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Paul Heyman has been a WWE mainstay for a long time at this point. Tonight on WWE SmackDown, Heyman proposed a singles contest pitting himself and Adam Pearce, and the match was made official in no time, as the main event of the Blue brand.
Eventually, the match was marred by Roman Reigns' brutal attack on Pearce, followed by Kevin Owens coming out and putting The Tribal Chief down, as SmackDown went off the air. Paul Heyman wasn't a part of the action on tonight's show, but longtime fans of Heyman might remember that he has wrestled a bunch of matches during his WWE stint.
If we go back even further, Paul Heyman was a part of several matches when he was in WCW in the early 90s. He wrestled the likes of Missy Hyatt, Jim Cornette, Bobby Eaton, and WWE Hall of Famer Madusa, with every single contest ending in a loss for him.
Paul Heyman is rightfully considered by many as one of the greatest talkers in the history of this business. Some even go as far as calling him the single best mic-worker to ever grace a pro wrestling ring. His work on the stick helped him have an incredibly successful career in WWE for years on end. During both WWE runs of Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman acted as his mouthpiece, and did an excellent job at the same.
But when it comes to actually having a match in the ring, Heyman has mostly steered clear of it for the better part of his career. In the following slideshow, we will be taking a look at five WWE Superstars who lost to Paul Heyman in a match. The list will include all of Paul Heyman's victories over WWE Superstars, including singles matches, Tag Team matches, and Handicap Tag Team matches.
Note: A special thank you to ProFightDB for the data used in this list
#5 Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel defeat CM Punk at WWE Night of Champions (September 15, 2013)
By the time WWE Night of Champions 2013 came around, the relationship between Paul Heyman and CM Punk had been ruined beyond repair. Paul Heyman had turned on Punk on the road to SummerSlam 2013, leading to a blockbuster match between Punk and Brock Lesnar at The Biggest Party of the Summer, dubbed as 'The Best vs The Beast'. Punk was doing pretty well against Lesnar, before Paul Heyman interfered and cost him the match.
Paul Heyman and CM Punk are incredibly close in real life
Lesnar took another break after the event, while Paul Heyman and CM Punk continued the feud. At WWE Night of Champions, Heyman and Curtis Axel met Punk in a No Disqualification Handicap Elimination match. Punk initially eliminated Axel, but eventually lost the match and was pinned by Paul Heyman, due to outside interference.
Years later, it still feels strange that Paul Heyman has registered a victory over CM Punk, one of the greatest to ever step foot in the ring. Punk would exact revenge for the loss soon, with eight straight victories over Axel and Paul Heyman in Handicap matches.
#4 Paul Heyman defeats Sabu on WWE ECW (August 29, 2006)
After the success of the ECW One Night Stand 2005 event, with Paul Heyman being heavily featured on the same, WWE decided to revive the dead promotion as a standalone brand on TV, soon after WrestleMania 22 in 2006. The brand got its own show on Syfy, consisting of a bunch of former ECW stars and then-WWE Superstars.
Sabu was one of the ECW Originals who was a part of the show on a regular basis. On the road to SummerSlam 2006, Sabu kicked off a feud with Big Show, with Paul Heyman refusing to grant him an ECW World title shot against the behemoth.
Paul Heyman was a heel authority figure in ECW at the time
Sabu later bagged the shot against Big Show after defeating RVD in a Ladder match. At SummerSlam, Big Show defeated Sabu to retain his title. The same story followed mere days later on ECW, following which Sabu feuded with Paul Heyman, leading to a singles match between the duo on an episode of ECW. The match was an Extreme Rules affair, and was marred with interference by several wrestlers.
The Bashams and Big Show interfered to save Heyman from Sabu's wrath, while RVD tried his best to help Sabu against insurmountable odds. In the end, the villains stood tall as Heyman pinned Sabu to pick up a victory. It is the only singles victory of Paul Heyman's pro wrestling career.
#3 and #2 Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar defeat Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy at WWE Judgment Day 2002 (May 19, 2002)
Brock Lesnar came up to WWE's main roster immediately after WrestleMania 18, and began wreaking havoc on both brands, with Paul Heyman managing Lesnar from the very beginning. The duo soon kicked off a feud with The Hardy Boyz. This led to a singles match between Brock Lesnar and Jeff Hardy at Backlash 2002, with Lesnar picking up the victory via TKO. The rivalry was far from over though, as The Hardy Boyz wanted to exact revenge on Lesnar and Paul Heyman.
Paul Heyman managed Lesnar from the very beginning
At Judgment Day 2002, Lesnar teamed up with Paul Heyman to take on Matt and Jeff Hardy, in Tag Team action. Initially, The Hardy Boyz gained control of the contest, but it didn't last long for the duo. As they tried to attack Paul Heyman, Lesnar threw Jeff Hardy on Matt Hardy, followed by which he delivered a thunderous F-5 on The Charismatic Enigma. This was enough for Paul Heyman to pin Jeff Hardy and pick up the victory for himself and Lesnar.
#1 Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar defeat Edge at WWE Rebellion 2002 (October 26, 2002)
At SummerSlam 2002, Paul Heyman managed Brock Lesnar in his match against The Rock, which he eventually won and became the youngest WWE Champion in history. Months later, Lesnar teamed up with Paul Heyman again at WWE Rebellion 2002, which took place in England. The main event of the night pitted Lesnar and Paul Heyman with Edge, and was contested for the WWE title.
Paul Heyman won this match as well, with Lesnar retaining his title
The match lasted almost 20 minutes, and there were moments when it seemed like Edge would steal a victory and bag his first World title. During the closing moments of the match, Edge attempted to come off the top rope, but was surprised by Lesnar's attack with a chair.
Following this, Edge received an F-5 from Lesnar, leading to the pin. After the match, Heyman screamed at Edge's face while bragging about the victory, which didn't sit well with him. Edge hit Heyman with a chair and followed it up with a DDT on him, to close out the show.
