ESPN is currently featuring an interview with Paul Heyman, conducted by Brian Campbell of ESPN.com and the Cheap Heat Podcast. In an article titled, “Paul Heyman defines the art of the wrestling promo,” Campbell looks back on Heyman’s 35+ year career and the elements that comprise a captivating wrestling promo that engages viewers and draws money.
“Credibility. Authenticity. Believing in everything that you are saying,” Heyman said. “It’s something that some people are born with and don’t know how to tap into. And it’s something some people are not born with, but once they feel the affirmation of the crowd … [they] get that rush.”
“It’s sex. It’s music,” Heyman added. “And there’s a rhythm to it, and there’s an interaction to it. There’s something very deeply personal about it as well. So once you tap into that you’re hooked, and you seek that every time you dare open your mouth in a public forum.”
There’s much more to the article, including WWE’s reliance on scripts, the level of creative freedom he’s afforded with his own promos and what it’s like working with Vince McMahon. Check out the full interview over at ESPN.com.
Meanwhile, the timing of ESPN’s article about his unparalleled ability on the microphone was not lost on Mr. Heyman. His promo on last night’s WWE RAW from Minneapolis did not go exactly as planned. Heyman did his best to get the crowd to support Goldberg, but it just wasn’t happening in Lesnar’s hometown. There were some brief “Goldberg” chants, but they were drowned out by chants of Suplex City and Goldberg Sucks. Heyman tweeted on Tuesday evening:
Thank God the reporters at @WWEonESPN @ESPN didn't see my promo last night or they'd pull this story IMMEDIATELY! https://t.co/nzkPNmzs7t
– Paul Heyman will be appearing on ESPN SportsCenter on Wednesday night for the “Off The Top Rope” segment with Jonathan Coachman.
– SmackDown Superstar Simon Gotch turns 34 years old today.
– James Ellsworth now has his own t-shirt at WWE Shop.
– In recognition of Sasha Banks and Charlotte headlining WWE Hell in a Cell later this month, the official event poster is currently on display in the lobby of WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT:
Paul Heyman appeared on tonight’s RAW and issued a challenge to Bill Goldberg to face off against Brock Lesnar in a WWE ring.
No word yet on when the match will take place but it’s been reported that it will happen at Survivor Series next month. Heyman is now awaiting a response from Goldberg.
WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Brock Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman will be appearing live on tonight’s RAW from Oakland, CA. WWE.com is teasing:
“Will the audacious associate of The Beast Incarnate reveal Lesnar’s next move, or perhaps his next opponent? There’s been rampant speculation on social media about when The Anomaly will re-emerge and who will face his wrath. Tonight, we just might get an answer.”
Heyman’s appearance coincides with tomorrow’s WWE 2K17 release, featuring Brock Lesnar on the cover and a “Suplex City” theme.
As reported last week, Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle brand recently joined Snapchat and can be followed @HeymanHustle.
Join us here later tonight for our WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion.
Paul Heyman took to Twitter this afternoon to comment on the Bill Goldberg interview from ESPN’s Sportscenter Off The Top Rope Segment, he posted the following.
– The big WWE 2K17 exclusive that Paul Heyman and his Heyman Hustle websitewere hyping on Monday night was a first look at the game’s My Career mode. You can see video above, the feature looks pretty badass.
– A hot topic across the country this summer has been mainstream sports stars protesting during the National Anthem by taking a knee or raising their fists. After last night’s Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles NFL game, Randy Orton took to Twitter and commented on the protests. The Viper tweeted the following in response to sports editor Dave Zirin:
If you're sneering that it doesn't take courage to raise your fist during the anthem, then you're one of the reasons why it takes courage.
