10 Wrestlers Who Foreshadowed Everything
6. Paul Heyman
WWE even admitted as much, eventually. The Attitude Era looked and felt like a more polished version of Extreme Championship Wrestling, and at least Paul Heyman's spent the bulk of the last two decades on payroll as thanks.
He's as good as foreshadowed this and two more monstrously successful wrestling tropes during his time atop ECW, and there were realistically plenty more he simply didn't get credit for.
With the rise of 'The Franchise' Shane Douglas in 1994, he spotted an opportunity in making worked shoots the norm while they were still at their most shocking. Douglas' in-ring doesn't hold up to scrutiny most of the time, but his promos are often electrifying. He's scorching the old guard without a care in the world, and all as WCW were embracing it more than ever and WWE were telling rather than showing us all about their New Generation. The walls of kayfabe didn't need to collapse, but a crumble or two certainly appealed.
With the talent he mined from the independent scene, Japan and Mexico, Heyman's style influenced a young Tony Khan and many others about the importance of the wrestling buffet. Something for everybody as often as possible, making the brand a drawing destination as a place to come for at least a little bit of what you like.
ECW went under, and Heyman was never credited as being the best businessman. Ironically, few were better for the longterm financial security of the industry at large than the one man who just couldn't balance his books.