Paul Heyman Blu-ray/DVD Review

FIN MARTIN takes an in-depth look at WWE’s new Blu-ray/DVD on Paul Heyman . . .



WHAT TOOK WWE so long?


More than two years on from his return to the company — following his acrimonious departure in December 2006 — Paul Heyman has finally received the WWE Blu-ray/DVD treatment with Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman. Once you’ve devoured this release, you’ll find yourself echoing my opening question.


It was about time.


I met Heyman for the first time on February 17, 1996 in the lobby of the Travelodge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I remember the occasion well. When I clapped eyes on him, Heyman was in conversation with someone as he strode out of the elevator. “I’d like to kill that bastard,” he told his companion.


I didn’t catch the name of the unfortunate person to whom he was referring (it wasn’t me: we hadn’t been introduced, and he had no idea what I looked like until we were).


I quizzed Heyman about this exchange in his first Power Slam interview in Issue 166, published in April 2008. I did not imagine he would recall whom his enmity was directed at on that chilly afternoon in Philly in 1996 nor put a name to the person, even if he did. But I asked the question, anyway.


“I don’t know who I was talking about,” Heyman told me. “I felt that way about a lot of people in 1996.”


But the Paul Heyman of 2014 is a different man, at least according to some of the talking heads interviewed for this Blu-ray/DVD release. Now a devoted father and businessman, averse to acts of irrationality, he is “not that guy any more”.


However, others insist he has retained many of the same characteristics which enabled him to obtain a press pass and “hustle” his way into Madison Square Garden with a camera at live WWF events during the Vince McMahon Sr. era more than three decades ago. It is a theme of the release. Who is the real Paul Heyman? There is no consensus: he is many things to many people.


Of course he is . . . by design.


The two-hour documentary begins with footage of a triumphant Heyman and Brock Lesnar in the ring on the April 7, 2014 Raw. Heyman and his client were on top of the world that night: Lesnar had ended The Undertaker’s Streak the previous evening at WrestleMania XXX.


From the present, we learn how Heyman became hooked on pro wrestling in the heyday of Superstar Graham in the WWWF from 1977-1978. Heyman admits he was “mesmerised” by Graham’s charisma and promo style.


Heyman recounts his entry to the closed-door industry as a photographer for fanzines and wrestling magazines. Aged 14, he wormed his way into MSG with his camera, and became a regular at ringside at live WWF events in White Plains, New York. At that time, the WWF would permit several photographers to shoot matches from ringside.


According to Bill Apter, who worked for the PWI family of magazines at the time, Heyman did not respect other photographers’ personal space at ringside, a cardinal sin in that line of work. 


Heyman explains how and why he made the transition from photographer to live event promoter in September 1985.


At the urging of the late Bam Bam Bigelow — whose debut match Heyman promoted on Heyman’s debut show as a promoter at Studio 54 in New York City — Heyman took the leap from wrestling commentator to heel manager Paul E. Dangerously, firstly on Northeast indies, then in the about-to-vanish Championship Wrestling from Florida territory in 1987, and in Memphis and the AWA later that year.


“I didn’t fit in . . . I didn’t get along with anybody down there first day,” says Heyman of the Memphis territory.


This is confirmed by Memphis territory co-owner Jerry Lawler who, we are told, broke Heyman’s jaw with a punch in a six-man match.


Realising his face and manner and everything else about him didn’t fit in Memphis, Heyman travelled to the AWA where he first used the mobile phone as a prop and cut frequent promos for broadcast on the AWA’s television programme on ESPN, and managed The Original Midnight Express combo of Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose. Loud, aggressive and entirely fearless, Heyman in 1988 led the Original Express into JCP for a feud with Jim Cornette’s New Midnight Express, and also worked as an interviewer and commentator alongside Jim Ross.


“He challenged me as a talent,” says Ross.


Heyman — as Dangerously — did so.


I can think of no more argumentative on-air talent ever in wrestling: the young, bolshie Dangerously would attempt to belittle Ross’ assertions on the air, while Ross, in the role of the proud veteran, would valiantly counter Dangerously’s sniping to the point quarrels ensued. Some found their bickering overbearing and a distraction from the matches they were supposed to be calling. Others felt the tense interplay injected an air of spontaneity and realism to WCW programming. Whether one approved or not, it was memorable: Heyman’s Dangerously and Ross were not just filling air time. Heyman and Ross were able to replicate this confrontational energy in 2001 when Heyman joined the WWF, following the financial collapse of ECW.


