1 00:00:02,035 --> 00:00:04,838 ♪ 2 00:00:04,905 --> 00:00:06,773 - This a Tom Ford custom. 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:08,709 - Oh beautiful. 4 00:00:08,775 --> 00:00:11,011 - So I need something that goes with this. 5 00:00:11,078 --> 00:00:12,212 - Okay. 6 00:00:12,279 --> 00:00:15,716 - And then if you have other red tie pocket square combos. 7 00:00:15,782 --> 00:00:16,516 - Yep. 8 00:00:16,583 --> 00:00:17,618 - I'm-I'm shopping for. 9 00:00:17,718 --> 00:00:18,685 - Okay. 10 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:21,622 - I'm looking for something louder than this. 11 00:00:21,622 --> 00:00:23,023 - Okay. 12 00:00:23,023 --> 00:00:23,790 - Pops. 13 00:00:23,857 --> 00:00:24,524 - Pops. 14 00:00:24,591 --> 00:00:25,225 - Pops. 15 00:00:25,225 --> 00:00:26,226 - Okay 16 00:00:26,293 --> 00:00:27,461 - I'm taking those too. 17 00:00:27,528 --> 00:00:29,396 Definitely. 18 00:00:29,463 --> 00:00:30,697 We made a sale. 19 00:00:31,532 --> 00:00:33,033 Presentation is everything. 20 00:00:33,967 --> 00:00:37,704 - Roman Reigns, flanked, of course, by the special counsel 21 00:00:37,804 --> 00:00:40,040 to the tribal chief, Paul Heyman. 22 00:00:40,707 --> 00:00:43,877 There's no denying Mr. Heyman's credentials, he has managed 23 00:00:43,944 --> 00:00:46,446 winners for 40 years now. 24 00:00:50,150 --> 00:00:53,153 - What compels you to want to be great? 25 00:00:54,221 --> 00:00:57,424 My father was a personal injury attorney in the Bronx. 26 00:00:58,558 --> 00:01:00,827 My mother was a Holocaust survivor. 27 00:01:01,395 --> 00:01:05,766 That lives inside of me every single day. 28 00:01:06,700 --> 00:01:08,468 - Paul E. Dangerously. 29 00:01:08,535 --> 00:01:09,202 That's right. 30 00:01:09,269 --> 00:01:10,237 The yuppie gone bad. 31 00:01:10,871 --> 00:01:13,807 - He can make people see things that he sees in them 32 00:01:13,874 --> 00:01:15,275 that they don't see in themselves. 33 00:01:15,976 --> 00:01:18,278 - The most powerful manager in this sport. 34 00:01:18,912 --> 00:01:21,381 - Without Paul Heyman, this business wouldn't be what it is. 35 00:01:22,149 --> 00:01:25,919 - This is EC [bleep] W. 36 00:01:26,853 --> 00:01:28,522 Both of my parents were different. 37 00:01:28,588 --> 00:01:31,258 I was going to be a bit different. 38 00:01:31,358 --> 00:01:33,026 I was a disruptor. 39 00:01:33,026 --> 00:01:35,262 - Paul did not get along with everyone 40 00:01:35,262 --> 00:01:36,430 he needed to get along with. 41 00:01:37,197 --> 00:01:41,168 - What you got is my ideas and you stole my legacy. 42 00:01:42,469 --> 00:01:45,205 I was immature, I was a schmuck. 43 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:47,608 I was thrown out the door. 44 00:01:48,508 --> 00:01:49,810 It was very frustrating. 45 00:01:49,876 --> 00:01:51,411 Infuriating. 46 00:01:51,945 --> 00:01:53,513 Fatherhood was the great game changer. 47 00:01:54,147 --> 00:01:57,351 Fatherhood forced me to learn accountability. 48 00:02:01,021 --> 00:02:02,189 - Paul's got nine lives. 49 00:02:02,255 --> 00:02:03,991 He's going to land cat like. 50 00:02:04,391 --> 00:02:08,462 - You had the temerity to doubt the greatest manager 51 00:02:08,462 --> 00:02:10,564 in Sports Entertainment history. 52 00:02:10,630 --> 00:02:11,999 - Paul talks people listen 53 00:02:12,065 --> 00:02:12,833 That's a gift. 54 00:02:12,899 --> 00:02:14,434 - They ain't gonna cancel me 55 00:02:14,501 --> 00:02:16,036 because they know if they do, 56 00:02:16,103 --> 00:02:18,572 I'm coming back bigger, badder, 57 00:02:18,638 --> 00:02:20,874 stronger than ever before. 58 00:02:21,174 --> 00:02:22,809 - The great Paul Heyman. 59 00:02:22,876 --> 00:02:24,711 - He's an impeccable character. 60 00:02:24,778 --> 00:02:25,812 Great storyteller. 61 00:02:28,615 --> 00:02:30,550 - The harder the fight, the greater the blessing. 62 00:02:36,957 --> 00:02:38,592 Cinema 63 00:02:38,658 --> 00:02:40,527 Was a big part of my childhood. 64 00:02:41,628 --> 00:02:44,364 In fact, my parents encouraged me to pursue 65 00:02:44,698 --> 00:02:46,299 an appreciation for the arts. 66 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,101 And part of the arts is cinema. 67 00:02:49,002 --> 00:02:50,303 Watching great performances. 68 00:02:50,404 --> 00:02:51,672 These are frames of reference for me. 69 00:02:52,873 --> 00:02:57,110 When I watch a James Cagney, a Laurence Olivier. 70 00:02:57,177 --> 00:02:59,146 When I watch someone completely inhabit the character, 71 00:03:00,113 --> 00:03:03,116 a Tom Hardy, a Gary Oldman. 72 00:03:03,183 --> 00:03:05,285 - Never said a word. 73 00:03:05,352 --> 00:03:08,822 - I get very jealous or envious of the greatness that that 74 00:03:08,822 --> 00:03:13,760 person got to achieve, and I want to experience that high. 75 00:03:13,827 --> 00:03:18,365 There won't be no plea for absolution or benediction. 76 00:03:18,432 --> 00:03:20,000 That's my fix. 77 00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:22,035 That's my drug of choice. 78 00:03:22,102 --> 00:03:24,438 Step out from a shadow of a national monument. 79 00:03:24,504 --> 00:03:26,073 Greatness is greatness. 80 00:03:26,073 --> 00:03:29,276 I deliver spoilers. 81 00:03:29,342 --> 00:03:30,811 That's who I want to be. 82 00:03:30,877 --> 00:03:32,446 The GOAT of all GOATs. 83 00:03:32,913 --> 00:03:34,881 I was bound to be the greatest disappointment 84 00:03:34,948 --> 00:03:37,350 of my mother's life. 85 00:03:37,417 --> 00:03:40,987 If I ended up being anything, but the replacement for God. 86 00:03:42,289 --> 00:03:45,225 Anything short of that and my mother would feel I didn't live 87 00:03:45,225 --> 00:03:50,263 up to my potential or my responsibility as her son. 88 00:03:51,131 --> 00:03:54,000 My father, on the other hand, was going to encourage me 89 00:03:54,067 --> 00:03:58,038 no matter what I did in my life, because that was just 90 00:03:58,105 --> 00:03:59,639 the nature of that man. 91 00:04:00,841 --> 00:04:04,811 My father was a personal injury attorney in the Bronx. 92 00:04:04,878 --> 00:04:07,681 From the day that he passed the bar, 93 00:04:07,748 --> 00:04:11,418 He loved being a lawyer, 94 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,021 and that's what he wanted for his son. 95 00:04:15,455 --> 00:04:16,790 The same passion. 96 00:04:17,991 --> 00:04:21,094 The same love for what I was doing, no matter what it was. 97 00:04:22,195 --> 00:04:24,831 But my mother, on the other hand, 98 00:04:24,898 --> 00:04:28,401 she saw things a little differently. 99 00:04:29,269 --> 00:04:32,772 And considering what she went through in life, 100 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:34,474 I understand that. 101 00:04:36,710 --> 00:04:39,913 My mother was a Holocaust survivor, survived 102 00:04:39,913 --> 00:04:43,116 the Lodz ghetto, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. 103 00:04:44,384 --> 00:04:48,822 Every moment of every second, of every minute 104 00:04:48,889 --> 00:04:51,825 of every hour of every day. 105 00:04:52,792 --> 00:04:54,461 Trauma. 106 00:04:55,662 --> 00:04:57,631 And that's what a Holocaust survivor went through. 107 00:04:58,465 --> 00:05:07,474 So, the demands for my mother's own vision for her only child. 108 00:05:08,341 --> 00:05:11,478 It's-It's not meant for human comprehension. 109 00:05:13,146 --> 00:05:18,351 Because what she lived through was inhumane. 110 00:05:21,021 --> 00:05:22,556 I don't know how that affected me. 111 00:05:23,356 --> 00:05:24,558 This much, I can tell you. 112 00:05:26,426 --> 00:05:27,527 I don't blink in life. 113 00:05:29,296 --> 00:05:30,597 I'm ready for anything. 