TMZ Sports caught up with Lesnar’s WWE advocate, Paul Heyman, to get his thoughts on Ngannou – and others, like Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder – calling out his client.
Heyman says he’s not surprised that so many people are coming out of the woodwork and throwing Brock Lesnar’s name around. It’s WrestleMania season and Brock Lesnar is the biggest box office attraction in all of professional sports. It’s one thing to throw out empty challenges – it’s another thing to actually stand toe-to-toe with The Beast.
Fans saw on RAW what happened to Roman Reigns when he got too close to Lesnar – and Francis Ngannou wouldn’t fare any better than Reigns did.
You can check out Heyman’s awesome promo below. Visit MMANews.com for read what Francis Ngannou had to say about WWE’s Beast Incarnate.
In his first match since the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar returned to the ring on Saturday night at a WWE live event in Chicago, Illinois.
His return, however, was brief as “The Beast” beat Kane with the F-5 in just 35 seconds at the United Center.
You can watch the match in its entirety in the video below.
Earlier in the week, Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman did not appear on Raw as originally scheduled. His absence led to an angle where his WrestleMania 34 opponent, Roman Reigns, revealed that Lesnar never came to the arena for their scheduled confrontation. Reigns called Lesnar “an entitled piece of crap who hides behind his contract” and lambasted him for what he claimed was a disrespectful attitude toward fans and WWE.
Tonight (Feb. 25) the Elimination Chamber event takes place live on the WWE Network and pay-per-view. The men’s EC match will determine Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania challenger for the WWE Universal Championship. Participating in the match will be Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, John Cena, The Miz, and Elias.
The advocate for “The Beast Incarnate” doesn’t appear too worried about his client’s next foe. Paul Heyman took to Twitter and offered an apology ahead of time. Lesnar will be appearing on Monday Night Raw tomorrow night and he will confront the men’s EC winner.
Every year on the road to WrestleMania, the WWE likes to remind fans of the humble beginnings of “The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment.” It’s no secret that Vince McMahon took a risk when he invested in the mega pay-per-view event in 1985.
McMahon did everything he could to ensure that the first WrestleMania felt like an extravaganza. That means he had to pour a significant amount of money into the event. Had WrestleMania I been a flop, McMahon likely would’ve been out of the wrestling business and the WWE would’ve gone under. Below is a preview of the WWE Network special, WrestleMania Rewind:
TMZ Sports caught up with Paul Heyman this week, who commented on the possibility of Brock Lesnar returning to UFC, if he would advocate for Ronda Rousey in WWE and who he’s eyeing as the next Paul Heyman Guy (or gal).
This Sunday at Elimination Chamber, 7 of RAW’s top Superstars will battle to determine who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania. In the months following WM34, it’s rumored that Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract will expire and he’ll be free to fight for the UFC again, if that’s something he’s interested in.
When asked if we’ll see Brock step inside the Octagon again, Paul Heyman said Brock Lesnar will do whatever he wants to do. Lensar’s last UFC fight took place back in July 2016. TMZ’s reporter questioned if two years away from fighting would work against The Beast. Heyman argues the contrary.
“The time away makes him better because the time away gives his body a chance to heal,” Heyman proclaimed. “The problem with these UFC fighters – and they’re all fantastic athletes, top of the line in the entire world – is that they wear their bodies down in these training camps. All these guys that are cutting weight are destroying their own bodies.”
Many fans have speculated that Paul Heyman would make a great mouthpiece for Ronda Rousey. It’s an intriguing prospect, but Heyman doesn’t sound like he’s eyeing Rousey as his next client. “Why limit the people that I have my eye on to Ronda Rousey?” Heyman questioned. “I have my eye on anyone who is a top box office attraction. I have my eye on Enes Kanter of the New York Knicks.”
Heyman definitely sees potential in Enes Kanter, who he’s dubbed “The Baddest Dude In The NBA.” The 6-foot-11 Knicks center couldn’t be happier to be dubbed the latest Paul Heyman Guy.
