10 Things That Happened Last Time Paul Heyman Worked WWE Creative

10. John Cena Got A Much-Needed Change

In that eight-month span between July 2002-February 2003, SmackDown's roster was transformed under Heyman's guidance. Established stars like Kurt Angle and The Rock were already there, and emerging newcomer Brock Lesnar joined the brand in late-July. That had to be a Heyman call, and it wasn't the only one.

A soon-to-be legend got his first real crack when Paul had the pen.

John Cena was a youngster WWE had high hopes for, and he was right at home working under Heyman's creative vision. Paul was willing to capitalise on Cena's appearance as Vanilla Ice at the SmackDown Halloween party in October, and that changed the course of Cena's career. Without that rap gimmick, who knows what would've happened to him.

Before it, he was a generic Create-A-Wrestler act in bland boots and tights. With Heyman at the helm, Cena finally had some purpose. It'd take a while for him to grow, but baby steps were necessary to bed him into WWE life.