Would Paul Heyman be a good fit for TNA?

[wushady]

Does any one think Paul Heyman can really help TNA? Personally I don't think making him head writer would be a good fit for TNA. He was a genius in creating ECW, but those days or over and will never be duplicated. Part of the reason ECW went out of business was he refused to go mainstream when they got on national television.

TNA of course already has a national television deal, but with his writing style being risky. They could have a hard time getting advertisers like ECW did a they can't afford to lose money. Also with his issues with Bischoff could cause problems backstage. Bischoff has his boys that are loyal to him, and Heyman would have his boys like RVD being loyal to him. It could cause tensions like what help destroy WCW.

 

[mooseman]

Here's the difference in ECW and TNA when it comes to sponsors TNA has the trusted Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan ECW didn't. As long as Dixie and Hulk don't ask Heyman to be in charge of finances it could be a strong move for TNA.

 

[tbanger]

If you honestly believe that Heyman's style is only about the risky, then you haven't done enough research!
Heyman is credited with being the creative force behind the successful "SmackDown! Six": (Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero).
All of these guys went on to become World Champions (Chavo of WWECW). Heyman won booker of the year in 2002.
Heyman is a brilliant heel manager, a great commentator, an excellent writer, and he can do so much more than just book extreme!
Many people who have worked with him consider him the greatest influence on their career, the man is an absolute legend. There is no way that hiring him for TNA could backfire if he is in a defined role.

 

[vintage-roc-damage]

I don't think bringing in Heyman would help TNA. There already is enough ego's backstage in the company already and Heyman would want alot of control that the others wouldn't take kindly too. It sounds good just don't see it working out in the long run.

 

[boozinjedi]

If they do bring him in....It signals one thing,

It would be a hail-mary play.
A last chance try to get some "edginess"

It's a high risk/high reward move.
If it works...It could breathe new life into TNA
If it fails....Call in a priest for last rights!!

 

[Poɘt]

I don't see Heyman's genius. Though considering how many jobbers the internet is in love with, I shouldn't be surprised at how overrated Heyman is. This isn't to say he wouldn't be a decent booker, but I doubt he'd be any better than you're average smark who's been watching wrestling since about 1990.

 

[tnafan37]

my opinion is i think having heyman would help right now the one thing i hate is having hogan and bishoff in angles i wish they would be on tv but not get into wrestlers spots like with foley etc... to me it reminds me of old wcw/nwo stuff yeah heyman might have favs but would be backstage and not get involved russo makes it a point for the show to mostly be on hogan bishoff having conflicts internally or revenge style so heyman would make matches keep hogan bishoff on tv for ratings but let the wrestlers wrestle

 

[pessimism101]

I don't think it's a question of "Will Heyman be a good fit in TNA"... the real question is "can TNA use Heyman properly?" Let's face it, Heyman as a booker with full creative control was a genius. Period. If TNA lets Heyman do his own thing, they can benefit huge from it. However, if TNA does anything like the WWE did, Heyman won't be able to do much for them.

 

[TheSaintSays]

6 months ago, Heyman would have helped tremendously. But look at what he would have to deal with now. There are more politicians backstage at TNA then there are in a Washington D.C. strip joint. You got Hogan, Bischoff, Carter and Russo aready running conflicting angles, with Hall, Nash, Flair and Angle all grabbing for their piece of the pie. If Russo and Hogan were not with the company, Heyman would have a field day with everything he could do with the talent that TNA has. But no way Hogan, Russo or Bischoff loosen their respective grips on the reins of TNA.

 

[KoC417]

I think Stone Cold Steve Austin said it best in his DVD. Paul E. can and should be credited for getting people to open up and discovering their true character. Yes Paul had issues with finances with ECW but in terms of his capabilities as a creative mind... ENDLESS possibilities. For those of you that don't understand why Paul is so great and why people praise him. Maybe you should go relive the REAL E-C-DUB days. Not the BULLSHIT ECW days (speaking of course of WWECW). The REAL E-C-DUB was amazing. The energy the "arena" had during ECW events was beyond words. Nothing will ever duplicate it! Paul deserves the credit for letting the performers be themselves and do their own thing despite having some controversial issues. The infamous Sandman Crucifixion. Paul isn't afraid to take risks because he knows in the end if you get the media buzzing about what you did anyway you look at it that's good news. It's publicity.

TNA bringing in Paul Heyman = Not a must but it would definately put more eyes on the TV for Impact.

 

[TCBT]

Paul Heyman has a talent that both WWE and TNA lack right now. You guys are pointing to the obvious. Yes, he booked ECW (while giving wrestlers A LOT of freedom, mind you). Yes, ECW failed. Yes, he's known for not getting along with Bischoff. But not liking someone NEVER stopped Heyman from working with them.

The talent that Heyman has, which few have pointed out, is his ease in creating great, meaningful characters that he KNOWS will work on TV. He has an ability to put people together who will work extremely well together. He has an ability to bring the personality out of wrestlers. He has the ability to create a feud which will be remembered for a long, long time. And most importantly, HE KNOWS HOW TO TELL A STORY THAT MATTERS.

What TNA lacks right now in the booking department is just that: a good storyteller. TNA is just barely starting to grow on me. I was seriously doubting everything that was being done after Hogan took over. But now it seems like they know what direction they want to go on. They still have a lot of work to do, but they're finally sailing in the right direction. But that said, a good storyteller in the TNA creative team is nowhere in sight to be found.

Heyman would not only be a good addition to TNA, he would ACTUALLY be the BEST addition to the roster. And that's saying a lot, considering we here that same old phrase every time a former WWE employee appears in TNA.

