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PAUL HEYMAN DISCUSSES CLASHING WITH STEPHANIE MCMAHON, PRAISES HER WORK ETHIC, COMPARES RING OF HONOR TO TNA, THE HUSTLE HEYMAN DEBUT & MORE
by Mike Johnson @ 11:44:55 AM on 2/15/2008
Paul Heyman did another interview with the UK Sun to promote his upcoming "Heyman Hustle" broadband series, discussing a number of wrestling-related topics. Highlights from the interview feature:
Watching WWE's Product Today: "I don't get emotionally involved like that any more because I lost enough hair and gained enough weight worrying about these things when I was working there. So now, I can just sit back and enjoy it for what it is — and that is the public vehicle given to the networks to sell ad time for a thriving corporation, designed in part to satisfy the network's criteria for paying the license fees, coupled with the need to promote, promote, promote.From a business model perspective, Vince McMahon's theory and implementation of television is a fascinating study."
Dueling with Stephanie McMahon on Creative: "They weren't rumours, Stephanie and I clashed heavily through most of my tenure in WWE. And I don't think it should be a surprise that we did. I came into WWE just as Stephanie was taking over the writing team. Stephanie is a lot like her father. Even those closest to her would refer to her as The Vincess. And they said it in a manner that cannot be mistaken — they mean it as the ultimate compliment. She has that drive, she has that ambition and she craves doing the job. Stephanie wakes up in the morning motivated to already be at the second item of the day on her yellow notepad. Steph competes with herself to be better at her job tomorrow than she is today, and better two days from now than she is tomorrow. This is an inspired person in terms of getting work done. If you don't admire their work ethic, that intensity of passion to make it all happen, then you're clearly missing something. Stephanie was put in the position by her father that she had to prove to him every day that she could lead and manage people as he does. She had to show Vince that a group of people could be placed under her umbrella and be brought forward with her vision. So along comes Heyman. Fresh out of his own promotion, a seven-year adventure that was like a rollercoaster with the blindfolds on. It's pre-determined that we're going clash. And that's a test for Stephanie because her father has had to deal with strong personalities — be it his own dad, competing promoters or wrestlers from Bruno Sammartino to Steve Austin — it's just part of owning a company. I faced that when I had my own company. So I do understand it from their perspective. But by the end of my time in WWE, I can only say that she was quite supportive and would not accept my resignation on several occasions, and seriously tried to help the situation."
TNA: "I think TNA has a major hurdle to overcome — and that's the fact that they have no BRAND. There's no one on that roster that is branded TNA. You look at Kurt Angle and you think WWE. You look at Booker T and think WCW, five-time, five-time, five-time or King Booker in WWE. You look at The Dudleys and think ECW or WWE or even tables. You look at Samoa Joe, who should be the TNA guy, and you think this guy's great, when's he going to WWE. Are there hot moments? Sure. Are there personalities to like? Sure. Is there a good work rate? Sure. But there is no TNA style, TNA persona or TNA brand. They had an opportunity to do this with the X Division, which is a totally unique concept you don't see anywhere else in wrestling, MMA or sports entertainment. That could have been their version of what UFC did with the Octagon but they diminished the effectiveness of their own creation. They had a totally different and unique look and presentation, and then tossed it aside like it was just another gimmick. For the life of me I can't understand why."
Ring of Honor: I am very proud of Gabe [Sapolsky]. He has learned from all of the strengths of ECW and also our weaknesses. He's developed a niche audience that is loyal to the Ring Of Honor product. With no resources, Gabe has branded Ring Of Honor far better than the multi-multi-million dollar TNA product. When you see Ring Of Honor you know what you are watching. When you see a certain style you know it's the ROH style. On Ring Of Honor's worst day he still delivers more bang for your buck than most people do on their best. Do I think that ROH will ever be a global corporation? No. It’s not designed to be. It's designed to be a boutique promotion to cater to a fan that is looking for a certain product. He has cornered that market and done a brilliant job in doing so."
The idea of Heyman in ROH: "I don't think I'd be helping Gabe out at all if I showed up. I don't see how I can contribute to what he is doing. I neither want to be a nostalgia act — which is why I don't go to any conventions or do any shoot tapes, no matter how much they keep offering — nor do I want to be the guy who comes in and upsets the formula that has worked for Gabe and his company just fine. Paul Heyman in Ring Of Honor doesn't add to Ring Of Honor. There's nothing I can tell his audience that they don't already know. Gabe doesn't need my endorsement from me, he needs the endorsement of a 16-year-old kid who goes to school on a Monday and tells all of his friends: "Man, I went to a wrestling show this weekend and had the greatest time of my life. They're back next month – let’s all go."
The First Episode of the Heyman Hustle: "Well, we had everything planned for the first episode. We were going to go to the private party for the cast members of the new season of Survivor, when an hour before we were supposed to start shooting we get a message that all media credentials had been cancelled. Execs didn't want the cast members to be seen in public. Now, keep in mind, we're on deadline with the first episode and we're on a tight schedule already. No time to arrange something else. No time to even scramble. This is a total improv situation Which, I must confess, is 10 times the adrenal rush and a much more exhilarating evening of production in the most sensory-heightening part of the greatest city on earth — Times Square, New York City. One hour to go. What do we do? What the f*** do you think we did? We did a Hustle."
The Sun interview also touches on several other topics such as Heyman's interest in working for TNA and MMA entities, his beliefs on who will replace Vince McMahon and when and more.
