Paul Heyman - Pro Wrestling Wiki - Fandom

Paul HeymanClass Of 2024

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Information

Ring names

Paul HeymanPaul E. DangerouslyPaul E. Dangerly

Height

5' 11" (180 cm)

Weight

233 lbs (106 kg)

Born

September 11, 1965 (1965-09-11) (age 60)

Birth Place

Scarsdale, New York

Resides

Scarsdale, New York

Billed from

Scarsdale, New York

Debut

January 2, 1987 Paul Heyman (September 11, 1965) is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Professional wrestling career
  • 2.1 Early career
  • 2.2 Continental Wrestling Federation
  • 2.3 World Championship Wrestling
  • 2.4 Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–2001)
  • 2.5 World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
    • 2.5.1 Broadcaster and commentator (2001)
    • 2.5.2 Managing Brock Lesnar (2002)
    • 2.5.3 SmackDown! General Manager (2003–2004)
    • 2.5.4 Return to managing (2004–2005)
    • 2.5.5 ECW One Night Stand Revival (2005)
    • 2.5.6 Ohio Valley Wrestling (2005–2006)
    • 2.5.7 Return of ECW as a WWE Brand (2006)
  • 2.6 Return to WWE
    • 2.6.1 Paul Heyman Guy's (2012-present)
• 3 Outside wrestling
• 4 Acting
• 5 Personal life
• 6 Wrestling facts
• 7 Championships and accomplishments
• 8 External links

Early life[]

Heyman was born in Scarsdale, New York. By age 11, he was running a mail order business selling celebrity and sports memorabilia from his home.

While still a teenager, Heyman fast-talked his way backstage at a World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) event at Madison Square Garden as a photojournalist. He was paid by the company for several of his photographs.

Heyman attended Westchester Community College, where he worked at the radio station, and later became a promoter for the New York City nightclub Studio 54 in the mid 1980s.

Heyman's family is Jewish.

Professional wrestling career[]

Early career[]

Heyman began as a photographer and writer for third-party wrestling publications such as Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

Heyman made his managerial debut on January 2, 1987, initially appearing on the Northeast independent circuit before moving to a more high-profile stint with Championship Wrestling from Florida in February, 1987. There he joined forces with Kevin Sullivan and Oliver Humperdink and first became known as Paul E. Dangerously because of his resemblance to Michael Keaton in the movie Johnny Dangerously. From there, he traveled to Memphis, Tennessee 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 The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) taking over for Idol and the face-turned Rich.

The Paul E. Dangerously gimmick was basically an extension of Heyman's own personality: a brash New Yorker with a yuppie attitude, 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).

Continental Wrestling Federation[]

After departing the AWA, Heyman went to the Alabama-based Continental Wrestling Federation. Paul E. Dangerously became allied with Eddie Gilbert's Hot Stuff Inc. stable. Behind the scenes, Gilbert was the head booker of the promotion and Heyman became his assistant. Heyman was also the head booker for Windy City Wrestling in Chicago, and started developing a reputation as being an innovative television writer and producer.

World Championship Wrestling[]

In 1988, Heyman jumped to World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where Dangerously 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, who later became The Undertaker in WWE. 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 Hyatt's boyfriend, actor Jason Hervey.

After stepping off-camera for a brief period in 1991 (in reality, he was suspended for leaking information about a potential unification match in Memphis between Lex Luger and Jerry Lawler), he returned as the manager of the Dangerous Alliance, with Madusa as his assistant, managing Bobby Eaton, Ravishing Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, WCW World Television Champion Steve Austin and Larry Zbyszko. Heyman led Rude to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and the Anderson-Eaton tag team to the WCW World Tag Team Championship. The Dangerous Alliance dominated WCW through most of 1992, facing their biggest foes in Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes and the Steiner Brothers (Scott and Rick Steiner). After his last appearance at the Clash of the Champions in November 1992, he was fired via fax, by Bill Watts in January 1993, based on a claim that Heyman faked expense reports between April and July 1992.

Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–2001)[]

Main article: Extreme Championship Wrestling

After departing WCW, Heyman attempted to start a new promotion in Texas with Jim Crockett, Jr., but Crockett wanted to build a traditional wrestling brand while Heyman declared traditional wrestling was antiquated and a new take on the genre was needed.

At this time, Eddie Gilbert was booker for a Philadelphia-based promotion, NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling, which he did under the ownership of a local pawn shop owner named Tod Gordon. Heyman came in to help Gilbert teach the younger wrestlers how to perform on interviews, but Gilbert's erratic behavior became too much for Gordon, who had a major falling out with Gilbert right before the "Ultra Clash" event on September 18, 1993. From that point forward, Heyman was in charge of the creative direction of the company.

As Paul E. Dangerously, he managed a few wrestlers, including Sabu who Paul E. managed to the top, winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW World Television Championship and 911, but Heyman's increased workload led to him making fewer and fewer appearances on-camera like, attacking Sherri Martel in the ring with a giant cell phone.