The documentary doesn’t dwell on the Dangerous Alliance faction Dangerously headed and the chaos in WCW from 1991-1992 nor does it explore the story behind Heyman’s departure from WCW in 1992. This is for legal reasons, presumably. Heyman discloses that he was fired by WCW, sued and received a hefty settlement, but there was a “hush clause on both sides”. Jim Ross only volunteers that Heyman “ran afoul of management in WCW, and he was dismissed”. Bill Watts’ name isn’t mentioned once.


The section on Heyman’s adventures in Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1993-2001 is the high point of the documentary — and it’s mildly disappointing when the journey reaches the WWF in 2001.


It is fascinating to watch the footage of ECW: the clips of stunts and bumps — and ECW always looks better in clips — and the promos and backstage madness serve as a poignant reminder of how fresh and vibrant ECW was and how electrifying the atmosphere at events could be, even when talent no-sold or clumsily blew spots (incidentally, the “You f—ked up!” chant originated in ECW after J.T. Smith accidentally fell on his head). WWE has selected the liveliest crowd footage in order to convey the hold Heyman had over his audience, something many in wrestling deeply envied.


Meanwhile, in the next shot, we are shown Heyman directing talent and patiently encouraging them to surpass themselves on promos. “Do it again,” he says. “More.” It was well known that Heyman would not allow talent to live down to their own expectations in ECW: he demanded that they measured up to his, even if it took them hours to do so.


Viewed here, Heyman’s motivational skills are inspiring. He brought out the very best in so many wrestlers, primarily because he wanted his weekly television programme to be as good as it could be: Shane Douglas, Steve Austin, Mick ‘Cactus Jack’ Foley, Raven, The Sandman, The Public Enemy — the list goes on. Even Chris Benoit excelled on the mic in ECW.


The fall of ECW has been chronicled in previous WWE releases and independent productions. The story is given sufficient coverage here, I feel: Joey Styles and Tommy Dreamer capture the mood in ECW towards the end, and Heyman’s response to the group’s impending cessation. Paul withdrew from live events entirely.


The documentary loses steam as Heyman arrives in the WWF in March 2001 to reform his commentary team with Jim Ross on Raw, and to work on the writing team. The anecdotes and confessions take on a rigid, corporate flavour. The spontaneity had ended.


Stephanie McMahon reveals that she suspended Heyman from the writing team, and that Heyman lacked diplomacy (read: didn’t agree with her or Vince McMahon quickly enough). When the McMahons could tolerate Heyman no longer on the writing team, he was dispatched from Stamford, Connecticut to Louisville, Kentucky to run then-developmental league Ohio Valley Wrestling after Jim Cornette had been sacked in 2005.


The ECW comeback under the WWE umbrella from 2005-2006 is the weakest part of the documentary. While Styles and Heyman admit that it “sucked”, a thick, sagging coat of gloss has been applied to the story as a concealer by WWE. The ratings failure that the weekly ECW programme became when it was neglected by WWE, and the calamity that was December To Dismember, go unmentioned.


The December To Dismember pay-per-view on December 3, 2006 was Heyman’s last night on team WWE. He either quit or was fired the next day.


Whichever it was, the circumstances of his exit led to anger on both sides. Heyman did not believe he would ever return to WWE. But he did — as the “legal representative” of his longtime friend and business partner Brock Lesnar on the May 7, 2012 Raw.


Contracted as a performer, Heyman has been a valued member of WWE ever since.


This being an official release, one cannot expect WWE to tackle every aspect of its own story objectively. That’s not going to happen. On balance, however, the company has permitted the relevant players who are interviewed to have their say.


I feel the documentary would have benefitted from comments by Vince McMahon, Steve Austin and Terry Funk, and perhaps Sabu, who had an on/off business relationship with Heyman and ECW for years. But one cannot have everything. And to give WWE due credit, the assembly of players who have contributed to the documentary and extras is vast.


In addition to the documentary, there are a few matches (The Original Midnight Express vs. The New Midnight Express, January 1989; Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman vs. The Hardy Boyz, Judgment Day 2002; Curtis Axel and Heyman vs. C.M. Punk, September 2013), and stacks of additional interviews and segments from the AWA, WCW, ECW and WWE.


I recommend that you purchase the Blu-ray version for the exclusive section of stories, which range from hilarious (Joey Styles’ wedding tale about Heyman is a blinder) to quite touching. Stephanie McMahon is close to tears as she reads aloud a text message Heyman sent to her following the death of her dear friend Mae Young.


Is this the real Paul Heyman? Steph thinks so.

*****


Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman is released on August 4. It is available for pre-order from http://www.wwedvd.co.uk now.

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