Let it be noted for the record, I have my eye on @nyknicks @Enes_Kanter, the Baddest Dude in the @NBA. And Ladies and Gentlemen, my assessment in that regard is UNDISPUTED! https://t.co/yCHqTxRC2f
– As we’ve mentioned, former WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Universal Champion Goldberg will be inducted into the 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame Class. It has not officially been announced who will be inducting Goldberg, however, PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson is reporting that Paul Heyman is being rumored as the man for the job. Here’s what he had to say:
“This word is that Paul Heyman will be inducting Goldberg into the Hall of Fame. I don’t know how that makes any sense but that’s the story making the rounds. I guess they are both Jewish? I don’t know. I don’t get it.”
– Last night the final match of the first round of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge tournament took place. WWE has announced its second round (quarterfinals) match-ups here:
Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. The Miz & Asuka
Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss vs. Jimmy Uso & Naomi
Rusev & Lana vs. Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair
Next week’s first quarterfinals match-up will be between Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. The Miz & Asuka:
– Paul Heyman took to Twitter to respond to RAW commentator Corey Graves’ comments on last night’s show, and doubled down on his claim that Universal Champion Brock Lesnar does not fear Braun Strowman. Strowman will be one of seven men to compete in this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match; which also includes Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Elias, The Miz, and John Cena. The winner of the match will go on to challenge “The Beast” for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 34:
– WWE posted a video of former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey as she prepares to sign her RAW contract at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend on the WWE Network. The video features comments from Stephanie McMahon and Charlotte Flair, as well as some footage from Rousey’s professional wrestling training. Check it out:
– In case you haven’t seen them yet, Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website has a must-see photo gallery from the Universal Championship match at last month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Heyman wrote on Twitter, “I have advocated for more #WWE champions than anyone in history. Spent the majority of my time in #WWE screaming “reigning defending …
No one in history matches Brock Lesnar’s level of dominance. No one. #WrestleMania #April8 #NewOrleans #BrockLesnar”
– Both Sasha Banks and Bayley took to Twitter ahead of their “friendly competition” match tonight on Monday Night RAW. Here’s what the two women had to say:
Former WWE and IMPACT Wrestling star Ken Anderson (also known as Mr. Kennedy) recently made an appearance on Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac12360. During their conversation Anderson discussed what it was like working with Paul Heyman when he was in OVW:
“First, when I was doing tryouts, I remember one day we were in the ring working just all the indie guys and the only two people sitting in the front row were Paul Heyman and Jim Ross. Guys were getting in [the ring] doing chain wrestling which was fine, but they just weren’t showing character. I got in there and I started putting heat on somebody, talking smack. Fast forward, Jim Cornette got released from the company and they said Paul Heyman was coming in and he’s gonna run OVW and he’s gonna run all the TV and everything. I remember he came in and said, ‘I need to talk to you.’
“[He] pulled me into a room and said, ‘You’re the next guy up… I have been a fan of yours,I’ve had my eye on you.’ At that point I been there for 6 months and he said, ‘We’re gonna do so much stuff with you on TV here that they’re gonna have to take you onto the main roster.’ Five weeks later Tommy Dreamer called me and said, ‘Hey they want to take a look at you on Smackdown. In that case Paul was correct, and I just continued to be friends with Paul.”
He also revealed that he would occasionally call Heyman for advice during his run in TNA Wrestling:
“After I got released [from WWE] and went to TNA, a lot of people don’t know this, but they would a lot of times hand me a script and I would call Paul and say, ‘Hey here’s what they gave me, I am not digging it, what can we do?’ Almost every week and he would say, ‘Give me a couple minutes and I’ll write something up for you.’ A couple minutes later he would have an email to my inbox. We just kinda collaborated, it was really cool. He’s a great guy.”
