Paul Heyman and the need for more managers in the WWE

“I can sense things in people others don’t realize, see things in Superstars they themselves can't grasp quite just yet. That’s the magic of what I do. Because whether you like this fact, whether you believe it to be true or just a grandiose statement, whether you think this is hype, hyperbole or Heyman:My name is Paul Heyman, and there are plenty of “Paul Heyman Guys” out there in WWE right now ... even if some of them don’t know it yet!”

Paul Heyman is a universally recognized figure in the wrestling world, and in many minds, ranks as one of the finest exponents of microphone usage. His charisma and scathing wit, confluence in tandem with a fire-and –brimstone delivery style to produce a masterpiece that commands the scrupulous attention of viewers. While Heyman’s single handed expedition to maintain the suspense factor for the audience leading up to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 31 has not blurred yet from memory, it is imperative to note that Paul Heyman is hardly a one-trick pony.In actuality, his keen wit, that he so often displays in shows of rattling promo-cutting, has also served him unbelievably well in picking and choosing the right talent to back. Being a “Paul Heyman Guy” entails enigma and entitles acknowledgment in the wrestling world – dwarfed only perhaps by the claim of being a McMahon. As Heyman himself professes, there is no defined set of qualities that he particularly looks out for in talent, but perhaps engendering a closer look at some of the most well-known ‘Paul Heyman Guys’ , would serve to clean a window through which we could possibly spot the talent that spots the talent.

Bam Bam Bigelow

At the age of 18, which I might add usually finds us firmly entrenched within the confines of formal education, Paul Heyman was functioning as the Head Photographer as well as Booker for wrestling shows that evented Studio 54 in New York City. After an unsuccessful attempt, owing to geographical inconvenience, to negotiate the presence of Hulk Hogan from the WWE, Paul Heyman managed to smoothen out a deal to invite Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes from Jim Crockett Promotions to grace his brainchild, WrestleParty 85.After displaying shrewd business acumen in inter-selling the presence of the press on one hand to the presence of established stars in wrestling on the other, Paul Heyman also optimized the priceless opportunity to unveil the talent who would later footnote the annuls of wresting lore as the first ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ – Bam Bam Bigelow. With Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, two of the all-time great custodians of pro-wrestling standing witness, along with the teeming press, Bigelow had a debut worthy of note and far removed from the obscurity of the independent circuits where most other aspiring wrestlers used to suffer their debuts.

As it played out, it was a marker laid down as a sign of things to come for any wrestler who would have the good fortune of being represented by Paul Heyman; Paul Heyman didn’t just represent a wrestler, he sold them to the fans.

Mick Foley

The identity of a wrestler is his most potent tool to procure emotional investment from the audience. Having a clearly defined identity is of paramount importance, for traction with the audience is hardly achieved by a person trying to completely act out a foreign persona. Instead, the wrestlers that are inevitably ‘over’ with fans are those that express their personality in the ring, and with the microphone. Having an on-screen persona that rings true with the person that the wrestler is, often times is the point in a wrestler’s career where he catches his break.Despite being glorified as the hardcore legend today, Mick Foley made his name decrying Hardcore wrestling in the ECW. After debuting as the volatile and masochistic Cactus Jack, Mick Foley soon became disillusioned with what he believed was the ‘pound of flesh’ that the bloodthirsty ECW audience demanded each night, taking for granted the sacrifices that a wrestler made with his body and mind in order to satiate the demand.

His promo work was considered revolutionary, for Foley had touched a nerve in the intangible psychological connection that existed between the audience and the wrestlers. Foley’s conviction in his views and his unique approach to promo-cutting caught the eye of the WWE, who then went on to enlist his services.Although the mention of Paul Heyman’s involvement in Foley’s development is surreptitiously absent, it is perhaps the very fact that it is absent that indicates the dexterity that Heyman displayed with regards to man-management, while working with his clients. By Heyman’s own admission, Mick Foley was naturally talented, so much so that his intervention was hardly required in delivering Foley as an identity to the wrestling audience. Paul Heyman displayed masterful control over the underrated man-management skill of taking a step back when necessary, a subtle, commendable trait that almost passes under the radar when compared to his more obvious oratorical talents.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

