Paul Heyman chose to manage Brock Lesnar over a former world champion

Paul Heyman has revealed that he chose to manage Brock Lesnar over former World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit.

Heyman is one of the most well-known and successful managers in pro wrestling history. He is currently the special council for Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, but arguably his most iconic pairing has been with Brock Lesnar.

In an interview with Inside The Ropes, the former head-honcho of ECW said that 2-3 weeks before WrestleMania 18 in 2002, he approached Vince McMahon to ask whether he could produce Lesnar's matches, to which he was granted permission.

He also claimed that he was planned to make an on-screen return at the Showcase of the Immortals as the manager of an unexpected wrestler:

"Here comes what is going to be the headlines tomorrow from this show. This was right before WresstleMania (18) in Toronto in 2002... So, I was scheduled to come back, cause I had left being on an on-air position after Survivor Series (2001) when the WWE beat the Alliance... I was off-air, I was behind the scenes. I was supposed to come back on the air, in 2002, at WrestleMania, with Chris Benoit." (03:06)

After producing a couple of dark matches featuring Brock Lesnar, Heyman accompanied him to the ring in his debut appearance on the RAW after 'Mania in 2002. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Paul Heyman claims he knew that Brock Lesnar was the "Next Big Thing"

During the same interview, Paul Heyman claimed that he had his eye on Brock ever since his collegiate wrestling days, and that he knew The Beast Incarnate would be the "Next Big Thing."

Lesnar was a former NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion by the time he arrived in WWE. He made his first televised appearance on the RAW after WrestleMania 18 in 2002 and laid out a ring full of superstars in the Hardcore Title scene.

During his initial days on TV, the commentators started calling him the Next Big Thing. This nickname stuck with Brock all the way up to his first WWE Championship win.

Brock Lesnar was the then-youngest world champion in WWE history. He defeated The Rock in the main event of SummerSlam 2002 to win the title. He is also one of the fastest men to win a world title after his debut.

Heyman also claimed that when he called Brock the Next Big Thing for the first time, Vince McMahon claimed that it was not a good nickname. The way the title stuck to the former Universal Champion during his first run in WWE shows that Paul Heyman is a visionary.