Now Anderson runs a wrestling school and enjoys passing on his knowledge of the business to the next generation:
“To me it’s not work, it is fun. I enjoy it especially when the students are really into it and it’s a really good atmosphere and everyone is having fun. It’s not work and I put a lot of time in it. We wanted to have a place that… we sorta designed it on a way lighter budget obviously, we looked at what the performance center is doing and how do we take that to an independent level.”
Molly Holly is a trainer at Anderson’s school and reacted to Holly’s appearance in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match:
“What a huge reaction from the people in the room, when they saw one of their coaches [Molly] come out as one of the entrances of the first ever women’s Royal Rumble. Which I must say, in my humble opinion, that was the match of the night, those women crushed it.”
You can listen to Anderson’s appearance on X-Pac12360 here by clicking this link.
– Paul Heyman had some high praise for Braun Strowman over the weekend. After witnessing first-hand what Strowman was capable of at the Royal Rumble last month, Heyman wrote on Facebook,
“Just for the record, this is one seriously talented and credible contender. Braun Strowman’s upside is … dare I say … MONSTROUS!”
Heyman’s official Heyman Hustle website just posted a new batch of photos (courtesy fo photographer Bruno Miguel Silveira) from the Royal Rumble that are really worth checking out.
– WWE posted a video of Nia Jax cutting a promo on the competitors involved in the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. Jax is currently set to face first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV), and if she wins she’ll be added to the RAW Women’s Title match at WrestleMana – making it a Triple Threat match:
– RAW exclusive PPV Backlash will go down on May 6th in Newark, New Jersey from the Prudential Center. WWE has announced tickets will go on sale for the event on February 24th.
– A fan on Twitter recently asked 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Bully Ray who he’d like to have induct he and D-Von Dudley into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. Ray responded by saying that if it were up to him he’d have everyone who was in the ECW Arena in February of 1997 – where he and D-Von hit their first 3D – induct them. However, since it’s a WWE Hall Of Fame he admitted names like Paul Heyman, Edge & Christian, or The Hardy Boyz would also be good options:
If it was totally up to me, I would want something completely different.
I would have every fan who was in the ECW Arena in Feb. ‘97 who saw me and Devon hit our first 3D induct us.
– Rusev has been training Lana hard ahead of their Mixed Match Challenge bout against the team of Elias and Bayley next week. WWE posted the following video of Rusev having Lana break boards in preparation for the match:
With reality setting in that Ronda Rousey is a WWE Superstar and will be the showpiece of WWE’s Women’s division for years to come, many are hypothesizing potential feuds for the former Women’s Bantamweight champion.
Another scenario that’s come up is the prospect of Brock Lesnar’s Advocate, Paul Heyman, providing similar services to the “Rowdy” WWE newcomer.
Last year (March 30, 2017), Heyman appeared on the Fight Society Podcast to discuss the possibility of Ronda Rousey in WWE. At the time, when asked if he’d be interested in working with Rousey, he sounded interested.
“I’d love to see it and would be happy to discuss with her all of the benefits that she could inure by being a Paul Heyman girl.” – Paul Heyman
WWE’s evil genius was also asked about prospective match-ups for Rousey in WWE.
“I would personally pay to see Charlotte [Flair] versus Ronda Rousey, “Heyman said. “I would personally pay to see Stephanie McMahon versus Ronda Rousey for a completely different reason but why digress. I think Ronda Rousey doing anything in WWE is a natural fit.”
The fact that we could very likely see Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte or even Rousey vs. Stephanie is still surreal, but we’re not complaining.
You can listen the full interview of Paul Heyman’s thoughts on Ronda Rousey in WWE (from last year) here:
Do you think Ronda Rousey should align herself with Paul Heyman? Comment below and tell us what you think!
If you’re attending WrestleMania weekend from New Orleans this April, business just picked up.
Kenny McIntosh from Inside The Ropes announced on Monday that the one and only Paul Heyman will be hosting a one-man show on Thursday night, April 5th from the Joy Theater.
