(As written by Alex Marvez)
Paul Heyman is still hustling.
One of pro wrestling’s most influential figures over the past 20 years, Heyman is now focused on a new challenge. He is the star of an Internet-based reality/entertainment venture called The Heyman Hustle being showcased by The Sun, a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid based in the United Kingdom.
It is filmed in New York City. Heyman puts to good use the gift of gab that made him one of grappling’s greatest managers. He interviews B-list celebrities like “Survivor” cast members, James Lipton and Ice T and his wife Coco as well as eccentric Manhattanites. The result: Amusing five- to 10-minute vignettes that have the same rapid pacing of his Extreme Championship Wrestling shows in the 1990s.
“I want to find the ordinary in the extraordinary and the extraordinary in the ordinary,” Heyman said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “I want to talk music with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to find out what songs affect their moods and emotions because it may show the mechanics behind their mood swings or motivation. And as long as they have charisma, I want to talk with the hot-dog vendor and pizza maker about politics and their views of the world.
“The whole thing is about the hustle. Nothing ever is what it appears to be.”
Heyman isn’t completely disconnected from pro wrestling, commenting on the genre through the blog on his Web site (www.heymanhustle.com). But Heyman says he has no desire to resume working in the industry after leaving his World Wrestling Entertainment scriptwriting role in December 2006 following creative differences with the company.
“I absolutely believe I can out-book anyone in the industry today, but it’s a one-brand business right now,” said Heyman, referring to WWE’s dominance in the marketplace. “That brand runs differently than the type of writing and mechanisms that I use.
“I have no bitterness about the wrestling industry. I’ve lived out every dream and had the time of my life. But it wasn’t fun anymore. My time was up.”
Heyman’s legacy lives on through ECW, although the promotion is far different now than when he assumed matchmaking chores in 1993. Despite being hamstrung with limited budgeting and television exposure, Heyman revolutionized wrestling by introducing talent and diverse styles like hard-core and lucha-flavored bouts that hadn’t gained footholds in the United States. Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam and two late WWE champions — Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit — all received their career breaks in ECW.
Yet the promotion couldn’t survive in an extremely competitive marketplace. WWE and World Championship Wrestling copied many of Heyman’s ideas and signed away talent that ECW couldn’t afford to keep. Heyman was forced to sell the promotion to WWE in 2001 and began working for the company as an announcer, manager (current Ultimate Fighting Championship star Brock Lesnar was his protege) and writer.
Heyman was part of ECW’s re-launch in 2005, but it quickly became clear his vision of the promotion was markedly different than that of WWE owner Vince McMahon. Heyman was removed from power as ECW (10 p.m. EDT Tuesdays, Sci-Fi) morphed into what is essentially a blah training ground for young WWE talent.
“You can cry all day long that the show is not ECW and shouldn’t be called ECW,” Heyman said. “But it’s (WWE’s) product. They bought it and have every right to do what they want with it. There’s nothing you can do about it, so why get upset over it? I’m not emotionally attached to the letters because there’s nothing to be attached to anymore.”
Now a 42-year-old father of two, the former Paul E. Dangerously has shifted his focus toward expanding the Heyman Hustle through the broadband medium and other new technology. Heyman also is working on a documentary and writing a movie script that he describes as “a political thriller set in the South.”
“My dreams are not confined to pro wrestling,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of other dreams, too. Now is the time to chase them.”
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