114 00:05:31,865 --> 00:05:36,903 When I was 7 or 8, my mother would come to me, 115 00:05:37,003 --> 00:05:38,772 when my parents would go out 116 00:05:38,838 --> 00:05:42,108 on a Friday or Saturday night and say, 117 00:05:42,108 --> 00:05:44,511 "If your father and I get hit by a drunk driver, 118 00:05:44,578 --> 00:05:49,983 or if something goes wrong and we never come home, 119 00:05:50,083 --> 00:05:52,285 you be ready for life. 120 00:05:53,186 --> 00:05:57,224 You move forward and you don't let the past drag you behind." 121 00:05:57,224 --> 00:06:02,295 That was Sulamita Szarf-Heyman and that lives inside her son. 122 00:06:03,663 --> 00:06:04,965 There was no stopping me. 123 00:06:07,067 --> 00:06:08,768 The first time I saw professional wrestling, 124 00:06:08,835 --> 00:06:09,769 I was ten years old. 125 00:06:09,836 --> 00:06:11,004 - I'm the man of the hour. 126 00:06:11,071 --> 00:06:14,307 The man with the power, too sweet to be sour. 127 00:06:14,307 --> 00:06:18,211 - And I was mesmerized by Superstar Billy Graham. 128 00:06:18,979 --> 00:06:21,047 And I was a fan from that moment on. 129 00:06:21,815 --> 00:06:23,717 - And the fans go wild. 130 00:06:24,050 --> 00:06:25,185 - I wanted to be part of it. 131 00:06:25,185 --> 00:06:27,187 I wanted to be inside on it. 132 00:06:28,188 --> 00:06:29,422 That's where I'm supposed to be. 133 00:06:30,223 --> 00:06:31,791 That's what I went after. 134 00:06:32,993 --> 00:06:34,828 All I had to do was seize the moment. 135 00:06:37,797 --> 00:06:40,300 Born a New Yorker- 136 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,236 on the Lower East Side of New York at that time, 137 00:06:43,303 --> 00:06:45,238 especially in the 1970s, 138 00:06:45,939 --> 00:06:49,876 there were a lot of free, radical newspapers. 139 00:06:50,677 --> 00:06:53,914 Now, one of these newspapers actually had a sports column, 140 00:06:53,914 --> 00:06:55,749 which was more of a gossip column. 141 00:06:55,815 --> 00:06:59,953 The reporter had chronicled the fact that after Madison Square 142 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:04,858 Garden, Vincent James McMahon would take his inner circle 143 00:07:04,958 --> 00:07:08,361 to Ben Benson's Steakhouse in New York City. 144 00:07:08,928 --> 00:07:11,364 This newspaper probably had a circulation of about 145 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:13,300 150 or 200 people. 146 00:07:14,067 --> 00:07:18,471 So there's no way that Vincent James McMahon knew that his 147 00:07:18,471 --> 00:07:22,142 aftershow steak dinners were being reported somewhere. 148 00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:28,348 So I called the WWE and I chased down a conversation 149 00:07:28,415 --> 00:07:31,484 with Vince McMahon and 150 00:07:31,851 --> 00:07:34,554 I claimed to have been at Ben Benson's Steakhouse, 151 00:07:35,789 --> 00:07:39,426 where I ran into Vincent James McMahon and mentioned to him 152 00:07:39,426 --> 00:07:41,895 that I needed a press pass for Madison Square Garden. 153 00:07:44,264 --> 00:07:45,632 And it worked. 154 00:07:47,067 --> 00:07:50,670 Where at 15 years old with a great line of BS 155 00:07:50,737 --> 00:07:53,073 and a camera around my neck. 156 00:07:54,007 --> 00:08:00,714 I got in backstage behind the scenes to start learning the 157 00:08:00,714 --> 00:08:02,182 inner workings of the business. 158 00:08:04,017 --> 00:08:06,986 - Many times we'd go to the Garden and uh, Paul 159 00:08:06,986 --> 00:08:09,189 would be in the back in the locker room with us. 160 00:08:09,823 --> 00:08:12,926 He just became part of the woodwork and part of the family. 161 00:08:13,426 --> 00:08:15,462 Very interesting to listen to, 162 00:08:15,528 --> 00:08:19,399 and he always spoke up and gave his opinion, which I felt was 163 00:08:19,466 --> 00:08:21,468 really a tremendous gift to do 164 00:08:21,534 --> 00:08:24,070 at that time his young age. 165 00:08:24,137 --> 00:08:27,941 And Paul had a lot of questions and that's how you learn. 166 00:08:28,041 --> 00:08:32,846 - I got to see how the show was run, and I was there 167 00:08:32,912 --> 00:08:36,149 when Vincent James McMahon passed the torch 168 00:08:36,149 --> 00:08:38,385 to Vincent Kennedy McMahon. 169 00:08:39,386 --> 00:08:40,754 So I saw the transition. 170 00:08:41,454 --> 00:08:46,659 I watched pro wrestling become Sports Entertainment, 171 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,596 - The wrestling extravaganza of all time, 172 00:08:49,662 --> 00:08:51,431 WrestleMania. 173 00:08:52,265 --> 00:08:55,602 - My education was going to be out there in the real world. 174 00:08:57,070 --> 00:08:59,005 I was bored out of my mind going to school. 175 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:00,907 I went to college. 176 00:09:02,242 --> 00:09:06,146 I got an associates degree in three semesters and really had 177 00:09:06,246 --> 00:09:07,213 no desire to continue. 178 00:09:08,782 --> 00:09:10,517 There just weren't enough hours in the day for me. 179 00:09:11,251 --> 00:09:13,219 I was 17, 18, 19 years old. 180 00:09:13,319 --> 00:09:14,788 I wanted to do it all. 181 00:09:15,822 --> 00:09:19,225 I went from being a photographer to becoming the editor at three 182 00:09:19,225 --> 00:09:21,828 wrestling magazines that had national distribution 183 00:09:21,895 --> 00:09:22,996 on the newsstands. 184 00:09:24,264 --> 00:09:27,700 I was a house photographer at Studio 54, the world's most 185 00:09:27,801 --> 00:09:30,470 famous nightclub, that became the in-house publicist, 186 00:09:30,470 --> 00:09:34,674 that also became then a producer and a promoter as well. 187 00:09:35,842 --> 00:09:39,846 - I met Paul in March of 1985, when I returned back to my old 188 00:09:39,913 --> 00:09:44,184 high school, which was running an independent wrestling show, 189 00:09:44,184 --> 00:09:47,987 and Paul Heyman was taking photographs. 190 00:09:48,054 --> 00:09:52,559 I was surprised to see someone who had that many 191 00:09:52,625 --> 00:09:56,362 responsibilities at such a young age. 192 00:09:56,429 --> 00:10:00,467 Both of us, 19 years old and I was wrestling. 193 00:10:00,533 --> 00:10:03,036 Paul was pulling the strings. 194 00:10:04,070 --> 00:10:07,040 - I wanted to write and direct and produce the shows. 195 00:10:08,641 --> 00:10:10,243 That was my dream. 196 00:10:11,945 --> 00:10:16,316 I had gotten in as far as I could get in. 197 00:10:17,650 --> 00:10:22,455 I was never going to be able to give instructions to the talent 198 00:10:22,555 --> 00:10:26,960 if I didn't have the cachet of understanding their lives. 199 00:10:27,861 --> 00:10:34,434 So I had to become a performer as my ticket in, and I developed 200 00:10:34,501 --> 00:10:38,271 the-the character of Paul E. Dangerously, 201 00:10:38,271 --> 00:10:39,439 and lo and behold it hit- 202 00:10:40,406 --> 00:10:41,441 Fast. 203 00:10:45,912 --> 00:10:47,313 - You excited? 204 00:10:47,313 --> 00:10:48,314 - I was born for this [bleep] 205 00:10:48,381 --> 00:10:49,115 This is- 206 00:10:49,182 --> 00:10:50,150 - I know. 207 00:10:50,150 --> 00:10:51,784 This is chump change for you. 208 00:10:51,851 --> 00:10:53,119 - Nothing is chump change. 209 00:10:53,186 --> 00:10:54,020 Everything counts. 210 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:54,821 - You're right 211 00:10:54,921 --> 00:10:55,855 - Everything counts. 212 00:10:57,757 --> 00:10:59,325 See in the old days. 213 00:10:59,392 --> 00:11:00,793 Megan would not be so lucky. 