A year later, the company was the flagship promotion of the struggling National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). A tournament was scheduled to be held in August 1994 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, at an ECW-hosted event mostly featuring ECW wrestlers. The proposed outcome was the current ECW champion Shane Douglas becoming champion, but Heyman conspired with Douglas and Gordon without the knowledge of NWA president Dennis Coraluzzo to have Douglas (and by extension, ECW itself) publicly denounce the NWA and its "tradition" after winning the tournament. In his post-match speech, Douglas aggressively assaulted the title's lineage, throwing the belt itself down, proclaiming the NWA a "dead organization" and declaring his ECW title a world-level championship. The plan for this shoot screwjob was known only to those three men; the surprise of the incident made headlines throughout the wrestling industry.

That same week, Heyman and Gordon rechristened the promotion, eliminating the regional branding "Eastern" and declaring the promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling. They broke the company away from the National Wrestling Alliance and ECW became its own entity, with Heyman encouraging wrestlers to express their true feelings about the WWF, the NWA, and WCW and allowing them to help develop their own characters. Many wrestlers willingly took on additional roles in company operations, such as handling merchandise and answering phones. The company grew an intensely loyal fan base with which Heyman encouraged interaction. Eventually, Heyman became sole owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling. Heyman served as booker, promoter, and the executive producer of both live events and television. After Gordon left, he also had to deal with financial matters, which led to ever-increasing debts owed to the wrestlers.

Under Heyman's guidance, Extreme Championship Wrestling helped introduce traditional Japanese and Mexican wrestling styles, which were previously rare on American television, and presented them alongside the North American wrestling.

ECW folded in 2001. Paul and a handful of other wrestlers have said that the death of ECW was for two reasons: One was that Paul did not like sharing power and thus put too much workload and stress on himself; he was getting 2–3 hours of sleep a night, if any. The second reason was ECW could not get another network deal after being kicked off The Nashville Network in favor of WWF. Heyman has also frequently cited Eric Bischoff as a primary architect of the company's downfall, expressing his long-held belief that Bischoff's hiring of ECW wrestlers away to WCW was intentionally meant to weaken ECW, which couldn't afford WCW-level salaries.

Many critics say Heyman's hands-on approach to the entire company led to his inability to save the company when TNN dumped ECW in favor of the market leader WWF. Heyman supporters point out that the total debt for the company was $7 million US, with In Demand pay-per-view owing over a million in PPV revenue.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment[]

Broadcaster and commentator (2001)[]

After ECW shut down, Heyman became a broadcaster for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (using his own name), replacing Jerry Lawler (who had quit the WWF in protest when then-wife Stacy Carter was released by the company) as color commentator for Raw in March 2001. During that time, he resumed his storyline rivalry with Jim Ross. In July, while retaining his commentator role, Heyman recreated ECW as a stable, which then immediately merged with Shane McMahon's WCW to form the Alliance during the Invasion angle. After the Alliance's formation, Michael Cole replaced Heyman on commentary for the July 16 and July 23 episodes of Raw before Heyman took his position back on the July 30 episode, saying that Cole had not done a good job conveying the Alliance's message to fans. Heyman was "fired" following the 2001 Survivor Series. He was replaced by the returning Lawler, who holds the position to this day.

Managing Brock Lesnar (2002)[]

He returned in March as the manager of Brock Lesnar. Heyman led Lesnar to the WWE Undisputed Championship when Lesnar beat The Rock at SummerSlam. Then at the Survivor Series, Heyman turned on Lesnar and helped Big Show take the title from him. Heyman became the first man in professional wrestling history to manage three successive World Champions when it was revealed that he was Kurt Angle's agent just days after Angle beat Big Show for the title.

Heyman suffered a real life injury in January, when taking the F-5 from Lesnar at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. A major falling out between Heyman and McMahon occurred when McMahon ended the Lesnar – Heyman feud on television just weeks before WrestleMania, when Heyman was scheduled to manage Angle in the main event against Lesnar. Heyman left for a while, and was on WWE payroll for several months as a consultant regarding the television shows as he also received therapy on his neck.

SmackDown! General Manager (2003–2004)[]

After McMahon "defeated" daughter Stephanie in October at the No Mercy 2003 pay per view, she was forced to resign from her position as General Manager (GM) of SmackDown!. Heyman returned to television to assume Stephanie McMahon's on-camera role as GM and, unlike the fan favorite character Stephanie portrayed, Heyman's character was portrayed similarly to Eric Bischoff's on Raw- an arrogant dictator of a boss that stacked the odds against his popular wrestlers and favored the unpopular ones. During this time, he re-aligned himself with Lesnar and proceeded to infuriate Undertaker, John Cena, and especially Chris Benoit by making sure he had no WWE Championship opportunities as long as he was GM. Eventually, on SmackDown! right before WrestleMania XX, Heyman asked the entire locker room to back him and Lesnar up against Stone Cold Steve Austin, but they just stood there and walked away from him, including one of Heyman's main supporters, The Big Show.

