10 Stars That Benefited The Most From ECW

5. Paul Heyman

Is there any man that got more mileage out of his involvement with ECW than Paul E? One of the most restlessly creative minds that the business has ever, or will ever, produce; Paul Heyman is a man with a plan, at all times. He may be many things, a pathological liar, a conman and a devious swindler, but he is also one of the most influential promoters in the history of the business, something that even Vince McMahon was effectively forced to acknowledge when he basically ripped off ECW wholesale and instigated The Attitude Era in the process. Heyman has parlayed his success as ECW€™s showrunner into enormous success as an on-screen WWE manager. In fact, a very strong case can be made that Heyman is the last of the great old school managers, something that will probably become his indelible legacy in the eyes of the younger fans who know him today as the manager of major stars such as Cesaro or Brock Lesnar. Yet still, Heyman is a complex and divisive figure. He may have the mannerisms of a used-car salesman and occasionally display the fiery, revolutionary rhetoric of a fat, Jewish Che Guevara, but he also has a sweet side and is reputedly capable of surprisingly heartfelt actions. Heyman ultimately used ECW€™s cache amongst wrestling insiders to get himself over, largely at the expense of the ECW locker room. In doing so, he betrayed pretty much everyone that had bled and been brutalized in the name of his €˜no holds barred€™ branding and unique creative vision. He€™s an artist, alright, but one that constantly dangles from a dangerous precipice...

So, WWF hired Heyman, first as an announcer and then as a manager. Following that, I don€™t think it€™s a coincidence that a lot of ex-ECW talent got signed to good money by the WWF. So he has given back, but he€™s done it this way. Paul Heyman found a niche within the wrestling business, even when two thirds of it hated his guts (Jerry Lawler even once deliberately broke his jaw in order to teach him a lesson, whilst wrestling journalist Bill Apter conspired to have Heyman, then a photographer, banned from ringside). Ultimately, he forced pro wrestling to pay tribute to him as its wayward genius and, ultimately, it has.