What is the real name of Paul Heyman?
Paul Heyman is one of the major figures in the wrestling industry, making his name as a manager and promoter. Though fans might still have some doubts regarding his real name.
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Paul Heyman in WWE (via WWE)
Paul Heyman is one of the best managers in WWE history. His intellect and mic skills are unmatched by anyone in the business. Heyman has also been a successful promoter in the attitude era, when he took ECW to greater heights.
Paul Heyman was born on September 11, 1965, in the Bronx, New York City, into a Jewish family. While he was initially known as Paul E. Dangerously in the NWA and WCW, as a promoter he dropped the moniker and began to appear under his real name, Paul Heyman. ECW was formerly known as Eastern Championship Wrestling. The promotion was based in Philadelphia as a part of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) when Heyman came on board with Tod Gordon to run the ship.
In an iconic promo, Shane Douglas denounced the NWA title in an off-script moment only known to Gordon and Heyman. Soon, Eastern Championship Wrestling was no longer a part of the NWA. In its place, Extreme Championship Wrestling was born, as envisioned by Paul Heyman. There was a revolution in the wrestling industry, opposed by the wrestling purists. ECW changed the wrestling world with its “hardcore” wrestling style and emerged as the third biggest wrestling promotion in the 90s after WWE and WCW.
After ECW was acquired by WWE in 2001, Heyman became a part of the company as well. He took on the roles of a commentator and manager in WWE. His major managerial roles throughout the years have been with Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns. The former ECW owner was so good in that role the superstars he supported came to be known as “Paul Heyman guys” in the business.
What were Paul Heyman’s inspirations?
In his WWE documentary, My Name is Paul Heyman, the eponymous star revealed a lot about himself and his inspirations in the wrestling world. Heyman admitted that he was influenced by various films that helped shape his manager persona. His name, Paul E. Dangerously, was inspired by Michael Keaton’s character, Johnny Dangerously. He took notes from other villainous characters like Gordon Gekko from “Wall Street” to further develop his heel character.
Paul Heyman’s vision for ECW was influenced by the 90s culture as well. In an ever-shifting world, Heyman took note of the situation and adapted to the market’s demand for grit and reality-based storylines with a more hardcore wrestling style. Soon, the fans saw WWE adopt some characteristics of ECW as well.
Heyman was always a man of ideals who didn’t compromise them for anyone. During the rebirth of ECW by WWE in 2005, there were major creative differences between Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman. This all led to a disastrous December to Dismember PPV in 2006. Following the creative frustration, Heyman parted ways with WWE just weeks after the PPV.
The former ECW owner returned to WWE in 2012 and has been consistently involved with the company since then. Whether it is in a backstage role or to manage stars like Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns, Heyman has always been a key figure in wrestling history.
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