On March 22, 2004, Heyman appeared on Raw to take part in the annual WWE Draft Lottery. During the show he was drafted to work for Bischoff on Raw, but instead decided to "quit" rather than work for nemesis Bischoff, the man who he blamed for killing ECW by raiding its talent. Heyman was replaced by one of his former managerial clients, Kurt Angle.

During Heyman's tenure on SmackDown!, he served as the head writer and is credited with being the creative force behind the successful so-called "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 and Benoit, Edge and Mysterio, Los Guerreros) over the WWE Tag Team Championship. This resulted in a string of high-caliber matches over several months, one of which was awarded 2002 Match of the Year by the Wrestling Observer; Heyman was awarded Best Booker. All of the "Smackdown! Six" went on to become world champions, with Edge, Benoit, Mysterio, & Angle becoming World Heavyweight Champions, Eddie Guerrero, Angle, Mysterio and Edge becoming WWE Champions, & Chavo Guerrero later becoming ECW World Champion on the later revived ECW.

Return to managing (2004–2005)[]

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 Undertaker during a handicap match which featured Heyman and Heidenreich against The Undertaker on January 6, 2005.

ECW One Night Stand Revival (2005)[]

Heyman was heavily involved in the booking and promotion of the June 12, 2005 ECW reunion PPV, One Night Stand. Heyman returned to Raw on May 23 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 worked shoot promo insulting Bischoff, Edge, and JBL.

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2005–2006)[]

On July 10, 2005, it was reported that Heyman took over the positions of head booker and writer in OVW, a developmental territory maintained by WWE.

Return of ECW as a WWE Brand (2006)[]

See also: ECW (WWE)

On May 25, 2006 it was announced that ECW would relaunch, as a third WWE brand. Heyman was in charge of the new brand on-camera but had minimal creative input off-camera as well. This would turn Heyman face for the first time in his career. On the May 26 episode 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. Heyman predicted that Van Dam would defeat John Cena at ECW One Night Stand for the WWE Championship and then declare himself the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. On the June 2 edition of SmackDown!, Heyman served as a guest commentator for Angle's final match on the brand.

At One Night Stand, Van Dam defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. After 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 the Five-Star Frog Splash on Cena. With no referee available Heyman ran down the aisle to count the pinfall and cement his face turn. The following 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 Heyman, announced as an "ECW Representative", 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. Van Dam, however, elected to keep both title belts and was recognized as both the WWE and ECW Champion.

On the July 4, 2006 edition of ECW, Big Show challenged 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, reverting to a heel. After realizing what happened, Van Dam began chasing Heyman. The distraction allowed Big Show to recover, and knock Van Dam to the mat. At this time Heyman began barking orders at Big Show. He then instructed Big Show to chokeslam Van Dam on a steel chair that had been used earlier in the match. Big Show pinned Van Dam and Heyman made the 3 count, "screwing" Van Dam 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 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 began referring to himself as the "Messiah" and "Father Of ECW", justifying his actions stating "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 had not shown bias towards was CM Punk, likely due to Punk's status as a then-babyface again.

Due to a behind-the-scenes dispute over ECW's first (and only) solo pay-per-view under WWE (December to Dismember) which aired December 3, 2006, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Heyman clashed in front of several members of the writing team on McMahon's corporate jet the day after the pay per view, and Heyman ended up traveling home from the RAW/ECW taping in South Carolina. After turning down Stephanie McMahon-Levesque's behind the scenes offer to return to his post writing TV for WWE Developmental television shows, Heyman quietly parted ways with WWE in Late 2006. It was over a year after his dismissal before Heyman commented on the departure, revealing that the resurrection of ECW was mishandled in his opinion and how his booking ideas for December to Dismember were completely different from Vince McMahon's. Heyman disagreed with Lashley becoming the champion. He also felt that taking Sabu out of the main event was a ridiculous idea, claiming he would be perfect for the "Extreme Elimination Chamber". Vince however felt that he could be removed in place of Hardcore Holly, in order to big up Lashley for becoming the new champ. Heyman also felt that Big Show should be eliminated early on in the match by CM Punk via submission, in order to push the rising star. Big Show also agreed with this idea, also wanting to help push Punk's rising career, but Vince once more disagreed.

Return to WWE[]

Paul Heyman Guy's (2012-present)[]

Heyman returned to WWE on the May 7, 2012 episode of Raw as Brock Lesnar's legal advisor. He announced that Brock Lesnar had quit the company, and was "never coming back". The following week on Raw, Heyman confronted Triple H, handing him a lawsuit from Lesnar for "breaching a valid contract", before Triple H would physically grab Heyman by the face and shove him backward into the ropes, leading to Heyman to announce that he will also file a lawsuit against Triple H for "assault and battery". On the June 18 edition of Raw, Heyman declined Triple H's challenge for a match at SummerSlam, on Lesnar's behalf before Triple H punched him .Later that month, Heyman stated that Brock Lesnar will answer Triple H's challenge himself at the 1000th episode of Raw. On the July 23 episode of Raw 1000, Heyman was assaulted by Stephanie McMahon. Lesnar would go on to defeat Triple H at SummerSlam, where, on the following nights episode of Raw, Lesnar once again announced he was leaving the WWE.

