Paul Heyman discloses why he turned down WWE Hall of Fame induction while managing Brock Lesnar
WWE legend Paul Heyman recently revealed his reason for turning down Hall of Fame induction while managing Brock Lesnar.
Heyman and Lesnar share a rich history as the latter debuted in World Wrestling Entertainment under the guidance of The Wiseman. The legend helped The Beast Incarnate become the youngest Undisputed Champion at the time by defeating The Rock at SummerSlam 2002. After several years, the 58-year-old aligned with Brock again between 2012 and 2020 before joining Roman Reigns' Bloodline.
For many years, Paul Heyman reportedly turned down his Hall of Fame induction. However, WWE recently announced that he was finally going to be inducted into the 2024 Hall of Fame.
During a recent interview with TMZ, Heyman disclosed why he turned down his induction while he was managing Brock Lesnar. The legend said that he wanted his work with The Bloodline to be a part of his WWE Hall of Fame induction which is the reason why he refused.
"Well, I mean, imagine it this way, if I had accepted the award while I was The Advocate for Brock Lesnar and none of my work with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline was part of my Hall of Fame induction, then by now, we'd be sitting there saying, 'Oh, how did we induct him five years ago and missed this whole chapter of his career.'" [3:24 - 3:51]
The Wiseman also mentioned that he agreed to his induction this year because he believes Roman Reigns will continue to dominate as the champion.
"So, you know, the only thing that gives me pause this year is that Roman Reigns and I are not going anywhere. We plan on sticking around. He will continue to be the reigning defending Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion in the greatest title run of all time and the part of the industry that we are viewing to disrupt now, which would be a disruption of the disruption that we started in August 2020." [3:51 - 4:24]
Check out the whole interview below:
Paul Heyman said that he feels WWE Hall of Fame induction is his Rookie of the Year award
During the same interview, Paul Heyman mentioned that he feels his WWE Hall of Fame induction is more like a Rookie of the Year award because he is not done yet.
"I never dwell on the past. You know, I'm always looking into the future, which is another reason why I've never accepted it before. Umm, so I kinda really look at this as my Rookie of the Year award because I think it's taken 40 years to kinda really figure out this industry and the art of presentation and I think I'm just starting to get pretty good at it now, and I'm starting to really learn now, how to do it properly, and to the best of my abilities." [1:44 - 2:23]
Some fans believe Heyman will betray Roman Reigns to side with The Rock if the real-life cousins turn on each other. It will be interesting to see what The Wiseman has planned for his future in WWE.
Please credit TMZ and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any quotes from this article.