5 WWE Superstars who were once Paul Heyman guys

A trailblazing promoter. A shrewd marketer. A master of the mic. A captivating advocate. A walrus. Paul Heyman has had various monikers throughout his 33-year career.

These days, Paul Heyman is currently busy fulfilling his role as special counsel to Roman Reigns on SmackDown. Whatever the job he’s entrusted with - and this is beyond any considerable doubt - Paul Heyman is one of the greatest minds operating in the wrestling business.

Paul Heyman? He’s a genius! That’s what most people from the industry will tell you. Some of his former ECW employees may call him financially reckless, but Paul E Dangerously’s contributions to revolutionizing pro wrestling overshadow the mistakes he’s made.

Beyond everything he’s done in the constantly evolving world of sports entertainment, Heyman will be remembered as one of the greatest managers of all time. Some may even argue that he’s the undisputed GOAT. There are arguments to support that claim.

Paul Heyman has, directly and indirectly, influenced the careers of many successful superstars. Brock Lesnar would have been a goofy version of Ryback without the support of Paul Heyman. There have been, of course, many hits and misses, yet being a Paul Heyman Guy is equivalent to getting a monster push.

While there have been many stars whose success is synonymous with Paul Heyman, there are a handful of recognized Superstars who were also under the tutelage of the great man during their careers. The problem is that those moments are hardly remembered.

This slider is dedicated to those forgotten Paul Heyman guys:

#1 Rikishi

The Stinkface. The flinching reaction to Rikishi's massive tush slamming into someone's face made us all sympathize with the Superstars who were on the receiving end.

Rikishi, for all his comedic brilliance, is a WWE Hall of Famer who began his wrestling career in 1985 as a ruthless Samoan. Rikishi, known by his real name Solofa Fatu Jr., teamed up with his cousin Samula Anoaʻi and formed The Samoan Swat Team (SST). Samu and Fatu built their rep by working for Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council, and Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling.

Known for their raw savagery, the SST was picked up by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1989 and was assigned to Paul Heyman. Heyman was previously the manager of The Original Midnight Express - consisting of Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose - who left the Jim Crockett Promotion midway through their feud with the new Midnight Express, Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton.

Under the management of Paul Heyman, the Samoan Swat Team came in as replacements and continued the angle with Eaton and Lane. While Paul Heyman didn't remain their manager for long as he was gradually given another client to manage later on in 1989, SST enjoyed a decent amount of success during the alliance with Heyman.

The tag team would get disbanded in time to come, with Rikishi going on to become a popular singles superstar in the WWE.

In a 2002 episode of Smackdown, Rikishi faced Brock Lesner with Paul Heyman in the latter's corner. The Samoan embarrassed his former manager by delivering a stink face to Heyman.

Video of the act:

#2 A-Train

Present-day WWE fans would know Matt Bloom as the man tasked with the job of training WWE prospects in the Performance Center, but old-timers would remember him as an underrated 6-foot-7-inch giant from the 2000s. He was one of the top stars in Japan, who raised his game by wrestling for promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah.

He has enjoyed two in-ring stints in the WWE. The first happened between 1999 - 2004, during which he worked under different monikers such as Prince Albert, Albert, and A-Train. He built up a respectable resume in Japan as Giant Bernard before returning to WWE in 2012 for a botch-filled run as Lord Tensai that lasted until his retirement in 2014.

During his first run with the company, Bloom changed his name to A-Train and allied with Big Show, under the guidance of Paul Heyman. The transformation from Albert to A-train was Heyman's brainchild, which kickstarted a relatively decent run for the superstar. The massive frame, hairy chest and the intimidation factor made A-Train a perfect fit for Paul Heyman.

A-Train would go on to team up with Big Show for a match against The Deadman at WrestleMania XIX. He even had a one-on-one match against The Undertaker at the following SummerSlam in 2003.

He got pushed down the card before leaving the company in 2004. However, it happened in his best interest as the WWE release gave birth to Giant Bernard, who is considered to be one of the best American imports in Japanese wrestling circles till this very day.

Heyman has often been known to take in tall and muscular superstars as clients and Albert fit the bill. It is, however, unfortunate that they failed to make the most of the alliance.

#3 Stone Cold Steve Austin

You may have known this by now as the history of Stone Cold Steve Austin is a widely researched topic, but before becoming the 'baddest SOB' in pro wrestling history, Steve Austin was a stunning bloke with a blonde combover in the first half of the 1990s.