214 00:11:01,895 --> 00:11:03,263 Because- 215 00:11:03,329 --> 00:11:04,664 She's barefoot right now. 216 00:11:06,099 --> 00:11:09,269 And in the old days, I would step on her feet before the 217 00:11:09,269 --> 00:11:13,039 interview so that she looks at me like this. 218 00:11:14,207 --> 00:11:17,744 Because if the interviewer has contempt and disdain for me, 219 00:11:17,844 --> 00:11:19,546 so will you as the audience. 220 00:11:20,547 --> 00:11:23,249 Just another little trick of being a villain. 221 00:11:23,316 --> 00:11:24,684 Method acting. 222 00:11:27,787 --> 00:11:30,423 There were two guys that I had known from taking pictures of 223 00:11:30,490 --> 00:11:34,394 them, and I started booking us out throughout the Northeast 224 00:11:34,460 --> 00:11:37,964 Independents as a manager and a tag team. 225 00:11:39,332 --> 00:11:42,202 So I'm six months into my run and I wind up in Verne Gagne's 226 00:11:42,268 --> 00:11:46,973 AWA, which airs daily at 4:00 in the afternoon on ESPN. 227 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,942 This is enormous national exposure. 228 00:11:49,709 --> 00:11:53,079 - He's a man of a few thousand well-chosen words. 229 00:11:53,146 --> 00:11:56,149 - The mid 80s, the age of the yuppie 230 00:11:56,149 --> 00:11:57,951 and the Gordon Gekko wannabe. 231 00:12:06,993 --> 00:12:09,095 AndIt permeated every room ely intensthat I walked in.Yorker. 232 00:12:09,696 --> 00:12:11,764 Now, there was a movie in the mid 80s called Johnny 233 00:12:11,831 --> 00:12:15,568 Dangerously, so I took the name Paul E. Dangerously because it 234 00:12:15,635 --> 00:12:19,606 was so outlandish, so over-the-top, 235 00:12:19,672 --> 00:12:21,307 that it drew your attention. 236 00:12:21,407 --> 00:12:23,509 When Paul E. Dangerously wants to know something he finds out 237 00:12:23,509 --> 00:12:25,511 by picking up the phone. 238 00:12:25,511 --> 00:12:28,348 In 1987, the role of the manager was already dying off. 239 00:12:28,448 --> 00:12:32,218 The manager would set up the client's promo. 240 00:12:32,318 --> 00:12:33,386 Isn't that right, Golden Boy? 241 00:12:33,386 --> 00:12:34,587 - That's right. 242 00:12:34,654 --> 00:12:37,957 - And then inevitably interfere in the match and/or get beat up 243 00:12:38,024 --> 00:12:40,793 on a nightly basis by the hero. 244 00:12:42,595 --> 00:12:44,631 - Would you say that Mr. Dangerously is not exactly the 245 00:12:44,697 --> 00:12:46,299 favorite here tonight? 246 00:12:46,399 --> 00:12:49,636 - I think that you may have made the understatement of the year. 247 00:12:51,304 --> 00:12:54,974 - Paul and I met each other in the AWA, and so seeing his work 248 00:12:55,041 --> 00:12:56,876 as a manager, I think everybody just knew that 249 00:12:56,943 --> 00:12:59,045 obviously was talented. 250 00:12:59,112 --> 00:13:00,913 - The greatest professional wrestling manager 251 00:13:00,913 --> 00:13:01,914 in the world. 252 00:13:03,750 --> 00:13:05,551 - I drove the Gagnes nuts. 253 00:13:06,819 --> 00:13:12,025 I couldn't stand how old school the AWA was, and the fact that 254 00:13:12,025 --> 00:13:14,327 just a young, vibrant personality on their television 255 00:13:14,394 --> 00:13:18,898 show could get so much momentum simply because I was young 256 00:13:18,998 --> 00:13:21,768 and vibrant, told me everything I needed to know. 257 00:13:22,468 --> 00:13:28,841 So by the time I got a job in WCW, they already knew we're 258 00:13:28,908 --> 00:13:32,812 bringing on someone that's going to change the way we do things 259 00:13:32,879 --> 00:13:33,880 behind the scenes. 260 00:13:35,148 --> 00:13:38,985 If you want me to prove to you that 1989 is going to be the 261 00:13:39,052 --> 00:13:42,455 year of Living Dangerously, I'm going to prove it to you. 262 00:13:42,555 --> 00:13:44,157 - Paul was very good. 263 00:13:44,223 --> 00:13:45,258 Here's a guy 264 00:13:45,358 --> 00:13:49,462 that had been grown up and groomed to do this stuff, 265 00:13:49,462 --> 00:13:53,266 and a brilliant mind who helps make his people better. 266 00:13:53,266 --> 00:13:55,034 - Nobody's been able to stop this mind. 267 00:13:55,034 --> 00:13:57,103 And now I got this man backing me. 268 00:13:57,203 --> 00:13:58,604 And what we can do together, 269 00:13:58,671 --> 00:14:00,273 No man can stop. 270 00:14:01,474 --> 00:14:04,243 - First impressions of meeting a young Paul Heyman. 271 00:14:04,310 --> 00:14:05,845 Loud and energetic, 272 00:14:06,713 --> 00:14:08,247 but passionate. 273 00:14:08,314 --> 00:14:12,118 Paul's always been very passionate about this business, 274 00:14:12,618 --> 00:14:15,021 and when you're trying to come up in this business, 275 00:14:15,121 --> 00:14:17,523 you can get discouraged pretty quick. 276 00:14:17,590 --> 00:14:21,194 And Paul may be one of the best cheerleaders out there. 277 00:14:21,260 --> 00:14:23,296 You know, we're traveling together and just his 278 00:14:23,396 --> 00:14:25,164 energy is infectious. 279 00:14:25,231 --> 00:14:29,502 - You never will be half the man that this man is. 280 00:14:29,602 --> 00:14:33,072 - He formed the Dangerous Alliance, 281 00:14:33,139 --> 00:14:36,008 which I think is one of the most overlooked factions 282 00:14:36,075 --> 00:14:37,877 in wrestling history. 283 00:14:37,944 --> 00:14:40,279 - It's an alliance of businessmen, 284 00:14:40,346 --> 00:14:44,784 who will bring WCW down to its knees. 285 00:14:44,784 --> 00:14:46,786 Steve, you're the man. 286 00:14:47,220 --> 00:14:50,022 - Paul and I had bonded tremendously in WCW 287 00:14:50,089 --> 00:14:51,758 as he was my manager. 288 00:14:51,824 --> 00:14:55,261 Paul E. was one of the people in my life who was paramount 289 00:14:55,361 --> 00:14:57,430 as far as my success in this business. 290 00:15:00,066 --> 00:15:03,269 - That was a star making moment for me. 291 00:15:03,269 --> 00:15:05,638 All of a sudden I'm on the cover of magazines. 292 00:15:06,839 --> 00:15:08,441 I could get into the newspapers, 293 00:15:08,508 --> 00:15:11,410 which were big back in those days. 294 00:15:11,477 --> 00:15:12,645 Before the internet, 295 00:15:12,712 --> 00:15:14,147 being in the newspaper was everything. 296 00:15:15,581 --> 00:15:18,885 - We're on the road in WCW and Paul's like, 297 00:15:18,951 --> 00:15:21,420 "Hey, hey, hey you, it's a Monday night. 298 00:15:21,521 --> 00:15:22,822 Hey, let's go to the China Club." 299 00:15:22,822 --> 00:15:24,824 China Club was hot in New York City. 300 00:15:24,891 --> 00:15:26,225 I mean, it was the place to be. 301 00:15:26,292 --> 00:15:30,263 There was a line out the door down the street and I'm like, 302 00:15:30,329 --> 00:15:31,264 "Oh, Paul." 303 00:15:31,264 --> 00:15:32,432 He goes, "Nah, we ain't waiting in line." 304 00:15:32,498 --> 00:15:33,466 So we didn't. 305 00:15:33,533 --> 00:15:34,500 We go right in. 306 00:15:35,802 --> 00:15:38,271 - I would go to the China Club and I'm hanging out with 307 00:15:38,337 --> 00:15:43,276 Lawrence Taylor, Brooke Shields or Michael Jordan. 308 00:15:44,177 --> 00:15:45,845 - He was running around everywhere, 309 00:15:45,912 --> 00:15:46,946 "Hey, hey." 310 00:15:47,046 --> 00:15:48,114 talking to everybody, 311 00:15:48,114 --> 00:15:50,650 knew everybody, was all hooked up with everybody. 312 00:15:52,018 --> 00:15:53,186 - I'm never in the room going, 313 00:15:53,252 --> 00:15:57,256 "Wow, that's Michael Jordan. He's the greatest of all time." 314 00:15:57,356 --> 00:15:58,558 I'm an equal. 