Heyman Talks Stephanie And WWE Creative..

[Guest wrestling365]

The Raw crew start back on the road tonight at the Civic Center in Columbus, GA. They play the Macon Centreplex in Macon on Saturday and the UTC McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, TN on Sunday. Raw is taped live this coming Monday from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL. The weekend booking sheets have Randy Orton/Chris Benoit vs. Batista/Edge, Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian vs. Maven, and Chris Jericho vs. Gene Snitsky.

 

The Smackdown crew have no house shows this weekend due to the 'Armageddon' pay-per-view in Atlanta, GA. Smackdown is taped this coming Tuesday from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, TN.

 

Buff Bagwell was backstage at the Smackdown tapings on Tuesday night. He just was visiting friends and wasn't there looking for work.

 

Paul Heyman was a guest on 'The Strangle Hold' radio show out of St. Louis yesterday. He talked about his recent demotion from the creative team: "I don't even know (my role) anymore. It changes by the week. I'm the wonderful hero that they all turn to and then the next week, I'm the lunatic that ran ECW and we can't wait until your contracts up. It all depends on which way the wind blows in my relationship with WWE--like a roller coaster with the blindfolds on. There are days where I think Vince McMahon truly appreciates what I have to offer and truly appreciates the difference of opinion that I have. And there are days when I think he just doesn't want to hear it and I'm on the outs. I could come into this phone call as the lead writer for Wrestlemania and by the time the phone call is over, I could be relegated to not being able to pick who the referees are for Velocity."

 

Heyman also talked about the role and influence of Stephanie McMahon: "Well, Stephanie is the director of the creative team so it all goes through Steph. And she of course is running that division now because there's going to be a time in her life where she has to run several divisions of that corporation. So it's all part of the grooming process, I would assume, for Stephaine to become either chairperson or co-chairperson with Shane. Stephanie is very hands on and takes a lot of pride in the creative process. I don't know how much of creative work she does in terms of putting the shows together in as much as she admistratively runs the creative division. And that's because that's where her future is. She's gonna be in charge or with her brother in charge of a multi-multi-multi-multi million dollar corporation, a publicly traded one."

 

The Huntsville Times out of Alabama interviewed Jerry Lawler to promote Monday's Raw from the Von Braun Center Arena. He talks about the Andy Kaufman deal and how he nearly ended up in the ring with Elvis: "Elvis was into karate," Lawler said. "So, I mentioned it to the president of the Elvis International Club and told him we could find out who the real king of Memphis was. One day my wife at the time said Vernon Presley called. I finally got hold of him, and he said Elvis was a big wrestling fan ... and was intrigued by the idea. He said Elvis was trying to get back in shape and would call me when he got back from his tour." Link: http://tinyurl.com/53j3g

 

IGN.com has an interview with Big Show up talking about video games and a variety of subjects. Here is an excerpt: "I'm very, very lucky in this business because of my size and because of some of the athletic ability that I have and I've been able to provide a great living for myself and have a job that I absolutely love. That's a bonus. Some of the harder things are just the everyday things like trying to rent cars or staying in the hotel room or trying to shower in some of these arenas and the shower head hits me in my bellybutton. Sometimes we have to take these small commuter planes, and I feel like I'm wearing the plane, not sitting in it. So there are ups and downs, but the best is just the looks on people's faces when they meet me for the first time because I am a real life, walking-talking Giant. It's not everyday you see someone like me walking down the street. Some of these kids, they get this look of wonder in their eyes, and that's a good feeling. Then again, some of these people who see me and yell ogre, well, that's not a good feeling." Link: http://tinyurl.com/4m2xz

 

Trish Stratus will sign autographs on Saturday at the MuscleMag International Superstore in Scarborough, ON, Canada.

 

Cynthia from Las Vegas sent this along... I recieved Triple H's new book early via Amazon and have already finished it. As an avid fitness enthusiast I found the book highly informative and I am planning to incorporate The Game's methods into my routine. Much like Bradshaw's book, "Making the Game" is part how-to and part autobiography. He discusses his love of wrestling, how he got involved in body building at a young age and then transitioned into wrestling, his return from the quad injury, and the backstage politics that came from The Cliq and his relationship with Stephanie McMahon. Overall I'd say it is a good read and recommend it. The only negative is that it is not very long.

[Mole 0]

Heyman also talked about the role and influence of Stephanie McMahon: "Well, Stephanie is the director of the creative team so it all goes through Steph. And she of course is running that division now because there's going to be a time in her life where she has to run several divisions of that corporation. So it's all part of the grooming process, I would assume, for Stephaine to become either chairperson or co-chairperson with Shane. Stephanie is very hands on and takes a lot of pride in the creative process. I don't know how much of creative work she does in terms of putting the shows together in as much as she admistratively runs the creative division. And that's because that's where her future is. She's gonna be in charge or with her brother in charge of a multi-multi-multi-multi million dollar corporation, a publicly traded one."

Thanks Paul, I didn't know this...

[SamoaRowe 0]

Whenever Heyman leaves WWE, I want him to sit down and do a shoot interview about what really goes on behind the scenes and how he really feels about the McMahons. I would pay good money for that.

[Kizzo 0]

I wouldnt' mind seeing Shane McMahon leading the creative team for atleast a year.....I mean Steph has had her chance...and the results are very negative....

 

Unless he is still upset about the run in 2001 when he was on the creative team....

[justcoz 0]

What happened in 2001 with Shane on creative?

 

Really, I understand everything Paul is saying about Stephanie and why it's necessary for the future fate of the company that she leads creative now for hands on experience.

 

My problem is with the fact that she's been doing this for four years now. She's had her experience by now. Instead of demoting someone like Heyman who has the respect of the locker room as a wrestling genius - promote Stephanie to another role within the company. I've stated this a few other times. Make her the public spokesperson for WWE in place of maniacal Vince and bland Linda. She can put out a book about growing up in a male dominated industry, marrying a wrestler, learning how to run the company, etc.

 

Business is on a downward trend and it's painfully obvious to everyone in the organization and all of us who follow it that the responsibility rests on the shoulders of this creative team. Just get her out of the process. She knows how it operates by now and she's only standing in the way of improving the product at this point.

 

There needs to be a WWE in the future for her to run. When you are drawing 3,000+ at MSG, it's kind of scary.

[Kizzo 0]

What happened in 2001 with Shane on creative?

After the creative shuffle in late 2000...Shane also joined the new creative team lead by Stephanie...according to Steph(from the Howard Stern show)..."he left the creative team"....rumors say it was politics...the "Triple H effect"....who knows!!!!....He wrote most of the angles that included himself....he did a "ok" job with pushing Booker T. in 2001...

[Guest Brian]

Whenever Heyman leaves WWE, I want him to sit down and do a shoot interview about what really goes on behind the scenes and how he really feels about the McMahons. I would pay good money for that.

Is he also going to talk about how he sold out?

[Guest LooneyTune]

I would sell out too if I had bills to pay. I'd sell out, bend over, and let McMahon spank me all day.