10 Cringey Paul Heyman Moments We Completely Forgot About
Paul Heyman has been a relevant figure in wrestling for about three decades. Few non-wrestlers have been able to find that kind of success in wrestling for so long contributing in other ways. Heyman is respected both as a big behind-the-scenes influence and for his on-screen work. The latter has held positions as a manager, broadcaster and authority figure.
Unfortunately, any talent involved in so many roles and for so long is bound to have less than ideal times. Heyman is best known for his great work, but there have been instances where he had painfully uncomfortable segments. Heyman’s next moments in the fight are overlooked to make us cringe.
ten Insulting the children of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
Paul Heyman returned to WWE during Brock Lesnar’s feud with Triple H when Lesnar returned in 2012. WWE never found the right rhythm for this program as fan expectations for a dream feud between two legends n have never been satisfied.
Heyman attempted to put some heat into the feud by insulting the children of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Triple H was not allowed to get violent, but Stephanie came back to attack Heyman. This segment was ridiculous before Lesnar took to the ring to set up the biggest fight with Triple H.
9 Trying to fight Michael Cole
WWE paired newcomer Heidenreich with Paul Heyman when he was called and needed a manager. The chemistry just wasn’t there to end their time together after just a few months. However, a strange story involving them featured commentator Michael Cole.
Tension grew between Heyman and Cole for weeks, leading to them fighting. Heyman attacked Cole at the comment knowing Heidenreich would make the save. The goofy segment ended with Cole fleeing Heidenreich.
8 Burying Sabu for an unfeatured ECW event
Paul Heyman rarely alienated his talent in ECW and was considered the person talent most enjoyed working for in wrestling. A rare instance of Heyman attempting to publicly bury a talent came when Sabu chose to work in Japan during his announced ECW date.
A shoot promo featured Heyman claiming that Sabu failed to show up and disrespected the audience. The bizarre promo made it seem like Heyman wanted to turn the public against Sabu because they wouldn’t have known otherwise with the internet not disclosing everything.
seven Being Forced to Eat Soap by John Cena
Paul Heyman’s Smackdown General Manager job saw him replace Stephanie McMahon and play a heel. Heyman had issues with many face wrestlers when he looked to stack the odds in favor of heels like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle.
John Cena and Chris Benoit got the better of Heyman on Smackdown by forcing him to eat soap at one point. The ridiculous moment showed Vince McMahon’s version of the comedy taking place with Heyman feeling the brunt.
6 Quit during draft to be drafted in Raw
The end of Paul Heyman’s run as General Manager of Smackdown came about in the most bizarre way. WWE usually had match stipulations or big reveals to drive such a change. Heyman’s end came in the 2004 draft.
The tension between Heyman and Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff became a big part of the draft. However, it was Heyman drafted to Raw and refusing to work for Bischoff. The top segment featured Heyman exaggerating his anger before leaving.
5 Going out to CM Punk music in Chicago
Wrestling fans wondered if WWE would do anything to use CM Punk’s chants after he left the company when they returned to Chicago. Punk’s friend Heyman was among the few names to mention him after leaving WWE.
Heyman made his entrance using Punk’s Cult of Personality theme song and wanted as much heat from the crowd as possible. There were no negative comments about Punk since they were friends, but Heyman trying to get cheap heat this way was polarizing.
4 Invading WWE Headquarters with Brock Lesnar
The horrible Brock Lesnar vs Triple H schedule led to many weird segments to generate interest in their matches. Brock and Paul Heyman “invading” WWE HQ to upset Triple H was one segment to provide some goofy moments.
The goal was to trick fans into thinking that Triple H would be livid at Heyman and Lesnar disrupting the business and trashing his personal office. Heyman filmed the odd segments that didn’t work as well as most would have expected.
3 Kiss Ryback
WWE attempted to save Ryback as the event’s main cast member by having Paul Heyman manage him during a feud with CM Punk. Even though Punk despised working with Ryback, WWE again paired them with Heyman as a bigger part of the story.
A weird segment featured Heyman in a wheelchair and Ryback cutting a promo onstage. Ryback swearing to destroy Punk and claiming that he loved Heyman, Heyman kissed him on the cheek. The program didn’t do much for anyone involved in punk’s victory in the lackluster feud.
2 Impersonating Paul Bearer after death
Paul Heyman taking part in a segment that many found tasteless at the time is somehow forgotten today. Paul Bearer’s death came just during WWE’s build for The Undertaker vs CM Punk at Wrestle Mania 29.
Punk and Heyman being old school, they wanted to use Heyman’s death to gain some heat against Undertaker. Heyman impersonated Bearer to antagonize Undertaker as Punk attacked him and poured ash on the stage. Bearer’s family was okay with the segment, but it still upset many viewers who feel like they’ve crossed the line.
1 Announce Curtis Axel as its next client
WWE hosted a big reveal of Paul Heyman’s next client throughout an episode of Raw. Fans took note that they were expecting a huge name given that Heyman only managed real stars like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk up to this point.
Curtis Axel was the big reveal with minimal crowd reaction and total confusion. It was even weirder that he changed his name from Michael McGillicutty to Curtis Axel after years on the main roster. WWE didn’t do either person any favors with the trustworthy segment, making it harder for them to move forward.