WCW’s answer to the legendary stable, The 4 Horsemen, was the Dangerous Alliance, named after and headed by Paul.E Dangerously( Paul Heyman’s in-ring name when he plied his trade in WCW). Stunning Steve Austin had already been hand-picked to run with the stable, as the feature for the future. That Paul Heyman’s brushes with Austin did not yield the career lift-off effect expected at WCW was majorly due to the gross mismanagement of talent that transpired in the company then. Once Austin broke free of both the “Stunning” and WCW tag, his character was given room and breadth to develop in Heyman’s ECW.Austin’s promo work in ECW is particularly engrossing, especially as during one particular promo in which he strongly condemns his lack of opportunity for growth in the WCW, the audience can view something snap in his demeanour. The realism that ‘Paul Heyman Guys’ induce in their promo work and in-ring behaviour, characterizes them and separates them from the majority of wrestlers who grapple with the grey area of in-ring psychology for the best parts of their careers.While Stone Cold Steve Austin’s colossal success in the WWE was underlined by his altercation with Vince McMahon, it is note-worthy that Austin credits Paul Heyman with defining his character on-screen. The job Paul Heyman did in helping Steve Austin discover the Stone Cold persona cannot be understated, with Austin’s continued popularity post-retirement serving as ample evidence to validate the extent to which the character Stone Cold has succeeded.

The Role Of Managers in the WWE

While the role of a manager in the WWE does not have a well-defined job description, judging purely by the success and novelty that each Paul Heyman Guy boasts of, we can agree that Paul Heyman has set the benchmark for how a manager should handle talent.

In order to thrive and survive in the wrestling business, a wrestler has to get “over” with the audience and stay relevant so as to keep maintaining that unique connection they share. While the role of a manager has often been erroneously reduced to that of merely a “talker” in order to fill in for a lack of microphone skills that a wrestler may suffer from, this is hardly the complete scope of a manager’s purpose. As Paul Heyman repeatedly highlights with his numerous success stories, a manager’s duty is doing whatever is necessary to highlight the positives of a wrestler, while keeping the negatives under wraps.In fulfillment of this purpose, the manager also has to guide the talent to develop their on-screen personas in the most appropriate way that would enable the blossoming of a strong and lasting relationship with the audience, devoid of which, no amount of in-ring technical ability would suffice as recompense.

With Paul Heyman pulling the strings, many wrestlers have found themselves as performers. Being a “Paul Heyman Guy” might be exactly the spark that the career of Roman Reigns direly requires. Not simply acquiring the tag, but a firm re-orientation that the current lukewarm audience response elicited by him is not an obstacle, but rather a demand for Reigns to truly evolve into the ‘top guy’. Paul Heyman may just be the person to help him realize this.

Since the current roster contains a number of wrestlers who are “over” with the fans, introducing a greater number of managers into the fold might yield interesting inter-character dynamism that may prove to be the differentiating factor between these superstars. Historically, the WWE has displayed little change in their ideology of wrestler hierarchy. Consequentially, wrestlers whose personas receive the benefit of a manager deign to have the edge when it comes to dimensionality and depth in characterization; Even markedly more so if the manager happens to be Paul Heyman.

At the advent of the Reality Era, without the binding shackles of Kayfabe, the opportunity for the WWE to experiment with their programming has presented itself. This could be a suitable juncture at which a greater number of managers are introduced into the fold, for the business side of the company has rarely been more apparent. Managers go hand-in-hand with the idea of business, and this could be the perfect reason to have a greater number of superstars being represented by a greater number of managers in the WWE.

For with Paul Heyman functioning as a living benchmark for aspiring managers, the time could be ripe for WWE to start considering a bold initiative to try and re-write the rule book with regards to wrestler-audience psychology. Instead of a genius like Paul Heyman being an exception, maybe the time is right for the WWE to try and establish his influence as a norm.