10 Wrestling Moments More Important Than You Realised

9. WCW Fires Paul Heyman

Vince McMahon Chris Jericho
WWE.com

Today's wrestling fans know Paul Heyman as the quick-witted "Special Council" to Roman Reigns on episodes of SmackDown, but older viewers regard Paul E as a revolutionary who re-shaped the biz throughout the 1990s. His work as ballsy purveyor of "Extreme" in ECW didn't happen overnight though.

Nah, Heyman had to be sh*tcanned by WCW as a manager first.

Paul got the bullet from WCW in 1992, then signed on as Eddie Gilbert's assistant in the newly-launched ECW promotion; he'd go on to change "Eastern" to the aforementioned "Extreme" and gain fame for pushing the envelope further than WCW could or Vince McMahon would.

Going deeper, Gabe Sapolsky worked as Heyman's apprentice in ECW towards the end of the 90s and later helped form Ring Of Honor. So, to summarise, WCW firing Paul E led to two of the most iconic cult-like companies in pro wrestling folklore.

See? WCW did do some good after all.

Contributor

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.