Paul Heyman

In 1988, Heyman debuted in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), under the name **Paul E. Dangerously**, where he managed the original Midnight Express in a feud with the new Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) and their manager, Jim Cornette, as well as managing "Mean" Mark Callous. He settled into the role of an announcer, joining Jim Ross to call the matches on *World Championship Wrestling* and other programming.

In 1991, WCW needed to re-structure its "heels", so Heyman returned to the role as spokesman and ringside manager as the manager of the Dangerous Alliance (a new version of the Four Horsemen), with Rick Rude as the centerpiece of the stable. Heyman led Rude to the United States title and the Arn Anderson-Bobby Eaton tag team to the Tag Team titles. The Dangerous Alliance dominated WCW through most of 1992.

Following his departure from WCW, Heyman jumped ship to ECW, then known as Eastern Championship Wrestling. From that point forward, Heyman was in charge of the creative direction of the company. As Paul E. Dangerously, he managed a few wrestlers, including Sabu and 911.

In August 1994, Heyman rechristened the promotion, eliminating the regional branding "Eastern" and declaring the promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling. During his time in ECW, Heyman found an ally in Vince McMahon's WWF. McMahon had sent some WWF wrestlers to ECW (under WWF payroll) to develop them and was interested in some ECW wrestlers, such as Terry Gordy and 2 Cold Scorpio.

In the final days of ECW, Heyman did not appear on the show and was replaced as the leader of the backstage and creative by ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer. ECW entered into bankruptcy in 2001 (just weeks after WCW was sold to WWF),

Following the WWF's buyout of ECW, Heyman became a broadcaster for the WWF, replacing Jerry Lawler. During that time, he resumed his storyline rivalry with Jim Ross. In July, while retaining his commentator role, Heyman recreated ECW as a stable, which then immediately merged with Shane McMahon's WCW to form the Alliance during the Invasion angle. Heyman was "fired" following the 2001 Survivor Series when the Alliance lost a do or die match that marked the end of the invasion angle.

Heyman returned in April 2002 and began managing the debuting Brock Lesnar. Heyman helped Lesnar capture the Undisputed WWE Championship 126 days after Lesnar's main roster debut when Lesnar beat The Rock at SummerSlam to also become the youngest WWE Undisputed Champion at the time. At the Survivor Series pay-per view, Heyman turned on Lesnar and allied himself with Big Show, while helping him win the title from Lesnar in the process.

After Vince McMahon defeated his daughter Stephanie in October 2003 at the No Mercy pay-per-view, the storyline was that she was forced to resign from her position as General Manager (GM) of *SmackDown!*. Heyman returned to television to assume Stephanie McMahon's on-camera role as GM. On March 22, 2004, he appeared on *Raw* to take part in the annual WWE draft lottery. During the show he was drafted to *RAW* to work for *RAW* General Manager Eric Bischoff. Instead, he decided to "quit" rather than work for Bischoff, the man he cited for the death of ECW by raiding its talent. Heyman was replaced as *SmackDown!* General Manager by his former client Kurt Angle on March 25.

On May 23, 2005, Heyman returned as a face in a segment with Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff announcing ECW One Night Stand, with Heyman in charge. On May 25, 2006 it was announced that ECW would relaunch, as a third WWE brand. Heyman was in charge of the new brand on-camera but had minimal creative input off-camera as well. On the May 29 episode of *Raw*, during a face-off with Mick Foley, Heyman announced that he was granted a draft pick from both Raw and SmackDown! by Vince McMahon. His Raw draft pick was former ECW wrestler (and Money in the Bank contract holder) Rob Van Dam, and his SmackDown! draft pick was Kurt Angle. Heyman predicted that Van Dam would defeat John Cena at One Night Stand for the WWE Championship and then declare himself the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion.