On the September 3 episode of Raw, after CM Punk attacked John Cena, Heyman was seen driving the car Punk had entered. This began an alliance between CM Punk and Heyman. Heyman began accompanying Punk to the ring for his matches and promos.

Mr. McMahon cost CM Punk the title at the 2013 Royal Rumble when he restarted the main event match after Punk initially cheated to win and The Rock pinned Punk to become the new champion. On the January 28 edition of Raw, Mr. McMahon aired footage of the attack, which took place two weeks earlier as McMahon pointed out to the audience, in which Heyman paid Brad Maddox and The Shield to help Punk retain his title in his matches, which in turn lead to Maddox receiving a beating from The Shield after Heyman refused to pay him and that The Shield were more useful than Maddox, but Heyman claimed it was somebody impersonating him and he was set up, although he admitted to having lied in his lifetime to save his career during similar crucial moments. Just as it seemed like McMahon would publicly fire Heyman for these actions, Brock Lesnar returned in place of the absent Punk (who was escorted out of the building on McMahon's orders) and he gave the chairman of WWE an F5, to Heyman's horror. The next week on RAW, it was revealed on MizTV that Lesnar was resigned to WWE and Heyman knew nothing about Lesnar's return. During MizTV Lesnar came back and gave an F-5 to The Miz, to Heyman's horror again.

On the February 11 episode of WWE Raw, Paul Heyman had his WWE resignation speech halted by CM Punk, and he managed to negotiate a clause with Mr. McMahon that the champion cannot retain the title via count-out of disqualification, as long as The Shield is not involved. Heyman kept good on his promise to support Punk, then unintentionally caused Punk to lose to The Rock at Elimination Chamber 2013 when Punk struck him by mistake. Heyman was challenged to a fight by Mr. McMahon on the February 25 edition of Raw, in which Heyman and McMahon traded shots with his crutches. Brock Lesnar interfered on Heyman's behalf but Triple H showed up and went after Lesnar. CM Punk earned the right to fight The Undertaker in a WrestleMania match after winning a Fatal Four Way match at Old School Raw and on the March 25 episode of Raw Triple H signed the contract to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, the stipulations being: No Holds Barred, with Triple H's career on the line. On the subsequent episode of Raw, he elaborated that Triple H's managerial career could be on the line. Heyman also dressed up to impersonate the late Paul Bearer to lure The Undertaker to be attacked by CM Punk on Raw, who was dressed as one of the torch carrying druids. Punk proceeded to empty ash from the symbolic urn onto the dead-man as a sign of disrespect. Both of Heyman's clients lost their high stakes matches during WrestleMania 29, during Brock Lesnar's match Heyman received a Sweet Chin Music from Shawn Michaels.

On the April 15 episode of Raw, Heyman informed that his client Brock Lesnar once again challenged Triple H at Extreme Rules in a steel cage match. On the following week, Triple H accepted the match and delivered a pedigree to Heyman. As a response, Lesnar and Heyman invaded the headquarters of WWE and trashed the office of Triple H. In Heyman's words, after years of 'discouraging Lesnar from inflicting more damage and hurt on his opponents or rival', the Pedigree Heyman received was the last straw for him to change his stance and 'encourage' Lesnar to 'hurt Triple H' and to 'maim Triple H' in the Steel Cage, and take him 'to the extreme... and go further and further...'.

Paul Heyman announced Michael McGillicutty as the newest "Paul Heyman guy" on the May 20 Raw and gave him the new name of Curtis Axel. On the May 27th episode of Raw, Paul Heyman appeared on the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho, where Jericho challenged CM Punk to a match at Payback which Heyman accepted on Punk's behalf. The next week, Heyman and Jericho signed the contract to make it official. The same week on SmackDown, Jericho faced off against Curtis Axel. As Jericho was closing in on the victory, Heyman stood on the announce table and yelled It's clobbering time, the phrase Punk uses on his way to the ring. Punk's music began to play distracting Jericho long enough for Axel to pick up the victory.

At WWE Payback, Heyman coached Axel during his match with Wade Barrett and The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship with Axel winning the match and the title. Heyman then accompanied Punk to the ring later in the show for his match with Chris Jericho. After Payback, a WWE.com exclusive video aired with Punk telling Heyman that he is his friend and not his client. Punk later turned face on the June 17th Raw, challenging Alberto Del Rio, making sure to mention he doesn't want Heyman managing him anymore. Following Punk's match, Punk was attacked by Brock Lesnar. The next week on Raw, Punk demanded answers from Heyman, who swore that he did not ask Brock to attack him. Punk forgave Heyman and hugged him. Punk then faced Darren Young and, following his win, was attacked by Titus O'Neil until Curtis Axel saved him, to Punk's chagrin. Heyman announced that he would team with Axel against The Prime Time Players the next week, again to Punk's disapproval.

