Paul Heyman American entertainment producer, best known for his work in professional wrestling as a promoter Date of Birth: 11.09.1965 Country: USA

1. Biography of Paul Heyman
2. Rise to Fame
3. Early Career
4. Managing Career
5. Innovations and Success
6. Creation of Extreme Championship Wrestling

Biography of Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman, born on September 11, 1965, is an American entertainment producer best known for his work in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, and commentator. He also has some acting experience.

Rise to Fame

Heyman gained fame as the main ideologist and organizer of the 'Extreme Championship Wrestling' (ECW) project. He also worked for a period of time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), American Wrestling Association (AWA), and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His accomplishments led to him being included in Advertising Age's list of the '100 Best Marketers'.

Early Career

Heyman started his career as a photographer and writer for wrestling magazines like 'Pro Wrestling Illustrated'. He made his debut as a manager in January 1987, participating in the Northeast Championship Wrestling events, and later moved on to the more prestigious 'Florida Championship Wrestling' federation. Here, he joined forces with Kevin Sullivan and Oliver Humperdink and became known as 'Paul E. Dangerously' due to his resemblance to the character played by Michael Keaton in the movie 'Johnny Dangerously'.

Managing Career

Heyman later moved to Memphis, where he managed Tommy Rich and Austin Idol in their intense feud with Jerry Lawler. The character of Paul Dangerously was based somewhat on Heyman himself - a bold New Yorker, slightly yuppy-style, often seen with a cellular phone (sometimes used in matches, taking into account that it was the 1980s and phones were quite bulky). Heyman then moved to Alabama, where he formed a tag team with Eddie Gilbert. Outside of matches, Gilbert was the project's chief accountant, and Heyman served as his assistant.

Innovations and Success

Heyman also worked as the head accountant for Windy City Wrestling in Chicago and began to earn a reputation as an innovative television journalist and producer. In 1991, Heyman temporarily left television and became the manager of the 'Dangerous Alliance' - Bobby Eaton, Stunning Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, and Larry Zbyszko. Under Heyman's guidance, Rude became the United States Champion, and the Anderson-Eaton duo won the country's tag team competition. 'The Dangerous Alliance' dominated WCW for most of 1992, with their main rivals being Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, and the Steiner Brothers.

Creation of Extreme Championship Wrestling

Heyman left WCW at the end of 1992 with the idea of creating a new project. He initially attempted to do so in Texas with Jim Crockett Jr., but Crockett aimed to create a traditional wrestling federation, while Heyman had already mentally discarded traditional wrestling and sought to create something entirely new. Heyman had to find a new partner, and in the end, he created 'Extreme Championship Wrestling' (ECW). Under his leadership, the new project quickly became the main alternative to traditional North American professional wrestling, with its main idea being the opposition of over-the-top cartoonish heroes of traditional competitions and overall more aggressive behavior from participants - more violence and storylines that were more relevant to the times.