I'm a Paul Heyman Guy

Be a Paul Heyman Guy

With CM Punk MIA until a rumored return for Payback in his hometown of Chicago, and Brock Lesnar taking a step away from the WWE until Summerslam, Paul Heyman foreshadowed another WWE superstar to be the next "Heyman Guy". Last night, we saw the re-package of Joe Hennig/Michael McGillicutty as Curtis Axel. A portmanteau of his dad, Curt Hennig and his grandfather's nickname, Larry "The Axe" Hennig (Curt-is Axe-l), Hennig became the next Paul Heyman guy and his debut match under the new moniker was against WWE's Corporate Son, Triple H.

Curtis Axel makes his debut last night at WWE RAW!

Following Wrestling 101 and not making either superstar look weak, Triple H "suffered a concussion" to take him off of TV for a while. I absolutely hate these recent matches to protect one wrestler or the other. I understand that it is necessary to do so, but credibility is such a leading factor into building storylines that it doesn't make any sense. Hennig should have went clean over Triple H with an easy pin. Going back to Wrestling 101, Triple H used all the necessary foreshadowing; "I'm going to wrestling. Doctor is a quack." Etcetera. Use that concussion to Hennig's advantage as a "heel" character, put him away, and start strong. "I'm the guy that put Triple H away on my debut match!"

Behind the Gorilla Position, Hennig has two powerful allies to push him to the stars; Triple H and the Rock. The Rock has quite a bit of influence within the WWE, and with Triple H's own favoritism, Hennig will most likely be a top star pretty soon. Sheamus was heavily pushed by Triple H and brought up from ECW a few years back, and Sheamus has yet to fall from where he is, and I see the Celtic Warrior in the chase for the World Heavyweight Title pretty soon.

Many Superstars of today have been under the tutelage of
Paul Heyman at one point or another.

But again, this isn't about Sheamus or Triple H. This isn't even about Hennig. This article is about the genius Jew from New York with a former extreme legacy; Paul Heyman. My prior articles mention Paul Heyman sporadically, but in all honesty (and quite argumentative), Paul Heyman is one of, if not the greatest minds in the wrestling business today, and has been for the last twenty years. Heyman has over thirty-five "Heyman Guys" that he has managed over his wrestling tenure, from the likes of "Mean" Mark Callous (who then became the Undertaker), Stunning Steve (Austin), Larry Zbyszko, Kurt Angle... just to name a few. And nearly every superstar that Heyman has placed his Midas Touch upon has been a major star at one point or another. Joe Hennig should take the ball he has been given, and run with it. Become the next John Cena, Randy Orton, or even Sheamus. With Paul Heyman at the Hennig wheel, Curtis Axel will be unstoppable.

To be today's star, be a Paul Heyman guy.

Stuck Between a Brock and a Hard Place

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. As a Californian, I should be expected to watch the game being as there is a Californian team (for those of you who live under a rock, the San Francisco 49ers), but I would much rather be engrossed in wrestling, because as football goes away for a couple months, wrestling entertainment will always be here, and I can always entertain you fine folks who read!

With that said, Brock Lensar has signed another deal with the WWE, lasting all the way through Wrestlemania 31. Rumor has is that the deal inked is similar to what he is currently signed up for, showing up sporadically throughout the next two years and being paid an exorbitant amount of cash for his appearances.

Just another part-timer.

Brock Lesnar has signed a new contract to last
all through Wrestlemania 31
Courtesy of WWE.

Take this with a grain of salt; sure, the WWE has other "part-timers" like The Rock (current WWE Champion), Chris Jericho, Triple H, and at the current rate, the Undertaker. Yet with the amount of money going out into Brock's pocket and the money going into the WWE on an individual basis, is the contract necessarily worth it? And secondly, with the amount of time Brock has invested in the organization with actually making appearances, is it really effective enough to be engrossed in Brock Lesnar, the character? Lesnar made less appearances than Pay Per Views last year, randomly picking fights with John Cena and then Triple H for not being the corporate "Yes Man" as Laurinaitis was at the time and allowing to let Lesnar run a muck within the WWE. Eventually, Brock broke the Game and "left" as the newly crowned "King of Kings" and Touting to the WWE Universe that he didn't need to be a part of the WWE any longer, and took his leave with Paul Heyman in tow.

However, Paul E. Dangerously came back a few months later in September with a new protege in mind; CM Punk. Heyman's alliance with then then-current WWE Champion propelled CM Punk into a chorus of boos and major heat, as Heyman himself, known over years of wrestling to be "the" bad guy from his days of ECW. Paul Heyman portrays a new level of extraordinary persona of the heel character, and instilled a partial of his own sans-credibility to Punk. CM Punk went on for a record of 434 days as champion, with three of those months with Paul Heyman at his side. Heyman even had newcomer Brad Maddox, and the fresh faced stable "The Shield" work under him to ensure Punk's continual reign as champion... and all these elements could have worked even longer, save for an intervention from Vince McMahon himself. All of these elements ooze heat by Paul Heyman, and he knows exactly how to work the crowd. This writer believes that Heyman himself is one of the better, if not the best, promoter-slash-booker. As Eric Bischoff stated as a title of his biography, "Controversy Creates Cash." Paul Heyman is the embodiment of it. Genius.

Paul Heyman "pleads" with Brock Lesnar last Monday night
to cease his attack on Vince McMahon
Courtesy of the WWE

But now, CM Punk lost the WWE Championship to Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson. What else is there for Punk? And for that matter, where does Heyman go from here? The result? Punk gives The Rock an opportunity for a rematch (what a twist!), and Heyman has been transitioned ever so smoothly from Punk to Brock with a "vicious assault" to Vince. Always known to be a "Paul Heyman" guy, Brock comes back at the right time to restart a feud with Triple H (part-timer extraordinaire, future embedded via Hogan-esqe ability), with the F-5 to the Chairman. And looking deeper into the scheme of things, Vince McMahon "screwed" CM Punk (aligned with Heyman) out the title. Heyman calls upon the Next Big Thing to take care of things with Vince, which will then connect everything down to the Executive Son-in-Law, igniting a repeat of last year's Summerslam for Wrestlemania. Part-timers then go their separate ways and leave the scraps to the active mid-carders.

Granted, this build up (which we haven't seen something this monumental and drawn out for some time) leaves for good storytelling, and there are so many elements and angles brought into this. CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, The Shield, even possibilities for Cena, the Rock, Triple H, Vince McMahon, and many more. All of these wrestlers are tied in with this story one way or another.

Courtesy of the wrestlingtruth.com; WWE

And stuck in the middle of everything, is Paul Heyman.