At Money in the Bank, Paul Heyman betrayed CM Punk, costing him his chance at the Money in the Bank briefcase by hitting him twice with a ladder, knocking Punk off the ladder he was ascending. On the August 5th episode of Raw, Punk retaliated by choking Heyman while Heyman was in Curtis Axel's corner during a match. This prompted Brock Lesnar to enter the ring and attack Punk. Heyman later challenged Punk to a 1-on-1 match for the next week's Raw, which Punk accepted. However, this was revealed to be a trap when Brock Lesnar appeared prior to the match. The plan was foiled however when Heyman dared CM Punk to come into the ring and accept the challenge as CM Punk, who had anticipated the trap and hid under the ring, emerged and attacked Lesnar. However, Punk failed to get his hands on Heyman as Curtis Axel came to Heyman's aid. This led to a match between Lesnar and Punk at SummerSlam, which Lesnar won after interference from Heyman.

Heyman and Axel delivered a brutal assault to Punk on Raw the following week, with Heyman breaking a kendo stick over Punk's back while Punk was handcuffed. Heyman was then booked to team with Axel against CM Punk in an elimination handicap match at Night of Champions. Heyman tried various times to get out of the match, which caused General Manager Brad Maddox to make the match into a no disqualification elimination handicap match. At Night of Champions, Punk eliminated Axel (who had been forced to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston earlier in the night), leaving Heyman alone with Punk. After a receiving a beating from Punk and being placed in handcuffs, just as Heyman did to Punk weeks before, Punk was about to attack Heyman with a kendo stick when Ryback interfered and cost Punk the match by putting Punk through a table. In subsequent weeks Heyman boasted his win over Punk and Ryback began associating with Heyman. At WWE Battleground, Punk would pin Ryback after a low blow. At Hell in a Cell, Punk defeated both Ryback & Heyman and after the match attacked Heyman on top of the cell, putting an end to their feud. On the November 11, 2013 episode of Raw, Heyman stated that he was no longer with Ryback as Ryback never officially accepted his proposal to become a "Paul Heyman Guy." After that, CM Punk would come out to once again beat Heyman with a kendo stick. The following night on Smackdown, Heyman formally announced to Curtis Axel and Ryback that they were no longer Paul Heyman guys, therefore marking the end of Axel's association with Heyman as he continued to team with Ryback.

Heyman returned on the December 30 edition of Raw alongside Brock Lesnar, who attacked Mark Henry. He also stood by Lesnar as he feuded with Big Show and The Undertaker in the first four months of 2014. On April 6, 2014, his client Brock Lesnar conquered The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX; this was Undertaker's first loss at a WrestleMania, as he previously had a record of 21 wins. On the Raw following WrestleMania, Cesaro revealed himself to be a "Paul Heyman Guy".

Outside wrestling[]

Having left WWE, Heyman attempted to invest in mixed martial arts when he joined a consortium which looked to buy StrikeForce; although the bid failed, Heyman praised StrikeForce owner Scott Coker in subsequent interviews.

Since leaving wrestling, Heyman has entered into a collaborative relationship with The Sun, a UK-based newspaper and website.

On February 4, 2008, he gave The Sun an exclusive interview (his first since leaving WWE) about his problems with WWE's handling of the ECW brand, and the events leading up to his quitting.

Heyman has also begun a multimedia project with the paper called The Heyman Hustle, which he describes as "the high definition video blog of a rambling mind." It features video of Heyman interacting with celebrities from various fields of entertainment on the streets of New York City, as well as regular writings of Heyman's take on the world of professional wrestling, including his thoughts on the McMahon wrestling family, the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, Ric Flair's retirement, and Joey Styles being replaced by Mike Adamle as the ECW play-by-play commentator. Notable guests of the first season of the Hustle include Holly Madison, Ice-T and Coco, James Lipton, Aubrey O'Day, and Jesse Ventura.

In 2011 Heyman worked with Brock Lesnar once again, this time collaborating with him on Lesnar's autobiography, "Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival". It was published by William Morrow and Company on May 24, 2011.

Acting[]

Heyman portrayed a sports announcer in 2002's Rollerball. His performance received critical acclaim, even though the movie did not. "Director John McTiernan's Rollerball is an atrocious remake," reported Variety, "whose only saving grace is the hysterical performance by wrestling producer and performer Paul Heyman, who pretty much plays himself to perfection." Heyman was later tapped by "I am Legend" executive producer Michael Tadross to play Gino in the film adaptation of long-running Off Broadway show Tony n' Tina's Wedding.

