10 Things We Learned From Bruce Prichard's WWF & ECW Podcast

6. Prichard Told Paul Heyman That Barely Legal Pay-Per-View Exposed ECW

Paul Heyman ECW Jerry Lawler WWE Raw invasion 1997
WWE.com

The main reason for those ECW appearances on Monday Night Raw and WWF pay-per-view was to promote the Barely Legal show. This was an exciting time for Paul Heyman - he had been able to pull the company up from the boot straps and there was the potential to make some money on pay-per-view.

Watching at home, Bruce Prichard wasn't too impressed by what he was seeing. In constant contact with Heyman throughout the broadcast, the WWF creative team member had a phone conversation with the ECW head honcho once Barely Legal had finished. Still in the production truck, Heyman must have been horrified to hear what Bruce had to say.

The pair were good friends long before the WWF/ECW relationship. That didn't stop Prichard from giving his honest opinion that ECW's first pay-per-view had over-exposed Heyman's product. Up till that point, Bruce had only really seen the highlight-style Heyman favoured for his weekly television, and he wasn't taken upon seeing ECW performers wrestle full matches.

Minutes after his biggest show ever had ended, Heyman had to stand there and listen to a good buddy tell him what he surely didn't want to hear.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.