Brock Lesnar’s Advocate, the evil genius of WWE, will also be holding a rare meet and greet session before the show.
Tickets are on sale next Tuesday, February 5th at 12pm (Eastern) at InsideTheRopes.co.uk.
I'm so happy to finally announce that INSIDE THE ROPES will be kicking off WM weekend in New Orleans with the one and only @HeymanHustle The Advocate will have a live mic, there'll be a rare opportunity for meet n greets to meet the man himself. THIS WILL BE MUST SEE! pic.twitter.com/5o6686chwT
Paul Heyman had some strong praise for WWE Champion AJ Styles after AJ’s loss to WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at last night’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. (Video below)
Heyman says he’s shocked at the loss because he’s been a fan of AJ before you were supposed to be a fan of AJ. Heyman says AJ is more phenomenal than he’s supposed to be, and if you”re not a fan of AJ then you shouldn’t be watching WWE. Heyman says AJ is what WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels were to their generations, but he’s updated it and evolved their styles to truly be the single most phenomenal in-ring performer Heyman has ever had the honor and pleasure of watching up-close. Heyman says he’s been doing this his entire life but no one has done anything in the ring that compared to what he saw at Survivor Series.
Heyman says he has nothing but respect and admiration for AJ, which is why he thanked God when the match was made against Lesnar because it’s one thing to eat through an entire division but it’s another thing to step into the ring with AJ and show the world that you can conquer those hopes, those dreams, that intensity, that underdog.
Heyman says yes, Rocky lost at the end of the movie but he won the respect of the woman he loved. And AJ Styles continues to earn our respect every time he performs. Heyman says AJ just didn’t just perform, he fought and took the fight to The Beast like very few have. Heyman goes on and praises Lesnar as the reigning, defending, undisputed, #1 champion – then, now and forever.
– Below is the 2017 WWE Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show with Renee Young, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels and Peter Rosenberg plus in-ring action with Kalisto vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore, Elias vs. Matt Hardy and Breezango vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens.
– Paul Heyman tweeted the following on tonight’s big champion vs. champion match between WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and WWE Champion AJ Styles:
– Below is video of WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz arriving for tonight’s match with WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin. Miz says he’s never been more focused in his entire career than he is tonight. Miz says Corbin has talked about his pregnant wife so he will learn respect in WWE tonight. Miz says he has earned every inch and every step, proving that the Intercontinental Title is the most honorable in WWE. Miz says tonight is not Corbin’s night, it’s his and always will be.
‘The Biggest Mouth In Wrestling’ Paul Heyman was recently interviewed by The Ringer where the Beast’s advocate talked about a number of topics related to his career in Pro Wrestling. Below are some of the highlights of his interview:
Staying relevant in the Pro wrestling industry:
“Tell me somebody who was in the NWA who was relevant then and relevant now. Sting’s not. Lex Luger’s not. It’s Ric Flair and Paul Heyman. Tell me someone from that entire era who is relevant today. Vince McMahon. Jerry Lawler. And of all those people that I’ve named, how many of them are in a prominent position on television today? The only one is me. So, how? The manner in which you were treated behind the scenes did not promote longevity. You were going to be used up and spit out. And here I am as the advocate of the number-one attraction, the highest-paid commodity, the top champion on the flagship show in the company that owns 99 percent of the market share. Obviously whatever I was doing back then, that people perceived as career suicide, gave me the ability to survive long enough to have a longevity that no one else enjoys.”
Being the number one believer in Extreme Championship Wrestling:
“I never looked at ECW as wrestling. I always considered it more of a theology. I don’t know whether I had or didn’t have a messianic complex during that time. But I bought into the movement as much as, if not more than, anybody else. If I sold anyone on the religion of extreme, I was its number-one customer.”
Working with anyone else aside from Brock Lesnar in WWE:
“As long as Brock is in WWE. I don’t think it makes sense to work with someone else.”
