SmackDown hit its creative peak in the period of 2002 to 2003, thriving under the innovative leadership of chief writer Paul Heyman. As well as lending his incredible charisma to broadcasts under the role of SmackDown General Manager, Heyman booked a series of incredible matches featuring the so-called "SmackDown Six", the combination of Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge and Rey Mysterio. The fact that every one of these wrestlers went on to hold a world title (even Chavo, if we count the revived ECW Championhip in this category) stands testament to the young talent accrued by the blue brand during this period. Things were brought to a screeching halt when Heyman was fired in 2004, despite being named the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's illustrious 'Best Booker' two years prior. During a recent appearance on Steve Austin's podcast, Heyman shed further light on this issue. Apparently he was caught listening in to a Raw conference call by Stephanie and Vince McMahon, a move they considered a terminable offence. Admittedly, the brazen Heyman didn't help matters by admitting that he hadn't heard anything in the Raw meeting - because he had fallen asleep! This only enraged the McMahons further, but their hasty decision to remove him from the SmackDown booking team robbed the show of its most enthralling period to date.
