[AUDIO] Paul Heyman Talks WWE Return, Lesnar in MMA, More

– Paul Heyman was on Mark Madden’s radio show today promoting SummerSlam. You can check out the interview below, as well as some highlights from it:

On his WWE return: Heyman said he turned down Brock’s invitation to jump to WWE with him but that Lesnar kept pushing and that he’s “been riding Brock’s coattails for ten years.”

On WWE and Lesnar: Heyman said he thinks WWE doesn’t know how to market Lesnar’s persona as a fighter, which is different than sports entertainers like Shawn Michaels. He thinks that’s part of why he was brought back, because he knows how to promote Brock that way. He added that he didn’t know how his mic work would have been if he’d been paired with someone besides Brock but that because their dynamic is so natural, he was able to move right back into the role.

On working with management: Heyman said he’s had no problems working with HHH or Stephanie McMahon, and said that he thinks they enjoy having someone on the air who tears into them because it gets the fans behind them even more.

On Lesnar in MMA: Heyman said that he thinks Lesnar is done with MMA but that “if the deal was right, he’d very much consider it.” He felt that Brock has done what he needed to and proven his point and he has no need financially, with everything he owns being already paid for at this point including his farms, his cars and his kids’ education. He added that farming is what makes Brock happy and that it’s all he talks about.

On whether he’d run a promotion again: Heyman said it would be easy to say no, but that he would consider it for the right deal and the right freedom. He doesn’t think it would happen but if everything was lined up including networks and backers, “why not? I’ll take anyone on.” He noted that he would do something different and not go extreme, noting that when he was in charge of Smackdown it was nothing like ECW. He said ECW is a product of its time and that he would do something new because if he tried to do something like ECW, it wouldn’t be new.

On people like him and Jim Ross not being creatively involved in the business: Heyman said that their lack of involvement is because they are not willing to confirm to change the business from within and that he and JR both did that, Ross specifically in talent recruitment and management in a way that can’t be matched.

On when he knew ECW would work: Heyman said that the end of the sixty-minute draw at Night the Line Was Crossed was when he knew. When the fans began chanting ECW, he knew it would be a hit.

Check out all that and the rest below:

More must-read wrestling news:
* Will Charlie Sheen be at SummerSlam?
* Check out WWE’s Top 50 Wrestling Villains of All-Time list
* Would Kurt Angle ever return to WWE?
* Latest rumors for SummerSlam (SPOILERS)
* The Top 8 Badasses-Turned-Comedy Characters