315 00:15:58,624 --> 00:15:59,458 I'm sitting there going, 316 00:15:59,559 --> 00:16:01,794 "Hey, Michael Jordan is a Paul Heyman guy. 317 00:16:02,595 --> 00:16:04,430 Lucky for him, he got to take a picture with me." 318 00:16:06,199 --> 00:16:09,135 I really never cared about other people's opinions. 319 00:16:10,069 --> 00:16:14,674 I wasn't raised to seek acceptance or affirmation. 320 00:16:14,674 --> 00:16:18,611 It wouldn't have bothered me if my parents were completely 321 00:16:18,678 --> 00:16:20,279 unaccepting of my choices. 322 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,182 I don't think my mother was very crazy about it. 323 00:16:23,282 --> 00:16:25,751 My father was always encouraging. 324 00:16:25,818 --> 00:16:28,688 I was raised to pursue what mattered to me. 325 00:16:29,622 --> 00:16:32,158 - The most powerful manager in this sport, 326 00:16:32,225 --> 00:16:34,393 and he is really on a roll right now. 327 00:16:35,761 --> 00:16:38,231 - So the year is 1992. 328 00:16:38,865 --> 00:16:40,366 I'm 26 years old. 329 00:16:41,667 --> 00:16:44,470 And I'm on top of the world. 330 00:16:44,470 --> 00:16:45,972 - Say what you want to about Paul E. 331 00:16:46,038 --> 00:16:49,075 You cannot deny that this man is maybe the most successful 332 00:16:49,075 --> 00:16:51,277 manager this sport has ever seen. 333 00:16:52,879 --> 00:16:56,082 - WCW instead of reaching for the future, 334 00:16:57,516 --> 00:16:59,285 regresses to the past, 335 00:17:00,386 --> 00:17:03,522 and they bring in Cowboy Bill Watts to run the company. 336 00:17:05,091 --> 00:17:06,626 - Yeah, I had idiots, uh- 337 00:17:06,626 --> 00:17:10,429 There was a guy named Heyman, Paul Heyman or something. 338 00:17:10,496 --> 00:17:12,765 He was a great talent. 339 00:17:12,832 --> 00:17:13,866 Phenomenal talent, 340 00:17:13,866 --> 00:17:16,002 but he wouldn't fit in with what I wanted. 341 00:17:16,936 --> 00:17:19,171 - Now, Paul did not get along 342 00:17:19,238 --> 00:17:21,274 with everyone he needed to get along with. 343 00:17:21,274 --> 00:17:22,875 He rubbed some people the wrong way. 344 00:17:24,477 --> 00:17:25,678 - I ended up firing him. 345 00:17:28,514 --> 00:17:29,749 - I'm gone. 346 00:17:29,749 --> 00:17:30,783 I'm out. 347 00:17:32,818 --> 00:17:35,488 I'm so bitter by this experience. 348 00:17:36,822 --> 00:17:39,225 I figure I'm done with this business. 349 00:17:39,292 --> 00:17:40,927 Time for something else. 350 00:17:41,661 --> 00:17:47,033 I signed with the William Morris Agency and the first gig I land, 351 00:17:48,701 --> 00:17:51,470 is to go head to head with Howard Stern 352 00:17:51,470 --> 00:17:53,639 on New York morning radio. 353 00:17:54,340 --> 00:18:01,213 And just as I'm about to start promoting that new gig- 354 00:18:04,717 --> 00:18:07,787 It's like the line from The Godfather movie, 355 00:18:09,188 --> 00:18:12,425 "That's when they pulled me back in." 356 00:18:15,194 --> 00:18:18,631 ECW. 357 00:18:22,468 --> 00:18:26,038 - This is ECW. 358 00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:28,874 - Hello everyone, 359 00:18:28,941 --> 00:18:31,110 and welcome to Extreme Championship Wrestling. 360 00:18:31,177 --> 00:18:34,313 This is Joey Styles and you are watching the wrestling promotion 361 00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:37,516 that's changing the face of the sport today. 362 00:18:38,217 --> 00:18:42,188 - My best friend asked me to start running the creative for a 363 00:18:42,254 --> 00:18:46,192 small promotion called ECW. 364 00:18:46,258 --> 00:18:49,161 My goal was to start with a blank piece of paper and imagine 365 00:18:49,228 --> 00:18:52,832 what it could be, and watching it come to life. 366 00:18:53,666 --> 00:18:58,871 We were going to take the entire business to the extreme. 367 00:19:00,072 --> 00:19:03,709 - You've got this rogue outfit, ECW, that's on the periphery, 368 00:19:03,709 --> 00:19:06,412 There kind of doing their own thing. 369 00:19:06,846 --> 00:19:09,148 They were really cutting edge with things that they were 370 00:19:09,248 --> 00:19:12,418 doing, and Paul was definitely the visionary there. 371 00:19:13,652 --> 00:19:16,956 - When ECW came along and Paul took on a different role as the 372 00:19:17,023 --> 00:19:19,392 leader, he was the leader of a revolution 373 00:19:19,458 --> 00:19:21,360 for my age group, my people. 374 00:19:22,428 --> 00:19:23,396 He was at the forefront. 375 00:19:24,664 --> 00:19:27,433 - There was nobody that the 18 to 34 male demographic could 376 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:29,602 look at and say, "Oh yeah, you know what? 377 00:19:29,668 --> 00:19:31,871 That's the new thing that's out there." 378 00:19:31,871 --> 00:19:33,072 There was nothing out of bounds. 379 00:19:33,072 --> 00:19:34,607 There was nothing, nothing off limits. 380 00:19:35,474 --> 00:19:36,676 We went for it. 381 00:19:36,676 --> 00:19:40,513 - Well, ECW understood with Paul Heyman at the helm that you 382 00:19:40,513 --> 00:19:47,787 could not out WWE, WWE and you could not out WCW, WCW. 383 00:19:47,787 --> 00:19:49,321 So they did not even try. 384 00:19:50,690 --> 00:19:52,391 - Oh my God. 385 00:19:53,059 --> 00:19:56,595 - They just set about putting out completely alternative 386 00:19:56,662 --> 00:19:59,098 product than most anyone had ever seen. 387 00:20:00,299 --> 00:20:03,636 - My younger brother and my dad and I would not miss a show. 388 00:20:03,702 --> 00:20:05,671 I loved ECW. 389 00:20:06,305 --> 00:20:07,573 - They were the cool thing. 390 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,041 Who doesn't want to be the cool thing? 391 00:20:12,178 --> 00:20:15,915 - I did anything and everything to create stars for ECW. 392 00:20:16,449 --> 00:20:19,752 I can see the greatness in others that 393 00:20:19,819 --> 00:20:22,421 they can't see in themselves. 394 00:20:23,189 --> 00:20:24,190 Rhino 395 00:20:24,290 --> 00:20:26,726 And when you say Rhino, I want you to take the belt, 396 00:20:26,792 --> 00:20:28,060 and stick it, you know what I'm saying? 397 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,029 'Cause now I want them to associate the name 398 00:20:30,029 --> 00:20:33,399 Rhino with the title, so that to them you're one and the same. 399 00:20:33,466 --> 00:20:34,266 Real subliminal, okay? 400 00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:35,634 But it's one and the same. 401 00:20:35,634 --> 00:20:36,602 I'm Rhino. 402 00:20:37,536 --> 00:20:39,238 - Paul is a wrestling genius. 403 00:20:39,805 --> 00:20:44,276 The man spent countless hours with us when it came to 404 00:20:44,343 --> 00:20:45,845 the art of the promo. 405 00:20:46,178 --> 00:20:46,712 Yo, Hack. 406 00:20:46,712 --> 00:20:47,346 - More. 407 00:20:47,446 --> 00:20:47,947 - Sorry about 408 00:20:48,047 --> 00:20:48,714 - No. 409 00:20:48,781 --> 00:20:49,515 More, come on. 410 00:20:49,582 --> 00:20:50,249 Come on, more. 411 00:20:50,316 --> 00:20:50,950 Come on. 412 00:20:50,950 --> 00:20:51,484 Yo Hack 413 00:20:51,550 --> 00:20:52,118 - Yo Hack 414 00:20:52,184 --> 00:20:53,185 - Yo Hack 415 00:20:53,185 --> 00:20:54,320 - Every now and then, 416 00:20:54,386 --> 00:20:57,389 It takes someone else to reach 417 00:20:57,456 --> 00:21:00,593 deep inside their soul and their spiritual being, 418 00:21:01,427 --> 00:21:04,096 and drag that greatness out of them. 419 00:21:05,064 --> 00:21:06,031 - There's just something about Paul E. 420 00:21:06,098 --> 00:21:07,366 He can take anybody 421 00:21:07,433 --> 00:21:09,802 and turn them into a walking, talking promo machine. 