7 People Paul Heyman has had legitimate heat with in WWE

Many younger fans will know Paul Heyman as "The Advocate" of WWE legend Brock Lesnar, but Heyman has had a much bigger impact than just being Lesnar's mouthpiece. The architect behind ECW, the extreme form of pro wrestling in the mid-90s, Heyman offered a different product to pro wrestling fans.

His expertise and knowledge of pro wrestling have had an overarching impact over the years, and he has been an integral part of WWE in various capacities. But, Heyman is someone who has rubbed some people the wrong way over the years, some of it is which is down to his shrewd and cunning business sense.

Here, we take a look at 7 people Paul Heyman has had legitimate heat with in WWE:

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#7, #6 & #5 AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Let's start with the latest real-life feud that Paul Heyman has had in WWE. The faction known as The OC, consisting of AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, were a part of WWE between 2016 and 2020 before Gallows and Anderson were let go by the company earlier this year.

The trio have alleged that Heyman was the one behind their releases, despite giving them assurances that they would be treated well on RAW when Heyman was the Executive Director.

Styles recently attacked Heyman on social media, calling him a liar, and one of the reasons why he left RAW for SmackDown.

"It was later, I told a friend what was said and he told me what he knew, which is that Gallows & Anderson weren't on the list, but Paul Heyman spoke out abundantly like 'we gotta get these guys out of here. We don't need them, they're getting paid too much.' The one thing Paul Heyman is good at is talking, he's very convincing. One thing led to another, Paul advocated to get them released. Their name wasn't on the list until Paul brought it up. I think the reason why he did what he did, well, he's just a liar, but it's because he knew he had nothing we wanted to do with them." (H/T Fightful)

Styles also said that the reason he left RAW for SmackDown was because he "couldn't stand looking at him", referring to Paul Heyman. He also said that not many people in WWE like Heyman.

#4 Jerry "The King" Lawler

Jerry Lawler and Paul Heyman's rivalry, of sorts, began way back in the late 80s when Heyman was known as Paul E. Dangerously and was a manager in various promotions.

The two didn't get along well at all, and Lawler even broke Heyman's jaw when he punched him. Paul Heyman revealed in an interview over a decade ago that Lawler broke his jaw before the scaffold match in 1987.

"Well, he broke my jaw before the scaffold match. He's always taken liberties with other people, especially those who by the nature of the situation had to place some trust in him."

Jim Ross has also spoken about this real-life rivalry between Paul Heyman and Jerry Lawler, where Lawler admitted to breaking Heyman's jaw on purpose:

"And I asked Lawler, he broke Paul Heyman’s jaw. And I asked him point blank, was it an accident or did you do it on purpose? ‘I did it on purpose,’ says Lawler."

Jim Ross also said that their disagreement could be because of cash or creative, but although they disliked each other, there was respect between the two.

#3 Stephanie McMahon

One of the two McMahon's that Paul Heyman reportedly clashed with heavily during Heyman's first run in the company between 2001 and 2006 is Stephanie McMahon.

Heyman and Stephanie were a part of the writing team in WWE, and the two apparently did not see eye-to-eye on various issues. Paul Heyman admitted in an interview in 2008 that he and Stephanie had disagreements on various issues:

"They weren’t rumours, Stephanie and I clashed heavily through most of my tenure in WWE. And I don’t think it should be a surprise that we did. I came into WWE just as Stephanie was taking over the writing team."

Jim Ross also spoke about this rivalry between Heyman and Stephanie in the mid-2000s, stating that the two had "a lot of philosophical differences".

"I know that she and Heyman had a lot of philosophical differences. And I’m sure that Paul got close to the edge on how far to take the argument before he backed away. Because he just was hellbent on getting his way. He was very defiant. Not that she wasn’t, but she had the right last name and he didn’t."

But, Paul Heyman revealed that Stephanie tried her best to keep him in WWE, offering him a role as a writer in WWE's developmental promotion, and was supportive. He also praised Stephanie for being a hard worker with a great work ethic.

#2 Ric Flair

In the 80s, when Paul Heyman was a young photographer, and then on-screen manager in pro wrestling, he encountered the legendary Ric Flair. The two, who have been in WWE a few times over the years, had a few run-ins in the 80s.

Jim Cornette, who was a part of WCW in the late 80s, revealed how Flair fired Heyman from the company, after the latter rambled on in his promo and "backhandedly saying how he is being mistreated and not being used to his fullest potential".

Cornette revealed that Flair was livid backstage when Heyman was cutting this promo for going off the script and Heyman was fired as soon as he got back.

PWTorch's Wade Keller also spoke about the real-life feud between Heyman and Flair recently on his podcast:

''Paul Heyman's gone and Ric Flair and Paul Heyman did not get along. They've had their ups and downs, and really big downs over the years dating back to late 80s and 90s. And for Ric to be the guy to come in to make Bruce Prichard look good at Paul Heyman's expense is interesting in that if Ric has the drawing power, he is using to help prop up a show post Heyman.''

#1 Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman have had an up-and-down relationship over the years. McMahon was paying Heyman to help out ECW in the 90s before the latter eventually joined WWE and worked under the WWE Chairman in the early 2000s.

McMahon and Heyman had a big falling out before Heyman's departure from the company in 2006, which resulted in him being sent home by McMahon. Numerous disagreements with Vince McMahon backstage resulted in him eventually leaving the company in 2006.

In an interview with The Sun (via 411Mania), Heyman said that he and Vince had a difference of opinion, which happens in business, but the WWE Chairman took it personally:

"There's nothing wrong with having those different visions, the problem was that Vince started to take the difference of opinion personally. So Vince didn't like working with me anymore and I didn't like working with Vince anymore. And it's his company, so obviously he has to stay!"

And it seems that almost 15 years later, the two have clashed heads once again, this time resulting in Heyman's dismissal as RAW Executive Director. Wrestling Observer recently reported that Vince McMahon did not like Paul Heyman, which eventually led to his sacking.

Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue also reported on Vince McMahon being unhappy with Paul Heyman:

"Vince McMahon has been unhappy with Paul Heyman for a while. There were a few different things at play; for example, they weren't particularly happy about Heyman's use of AJ Styles. They didn't have particular faith in some of the people Heyman wanted to push."

Edited by Kaushik Das