I can't deal in ifs or in hypothetical situations. I only deal in absolutes.
Roles constantly have to be redefined in any form of entertainment. Look back at the gangster pics of the 1930s and 1940s and the way James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart would play the part. These roles were redefined in the 1970s by Al Pacino and Rober DeNiro. And again in the 1990s by Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins.
The whole concept of ECW was that the biggest star of the promotion was the promotion itself. It didn't matter if a persona was designed to elicit cheers or boos. It didn't matter if someone was an antagonist or protagonist. The whole concept was to fight for the honor of the cause. The cause was ECW itself.
I took the antiquated, outdated, passe role of the wrestling manager, and I upgraded it into the upper echelon of sports entertainment to be known as an advocate.
I mean, truly, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, and if you can't spot that CM Punk is magic from the moment he walks in the door, then you're reading a playbook from an antiquated writer.
I always tell Brock Lesnar the truth. I don't appease Brock Lesnar. I don't placate Brock Lesnar. When Brock Lesnar asks me for an opinion, I give to him an honest opinion that I'm willing to back up with facts, with theory.
I don't think you can ever tell the story of Ted Turner's involvement in professional wrestling-slash-sports entertainment without devoting several chapters to the rise and continued ascent of Sting.
CM Punk clearly established during his time as a Paul Heyman Guy that he was, as the billing suggested, The Best In The World.
I don't think anything Ronda Rousey does is going to be the norm. I think everything she does is going to set a new trend and blaze a new trail.
I think ECW itself was a gimmick. I think getting the audience to chant ECW was really something. I don't care if you draw 70,000 people in a dome for Wrestlemania - nobody chants WWE.
Who can deny that it was a pleasure to watch Rob Van Dam interact with the audience and tear the house down for 30 minutes a night.
I haven't wanted to portray a manager since Paul E. Dangerously was with the Samoan Swat Team in 1989. I've always wanted to do some different presentation in that role. I don't consider myself a manager - I'm an advocate, and I truly believe that that is the description for the role that I play.
I knew Roman Reigns when he used to come into the locker room with his father, holding his father's hand, barely out of diapers. And I don't say that as an ironic statement... I mean it sincerely.
I've always been a big believer in diversification for anybody. It's never good to put all of your efforts and all of your time and all of your financial resources into just one project. Diversification is key for any individual and any business.
We live in an ever-changing global pop culture community.
We live in a society that has ever-changing values and ever-changing standards and ever-changing criteria to determine who is a superstar or not. If you want to be a superstar, if you want to main event, if you want to profit in the entertainment business, you have to go with those trends and spearhead new trends.
The Dangerous Alliance consists of the following - 'The Advocate' Paul Heyman and 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar. That Dangerous Alliance is the single most formidable faction in the history of sports entertainment. We don't need Four Horsemen. We don't need three Freebirds. We don't need a Legion of Doom.
I approach my interviews with the mindset of, exactly what are we selling? How can I sell it the hardest and the most effectively in the fewest words possible? And how can I make each word that I say mean as much as it possibly can? And I bring that perspective to the table because I used to focus a lot on the character that I had to play.
My first memory of the Garden, it's probably like any other kid in New York: it's either watching the Knicks win the championship or Muhammed Ali against Joe Frazier.
I've always been of the opinion that great talent can't be held down.