422 00:21:09,869 --> 00:21:14,373 Paul has a way of dispensing advice like nobody else. 423 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,308 He's like, he's like a horse whisperer. 424 00:21:16,408 --> 00:21:17,476 He's the wrestler whisperer. 425 00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:23,015 I'm going to be the superstar that I always knew 426 00:21:23,082 --> 00:21:25,151 that I could be. 427 00:21:25,217 --> 00:21:28,220 - Paul was good at scouting talent. 428 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,557 Paul's always been good with using wrestlers 429 00:21:31,624 --> 00:21:33,826 not noticed abilities. 430 00:21:33,893 --> 00:21:35,528 - This is the man that taught me respect. 431 00:21:35,594 --> 00:21:37,363 - No meaning of the word 432 00:21:37,429 --> 00:21:39,098 - It was great though. 433 00:21:39,198 --> 00:21:41,901 - ECW was a beautiful place to grow 434 00:21:41,967 --> 00:21:44,303 because you were given such freedom. 435 00:21:45,237 --> 00:21:48,674 I made my bed of nails and now I've got no other choice, 436 00:21:48,741 --> 00:21:49,842 but to be powerbombed on it. 437 00:21:50,709 --> 00:21:52,311 So yeah, I'm a lot more comfortable here. 438 00:21:52,311 --> 00:21:55,514 I mean, this has been probably the best year I've ever had in 439 00:21:55,581 --> 00:21:59,084 wrestling, and a lot of it has to do with the lack of 440 00:21:59,151 --> 00:22:00,786 that corporate pressure. 441 00:22:02,588 --> 00:22:07,393 And so Paul helped people believe in themselves. 442 00:22:07,459 --> 00:22:08,861 by his belief in them. 443 00:22:08,961 --> 00:22:12,798 And I think it's a primary reason why some of my very best 444 00:22:12,865 --> 00:22:17,636 stuff, may be my best stuff ever, was done in ECW. 445 00:22:19,505 --> 00:22:21,440 - I really don't know what my parents thought of ECW. 446 00:22:22,875 --> 00:22:24,410 I'm sure my mother hated it. 447 00:22:25,911 --> 00:22:27,446 My mother was going to hate anything I was doing anyway. 448 00:22:28,948 --> 00:22:30,916 I could be a Supreme Court justice and my mother would 449 00:22:30,983 --> 00:22:32,184 not have been satisfied. 450 00:22:33,586 --> 00:22:36,622 But my parents were very supportive of it. 451 00:22:37,389 --> 00:22:40,426 $4 million of the funding of ECW came from my parents. 452 00:22:43,229 --> 00:22:47,967 But ECW didn't have the resources or the wherewithal 453 00:22:49,101 --> 00:22:51,003 to last six months- 454 00:22:51,637 --> 00:22:53,272 In the 1990s. 455 00:22:53,272 --> 00:22:55,808 In the most hypercompetitive environment 456 00:22:55,874 --> 00:22:58,210 in the history of this industry. 457 00:22:59,345 --> 00:23:01,547 - The Rock scores with the People's Elbow. 458 00:23:01,647 --> 00:23:03,449 The Rock is the champion. 459 00:23:03,515 --> 00:23:05,150 - The Rock. 460 00:23:08,020 --> 00:23:14,593 - There were so many financial problems in ECW where money was 461 00:23:14,660 --> 00:23:18,430 owed that it just became unsustainable for him. 462 00:23:20,666 --> 00:23:22,334 - I went personally bankrupt. 463 00:23:23,569 --> 00:23:24,803 And we go out of business. 464 00:23:26,872 --> 00:23:29,575 ECW was seven and a half years of my life. 465 00:23:30,409 --> 00:23:31,677 and I loved every minute of it. 466 00:23:32,578 --> 00:23:33,912 Even the worst times. 467 00:23:35,681 --> 00:23:38,751 ECW was meant to disrupt the entire industry. 468 00:23:39,451 --> 00:23:42,788 It was so far ahead of its time, it wasn't meant to last. 469 00:23:44,423 --> 00:23:46,191 It was just meant to show everybody else the way. 470 00:23:47,626 --> 00:23:48,861 We accomplished that goal. 471 00:23:51,030 --> 00:23:56,201 Vince McMahon was very supportive of my tenure at the 472 00:23:56,268 --> 00:24:01,273 head of ECW, that I had the sheer ambition to go out 473 00:24:01,273 --> 00:24:03,909 and do something on my own in this business. 474 00:24:04,510 --> 00:24:05,811 He could relate to that. 475 00:24:07,579 --> 00:24:12,685 And Vince McMahon made me an offer I just couldn't refuse. 476 00:24:17,423 --> 00:24:19,825 - Paul, give us a little bit of pad here, 477 00:24:19,892 --> 00:24:22,027 so we get that nice big boo pop 478 00:24:22,094 --> 00:24:23,228 - Kirsh what am I saying? 479 00:24:23,295 --> 00:24:27,066 Baseball, boxing, WWE it's all based on the same premise. 480 00:24:27,066 --> 00:24:28,467 Who are these two opponents? 481 00:24:28,467 --> 00:24:29,835 Why are they fighting? 482 00:24:29,902 --> 00:24:32,271 Why should I pay to see it? 483 00:24:32,338 --> 00:24:36,075 Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. 484 00:24:36,075 --> 00:24:38,010 What will people take away from this? 485 00:24:38,077 --> 00:24:41,513 Say, "Wow, now I get it." 486 00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:42,648 - What do you think? 487 00:24:42,715 --> 00:24:43,749 - What do you think? 488 00:24:43,849 --> 00:24:44,917 - It was great. 489 00:24:44,984 --> 00:24:45,984 - Great I'll take. 490 00:24:45,984 --> 00:24:46,752 - That opens the show. 491 00:24:46,819 --> 00:24:47,619 - Great I'll take. 492 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:48,821 Damn right it does. 493 00:24:48,921 --> 00:24:51,423 This all dates back to my father being in front of a jury. 494 00:24:51,523 --> 00:24:55,361 What does my father want the jury to take away from 495 00:24:55,427 --> 00:24:57,196 what he's selling to them? 496 00:24:57,629 --> 00:24:58,797 Same thing that I do. 497 00:25:00,632 --> 00:25:06,004 The next big thing, Brock Lesnar. 498 00:25:06,071 --> 00:25:08,974 - This massive human being is scary. 499 00:25:09,041 --> 00:25:12,678 - When I first came to WWE, I needed somebody to pull me 500 00:25:12,745 --> 00:25:15,280 by the reins and point me in the right direction. 501 00:25:15,347 --> 00:25:17,716 And that guy was-was Paul Heyman. 502 00:25:17,783 --> 00:25:18,951 He's the best in the business. 503 00:25:20,185 --> 00:25:22,354 Paul, smarten me up to a lot of different things 504 00:25:22,421 --> 00:25:23,555 in the wrestling business. 505 00:25:24,356 --> 00:25:27,259 And I have a trust in Paul and he has a trust in me. 506 00:25:29,028 --> 00:25:31,163 - A couple of weeks into our run together, Brock and I are on a 507 00:25:31,230 --> 00:25:35,367 plane to the UK for an event and one of us reveals to the other, 508 00:25:36,435 --> 00:25:39,071 Psst, um. 509 00:25:39,071 --> 00:25:40,906 "Hey, listen, nobody else knows this, but I'm about 510 00:25:41,006 --> 00:25:42,307 to become a father. 511 00:25:43,075 --> 00:25:45,711 My girlfriend is pregnant with a baby girl." 512 00:25:46,278 --> 00:25:48,046 And then the other revealed, 513 00:25:49,181 --> 00:25:52,785 "Hey, me too. I'm about to become a father too. 514 00:25:52,851 --> 00:25:55,287 My girlfriend is also pregnant with a baby girl 515 00:25:55,354 --> 00:25:56,789 and I'm keeping it secret." 516 00:25:56,789 --> 00:25:58,323 [chuckles] 517 00:25:58,390 --> 00:26:03,862 We-we both realized just how our approach to things was, 518 00:26:03,962 --> 00:26:07,032 so in line with two people that were so different 519 00:26:07,099 --> 00:26:08,901 from each other. 520 00:26:08,967 --> 00:26:10,402 And we bonded over it. 521 00:26:13,072 --> 00:26:15,374 - I became a father because of 9/11. 522 00:26:17,076 --> 00:26:18,210 - We have a breaking news story 523 00:26:18,277 --> 00:26:19,078 to tell you about. 524 00:26:19,144 --> 00:26:20,512 Apparently a plane 525 00:26:20,512 --> 00:26:22,514 has just crashed into the World Trade 526 00:26:22,514 --> 00:26:24,082 Center here in New York City. 527 00:26:24,149 --> 00:26:26,351 It happened just a few moments ago. 528 00:26:26,919 --> 00:26:29,288 - It was really the first time I got in touch 529 00:26:29,354 --> 00:26:30,422 with my own mortality. 