Sneering? More like shaking my head. Courage? Lol riiiight. Courage. Thats what it takes to stand up and fight, not raise a fist. https://t.co/DqQt11cNmS
ESPN has published an article looking at CM Punk’s upcoming UFC debut. The feature includes quotes from several pro wrestling personalities, including Seth Rollins, Ryback, Paul Heyman and more. Here are some highlights of what they said:
Seth Rollins: “He’s a guy who led the charge for a long time. He’s one of the first indie guys in a long, long time to really shake [up] the main roster in WWE and he paved the way for Daniel Bryan, for myself, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, and those guys…Say what you will about his attitude and his relationship with the company right now, but I wish him the best and I hope that he is successful — win, lose or draw.”
Ryback: “From a basic human being standpoint, he is showing courage doing something the majority of people on this planet will never do and that is step in a cage and fight in front of millions of people. I respect he wants to test himself and has the courage to do so. For that reason alone, while I don’t condone him saying the things he said about me, I want to him do well. Any man can beat another man on any given night, so I just hope he achieves what he is looking for in this and I will leave it at that.”
Paul Heyman: “Any conversation that I had with CM Punk dating back, even when he was still in WWE and was dreaming of getting involved in mixed martial arts, is that he was doing a switchover of careers from becoming a sports entertainer to becoming a full-time, career-oriented mixed martial artist.
Punk will face Mickey Gall (2-0) this Saturday night at UFC 203 from Cleveland, Ohio.
Both men were at Thursday’s UFC 203 media event from Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Here’s footage of their first official stare down:
A lot of people on social media have been commenting on Punk’s appearance. The weight cut has not been very forgiving to Punk and Gall looks a lot healthier at this weight than the former WWE Champion. The weigh-ins take place tomorrow from the Quicken Loans Arena.
– The newest Paul Heyman Guy has been revealed at HeymanHustle.comand was spotted with Heyman in New York City this weekend.
– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch (Sunny) will not be sentenced to any jail time as a result of her 3 DUI’s from last year, according to TMZ Sports. Each DUI carried a maximum of 90 days in jail. The judge sentenced her to a total of 90 days jail time for the DUI’s, but cut her a huge break by applying the 97-days she spent in rehab earlier this year to the sentence.
Additionally, she’s been sentenced to 5 years parole with bi-weekly alcohol testing, 125 hours of community service and roughly $2,100 in fines. The judge made it clear that there will be zero tolerance moving forward one slip-up will land her in jail.
Sunny says she’s 152 days sober and is committed to staying on a positive path.
– Big Show says he plans to retire after next year’s WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view from Orlando. During an appearance on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket (Miami) earlier this week, WWE’s largest athlete confirmed that he’s currently training for his match against Shaquille O’Neal. At 44, he feels better than he did ten years ago. His goal is to get into the best shape he possibly can for the match with Shaq and then ride off into the sunset.
– Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustlewebsite has published an exclusive video of the recent Bikini Invitational pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley was right in the middle of the action, along with NFL star Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, former OVW wrestler Jen Thomas and a bunch of super models.
Tonight’s SmackDown Live will feature the return of a former Superstar and an appearance from a RAW Superstar, as first reported by PWInsider.com.
Bryan Myers, formerly known as Curt Hawkins, is currently backstage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and is expected to return tonight. Myers is a former WWE tag team champion along with SmackDown star Zack Ryder. He last worked with WWE back in 2014 when he had a short stint in NXT. He’s been working the independent scene ever since and runs the Create A Pro wrestling academy in Hicksville, New York. He reportedly re-signed with WWE back in June.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are also backstage and are scheduled for tonight’s broadcast. Obviously, they’ll be there to address Randy Orton’s surprise appearance at the conclusion of last night’s RAW, which Orton him deliver an RKO [out of nowhere] to the Beast Incarnate.
Join us here later tonight for SmackDown Live Results & Discussion.
– Paul Heyman has confirmed reports that he’ll be returning to WWE television tonight on RAW. Heyman will be there to hype his client Brock Lesnar’s upcoming match against Randy Orton at SummerSlam.
The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar is scheduled for Monday’s WWE RAW from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. However, he won’t be alone. Lesnar will be be joined by his Advocate, Paul Heyman, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.