Personal life[]

Heyman is the son of Richard S. Heyman, a prominent personal injury attorney in the Bronx who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, and Sulamita Heyman, a holocaust survivor. Heyman has a daughter named Azalea Heyman who was born July 31, 2002 and a son Jacob Heyman who was born July 28, 2004.

Wrestling facts[]

• Tag teams and stables
  • Dangerous Alliance
  • Hot Stuff International
  • Team Angle
  • The Alliance
  • The Bloodline
  • The Vision

Wrestlers managed

• 911 (ECW) (1994-1995)
• Arn Anderson (WCW) (1991-1992)
• Austin Idol (AWA)
• Bobby Eaton (WCW) (1991-1992)
• Brock Lesnar (WWE)
• Bron Breakker (WWE) (2025-present)
• Bronson Reed (WWE) (2025-present)
• Bubba Ray Dudley (WWE)
• Cesaro (WWE) (2014)
• Charlie Haas (WWE)
• CM Punk (WWE) (2012-2013)
• Curtis Axel (WWE) (2013)
• Dark Patriot (ECW)
• Dennis Condrey (AWA, WCW)
• D-Von Dudley (WWE)
• Eddie Gilbert (ECW)
• Fatu (NWA) (1989)
• Fatu (WCW) (1989)
• Heidenreich (WWE)
• Jimmy Snuka (ECW)
• Kurt Angle (WWE)
• Larry Zbyszko (WCW) (1991-1992)
• Mean Mark Callous (WCW) (1990)
• Randy Rose (AWA, WCW)
• Rick Rude (WCW) (1991-1992)
• Roman Reigns (WWE) (2020-2021)
• Ryback (WWE) (2013)
• Sabu (ECW) (1993-1994)
• Samu (WCW) (1989)
• Seth Rollins (WWE) (2025-present)
• Shelton Benjamin (WWE)
• Steve Austin (WCW) (1991-1992)
• Tazmaniac (ECW) (1994-1995)
• The Big Show (WWE)
• Tommy Rich (AWA)

• Nicknames
  • "One of the Greatest Minds in Professional Wrestling"
  • "The Best in the World" – self-proclaimed after pinning CM Punk at Night of Champions
  • "The Mad Scientist"
  • "The Messiah of a New Breed Unleashed"
  • "The Rabbi of the Revolution"
  • "The Swinging Schlong of the Extreme"
  • "The Voice of the Voice of the Voiceless" – while managing CM Punk
  • "The One Behind the One in 21-1"
  • "Walrus Man"
  • "Paulrus"

• Entrance music
  • "This is Extreme" by Harry Slash & The Slashtones
  • "Balls to the Wall" by Chimaira
  • "Next Big Thing" by Jim Johnston (as Brock Lesnar's manager; March 2002 – November 2002; May 7, 2012 – August 20, 2012)
  • "Big" by Jim Johnston (as Big Show's manager; November 19, 2002 – February 23, 2003)
  • "Mental" by Bryan New (as SmackDown General Manager; 2003–2004)
  • "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour (as CM Punk's manager; September 3, 2012 – July 14, 2013; March 3, 2014)
  • "The Next Big Thing (Remix)" by Jim Johnston (as Brock Lesnar's manager)
  • "Reborn" by Jim Johnston (as Curtis Axel's manager; May 20, 2013 – November 16, 2013)
  • "Meat on the Table" by Jim Johnston (as Ryback's manager; 2013)
  • "Swiss Made" by CFO$ (as Cesaro's manager; April 21, 2014 – July 21, 2014)

Championships and accomplishments[]

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class Of 2024)

External links[]