530 00:26:31,423 --> 00:26:33,158 It happened on my 36th birthday, 531 00:26:34,026 --> 00:26:35,994 and I realized that my parents 532 00:26:36,061 --> 00:26:39,665 were getting older, and I wanted my parents to know my children 533 00:26:39,731 --> 00:26:41,300 and my children to know my parents. 534 00:26:43,502 --> 00:26:46,438 Becoming a father was the great game changer. 535 00:26:47,339 --> 00:26:50,175 I remember when my daughter was a tiny little baby, 536 00:26:50,242 --> 00:26:53,278 and I-I got to a red light 537 00:26:53,979 --> 00:26:55,214 and someone ran that red light, 538 00:26:56,548 --> 00:26:59,184 and one's initial reaction is always going to be 539 00:26:59,184 --> 00:27:03,355 "Whoa, that guy could have killed me." 540 00:27:04,223 --> 00:27:07,593 - And my reaction was, 541 00:27:07,659 --> 00:27:11,897 "Whoa, that-that guy could have taken me away from my daughter. 542 00:27:11,997 --> 00:27:14,299 What would have happened to her in her life?" 543 00:27:15,067 --> 00:27:17,035 And I realized it's not about me anymore. 544 00:27:18,003 --> 00:27:19,872 It's about my children. 545 00:27:21,340 --> 00:27:26,311 My mother was never proud of me until she saw me as a father. 546 00:27:27,579 --> 00:27:29,548 In the eyes of a Holocaust survivor, 547 00:27:29,648 --> 00:27:33,418 my life was about one thing. 548 00:27:34,052 --> 00:27:35,988 I was a conduit to the next generation. 549 00:27:39,024 --> 00:27:43,629 My responsibility to those who perished in the Holocaust 550 00:27:43,629 --> 00:27:47,866 was to tell their story to my children and to make sure 551 00:27:47,933 --> 00:27:51,737 that my children tell that story to the next generation. 552 00:27:52,204 --> 00:27:54,840 That's my sacred purpose. 553 00:27:59,511 --> 00:28:00,412 - Are you recording? 554 00:28:00,479 --> 00:28:01,246 - Wow. 555 00:28:01,313 --> 00:28:02,047 - Book, you say something? 556 00:28:02,114 --> 00:28:03,282 - No. 557 00:28:03,382 --> 00:28:05,751 - Also about that time, I became the lead writer of SmackDown. 558 00:28:06,385 --> 00:28:07,386 - It's not just any old ass kicking. 559 00:28:07,386 --> 00:28:09,021 It's a Stone Cold Steve Austin ass kicking. 560 00:28:09,121 --> 00:28:10,155 It's not like anybody else's asskicking. 561 00:28:12,057 --> 00:28:13,058 - Gotcha. 562 00:28:13,158 --> 00:28:14,459 - It happened at a time where there was so much 563 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:16,161 concentration on Raw. 564 00:28:16,228 --> 00:28:18,196 I kind of got to do my own thing for a while, 565 00:28:18,664 --> 00:28:20,232 and we were cookin'. 566 00:28:20,599 --> 00:28:22,968 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 567 00:28:23,035 --> 00:28:26,838 crown jewel of World Wrestling Entertainment. 568 00:28:26,905 --> 00:28:28,707 Paul Heyman's SmackDown. 569 00:28:28,807 --> 00:28:29,775 - Look at Mysterio. 570 00:28:29,841 --> 00:28:31,009 Oh my God. 571 00:28:31,076 --> 00:28:33,111 - We start beating Monday Night Raw 572 00:28:33,111 --> 00:28:35,514 on every conceivable 573 00:28:35,581 --> 00:28:36,915 analytic that one could chart. 574 00:28:36,915 --> 00:28:37,683 - Oh my God, 575 00:28:37,749 --> 00:28:40,185 - Look at this from the top rope. 576 00:28:40,185 --> 00:28:43,789 - Paul Heyman was very good for the SmackDown brand. 577 00:28:43,789 --> 00:28:46,224 And, you know, I have a lot of respect for Paul because he 578 00:28:46,291 --> 00:28:47,826 knows a lot about the business. 579 00:28:47,826 --> 00:28:50,228 And for the most part, he's usually right when 580 00:28:50,228 --> 00:28:51,430 he makes a call. 581 00:28:51,430 --> 00:28:54,299 So we all respected him, and we did what he told us to do. 582 00:28:55,701 --> 00:28:58,337 - Paul was hell bent on making sure that SmackDown 583 00:28:58,403 --> 00:29:00,205 was going to the best damn show 584 00:29:00,272 --> 00:29:01,373 in all of Sports Entertainment. 585 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,276 - Action you'll ony see here on SmackDown. 586 00:29:04,276 --> 00:29:06,912 - So each and every Wednesday night, Paul Heyman would put us 587 00:29:06,979 --> 00:29:11,350 into a studio and we would recall SmackDown 588 00:29:12,451 --> 00:29:17,923 every single week until 5 or 6:00 in the morning. 589 00:29:17,990 --> 00:29:21,126 And I wanted, you know, to kill him at the time. 590 00:29:21,193 --> 00:29:22,461 I want to go home, right? 591 00:29:22,561 --> 00:29:24,129 I don't want to be here with you all night long. 592 00:29:24,196 --> 00:29:26,264 And Paul's like, "Too bad I'm the head of the show. 593 00:29:26,264 --> 00:29:28,033 We're going to do this the way I want to do it." 594 00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:30,235 And I didn't realize what he was doing, which was turning me 595 00:29:30,235 --> 00:29:32,170 into a grade A announcer. 596 00:29:32,237 --> 00:29:34,439 It isn't often that you use the word pretty when describing 597 00:29:34,506 --> 00:29:36,608 a wrestling match, but that is a pretty maneuver 598 00:29:36,675 --> 00:29:37,643 by Eddie Guerrero. 599 00:29:38,777 --> 00:29:40,112 - When Paul has an idea that he feels strongly about, 600 00:29:40,112 --> 00:29:41,246 he's committed to it. 601 00:29:41,313 --> 00:29:43,548 He's going to stand his ground for as long as he can, 602 00:29:43,649 --> 00:29:47,586 where a lot of times people will, just like 603 00:29:47,586 --> 00:29:50,122 "Screw it, man, whatever. Let's just do it." 604 00:29:50,188 --> 00:29:53,058 But obviously, you know, the decision ultimately goes 605 00:29:53,158 --> 00:29:54,926 to the Big Man. 606 00:29:56,361 --> 00:30:00,265 - I was no longer the final say, the end all be all, the boss. 607 00:30:01,033 --> 00:30:05,470 And now I'm working for someone and have to do things the way 608 00:30:05,470 --> 00:30:07,172 they want it done. 609 00:30:08,206 --> 00:30:09,508 I was immature. 610 00:30:10,609 --> 00:30:12,077 I was a schmuck. 611 00:30:13,278 --> 00:30:19,184 But then again, a disruptor by nature can't be mature or 612 00:30:19,251 --> 00:30:20,919 complacent in their role. 613 00:30:21,653 --> 00:30:22,888 [grunt] 614 00:30:22,954 --> 00:30:26,258 - So by the end of 2006, Vince McMahon and I were just butting 615 00:30:26,358 --> 00:30:30,962 heads and our relationship becomes toxic. 616 00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:33,632 And one of us has to go. 617 00:30:34,466 --> 00:30:36,768 And it ain't going to be the majority shareholder 618 00:30:36,835 --> 00:30:38,236 and the chairman of the board. 619 00:30:40,872 --> 00:30:41,873 It's going to be me. 620 00:30:56,321 --> 00:30:57,155 - How are you, darling? 621 00:30:57,222 --> 00:30:58,423 How's the family? 622 00:30:58,523 --> 00:31:00,058 - All-all good. 623 00:31:00,158 --> 00:31:01,026 - Come on we're ready for you. 624 00:31:01,093 --> 00:31:03,261 - Yes, ma'am, thank you. 625 00:31:03,362 --> 00:31:04,329 Thank you sir. 626 00:31:04,396 --> 00:31:05,430 - You know the way. 627 00:31:05,530 --> 00:31:09,634 So I was out and I was starting to pursue other dreams, 628 00:31:09,634 --> 00:31:11,970 and never thought I was coming back. 629 00:31:12,037 --> 00:31:13,038 How are you? 630 00:31:13,105 --> 00:31:14,406 Thank you very much. 631 00:31:14,873 --> 00:31:17,843 Did a lot of things that I never had the time to do. 632 00:31:18,410 --> 00:31:21,613 Started my own advertising, marketing and branding agency. 