Paul Heyman has made amends with former WWE colleague he had a real-life issue with (Exclusive)
Paul Heyman does not hold a grudge against a writer he once had a confrontation with during a WWE production meeting.
In the early 2000s, Heyman was SmackDown’s lead writer while Brian Gewirtz worked in the same position on RAW. The two men once became involved in a minor altercation over a booking disagreement, resulting in WWE suspending both writers for a week.
Two decades on, Gewirtz told Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Riju Dasgupta that he is on good terms with the former ECW owner:
“I see Paul backstage now at WWE shows whenever I go backstage. I always try to go to the Garden or to Brooklyn. If I’m in LA at whatever the arena is now called, I’ll try to see them too. I even saw Paul in the street once walking back to the subway from a [New York] Knicks game. There’s a lot of love. There’s a lot of hugs. There’s a lot of ‘we’ve been through the wars together’ kinda thing. There’s a mutual respect.” [5:12-5:39]
Watch the video above to find out more details about the infamous backstage incident.
Brian Gewirtz enjoys talking to Paul Heyman now
#OnThisDayinWWE 20 years ago:
@bfg728 and @HeymanHustle were announced as leading the Raw and SmackDown creative teams
Heyman was the success behind the SmackDown 6
Gewirtz remained in the role for 10 years. He has a book out soon on the WWE - can't wait to read it! https://t.co/NU51Qb39BI
The dispute between the former lead writers began when Paul Heyman’s creative writing protégé suggested a bizarre storyline idea involving a naked Torrie Wilson.
Brian Gewirtz added that his response to the “ludicrous” pitch was not well received by Heyman:
“Paul got offended at something I said. He came over, it was a little bit of that [slapping], and people broke it up. We summarily got suspended each for a week. You know, just a regular day at the office in WWE circa 2002 or whenever it was.” [5:41-5:59]
Backstage WWE feuds usually lead to long-term animosity, but that was not the case with Gewirtz and Heyman.
“Normally you experience something like that and you’re like, ‘Well, I guess I’m dead to him. That’s gonna be awkward or heat whenever I see him next,’ but it’s not like that at all,” Gewirtz said. “I love running into Paul backstage. I love seeing what he’s doing with Roman [Reigns] and The Usos and going on with Brock [Lesnar] and all that kinda stuff. Ultimately, it’s something that I can laugh about and write about in the book.” [6:02-6:30]
Gewirtz described the incident as “some light swatting” and downplayed rumors that he and Heyman engaged in a serious fist fight.
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Brian Gewirtz’s new book, “There's Just One Problem...: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE,” is available to buy on Amazon.
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