At One Night Stand, Van Dam defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship. After Cena knocked an ECW referee unconscious, Edge (in a disguise) appeared and speared Cena through a table, before taking out *SmackDown!* referee Nick Patrick, allowing Van Dam to hit the Five-Star Frog Splash on Cena. With no referee available Heyman ran down the aisle to count the pinfall. The following night on *Raw*, Heyman confirmed that because the championship match was contested under "ECW rules" (which means, essentially, there are no rules) that the decision stands and RVD is the "Undisputed" WWE Champion. As the WWE Champion, Van Dam was the number one man in the reformed ECW, so on the debut of *ECW on Sci Fi* the next night Heyman, announced as an "ECW Representative", presented him with the re-instated ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Van Dam elected to keep both title belts and was recognized as both the WWE and ECW Champion. On the July 4 episode of ECW On Sci Fi, Heyman turned heel by helping Big Show defeat Van Dam for the ECW title. Heyman quietly parted ways with WWE in late 2006.

In April 2012, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE. Heyman returned to WWE on the May 7, 2012 episode of *Raw* as Lesnar's legal advisor, announcing that Lesnar had quit the company. The following week on *Raw*, Heyman confronted Triple H, handing him a lawsuit from Lesnar for breaching of contract. Triple H responded by shoving Heyman into the ropes, leading Heyman to announce that he would file a lawsuit against Triple H for assault and battery. On the June 18 *Raw*, Heyman declined Triple H's challenge for a match against Lesnar at SummerSlam on Lesnar's behalf. Later that month, Heyman stated that Brock Lesnar would answer Triple H's challenge himself at *Raw 1000*. Lesnar would go on to defeat Triple H at SummerSlam.

On the September 3 episode of *Raw*, after CM Punk attacked John Cena, Heyman was seen driving the car Punk had entered. This began an alliance between CM Punk and Heyman. Heyman began accompanying Punk to the ring for his matches and promos. Because of the events of the previous weeks, on the February 11 episode of *Raw*, Heyman addressed the audience intending to resign from the company. CM Punk, however, convinced Heyman to not only stay with the company, but also to be in Punk's corner at the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view for his WWE Championship match. Around this time, Heyman quietly cut off his signature ponytail.

Later, CM Punk earned the right to fight The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29 after winning a Fatal Four Way match at *Old School Raw*. In addition, Heyman's other client Brock Lesnar was booked for a No Holds Barred match against Triple H at WrestleMania, with Triple H's career on the line. At WrestleMania, both of Heyman's clients lost their matches. On the April 15 episode of *Raw*, Heyman announced Lesnar had challenged Triple H to a steel cage match at Extreme Rules. The following week, Triple H accepted the match and delivered a Pedigree to Heyman. As a response, Lesnar and Heyman invaded the headquarters of WWE and trashed Triple H's office. At Extreme Rules, Lesnar defeated Triple H with the help of Heyman.

Heyman announced Michael McGillicutty as the newest "Paul Heyman guy" on the May 20 *Raw* and gave him the new name of Curtis Axel. On the May 27 episode of *Raw*, Heyman appeared on the *Highlight Reel* with Chris Jericho, where Jericho challenged CM Punk to a match at Payback which Heyman accepted on Punk's behalf. The next week, Heyman and Jericho signed the contract to make it official. The same week on *SmackDown*, Jericho faced off against Curtis Axel. As Jericho was closing in on the victory, Heyman stood on the announcers table and yelled: "It's clobbering time". Punk's music began to play, distracting Jericho long enough for Axel to pick up the victory.

At Payback, Heyman coached Axel during his match with Wade Barrett and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship with Axel winning the match and the title. Heyman accompanied Punk to the ring later in the show for his match with Chris Jericho. After *Payback*, a WWE.com exclusive video aired with Punk telling Heyman that he is his friend and not his client. On the June 17 episode of *Raw*, Punk challenged Alberto Del Rio, mentioning that he did not want Heyman managing him anymore. Following Punk's match, he was attacked by Lesnar. The next week on *Raw*, Punk demanded answers from Heyman, who swore he did not ask Lesnar to attack him. Punk forgave Heyman and then faced Darren Young and, following his win, was attacked by Titus O'Neil until Curtis Axel saved him, to Punk's chagrin. Heyman announced that he would team with Axel against The Prime Time Players the next week, again to Punk's disapproval.