633 00:31:22,380 --> 00:31:23,215 Hola. 634 00:31:23,281 --> 00:31:24,282 How are ya? 635 00:31:24,349 --> 00:31:25,350 - How are you? 636 00:31:26,752 --> 00:31:29,388 - When we met as an advertising and branding person, 637 00:31:29,454 --> 00:31:33,358 he went from the guy on camera to the guy behind building 638 00:31:33,425 --> 00:31:35,994 brands or helping brands to discover who they are. 639 00:31:36,495 --> 00:31:37,596 We're writing a movie. 640 00:31:38,163 --> 00:31:39,531 The agency has blown up. 641 00:31:40,132 --> 00:31:41,433 We have projects in England. 642 00:31:41,500 --> 00:31:43,735 We have projects in Vegas, L.A, New York. 643 00:31:44,369 --> 00:31:45,771 - We're in the middle of all these projects, 644 00:31:45,837 --> 00:31:48,440 but Brock and I never stopped working together. 645 00:31:48,507 --> 00:31:52,577 When Brock went to UFC, I was doing all of his social media, 646 00:31:52,644 --> 00:31:53,879 all of his digital work. 647 00:31:54,513 --> 00:31:56,481 I co-wrote Brock's autobiography with him. 648 00:31:58,817 --> 00:32:02,320 In fact, the only time Brock and I stopped working together was 649 00:32:02,387 --> 00:32:03,755 when he went back to WWE, 650 00:32:04,790 --> 00:32:06,558 and I had no interest in going back. 651 00:32:07,426 --> 00:32:10,395 When Brock Lesnar was out there without me, he felt naked. 652 00:32:11,163 --> 00:32:12,998 He felt something missing, 653 00:32:13,064 --> 00:32:15,033 as much as the audience felt something missing. 654 00:32:17,636 --> 00:32:18,837 No. 655 00:32:18,837 --> 00:32:19,538 No, think about it. 656 00:32:19,604 --> 00:32:20,472 I didn't miss anything. 657 00:32:20,572 --> 00:32:23,241 The only thing in life I miss is my parents. 658 00:32:23,308 --> 00:32:24,609 I don't miss anything in life. 659 00:32:25,310 --> 00:32:27,145 My mother died in 2009. 660 00:32:30,882 --> 00:32:32,250 I don't know how it affected me. 661 00:32:33,018 --> 00:32:34,619 Because I was too busy managing it. 662 00:32:35,387 --> 00:32:39,291 I was too busy worried about how that would affect my father, 663 00:32:39,357 --> 00:32:41,226 and how it would affect my children. 664 00:32:41,293 --> 00:32:43,595 And that wiring inside of me, 665 00:32:45,063 --> 00:32:46,198 comes from her. 666 00:32:46,731 --> 00:32:51,837 Because if one can change the past, imagine what she would 667 00:32:51,903 --> 00:32:53,438 change about her life. 668 00:32:54,072 --> 00:32:55,440 So I don't think about it. 669 00:32:57,142 --> 00:33:00,345 I move forward because from the time I was seven years old, 670 00:33:00,445 --> 00:33:02,681 she had me ready to move forward without her. 671 00:33:05,417 --> 00:33:06,785 - Oh, no. 672 00:33:06,852 --> 00:33:08,220 - What? 673 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:09,421 - Oh my god. 674 00:33:09,521 --> 00:33:12,791 Brock Lesnar has indeed sent his legal representation. 675 00:33:12,858 --> 00:33:14,626 That is Paul Heyman, ladies and gentlemen. 676 00:33:16,428 --> 00:33:18,129 - The package was not complete. 677 00:33:19,364 --> 00:33:22,067 And Vince McMahon said to Brock, 678 00:33:22,133 --> 00:33:23,869 "Wasn't exactly what I was envisioning." 679 00:33:24,669 --> 00:33:27,272 And Brock looked Vince dead in the eyes and said, 680 00:33:27,706 --> 00:33:30,208 "Then make Paul Heyman an offer that he can't refuse." 681 00:33:31,943 --> 00:33:33,178 And so they did. 682 00:33:35,514 --> 00:33:37,315 It's just that simple. 683 00:33:38,783 --> 00:33:41,219 Five years after being taken off the air. 684 00:33:41,319 --> 00:33:43,221 I came back to WWE. 685 00:33:44,389 --> 00:33:52,430 And I am here this evening as the advocate for Brock Lesnar. 686 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,168 When I came back to WWE, 687 00:33:58,670 --> 00:34:00,238 I wanted to be the advocate. 688 00:34:00,939 --> 00:34:05,677 The fondest moments I have from my childhood is when I got to 689 00:34:05,744 --> 00:34:09,281 skip school and go to court with my father. 690 00:34:10,482 --> 00:34:16,021 My father put on a show, and when the judge would admonish 691 00:34:16,121 --> 00:34:20,358 my father, my father would say, "Oh oh, your Honor, your honor. 692 00:34:21,493 --> 00:34:23,194 I'm just an advocate." 693 00:34:25,764 --> 00:34:28,266 My father died in 2013. 694 00:34:30,468 --> 00:34:34,773 And that's whose shoes I wanted to fill. 695 00:34:34,839 --> 00:34:39,411 And that's the persona I wanted to portray to the world. 696 00:34:42,347 --> 00:34:44,849 I had to go back completely different, reinvent myself, 697 00:34:44,916 --> 00:34:49,688 and absolutely top everything that I had done to such a degree 698 00:34:49,754 --> 00:34:52,924 that everything I did before 2012 would pale by comparison. 699 00:34:54,793 --> 00:34:59,230 - The Undertaker takes on The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar. 700 00:34:59,297 --> 00:35:01,833 This match is simply about one thing. 701 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,870 The 21-0 undefeated streak of The Undertaker. 702 00:35:07,072 --> 00:35:10,475 - There's no greater victory that could have been offered. 703 00:35:10,542 --> 00:35:15,747 There's no championship, no accomplishment as big in 704 00:35:15,847 --> 00:35:18,750 Sports Entertainment as The Undertaker's undefeated 705 00:35:18,883 --> 00:35:19,985 streak at WrestleMania. 706 00:35:20,752 --> 00:35:22,754 - The streak took on a life of its own. 707 00:35:22,821 --> 00:35:25,190 I was so glad I had a chance to watch it. 708 00:35:25,190 --> 00:35:28,660 It's our Joe DiMaggio 56 game hitting streak. 709 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,863 - If Brock Lesnar ends the streak, that would cement 710 00:35:31,963 --> 00:35:35,867 Paul Heyman's legacy as the greatest strategist, 711 00:35:35,867 --> 00:35:38,803 the best manager ever. 712 00:35:39,237 --> 00:35:40,672 - You earned it. 713 00:35:40,672 --> 00:35:42,073 You earned everything in your life. 714 00:35:42,073 --> 00:35:44,809 This history is yours to conquer. 715 00:35:45,343 --> 00:35:47,078 Now, conquer it. 716 00:35:48,313 --> 00:35:49,280 Take it. 717 00:35:50,648 --> 00:35:52,250 - Oh. 718 00:36:01,493 --> 00:36:03,995 [bell ringing] 719 00:36:05,563 --> 00:36:08,199 - Oh my God. Oh my God. 720 00:36:08,266 --> 00:36:10,001 Oh my God. 721 00:36:10,068 --> 00:36:12,003 You did it. You did it. 722 00:36:14,672 --> 00:36:17,842 I was the one behind the one in 21-1. 723 00:36:21,079 --> 00:36:22,914 - If you're the manager of the guy that did what 724 00:36:22,914 --> 00:36:24,516 no one else could do. 725 00:36:24,516 --> 00:36:27,552 I mean, you got to get some credit somewhere, right? 726 00:36:27,619 --> 00:36:29,387 I'm a manager of the guy that broke the streak. 727 00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:33,925 It's a pretty big feather in a hat. 728 00:36:35,026 --> 00:36:37,395 - But I can't call it the greatest accomplishment 729 00:36:37,462 --> 00:36:39,397 because then I've peaked. 730 00:36:40,265 --> 00:36:43,802 If you achieve a dream, go after the next dream. 731 00:36:49,007 --> 00:36:54,245 Hey, as of right now, I think Roman is landing at 1:00. 732 00:36:54,312 --> 00:36:55,213 - Okay. 733 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,615 - Which makes a 1:15 call a little early. 734 00:36:57,682 --> 00:37:00,885 I'm wondering if we switch Roman and Brock. 735 00:37:00,952 --> 00:37:02,554 - I will swap it around. 