• WWE.com Profile
• Profile
• Profile

WWE Roster
Raw
AJ Styles • Akira Tozawa • Asuka • Austin Theory • Bayley • Becky Lynch • Bron Breakker • Bronson Reed • Brutus Creed • Chad Gable • CM Punk • Cruz Del Toro • Dominik Mysterio • Dragon Lee • Erik • Finn Bálor • Grayson Waller • Gunther • IYO SKY • Ivar • Ivy Nile • JD McDonagh • Jey Uso • Joaquin Wilde • Julius Creed • Kairi Sane • Kofi Kingston • LA Knight • Liv Morgan • Logan Paul • Ludwig Kaiser • Lyra Valkyria • Maryse • Maxxine Dupri • Naomi • Natalya • Nikki Bella • Otis • Penta • Pete Dunne • Raquel Rodriguez • Rey Mysterio • Rhea Ripley • Ron Killings • Roxanne Perez • Rusev • Seth Rollins • Sheamus • Stephanie Vaquer • Titus O'Neil • Tyler Bate • Xavier Woods • Zoey Stark
SmackDown
Alba Fyre • Aleister Black • Alexa Bliss • Alex Shelley • Angel Garza • Angelo Dawkins • Apollo Crews • Axiom • B-FAB • Bianca Belair • Big E • Candice LeRae • Carmelo Hayes • Charlotte Flair • Chelsea Green • Chris Sabin • Cody Rhodes • Damian Priest • Dexter Lumis • Drew McIntyre • Elton Prince • Erick Rowan • Giulia • Humberto Carrillo • Ilja Dragunov • Jacob Fatu • Jade Cargill • JC Mateo • Jimmy Uso • Joe Gacy • Johnny Gargano • Kevin Owens • Kiana James • Kit Wilson • Lash Legend • Michin • Montez Ford • Nathan Frazer • Nia Jax • Nikki Cross • Piper Niven • Randy Orton • Rey Fénix • Roman Reigns • Sami Zayn • Santos Escobar • Shinsuke Nakamura • Solo Sikoa • Talla Tonga • Tama Tonga • Tamina • The Miz • Tiffany Stratton • Tommaso Ciampa • Tonga Loa • Zelina
NXT
Adriana Rizzo • Andre Chase • Arianna Grace • Blake Monroe • Brinley Reece • Bronco Nima • Brooks Jensen • Carlee Bright • Channing Lorenzo • Charlie Dempsey • Cutler James • Dante Chen • Dion Lennox • Ethan Page • Fallon Henley • Hank Walker • Izzi Dame • Jacy Jayne • Jaida Parker • Jasper Troy • Je'Von Evans • Joe Hendry • Jordynne Grace • Josh Briggs • Kale Dixon • Kali Armstrong • Karmen Petrovic • Kelani Jordan • Kendal Grey • Lainey Reid • Lexis King • Lola Vice • Luca Crusifino • Lucien Price • Malik Blade • Myles Borne • Nikkita Lyons • Niko Vance • Noam Dar • Oba Femi • Osiris Griffin • Ricky Saints • Robert Stone • Saquon Shugars • Shawn Spears • Shiloh Hill • Skylar Rae • Sol Ruca • Tank Ledger • Tatum Paxley • Tavion Heights • Thea Hail • Tony D'Angelo • Trick Williams • Tyra Mae Steele • Tyriek Igwe • Tyson Dupont • Uriah Connors • Wendy Choo • Wren Sinclair • Zaria
Free agents
Brock Lesnar • Omos
Stables & Tag Teams
Alpha Academy • American Made • Darkstate • #DIY • Latino World Order • Los Garza • No Quarter Catch Crew • Pretty Deadly • The Culling • The Judgment Day • The Motor City Machine Guns • The New Day • The Street Profits • The Vision • The War Raiders • The Wyatt Sicks
Commentators & Interviewers
Booker T • Byron Saxton • Cathy Kelley • Corey Graves • Jackie Redmond • Joe Tessitore • Michael Cole • Sarah Schreiber • Vic Joseph • Wade Barrett
Ring announcers
Alicia Taylor • Mike Rome • Sarah Schreiber
Referees
Chad Patton • Charles Robinson • Chip Danning • Dan Engler • Dallas Irvin • Danilo Anfibio • Daphne Lashaunn • Darryl Sharma • Derek Sanders • Eddie Orengo • Jason Ayers • Jessika Carr • John Cone • Olympe Margaux • Rich Swift • Rod Zapata • Ryan Tran • Shawn Bennett • Tom Scarborough • Will Charlton
Pre-Show Panel
Megan Morant • Pete Rosenberg • Sam Roberts
NXT Trainers
Matthew Bloom • Norman Smiley • Robbie Brookside • Sara Del Rey • Shawn Michaels • Terry Taylor
General Managers
Adam Pearce (Raw) • Nick Aldis (SmackDown) • Ava (NXT)
Current Champions
WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Dominik Mysterio
WWE United States Championship
Carmelo Hayes
Women's World Championship
Stephanie Vaquer
WWE Women's Championship
Jade Cargill
WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship
Maxxine Dupri
WWE Women's United States Championship
Chelsea Green
World Tag Team Championship
The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso)
WWE Tag Team Championship
The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy)
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
WWE Speed Championship
Jasper Troy
WWE Speed Women's Championship
Fallon Henley
NXT Championship
Oba Femi
NXT North American Championship
Ethan Page
NXT Women's Championship
Jacy Jayne
NXT Women's North American Championship
Thea Hail
NXT Tag Team Championship
Darkstate (Osiris Griffin & Saquon Shugars)
NXT Heritage Cup Championship
Channing Lorenzo
WWE EVOLVE Championship
Jackson Drake
WWE EVOLVE Women's Championship
Kendal Grey