At Money in the Bank, Heyman betrayed CM Punk, costing him his chance at the Money in the Bank briefcase by hitting him three times with a ladder, knocking Punk off the ladder when he was ascending. On the August 5 episode of *Raw*, Punk retaliated by choking Heyman while Heyman was in Curtis Axel's corner during a match. This prompted Lesnar to enter the ring and attack Punk. Heyman later challenged Punk to a 1-on-1 match for the next week's *Raw*, which Punk accepted. However, this was revealed to be a trap when Lesnar appeared prior to the match. The plan was foiled, however, when Heyman dared CM Punk to come into the ring and accept the challenge as CM Punk, who had anticipated the trap and hid under the ring, emerged and attacked Lesnar. However, Punk failed to get his hands on Heyman as Curtis Axel came to Heyman's aid. This led to a match between Lesnar and Punk at SummerSlam, which Lesnar won after interference from Heyman.

Heyman and Axel delivered a brutal assault to Punk on *Raw* the following week, with Heyman breaking a kendo stick over Punk's back while Punk was handcuffed. Heyman was then booked to team with Axel against CM Punk in an elimination handicap match at Night of Champions. Heyman tried various times to get out of the match, which caused General Manager Brad Maddox to make the match into a no disqualification elimination handicap match. At Night of Champions, Punk eliminated Axel (who had been forced to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston earlier in the night), leaving Heyman alone with Punk. After receiving a beating from Punk and being placed in handcuffs, just as Heyman did to Punk weeks before, Punk was about to attack Heyman with a kendo stick when Ryback interfered and cost Punk the match by putting Punk through a table.

At Battleground, Punk pinned Ryback after a low blow. At Hell in a Cell, Punk defeated both Ryback and Heyman and, after the match, attacked Heyman on top of the cell, putting an end to their feud. On the November 11, 2013 episode of *Raw*, Heyman stated that he was no longer with Ryback, as Ryback never officially accepted his proposal to become a "Paul Heyman Guy". After that, CM Punk came out to once again beat Heyman with a kendo stick. The following night on *SmackDown*, Heyman formally announced to Curtis Axel and Ryback that they were no longer Paul Heyman guys, therefore marking the end of Axel's association with Heyman as he continued to team with Ryback. Heyman returned on the December 30 episode of *Raw* alongside Brock Lesnar, who attacked Mark Henry. He stood by Lesnar as he feuded with Big Show and The Undertaker in the first four months of 2014. Lesnar ended The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX; this was Undertaker's first loss at a WrestleMania, as he previously had a record of 21 wins.

On the *Raw* following WrestleMania, Cesaro revealed himself to be a "Paul Heyman Guy". Cesaro eventually declared himself no longer a "Paul Heyman Guy" on the July 21 episode of *Raw*. After Triple H announced that Randy Orton would challenge John Cena at SummerSlam, Roman Reigns came out and fought with Orton backstage. Heyman then came out and told Triple H to implement "Plan C" which was the return of Lesnar, who would have a match against Cena at SummerSlam. Lesnar defeated Cena at the pay-per-view to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

At the Royal Rumble, Heyman was at ringside when Lesnar retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Cena and Seth Rollins. At WrestleMania 31 Heyman was at ringside when Lesnar defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the 2015 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns, but Lesnar was unsuccessful as Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and made the match a Triple Threat match. Rollins pinned Reigns for the win. The next night on *Raw*, Lesnar was suspended after he demanded a rematch for the title and attacked several innocent people.

In June, Heyman and Lesnar returned to the WWE after Lesnar was named the #1 contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, igniting a feud between Lesnar and Rollins. At WWE Battleground, Lesnar defeated Rollins by disqualification, after The Undertaker returned and attacked Lesnar. The Undertaker further explained his actions as revenge not for defeating the streak but over Heyman's constant taunting. At SummerSlam, Heyman was at ringside when the match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker ended in controversy; the bell was rung as The Undertaker tapped out, but the referee did not see it. This allowed The Undertaker to defeat Lesnar after he passed out to the *Hell's Gate*. At Hell in a Cell, Heyman was present when Lesnar defeated Undertaker in the rematch, ending their feud.

