Why did Paul Heyman leave WWE in 2006?

After revolutionising professional wrestling during his stint with ECW, Paul Heyman joined WWE as a creative writer in 2001. He also took over as a broadcaster after Jerry Lawler quit the promotion in protest of then-wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter's release.

Heyman continued to be a colour commentator until the Invasion angle came to an end at Survivor Series 2001. He even called WrestleMania 17 in a fondly-remembered performance alongside former WCW colleague Jim Ross.

After the original brand split, the New York native was installed as the head writer of SmackDown in July 2002 and served in this capacity until February of 2003 when he was forced to step down due to a conflict with Vince McMahon.

Heyman's time in charge was a golden age of sorts for the blue brand due to the emergence of the SmackDown Six: Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Edge, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. In fact, during this period, the so-called "B-show" even trumped Raw in terms of TV ratings, ticket sales and merchandise.

Aside from managing Brock Lesnar, The Big Show and even the Dudley Boyz, "The Mad Scientist of Professional Wrestling" also served as the on-screen General Manager of SmackDown before eventually being replaced by Kurt Angle on March 25, 2004.

Heyman eventually settled into a role as the head booker of OVW, a WWE developmental territory, in 2005. It was during this time that he developed close relationships with the likes of CM Punk, Mr Kennedy and Beth Phoenix all of whom flourished on the main roster.

Just when it looked like he had found his own niche, "The Rabbi of The Revolution" found his way back into the good graces of Vince McMahon when the decision was taken to bring ECW back as a third brand.

Unfortunately, Heyman and company failed to recapture the essence that made the Philadelphia-based promotion a phenomenon in the '90s. The critically acclaimed One Night Stand pay-per-view from 2005 which triggered the decision to revive ECW ended up being nothing more than a reminder of what professional wrestling, as a whole, had lost in less than a decade.

The frustration surrounding all of ECW's failures then came to a head in December to Dismember 2006 after a dispute between Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon regarding the booking of the main event. Less than 24 hours after the show, WWE officially announced that the New York native had been sent home, citing a disgruntled roster and faltering ratings as a cause for his dismissal.

After a break from wrestling during which he worked on the Looking 4 Larry Agency, a fully integrated branding, digital marketing and production agency, of which he is the co-owner, Heyman returned to WWE as Brock Lesnar's advocate on May 07, 2012. The rest, as they say, is history.

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