8 months ago
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WWE.com
Paul Heyman has had a colorful career, and outside of once running ECW and leaving his mark on the industry as a booker, he's shared the spotlight with some of the biggest names in the industry as a manager. In a recent appearance on "Busted Open Radio," Eric Bischoff praised the soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer.
"Paul is such an amazing person, and his journey is a movie in many respects," Bischoff said. He then recalled their brief shared history. "I first met Paul about 1988, Paul was working for Verne Gagne in the AWA. Of course, I ran into Paul again in WCW when I first got there as a talent. Paul left shortly thereafter and of course; ECW happened."
Bischoff then recalled the way Heyman ran ECW and fostered a strong sense of tribalism with both the fanbase and his talent.
"Paul was really good at creating an 'Us Versus Them' kind of psychology in the roster," he continued." He made WWE the bad guys, he made Eric Bischoff and WCW the bad guys. And ECW is this ragtag rebel group of wrestlers that wanted to do it their way." Despite denying that there was a legitimate war between WCW and ECW, Bischoff still praised Heyman's actions.
"The magic of what Paul did was galvanizing that fan base, galvanizing the talent so that they really started believing it was us versus them," Bischoff admitted. "Now, a lot of things that Paul said was bulls**t. But Paul was, in almost a genius kind of way, was able to use the fact that he was this undeniable underdog who was fighting against the establishment."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
