If you were to ask a wrestling fan who’s the greatest manager of all time, you’ll get plenty of answers: Jimmy Hart, Paul Bearer, Jim Cornette, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.
They’re all wrong. The answer is Paul Heyman.
One of the best talkers in the business, Heyman has been a constant presence on television screens ever since his debut as Paul E. Dangerously.
37 years and one Hall of Fame induction later, Heyman is as relevant as ever, representing iconic wrestlers like Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
Paul Heyman recently sat down with Newsweek Sports to talk about his episode of Biography: WWE Legends, his family, ECW, and the future of modern professional wrestling.
Born in New York City, Heyman is the son of Richard S. Heyman, a lawyer, and Sulamita Heyman, a holocaust survivor.
“My sacred obligation is to teach my children about the holocaust, and to pass that on to the next generation,” Heyman explained. “My role in life, as far as a holocaust survivor will tell you, is I’m a conduit to the next generation. That’s all I am.”
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 02: (L-R) Paul Heyman watches Cody Rhodes wrestle Roman Reigns for Undisputed WWE Universal Title Match during WrestleMania Goes Hollywood at SoFi Stadium on April 02, 2023 in Inglewood, California. Newsweek… INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 02: (L-R) Paul Heyman watches Cody Rhodes wrestle Roman Reigns for Undisputed WWE Universal Title Match during WrestleMania Goes Hollywood at SoFi Stadium on April 02, 2023 in Inglewood, California. Newsweek sat down with Paul Heyman to discuss his storied upbringing and his views on the future of the WWE.
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Heyman’s father was immensely supportive, even inspiring Heyman’s Advocate character for Brock Lesnar and his iconic promos.
“In all candor, I don’t think I’ve ever delivered an interview or a promo that could match what I witnessed my father do in front of a jury in the Bronx when he was an attorney. Every basic principle of show business was utilized by my father.”
While he was popular as a manager, Heyman became one of the most influential personalities in wrestling history when he took control of Eastern Championship Wrestling, later known as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
“Every single day of it was just an honor and a blessing and a dream job.”
Now, Heyman works in the world that ECW helped create, and it looks like the future of professional wrestling looks bright.
“An era more of continued transparency,” Heyman predicted. “Intelligent discussion of the product itself. Authenticity, in terms of the characters. And just great stories.”
“What’s next for professional wrestling is the same thing that built wrestling’s greatest highs in the attitude era, in 1984 with the expansion, in the ’70s when the territories were on fire, in the ’50s on the DuMont network, dating back to 1905 with Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt.”
“It’s the same thing that broke the Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry. The Lakers and the Celtics. The Chicago Bulls and everybody in the NBA in the 1980s. The Pittsburgh Steelers against the Dallas Cowboys.”
“Who are these people? Why are they fighting? Why should I care enough to pay to see it? You answer those three questions, you have a viewer. You have a ticket buyer. You have a network subscriber. You have a t-shirt purchaser.”
Heyman is not wrong. The WWE is more successful than it has ever been. And it’s partially because of Paul Heyman.
Biography: WWE Legends – Paul Heyman is available for streaming on the A&E app.
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