Managing The Undertaker before he took over the Dead Man persona in 1990:
“[He was] shockingly mature for someone so new to the industry.”
– As noted, tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw Charlotte Flair defeat Natalya to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion. She will now face RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss on Sunday at WWE Survivor Series. The post-match segment saw a surprise appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who came out to greet his daughter. Below is video from that segment:
– The dark match before tonight’s WWE SmackDown in Charlotte, NC saw Tye Dillinger, Fandango and Tyler Breeze defeat The Colons and Mike Kanellis.
– Paul Heyman tweeted the following in response to tonight’s SmackDown segment with WWE Champion AJ Styles and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan, who acted as AJ’s “personal advocate” to mock Heyman. AJ cut a promo on WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and was confident about slaying The Beast in their match at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Heyman wrote the following in response to the segment:
. @WWE Thank you @WWEDanielBryan for a most flattering imitation. I've never been compelled to imitate you, but why would I want to be YOU? Although, I must confess, I have nothing but respect for you. (and very little of that)! https://t.co/RKYqQlKuPN
– One fan took to Twitter to praise Paul Heyman for his promo hyping Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles at Survivor Series this weekend. Heyman responded by claiming he’s only just getting started on honing his craft on the mic, meaning WWE fans can expect far better promos from “The Advocate” in the coming years:
I always knew it would take a long long long long long long long time to hone this craft. You never stop learning in this (or any other) business. Just for the record, I'm just getting started! @WWE@BrockLesnar#SurvivorSerieshttps://t.co/xgsftQ7hOd
– WWE posted a video of SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Natalya firing off insults in Milan, Italy, while RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss responded to “The Queen Of Harts” from Mannheim, Germany during WWE’s European tour. Natalya and Bliss will meet at Survivor Series this weekend as part of the PPV’s RAW vs. SmackDown Live angle:
– Two WWE fans were engaged to be married during tonight’s WWE RAW from Atlanta, Georgia. WWE posted this video of the “she said yes!” chant during the segment with Paul Heyman and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and Heyman’s reaction:
– It was announced at tonight’s RAW from Atlanta that WWE NXT will be running live events from Center Stage, the former home of WCW Saturday Night, on Thursday January 4th, 2018 as well as Thursday, February 1st and Friday, February 2nd. PWInsider reports that the yellow brand will be taping TV episodes on those dates. NXT has ran non-televised live events at Center Stage in the past.
– Below is a new promo for Wednesday’s Total Divas episode as Lana’s in-ring struggles continue:
Paul Heyman spoke with Mike Rome backstage at No Mercy after Brock Lesnar’s successful WWE Universal Championship defense against Braun Strowman.
Rome asked how close Strowman was to victory and Heyman admitted the Monster almost conquered the Beast. Brock Lesnar respects no one, not even him, but he respects Braun Strowman’s size, strength, ability and talent.
Heyman says Braun Strowman will be champion one day – but he hopes it’s on SmackDown, because he never wants to see Braun standing on the other side of the ring from him or Brock Lesnar again.
Heyman says Lesnar is not once in a generation or once in a lifetime, he’s once ever. There’s no one that has ever compared to Lesnar in the history of the world and Heyman says Lesnar backs up all the praise that he gets.
Heyman says he proved that he can back it up by taking the biggest and the most deserving Superstar to Suplex City, hitting him with a F5 and pinning him.
Ex-WWE official Bruce Prichard took to his podcast, Something To Wrestle With, to discuss the rise of Paul Heyman in the WWE. During the show Prichard discussed why Heyman was removed as head-writer of SmackDown, his dislike for John Cena’s early rapper gimmick, Heyman aligning himself with Brock Lesnar, and how The McMahons offended Heymen when he visited their vacation home. Here are the highlights:
Removing Paul Heyman as head-writer of SmackDown:
“He didn’t make deadlines. He’d be late for Vince’s meetings. It was a combination of things that Paul was almost begging to be off of the team and begging to just be a talent and not have to worry about writing the show from week-to-week because writing the show from week-to-week also came with heat.” Prichard recalled, “Paul argued at every chance he got! Paul and Vince were oil and water and Paul just didn’t know when to quit!
