If you were new and had never heard of Paul Heyman

[saintpat]

... what would you think of his current character and current run in WWE, from the moment he turned up as Brock Lesnar's lawyer til now?

If you had never heard of and knew nothing of Paul E. Dangerously or ECW or anthing else in the past, would he do anything for you at all?

To me, he hasn't made any difference at all in any way to anyone who wasn't already a fan who would mark if he came into the ring and sneezed and then walked back to the locker room.

He's had a couple of absolutely ridiculous moments -- is there anything more meh than "I'm a lawyer and I'll sue if you touch me" and "Marry me, AJ"? Couldn't Otunga have pulled those spots off as well?

The strange thing to me is that he seems to have this dual and conflicting role -- he's there to bring heat to Punk and help heel him out (which actually doesn't seem to work because I can't see how he brings any more heat from the 'casual' or 'newer' fans than Punk could bring himself); and he's there at the same time he's there probably to appease the IWC, which actually adds to Punk's popularity with his core supporters rather than helping heel Punk up.

I'm a Paul Heyman Guy, but I don't understand his current role and trying to look at it through the eyes of those who aren't colored by what he's done in the past I can't see what they would see in his current incarnation.

[Bo Rida]

I think I'd appreciate that he was a good talker but I'd still fast forward most of his segments, I suppose if I follow that logic through it would make me dislike Punk more too.

In general I think his role will grow in the coming months with a (possible successful) attempt to become GM and the return of Brock with all the conflict of interests that brings.

[DragonMasterP]

I'd perceive him as a smarmy asshole who deserves a massive ass kicking, which is pretty accurate.

[Red Impact]

I'd think he had a corrupt agent gimmick, but would be more annoyed than impressed, probably.

[Dr. Marzvon Zombie M.D.]

Oct 6, 2012 13:52:25 GMT -5 DragonMasterP said:

I'd perceive him as a smarmy asshole who deserves a massive ass kicking, which is pretty accurate.

I agree with this, he is good as the smarmy asshole. I want to kick his ass sometimes and I am a Paul Heyman guy.

[saintpat]

Annoying I can see, but I'm not sure in a good way if you don't appreciate his past.

Probably his very best thing so far, and this is kind of sad that it is, was ignoring Vickie while talking to Punk about where to eat after the show.

As far as promo skills, has he really cut a promo yet that anyone would remember? I wouldn't consider him a good talk based just on what he's done so far in his current run.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't think much of him to be honest. He doesn't say much and when he does he's saying stuff that Punk has already said or could easily say. Outside of that he does stuff that would make more sense Punk doing. Like the AJ proposal. If Punk had done that, it would have been much more embarrassing for AJ - a former flame mockingly proposing to her.

Heyman's a great guy to have if the guy he's repping isn't a great talker, but he's with, arguably the best promo guy on the active roster today.

Sometimes I wonder if they brought in Heyman to work with Lesnar, realized Lesnar would be around less than the Rock and then stuck him with Punk just to get their money's worth for whatever they're paying him.

[The Ichi]

Yeah, probably wouldn't be too impressed.

...Until I accidentally stumble across *that* Smackdown promo on Vince. Then I'm in love.

[Deleted]

This question is tough because if you say you're a "new" fan, it would mean that you don't have the background of being a fan for so long and understanding how things work, which usually lead to you appreciating someone's talent in the role they're given, even if the role they're given is a lame one. If I had never heard of Paul Heyman but still been a fan for almost 20 years regardless, I think I'd recognize that he's got some serious ability on the microphone, he's still one of the best.

[bigbadbull]

Oct 6, 2012 15:07:17 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

I wouldn't think much of him to be honest. He doesn't say much and when he does he's saying stuff that Punk has already said or could easily say. Outside of that he does stuff that would make more sense Punk doing. Like the AJ proposal. If Punk had done that, it would have been much more embarrassing for AJ - a former flame mockingly proposing to her.

Heyman's a great guy to have if the guy he's repping isn't a great talker, but he's with, arguably the best promo guy on the active roster today.

Sometimes I wonder if they brought in Heyman to work with Lesnar, realized Lesnar would be around less than the Rock and then stuck him with Punk just to get their money's worth for whatever they're paying him.

That and I can see just wanting to work with Heyman as the WWE champ.

[Deleted]

Diddnt they show some awesome video package that explained who Paul Heyman was on one of the Raws or did I just imagine that?

[celticjobber]

He comes off as a huge sleazeball, and I'd want to see him get knocked on his ass.

[Old Jack Burton]

I'd definitely be interested in him.

I remember when I started watching wrestling on a weekly basis in 1996. Every so often some guy from the late 80s/early 90s would show up and the announcers would have a fit about him and I couldn't really understand the big deal at first. It really piqued my interest in the shows. I think we could do more with guys like Heyman that have a past.

[rapidfire187]

My gf never watched wrestling until a couple of months ago. She thinks Paul Heyman is an incredibly annoying sleaze ball. Seems like the right reaction to me.

[deadstock]

Oct 6, 2012 19:17:25 GMT -5 celticjobber said:

He comes off as a huge sleazeball, and I'd want to see him get knocked on his ass.

This is what i would see if i was new, so good job Heyman keep up the good work

[dlg3000]

Oct 6, 2012 13:52:25 GMT -5 DragonMasterP said:

I'd perceive him as a smarmy asshole who deserves a massive ass kicking, which is pretty accurate.

That is something I agree with. He is an excellent talker and one of the most underrated heels who are not wrestlers.

[Deleted]

Oct 6, 2012 13:52:25 GMT -5 DragonMasterP said:

I'd perceive him as a smarmy asshole who deserves a massive ass kicking, which is pretty accurate.

Which was the goal of the Paul E. Dangerously character since he was 21 years old as a manager, so, success.

He also articulates the story through his promos better than just about anyone else on the show, so he adds a whole lot to the overall show.

[Deleted]

Oct 6, 2012 15:07:17 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Sometimes I wonder if they brought in Heyman to work with Lesnar, realized Lesnar would be around less than the Rock and then stuck him with Punk just to get their money's worth for whatever they're paying him.

That, and also the idea that if he's on TV every week with Punk getting himself established as a smarmy heel, when Brock does wrestle and he's in Brock's corner, that heat he has built up with Punk will transfer to Brock for those big matches he is in. If he's not with anyone on the weekly TV show, he has no reason to be there or for the viewer to be reminded they're supposed to hate him.

It's not so much "Punk needs Heyman to get over," as it is "why not more fully establish Heyman as a heel character on a weekly basis by putting him with Punk, in order to get more heel heat for Brock when he's around."

[Deleted]

A.) Who the f*** is this dude and why should I care about this?
B.) I f***ing hate this dude.

Seriously, if Paul's "on," I want him to die. That would come through to a scrub.

[saintpat]

I can't think of a promo he has done since returning that would make anyone think "this guy is a great talker." His character is anoying, but so is Hornswoggles. I guess a better comparison would be Vickie G., and I think she gets more heat than Paul.

I don't remember anything that really established him from the start as "This guy has an incredible history in WWE and has taken on the establishment before and turned things upside down, he is a force to be reckoned with." If it happened, and it may well have, it didn't make any impression on me. And whatever impression it may have made, IMO, would have been diluted by his "I am Brock Lesnar's lawyer" role -- not his manager, not someone with great pull in wrestling, but an attorney who's original character in his new WWE run was someone who wants to interpret and renegotiate contracts and sue WWE. Just such a lame way to bring him into this incarnation.