10 Things We Learned From Inside The Ropes With Paul Heyman (London)

When Jerry Lawler walked out of WWE after they fired his wife Stacy 'The Kat' Carter, the company needed a replacement. Heyman, who was no longer tied to the bankrupt and soon to go out-of-business ECW, fit the bill (Heyman said here that he was certain hiring him was a big rib on Jim Ross).

On his first night on Raw, he knew he had to make an impact, to make people sit up and notice. He noted that Lawler's schtick had gotten a little tired and he wanted to shake things up. With Vince McMahon asking Trish Stratus to strip down to her bra and panties in the ring, Heyman sensed his opportunity.

With no foreknowledge of just how far the segment would go and Vince demanding that the WWE Hall of Famer remove her bra, Heyman barked out 'Hey Mom, I came to Washington D.C. and I'm gonna get to see Bush!'. Panicked, Ross grabbed him by the wrist and began frantically shaking his head with a shocked expression on his face.

Backstage, people were shocked, with producers and production people trying desperately to remain calm. Heyman was unfazed, since he knew Vince hadn't heard the call himself and, regardless, he'd just signed a five-year deal with no get-out. Either they fired him that night and paid him to sit at home for the remainder of his deal or he would show up the week after and continue working.

Later in the evening on the WWE corporate jet, Kevin Dunn passed Vince his notes for that evening's show. Spotting something about Heyman's on-the-edge remark, Vince turned to him and said 'talking politics on the air, huh?' before being told the actual context and promptly going nuts (while telling Heyman to keep pushing buttons on the sly).