“You would think it was over, and then you’d get [imitating Heyman], ‘allow me one more volley, sir.’ There had to just be some point when Vince said, ‘I’m done. No more. I’m done. I don’t want to see him anymore. I don’t want to hear him anymore. I don’t want him on the plane anymore. I don’t want him in the writers’ meeting anymore. I’m done.’ As far as having a five-year no-cut contract, I don’t know of anybody that had a no-cut contract at any time.”
Disliking John Cena’s rapper gimmick:
“To quote Paul Heyman, ‘you put the rap gimmick on Cena and you will kill John Cena’s career. Paul felt that the rap gimmick was going to be the death knell of John Cena and that it would stereotype him and pigeonhole him and he would never be able to work his way out of it. Hated the idea, went to Cena and told Cena, ‘they’re killing your career’, ‘don’t do it’, ‘it’s going to be bad’. And [Heyman] went to Vince and told Vince it’s going to kill [Cena] and the fact that Paul petitioned so hard against it probably helped Vince [decide], ‘yeah, let’s try it.’ And I think it worked out alright for him.”
Aligning himself with Brock Lesnar:
“Overall, I’m going to say him aligning himself with Brock Lesnar is without a doubt one of the most genius things Paul ever did for himself and Paul did for Brock Lesnar. They’ve done very well by each other.”
Being offended by the McMahons when Stephanie offered the writers cash to go get lunch, and when Linda offered Heyman water from their dispensary:
“We were downstairs deciding where to go and they had suggested this really nice restaurant down the road and Paul is like, ‘I guess we’re not good enough to eat in the family domicile! We’re just the help. Send the help out to get lunch. Send a few dollars their way and send them away to get their own lunch while we dine on fine cuisine prepared by the chef and have the staff wait on us!’” Prichard recalled, “so everybody except Paul and Dave Lagana went to this nice restaurant, little Italian place down the street, great food, a little pricey, but we weren’t paying for it! Paul and David go to Burger King and just pocket the rest of the money! Just classic Paul.”
“Linda just makes the comment, ‘so guys, there’s this water dispensary here – the water is ice cold. It’s all filtered and good, so you don’t have to keep going in to get a bunch of bottles of water. There [are] cups here, big cups, and everything, or just refill your water bottle, whatever you need, whatever is faster, easier, better, whatever, and you’re not having 50 water bottles all over the place.’ Well, Heyman took exception to that! [Imitating Heyman] ‘I guess we’re not good enough to drink their water. I will just bring my own water from now on, so for the rest of the trip, Paul brought like a big bottle of water, which normally he never would have drank, but because he was told, and he wasn’t told, ‘don’t drink our water’, it was just, ‘hey, there’s this other water over here.’ ‘I will bring my own water. Thank you, ma’am.’”
You can listen to the full “Paul Heyman in WWE” episode of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard here:
One of the must-see events of SummerSlam weekend was the Ringside With Jim Ross live show from the Gotham Comedy club on Friday night with special guest Paul Heyman.
As you may recall, this was the event that saw Heyman buy tempura shrimp for the crowd of over 300 fans (Video).
At the conclusion of the show, Heyman delivered an emotional speech about his longtime friend, who he credits for prolonging his career in the wrestling business and paving the way for his involvement with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He then spoke about the tragic loss of JR’s beloved wife Jan earlier this year. Being someone who values his own privacy, he questioned why JR would want to get on stage in such an intimate setting after experiencing such a difficult personal loss. We’ll let you watch the video to see JR’s response.
In a classy move at the end, Heyman wrapped up his speech and bid him and the audience farewell, allowing JR to end the show with the spotlight on him.