Heyman will be on hand to promote Lesnar’s SummerSlam match against Randy Orton 3 weeks from tonight. As noted last week, WWE is now advertising Lesnar for the 8/15 episode of RAW, just days before the match.
Join us here throughout SummerSlam weekend for our in-person coverage from Brooklyn, New York.
– The local competitor who was brutalized by Braun Strowman last night on RAW was Iowa-based indy wrestler Rob Matter. We’ve been reporting that WWE was looking to utilize more enhancement talent to build up Superstars and this was a great example of how effective it can be. The pre-match interview with Matter was also a nice touch, as it gave us a reason to root for him and understand what would compel him to step in the ring with the Wyatt Family monster.
– Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website has released the latest episode of the Heyman Hustle video series, which features exclusive footage from the sold out Night Two of his recent “Inside The Ropes” one-man tour from Manchester, England:
Not only was the recent “An Evening With Paul Heyman” UK tour a smashing success, but it also yielded several interesting news items.
First, Heyman invited British wrestling sensation Will Ospreay on stage in London and offered him a contract to wrestle for Gabe Sapolsky’s EVOLVE promotion (when he finishes up his other commitments). Footage was circulating online capturing the incredible moment, but now Paul’s Heyman Hustle website has posted exclusive video of what went down, which you can view here.
Later in the night during a Q&A session, a fan asked about the creative process behind Brock Lesnar conquering The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak. Heyman’s answer caught virtually everyone off guard:
Paul Heyman is over in the UK this week for his first ever tour of one-man shows titled, An Evening with Paul Heyman. At Tuesday night’s kickoff event from York Hall in London, Heyman invited his special guest Will Ospreay on stage and heaped praise on the British wrestling sensation.
Heyman encouraged Ospreay to continue practicing his craft and building his worldwide reputation while working for New Japan Pro Wrestling. However, after speaking with his former protégé Gabe Sapolsky about Will’s unbelievable talent, Heyman made a jaw dropping offer that must have blown away the high flier – when he finishes up his commitments with NJPW, he’s got a contract waiting for him to wrestle for EVOLVE.
Aside from featuring some of the most state of the art wrestling anywhere, EVOLVE’s working relationship with WWE makes the offer even more enticing.
The An Evening With Paul Heyman tour continues tomorrow 7/13 from Manchester and finishes Friday night in Glasgow, Scotland. For more information, visit InsideTheRopes.co.uk.
– Rue-Morgue.com reports that filming has wrapped on horror-action movie “Mohawk” in upstate NY. The movie features WWE Superstar Luke Harper, billed under his real name – John Huber. Harper, who has been out of action with a leg injury, commented on how filming the movie was an incredible physical challenge for him:
“This state park where we’ve been shooting is freaking beautiful, but running around and crossing cricks and running up hills and navigating logs and stuff like that has not been the best times for the leg [laughs]. But I’ve survived.”
– Paul Heyman tweeted this exclusive photo of Brock Lesnar following his UFC 200 victory over Mark Hunt on Saturday:
– The Dudleyz had fans talking on social media this weekend with the following photo, which responds to the “Lives Matter” discussion going on around the country:
– Dusty Rhodes will be inducted by Magnum TA into the Hall of Heroes 2016 Class during the NWA Legends Fanfest weekend in Charlotte, NC on 8/5. Cody Rhodes tweeted that his mom and sister will be there for the induction.
– Paul Heyman tweeted these details on an exclusive Brock Lesnar WWE 2K17 contest with WWE Games and Game Stop. Fans can visit their local Game Stop store to take a photo with the 2K17 Lesnar standee, then tweet that out with the proper hashtags. The winner receives two WrestleMania 33 tickets, airfare & hotel, $500 spending money and more. Full details are at this link from Heyman:
– Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn fill out their WWE Cruiserweight Classic brackets in these new videos. Crews has his friend Akira Tozawa going all the way while Sami believes Kota Ibushi has the upperhand.
– Paul Heyman is over in the UK this week for his series of An Evening With Paul Heyman one-man shows. The scheduled dates include 7/11 from London, 7/12 from Manchester and 7/15 Glasgow.