Helmed by Paul Heyman, The Dangerous Alliance was a notorious faction in the now-defunct promotion WCW during that time and in 1991, got on board Steve Austin, then known as 'Stunning' Steve Austin.

It made absolute sense to have 'Ravishing' Rick Rude and 'Stunning' Steve Austin in the same stable that also included the likes of Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Madusa and Larry Zbyszko.

Over the next few months, The Dangerous Alliance was booked in noteworthy feuds against WCW's biggest stars such as Barry Windham, Sting, and Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat. They won titles and were featured prominently until the relationship between Heyman and WCW went south due to contractual differences.

The faction split up in 1992 and Heyman shifted his attention towards getting the NWA's Eastern Championship Wrestling back to its former glory.

After the end of the Alliance, Austin continued to work with WCW and won the Tag Team titles on countless occasions.

Life came full circle in 1995 as Austin was picked up by Heyman to join ECW. ECW was where Steve Austin planted the seeds of his rise as the undaunted, brash and authority-hating figure who later became known as Stone Cold Steve Austin in the WWE.

In ECW, Austin honed his promo skills under the supervision of Paul Heyman and worked on the character that would help Vince McMahon prevail in the Monday Night Wars.

Without Paul Heyman, we probably would have never had the iconic Stone Cold Steve Austin.

#4 Jimmy Snuka

Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka was one of those superstars who, despite being initially pushed as a heel, managed to become a fan favorite owing to his high-flying in-ring style in the 1980s. He may not have won a single title during his time with the WWE but Snuka is famously remembered for his exceptional in-ring work, the very first WrestleMania main event, and that iconic Superfly Splash at Madison Square Garden against Don Muraco from atop the 15-foot Steel Cage. He is also recognized as the first victim in the Undertaker's illustrious WrestleMania streak.

Superfly left the WWE in 1993 and had already attained legendary status by then. He signed up with NWA's Eastern Championship Wrestling (the former version of Extreme Championship Wrestling) and was included in the resurrected rendition of The Dangerous Alliance assembled by Paul Heyman.

The ECW reincarnation of Heyman's highly-acclaimed stable had the likes of Snuka, 'Hot Stuff' Eddie Gilbert, Don Muraco, and The Dark Patriot who were branded 'Hot Stuff International'. During that time, Snuka won the NWA ECW Heavyweight title twice and the Television title once. Snuka and Heyman's union was brief as Superfly left the promotion just before Paul Heyman took over the reins and renamed it as Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994.

Snuka was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996 and sporadically appeared for Vince McMahon's company over the years until his sad demise in January 2017 due to terminal illness.

#5 The Undertaker

Vince McMahon considers The Undertaker to be his greatest creation. The character certainly is, but the man behind the fictional dark entity is one of the most purely gifted performers of this generation who deserves equal credit for the unparalleled success that has come his way.

Being tall, athletic and an indie fan favorite can get you a WWE tryout and subsequently, quite over in the company in 2019. However, it was all about characters back in the golden generation of wrestling. Wrestlers spent years trying to come up with the perfectly fine-tuned gimmick that could click with the fans. The Undertaker went through the grind as well. And it all began in 1984 as Texas Red.

5 years and a few character alterations later, the Undertaker was signed by WCW and was given the name 'Mean Mark' Callous - an Ozzy Ozbourne buff and admirer of snakes.

A year passed by and Callaway was handed over to Paul Heyman, who took him under his wing and guided him through a somewhat prosperous phase. Callaway put together a string of victories against top stars before getting a shot at Lex Luger's NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.

It was later revealed by Bruce Pritchard on his podcast that WWE's eyes were already on Callaway during his US title match at The Great American Bash. Paul Heyman had already sent out a tentative proposal to Vince McMahon's company regarding his naturally-gifted client.

WCW chose not to offer Callaway a renewed contract and WWE stepped in to pull off one of the most important signings in its history. Just like in Stone Cold Steve Austin's transformation, Paul Heyman had a crucial role to play in "Mean Mark" Callous becoming The Undertaker.

The Phenom as we know, transcended eras and held his own as one of WWE's greatest performers ever. He has gained a larger-than-life persona and Heyman has a fair share in helping him earn it.

They don't call him the Mad Scientist for no reason.