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TheObserver
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Sep 21 2006, 08:00 PM
Post #1
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I see that no one has sent in a recap of Paul Heyman on XM's Ron and Fez show, and since I happened to catch most of it, I figured I'd send in what I remember from it. This isn't in any specific order, and it's all from memory, so please excuse any errors I may make.
Heyman was there to plug the ECW book and of course, the TV show.
Ron and Fez asked about the origins of the original ECW and Heyman explained how Philadelphia is a major tape trading city, so the wrestling fans there are rather passionate and intelligent. He was able to find an audience since he was able to surprise these hardcore "smarks" (my words, not his).
Fez asks if he's ever worked with Hulk Hogan, and if so, what is he like. Heyman replies how Hogan owns a $20 million house in Miami, and $10 million dollar house in Vegas, so he certainly has done something right in life. He goes on to say that Hogan won his first title in January 1984, so anyone who was born around that time has just graduated college (which is true in both my cases). If you look at the celebrities of 1984, Hogan is one of the few to still be a celebrity to this day. As for working with him, Heyman had that program where he was Brock Lesnar's manager and Lesnar destroyed Hogan. He puts over Hogan as a consummate pro.
Heyman puts over Terry Funk tremendously, stating how ECW would never have survived without him. He marvels at the amount of abuse Funk has taken and surmises that Funk beat up Father Time, and that's why he can do what he does at his age. He also brings up how Funk single-handedly made Shane Douglas, Sabu, and the Public Enemy the stars that they were in the original ECW.
A caller asks what is it that made the original ECW so great, in Heyman's opinion. Heyman responds that it was the crowd. He said something along the lines of "If you go back to the last Hammerstein show, the story of the main event wasn't Big Show defending the title against Batista. The story was the crowd just hating the main event." He then goes on to say something along the lines that booing or cheering is fine, indifference is death. Also, later in the show someone asked how it must feel when the crowd chants "boring." Heyman says "it has to be the worst feeling in the world. Like, being in bed with two beautiful women and then realizing you forgot to take your Viagra forty-five minutes ago."
Another caller asked what he thought about TNA. Heyman alludes to an earlier interview he did where he said that "TNA has no identity and nothing new to offer other than a six-sided ring. Every story revolves around Jeff Jarrett. They signed Christian a while ago, and touted that as the biggest thing ever, and same with Sting, and they ran their program with Jarrett and now they are in the background with nothing to do. Same with the Dudleys and Rhino (although he did put Rhino over by saying how his hardcore attitude has what it takes to get over with their crowd)." He also went on to say that there are no TNA branded stars, so they don't have an identity. He draws an analogy that anyone who would walk up on the street to Samoa Joe or Abyss wouldn't say, "Oh, you're the TNA star and TNA this and TNA that!" They would say, "When are you going over to WWE?" He then goes on to say that being under the WWE corporate umbrella he would love to see them in WWE, but he thinks TNA needs to lock them up and make some home grown stars.
He cites the above statement as another reason for ECW's success, saying how, no matter what else they achieve, they will always be "ECW guys." "I've managed three wrestlers to the title and I'll always be the ECW guy. For everything RVD has done, he'll always be ECW. Sandman, Dreamer, and Sabu too (He went on to name a bunch of other originals). CM Punk is a brand new ECW branded individual."
On the topic of CM Punk, Heyman said that Punk has that "it" quality that all of the legends on the business have possessed. "It" being that quality that just makes you want to watch them and pay attention. I can't say that I disagree.
That's really the best I can remember. The interview was probably about 30-45 minutes long, and since it was on XM, it ran a little blue. All and all, one of the better interviews I've heard R&F do.
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