Will Ospreay caught word that Heyman would be in town and mentioned that he might be checking out Heyman’s show from the famed York Hall. Heyman responded that Ospreay is invited to be his personal guest at the show.
Only just heard @HeymanHustle is in the York Hall tomorrow. Might have to pop in. Would love to hear his thoughts & stories of the business
— Will Ospreay • ????????? (@WillOspreay) July 11, 2016
– There’s speculation on Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman possibly appearing on RAW to capitalize off Lesnar’s UFC 200 win over Mark Hunt but Heyman won’t be there as he’s headed to the UK for his one-man shows with Inside The Ropes.
– Nikki Bella is still eyeing a WWE ring return later this year. She tweeted the following last night and revealed that her final CAT Scan is soon:
Final CAT scan on neck in a few weeks… So can't wait! ??? N #stayfearless
– ECW Originals Joel Gertner, Tommy Dreamer and Taz are among those interviewed for WWE’s “OMG! ECW’s Top 50 Craziest Moments” DVD and Blu-ray that releases on 11/15.
– Paul Heyman will be releasing a new Brock Lesnar UFC 200 interview tonight. He tweeted the following teaser:
– Santino Marella is featured in The Huffington Post’s newest Uber Experiment video, seen below. The former WWE IC Champion talks about his wrestling career, family and more:
Paul Heyman is doing the media rounds this week to promote Brock Lesnar on the cover of WWE 2K17 and as always, delivered a few quotes that make you do a double-take.
Heyman is headed to the UK next month for his first-ever tour of one man shows titled, An Evening With Paul Heyman. With Donald Trump making international headlines by appearing in Scotland the day after the big Brexit vote, Heyman wants to debate the Presidential candidate 1-on-1.
Below are tweets from Heyman and audio from Capital FM radio:
Paul Heyman was recently interviewed by ESPN where the main topic of conversation was Brock Lesnar. Heyman said Lesnar’s UFC return is the “greatest thing to ever happen to him” because competition is “in his blood.”
The topic of conversation moved to WWE and their upcoming draft. Heyman put over how big of a deal it is that SmackDown is going live on Tuesday nights, and what WWE needs to do to make sure the brand split isn’t “doomed”
“I think it’s paramount. SmackDown has to come across as a brand that is truly competing with Monday Night Raw. If the brand is not competitive with WWE in terms of talent, production, look, presentation — just in terms of the manner in which the announcers get to describe the product — it’s doomed,” Heyman said. “But I don’t see it going down that way. Vince McMahon is not known for doing things half-ass and I’m sure that the directive within WWE is that as of July 19 when this brand split happens there will be an equal and distinctive roster on each side and that they are going to compete.”
The former ECW promoter was also asked about Roman Reigns, who was suspended last week for failing a drug test under the WWE Wellness Policy.
“I don’t know any better advice I can give someone than to say I make no excuses and I own this,” Heyman said of the Wellness Policy violation. “That’s called accountability and it’s the same thing I teach my children. The man took accountability for his actions.
You can read Heyman’s entire interview with ESPN here.
– Part 2 of Paul Heyman’s exclusive interview with Brock Lesnar will be released later today at HeymanHustle.com.
– Prior to Monday’s RAW from New Orleans, WWE taped Sasha Banks vs. Summer Rae and Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger for this week’s Superstars.
– Jim Ross noted several weeks back that he had went in for an in-patient skin cancer procedure and that the cancer was removed. JR posted the following update this week:
Good day. Getting stitches removed for skin cancer issue. All clear. ??
Earlier today, Brock Lesnar appeared on ESPN to announce that his opponent at UFC 200 next month will be Mark Hunt.
Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman just announced on Twitter that he will have an Exclusive interview with Brock –and it will drop tonight at 7pm Eastern / 4 pacific. The interview will be available on Heyman’s website, HeymanHustle.com.
Heyman promises that Brock Lesnar opens up like never before in this 1-on-1 interview.