It’s not every day that one of the biggest names in wrestling buys you sushi, but if you were in attendance at Ringside With Jim Ross last night then you were in luck.
It’s SummerSlam weekend in New York City and Jim Ross hosted his traveling one-man-show Ringside with Jim Ross last night with special guest Paul Heyman. It was a night the sold-out crowd won’t soon forget as not only did they get to see Ross and Heyman up close and personal, but everyone in the building was also treated to an order of sushi from Heyman himself. During the show, the advocate for Brock Lesnar ordered enough shrimp tempura from the restaurant next door to feed over 300 people.
Fans who attended have been raving online about the show since Saturday night. Here are some of the photos, videos and reactions from the event:
Heyman will be in the house at WWE SummerSlam tonight where his client Brock Lesnar defends his Universal Title against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way match.
Heyman announces that he will be on Jim Ross’ “Ringside” show on August 18th
Paul Heyman appeared on Pix 11 News tonight with Scott Standford. Heyman announced that he will be appearing on Jim Ross’ show at the Gotham Comedy Club on Friday 8/18 during SummerSlam weekend. Tickets for this event are now on sale at GothamComedyClub.com.
Heyman also discussed his claims that he and Lesnar will leave WWE if Lesnar loses the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. Heyman said for that for the 7 years he ran ECW, he upheld stipulations and turned down pitched storylines where stipulations would be broken. Heyman stated that he was “authorized” to say that on RAW by Brock Lesnar and they will be gone if Lesnar loses at SummerSlam.
Heyman is pushing for Samoa Joe to win the Universal Championship
According to Justin Barasso of Sports Illustrated, Paul Heyman is reportedly pushing for Brock Lesnar to lose the Universal Championship to Samoa Joe later this month at WWE SummerSlam.
SI is also reporting that Brock Lesnar’s return to the UFC is imminent, but he will still work WWE’s Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 34. Barasso states that a loss at SummerSlam would grant Lesnar the time off to begin training for said rumored UFC return to fight against Jon Jones. As of now, Lesnar is still being advertised for the upcoming No Mercy PPV on September 24th.
Paul Heyman will be revealing some breaking news about WWE SummerSlam 2017 tonight. Heyman will be appearing on PIX 11 News in New York City tonight at 10:45 ET for the announcement. He’ll be speaking with WWE host and PIX 11 sports anchor Scott Stanford for the exclusive interview.
WWE SummerSlam takes place on August 20th in Brooklyn, NY and will feature Heyman’s client Brock Lesnar defending his Universal Title in a Fatal Four-Way against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Samoa Joe.
Heyman announced on Monday’s RAW that if Lesnar loses the Title at SummerSlam, they’ll both leave WWE.
RAW GM Kurt Angle kicked off this week’s episode of RAW and was greeted with a great reaction from his hometown crowd in Pittsburgh. Angle guaranteed that RAW would be a great show. Angle announced that Big Cass will face Big Show, his son Jason Jordan will be on Miz TV and the Triple Threat match between Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns & Samoa Joe for tonight’s show.
Angle stated that today marked the 21st anniversary of him winning a gold medal with a “broken freaking neck”. Angle said that he had his ups and downs, but he wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for everyone in the WWE Universe. Angle went to exit the ring but Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman interrupted. Lesnar and Heyman circled the ring and then finally joined Angle in the middle of the ring.
Heyman accused Angle of wanting to take the Universal Championship of Brock Lesnar because he placed him in a Fatal 4-Way at WWE SummerSlam. Heyman said that he believes all three Superstars will gang up on Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Heyman insisted that Angle has been told by his bosses that Lesnar must lose the title at SummerSlam. Heyman then stated that if Brock Lesnar loses his WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam, Lesnar and Heyman are leaving the WWE. Heyman then guaranteed that Brock Lesnar is walking out of SummerSlam still the Universal Champion.