I really and truly believe that Paul Heyman is the only person who has ever compared to Vince McMahon in terms of having a dynamic vision for the wrestling business as a whole. Bischoff might have beat Vince at his own game but no one has ever come closer to reimagining what wrestling could be, besides Vince, than Paul Heyman. And i'd bet Vince knows that too.
It's easy to dismiss that as "no way, you're just a mutant, Heyman's overrated, that's why he went out of business and Vince is (was) a billionaire", but I completely agree with you.
Other than Vince, I don't think anybody ever really had the long-term vision of what they wanted to accomplish like Heyman did. Most promoters just figure that they know what pro-wrestling is, and then will make it, say, more or less violent, depending on their taste. Maybe they make it goofy like CHIKARA or something, or decide to make it ultra-technical like ROH. But I don't think they look to future, to say "we're going to do things in a completely new way". Heyman was a big part of pulling back the curtain, of playing with kayfabe, of making entrances such an integral part of the pro-wrestling experience. Even his good guys weren't "good guys", there were no paragons of virtue, most of the faces were drugged out and had tragic flaws.
He certainly wasn't the brilliant, smooth-as-silk businessman and negotiator that Vince is, and maybe there was never much of a market for a "gritty reboot" of pro-wrestling in the first place, but the man certainly had a vision and was unafraid to try new things. And he was certainly successful, if only briefly and on a small scale, and he has certainly left an impact on the industry, you have to give him that: he was almost like the smaller, less-known band that bigger bands pattern themselves after.
The legacy of ECW is bigger than ECW itself ever was. There's a reason for that.
Nice interview!
ReplyDeleteEven in this age of no kayfabe and smarkdom, it always surprises me to hear a wrestling performer act like themselves. Great interview.
ReplyDeleteReally good interview. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWonderful interview. Paul is one of a kind.
ReplyDelete"Heyman: If there was a reality television program documenting the behind-the-scenes aspects of ECW in the 1990's we would all have been in jail."
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that line... most likely true.. LOL
I really and truly believe that Paul Heyman is the only person who has ever compared to Vince McMahon in terms of having a dynamic vision for the wrestling business as a whole. Bischoff might have beat Vince at his own game but no one has ever come closer to reimagining what wrestling could be, besides Vince, than Paul Heyman. And i'd bet Vince knows that too.
ReplyDeleteAwesome stuff, from the questioner as well as Heyman. Wish it could have gone on longer.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to dismiss that as "no way, you're just a mutant, Heyman's overrated, that's why he went out of business and Vince is (was) a billionaire", but I completely agree with you.
Other than Vince, I don't think anybody ever really had the long-term vision of what they wanted to accomplish like Heyman did. Most promoters just figure that they know what pro-wrestling is, and then will make it, say, more or less violent, depending on their taste. Maybe they make it goofy like CHIKARA or something, or decide to make it ultra-technical like ROH. But I don't think they look to future, to say "we're going to do things in a completely new way". Heyman was a big part of pulling back the curtain, of playing with kayfabe, of making entrances such an integral part of the pro-wrestling experience. Even his good guys weren't "good guys", there were no paragons of virtue, most of the faces were drugged out and had tragic flaws.
He certainly wasn't the brilliant, smooth-as-silk businessman and negotiator that Vince is, and maybe there was never much of a market for a "gritty reboot" of pro-wrestling in the first place, but the man certainly had a vision and was unafraid to try new things. And he was certainly successful, if only briefly and on a small scale, and he has certainly left an impact on the industry, you have to give him that: he was almost like the smaller, less-known band that bigger bands pattern themselves after.
The legacy of ECW is bigger than ECW itself ever was. There's a reason for that.