Paul Heyman Speaks On Leaving WWE, The New ECW, & More
Posted by Ashish on 02.04.2008
Heyman speaks for the first time since leaving WWE...
The Sun out of the UK has a good interview up with Paul Heyman. Highlights are below.
On why he left WWE: I think what it boils down to is Vince McMahon and I have totally separate and distinct visions for what a wrestling or sports entertainment product should be. There's nothing wrong with having those different visions, the problem was that Vince started to take the difference of opinion personally. And once that personality conflict comes into play, when you're trying to steer the direction of a product, it becomes a bad work environment. So Vince didn't like working with me anymore and I didn't like working with Vince anymore. And it's his company, so obviously he has to stay!
On ECW being brought back: The brand should never have been brought back after the very first One Night Stand in 2005. The follow-up show in 2006 made money, but only because it served as the platform for Rob Van Dam to beat John Cena. Then Sci-Fi Channel was willing to give a test run for the brand ECW and they currently pay a lot of money for that TV show. So the theory of bringing ECW back and making it profitable worked as a business move. But the expectation from the audience that ECW was being brought back only served to be a monumental letdown.
On what went wrong: By comparison, if someone were to resurrect The Beatles and say: "You know what, we want to make them more globally accepted, so we're going to have a white guy, an Asian female, a Hispanic Bisexual and an African-American with a Scottish accent." In the land of WWE that actually makes sense. But no matter how you look at it, it's just not the Beatles. So in the same light, it's just not ECW. ‘Extreme' doesn't mean blood, or tables, or barbed wire. ECW was always about progression, moving forward, giving more bang for the buck. For example, a finish in most every match. Simple thought. A winner and a loser. And a story with it that makes sense. But if you voiced that opinion, Vince would take it personally. If you look at the attempts to recreate the nWo, to re-create Goldberg and, even now, trying to recreate Ric Flair's career on the line, Vince's magic only happens when he creates it from the get-go. If Vince doesn't create it from the get-go, he can't embrace the formula.
On why Vince didn't let Heyman run ECW: Because that goes against everything that is Vince McMahon. Vince is such a control freak that if he sneezes, the next 10 minutes of any meeting are ruined because he is so p***ed at himself for not being able to control the sneeze. And it's worked very well for him in life. He is a billionaire. He has his own luxury private plane and, by the way, it's a really nice plane. He has things and property and cash that every other wrestling promoter in the world doesn't have. He has achieved these goals HIS WAY and so Vince is not about to let anyone have free reign over anything in his kingdom. That's just not going to happen.
The whole interview is very good. Heyman talks more about what went wrong with ECW, Vince's ego, whether he has spoken to Vince since, and more. The full interview is available here.
Posted By: dam (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 08:06 PM
I think Heyman probably knew when the watered down the Alliance angle that he wouldn't be able to fully create his magic. I swear if TNA had Heyman, Cornette, D'amore, and Russo (for the comedy aspects) while getting rid of Dutch Mantell, that would be the true dream team.
Posted By: Mongolian Joe (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 08:10 PM
I wish Heyman would take Russo's place.
Posted By: Drum Solo (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 08:13 PM
Absolutely tremendous interview. Maybe, maybe, there'll be a chance Heyman will book for WWE when Vince retires. Sounds like Steph wants him with the company.
The actual idea he pitched about the order of the elimination chamber sounded a hell of a lot better too.
Posted By: Tom (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 08:16 PM
That's one thing I realized: a lot of the really horrible stuff in TNA was from Mantell. Didn't he come up with Stone Cold Sharkboy?
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 08:17 PM
I think Heyman is pretty much burned out with wrestling, and it sounds like he has come to terms with the fact that there is nothing else in wrestling that he has a desire to do.
Posted By: Kevin (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 08:40 PM
The bottom line of that interview was that Paul is burn out on WWE bs. I think if he had the right situation he would get back into the industry because he loves it so much. TNA is not the right situation unless they were willing to fire Russo and give him complete creative control and I don't think he is a friend of the Jarretts so that is not going to happen
Posted By: Willie D (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 09:18 PM
best quote ever:
"Vince is such a control freak that if he sneezes, the next 10 minutes of any meeting are ruined because he is so p***ed at himself for not being able to control the sneeze."
Posted By: Erick (Guest) on February 04, 2008 at 09:24 PM
Heyman is the man. Can't balance a checkbook, but he's the man.
Posted By: Damian Sarcuni (Registered) on February 04, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Here's what I'd do -- hire Heyman, keep Russo, increase Cornette's salary until he agrees to help book, and teach Mick Foley to use a fax machine and speakerphone (and fly him down on taping nights). Seems to me like a good mix of awesome, outlandish and traditional (with Mick having mainly the first two of those with a hint of the third).
Posted By: MadmanJack (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 12:39 AM
Paul Heyman was lightyears above the King on commentary. i was sad when Heyman was gone and Lawler came back. not to shit on the King, he was great in the heel commentary days, and is still damned good, but JR/Heyman was a dream team. (in my opinion, anyway)
Posted By: Darth Mortis (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 02:11 AM
Great interview, I have a newfound repsect for Big Show after the choke em' out in five minute comment.
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 03:22 AM
Bringing Heyman to TNA would just be another rehash. Let's be honest, right now the booking in all of "sports entertainment" is stale. There is truly nothing new under the sun. That's why all of us "smarks" complain and want better matches - it's because the angles stink and the competition is what really drives the product. But it won't happen because the more popular MMA becomes, the more angle oriented pro wrestling will have to become. You can't compete with MMA for the "real" factor so it will just get more outlandish. It's sad. I long for the days of Mid-South, WCCW, Southwest Championship, Jim Crockett, Florida, St. Louis, etc. The talent could go between territories and the feuds all made sense. There was the occasional angle that was stupid, but the wrestling made it all good. Either that or wrestling really is for teenagers and young kids that can suspend belief. I miss the old days. I miss the Road Warriors, I miss the Midnight Express, the Horsemen, etc.
Posted By: JT (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 03:59 AM
I definatly agree with the comments by others that Paul Heyman should be hired by TNA. At the moment TNA is the ugly little illegitimate runt brother of the WWE. Sadly TNA ratings are on the rise so it looks like the current Booking team are here to stay. Excellent interview, especially considering it was in the natty little shit sheet tabloid The Sun.
Posted By: JAK (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 04:15 AM
Heyman should be brought into TNA but in a purely talent capacity.
Cornette, Heyman and Vince Russo - all of whom have legitimate heat with one another and two of whom are almost without peer on the stick - throw Nash in the mix (who also does his best work on the mic) and you've got four key bookers from the 90s working against each other - trying to wrestle power (pardon the pun) from one another. Give each other a worker with charisma issues to speak on behalf of them and you've got a new main event mix with some buy rates thrown in for good measure.
Meanwhile, you find someone else to give the book to, someone with proven creativity to promote freshness - Raven would be perfect in my opinion.
TNA & WWE both need to pass the book on to someone else to try and freshen up the product.
Sadly I don't see it happening at either company any time soon.
Posted By: Weegie Bored (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 08:00 AM
That comment about Vince made my day. Hilarious! I have to say, even though I don't like or agree with a good few of his ideas (incest angles, hornswaggle taking over, the kiss my ass club and all that shit) the guy still has to be respected. Vince McMahon is one hell of a businessman.
Posted By: Col (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Thank you Mr. Heyman
Posted By: ShamusRex (Guest) on February 05, 2008 at 04:16 PM