 

[Davi323]

I think a better question is would Paul Heyman be able to co-exist with TNA (mis) management or not. Heyman has been extremely critical of Bischoff at times, and has also been highly critical of TNA itself. How long could either side pretend that the comments never happened?

 

[Twanfusco]

If Paul heyman was booking tna I'd watch it, not because I'm a russo hater or even a hogan/bischoff hater but because I have really enjoyed anything he's been involved with, when he was booking smackdown it was the onl time I've enjoyed watching it, a lot of that is down to angle, lesnar, Eddie and early on the rock, I found out later heyman was lead writer and I wasn't surprised. He should have been in tna a long time ago, I'm sure he was asked. Now though, at least from a "Smarks" point of view, tna has all the ingredients for a clusterfuck and it's probably not something heyman would even be interested in anyway, could be wrong but unless it's a decent paycheck I'm sure he'll turn em down, if anyone is of the opinion that success comes from freedom to express it's heyman and I don't feel there's room for that in tna.

 

[ncwriter2908]

I think Paul Heyman would be a good fit if TNA wasn't going in the old stars direction. Heyman was great at taking youngs guys with little to no talent and making them into a watchable wrestler and great character. Team 3D was a team that would have never had a chance without heyman and ECW. They have never been great on the mic or in the ring but given a good character that fit them and look they have been tag champs in every wrestling company they've been in.

Dreamer and Sandman are the same story but without the Dudleys success. New Jack was horrible but was over with the crowds. Hell WWE was even thinking of signing him to join the Nation at one point?


Lets also remember Heyman was the first to discover great talents like Beniot,Jericho,Eddie,Melenko,Rey Jr, RVD, and Steve Austin even got his edge in ECW.

I think Heyman would benifit the young guys alot. I also think Heyman would have been great at giving the fans something different to watch like in the old days when TNA had Raven as champ. When it was something different an edgy. Now we have a product that resembles a terrible verison of WCW.


TNA is not WCW they are far from it. They are way down the line of WCW. WCW had a long list of talented superstars...guys like Hogan,Hall,Nash,Mr. Perfect,DDP,Booker T,Stieners and alot more on the top in their prime.....plus guys like melenko,Y2J,Beniot and other on the mid card.....TNA rosters doesnt come close to be as entertaining to anything in WCW prime...

Heyman would give the product a freshness and get away from the WCW comparasion.

 

[rocksuperstarkaos]

I don't think Heyman will help much, I think it would be the same situation as WWE, Heyman coming up with ideas that Hulk, Bischoff and Dixie don't like and it'll just not get used, Heyman is a genius and any company would be lucky to have him, but there would be way to much head clashing going on with Heyman and management, especially Bischoff.

 

[Aaronliveshere]

I like Heyman and I'm a big fan, but what TNA needs right now is time. The best thing I heard was an interview with Hogan. He was talking about how he so impressed with Randy Orton and how he might be the best in the business right now. The main thing is that Orton's been in the WWE for 10 years now. It's taken him that long to get this good. That is what TNA needs. Time to grow. Also, TNA doesn't have any real history/emotional connection with most of it's wrestlers. Is there anyone that we all connect with so much..that if they retired from TNA today we would ALL watch? I'm not sure that Sting would be able to pull that off at this stage of his career. I think they will be around a long time IF they can survive their growing pains. Paul Heyman might be able to help but he would just be a small bandaid on a big cut.

 

[shattered dreams]

I see no reason for TNA to rock the boat right now. They have a good thing going at the moment and giving other people too much control is the only way to get them (JR and Heyman). Thus, it just is not worth it. About the only way I think Heyman would be a good idea is if they wanted to promote an ECW vs TNA storyline and split them into two shows, one of which Heyman could mostly run. Problem is they cannot even use the ECW name and should focus on putting out one good show instead of diluting the product at the moment. No need to give Heyman a role big enough to entice him to join at the moment IMO.

 

[TheMainEvent]

Heyman could work wonders for TNA if he were given the opportunity to be the head booker and only work within a creative capacity and possible On-Air eventually. He understands the basics of storytelling and how to get people over. Look at some of the great storylines during ECW and his time as Smackdown booker that he was able to accomplish. His recent twitter posts about TNAs lack of storyline followup and how a babyface should get over shows that he still has some passion left and gets it. With TNA he would get the opportunity to work again with RVD, Dudleys, Angle, Rhino, Anderson and others who he has had a great deal of working with getting them over during his previous booking roles. Then throw in guys like the Machine Guns, Abyss, Wolfe, and even Sting and Hardy and Heyman should be salivating at the possiblities that he can work with.

I am already getting excited about TNA but the idea of Heyman coming in to take over Russos creative position is a great idea.

 

[TCBT]

Also, TNA doesn't have any real history/emotional connection with most of it's wrestlers. Is there anyone that we all connect with so much..that if they retired from TNA today we would ALL watch?

That's exactly why TNA needs Paul Heyman, in my opinion. Obviously, time plays a part in your logic. TNA hasn't been around long enough for the wrestlers to matter as much as the wrestlers in the WWE. But TNA can speed up the process by hiring a writer that is good at what TNA lacks.

My theory about Vince Russo is that he was at the right place, at the right time. He was a great writer for the WWE because he was the missing link the creative department needed at the time. He hasn't, by any means, replicated the same success working anywhere else. In my opinion, Paul Heyman is the missing link in TNA's creative department. He may or may not be the best at what he does - that's a matter of opinion - but his track record tells me that his ability to create stars people are interested in is exactly the kind of writer TNA needs.