Paul Heyman says the stars he tried to push in WWE are "not charity cases"
Paul Heyman has opened up on trying to elevate certain stars in WWE to main event status.
In a recent interview with Esquire Middle East, the special counsel to the current Universal Champion explained his thought process behind wanting to push specific stars in the company. Paul Heyman also discussed how things didn't always go to plan.
Paul Heyman commented on the current "business model" of WWE. He credited it as a reason some stars have not been given the opportunity to shine as brightly as they could have:
"WWE is like any other business. It constantly redefines itself and constantly assesses its placement in the marketplace, and it's constantly disrupting its own business model. The cream will rise to the top, as the saying goes. There are great talents. And the people that I chose are not people that—the people that I chose to promote, are not charity cases, they are extraordinarily talented men and women. And they will find the trajectory to the top."
"They will, because they're top stars that are waiting to happen. Whether that path is as smooth as I tried to make it—and admittedly, I tried to put everybody on a fast track—or not, is a matter of conjecture. But these are extraordinarily talented people. And they will find their way to the top of the industry." - Esquire Middle East
Paul Heyman recalls working with Edge and Rey Mysterio early in their careers
On the same topic of pushing deserving talent to become stars in WWE, Paul Heyman commented that "fresh blood" is essential in building the future of a wrestling promotion. He cited his experiences working with Edge, the Guerreros and Rey Mysterio as prime examples:
"In ECW, it was the same thing. It was creating new stars of our own. We didn't rely on the cast-offs from WWE, WCW, etc. We built new stars because we needed always new fresh blood on top. So my role as the lead writer of SmackDown 19 years ago was the same thing. We made Edge a singles star, we broke the Guerreros out into the top mix."
"We brought in Rey Mysterio as a top star. It was always the concept of building, making and marketing new people into the main event mix. So when I became the executive director of Raw, it was the same thing. It was about who can now become the next big star in WWE."
Paul Heyman is currently aligned with Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He will undoubtedly be ringside this weekend when Reigns defends his title against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane.