE Champion.
As the WWE Champion Van Dam was the number one man in the reformed ECW, so on the debut of ECW on Sci Fi the next night Paul Heyman, announced as an "ECW Representive", presented him with the re-instated ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
Heyman had previously implied that RVD would "re-christen" the WWE Championship into the ECW Championship (Like Shane Douglas). However, Van Dam elected to keep both title belts (He kept the WWE Championship because "it spins"), and was recognised as both the WWE and ECW Champion.
In the beginning it was said that Heyman would have complete control of the new ECW. The first week's show was written nearly entirely by the WWE writing team and Vince McMahon. After public criticism of the first show, Heyman was given some more control for the 2nd week's show. Vince McMahon has apparently taken complete control over the ECW brand with Heyman left with very little control.
On the July 4, 2006 edition of ECW, Big Show challenged Rob Van Dam to a match for the ECW Championship. Near the end of the match, Big Show took out the referee prior to RVD hitting a Five Star Frog Splash on Show. Heyman then came out to count the pin (just like at One Night Stand) but stopped at the count of 2. He then instructed Big Show to chokeslam Van Dam on a steel chair that had been used earlier in the match. Big Show pinned RVD and Heyman made the 3 count, "screwing" RVD out of the ECW Championship. Being that Philadelphia was "the home of ECW", and the audience at the Wachovia Center was the first "true ECW-style" fanbase for an ECW on Sci-Fi show, the fans were so incensed by the title change that many of them threw garbage and debris into the ring. This marked the second time Paul Heyman screwed someone over for a heavyweight title to join the Big Show, with the first being Survivor Series 2002 when Paul did the same thing to Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. This also marked Heyman's first heel turn since early 2005 in wrestling. This incident has been referred to by the WWE as the "South Philly Screwjob" (evoking comparisons to the Montreal Screwjob).
WWE.com then (kayfabe) announced that Heyman was suspending Van Dam for 30 days (mirroring the legit WWE executive decision, due to his and Sabu's recent arrests on drug possession charges.) Heyman has since begun referring to himself as the "Messiah" and "Father Of ECW", stating that the reason for his actions were because "anything [can] happen in ECW" and RVD got what he deserved. He also began being accompanied to ECW events by a pair of "private security guards" in riot gear (in actuality the Basham Brothers), ostensibly to protect him from ECW wrestlers and fans who are angry about his recent actions. Heyman's character has also been shown as having a bias toward the "New faces of ECW" (wrestlers who never wrestled for the original incarnation) instead of the "ECW Originals". The only "New face of ECW" he has not shown bias towards is CM Punk, possibly due to Punk's current face persona.
On the August 29, 2006 edition ECW, Heyman defeated Sabu in an "Extreme Rules" match after interference by Big Show and Hardcore Holly. On October 31 Heyman dressed as a gorrilla and interfered with the main event to help Test and The Big Show defeat Rob Van Dam and Hardcore Holly.
On December 3, 2006, ECW hosted their first solo pay per view since their return to TV. Unfortunately Heyman's vision of the PPV was different to that of Vince McMahon and changed several asspects of the show (including mis-calculating the finishing time, which caused WWE to be flooded with complaints). As a result, at the December 4 Raw/ECW taping in South Carolina, Paul Heyman was sent home from the arena, after being removed from his position in ECW. [2]. WWE have since released a statement commenting that Heyman is still under WWE Contract, and will be givin a position elsewhere within the company, which at this time that remains unknown.
Matches
- Heyman as Paul E. Dangerously with one arm tied behind his back vs. Madusa in WCW's Prime time.
- Heyman and Brock Lesnar vs. The Hardy Boyz (Heyman pinned Jeff) (Judgment Day 2002)
- Heyman and Brock Lesnar vs. Edge in a Handicap Match for the WWE Championship (Lesnar pinned Edge to retain the title) (Rebellion 2002)
- Heyman vs. Brock Lesnar in a Steel Cage match (Lost) (March 4, 2003 episode of Smackdown)
- Heyman vs. Eddie Guerrero (In this match, Eddie's hands were handcuffed and it ended in a no contest when Heyman ran out and Kurt Angle came and attacked Eddie) (March 2, 2004 episode of Smackdown)
- Heyman and Heidenreich vs. The Undertaker (handicap casket match) (Lost) (January 4, 2005 episode of Smackdown)
- Heyman vs. Sabu in an Extreme Rules Match (Won) (August 29, 2006 episode of ECW)
- Heyman and Big Show vs. RVD and Hardcore Holly (No contest) November 7, 2006 on ECW
Acting
In 2002, Heyman portrayed a sports announcer in 2002's Rollerball. This role incorporated many elements of Heyman's familiar ringside persona, such as lack of interest in the official rules of the sport on which he was reporting, and a disregard for authority.
Heyman later played Gino in the film adaptation of long-running Off-Broadway show Tony n' Tina's Wedding. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004, but as of 2006 has not found a distributor.
Personal life
Son of Richard and Sulamita Heyman. Both were listed as company funders and owed creditors of ECW when the company went bankrupt in 2001. Sulamita owed $226,500 and Richard owed $3,575,429.19. [citation needed]
Wrestlers managed by Paul Heyman
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Stables and tag teams:
- Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Eaton, Steve Austin)
- Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas)
- The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Spike Dudley)
Awards and accomplishments
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- Heyman won the (PWI) Manager of the Year Award in 1992.
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- General Manager of SmackDown!
- Representative for Extreme Championship Wrestling
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- He is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 2005)
- 1994 Best Booker
- 1995 Best Booker
- 1996 Best Booker
- 1997 Best Booker
- 2001 Best Non-Wrestler
- 2002 Best Booker
- 2002 Best Non-Wrestler
- 2004 Best Non-Wrestler
Trivia
- Heyman performed the lyrics for the second version of the ECW theme music "This is Extreme! Y2K". He also performed the lyrics for Heidenreich's theme song later on in his WWE career.
- Heyman admitted that his favorite beverage is Diet Peach Snapple during the Hardcore Championship Match at Wrestlemania X-Seven.
References
External links
Categories: Semi-protected | Articles with unsourced statements | 1965 births | Living people | American color commentators | American Wrestling Association alumni | Extreme Championship Wrestling roster | World Championship Wrestling alumni | Extreme Championship Wrestling | American businesspeople | People from Westchester County, New York | Professional wrestling managers and valets | Professional wrestling announcers | Professional wrestling executives
