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Paul Heyman had a key role in WWE for a year, as he was the RAW Executive Director. Heyman held the role from June 2019 to June 2020 and was replaced by Bruce Prichard from that role.
During that stint as RAW Executive Director, Paul Heyman pushed a few underutilized stars on the Red brand, reportedly even rejecting having Braun Strowman on RAW. One star who worked under Paul Heyman on RAW was Mike Bennett.
Bennett recently appeared on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, where he spoke about numerous things, including the perception of him behind the scenes in WWE.
Mike Bennett reveals what Paul Heyman told him was WWE's opinion of him
In the interview, Bennett revealed that he spoke to Paul Heyman before asking for his release in 2019. He said that he asked Heyman what the powers-to-be backstage felt about him:
“[Heyman] was the one I talked to right before I asked for my release because he was always brutally honest. He told me straight up that they view me as a good hand and that’s all they will ever view you as. I thought at least somebody had the balls to tell me that. I was always thankful that he essentially told me how everyone felt. I’m not going to work for somebody that views me as a good hand. I want to be more than that and that was where I had the turning point and the change in my brain where it was time to ask for my release for the third time.” (H/T WrestlingNews)
Bennett reportedly asked for his release twice in 2019 - first in January and then later in October. The latter was done publicly, which Bennett revealed made Vince McMahon very angry. Bennett said that he had a good relationship with Paul Heyman and the former RAW Executive Director helped Bennett get signed with WWE.
Bennett and his wife Maria Kanellis were two of many Superstars to be released by WWE in April this year, due to budget cuts enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