736 00:37:05,590 --> 00:37:08,827 - In April 2020, Brock's contract came up. 737 00:37:09,627 --> 00:37:10,662 So Brock went home. 738 00:37:11,429 --> 00:37:13,732 And I thought my performing career was over. 739 00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:18,002 - Without Paul Heyman, this business wouldn't be what it is. 740 00:37:18,069 --> 00:37:21,172 Paul behind the scenes wears a lot of hats for this company. 741 00:37:22,073 --> 00:37:24,175 - There's just a lot of different ways to jockey and 742 00:37:24,242 --> 00:37:27,912 position yourself that would probably dive into the political 743 00:37:27,979 --> 00:37:30,115 side of what we do in the backstage. 744 00:37:31,149 --> 00:37:34,586 Watching how Paul and Brock were maneuvering at the time, 745 00:37:34,586 --> 00:37:36,187 it was a powerful duo, 746 00:37:36,187 --> 00:37:38,623 it really was so much so that I had to snatch it. 747 00:37:40,191 --> 00:37:43,194 - Well, there is no doubt that this is a frightening alliance 748 00:37:43,261 --> 00:37:47,198 that has been formed with Roman Reigns and his special counsel, 749 00:37:47,265 --> 00:37:48,666 Paul Heyman. 750 00:37:48,733 --> 00:37:53,605 - Brock wasn't here, and I can't imagine anyone else that would 751 00:37:53,671 --> 00:37:59,778 compel me to go to work every day with that passion, 752 00:37:59,844 --> 00:38:01,746 other than Roman Reigns. 753 00:38:01,846 --> 00:38:04,449 I'm not just on camera with Roman Reigns. 754 00:38:05,116 --> 00:38:08,786 I work very closely behind the scenes with Roman Reigns. 755 00:38:09,788 --> 00:38:12,790 - He's just such a great mind for the business creatively. 756 00:38:13,057 --> 00:38:15,393 - You're a righteous man in shark infested water. 757 00:38:16,294 --> 00:38:19,164 If you don't ruthlessly, viciously, violently 758 00:38:19,230 --> 00:38:21,366 stab the sharks, they're going to eat you. 759 00:38:22,267 --> 00:38:25,436 - When Paul is someone's manager, 760 00:38:25,436 --> 00:38:28,773 it doesn't stop when TV is over. 761 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:30,008 - Text Roman Reigns. 762 00:38:32,510 --> 00:38:34,112 You, comma, sir, comma, 763 00:38:34,212 --> 00:38:38,216 are all set with parking dot dot dot, I just sent you- 764 00:38:38,283 --> 00:38:39,951 - He takes all these little stressors away, 765 00:38:39,951 --> 00:38:40,985 being on the road is tough, 766 00:38:41,085 --> 00:38:44,222 I can lock in and focus on what I need to focus on, 767 00:38:44,322 --> 00:38:45,757 and he just makes it easier. 768 00:38:55,733 --> 00:38:58,436 - The connection with Roman and Paul, tight. 769 00:38:58,970 --> 00:39:00,972 He elevated the hell out of me too. 770 00:39:01,039 --> 00:39:02,006 He trying to help everybody. 771 00:39:03,107 --> 00:39:04,809 I see him chopping it up with a lot of other talent. 772 00:39:04,876 --> 00:39:06,110 And if I don't see you talking to Paul, 773 00:39:06,211 --> 00:39:07,178 then you missing out. 774 00:39:11,950 --> 00:39:14,586 - Paul Heyman has one of the greatest minds I've ever talked 775 00:39:14,652 --> 00:39:16,788 to about the business of Sports Entertainment. 776 00:39:17,589 --> 00:39:20,792 You put him with anybody, anybody, and he's going to make 777 00:39:20,792 --> 00:39:22,327 'em better than they are by themselves. 778 00:39:25,496 --> 00:39:28,866 - This man right here, the great Paul Heyman. 779 00:39:28,933 --> 00:39:30,602 I mean, there's very few people 780 00:39:30,902 --> 00:39:31,803 that have a career that I look at 781 00:39:31,870 --> 00:39:32,737 and I go like this, 782 00:39:32,804 --> 00:39:33,838 "I wish I had that." 783 00:39:33,838 --> 00:39:35,707 How do you view yourself? 784 00:39:35,807 --> 00:39:36,641 - I'm the greatest 785 00:39:36,708 --> 00:39:37,675 of all time. 786 00:39:38,943 --> 00:39:40,044 - Please join me, 787 00:39:40,111 --> 00:39:42,113 and acknowledge the newest member 788 00:39:42,113 --> 00:39:45,950 of the WWE Hall of Fame, Paul Heyman. 789 00:39:50,588 --> 00:39:54,492 - You damn [bleep] right I deserve it. 790 00:39:54,559 --> 00:39:59,631 [crowd cheers] 791 00:39:59,631 --> 00:40:03,234 - I hope you can understand what this means, and then- 792 00:40:04,636 --> 00:40:06,004 -now I'm getting emotional. 793 00:40:11,075 --> 00:40:14,679 What you brought to the table for this business, 794 00:40:14,746 --> 00:40:16,214 what you've done for the talent, 795 00:40:16,281 --> 00:40:18,049 what you still do for the talent, 796 00:40:18,116 --> 00:40:20,351 what you've done to change this business, 797 00:40:20,351 --> 00:40:21,719 we wouldn't be where we are without you. 798 00:40:21,786 --> 00:40:22,387 - Thank you. 799 00:40:22,387 --> 00:40:23,388 - I [bleep] mean that. 800 00:40:23,388 --> 00:40:24,489 - I know you do. 801 00:40:25,390 --> 00:40:27,792 - People think of, man, here's this wrestling guy, 802 00:40:27,859 --> 00:40:29,560 best mouthpiece in the game. 803 00:40:29,627 --> 00:40:32,630 But I think if you really want to tap into Paul's legacy, 804 00:40:32,630 --> 00:40:34,899 you have to meet Azalea and Jacob. 805 00:40:38,036 --> 00:40:40,438 One of the most impressive things about Paul is his 806 00:40:40,438 --> 00:40:42,840 relationship with his children, and I think that's 807 00:40:42,907 --> 00:40:44,442 his true legacy. 808 00:40:46,678 --> 00:40:51,115 - I don't really worry about my my legacy anymore. 809 00:40:51,549 --> 00:40:56,020 I wasn't raised to seek acceptance or affirmation. 810 00:40:57,555 --> 00:41:00,491 I was raised to pursue what mattered to me. 811 00:41:02,226 --> 00:41:04,162 That's how I raised my kids. 812 00:41:06,464 --> 00:41:10,968 And if my children can find whatever it is in life that 813 00:41:11,035 --> 00:41:18,209 elicits the passion and the exhilaration and the lust for 814 00:41:18,276 --> 00:41:21,679 life that I have found in mine- 815 00:41:22,113 --> 00:41:23,081 Showtime. 816 00:41:24,716 --> 00:41:29,587 -then I've done them a service above and beyond what most other 817 00:41:29,587 --> 00:41:31,889 parents can instill in their children. 818 00:41:32,857 --> 00:41:40,198 Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. 819 00:41:41,165 --> 00:41:44,035 [crowd cheers] 820 00:41:45,970 --> 00:41:48,172 I don't have any regrets in life. 821 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:51,442 Everything I've lived through gets me to this point. 822 00:41:52,744 --> 00:41:56,414 I've learned the lessons of not only my failures, 823 00:41:56,481 --> 00:41:59,450 but of the enormity of my past 824 00:41:59,517 --> 00:42:00,752 schmuckery. 825 00:42:05,423 --> 00:42:06,557 I'm not done disrupting. 826 00:42:08,259 --> 00:42:09,827 - Right now I'm looking to get a word with 827 00:42:09,894 --> 00:42:10,862 Paul Heyman tonight. 828 00:42:10,962 --> 00:42:12,730 - Watch, watch, go back, go back, go back. 829 00:42:12,797 --> 00:42:14,132 I'm not done creating. 830 00:42:15,299 --> 00:42:16,334 I'm not done dreaming. 831 00:42:17,402 --> 00:42:19,637 I'd like to think that at 58, I'm just starting 832 00:42:19,637 --> 00:42:21,272 to figure this [bleep] out. 833 00:42:23,508 --> 00:42:26,044 And that I'm going to be better at it tomorrow than I am today. 834 00:42:26,744 --> 00:42:28,813 This is what we call, 835 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:33,084 "Do or die on the island of relevancy." 836 00:42:33,951 --> 00:42:35,086 And the beauty of it all 837 00:42:36,754 --> 00:42:38,756 is, hopefully, if you're along for the ride with me, 838 00:42:40,425 --> 00:42:43,327 you'll get to see it unfold in front of our very eyes. 839 00:42:46,397 --> 00:42:48,433 I'm an extraordinarily blessed man.