Heyman returned with Brock Lesnar on the January 11, 2016 *Raw*, and was ringside with Lesnar for the Royal Rumble. Lesnar was eliminated in the match by Bray Wyatt, after interference by the rest of The Wyatt Family. He accompanied Lesnar to the ring at WrestleMania 32 with Lesnar defeating Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Lesnar and Heyman were drafted to *Raw*. Heyman returned alongside Lesnar on the August 1 episode of *Raw* hyping the Lesnar-Orton match at SummerSlam while Lesnar took an RKO from Randy Orton. On the October 31 episode of *Raw*, Heyman and Rusev confronted Goldberg. Heyman was speared by Goldberg and later taken by ambulance to a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. On the July 31, 2017 episode of *Raw*, Heyman appeared with Lesnar to announce to acting authority figure Kurt Angle that should Lesnar lose the championship at SummerSlam, they will both depart from the company. At Summerslam, Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way to retain the Universal Championship.

At Extreme Rules, Kurt Angle said that if Universal Champion Brock Lesnar did not show up for *Raw* or agree to the terms of when Lesnar will defend the championship, then he would be stripped of the championship. On the July 16, 2018 episode of *Raw*, Heyman interrupted Angle, who was about to strip Lesnar, and stated that Lesnar would hold on to the championship for however long he pleases. Angle then scheduled Lesnar to defend the championship at SummerSlam and if he did not, he would be indefinitely stripped. On the July 30 episode of *Raw*, Angle threatened Heyman's employment due to Lesnar's refusal to leave the backstage area and appear in the ring. After several failed attempts by Heyman to convince Lesnar to appear in the ring, Lesnar attacked Angle with an F5 and choked Heyman. Two weeks later on the August 13, 2018 episode of Raw, Heyman revealed it was all a ruse as both Heyman (wielding pepper spray) and Lesnar ambushed Roman Reigns. Heyman would accompany Lesnar going into SummerSlam, where Lesnar's 504 days reign as champion would come to an end after Lesnar was pinned by Reigns. Heyman would appear in a segment backstage the *Raw* after SummerSlam to invoke Lesnar's rematch clause against Roman Reigns for the Universal title at Hell in a Cell, but the rematch was denied by Kurt Angle. However, at the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View, Heyman appeared as Lesnar interfered with the main event match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. The next day, Heyman appeared on Raw, setting up a triple threat match at the Crown Jewel PPV between Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. However, following Reigns' leukemia announcement, Heyman would instead set up a singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the now-vacant title at the event.

At WrestleMania 35, Heyman came out just after the opening segment, demanding that Seth Rollins fights his client to start off the main card. Lesnar and Rollins appeared thereafter. Lesnar then severely beat up Rollins, before the match started. When the match finally started, Rollins ultimately won the match in under 5 minutes, carrying out a low blow when a referee was knocked down, and executing his finisher three times. In June 2019, WWE announced that Paul Heyman would be the new executive director of *Raw*. Heyman also appeared on *SmackDown* due to Lesnar being drafted to the brand in the 2019 WWE Draft in October, but shortly thereafter, Lesnar returned to *Raw*. On June 11, 2020, it was reported that Heyman had been removed from the executive director position of *Raw*.

On the August 28, 2020 episode of *SmackDown*, Heyman appeared in a backstage segment, allying himself with the returning Roman Reigns. After Brock Lesnar's return to WWE at SummerSlam 2021, Lesnar appeared in the September 3, 2021 episode of *SmackDown*, when Heyman was being interviewed by Kayla Braxton backstage. Lesnar called Heyman and asked him to deliver a message to Roman Reigns. Later that night, Heyman delivered the message to Reigns that Lesnar would be on the following Friday night on *SmackDown*. On the September 10 episode of *SmackDown*. Heyman almost received an *F5* from Brock Lesnar before Roman Reigns saved him. There was a match set up between Roman and Brock at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view, in which Roman retained via striking Brock with the Universal Championship title belt. On the December 17 episode of *SmackDown*, Reigns fired Heyman and attacked him. As Reigns was about to hit him with a steel chair, Lesnar saved him from being attacked.

On the January 3, 2022 episode of *Raw*, Heyman once again aligned himself with Lesnar after he had won the WWE Championship two days earlier at Day 1. The reunion lasted until Royal Rumble, when Heyman handed Reigns the WWE Championship to hit Lesnar with, allowing Bobby Lashley to win the title from him in the process.  After the match, Heyman and Reigns left the ring together.