WWE Hall of Fame
1993
André the Giant
1994
Arnold Skaaland • Bobo Brazil • Buddy Rogers • Chief Jay Strongbow • Freddie Blassie • Gorilla Monsoon • James Dudley
1995
Antonino Rocca • Ernie Ladd • George Steele • Ivan Putski • The Fabulous Moolah • The Grand Wizard • Pedro Morales
1996
Lou Albano • Jimmy Snuka • Jimmy Valiant • Johnny Rodz • Johnny Valiant • Killer Kowalski • Mikel Scicluna • Pat Patterson • Vince McMahon, Sr.
2004
Big John Studd • Bobby Heenan • Don Muraco • Greg Valentine • Harley Race • Jesse Ventura • Junkyard Dog • Pete Rose • Sgt. Slaughter • Superstar Billy Graham • Tito Santana
2005
Bob Orton, Jr. • Hulk Hogan • Jimmy Hart • Nikolai Volkoff • Paul Orndorff • Roddy Piper • The Iron Sheik
2006
Bret Hart • Blackjack Mulligan • Eddie Guerrero • Gene Okerlund • Jack Lanza • Sherri Martel • Tony Atlas • Verne Gagne • William Perry
2007
Afa • Curt Hennig • Dusty Rhodes • Jerry Lawler • Jim Ross • Mr. Fuji • Nick Bockwinkel • Sika • The Sheik
2008
Eddie Graham • Gerald Brisco • Gordon Solie • Jack Brisco • Mae Young • Peter Maivia • Ric Flair • Rocky Johnson
2009
Bill Watts • Chris Von Erich • David Von Erich • Dory Funk Jr. • Fritz Von Erich • Howard Finkel • Kerry Von Erich • Kevin Von Erich • Koko B. Ware • Mike Von Erich • Ricky Steamboat • Steve Austin • Terry Funk
2010
Antonio Inoki • Bob Uecker • Gorgeous George • Maurice Vachon • Stu Hart • Ted DiBiase • Wendi Richter
2011
Abdullah the Butcher • Bob Armstrong • Drew Carey • Jim Duggan • Legion of Doom • Paul Ellering • Shawn Michaels • Sunny
2012
Edge • Four Horsemen • Mike Tyson • Mil Máscaras • Ron Simmons • Yokozuna
2013
Bob Backlund • Booker T • Bruno Sammartino • Donald Trump • Mick Foley • Trish Stratus
2014
Carlos Colon • Jake Roberts • Lita • Mr. T • Paul Bearer • Scott Hall • Ultimate Warrior
2015
Arnold Schwarzenegger • Connor Michalek • Alundra Blayze • Kevin Nash • Larry Zbyszko • Randy Savage • Rikishi • Tatsumi Fujinami • The Bushwhackers
2016
Art Thomas • Big Bossman • Buddy Roberts • The Godfather • Ed Lewis • Frank Gotch • George Hackenschmidt • Jacqueline • Jimmy Garvin • Joan Lunden • Lou Thesz • Michael P.S. Hayes • Mildred Burke • Pat O'Connor • Snoop Dogg • Stan Hansen • Sting • Terry Gordy
2017
Bearcat Wright • Beth Phoenix • Diamond Dallas Page • Dr. Jerry Graham • Eric LeGrand • Haystacks Calhoun • Judy Grable • June Byers • Kurt Angle • Luther Lindsay • Martin Burns • Rick Rude • Ricky Morton • Rikidozan • Robert Gibson • Theodore Long • Toots Mondt
2018
Alfred Hayes • Boris Malenko • Cora Combs • Dara Singh • Dudley Boyz • El Santo • Goldberg • Hillbilly Jim • Hiro Matsuda • Ivory • Jarrius "JJ" Robertson • Jeff Jarrett • Jim Londos • Kid Rock • Mark Henry • Rufus R. Jones • Sputnik Monroe • Stan Stasiak
2019
Bruiser Brody • Brutus Beefcake • Buddy Rose • D-Generation X • (Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac) • Harlem Heat (Booker T, Stevie Ray) • The Hart Foundation(Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart) • Hisashi Shinma • The Honky Tonk Man • Jim Barnett • Joseph Cohen • Luna Vachon • Primo Carnera • Professor Toru Tanaka • S.D. Jones • Sue Aitchison • Torrie Wilson • Wahoo McDaniel
2020
Baron Michele Leone • The Bella Twins (Nikki Bella, Brie Bella) • Brickhouse Brown • The British Bulldog • Gary Hart • John "Bradshaw" Layfield • Jushin "Thunder" Liger • New World Order ("Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman) • Ray Stevens • Steve Williams • Titus O'Neil • William Shatner
2021
Buzz Sawyer • Dick the Bruiser • Eric Bischoff • Ethel Johnson • The Great Khali • Kane • Molly Holly • Ozzy Osbourne • Paul Boesch • Pez Whatley • Rich Hering • Rob Van Dam
2022
The Undertaker • Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner) • Big Van Vader • Queen Sharmell
2023
Rey Mysterio • The Great Muta • Andy Kaufman • Stacy Keibler • Tim White
2024
Paul Heyman • Bull Nakano • U.S. Express (Barry Windham, Mike Rotunda) • Muhammad Ali • Thunderbolt Patterson • Lia Maivia
2025
Triple H • Michelle McCool • Lex Luger • The Natural Disasters (Earthquake, Typhoon) • Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)