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WWE recently announced Paul Heyman as the first inductee to this year's Hall of Fame ceremony during WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia. To say it's well-earned is an understatement, as Heyman has been integral to the world of professional wrestling through the decades.
Whether it was as the leader of the Dangerous Alliance, leading a revolution in ECW, or introducing the world to a Beast Incarnate, Heyman has been vital to the evolution of the sport. Many stars have credited him for their success and their ascension to the top, even if they never worked together on screen.
He will not only go down as one of the greatest managers of all time, but Heyman's time behind the screen led to the rise of the SmackDown Six during the original brand split in 2002. Many WWE Superstars have claimed that without him pushing for them, they may never have gotten a real opportunity in the promotion.
With the news of Paul Heyman's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, we'll be looking at five stars whose careers he launched into the stratosphere.
#5. Rey Mysterio
When Rey Mysterio found himself in ECW, he'd already been wrestling for six years. Mysterio debuted in the sport in 1989 at the age of 14, so by the time he signed with ECW in 1995, he'd already gotten quite a bit of experience under his belt.
At the time, Paul Heyman was looking for talents that could help replace Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero, who were, to put it bluntly, plundered from ECW. The Wiseman looked to Konnan, who was a booker in Mexico at the time, asking which two luchadors he would use if he were in Heyman's shoes. Konnan's answer? Rey Mysterio Jr. and Psicosis.
Heading into their first match on ECW TV in 1993, Mysterio and Psicosis asked their limitations for the night.
To which Heyman said:
"You have none. If you both went to heaven and God said, 'Put on the most entertaining match to simply blow me away, and I'm giving you one chance to do it, or you both go to hell, but if you do it, you and your families will be up here in heaven with me,' what match would that be?"
The rest was history, as Mysterio and Psicosis went on to have an incredible feud in ECW that would eventually lead to both of them moving to WCW as well. When the Monday Night Wars ended, Paul Heyman was brought in as the lead writer for SmackDown from 2002 to 2003.
When he had the opportunity and the power to make it happen, Heyman utilized Rey Mysterio as well as Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Edge, and Kurt Angle, the SmackDown Six, bringing them together to energize a fledgling tag division.
The work done here would also lead to Edge, Benoit, Guerrero, and Mysterio making it to the top of the promotion as they would all find success as World Champions.
#4. Bully Ray
Bully Ray wasn't supposed to be one of the greatest stars in ECW history. In 1995, he showed up under the name Mongo to work as a bodyguard for Bill Alfonso. However, when Paul Heyman saw how he took a chokeslam from 911, he knew that he could get something out of the Queens native.
Soon after that, he was added to the Dudley Family, a large group of strange yet lovable freaks all allegedly fathered by one man who, let's say, left his mark across the states.
As a stuttering giant, he was named Bubba Ray Dudley, initially spelled "Buh-Buh" for how he stuttered before getting his name out. The fans ate up the gimmick, and soon "Buh-Buh" and his brother D-Von Dudley would go on to be the greatest tag team to come out of ECW and one of the greatest tag teams of all time.
Bully Ray has repeatedly praised Paul Heyman for his mind and willingness to take big chances, even if they didn't always pan out well.
#3. Steve Austin
Paul Heyman and Steve Austin have a strong history with each other. Though many like to look back at Austin's stint in ECW as one of the most important parts of his pre-WWE career, it was his time as a member of the Dangerous Alliance that really got the attention of those in the business.
Heyman saw the potential in Steve Autin before he was drinking beer and raising hell. In 1991, Heyman wrote about Austin in WCW Magazine, stating that Austin would be singlehandedly dominating the pro wrestling world by 2000. And he was right.
Looking back at the group, that was quite a bold claim. The WCW version of the Dangerous Alliance included Rick Rude, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbysko, Arn Anderson, and Madusa. Heyman knew what WCW had with Steve Austin, and when the opportunity arose, he brought Austin into ECW for a short stint before he jumped to WWE in 0995.
During that time in ECW, fans got a taste of what was to come with Austin's future. After being fired from WCW by Eric Bischoff via fax, Steve was angry, and Paul Heyman allowed him to vent those frustrations with a live mic. The rest is history. And just like Heyman predicted, he was on top of the sport by 2000. Well, before that, even.
#2. CM Punk
No, we're not talking about Heyman's time as a manager for CM Punk in WWE, though that was a great pairing.
Years before Punk appeared in AEW, and many years before his WWE return, Heyman spoke on his first meeting with Punk. After the first One Night Stand special in 2005, the veteran was sent to OVW to help with their TV and creative.
A name that caught his eye immediately was someone with "too many ideas." Sounds about right, doesn't it? Heyman has stated that WWE didn't know what to do with Punk and that nobody in the promotion had actually watched his matches, which was evident when they asked him to do "flippy dippy moves" like Jeff Hardy.
Many remember the issues with ECW December to Dismember in 2006 that resulted in Heyman's termination from the company, and a lot of that came down to their differing ideals on who should be the new face of Extreme Championship Wrestling. The Wiseman wanted Punk, Vince McMahon didn't, and that was that.
Paul Heyman pushed for Punk the moment they became acquainted because he saw what others had in ECW. He saw a rebel that could change the game like WWE never expected. In an interview with NotSam Wrestling, Punk praised Heyman highly.
"I was never supposed to make it onto WWE TV. I saw the memos. I saw, 'Do not bring CM Punk to television.' He kind of steered me and guided me through the minefield, so to speak. So I will forever be a Paul Heyman Guy. Meaning, if it's four in the morning and Paul Heyman calls me and says, 'I need you in New York right now, I'll drop whatever I'm doing, and I'll go to New York. I'm a Paul Heyman Guy, you know. He had my back when nobody else did."
CM Punk was already a success in ROH, but were it not for Paul Heyman, he never would've become the Voice of the Voiceless that we know today.
#1. Brock Lesnar- Paul Heyman's Next Big Thing
The odds that Brock Lesnar gets mentioned on WWE TV anytime soon, if ever again, are slim at best. Due to the ongoing investigations into Vince McMahon and WWE, Lesnar was reportedly pulled from Elimination Chamber and probably any other plans.
Still, it's impossible to talk about Paul Heyman's time in pro wrestling without mentioning The Beast Incarnate. Lesnar was introduced to the WWE Universe alongside Heyman in 2002 when he mauled Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley, who were in the middle of a Hardcore Championship match.
In his first few months, Lesnar had major wins over Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Test, Rob Van Dam, The Hardy Boyz, and Hulk Hogan. The first four were WWE Superstars, which Lesnar demolished in the King of the Ring Tournament, leading to a WWE Undisputed Championship match with The Rock at SummerSlam 2002.
Paul Heyman was crucial to Lesnar's time in the ring. Aside from his final year in his first two-year stint with WWE and the past few years where Heyman's been by the side of Roman Reigns, Lesnar and his advocate were inseparable.
Heyman led Lesnar to multiple championship victories over Reigns, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, John Cena, and more.
Arguably, the greatest achievement under Brock Lesnar's belt, breaking The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania 30, was used by Lesnar week in and week out to hype up his client's in-ring ability.
Despite Lesnar's freakish physical prowess and in-ring mind, the microphone has never been his strong suit. Thankfully, one of his real-life closest friends was there to carry that load, giving us one of the greatest wrestler/manager pairings of all time.
