10 Ways Paul Heyman Has Changed WWE Raw
Recent red brand action has had Heyman's fingerprints all over it.
27 June 2019 was a day of shock for wrestling fans.
After decades of Vince McMahon refusing to hand over any major semblance of WWE creative control, the left-field news broke that McMahon had hired Paul Heyman as Raw Executive Director and Eric Bischoff as SmackDown Executive Director. Vince would still have the final say over any and all decisions, yet Heyman and Bischoff were to be afforded a level of authority and freedom rarely ever seen within WWE.
Things may not have worked out for Eric Bischoff - who would have a cup of coffee in his respective role - but former ECW head Heyman is still serving as Raw Executive Director to this day. And more importantly, Raw has actually been, dare we say it, 'good' in recent months.
For the longest time, Raw was always a slog of a show to get through. While the past few years had been kind to SmackDown audiences, Raw audiences were put through a drab and dreary three-hour broadcast that had become painful to watch - hence why the drastic call was made to elevate Heyman into a position of power.
Reflecting on Paul Heyman's time in charge of the red brand, then, here are ten ways in which Heyman has changed WWE Raw.
10. Fresh Opportunities
One of the big hopes coming out of Paul Heyman's appointment as Raw Executive Director was that Heyman would give some fresh faces the ball to run with.
If you remember, the Raw brand that Heyman took over in June of last year was being dominated at the time by a painful rivalry between WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Baron Corbin. Added to that, Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch was in a similarly nauseating feud with Lacey Evans.
Since Heyman took over Raw, the landscape of the red brand has almost completely changed.
Not only have new faces like Humberto Carrillo and The Street Profits been given opportunities, but performers like Drew McIntyre, Andrade, Aleister Black, Buddy Murphy, The Kabuki Warriors, AoP, Liv Morgan, Ricochet, and Kevin Owens have all been either boosted up the card or seen their characters changed up slightly.
In particular, it looks as if Raw is finally happy to push ahead with Owens as a genuine top babyface right now. After several stop-starts as a face, KO's time to shine as the ass-kicking, unrelenting prizefighter is upon us - with Owens the perfect foil to go up against Seth Rollins' new villainous stable.