PAUL HEYMAN DISCUSSES CLASHING WITH STEPHANIE MCMAHON, PRAISES HER WORK ETHIC, COMPARES RING OF HONOR TO TNA, THE HUSTLE HEYMAN DEBUT & MORE
by Mike Johnson @ 11:44:55 AM on 2/15/2008
Paul Heyman did another interview with the UK Sun to promote his upcoming "Heyman Hustle" broadband series, discussing a number of wrestling-related topics. Highlights from the interview feature:
Watching WWE's Product Today: "I don't get emotionally involved like that any more because I lost enough hair and gained enough weight worrying about these things when I was working there. So now, I can just sit back and enjoy it for what it is — and that is the public vehicle given to the networks to sell ad time for a thriving corporation, designed in part to satisfy the network's criteria for paying the license fees, coupled with the need to promote, promote, promote.From a business model perspective, Vince McMahon's theory and implementation of television is a fascinating study."
Dueling with Stephanie McMahon on Creative: "They weren't rumours, Stephanie and I clashed heavily through most of my tenure in WWE. And I don't think it should be a surprise that we did. I came into WWE just as Stephanie was taking over the writing team. Stephanie is a lot like her father. Even those closest to her would refer to her as The Vincess. And they said it in a manner that cannot be mistaken — they mean it as the ultimate compliment. She has that drive, she has that ambition and she craves doing the job. Stephanie wakes up in the morning motivated to already be at the second item of the day on her yellow notepad. Steph competes with herself to be better at her job tomorrow than she is today, and better two days from now than she is tomorrow. This is an inspired person in terms of getting work done. If you don't admire their work ethic, that intensity of passion to make it all happen, then you're clearly missing something. Stephanie was put in the position by her father that she had to prove to him every day that she could lead and manage people as he does. She had to show Vince that a group of people could be placed under her umbrella and be brought forward with her vision. So along comes Heyman. Fresh out of his own promotion, a seven-year adventure that was like a rollercoaster with the blindfolds on. It's pre-determined that we're going clash. And that's a test for Stephanie because her father has had to deal with strong personalities — be it his own dad, competing promoters or wrestlers from Bruno Sammartino to Steve Austin — it's just part of owning a company. I faced that when I had my own company. So I do understand it from their perspective. But by the end of my time in WWE, I can only say that she was quite supportive and would not accept my resignation on several occasions, and seriously tried to help the situation."
TNA: "I think TNA has a major hurdle to overcome — and that's the fact that they have no BRAND. There's no one on that roster that is branded TNA. You look at Kurt Angle and you think WWE. You look at Booker T and think WCW, five-time, five-time, five-time or King Booker in WWE. You look at The Dudleys and think ECW or WWE or even tables. You look at Samoa Joe, who should be the TNA guy, and you think this guy's great, when's he going to WWE. Are there hot moments? Sure. Are there personalities to like? Sure. Is there a good work rate? Sure. But there is no TNA style, TNA persona or TNA brand. They had an opportunity to do this with the X Division, which is a totally unique concept you don't see anywhere else in wrestling, MMA or sports entertainment. That could have been their version of what UFC did with the Octagon but they diminished the effectiveness of their own creation. They had a totally different and unique look and presentation, and then tossed it aside like it was just another gimmick. For the life of me I can't understand why."
Ring of Honor: I am very proud of Gabe [Sapolsky]. He has learned from all of the strengths of ECW and also our weaknesses. He's developed a niche audience that is loyal to the Ring Of Honor product. With no resources, Gabe has branded Ring Of Honor far better than the multi-multi-million dollar TNA product. When you see Ring Of Honor you know what you are watching. When you see a certain style you know it's the ROH style. On Ring Of Honor's worst day he still delivers more bang for your buck than most people do on their best. Do I think that ROH will ever be a global corporation? No. It’s not designed to be. It's designed to be a boutique promotion to cater to a fan that is looking for a certain product. He has cornered that market and done a brilliant job in doing so."
The idea of Heyman in ROH: "I don't think I'd be helping Gabe out at all if I showed up. I don't see how I can contribute to what he is doing. I neither want to be a nostalgia act — which is why I don't go to any conventions or do any shoot tapes, no matter how much they keep offering — nor do I want to be the guy who comes in and upsets the formula that has worked for Gabe and his company just fine. Paul Heyman in Ring Of Honor doesn't add to Ring Of Honor. There's nothing I can tell his audience that they don't already know. Gabe doesn't need my endorsement from me, he needs the endorsement of a 16-year-old kid who goes to school on a Monday and tells all of his friends: "Man, I went to a wrestling show this weekend and had the greatest time of my life. They're back next month – let’s all go."
The First Episode of the Heyman Hustle: "Well, we had everything planned for the first episode. We were going to go to the private party for the cast members of the new season of Survivor, when an hour before we were supposed to start shooting we get a message that all media credentials had been cancelled. Execs didn't want the cast members to be seen in public. Now, keep in mind, we're on deadline with the first episode and we're on a tight schedule already. No time to arrange something else. No time to even scramble. This is a total improv situation Which, I must confess, is 10 times the adrenal rush and a much more exhilarating evening of production in the most sensory-heightening part of the greatest city on earth — Times Square, New York City. One hour to go. What do we do? What the f*** do you think we did? We did a Hustle."
The Sun interview also touches on several other topics such as Heyman's interest in working for TNA and MMA entities, his beliefs on who will replace Vince McMahon and when and more.
